The Pokemon series is celebrating 25 years since the first two games released in Japan back in 1996, and the franchise has come a long way since its early days. With all the news for Pokemon games that came in 2021, the release of New Pokemon Snap, and the future release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, there was no better time to celebrate Bidoof Day than on July 1. Pokemon trainers and fans of the games may not know that Bidoof is similar to Schroedinger's Cat, in the sense that this goofy beaver is both considered a god-tier Pokemon, and also a critter only useful to learn and then use several HMs, but this is all part of the memes.
As a matter of fact, Bidoof was always considered to be an awful Pokemon ever since its introduction because of how derpy it looks to some, and its underwhelming move set. However, this was not always the case, with some Diamond and Pearl trainers finding a way to make Bidoof a great choice under the right circumstances. When paired with the generation 5 Hidden Ability, Moody, Bidoof gets a two-stage buff to evasion, thus making this wacky beaver very hard to hit. Regardless of the perception of Bidoof, this Pokemon has become iconic.
Bidoof Day, Pokemon Memes, and Pokemon Games Events to Celebrate
The memes concerning Bidoof within the Pokemon community have finally been acknowledged, and many Pokemon games had treats up and ready for players to claim them on this special occasion. For example, Pokemon Masters Ex was among the first to lead the charge with some nice Bidoof-ery starting on June 30, with Bidoof handing players a total of 400 free gems, which is Bidoof's Pokedex number plus one. This is merely the tip of the iceberg though, as there were many more events planned for Bidoof Day across several official Pokemon media.
In Pokemon Trading Cards GameOnline, players are able to obtain special Bidoof-themed gadgets up until July 7, including a deck box, card sleeves, and a coin to determine the player set to go first at the beginning of a match. Then, there's "Bidoof's Big Day," an episode from season 10 of the Pokemon anime, which is free to watch for now on the official Pokemon website. This cute episode features a village of Bidoof threatened by a Steelix on a rampage, because of Team Rocket mistakenly spearing the wild Steelix's head with a spade, and so the Bidoof have to cooperate to save the day.
Last but not least, the celebration went on in Pokemon GO as well, where a new event called Bidoof Breakout started on June 25 and ended through July 1. In contrast with what the common beliefs are about Bidoof having a bad move set, Pokemon GO introduced a few variants of this funny-looking critter to catch on different days, allowing collectors to have all three variants at once:
The first variant was available from June 25-June 26, and Bidoof came with Shadow Ball. The second ran from June 27-June 28, and Bidoof had Thunderbolt among its available moves. Lastly, from June 29-June 30, players could catch a Bidoof with Ice Beam. However, players who didn't manage to find some spare time to catch these unique Bidoof variants don't need to fret, as the Pokemon will be able to learn all three moves through Elite Charged TM.
That's not all though, because the Bidoof found during this event also came with Superpower, and spawn at an incredibly high rate in the wild. During the event, players were also able to catch shiny versions of Bidoof at higher rates, while also being able to partake in the exclusive Bidoof Cup, with teams comprising only of Bidoofs. Overall, the event was quite a hit, and it bodes well for next year's as well.
Bidoof in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
With Bidoof Day now being an official thing, there's plenty to talk about when it comes to the Generation 4 remakes, which means Bidoof may see some changes when Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl finally release. This could be a great opportunity for the long-anticipated remakes to be faithful to the original, as they seem to be thus far, while also seizing the opportunity to make something more out of areas that could need some improvement. As such, Bidoof would be a great starting point, with the Pokemon hopefully coming with a move set that is more diverse than that of the original Pokemon Diamond and Pearl version.
In fact, the moves from Pokemon GO's Bidoof Breakout event could be a very nice addition to those of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and ShiningPearl's base version of Bidoof, and perhaps its evolution, too. Players have been imagining a mega evolution for Bidoof or Bibarel for years now, and with the addition of Gigantamaxing it only seemed plausible that Pokemon Sword and Shield would feature a bigger and better version of Bidoof. Instead, what happened is that Pokemon Sword and Shield ended up not including the beaver Pokemon at all, which is a first since Generation 4, back when Bidoof was first introduced.
Whether Bidoof will be available to be caught in the next installment of the series, Pokemon Legends:Arceus, remains to be seen since the regional Pokedex for the game has yet to be revealed. Still, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl pose a great chance for players who like Bidoof to catch and train one. Who knows, maybe the Pokemon Company has some surprise up its sleeve.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released on November 19, 2021, for Switch.