Funny / Pokémon Sword and Shield

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

"PINK! PINK!! AND PINK!!!"

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The Game

Main Game

• Some of the Pokémon themselves are pretty chuckle-worthy.
  • As noble and majestic Zacian may be, there's just something inherently amusing about a wolf carrying a sword in its mouth. Not even, say, an anthropomorphic bipedal wolf, or a wolf with a sword as part of its body, it somehow wields the sword in its teeth like a dog playing fetch with a stick. Although Zacian looks "normal" in comparison to Zamazenta, whose design motif of wearing a huge shield on the front part of its body is akin to a frilled-neck lizard.
  • Just when you thought Pokémon based on inanimate objects couldn't get weirder, we get Sinistea, a literal possessed teacup, and Polteageist, a literal possessed teapot.
  • Appletun, the apple pie dragon.
    • In fact, the entire line of this Pokémon is based off of apple maggots, also known as wyrms in apples.
  • Galarian Weezing, with its two tall hats and smoky moustaches that make it resemble a wealthy, posh tycoon^note Especially one with a penchant for the letter D. Double points due to Unfortunate Character Design making it look like a bong.
  • Snom. With a cute simple design and a cute simple name, it was no wonder it was an instant Ensemble Dark Horse among fans.
  • Eiscue, a penguin with a block of ice around its head and a single hair sticking out the top.
  • Stonjourner. There's something chuckle-worthy about what's basically living Stonehenge.
  • Galar's fossil Pokémon may be considered Nightmare Fuel to some, but the sheer mismatch of the different body parts, combined with the Pokémon franchise's cartoony art style, makes them appear downright comical. Special mention goes to Dracovish — a fish's head stuck on a dinosaur's tail with a derpy face and a silly-looking gait (as seen in Pokémon Camp).
  • Calyrex. Despite the bud on its head that's meant to resemble a crown, thus giving it a regal aura, it's so disproportionate you'd swear Calyrex must be using its powers to stand upright.
• Some of the ridiculous ways Pokémon evolve in this game. Malamar makes a return (turn your device upside down when Inkay levels up), and the game introduces Sirfetch'd (have Farfetch'd land three critical hits in one battle), Alcremie (give Milcery a Sweet and spin the analog stick), and Runerigus (have Yamask take at least 49 damage in one battle and then walk under a specific rock archway in Dusty Bowl without healing it). The sheer absurdity of these is worthy of a chuckle. YouTuber Alpharad even compared Yamask's to the "Mew under the truck" rumor due to its absurdity.
  • Milcery in particular is absurd since there are nine possible Alcremie forms dependent on the direction you spin your character, how long you spin, and the time of day you're doing it.^note Either clockwise or counterclockwise, for 5 seconds or less, and either during the day or night. The ninth form requires spinning in any direction for 10 seconds at dusk. But wait! The sweet it's holding also influences the result slightly, so accounting for the seven sweet types that exist, that makes it a grand total of sixty-three possible combinations it can take! A shiny Milcery only adds on seven potential outcomes with the only differences being whatever Sweet is given, unless you count the new "square shinies" as their own forms, which increases the total to seventy-seven.
• Sinistea has the most absurd form differences of any Pokémon that carries over to its evolution Polteageist: there is a genuine teacup version and a counterfeit teacup version. However, the two are identical in stats, movepool, ability, and even overall appearance. The only difference? A tiny, hard-to-notice label on the bottom of the genuine form's teacup. (The game has a special camera angle JUST for this Pokémon)
• The League Cards contain many humorous asides. Examples include:
  • Nessa (Normal Card): "[Nessa] has declared that Milo of Turffield is her rival, but Milo responded by saying that his rival is himself."
  • Milo (Rare Card): "It has become common in Turffield to see the whole town chasing after Milo, who is in turn chasing after a stray Wooloo, along with Yamper."
  • Bea (Normal Card): "She is secretly a huge fan of various sweets, and this has recently been found out by her fans. The additional attention has made enjoying sweets a little difficult."
• Leon quite simply has a horrid internal map. You and Hop have to pick him up (keep in mind Hop's his younger brother) just so he won't get lost on a straight road.
• Before fighting you, one policeman says the following line:
  Policeman: 'Ello, 'ello, what's all this then? Fancy a scrap with a copper?
  • And for those that were disappointed that he said "Copper" instead of "Bobby", there's a policeman later named "Bobby" to complete the joke.
• During your battles with Hop, he'll often comment if you manage to land a Critical Hit or target a weakness. Most of them are fairly standard, but if you manage to land a critical hit during your first battle...
  Hop: A critical hit?! What kind of beginner's luck is that!
• One of the earliest roadblocks in the game consists of a group of sleeping Wooloo, the game not so subtly guilting you into taking another path.
  You wouldn't want to wake the sweet sleeping Wooloo, right?
• In one encounter with Team Yell, they're trying to keep people from waking up a Silicobra that's sleeping on the side of the path. They let an older lady past them when she promises to stay quiet, but immediately — and loudly — refuse to let either you or Hop past, on the grounds that you're too loud... all while yelling at you at the top of their lungs and stomping on the ground. Even better, the Silicobra eventually wakes up and leaves long after everyone but the player character has left the area.
• After Bede destroys the mural in Stow-on-side, revealing statues depicting Zacian, Zamazenta, and the two heroes, a nearby child has this to say:
  Child: I feel it was more artistic before it got destroyed.
