Highlights

  • WarioWare: Move It! is a new release in the WarioWare series with over 200 microgames and a return to the original formula.
  • One microgame in WarioWare: Move It! features a blue bird that resembles Pokemon's Cramorant, but it is actually inspired by a real-life bird called a cormorant.
  • The similarity between the WarioWare cormorant and Pokemon's Cramorant may be a tongue-in-cheek reference due to both games being Nintendo properties.

While it may not be as popular as the famous overalls-wearing plumber's adventures, the WarioWare series has seen its fair share of love over the years and is still going strong with its latest release, WarioWare: Move It. The newer title for Switch is a return to the original formula of the franchise, giving players over 200 microgames to figure out and play as fast as they can. Just like the other bite-sized mini-games that came before it, WarioWare: Move It's microgames feature plants and animals coming out of billiard ball holes, a face-controlled fan, and more.

Among these microgames are typically a bunch of Easter eggs scattered here and there, albeit more recent entries keep them contained within 9-Volt's stage in particular. However, one game found in Orbulon's stage may seemingly get away from this restriction that features a blue bird with a thin beak that likes to catch fish. Some players may feel like this bird is a reference to the Pokemon Cramorant, but things aren't as simple as that.

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How WarioWare: Move It's Cormorant Catch Game Skirts Around Referencing Pokemon

Making use of the "Ba-Kaw" Form in WarioWare: Move It, players will eventually encounter a microgame called Cormorant Catch. In it, players use their bodies to cause a blue bird with green eyes to dip into the water. While the bird is drawn differently across the levels of the game, the general appearance and color of the creature remain the same. It doesn't take much for fans to see a similarity between this cormorant and Cramorant, especially as the first level renders the cormorant in such a way that it could easily be said that it's meant to be the Pokemon at first glance.

Pokemon's Cramorant Wouldn't Exist Without Cormorant

However, the situation between the Cramorant and the cormorant goes much deeper than one might think, as a cormorant is a real-life bird. It is an aquatic bird that has the same features as both blue video game critters, just less pronounced. Considering how similar the names of both birds are, it's clear that Pokemon was inspired by a cormorant to create Cramorant, a blue version of the bird with a more pronounced beak and a habit of swallowing and spitting up anything it comes across in bodies of water.

From there, it's easy to say that the situation could just be a coincidence, with both WarioWare and Pokemon choosing the same color scheme and a similar art style for a cartoony cormorant. However, as WarioWare: Move It has an entire stage dedicated to Nintendo references, and Pokemon is one of Nintendo's properties, this may be a bit more tongue-in-cheek than it seems.

It doesn't take much for fans to see a similarity between this cormorant and Cramorant, especially as the first level renders the cormorant in such a way that it could easily be said that it's meant to be the Pokemon at first glance.

How WarioWare: Move It Could Silently Get Away With Including a Pokemon

While there is still plenty of room for the situation to be coincidental, this actually makes it very possible for Nintendo to get away with this subtle reference through parody. After all, as long as it's called a cormorant, rather than a Cramorant, it's always left up in the air if the WarioWare development team chose the colors and made the sprites look the way they do on purpose. No matter what the circumstances are, it's a very interesting and almost hilarious circumstance to find between Nintendo games, and for Pokemon fans who don't know what a cormorant is prior, researching the similarity will certainly help them learn where the Galarian creature truly came from.