Bidoof is a meme. He is a phenomenon. Where did the love for this weird little beaver guy come from? He certainly wasn’t always this popular, and he’s not actually that good of a Pokémon.
A large part of Bidoof’s fame is due to his nature as an “HM slave” — the unofficial (and kinda mean) term used to describe a Pokémon that you keep in your party specifically to learn all of the useful real-world moves in the game. You don’t want your championship Pokémon to have to learn a move like Flash or Rock Smash, after all — they might be vital for traversing the world, but they’re absolute pants in battle.
Bidoof — or more specifically, his evolution Bibarel — can learn Cut, Strength, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, and even Surf and Waterfall, because beavers can swim. That’s six out of the eight HMs in Diamond and Pearl! And finally, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company themselves have confirmed Bidoof’s place in our hearts as the Guy We Keep Around Because He’s Useful by featuring him in this role in an official trailer.
We see our beaver boy being used to Cut, Surf, and Rock Climb, even though there are tons of other Pokémon they could have used to show off these moves.
Of course, it’s far from the first time that The Pokémon Company have lavished love on Bidoof. They made a fancam for April Fools’ Day, held a Bidoof Day with special Bidoof prizes and merch, and Bidoofified Pokémon GO to celebrate him.
It’s the Year of Bidoof, and we certainly aren’t complaining. All hail the underappreciated workhorsebeaver of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will bring next-gen Bidoofery to the Nintendo Switch on November 19th, 2021… but sadly, there’s no special Bidoof Edition Nintendo Switch to match the Dialga and Palkia ones.
…Yet.
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