[JBird]

There's an image floating around that supposedly shows the second evolutionary forms for each starter, and Popplio looked to be on its way to being more clown like, but not by much. I honestly hope that the circus/clown theme is more subtle than what I saw, otherwise people will continue to treat it like a joke, save for those who genuinely like Popplio's design.

And while Lavender Town is technically a trope location, it's still the most surreal one to ever come from the Pokemon franchise. Before arriving there, many players would have never assumed that their Pokemon could actually die, what with always fainting in battle. It also showcases an example of animal abuse with Team Rocket having outright killed a Marowak that was protecting its infant Cubone.