The latest trailer for the Pokémon: Let’s Go! games blessed us with idyllic footage of the Kanto region and adorable Pokémon action. The player character cruises around on their Onix, Lapras, and Arcanine. A good Magikarp flops behind its trainer. The player bonds with their partners Pikachu and Eevee. Familiar characters and locations return — catch Brock and Misty in their gyms and Professor Oak in his lab — and new characters and gameplay aspects are revealed.
All in all, the new trailer is enough to make anyone’s heart warm, whether they’re a die-hard Gen-Oner or a Pokémon Go newbie.
But there’s one part of the latest Pokémon title that has fans divided: Eevee’s bangs.
One of the new features in Pokémon: Let’s Go! is the ability to change your partner Pokémon’s hairstyle. Among the options for Pikachu and Eevee presented in the trailer, there was a cute little poof and then ... this bowl cut-esque bangs look.
Oh no.....sweetheart no pic.twitter.com/ttwxkpX8Kj
— ayla (@FourArmsDemon) July 12, 2018
Eevee’s bangs seem to be getting the brunt of the backlash, with reactions ranging from comparisons to various celebrities to more general bang-related prejudice.
why eevee look like the bad guy from fargo though pic.twitter.com/iBHSKUFUO2
— Ashley Oh (@itsashleyoh) July 12, 2018
Eevee, no. "Maybe I should give myself bangs" at 3 AM after you spent the last 5 hours crying about your ex is never a good look.
— Anna (@ALawley) July 12, 2018
theyre either talking about genetics or the beatles either way i hate them both pic.twitter.com/Wfz8EXo9Vi
— steven (@CaptainSnoop) July 12, 2018
is this grimes pic.twitter.com/dEZdCUcLUc
— Adam Moussa (@adamjmoussa) July 12, 2018
Yes, we get it — bangs are very controversial and rarely look good. Bangs are what happen after a messy breakup, when you’re trying to reinvent yourself. Bangs belong to edgy female celebrities dating controversial billionaires. Bangs are the entry-level quirky hairstyle of every wannabe Manic Pixie Dream Girl out there.
But bangs are not as jarring on Eevee as everyone’s making them out to be. Fluffiness has always been part of Eevee’s character design and the variations in hairstyles are only natural. They add a spark of personality and let your Eevee shine the way it’s meant to.
Pikachu with bangs, however, just does not look good.
While, yes, Pikachu is based on a mouse and thus must have some sort of fur on its body, the fluffiness of Pikachu has never been highlighted. Pikachu is a lean, mean, electric-type machine and while it is a cute fellow, it’s very easy to forget that Pikachu has fur.
So seeing bangs on it is more than a little disconcerting.
Pikachu got wine drunk and cut their own hair at 3 am pic.twitter.com/2cvUhT65l9
— Jules (@Julian_Epp) July 12, 2018
Where does the fur begin? Where does it come from? Why are there no other furry points on Pikachu’s body?
This is the type of hair style you give to your Pikachu to ensure it gets bullied by other Pikachu pic.twitter.com/dr5nV9XEhh
— Alex (@TheAuraGuardian) July 12, 2018
— jon (@prasejeebus) July 12, 2018
Pikachu’s hair just doesn’t seem like the type that would even grow out to the length where it could be cut into bangs or given a perm.
Las novedades de ‘Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu’ y ‘Let’s Go Eevee’ en un nuevo tráiler https://t.co/hK9JtpqYK1 pic.twitter.com/9qawocrx0p
— Freed (@FreedMX) July 12, 2018
But divisive internet opinions aside, the hairstyles are all totally customizable options and thus it’s up to each individual trainer to decide if their partner Pokémon is going to try to rock a daring new look.
The looks are new, but the Pokémon have been with us since 1996. So if they want to change up their appearances after some 20 years, we should support these daring fashion steps they’re taking.
Rock on, Eeevee and Pikachu.
Unpopular opinion:
— Kayle (@kaylicocat) July 12, 2018
Pikachu and Eevee look adorable with bangs let them LIVE pic.twitter.com/03hxtGVKRr