Pokémon cosplay

Pokémon cosplay (short for Pokémon costume play), or Pokémon dressup, is the act of dressing up in a costume. This hobby is seen in both the Pokémon canon and among fans.

In the games
In, cosplay is referenced by a in Rock Tunnel. The PokéManiac asks if has heard of costume players. After defeat, he explains that costume players dress up as Pokémon for fun.

Since their introduction in Generation II, male s have been accompanied with their children who are dressed up like or. In Generation IV, these cosplaying children can also be found on their own, called s.

s dress up similar to in Generations  and. In Generation IV, they could be more like.

Fantina's dress is notably inspired by. However, it is considerably different from a typical cosplaying costume.

The Colosseum Leaders in all cosplay as Pokémon. Taylor is dressed as, Marina is dressed as , Rosie is dressed as , Voldon is dressed as , Terrell is dressed as , and Dusty is dressed as. All of these costumes can be and both forms are available for players as well.

In Pokémon Conquest, most of the outfits worn by Warlords, and some of those worn by regular Warriors, incorporate elements of Pokémon designs. Many Rank II Warlord designs could qualify as cosplay, such as those of, Kotarō, and Muneshige.

In, the player can obtain a Cosplay Pikachu, a special female that has five different costumes it can wear, each with their own associated move.

In the anime
of is well-known for dressing up as other Pokémon when needed.

In The Superhero Secret, Mr. Parker's costume as Gligarman is based on a, as is his daughter Latoya's costume as Gligirl. In the same episode, and James dress up as two Metapod.

In the Who's That Pokémon? for the Japanese version of The Bug Stops Here, Jessie turns out to be the subject, cosplaying as a. In the Japanese episodes, Who's That Pokémon? is called Dare da?, or Who is it?, so when the "Pokémon" is revealed and the narrator says "Venomoth", the children shout "Wrong!"

wore a costume in ZigZag Zangoose to help Nicholai figure out how to battle a  using a.

Nicholai is well-known for his cosplaying. He wears the costume of any Pokémon he sends out into or of whatever Pokémon he might be trying to. He has been seen wearing costumes of, , , , , and.

Harley wore clothing that is based on his Cacturne.

,, and entered the Pokémon Dress-Up Contest in All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go. In this contest, however, it was their Pokémon which cosplayed, not themselves, though, Officer Jenny, and Nurse Joy were respectively dressed up as , , and. Ash entered, who did many impressions of other Pokémon. Dawn entered her as a, but lost when he broke character and used a. The winner of the contest was Brock and his, who dressed up as a and continued his impression of one throughout the entire episode.

Bill wore a cosplay in Mystery at the Lighthouse. This costume was used for Bill's research.

wore a Piplup cosplay in her dream in Malice in Wonderland!.

In YEAH!, an ending for Pokémon Sunday, cosplayers are dressed up as a and.

On its own, Pokémon Sunday, and its Generation V successor, Pokémon Smash! has some of its hosts dress up as Pokémon. Sunday had and, while Smash! has  and.

In Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!, Jimmy Ray wears a costume.

In The Mighty Accelguard to the Rescue!, Charles (as the Mighty Accelguard) has a costume based on, Dr. Ferrara (as Cryogonal Man) wears a mask, and Dr. Ferrara's henchmen both wear costumes based on.

In Climbing the Tower of Success!, a portion of the Wishing Bell Festival contest required those who made it through to the round to dress up. The Trainer had to dress up as important Unova figure while their Pokémon dressed up as the Pokémon used by the figure. ,, and Stephan dressed up as Alder, Professor Juniper, and Nurse Joy, respectively. Ash's Pikachu, Iris's Axew, and Stephan's in turn dressed up as, , and , respectively. Ricky was to dress up as Officer Jenny while his was to dress up as  but Elgyem used its Psychic powers to manipulate 's mind into thinking they were dressed up. Lastly, dressed up as Elesa and  dressed up as. However, they did not pass to the next round because Cilan could not remember his lines.

In Clash of the Connoisseurs!, in Ricard Nouveau's fantasy there was a and standing next to her was a young woman cosplaying one.

In A Pokévision of Things to Come!, wore a  cosplay for filming her Pokévision video.

There were multiple cosplays during the Gourgeist Festival in A Festival Trade! A Festival Farewell?, including: Ash as a, Ash's Pikachu as a , Serena as a ,  as a Watchog,  as a , Clemont's Dedenne as a , Clemont's Chespin as a Pikachu, Jessie as a , James as a , Meowth as a , Jessie's Wobbuffet as a  and James's Inkay as a Pikachu.

Samson Oak wore an costume in The Guardian's Challenge!.

In the Pokémon RéBURST manga
While cosplay doesn't officially appear in most Pokémon manga, there is a technique based on Pokémon cosplay in the Pokémon RéBURST manga called Burst. Unlike usual Pokémon cosplay, the Burst techniques are used for battle purposes.

Pokémon.com
When it was relaunched in January 2010, Pokémon.com added a Pokémon Trainer Club, where players play games and earn coins to buy clothing at a Trainer store, some of which are Pokémon costumes.

In the fandom
Like most anime, manga, and video game fandoms, is common within the Pokémon fandom. Most fans will dress up as human characters from the and  such as, , female generational protagonists , , or , Officer Jenny, or Nurse Joy. Many females as either Ash or James because of their youthful male looks, commonly known in Japan as , or "bishie" for short in English. Still, it is far from unheard of for fans to dress up in costumes of their favorite Pokémon species, especially if it is in the kigurumi or gijinka style of cosplay. ' is basically a hooded coverall pajama jumpsuit disguise of a character like, while a ' (also called "moe anthropomorphism") is a human form of a species. Because of the popularity of Pikachu as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, many young women dress in a style of dress at conventions.

Cosplay Pokémon ポケモンコスプレ