It's... Bidoof Day?

Last I looked at the calendar, it wasn't April 1. Strangely enough, however, that was how it felt like today. By all accounts, today is called (or rather, has been called) "Bidoof Day", which means a heaping helping of all things related to this Pokémon species, which goes by the identifier of Plump Mouse Pokémon and the National Dex number of #399. It's a nice Pokémon species, but that doesn't really explain how this day came about. Instead, it is apparent that it came about at least in part by way of a phenomenon on social media.

I've noted in my rollup of last month's events in Pokémon Go that there exists a "Bidoof phenomenon", and it really is true. Some people or fans talk about Bidoof as if it were godly, even "Legendary". One thing that supports this is the fact that most players of the main series games had in the past utilized Bidoof as an "HM slave", and it works well for this purpose, even with a variety of HMs. The result is that a lowly Pokémon with not much use other than to assist with field moves gets glorified in a rather tongue-in-cheek way to become even more than it is among certain groups of fans.

This popularity has evidently been noticed by Pokémon, and it has been subsequently picked up, resulting in the official declaration of today as "Bidoof Day". The announcement came about on the social media outlets, including Instagram and YouTube, complete with a profile picture switch of the official accounts there to a picture of Bidoof. The well-known and popular merchandise arm of Pokémon, Pokémon Center, also took the opportunity - actually, the day prior, even - to introduce a new clothing line to celebrate this particular day. Even for a jocular phenomenon that turned official, everyone went all out.

As expected, the phenomenon made it into some of the games as well. It becomes obvious that the "Bidoof Breakout" event became the lead-in to and for this day, and to that end, Pokémon Go went all out as well, though the details are quite immense and ought to be reserved for the event rollup due later this month. TCG (in the online client as well as a demonstration with physical cards) and Pokémon Masters EX also have a few special happenings for this oddly special day. The social media phenomenon thus benefits from direct celebrations in the games.

With a minor Pokémon coming out into the limelight on this very day, some happenings are bound to be classified as "weird" ("Bidoofery" being the official adopted term for them). But for an odd phenomenon that has taken a life of its own, that may be par for the course, especially when social media is concerned. For those still doing a double-take into calendars due to the sheer zaniness, the only advice that I can offer is to roll with things as the Bidoof roll in today for the festivities.

So, I guess... Happy Bidoof Day.

One year ago: The First of Us

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Custom Team Keychains

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Four years ago: My Offerings (or, What I Am Not)