'Pokemon' Anime Shares Sneaky 'Gundam' Easter Egg

Pokemon fans have been loving the latest iteration of the anime series as it's gotten a real shot in the arm with Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon. Ever since the series shifted over to a fluid new style, it's been having a lot more fun.

A lot of this fun includes references to other big anime properties the staff sneaks into the series, and the latest episode features a surprise Easter Egg from one of the most popular Mobile Suit Gundam series, Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

As captured by @Story_terrorV2 on Twitter, the latest episode saw the newest incarnation of Team Rocket's mecha weapon, the "Nyavil Oniarth," a pun ladden take on G Gundam's Devil Gundam. Much like in G Gundam when the Devil Gundam absorbed Neo Tokyo toward the end of its series, it became a twisted "Ultimate Gundam" that had the same form as the mecha shown here. The Devil Gundam rested on top of a much larger head, with many robotic tentacles attacking its enemies.

In Pokemon, the mech acts in the same way with Meowth-bearing tentacles catching many of Ash's and the others Pokemon. The kicker? Meowth is controlling the mech in the same way pilots did in G Gundam. In that series the Gundam Fighters mirrored the movements of its pilots tied into small wristbands tethered by electricity, and Meowth hilarious does the same here.

Before this moment as well, Team Rocket had a much more dramatic twist on their introduction paralleling G Gundam's operatic characters. This was a fun take on a classic series, and now fans will be glued to the anime to see what comes next.

If you haven't kept up with the current run of the anime, Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon is described as such, "What starts as a summer vacation in the tropical Alola region turns into the next exciting chapter in Ash Ketchum’s quest to become a Pokémon Master! There’s plenty for Ash and Pikachu to explore in this sunny new region, with exciting new Pokémon to discover and interesting people to learn from along the way—including the cool Professor Kukui and the fun-loving Samson Oak.

More new faces will help guide Ash’s Alolan adventure, in the form of a group of skilled Trainers—Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles—and a mysterious research assistant called Lillie. Frequent foes Team Rocket have also made the trip to Alola, looking to swipe some high-powered new Pokémon. But they have some heavy competition on the villainy front: the ruffians of Team Skull, who delight in causing chaos and may have more sinister intentions..."

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