WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #39, by Evan Stanley, Bracardi Curry, Matt Herms, Maria Keane and Shawn Lee, on sale now.
In the latest issue of IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, it seems that even the villainous Dr. Eggman may be excited by the release of New Pokemon Snap, with an unexpected reference to the Pokemon franchise. A new kind of badnik bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the franchise's most recognizable creatures, with an interesting origin too.
In the previous issue, Sonic, Tails and Amy went to explore a mysterious tower that had suddenly appeared. When they ventured inside, they soon discovered it was a testing ground for Eggman's creations. This wasn't just any testing ground though, this one was a physics-bending maze completely under the mad inventor's control.
When Eggman discovered that Sonic and friends had made it into the depths of his facility, he was surprisingly delighted. He revealed he relished the opportunity to show the blue blur what this strange place was really for. The place where Sonic and co. are currently trapped isn't for testing the standard badniks -- it's for testing Eggman's most experimental creations. Eggman sees Sonic's intrusion as the ultimate test for his new creations. The previous issue ended with Sonic, Tails and Amy facing off against a seemingly endless army of these super badniks.
This issue opens with the production line that churns out this neverending onslaught of unseen monstrosities. Tangle the Lemur and Belle the Tinkerer look on as Eggman's comical companions, Orbot and Cubot, operate a slot machine-inspired contraption. The machine pumps out various badnik hybrids, whose random designs are decided by the machine, more powerful than the standard models whose parts they're constructed from.
One badnik that emerges from the machine looks all too familiar. This badnik is a rather pathetic-looking fish creature that can do nothing more than wriggle about on the conveyer. The badnik bears an uncanny resemblance to the fish Pokemon Magikarp. Orbot isn't impressed, Cubot on the other hand says that it may get a hit in if it "flails extra hard." This reference makes it even more apparent that this is essentially a badnik version of Magikarp. Clearly, it's as effective as one too, with Cubot referencing Magikarp's rather useless move "flail."
That's not the only Pokemon reference from Eggman this issue though. On the very next page, Eggman references Sonic, Tails and Amy having to "weedle" out of his traps within the facility. Weedle of course being another Pokemon, an adorable worm-like companion from Gen 1. Weedle also bears a striking resemblance to another of Eggman's creations -- his badnik sandworm. The string of spheres making up the body of the badnik bears an uncanny resemblance to the body of Weedle too.
Pokemon-themed badniks are the least of Sonic's worries however, as during their escape they encounter another shot of nostalgia, this time solely from the Sonic universe. Sonic must face off against the final boss of the Sonic story from the Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure -- the Egg Viper. However, once that's defeated, three more entirely new variations of the same machine emerge. It seems that, for now, Eggman's Pokemon-themed badniks will have to wait in line to take a crack at the fastest thing alive.