We've seen all kinds of Pokémon-likes over the years from monster-catching visual novels to roguelikes. But a musical comedy? Like, an actual on-stage musical comedy? That's new.

Curtain up on Balls: The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comédy, more specifically on its Kickstarter page, where it is a little over halfway to reaching its $30,000 goal with 23 days to go (ending on 26th September).

Musical theatre kids, this one's for you. Created by Brandon Zelman and Harrison Bryan, Balls is pretty much what it says on the tin: it's a musical comedy about Pokémon monster-catchin'. Apologies for the slip up there. You see, this show wears its Pokémon inspiration proudly on its sleeve. It's set in a world where young children embark on dangerous journeys to catch wild creatures ("Collectabuddies") in balls. There's a mysterious professor guiding the "player" (or, audience member) through it all. There's even a threatening rival character who pops up every few battles to keep the momentum going.

We should note that this is a comedy aimed primarily at those who grew up on the original Pokémon Red and Blue, so some of the humour in the Kickstarter's sample musical numbers is a little on the adult side — specifically, the F-bomb pops up in the opening number and there's just about every Balls pun you can imagine. So, maybe keep little ears away from this one.

Balls: The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comedy
Image: Balls Musical

But as you might expect, this is as much about poking holes in Pokémon as it is about celebrating it. You need only take a glance at the opening song on the Kickstarter page to see how the musical raises questions about the morals of making the monsters fight — it's "non-life-threatening physical engagement," according to the lyrics — whether Pokéballs hurt the creatures and just how all those intrepid explorers survive on the road.

Should the show reach its Kickstarter goal, the money will be spent on venue hire (in New York City, sorry West End fans), Collectabuddy creation, paying artists, marketing and more, with 2025 being eyed as a preliminary launch date.

If you're not a fan of musical theatre, this is unlikely to change your mind. However, for the very specific niche of musical theatre kids and Pokémon fans (like this writer — hello!) it looks like it has the potential to be a proper laugh-fest.

You can find out more about Balls: The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comédy by checking out the still-active Kickstarter page.

Does this look up your street? Let us know in the comments.

[source kickstarter.com]