One of the most surprising cameos in the Pokémon anime has just taken place, as DUX the Farfetch’d from Pokémon Red & Blue has appeared in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
Farfetch’d was one of the original 151 Pokémon from Pokémon Red & Blue. The only way to acquire one (outside of trading with a friend) was through an in-game trade. In order to get a Farfetch’d, the player needed to travel to Vermillion City and find a girl who wants a Spearow. Once the trade is completed, the player will receive a Farfetch’d named DUX. In the Japanese version of Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, the Farfetch’d is referred to as Osho.
The current season of the Pokémon anime is called Pokémon Journeys in the west and it involves Ash traveling with a boy named Goh, as they use a teleporter to visit each region in the world. In the most recent episode of the anime, Ash and Goh visit a Pokémon Center in order to trade with the other trainers that are there. Once they reach the Pokémon Center, they see an old man trading his Farfetch’d with a girl who has a Spearow. The man refers to the Farfetch’d as Osho, which means that the Pokémon anime has made one of the first in-game trades canon in the series.
The Pokémon franchise has shown a lot of love to the Farfetch’d line in the current generation, with Galarian Farfetch’d being badass versions of the original birds. The line also gained a powerful evolution, in the form of Sirfetch’d. Ash even uses a Galarian Farfetch’d in his current team, suggesting that he will use a Sirfetch’d in what could be his final team in the series.
The most recent episode of the Pokémon anime has only just been broadcast in Japan and it likely won’t be localized for a while, so it’s unclear whether the English localization will keep the reference to the games and finally make DUX a canon part of the series. We hope that they do, as this bird has waited over twenty years for an appearance in the anime – and it deserves its time in the spotlight.
