# Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou) Raging Bolt, the ancient Paradox form of the Electric-type legendary Raikou, debuted during an August 2023 Pokemon Presents stream previewing DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet[1]. Its absurdly long neck split fans within minutes, and by that evening X users were posting both reverent fan art and exaggerated long-neck edits mocking the design[2][4]. ## Origin The reveal happened on August 8th, 2023, during a Pokemon Presents stream on the official Pokemon YouTube channel, with the Scarlet and Violet DLC segment closing out the broadcast[1]. During the preview clip, the then-unnamed Paradox Raikou roared and swung its elongated neck, drawing immediate attention from the more than 100,000 live viewers watching along[6]. Screenshots hit X within minutes of the clip airing. User @CallMeMikeDeee posted a reaction later that same day expressing joy-turned-confusion at the neck proportions, picking up close to 2,500 likes in roughly seven hours[2]. Game Freak and The Pokemon Company developed the Pokemon and the DLC; the meme itself emerged from fan reactions, with no single creator credited for the first edit[6]. - **Platform:** YouTube (reveal) / X (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview Raging Bolt, also called Paradox Raikou, is the ancient form of the Gen 2 legendary Pokemon Raikou featured in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC[1]. On X, the meme took two main shapes: reaction screenshots of the reveal paired with confused captions, and photoshopped edits that either shaved the giraffe-like neck down to a normal length or stretched it to absurd dimensions[4][5]. The tone split the fandom in half. Some posts framed the design as majestic and praised the dinosaur-adjacent silhouette, while others treated the neck as a joke on par with earlier long-neck memes like the elongated Spinel or stretched animal edits[3]. A typical early post pairs the official 3D model with a bewildered one-liner, and the artier reactions redraw the model entirely to argue for a better proportioned version[6]. ## How It Spread Later on August 8th, X user @BallofBandagez captured the polarized reception by posting a side-by-side screenshot of competitive player @WolfeyGlick praising the design and @UltimaShadow panning it, which became a quick shorthand for the whole discourse[3]. The post helped frame Raging Bolt as a lightning rod rather than a universal hit, and quote-tweets kept the argument running through the night. Artists in the fandom took the next step by trying to fix the model. @SamTheDynamite posted an edit removing the long neck entirely to show what a more compact Raging Bolt might look like[4], while @PurpleKeira97 went the other direction with a version that stretched the neck even further to lean into the long-neck meme lineage[5]. Both posts landed on August 8th, meaning the fix-it edits and the mock edits were already coexisting on the same day as the reveal[6]. The nickname Raging Bolt was later confirmed by The Pokemon Company as the species' official English name, and Entei fans still speculate about a matching Paradox form in future DLC[6]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou)? Raging Bolt is the ancient Paradox form of the Electric-type legendary Pokemon Raikou, featured in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC and known for its unusually long neck[1]. ### Where did Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou) come from? The Pokemon was first shown on August 8th, 2023, during a Pokemon Presents stream on the official Pokemon YouTube channel[1], and screenshots spread on X that same day[2]. ### What does Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou) mean? Online, Raging Bolt stands in for the surprise and mockery around its giraffe-like neck, with fans posting both earnest fan art and edits that stretch or trim the neck for a laugh[4][5]. ### How do you use Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou)? People typically post the official model with a confused caption, pair split reactions in one screenshot like @BallofBandagez did[3], or edit the neck shorter or longer for comedic effect[4]. ### Is Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou) still popular? Raging Bolt is still referenced in Pokemon circles and fuels speculation about a Paradox Entei in future DLC, though the heaviest meme activity was tied to the August 2023 reveal week[6]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QiLe4pTHAE]() 2. [https://twitter.com/CallMeMikeDeee/status/1688906470207750144]() 3. [https://twitter.com/BallofBandagez/status/1688907962591416321]() 4. [https://twitter.com/SamTheDynamite/status/1688917937045098496]() 5. [https://twitter.com/PurpleKeira97/status/1688916921323028481]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/raging-bolt-paradox-raikou]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/raging-bolt-paradox-raikou Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library