Want to see a Pokemon routine at the Crufts dog show? Of course you do
No, Pokemon aren't real... put train a dog well enough and it turns out you can pretty have your very own Lillipup right here in the real world.
It's Friday. It's been a long week and there's a lot going on in the world. So we all need a bit of a 'timeline cleanse', right? Let us present to you, then, a professional dog show routine featuring Lillipip the Chihuahua.
Yes, you read that right. Someone took to Crufts – the very serious British dog show designed to highlight dog breeds at their 'finest' (or most inbred, depending on your outlook) – to show off a routine set to the iconic Pokemon anime music and some themes from the games, too.
As you can see in the video embedded above, the trainer – or is it a proper noun Trainer, when we're talking Pokemon? – takes her dog, Lavender Lillipup to the arena to show off a heelwork routine based to Pokemon music (thanks, @SeanTheBaptiste). If the video doesn't automatically take you to the relevant section, head to 16:30.
The astute Pokemaniacs amongst you will probably already note that even the dog's name is a reference to Pokemon, specifically Pokemon #506, Lillipup – the little terrier introduced in Gen 5.
This is Jenny's first dog (!) in the competition, which makes the whole routine even more impressive. Some personal highlights from this routine, for me, include: Lillipip jumping onto its trainer's back, Lillipip knocking over a cardboard Charizard, Lillipip doing a little high-five with Jenny to the lyrics "there's no better team", and Jenny giving the dog a lift on her feet and walking with the pup during the climax.
I have a rescue dog that I can barely train to not eat the mail as it comes through the door, so seeing someone train a gorgeous cross-breed (and therefore, not inbred) dog like this gives me hope. Maybe I'll rename him Growlithe and try and get him to do doggy dressage in response to this, I'm feeling inspired!
For now, though, I'm just going to replay this video again – and revel in a routine that brings Crufts hopping and spinning into 2022. I guess to show off dogs doing ridiculous things to the Pokemon music was Jenny's real quest... and to train them was her cause.