We Dare You to Eat This Pile of Ancient Pokemon Food

If you had to describe Pokemon's presence in one word, a good word would be "constant." Wherever you are, there's Pokemon. That's not to say Pikachu is constantly in your face; he's just always slumming in the background of pop culture, like Mickey Mouse or Super Mario.

When the Pokemon phenomenon first exploded in the late '90s, Pikachu really was in your face. He latched there like a facehugger from Aliens. Retailers figured Pokemon would fizzle out like most fads, so they struck while the Charmander was hot and branded everything with Pokemon. That included bedsheets, binders, toys, and food.

Earlier this week, Redditor "mewisme700" shared a picture of their Pokemon food collection dating back to the late '90s and early Aughts. There's cereal, pasta, candy, and yes—waffles! Most of the boxes are empty but hold on to your gag reflex: The 20-year-old can of Heinz pasta (adorned with a picture of a Blastoise) is still full. Hey, crack that sucker open, dump it in a saucepan, and enjoy. Do it. C'mon, I'll give you ten bucks. I'll bump it up to 20 if the pasta is packed in nasty chicken broth.

mewisme700 told the Pokemon subreddit that one of the Wonderballs is still intact, too. I imagine it's become brittle as heck, where if you touch it, it'll shatter like glass. Then the entity that's been contained inside for two decades can unleash its rage and raze the earth like Elder Primal Bahamut from Final Fantasy 14.

Or maybe there's just some crusty old candy inside.

Thankfully, Pokemon's popularity endured past the '90s and you don't need to eat rancid food to remember the good times. The next entry in the mainline series, Pokemon Sword and Shield, is due out on November 15. Take a look at our Pokemon Sword and Shield guides for all the latest info on the upcoming adventure.