Fans have taken to social media to mock the appearance of Zapdos's new regional form in Pokémon Sword and Shield. The legendary bird, along with its relatives Moltres and Articuno, were added to the game in the recent Crown Tundra DLC, with brand new forms and difficult new procedures for hunting them down.
It's been a little under a year since the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield. The game is the first mainline entry in the series to appear on a home console instead of a handheld system, which initially raised fan hopes quite high. Unfortunately, this excitement was marred by a series of controversies, starting with Game Freak's notorious decision not to port every Pokémon in the series into the new game, a much less positive first for the series and one that left fans furious. These controversies didn't stop the game from being received well by critics, but a lot of Pokémon fans still feel betrayed. Game Freak has been doing its best to address the disappointment with a pair of post-launch expansions, bringing players to new regions and giving them more and more Pokémon to discover and capture.
The legendary bird trio from Generation One are among the Pokémon who've returned, and they even have new Galarian forms for players to encounter in the Crown Tundra. But this reunion isn't quite as sweet as it could be for one member of the family. As Polygon reports, many players have taken issue with the appearance of Galarian Zapdos. The thunderbird has lost the power of flight in its new form, and appears more like a chicken or a roadrunner; an apt comparison, since players have to literally chase it down in order to capture it. Many fans feel that the loss of flight, coupled with its new chicken-like posture and the somewhat goofy walking animation that comes with, completely rob the Pokémon of the grandeur and majesty its original iteration possessed. To really hammer that comparison home, Twitter user Out of Context Pokemon posted a clip of Galarian Zapdos making a total fool of itself right next to its stoic counterpart. while Lemon Boy posted footage of the bird charging the camera and then just staring vacantly at it. Taken together, these clips provide excellent proof of what's wrong with the new design.
Pokémon design is an integral part of what makes the franchise such a worldwide success. There isn't a fan in the world without strong opinions about what makes a Pokémon design good, and everyone has their own favorites. Zapdos and its relatives were among the first legendary creatures fans were ever exposed to, and they've left a considerable impact throughout the series' long history. It's plain to see that the new Zapdos doesn't quite live up to its original look, but fans don't seem too upset. There's a clear air of disappointment, but it can't be denied that there's something endearing about the new design too. Galarian Zapdos really wants to be intimidating,, and players love the creature for it. It's not the bird's fault that its wings don't work, after all.
No matter how many controversies have rocked the newest entry, players still love Pokémon. The outpouring of good-natured jokes about Galarian Zapdos prove that. Hopefully the next entry will better satisfy fans than Pokémon Sword and Shield did, but in the meantime, players can be content with their goofy legendary chicken.
Source: Polygon, Out of Context Pokémon, Lemon Boy