  • Even better, shortly before the mural is destroyed, Sonia tells the player that it's a recreation of the original art that used to be there. Given that the mural is... somewhat simplistic and juvenile, one has to wonder what exactly happened during the restoration process.
• In Hammerlocke, a little girl named Paula asks you to deliver a love letter to a man named Frank in Ballonlea. The letter is very old, and as it turns out, so is Frank. Frank then reveals that Paula was his childhood friend, but she was very sickly, and he wasn't able to see her in years. He then asks you how Paula is doing, and you can either say that she's fine or reply with stunned silence as the realization sets in.
• In the desert town of Stow-on-Side, some kids are playing with a Bronzong. One wants to wear it as a hat, another asks where its mouth is.
• During Opal's Gym mission, you get asked two-choice questions during battle; answering right gives your Pokémon a stat boost, and answering wrong reduces their stats. When you battle Opal herself, she asks "Alrighty then... How old am I?" with the choices being 16 years old or 88 years old. Should you choose the latter, she will admit that you're not wrong, but calls you out for being insensitive... and your Pokémon get the stat reduction as if it was a wrong answer. And conversely, you get the stat boost for calling her 16, because Opal says "Ha! I like your answer!"
  • Speaking of Opal, her reaction to Bede has her shouting "Pink! Pink! And Pink!" before dragging him off to her gym. When you fight him at the finals, he's stuck wearing one of the Fairy Uniforms!
    • Look closely at the back of the uniform he's wearing in the finals, specifically how it's tied in the back and hitched up to look like a shirt. It's implied that Opal made him wear a copy of her dress instead of the normal Fairy Uniform!
    • Doubles as Hilarious in Hindsight, as many initially mistook Bede for an older woman, only for him to be taken in by one.
    • Opal is normally very slow as she walks along, as one would expect from an old woman. Once, she spots you talking to Bede, however, she drops everything she's holding and sprints over to accost him, looking completely manic the whole time and ending with her saying "Congratulations, child!" as she seemingly leers at him from behind.
    • The understandable "What the hell are you doing and what do you want, lady?!" look on Bede's face the entire time is the icing on the cake as he gets examined head-to-toe by Opal.
• The detective scene in Hotel Ionia in which you, "the interfering child" as the detective calls you, have to interrogate three hotel guests to find out who ate the berries in the lobby. When you've found the real culprit^note The child's Skwovet, the detective immediately deduces that the Dancer is responsible. The dancer ends up chasing him out of the room in a rage.
  Dancer: What does that even mean? You're no detective — you're a fraud!
• During the Spikemuth Gym challenge, you will be confronted by two Team Yell Grunts with one saying, “I’m yellin’ for no reason!” Cue both of them jumping out of the building with a loud crash and the trainer you fight predictably injured his legs from the fall.
  • At the end, the last Gym trainer directly says that he forgot to get his Team Yell disguise on in time, then says that everyone should've known that Team Yell was just the Spikemuth Gym trainers all along. It comes off as Team Yell being a Paper-Thin Disguise in-universe.
• The reasoning behind the endgame raid on the Rose Tower is nothing short of hilarious. In most games, you storm the bad guy's lair as their evil plans start getting truly dangerous, or after a direct attack against you and your friends. But Rose has so little in the way of bad intentions that you and your pals ended up assaulting a heavily defended building because Leon was late for dinner. Leon and Rose did nothing except to talk. The whole thing spiralled out of control thanks to Piers and Team Yell jumping at a chance to do anarcho-punk anti-establishment stuff on one side, and Oleana being a nutter on the other side.
  • During the battle against her, Oleana uses several beautiful feminine Pokémon like Milotic and Tsareena against the player. When she's almost defeated, she sends out her strongest Pokémon: Garbodor.
• When climbing up Rose Tower after the semifinals, one of the opponents you face is a member of Macro Cosmos Insurance, who asks the player and Hop if they have life insurance policies.
• Before you fight Bede during the Opening Ceremony, he says that if he loses, he will retire from being a Trainer. When you defeat him, the crowd cheers him on and tells him not to give up. Frustrated, he reveals that retiring was just supposed to be an excuse to get away from Opal.
  • Bede's debut as the newly appointed Fairy-Type Gym Leader, in general, is extremely entertaining, simply because he's so dishonest about it. He talks about how he hates it, is starting to hate fantasy in general, won't wear pink ever again, and probably would murder Opal in her sleep if the occasion arose. But the moment he gets on the job when he crashes the Championship Cup, he cranks up the fabulousness and Fairy-Type style to a level that shows way more dedication to the craft than he'd have ever admitted.
• Chairman Rose announcing he's bringing back the Darkest Day is supposed to be Nightmare Fuel; however, he does this by interrupting the match between the player and Leon and politely letting them know what he's doing.
  • The fact that the destructive cataclysm that could bring about the End of the World as We Know It was a complete accident as opposed to the typical-for-the-series final step of a Machiavellian scheme crafted by an evil team's brilliant leader.
