How a Pokémon Named Coil Hijacked an Online Poll and Became a Japanese Meme Legend

In 2008, a quiet Pokémon named Magnemite — known in Japan as “Coil” — exploded into internet fame. Not because of its stats or its moves. But because the internet chose it as their champion… for no reason at all.

This is the story of the Coil Election, one of Japan’s earliest and most iconic acts of online meme sabotage, where a minor character was pushed to stardom through sheer trolling, coordination, and internet chaos.

⚡ A Background on Coil (Magnemite)

Let’s start with the Pokémon in question: Magnemite.

• Type: Electric/Steel
• Generation: Introduced in Gen 1
• Known for: Floating, robotic body with magnets — and not much else.

Magnemite was never a fan favorite. It wasn’t cute. It wasn’t powerful. It didn’t talk. It was background noise in the vast Pokédex.

And that’s exactly why it was chosen.

🗳️ The 2008 Yahoo! Kids Pokémon Popularity Poll

In anticipation of the 2008 movie Giratina and the Sky Warrior, The Pokémon Company held an online popularity poll on Yahoo! Kids. The idea was simple:

Vote for your favorite Pokémon.
The top 3 will appear in a downloadable official desktop wallpaper.

It was designed to be cute. Innocent. Fun for kids.

But the internet had other plans.

💣 The Coil Shock: What Actually Happened

⚙️ May 2008 — “Let’s Make Kids Cry”

On Japan’s largest anonymous message board, 2channel, a thread emerged:

“Let’s make Magnemite #1 and confuse the kids.”

The plan was simple:

• Flood the poll with votes for Coil (Magnemite).
• Dethrone fan favorites like Pikachu, Lucario, or movie-star Shaymin.
• Laugh.

And it worked.

🚀 In 30 Minutes, Coil Went From Obscurity to #1

• Voting systems were exploited using:
  • Cookie deletion
  • Auto-refresh scripts
  • Browser macros
• Within hours, Magnemite had tens of thousands of votes.

The Pokémon Company was caught off guard. This wasn’t a meme — it was a hijack.

😳 What Was the Result?

❌ The Poll Was Suspended

As the meme picked up steam, moderators paused the poll.

But instead of issuing a warning, they quietly rebooted it, this time with:

• Hidden results
• Login requirements
• Tighter cookie tracking

🧻 Official Outcome:

• 1st: Shaymin
• 2nd: Coil (Magnemite)
• 3rd: Giratina

Magnemite officially made it into the celebratory wallpaper, forever cemented as a fan favorite — thanks to irony.

📺 Media & Fan Reactions

📚 Pokémon Wikis

Wikis like wiki.xn--rckteqa2e.com documented the incident in detail, calling it:

“The first major example of internet-driven vote manipulation in Japanese fandom.”

They refer to it as:

• コイル祭り (The Coil Festival)
• 第一次コイルショック (The First Coil Shock)

🗣️ Fan Blogs and Commentary

Writers like Chikuwa-sama on Hatena Diary described it as:

“A joke that became a movement.
It wasn’t just trolling — it was beautiful chaos.”

🧠 Part 1 Summary: Why It Worked

The Coil Election succeeded for three key reasons:

1. Exploitation of System Design
   The poll allowed unverified, unlimited voting, making it a perfect target for manipulation.
2. Irony Culture
   Internet communities (especially 2channel) love promoting underdogs — not out of support, but for meta-commentary on fan culture.
3. Visible Results = Instant Reward
   Real-time rankings gave participants a dopamine hit. Every new vote meant visible progress.
   That feedback loop accelerated the madness.

🌪️ What Happened After the Coil Festival?

The “Coil Shock” didn’t end with one poll. It became the blueprint for future meme-driven hijackings.

🧱 The System Was Never the Same

After the incident:

• Pokémon’s future polls implemented login systems.
• Votes were no longer visible in real time.
• IP tracking and CAPTCHA were introduced.

In short, the fun was patched out.

But the idea had already spread.

🧞‍♂️ The Second Coil Shock (2010)

In 2010, the anime/game Inazuma Eleven held a character popularity vote.

A character named Katsutoshi Goujou, who had only a few seconds of screen time, suddenly surged to the top of the rankings.

Why?
Because fans wanted to recreate the “Coil magic.”

This event became known as:

• 第二次コイルショック (Second Coil Shock)

It proved the Coil incident wasn’t a fluke — it was a cultural virus.

🔄 The Meme Loop: From Mockery to Love

At first, fans voted for Coil ironically. But over time…

• Fan art of Coil began appearing on Pixiv.
• Coil became a symbol of internet rebellion — like a Reddit upvote in mascot form.
• “Coil-themed” accounts and avatars began popping up.

Eventually, people genuinely liked the character.

What started as trolling became affection.
This is known in meme theory as “meta-endearment.”

📈 Marketing and Meme Culture: What Brands Can Learn

The Coil Shock taught us more than just “don’t run open polls.”
It revealed how memes weaponize structure and emotion.

⚙️ Lessons:

“Don’t underestimate what a group of bored netizens can do with a poll and a plan.”

🔁 Other Cases of Meme Voting (Post-Coil)

• Mountain Dew’s “Dub the Dew” campaign (2012)
  Internet trolls suggested drink names like “Hitler Did Nothing Wrong.”
  Sound familiar?
• Boaty McBoatface (2016, UK)
  The internet named a $300 million polar research ship after a joke.
• Japan’s “Sanrio Character Rankings”
  Minor characters like “Hangyodon” have risen through ironic vote drives.

The Coil Election walked so Boaty could run.

🧠 Cultural Analysis: Why Did It Matter?

This wasn’t just a prank.

It revealed something deeper about how internet users relate to power, systems, and fun.

• Users saw themselves in Coil — the ignored, irrelevant underdog.
• The vote became a playground, a protest, a performance.
• It marked a shift from passive fandom to participatory mischief.

It was community-building through chaos.

🎤 Voices from the Community

“It started as a joke.
Then it became a legend.
And now, Magnemite is my favorite Pokémon — no irony.”
— Anonymous Pixiv comment

“That wallpaper with Coil in it? Still on my desktop. I was there.”
— Twitter user @retrocoil

📷 Lasting Impact: Where Is Coil Now?

• Magnemite continues to appear in Pokémon games and anime, mostly unchanged.
• The 2008 “winner wallpaper” still circulates on forums and imageboards.
• “コイルショック” is referenced in meme compilations and fandom retrospectives.

In 2024, a YouTube short celebrating “16 years since the Coil Festival” hit over 1.2 million views — proof the meme lives on.

🏁 Final Thoughts: A Joke That Became Internet Mythology

The Coil Shock was never supposed to happen.
But because it did, it changed:

• How polls are designed
• How fandom interacts
• How humor turns underdogs into icons

It was chaos, yes — but beautiful chaos.
And in that chaos, a floating magnet became a cultural artifact.

So next time you vote online…

You might just hear a faint electric hum:
Vote for Coil.

🔗 Sources & References

• Pokémon Wiki – Coil Festival
• Pokémon攻略しんそく – Coil祭り解説
• Note.com – Internet Poll Culture
• Hatena Diary – Chikuwa-sama’s blog