ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith uses his podcast as an opportunity to get candid about topics that have nothing to do with sports and on the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, he was asked by a fan which starter Pokémon he would choose, with three options: Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.
Smith was unfamiliar with the topic, but that didn't stop him from giving an opinion.
"What the hell are these?" he asked, addressing a question from X, formerly Twitter, user @Randy_Vision on Friday.
Smith struggled his way through the pronunciations.
"Ball-bazaar? Bulba-sour? Whatever the hell it is. Sha-mander?" Smith said before nailing the name Squirtle. "These are Pokémons, I guess that's what it is. You know what I'm going to say? Sha-mander. Because it reminds me of me because of the forehead. That's what I'm going to go with."
Smith might not have known exactly what he was looking at, but given his style as an orator and debate host on ESPN's popular show First Take, choosing a fire-type Pokémon seems somewhat on-brand.
Meanwhile, commenters on Instagram had fun with Smith's pronunciations.
"They just asking Stephen A anything [at this point]," user d_eebo wrote.
"Charmander is the only right answer," user _mike.conley_ wrote (the account, incidentally, does not appear to be affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard).
User diddy_kongg had one of the more creative contributions, combining a meme created by Smith who famously encourages everyone to avoid marijuana, with a popular bug-type Pokémon: "STAY OFF THE WEEDLEEEEEE."
Smith is not completely out of touch with children's entertainment. In November, he got into an argument about the Pixar movie Cars with a caller on his show that went viral after Smith dissed the character Lightning McQueen.
"I would tell you he wouldn't be the GOAT," Smith said. "[...]When you talk about Strip 'the King' Weathers or Lightning McQueen, they're both tied with seven Piston Cups.
"Strip Weathers, you forgot about him? How can you be the GOAT if you got somebody who is tied with you? Sorry, that ain't going to work. I know you tried to catch me with that. You didn't think I knew about Cars, did you?"
Clearly, if the caller really wanted to catch Smith off guard with a GOAT debate, he should have asked a question about Pokémon. After all, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu retired just over a year ago. If anyone has the appropriate platform to offer a take at this crucial time, it might be Smith and Sha-mander.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Tom Westerholm is a Sports & Culture Reporter for Newsweek. Prior to joining Newsweek, he was the Boston Celtics beat ... Read more
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