• After becoming champion, the post-game story introduces two new villains: Sordward and Shielbert, two brothers who are descended from the old royal lineage of Galar and have ridiculous hairstyles resembling a sword and shield respectively. The pair look goofy even by Pokémon standards, are ridiculously foppish, constantly going on about how they're celebrities, and are completely astonished whenever they suffer defeat. They're the most directly antagonistic and self-serving characters in the game, but also too clownish not to be entertaining. The heroes make a point of calling them "those two weirdos," and they don't take it well when they find out.
  Sordward: If you want to stop us, do your best to chase after our splendid-looking bottoms!
  • After the first time you defeat Swordward/Shieldbert (it depends on which version you have) the other one asks his brother if the player character is the one that defeated Eternatus, to which he responds yes to "after closer inspection." He says this line even if you literally use Eternatus in the battle against him.
  • At one point, they mock Piers's hair, despite their own ridiculous hairstyles. Piers even complains about this.
• During the postgame story, the Gym Leaders give you their rare league cards for helping them with the Dynamax Pokémon. Most of them say that you can call them any time if you need them... except for Piers, who tells you not to call him, since something big and dramatic is usually going on any time you need help.
• Dragapult's Dex entry states how it carries its pre-evolution Dreepy within its horns but also states how the Dreepy eagerly look forward to being launched into battle. That's right, it's somewhat like Kangaskhan carrying its young along with it, except that the babies are happy about being used as mom or dad’s weaponized projectiles. This isn't the usual gameplay-irrelevant flavor text, either; Dragapult's signature move, Dragon Darts, literally launches two Dreepys at the enemy.
• In one scene, Sonia sees a tapestry of the legend in a restaurant and declares she’s made an important discovery, asking the player to guess what it is. You're given the option to either pick from two correct choices or... comment on a nearby poster of the restaurant's mascot. If you do, Sonia will decide he must be part of the legend because of his "brilliant smile", then realize what she’s saying and yell at the player for sidetracking her.
  • Funniest of all? She makes a >_< face that looks hilariously like a Wobbuffet!
• Pokémon Camp gives plenty of opportunities for hilarious Pokémon reactions, much like Pokémon-Amie before it. When you let six Pokémon out of their balls in the same place, chances are something funny will happen.
  • There's something amusing about feeding a Bug-type a tiny spoonful of curry in comparison to the Trainer's full plate. All except for larval Pokémon like Snom or Caterpie, who get an even bigger portion than the trainer! Guess these bugs really like to eat! The fact that their final forms eat only a tiny spoonful instead makes it even funnier to some players that they ate so much in their base forms, but when fully evolved, they can't eat as much as they used to anymore.
    • Inteleon is the skinniest of the final starters, and visibly skinnier than you, yet it also gets a much larger portion.
    • On the other side of the extreme, wanna know which Pokemon does get the bug-sized portion which isn't one? Giratina. The five metre tall, 700-pound-ish heavy (depending on form) embodiment of antimatter that fans generally consider to be the equivalent of the Devil wants to be spoonfed. It's equal parts hilarious and... strangely endearing.
  • Try cooking a Koffing Class Curry. The trainer's facial expression as they try to eat it is priceless. And they still eat the curry anyway, however sickening the experience might be.
  • Much like Arceus and the Ultra Beasts before it, you can play with Eternatus in Pokémon Camp. An Ancient Evil chasing after a rubber ball, playing with your other Pokémon, and happily eating curry with you is a sight to behold.
    • You can even put Eternatus into the Poké Ball Plus and take it with you on the go. The possibilities are endless, indeed.
    • Have Eternatus as your leading mon, then go talk to your mother, who will insist you rest. Specifically, she says that your "sweet Eternatus" looks tired. There's something inherently hilarious about someone referring to the near-unstoppable, Person of Mass Destruction draconic thing that is Eternatus as "sweet".
    • Sometimes the captions appear as "Eternatus is afraid of *other Pokémon*" or "Eternatus seems concerned about its surroundings". Exactly what an eldritch dragon from space is worried about is equal parts hilarious and... mildly disturbing.
  • Your team members can potentially get into little arguments with each other, consisting of mock attacks and threatening gestures (or the equivalent of a slap fight). As their Trainer, you can stop the fight or just let it play out. Special mention goes to Cinderace, which always looks like it's either threatening to punt a smaller Pokémon across the campsite or kicking a larger Pokémon right in the Oran Berries.
  • Fetching a bouncy ball is one of the two games you can play with your Pokémon in the camp. Some of them, such as Stunfisk and Snom, can be very amusing in how passionately they will fetch the ball and how pleased with themselves they are when they return it, despite them looking rather silly carrying it and moving very slowly via their crawling/hopping animations.
    • The way some Pokémon choose to return the ball to you borders on Violation of Common Sense. Some, like Sudowoodo, will carry the ball in their mouths or on top of their heads despite having perfectly functional arms. On the other hand, you also have Pokémon like Vanillite that somehow manage to hold the ball in their hands/appendages that vaguely resemble hands, despite said hands being far too small to realistically be able to do so.
    • Even better part: One of the bouncy balls has Leon's face on it. More often than not, it looks more like your Pokémon brought you a decapitated head of Leon.
    • Sometimes when you’re playing with one Pokémon by throwing a ball, another one will steal it and bring it back to you. The first Pokemon you were playing with will turn back and make an angry face at the other one for taking the ball.
