It’s election year in America, which means that people tend to keep a sharp eye out for anything that might in any way be related to U.S. politics. Case in point – when the Pokémon Yungoos and later its evolution Gumshoos were revealed to the public for the first time, many noted that its golden hairdo made it bare a striking resemblance to Republican nominee Donald Trump. But when asked by Game Informer about the similarities, Pokémon Sun & Moon producer Junichi Masuda denied that the two Pokémon were based on the billionaire.
“It’s a very American-centric question I think,” said Masuda, “and actually a lot of people sent me comparison photos on Twitter pointing out the resemblance. But we had started the design of this Pokémon a long time back, and we didn’t have any intention to make it look like Donald Trump.”
It’s certainly believable that the designs of Yungoos and Gumshoos came long before Trump’s rise to political prominence. But certain elements of its description both help the theory (the Pokémon are described as having terrible tempers) and hinder it. (They’re also stated immigrants to Alola, and Trump’s opinion on such people are well known and well documented.) We’ll have to wait until we know everything about the species (Do they specialize in the move Barrier?) before we can draw any conclusions, but it seems safe to assume that the resemblance is a mere coincidence.
Note: We here at Nintendo Wire remain apolitical at this time and at all times, because we write about… video games. While such issues are of course touchy in such a dramatic election year, this article was not intended to endorse or deride a particular candidate.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
