Dark Souls' oppressive and gloomy atmosphere, brutally challenging combat, and frequently bleak narrative may not seem to complement Pokémon's normally cheery and lighthearted tone, but one artist went ahead and put them together anyway, and the result is surprisingly charming.
Artist Saveur Tomato recently took to the Dark Souls subreddit, usually home to memes and dejected posts about especially upsetting losses, to lighten the mood by sharing their crossover art featuring Dark Souls' Siegmeyer of Catarina enjoying some quality time with Farfetch'd, the most delicious Pokémon. Farfetch'd is perched adorably on Siegmeyer's arm, while the knight appears to propose a toast to his avian friend.
Siegmeyer and Farfetch'd might seem like an unlikely duo at first blush, but the two are surprisingly perfect for each other. Siegmeyer is known among Dark Souls fans as the "Onion Knight," and Farfetch'd is never seen without its trusty leek. The humble leek is, in fact, a member of the allium family, just like the onion, making Farfetch'd arguably an honorary cousin to the jolly knight.
Farfetch'd is something of an onion knight itself, actually. When the Pokémon evolves, it becomes Sirfetch'd, a knightly bird with a familiar taste in vegetables. Sirfetch'd's comically large leek sword makes for a fetching companion piece to Siegmeyer's onion-shaped helmet. Between the two of them, they're only a couple of knights away from a very noble soup.
Dark Souls is not the only franchise to be invaded by a seemingly tonally dissonant Pokémon. In June, Reddit user Backfisch85 uploaded a piece of fan art placing a Magikarp in the world of Naruto, where the otherwise useless fish seems to effortlessly slip into its new role as Hokage. A similar piece by Reddit user Maieth puts Studio Ghibli's Ponyo on the back of a Gyarados. Likewise, the Dark Souls series has seen its fair share of unlikely crossovers in fan art. One dedicated fan on Instagram going by the handle of mustakro.art took Dark Souls bosses Ornstein and Smough and placed them in the delightfully colorful and vibrant world of Cuphead. It's a far cry from the abandoned castle of Anor Londo, but they'll still likely see plenty of opportunities to kill unsuspecting players over and over again.
While the world of Pokémon may seem totally at odds with the punishingly difficult and often depressing Dark Souls series, the union of two of gaming's most lovable onion knights makes for a surprisingly effective and adorable piece of fan art.
Source: Reddit