  • Your team members may challenge each other to races. It's amusing in general watching them, but it can be downright hilarious when a very slow-moving Pokémon challenges a fast running one, and after the fast one wins, it proceeds to wait for up to a few minutes for its racing companion to reach the finish line. No matter how slowly a Pokémon runs, it'll emit a dust trail as it crawls across the screen.
  • Mewtwo's reaction to being fed Koffing-class curry makes it look like it's watching you with absolute hate as it's forced to eat the slop.
• When Raihan is about to Gigantamax one of his Pokémon, he takes a selfie before throwing his Poké Ball.
  • Raihan's Gym Battle team also qualifies, as he presents himself as a Dragon-Type specialist.....with only 2 Dragon-Types on his team. In fact, his team actually revolves more around Sandstorm than Dragon-Types. He gets better in the Champion Cup, however.
  • If you beat Raihan in a rematch at Wyndon Stadium, he says "I look this good even when I lose. It’s a real curse. Guess it’s time for another selfie!".
• Just outside of the vault, there are two Trainers battling with a Rhydon and a Gastrodon. Talk to the Trainer with a Gastrodon, and he drops this gem.
  Trainer: Gastrodon, I choose you! SQUEEEAAA-SQUISHY-SQUISHY-SQUISH!^note Most likely, Gastrodon's cry in written format. If not, it's the trainer imitating it.
  • What's even more hilarious is the fact that Rhydon is clearly at a massive disadvantage due to its 4x weakness to water and 2x weakness to ground, a fact its Trainer even acknowledges, yet its Trainer still thinks they can win. Who knows? Maybe it has Horn Drill.
• In one of the hotel rooms in Circhester, there is a man standing in front of the bathroom complaining that his Pokémon is a hardcore germophobe who obsessively takes showers in its desperation to get clean... when it's a Ground-type Pokémon.
• Yes, you can Dynamax Wailord in this game. Amusingly, Wailord's "normal" sprite size is greatly scaled down to just slightly larger than the trainer themselves... then when Wailord gets Dynamaxed, it only becomes slightly larger than the size of a regular Wailord. Given that most Dynamax Pokémon grow from about the trainer's height or smaller, to the height of a five-story building, the idea of Wailord just becoming noticeably bigger is strangely, hilariously... underwhelming.
  • With the inclusion of Alolan Exeggutor in the Isle of Armor DLC, fans have also poked fun at its Dynamaxed form: unlike Wailord, Exeggutor's sprite is already absurdly tall when in normal form, so when it Dynamaxes the leaves atop its heads are nearly touching the top of the Max Raid screen!
• Melony's rare card is a heartwarming depiction of both mother and son, but Gordie himself looks to be bearing an expression that says "Mum, you're embarrassing me..."
• When you meet Chairman Rose at Hammerlocke Stadium, which happens to be above his energy plant, he shows you an "easy to understand" diagram on his tablet. It's a cartoony vibrant diagram with a smiling drawing of him which looks like it was taken from a science museum. Problem is, it's entirely-written in the Pokémon universe's fictional language, meaning that you, as the player, understand nothing about it at all. He does give you a quick rundown on what it apparently says, though.
• Chairman Rose's "incognito" disguise. It's a baseball cap with cheap shades along with a bright-white puffy raincoat and blue polka-dotted shorts which look like Goofy Print Underwear from far away. No one falls for this.
• The "Game Freak Room" in Circhester has a female office worker struggling to play Pokémon GO.
• As demonstrated in its reveal trailer, Cramorant's ability Gulp Missile lets it scoop up an Arrokuda in its mouth after using Surf or Dive, which it can then launch at its opponent the next time it's attacked. This is amusing on its own, but what the trailer didn't show is that, if it's below half health, it'll scoop up a Pikachu instead. The Pokédex entries for this "Gorging Form" sell it.
  Sword Entry: This Cramorant has accidentally gotten a Pikachu lodged in its gullet. Cramorant is choking a little, but it isn't really bothered.
  Shield Entry: The half-swallowed Pikachu is so startled that it isn't struggling yet, but it's still looking for a chance to strike back.
  • The latter is funnier because A: The Pikachu is visibly struggling, and B: Type matchups are on Pikachu's side; it could just use Thunder Shock and solve the problem immediately, but doesn't for whatever reason.
• The Galar region's mandatory water route is confined to just Route 9... which also happens to be one of the region's snow routes. Yes, there are still swimmers present (thankfully not in the water), and yes, they are still wearing nothing but swim trunks and bikinis.
  • Visit a UK coastal town in the winter, and you'll see how accurate this actually is.
  • On one out of the way beach a male swimmer even lampshades how cold it is to his female counterpart, who is apparently unaffected by it and instead brags about how she has her own secret stretch of beach.
  • Despite all the ice and snow there are still beach chairs in the background of battles.
  • One female swimmer, when defeated in battle, claims that she's actually a mermaid and she wants to go back to the ocean.
• After becoming Champion, you learn through two optional events that Aether Paradise has taken two hits earlier after at least one Beast Ball was leaked to the Stow-on-Side market and someone stole files which allowed Galar scientists to create their own Type: Null, which someone decided to send to you as a gift at the Battle Tower. The Gym Challenge helper waiting for you to pick it up was thinking of using an Electric Memory on it to downsize her electric bills.
• If you try to use a move that is based on weight against a Dynamax Pokémon, the move will fail. However, the game won't just tell you that the move has no effect, it has to tell you that your Pokémon just refuses to use it at all.
