Pokémon Sword and Shield have been out for a little while now and most fans of the franchise have gotten their chance to play it by now. If not, many are hoping it will be under their Christmas tree next week during the holiday.
We've certainly got a ways to go before a new game comes out. Luckily, there is plenty to do in Sword and Shield to keep even the most passionate players busy for a while. Here are some hilarious memes we've gathered about the games that should be good for a laugh and might even prepare you for what to expect if you haven't gotten a chance to play yet.
Updated by Madison Lennon on February 5, 2020: Now that Pokémon Sword and Shield have been out for several months, we thought now would be the perfect time to revisit this list of hilarious memes people have created based on the game and the many new Pokémon included.
New gamers have had time to come up with their own jokes about various situations and encounters in the game and the internet is overrun with lots of Sword and Shield memes to choose from. We selected a few more that we felt fit in well with the collection and are sure to earn a chuckle or two.
15 Frosmoth Loves Lamps
We all know how much moths love lamps, they're naturally attracted to the light. Well, in the game, there is a Pokémon called Frosmoth that is essentially an Ice-type moth. There is another Pokémon in the game called Lampent, which looks similar to a lamp.
This hilarious image shows a Frosmoth showing interest in a Lampent while at a campsite and as the user who made it pointed out, it looks like a natural case of a moth being attracted to a lamp. The "LAMP," aspect of it is a popular meme in itself.
14 Gigantamax Inteleon Looks Familiar
If you manage to get an Inteleon that can Gigantamax, you can use an awesome move called Snipe Shot. As you can see in the above photo, it shows the Pokémon aiming a gun, like a sniper rifle, from a tall perch.
Many fans found this to be incredibly amusing and they also felt that it looked strangely similar to a popular meme of a cat on top of a cat tree with a shotgun next to it as if it was prepared to take aim at anyone who defied it.
13 When Wild Pokémon Sneak Up On You
Thanks to the new overworld function that exists in Pokémon Sword and Shield after being introduced in the Let's Go games, Pokémon can now approach you at random. That means when you're busy minding your own business, pedaling around to try and make your eggs hatch, a Pokémon might suddenly pop up and surprise you, triggering a battle.
Two of the biggest perpetrators of this are Linoone and Sneasel, who have a tendency to appear out of nowhere, which is why the above meme is particularly hilarious if you think of it in terms of Dwight and Angela from The Office.
12 When You Finally Catch A Shiny Pichu
Hunting for shiny Pokémon is no easy feat, but it's a huge part of playing the games. Most hardcore trainers will sink hours and hours of time into their games to try and catch as many shiny Pokémon as they can.
It's particularly tiresome when you're trying to hatch a shiny since you have to spend time waiting for each egg to hatch. For example, a Pichu. If you've gone through 300 eggs to get a shiny one, once the moment happens where your hard work pays off, it's easy to see why you might react like Michael Scott does in the above meme.
11 So That's How Cramorant Is Made
If you've ever been lucky enough to snag a shiny Cramorant, then you'll recognize that they're a bright orange color, much different from their traditional shade of blue.
This meme pokes fun at an old news story where people thought they'd encountered an exotic orange bird that turned out to be a seagull mysteriously covered in curry. In this case, it looks very similar to the shiny Cramorant, it makes one wonder if Game Freak drew inspiration from the news story.
10 What Solrock Is Like In A Max Raid
People who have been playing a lot of Pokémon Sword and Shield are familiar with max raids. When you enter a max raid in the Wild Area you'll often be paired up with NPC trainers and their Pokémon.
Solrock is commonly used by NPCs and unfortunately, usually does little to help the battle. Even though the stats are generally reset every turn, you'll quickly tire of Solrock using the Cosmic Power move over and over again to little or no effect.
9 I've Only Had Sobble For Ten Minutes
This hilarious meme is based on a quote by Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The scene in question involves Rosa holding a puppy and saying that if anything happens to the animal, she would kill everyone in the room and then herself.
The person who created this meme edited the adorable new starter Pokémon, Sobble in place of the puppy but the sentiment remains the same. Many people are very fond of Sobble and think that it's one of the cutest new Pokémon from Galar.
8 The New Legendary Pokémon Are Adorable
The legendary dog Pokémon from Pokémon Sword and Shield are Zacian and Zamazenta. The version of the game you purchase will decide which of the legendaries you can get at the end.
This meme demonstrates the meme-version of the dogs. The game versions feature one Pokémon that holds a shield and one that holds a sword. Obviously, the photo shows a dog with bread on its face and a dog holding a knife as the real-life version of the animated monsters.
7 Failing A Raid
As we mentioned above, participating in a max raid can be really difficult when you're working with NPCs instead of other real people. Often you'll have your strong Pokémon and a bunch of other useless Pokémon like Solrock and Wobbuffet.
Normally, those Pokémon aren't terrible and can actually have some decent moves but for whatever reason, NPCs like to use stat moves that don't do anything to improve your battle or make it any easier. The meme format is based on a scene from Harry Potter when Professor McGonagall confronts Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
6 Having Fun With Pokémon Sword & Shield
Pokémon Sword and Shield received a lot of backlash from diehard Pokémon fans before the game was even released due to Game Freak's decision to remove the national dex.
There are a lot of fans still disappointed by the removal of so many Pokémon and the fact some of the animations are old and have yet to be updated. However, there is a large number of people who never cared about any of those changes and still enjoy the game immensely just the same.
5 Hatching A Pokémon In Dangerous Territory
People who breed a lot of Pokémon and hatch many eggs know exactly how tiresome it can be to ride around waiting for the eggs to hatch. But what if you happen to be in the Wild Area and have a large Pokémon sneaking up on you in the middle of it hatching.
This meme shows an example of something like that happening. In reality, the egg wouldn't be affected by catching Pokémon in the wild but it's funny to consider the perfect timing of the screenshot taken.
4 Facing Off With Hop Yet Again
Baby Yoda is all the rage right now. The internet is obsessed with just how utterly adorable and cute baby Yoda is and you can't go far on social media without seeing images and memes of the little guy.
He's somewhat comparable to Hop in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Hop is your rival in the game but unlike past rivals, he's genuinely sweet and just wants to do his best. He's always very supportive of you and your journey, it's kind of painful to beat him and his team time and time again.
3 Enough With The Dreepys
Dreepy are one of the hardest and most difficult Pokémon to catch in the game. There is a 1 percent chance of seeing them spawn in the wild, which can change slightly depending on the weather conditions.
Even though the Dreepy is rare, many trainers have amassed tons of them in their hunt to find a shiny Dreepy. That means they end up with a surplus and trade them out in surprise trades. If you do a lot of surprise trades, you'll probably find your own Pokémon box stuffed with them.
2 Dragapult Likes To Toss Its Dreepys
The photo in this meme shows a mother seemingly tossing her baby through the air. It's not clear what the original image was from, but in this context, it's meant to display how Dragapults handle the little Dreepy that hang out in the triangular planes of their head.
Dreepy is the first evolutionary stage of the Dragapult and the Pokémon will shoot them at its opponents like missiles. It's not surprising that the name "Dragapult" rhymes with "catapult."
1 Why Didn't Ball Guy Give Out A Master Ball?
It's harder than usual to get a Master Ball in Pokémon Sword and Shield. You can't get one until you officially beat the game and become the champion. Then you'll receive a Master Ball as a reward for becoming the new champion.
However, it's weird that the game introduces a character whose sole purpose is to give you new Pokémon balls at every gym you go to. Why wouldn't the Ball Guy give you a Master Ball instead of making you wait until after you beat the champion?