The latest Pokémon battle game, "Pokémon Champions," has officially launched, drawing in tons of players. While reviews are a bit mixed right now, it's definitely one of the hottest topics in gaming.
Former Japanese figure skating world champion Shoma Uno has fully embraced the gaming world since retiring. He often streams his gameplay, interacting with fans, and recently, a clip of him playing "Pokémon Champions" went viral.
Here's the kicker: during his playthrough, his Meowscarada used the move "Triple Axel" (トリプルアクセル). Whether it was bad luck or just a fluke (the move actually has a 90% accuracy rate!), it completely missed. Uno's reaction? He immediately quipped, "That's it, switch! I'll do it myself!"
The hilarious part is that the move "Triple Axel" is a direct nod to the figure skating jump of the same name. So, seeing a Pokémon "fail" a Triple Axel right in front of a real-life world champion figure skater created a truly iconic moment. Uno's comment instantly blew up online.
Fans couldn't get enough, with comments like, "His words hit different!" "Okay, when someone of his caliber says it, I believe him," "Seriously, only someone who can actually land a triple axel has the right to say that," and "Is this what they mean by the trainer stepping in when the Pokémon can't hack it? LOL."
Naturally, this led to some amazing fan art on X, depicting the battle where trainer Shoma Uno himself steps in to perform the "Triple Axel" (トリプルアクセル)...
Shoma Uno is already known as a hardcore gamer, so it's no surprise that his witty crossover of gaming and his professional sport went viral. Guess sometimes, the trainer really is more reliable than the Pokémon! XD