  [Trainer]'s [Pokémon] shook its head. It seems like it can't use this move...
• Spinning and posing can elicit several reactions from wild Pokémon if they're watching you. Some will attack faster, others will imitate you, and still others will just turn around and leave like they're embarrassed.
• Some of the Gigantamax Pokémon have truly silly designs. Alcremie^note "The Wedding Cake", Gengar^note "The Tunnel Of Love", Snorlax^note "The Sleepy Forest", and Meowth^note "Longcat" are top of the list.
  • Speaking of Meowth, its cry when it activates Gigantamax has it shouting "MEOW MEOW MEOW!!!"
  • Gigantamax Pikachu's cry is just it saying the first syllable of its name. Yeah.
  • When Duraludon Gigantamaxes, it turns into a skyscraper. And you thought Dragon-types couldn't get weirder. Even funnier when you realize that you're pretty much pummeling the opposition with The Shard.
  • Gigantamax Inteleon's design, especially compared to the other two starters. Cinderace? Rides around on a sentient Pyro Ball (and gains extremely long ears). Rillaboom? Gets a drum tree as opposed to a drum stump. Inteleon, on the other hand, gets an incredibly long tail that it uses as a sniper's nest...and a gun. It looks like it's 60% tail, 30% gun, and only ten percent of the damned thing is the actual Inteleon. Joker's neutral special comes to mind...
• It is possible for Shedinja to appear in a Max Raid Battle. As soon as the battle starts, it erects an eight-bar barrier. The catch is that the barrier does nothing to prevent from one super-effective hit from knocking it out.
• Magikarp is known as a rather pathetic Pokémon that can't really learn that many powerful moves. But these generations introduced Hydro Pump as a Technical Record — and yes, it's the only Water-type move that Magikarp can learn. It's more noticeable when you see NPC trainers use it during Max Raids — for once, an NPC's Magikarp does NOT know Splash, but does know Hydro Pump! The funnier part is, this actually makes said NPC more desirable as a partner than a few other NPCs.
• The description for a plain instant-ramen curry.
  When the instant noodles and the curry were combined, they became exactly what you’d expect—junk food.
• After Sonia comes looking for you at Turffield Stadium in the post-game, you can choose to either tell her exactly what happened there or exaggerate what happened. Choose the latter, and your character apparently tells Sonia that the stadium was completely destroyed by a Dynamax Pokémon. While the two of you are standing right in front of said stadium, which is very obviously not destroyed. And she buys it for a second.
• This exchange near the end of the post game is quite chuckle-worthy, especially with Sonia's cute mannerisms.
  Sonia: Ahhh! No fair. You two are so young and cute. I'm tearing up.
  Hop: Sonia! Getting a bit weepy in your old age, eh?
  Sonia: What?! I'm still young and super energetic!
• The Running Gag with Piers completely freaking out about Marnie getting in trouble by Sordward and Shielbert's attempts to Dynamax wild Pokémon at stadiums with Power Spots. He has to be reminded constantly that Spikemuth doesn't have a Power Spot to have Dynamax battles.
• Dynamax/Gigantamax Pokémon replace the animations for all moves with simpler ones, differing by type, when they get hit. Is the ammunition hocked up by Cramorant subject to this treatment? Nope! The Arrokuda/Pikachu lodged in its gullet just boops the enormous Pokémon on the midsection. Complete with the comical "WHAP" sound it makes when it normally hit. And this still removes a quarter of the Dynamax Pokémon's HP.
• Being able to attack and KO Hop's Pokémon after he steps in to assist you might be a very mean thing to do. But the fact that he doesn't even complain about it really shows how upbeat and oblivious he is to your personal opinion of him.
• Sword has a delightfully snarky Pokédex entry for Blipbug:
  A constant collector of information, this Pokémon is very smart. Very strong is what it isn't.
• The very first time you cross the Route 5 Bridge and reach the eastern end, you'll see an Eldegoss spinning through the air for several feet before going idle upon landing. Eldegoss, for its part, seems remarkably unperturbed. Wonder how often that happens?
• Some of the dialogue coming from the Battle Tower participants is so unexpected it can induce hysterical laughter:
  Office Worker: I AM A ROBOT IN HUMAN GUISE. I WILL DEEPEN MY TIES WITH POKÉMON.
• For as epic as it is to catch Eternamax Eternatus, from the epic music that plays to the Gigantic Pokémon actively resisting capture, hearing the usual *click* that comes after is... underwhelming to say the least.
• With the moves that Dynamaxed Pokémon use, what does the Ghost-type move Max Phantasm and its variants do? Summon furniture and fling them at the target!
  • Similarly, the Rock-type Max Move, Max Rockfall. The user summons a giant slab of rock which kind of just topples over onto the target in a decidedly Looney Tunes-esque fashion.
• On Route 10, there's a Gentleman in the final stretch who can't be skipped. He has a Galarian Darmanitan, which is very strong, especially with its ability, Gorilla Tactics, which is effectively a built in Choice Band. However, it can lock itself into Taunt and not be able to make use of that Attack — and he probably will if you have out something that resists Ice.
• If your Pokémon has fainted during a Max Raid Battle, your only option is to Cheer. This can also damage shields the boss throws up. If the Pokémon's shield is on its last hit point whilst itself being at critical HP, you can essentially take down a gigantic Kaiju just by yelling at it.
