Reddit user Micahrem recently posted their Pokemon fan art, which shows Mulan standing alongside a Pokemon that draws heavy inspiration from the small dragon in the original Mulan film, Mushu. The drawing also features an image of the animated Mulan next to her small sidekick in the top-left corner to show that Micahrem is basing their fan art on the first Mulan released in 1998 rather than the live-action counterpart that came out in 2020. Like most other Pokemon trainers the anime and videogames are based around, Mulan as a Pokemon trainer looks like a youngster compared to her movie adaptation.
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Micahrem’s Pokemon fan art shows Mulan standing atop a rock in deep water, with two larger rocks behind her and a shiny red Gyarados emerging from the water in the middle. Mulan has swapped out her traditional Chinese garb to better resemble a Pokemon trainer in Micahrem’s fan art, as she is wearing rolled-up jeans, a sporty jacket, and what appears to be red Converse All Stars. The Mulan Pokemon trainer holds a Poke Ball likely meant for the Gyarados in one hand, while her other hand holds a sword as she often does in the Disney movie.
Shiny Gyarados was first introduced through Pokemon Gold and Silver, where it was inhabiting the Lake of Rage. Unlike Gyarados in the Pokemon franchise, which is Water and Flying-type but is also regarded as a dragon, Mushu was notably teased in Mulan for not being a real dragon. Because Micahrem drew from the original animated Mulan movie for their Pokemon fan art inspiration, Mulan’s trainer version may also swap Cri-Kee for Kricketot, and Khan for Spectrier, while other Pokemon fans have noted that Centiskorch also resembles Mushu.
Considering the similarities between Shiny Gyarados and Mushu, it’s fitting that Micahrem has selected the Pokemon as their centerpiece for a Mulan Pokemon trainer fan art. Although there are more Pokemon that might fit Mulan’s team as a Pokemon trainer, it’s currently unclear if Micahrem intends to expand on their Pokemon fan art. Because Mulan is owned by Disney and Pokemon is a Nintendo franchise, it’s unlikely that fans of Micahrem’s fan art will ever see the two universes clash in the same way, but a future Pokemon character could always draw inspiration from the Disney Princess.
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