Michelle Visage might not be the first person you think about when you think about Pokémon, but the RuPaul’s Drag Race judge is in fact a long-term fan of Nintendo’s critter-catching multimedia franchise.
Visage is now she’s teaming up with The Pokémon Company for the ultimate crossover event – a pet fashion contest where fans are encouraged to dress up their own critters in celebration of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s impending release on Nintendo Switch.
- Pre-order Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl (£44.99 from Amazon)
Surrounded by cute canines at the Dandie Dog Café in London, RadioTimes.com met up with Michelle Visage to talk about this surprising pop-culture crossover. It turns out that Visage owes her Pokémon fandom to her daughter Lillie’s love of the games.
Visage recalls that Lillie “started with, not the original, but with [2002 Game Boy Advance games] Ruby and Sapphire. And I started playing with her because as a mother, I wanted to know what she was playing. And that’s kind of how it started, and Lillie is still fully involved. And it’s just something that, as a mother, you feel okay with your kid playing, especially with everything else that’s going on these days. It’s a safe space, and creative and fun.”
!["Pikachu]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/10/Michelle-Visage-picks-up-Pokemon-Blue-194adeb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Pikachu")
Visage and Lillie particularly enjoyed 2006’s Pokémon Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo DS, to such an extent that Visage was moved to Tweet in January this year: “I want a Pokémon Diamond Pearl remake. Nay, I DEMAND IT”.
One month later, Nintendo went ahead and announced Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl – the exact remakes that she was hoping for. Did Nintendo and The Pokémon Company bow to Visage’s demands?
“Everybody loved that Tweet,” Visage declared in our interview. She added, in jest, “I’d like to say that that’s how we ended up here today, that I created the remake. […] I’m sure they did not have it on the books for the past 10 years, but yeah, I’m gonna take the credit for it.”
Read more on Pokémon:
- Pokémon games order – the best way to replay the RPGs
- Pokémon Legends Arceus release date – Diamond & Pearl prequel nears
- Nintendo Switch Lite Dialga and Palkia Edition pre-order
!["Michelle]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/10/Michelle-Visage-and-a-cat-9f724e5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Michelle")
Inspired by the Super Contest Shows that will appear in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Visage was asked to judge a real-life Super Pet Contest in which fans can enter their pet pictures in the categories Cute, Clever Cool. Was this an easy gig to say yes to?
Visage replies, “Oh my goodness, are you kidding me? I don’t think my daughter would have spoken to me ever again if I said no. And, you know, pets and rescue pets is a big cause of mine, so being part of Super Pet Contests is like a no-brainer.”
“The world’s getting a crazy place,” she adds, “and I think things that bring you joy are really important. Rescuing animals, not only are you doing the animal service and preventing it from being euthanised, but you’re also bringing joy into your home.
“People often say it’s too expensive and it’s really not. There’s so many ways around it and the joy is immeasurable and, you know, you can rescue a dog and save a life and save your life as well. And Pokémon characters are just as important, just as adorable!”
!["Name]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/10/Michelle-Visage-and-Pikachu-b12dae3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Name")
Does Visage have any advice for fans that want to enter her Super Pet Contest? She suggests thinking about leather jackets in the Cool category, Einstein-like wigs in the Clever category, and just to “embrace cute… which is not hard to do” in the Cute category.
Visage has a Pitbull rescue and a Border Collie rescue, and she notes, “they don’t love when we dress them up because they’re bigger dogs.” But if you’re dead-set on training your dog to love fashion, Visage says, “I think it’s baby steps with animals [..] a little bit at a time, I think, you start to ease them into it and they get used to it.”
“Some dogs really like to be dressed up,” she adds, “so I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen. I’m thrilled actually, it’s the highlight of my week.” Certainly, the prospect of seeing even more cute animal pictures on the internet is something to look forward to.
If you were wondering, Visage has a long-term soft spot for Piplup, but her favourite Pokémon at the moment is Lopunny. Explaining why she chooses Lopunny, Visage describes the rabbit-inspired creature like so: “She’s sexy. She’s a bad-ass B-word.” The DragRace/Pokémon crossover starts here.
Michelle Visage takes centre stage as the celebrity judge for the Pokémon Presents Super Pet Contest which is now open for entries. Head to Pokemon.co.uk/SuperPetContest to enter your pets today!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl launch on 19th November 2021 and you can pre-order your copy now.
Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you’re looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide
Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.