• After defeating Gordie or Melony, Hop suggests that he feels strong enough to wrestle a Bewear. As much as we would love to see Hop wrestle a Bewear — mainly because seeing a small, skinny, easily breakable human like Hop wrestling an enormous Bewear would, admittedly, be utterly hilarious — a warning for those reading. Don't — it will not end well.
• Hop's animation when he throws his Gigantamax Poké Ball shows him stumbling, flailing his arms to regain his balance.
• Leon's Rare League Card mentions a reason he likes the Battle Tower: "because it's impossible to get lost inside."

DLC: The Isle of Armor

• The Nintendo Direct Mini trailer for the DLC has Slowpoke running. The very idea of something with the word "slow" in its name running is definitely worth a few laughs.
  • The DLC proper expands on this: After Mustard accepts you into his dojo, either Avery or Klara will complain that you got a uniform but they didn't. Mustard obliges and gives them their uniform (complete with the Item Get! jingle)... only for a trio of Slowpoke to yoink it from them, thus Letting the Air out of the Band. The three Slowpoke then bolt outside like Zubat outta the Distortion World! Not only that, but they prove to be just as fast in battle as in the field.^Explanation These Slowpoke start the battle at +6 Speed.
• Smoke-Poke Tails are darkly humorous enough with them being Slowpoke tails used for curry, but with the introduction of both forms of Slowpoke and their evolutions, it's possible to invoke some Black Comedy Cannibalism.
• After getting a taste of Max Soup, Mustard explains its special properties, leading the player character to excitedly believe that they feel Dynamax power welling up within them, provoking one of the game's few unprompted spoken sentences from them. The Dynamax aura even shimmers a bit when they ask about it, only for Mustard to correct them that no, that's not actually happening.
• Before the 3rd trial against either Avery or Klara, Mustard can be seen meditating on the couch. Until one looks properly, the TV is on and in the hands of Mustard's are actually Nintendo Switch remotes.
• As Mustard is playing Pokémon Quest which we can see on his TV, the player can sit down on the couch. Instead of facing forward, the player character’s head is tilted. He/She is watching Mustard playing the game.
• Kubfu's introductory cutscene has it doing tons of flashy martial art moves.... until it catches sight of the player, which causes it to run behind Mustard's leg and hide.
• You have the option to use your Watts to buy amenities for the dojo, a Rotomi being one of them. The catch? The hardware and software are sold separately.^note Possibly a Take That! at DLC in general, combined with some Self-Deprecation and Hypocritical Humor.
  Honey: They're simply trying to gouge us for more Watts! Of all the greedy, conniving business practices!
• Once you donate enough Watts, Honey will install a new fridge that has daily ingredient deliveries and allows you to take as much as you want... within reason, of course. If you try to take too many ingredients in one day, Honey will yell at you for opening the fridge too many times and wasting electricity.
• As you donate more Watts to the dojo, Honey eventually tries to reward you by calling up famous trainers from other regions to come and battle you. Only to find that apparently Galar is too far away for them to just up and drop by. So Honey herself decides to battle you, eventually revealing that she's actually on par with Mustard as a trainer.
  • Before you can even fight Honey, someone rudely enters the field. It's the guy who was supposed to enter the Master Dojo, but chickened out and gave you his place when the rival came along. As it turns out, the guy had attended some form of cheap belt mill, and decided to fight you to see which dojo was better. Honey doesn't take well to the Master Dojo being insulted, and fights the guy off-screen (with some nasty sound effects and silly music telling you how badly it went). Honey then attempts to persuade the dude to train properly with the other students, but her wording made it sound like she was going to torture him. The washed-out trainer immediately flees, much to Honey's disappointment.
• After defeating Mustard in one of the two towers, he says that even Leon was never able to complete it due to... you guessed it, not being able to find either tower.
  • One of the Dojo Students also tells the tale, adding that while looking for the towers, Leon somehow managed to make his way back to Postwick. Keep in mind, he was on an island, and Postwick is on the mainland!
• Hop literally slurps Applin juice off of the player character's hair. It makes only somewhat more sense in context. The fact that the screen cuts to black while Hop does this just makes the scene even weirder!
• Once you get permission to have them follow you, you find that your Pokémon are just as fast or slow as they are in camp, with some emphasis on the slow. Many can't keep up with you if you move faster than a slow walk, and some, like Meltan and Snom, can't even manage that; but darn it if they aren't determined to try! (Fortunately, they'll warp to you if you get too far away from them, though they'll wait until you reach land again if you try to cross the sea with a Pokémon that can't fly or swim.)
  • When strolling with Pokémon, if you turn to look to the side and stay still for a couple of seconds, your Pokémon will turn to face that way as well with a question mark over its head, as if wondering what you're looking at. If you then run off in another direction, it'll get surprised and it'll take a second for it to come after you. In other words, you can essentially prank your Pokémon by pulling a Look Behind You on them. And yes, it works on Legendary Pokémon as well.
• The Alolan Diglett Trainer will give you progressively better rewards for finding his Diglett, from Alolan Meowth to Alolan Marowak all the way to the Alolan starters, all of them with their Hidden Abilities. What's the reward for finding all of them? An Alolan Diglett.
