The gays are debating the queerest Pokémon thanks to this viral TikTok

The Pokémon franchise may only offer scraps when it comes to canon queer representation (we’re looking at you, trans trainer Nova from Pokémon X and Y), but that doesn’t stop the world from feeling tailor-made for the gays. Colorful monsters with whimsical superpowers? Things don’t get much queerer than that.

But among the more than 1,000 Pokémon across the franchise, there’s still a spectrum of super fruity to super straight (with an ally or two in the middle). But which pocket monsters fall where?

That’s the question influencer Cody Alan (@codyaf_) brought to TikTok after a controversial encounter in the gym.

“I feel like if you get it, you get it; if you know, you know,” Alan said to kick off his viral video. “I was at the gym and there was this guy, and he was delicious. And his water bottle had a Wooper on it. You know, the Pokémon? Gen 2?”

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Wooper, for the uninitiated, is a water and ground type Pokémon who bears a resemblance to an axolotol — minus any arms.

“That, to me, said that he was homosexual,” Alan continued. “But I’m telling my friends and instead they’re like, ‘No, why would Wooper’ — Wooper is queer. I don’t — if you have a Wooper on your water bottle, you’re light in the loafers. You’ve got sugar in your tank. I don’t make the rules.”

@codyaf_

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♬ original sound – codyaf_

Alan’s assessment of Wooper as an unequivocally queer figure ignited a conversation in the Pokémon fandom, starting with whether or not Wooper actually is a gay calling card. 

Some folks were on Alan’s side: “Wooper threw the first brick at Stonewall,” wrote one commenter. “Without arms,” added another.

“I heard Wooper makes a mean oatmilk latte,” agreed a third.

Most people seemed to agree: Wooper is a certified gay icon. “It’s like the same as having a Gaga sticker,” one commenter quipped.

But the discourse also prompted folks to consider the straightest possible Pokémon — the anti-Wooper, if you will. Naturally, people landed on what many would consider the most basic choice for a favorite Pokémon: Charizard.

“If it was Charizard I’d get it? But Wooper? Straight???” marveled one commenter.

“Charizard is the Ryan Reynolds of Pokémon,” chimed in another. “That’s some straight man bs.”

A third commenter expanded the straight energy to a whole Pokémon typing: “If it’s a fire-type or Pikachu you have kids at home.”

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Others mused on what Pokémon might signal bisexuality. “Does Bulbasaur give bi energy?” asked one commenter, earning a resounding yes.

“Me a bi guy sitting next to my sleeping bulbasaur plush,” confirmed a bi person in the replies.

Another commenter expanded the discussion from sexuality to gender, adding, “Bulbasaur gives either bisexual or nonbinary energy to me.”

Wooper, Charizard, and Bulbasaur may loom large in the Pokemon canon, but with hundreds of other Pokémon to pick from, there’s no doubt an icon for every letter in the LGBTQ+ acronym. Which queer Pokémon icons are folks still missing?