Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl continue the long tradition of Pokemon titles iterating slightly on the formula and then remaking older titles. The remake of the much loved fourth generation titles sees players looking for Alakazam, figuring out how to best a certain Purrugly, and worshipping Bidoof.
With both titles being popular on their original release many years ago, The Pokemon Company has put a lot of effort into advertising for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which mostly takes the form of traditional ads. However, there are a few oddball ways to promote the games, including one very special cross-promotion.
There is a cross-promotional video that mixes Pokemon with a Japanese branch of Gold's Gym. Originating in America, Gold's Gym is an international fitness center chain, and the Japanese branch is advertising in a crossover with Pokemon. Specifically, the gym is visited by an enormous, human sized Piplup looking to learn how to bulk up and get stronger, seemingly with the goal of eventually becoming an Empoleon. There are some pretty odd Pokemon challenges out there, like beating Shining Pearl with a single Bidoof, but rarely do they get so physical outside of Pokemon GO.
The promotional video is only available in Japanese, but is readily available on The Pokemon Company's Japanese YouTube channel. It shows a person helping out Piplup at the gym and the viewer by explaining various exercises they can do themselves. Each exercise is explained and then demonstrated, showing which muscles it effects and how it can build strength. After being demonstrated by the man, it is then demonstrated by Piplup, as much as is possible in the costume.
Why exactly Piplup was chosen for this cross-promotion is not entirely clear, especially since it's not exactly a fitness oriented Pokemon. Machop or one of its evolutions might have been the more understandable choice, but definitely not the cutest.
Piplup usually makes for good promotional material due to it being memorable and marketable without usually being a meme, unlike some of gen 4s other popular Pokemon. A giant Piplup plush was also sold as promotional material, so clearly The Pokemon Company is always banking on Piplup's appeal. Whether that gets people into Gold's Gym remains to be seen.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available for the Nintendo Switch.