• As Incineroar’s formerly unique Secret Art Darkest Lariat can now be learnt by other Pokémon, the lack of a special animation like Incineroar’s makes the user spin around in a hilariously-ridiculous manner, such as Single-Strike Urshifu spinning around in mid-air.
• The Isle of Armor has a rare encounter of a huge Wailord in the overworld, which had fans enthusiastic about Wailord finally being properly sized in the 3D games. Once you battle it, however, it's... as usual, smaller than the player.
• The side of Klara's common League Card◊ is conspicuously distorted, suggesting that she tried to digitally alter it.

DLC: The Crown Tundra

• Peony in general. He's a bombastic and hilarious explorer who also names the explorations really over the top names which fly towards the screen.
  • The legends he centers the Adven-tour around? He made them up based on what he saw on TV!
  • He considers anything he can put his head on to take a nap a pillow, including a slab of wood that happens to be part of the village's prized statue he found outside.
    • When he first declares the player to be his expedition chief, the player themselves, with what looks like an utterly forced smile, turns their head to the camera as if to say, "What have you gotten me into?"
  • When the Mayor fails to remake the Reins of Unity, Peony immediately barges in complaining about the hot water in his house shutting off, then after being told what's happening, he instantly makes the Reins of Unity after the Mayor sings a song about how it was apparently made. When you both leave the Mayor's house, he tells you about him in the shower when the hot water shut off, which scared him to the point where he apparently forgot to put on his underwear.
  • Reporting to him about catching Regirock causes him to note how much it looks like Gym Leader Milo.
  • Reporting to him about catching Registeel has him think it looks a lot like a bowling ball.
  • Reporting to him about catching Regidrago has him compare its appearance to that of a giant clothespin.
  • Reporting to him about catching the Kantonian Moltres makes him think it's the Galarian variant (or "imposter Moltres" as he calls the variant) with a fever.
• After finishing your first Dynamax Adventure, you emerge to find Peony flat on his back, having tripped and hit his head. When he mentions he was trying to see if his daughter was hiding behind some rocks, the scientist gatekeeping the area asks if his daughter is a Rolycoly.
• When the player encounters the Galarian Legendary Birds, the three are shown battling each other for a bit before they suddenly stop and turn towards the player. Why? Because the Rotom Phone went off. It's not like the player character was hiding either; Zapdos outright runs right past them to battle Moltres, so it's more like it was the sound of the Rotom Phone itself that bothered them and ruined the mood of their battle, rather than the player's presence.
  • The cherry on top is the player's expressions. First, they're annoyed as they grab the Rotom Phone, then it switches to "Oh, Crap!" as they turn towards the birds.
    • Initially, the Rotom Phone tries to avoid getting grabbed. When it does, it expresses disappointment.
  • The expressions on the birds' faces just scream "Excuse me, who the hell do you think you are?"
  • The way Zapdos moves in general. It's like the Road Runner!
    • Gets even more hilarious when you chase it in the Wild Area, with its constant running forcing you to take up the role of Wile E. Coyote.
    • In addition, its Shiny palette, while reminiscent of the original Zapdos, makes it bear more than a passing resemblance to a Chocobo, especially with the running.
• Calyrex has a really hilarious personality, as shown when it possesses Peony to speak.
  • If told that the local t-shirt of Calyrex is what would help bring their steed back, Calyrex then complains about how horrible it looks, stating that a poor facsimile of their image would send their steed running.
  • When the player finds some carrot seeds to help finds its steed, Calyrex finds it extremely fantastic and begins gushing about the invention of a seed packet in the same tone of someone reacting to super-advanced technology.
  • After planting the carrot seeds, Calyrex does a goofy dance to make it grow, which even the possessed Peony does.
• When asking around if anyone remembers Calyrex, asking the old woman sitting outside of a house causes her to say this:
  Old Woman: Oh dear, I'm sorry. I'm rather busy doing nothing right now.
• After you first meet Calyrex and it tries to speak with you, Peony pops up after hearing the two of you battle. His reaction to seeing Calyrex?
  Peony: WHAT A MASSIVE NOGGIN!
• After finishing all of Peony's legendary Pokémon tasks and meeting him in the Max Lair, he talks about having more time to spend with his daughter. Her expression says it all.◊
  • And before that is even more hilarious. Nia finally decides to go exploring with her dad only for him to present a golden explorer suit for her to wear. She immediately bails, even comparing the suit to a disco ball.
  • Peony frantically says he'll make up some more Adven-tours for Nia so they can explore together. Naturally, Nia is baffled at the implication that all the other Adven-tours were made up.
• Peony has something to say about any legendary Pokémon you show him, and his remarks tend to be as amusing as they are positive. For instance, he notes the Galarian legendary birds don't look or feel like the versions he expected (implying he is touching them as he talks), but always adds that some feature of them makes them "close enough" to bear the name. If shown Mewtwo, he remarks it seems "docile" and that he's sure its frown hides a kind heart. He considers the Tapus to be on vacation and wonders about their family letting them go so far away from home.
  • If you show him Tapu Bulu in particular, he'll wonder if it's noticed that "its horns have gone through its hat" and whether he should say something about it.
• You can shake the great Dyna tree; at first, due to the great difference in size, you do nothing to even budge it. However, after several tries, you get a level 100 Dynamax Greedent jumping down to attack you.
