For 30 seconds the great Alexandra Palace became every 90s child’s dream, as a player nicknamed ‘Pikachu’ walked to the PDC World Darts Championship oche to the Pokemon theme tune.
You’ve got to admire the Pokeballs on him…
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Ricardo Pietreczko officially has the best entrance song in dartsCredit: Sky Sports
That man was German ace Ricardo Pietreczko, who has picked up the bizarre nickname on his quest to become the greatest Pokemon trainer darts player of all time.
He wants to be the very best, like no one ever was.
To face them is his real test, to beat them is his cause.
He will play across the land, in venues far and wide.
Each leg of darts to become a man, like Phil the Power was inside.
Anyway…
It’s easy to assume 29-year-old Pietreczko is a Pokemon fan, like the rest of us 90s kids.
More on darts at Ally Pally
Pokemon is a Japanese phenomenon that, these days, should need no introduction. Even if you’ve got no idea what the hell you’re reading right now, you’ve probably seen that yellow mouse-looking thing before.
For us born in the 1990s, Pokemon was our childhood, and it’s now regarded as one of the biggest media franchises in the world. What began as an old Gameboy game and was followed by a world-dominating trading card craze – which is still going strong – plus TV shows and several movies.
And, best of all, the greatest theme song ever written.
And it appears there were plenty of us 90s children at Ally Pally on Tuesday night, as the iconic venue belted out ‘POKEMON, GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL’ at the top of its voice.
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There were plenty on Pokemon fans at Ally PallyCredit: Sky Sports
There was even a fan in a Pikachu onesie, and the cheerleaders on the stage appeared to have got the memo with on-point dance moves.
And out came Pietreczko, resplendent with his Pikachu-adorned shirt and dart flights as he took on Mikuru Suzuki – the last female player left in the competition.
Darts has officially peaked. Ricardo Pietreczko walks out to the Pokemon theme song as grown men in Pikachu onesies sing along. What a sport pic.twitter.com/UipOhIefZ0
— Jack Kenmare (@jackkenmare_) December 19, 2023
What a sport, indeed.
Suzuki has a popular entrance of her own, walking out to Baby Shark – but any mother or father of young children will tell you that song is from the devil himself and should not under any circumstances be played at a major sporting event at the risk of triggering parents’ PTSD.
And so Pietreczko’s walk-on served as a tonic to the soul, as grown men were spotted singing the wholesome message and true meaning of Pokemon: ‘You’ll teach me and I’ll teach you’. Forget that Baby Shark trash, they don’t make them like this anymore.
And, like a young Ash Ketchum venturing out of Pallet Town for the first time, Pietreczko enjoyed a winning start to his journey to becoming a Pokemon master darts world champion, beating Suzuki 3-0 to progress to the second round.
But, rather disappointingly, it turns out Pietreczko isn’t a Pokemaniac after all – his nickname is merely the result of a translation mix-up during a tournament earlier in his career.
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Pietreczko – whose dart flights also feature Pokemon’s iconic Pikachu mascot – is through the second round of the PDC world championshipCredit: Getty
“But I’ve never had anything to do with Pokémon,” Pietreczko told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“The name came about because of a slip of the tongue. When a player called out to me during a tournament, someone mistook my last name for Pikachu. It caught on immediately.”
Well, that’s disappointing.
Ah well, we’re still looking forward to doing it all again when Pietreczko plays Englishman Callan Rydz in Saturday’s afternoon session.
Gotta catch them all!
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