# Slowpoke Slowpoke is a Pokemon-based reaction image that 4chan users started posting in late 2006 to mock anyone bringing up old news. The pink Water/Psychic type became shorthand for 'you're late to the party,' typically paired with the caption 'Hey guys, did you hear...' before some ancient headline. From /b/ trolling it grew into a top-30 Memegenerator template by 2012. ## Origin The earliest archived Slowpoke troll landed on 4chan's /b/ board on December 26, 2006, captioned 'Christmas hat!' the day after the holiday, when nobody cared anymore[1]. The image was a straight rip of Slowpoke's official artwork from the original Red and Blue Pokemon games[6]. Over the following months /b/ posters kept reusing it to mock outdated news items. On May 1, 2007, a Slowpoke image landed as 4chan's 26,000,001st post, logged as the official 26 million GET[5]. A few days later on May 4, one /b/ thread stretched the gag across roughly 40 images before Slowpoke fully wandered into frame[2]. - **Platform:** 4chan /b/ - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2006 ## Overview The format is dead simple: a plain image of Slowpoke staring dopily into space, captioned 'Hey guys, did you hear...' followed by news everyone already discussed weeks or months ago[4]. The joke lands because the Pokemon itself is canonically slow-witted and easily distracted, a Water/Psychic type that first appeared in the original Red and Blue games[6]. Posters used it to troll anyone treating stale information as fresh, and the pattern was strict enough that /b/ regulars recognized a Slowpoke reply as a specific put-down rather than random spam[5]. By 2007, /b/ users started chaining Slowpokes into 'combo' threads where three posters had to hit reply back-to-back with the same image[3]. The advice animal remix in May 2011 swapped the plain white background for the standard two-tone pink starburst, opening the format to Reddit-friendly captions and mass generation[4]. That version is what most people picture today when they hear the meme's name. ## How to Use The convention is to reply to a stale post or thread with a plain Slowpoke image and the words 'Hey guys, did you hear...' followed by whatever ancient event you're pretending to just learn about. Common variations include the advice animal version with the pink starburst background for Reddit-style captions, and the 4chan 'combo,' where three posters attempt to reply with Slowpoke back-to-back in the same thread[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Slowpoke? Slowpoke is a 4chan reaction image using the Pokemon character to troll anyone posting outdated news, typically captioned 'Hey guys, did you hear...'[5]. ### Where did Slowpoke come from? The earliest archived Slowpoke post landed on 4chan's /b/ board on December 26, 2006, captioned 'Christmas hat!' the day after the holiday[1]. ### What does Slowpoke mean? Posting a Slowpoke image means 'you're late,' calling out someone who is treating old information as fresh news, a joke tied to the Pokemon's canonically slow-witted personality[6]. ### How do you use Slowpoke? Reply to a stale post with Slowpoke's blank stare and 'Hey guys, did you hear...' followed by whatever ancient event you're pretending to just learn about[4]. ### Is Slowpoke still popular? By February 2012 Memegenerator hosted over 40,000 Slowpoke templates, ranked #26 all-time on the site, and Slowpoke stayed a common Pokemon fanart subject through the following years[8]. ## References 1. [https://m.chanarchive.org/4chan/b/144]() 2. [https://assets1.chanarchive.org/4chan/b/581/really-slow-slowpoke]() 3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120219024711/https://chanarchive.org/4chan/b/619/slowpoke-combo-ban]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/hh6u3/hey_guys_did_you_hear/]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/slowpoke]() 6. [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Slowpoke_(Pok%C3%A9mon)]() 7. [https://www.vgcats.com/super/?strip_id=26]() 8. [https://memegenerator.net/Slowpoke]() 9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120309105443/http://ask-slowpoke.tumblr.com/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/slowpoke Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library