  • You probably kept going in hopes of getting some special berries. You don't necessarily get any berries you couldn't get elsewhere (though some of them are kinda rare), but you do get a lot of them. The game tells you that they were knocked down by the aftershocks of the battle, but considering the Greedent's "I got hit" animation involves berries falling out of its tail, you can't help but wonder how many of those berries were being carried in its massive tail and got knocked out of it during the fight.

DLC: The Galarian Star Tournament

• Choosing Opal as a partner means the player is forced to wait for her to get from one point to another.
  • Even if the player did not choose Opal, should their next pair involve facing Opal, the waiting game remains in play.
• Several of the team matchups can result in funny dialogue between two teammates.
  • If Hop and Bede are on opposing teams, it seems Bede still hasn't had enough of antagonizing Hop:
    Bede: I should hope you're at least a little bit stronger now, Mr. Wannabe Professor Hop.
    Hop: Gah! Do you ever quit it with the attitude?! Guess I'll show you everthing I've learned!
  • If Opal and Bede are on opposing teams, Bede accidentally pushes his Fairy-type mentor a bit too much:
    Bede: I'll show them the results of your training, old la—I mean, Ms. Opal!
    Opal: Almost called me an old lady again, didn't you? Maybe I need to adjust that attitude a bit more.
  • Opal has this to say to Piers:
    Opal: Do your best, young Piers. Or I'll...Play Rough.
    Piers: (horrified) Yeah, I've gotta pass on that. I don't think I could handle havin' an 88-year old Play Rough.
  • Klara and Mustard:
    Klara: All eyes on me, Master! I'll show you that I'm both cute AND strong!
    Mustard: This should be fun! But I'm not planning on letting you steal the spotlight for strength or adorableness!
  • Klara and Marnie:
    Klara: Team Supercute with Klara and Marnie! Everyone's gonna be head over heels for us!
    Marnie: (blushes slightly) I-I'unno about cute or anythin'... But sendin' 'em head over heels works for me!
  • Melony and Allister, especially if Hop's your partner:
    Melony: Well, just look who we're up against! Now, Champion, no hard feelings when we win!
    Allister: I...I'm not so g-great with Multi Battles...
    Melony: Allister! No whining! Now's the time to stand tall—understood?
    Allister: I'll...I'll try my best.
    Hop: Pretty odd team they make, isn't it? Still, they could turn out to be a good combo in their own right...
  • If Avery and Bede are on opposing teams:
    Avery: We mustn't lose to the likes of this lout! He abandoned Psychic types altogether!
    Bede: That's the only reason you made it as the Psychic Gym Leader. You should be thanking me.
    • This is even funnier because Bede still has Galarian Rapidash and Hatterene on his team, both of which are primarily Psychic-types, as well as Gardevoir, which was meant to replace his Duosion and Gothorita alongside Mawile, but still managed to fit his former Psychic-type specialty, anyway.
  • If you're teamed up with Leon, and you face off against Piers and Raihan, you get a special interaction that opens with:
    Piers: We're taking on Leon? Great. Now my partner'll never shut up...
• After winning 15 tournaments, Sordward and Shielbert appear. They admit to have participated in the tournaments too... but always lose in the first round for whatever reason (and you'll see that they do if you paid attention to the two mystery competitors in the bracket).
  • For those that hated those two, you are in for a laugh, because some of the characters don't have a good opinion of those two, especially on how they look. Even your Jerkass rivals can't stand them!
    • If Bede is partnered with Shielbert:
      Shielbert: Now then, my bed-headed partner! Let us comport ourselves as celebrities would!
      Bede: What?! This isn't bed head! That nonsense on your head is worse, anyway!
    • Avery delivers an implied roast when going up against Shielbert:
      Shielbert: Ah, I sense in you celebrity-ness much like that within me!
      Avery: And you yourself are quite elegant... Tell me — do you have a Style Card?
    • Klara perfectly describes what people would think of those two if going up against Sordward:
      Sordward: Ugh, such tacky makeup and outrageous clothing. I see victory in fashion is already mine.
      Klara: Heeey, are you talkin' about me? I'll snap that ridiculous hair of yours in two...

Meta

• At one point in the 24 hour Glimwood Tangle stream, an Impidimp takes a close look at the camera, fogging the screen with its breath. This ends up obscuring a good view of a Galarian Ponyta galloping by.
  • In fact, Impidimp itself is pretty much given the role as a troll by The Pokémon Company, with how it is never officially revealed despite having appeared multiple times in the stream, and despite its appearance in the playable demo. As a result, fans often joked that Impidimp doesn't actually exist and when the game is released it will be nowhere to be found in the game.
  • Even funnier due to Fridge Brilliance: the Dex entries state that Impidimp feeds off negative emotions like anger and frustration, so by deliberately interfering with and obscuring the much-awaited glimpses of new Pokémon, it's basically breaking the fourth wall to feast upon the abundance of frustration from the audience!
• The Pokémon Direct that announced the Expansion Pass in the US ended with Masuda stating "You'll also be able to—" before suddenly getting cut off, trolling the various fans who were clamoring to find out just what they would be able to do. Granted it was a broadcasting hiccup (a segment of the trailer itself looped for some reason, so when the video ended everywhere else in the world it just snapped off), but the timing was far too convenient.
• Even the official Pokémon website can't help taking a shot at "that darn Solrock that won't stop using Cosmic Power".

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