The Pokemon Easter Egg You Probably Missed In Super Mario Galaxy

Mario's 2007 Wii space adventure Super Mario Galaxy received new life in 2020 with its inclusion in Super Mario 3D All-Stars. In addition to Galaxy, the game bundle included two other popular 3D Mario adventures, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Despite being the newest game out of all three, fans were eager to pick Galaxy up on Nintendo Switch, especially since some believed Super Mario Galaxy was even better than Super Mario Odyssey.

It looks like the Nintendo Switch release of Super Mario Galaxy is the closest thing fans will get to another sequel. That's okay, because it gives everyone a chance to once more see all the awesome secrets and Easter eggs that Nintendo put into the original game, including one slick Pokémon reference that players likely missed on a first playthrough. Check out the Easter egg and see how many others you can find as you play Super Mario Galaxy.

In Super Mario Galaxy's Buoy Base Galaxy, players encounter a tower where they collect blue star pieces. When Mario performs a Star Spin, the Water Sphere Planet below opens up halfway to reveal blue water, still in a spherical shape. The lower half of the planet is still red with a target-shaped platform in the middle and a silver belt all around, making the planet look strikingly similar to a Pokeball from the classic Nintendo-published Pokémon franchise. Of course, the resemblance isn't exact, since Poké Balls are traditionally white where the planet's blue coloring is — and the planet is upside down. 

Super Mario Galaxy is home to many other Easter eggs and references to fellow Nintendo franchises, like the Pikmin reference in the Space Junk Galaxy. A spaceship appears that looks like Captain Olimar's ship in Pikmin and Pikmin 2. Similar Easter eggs are littered all throughout the classic 3D Mario title, but the Poké Ball reference was quick, subtle, and a bit easier to miss.