via njpw.co.jp

What's April Fools without a few gags running about, right? NJPW, being in a different timezone, gets the jump on most of the world. And this year they went All In (get it?) with theirs.

In a surprisingly detailed article they announced the signing of EEVEE!! Yeah, the adorable cat(dog?)-like Pokemon with the power to evolve into about eight different forms depending on how it's raised. According to NJPW President, Naoki Sugbayashi, Eevee was quickly thrusted onto a newly opened secret NJPW Dojo for super quick training with Hiroshi Tanahashi. Who in the article professes his very hopefully platonic love for the adorable non-human. Also there is Yuji Nagata who described Eevee as not being very nimble. But because he's a Normal Type, he can adapt.

As part of the "Eevee Project", who's goal is to spread the cuteness of Eevee across the world, Eevee was scheduled to face the returning EVIL in said hidden Dojo. Why? EVIL exclaims: "We have similar names. He must be destroyed." According to the article, he failed because of Eevee's cuteness.

Now I don't mean to burst your bubble. But obviously, this is a joke. Someone within NJPW seems to have an uncomfortable love (is it Tanahashi?) for the little critter decided to show it with not just an article that has enough lore to create some sort of wacky(er) Tiger Mask W spin-off. They also made a profile for the Eevee on the roster page (here) and even a freakin' Twitter for it. (here)

Though it's quite the tease to show some form of association with a massive franchise like Pokemon. They were sponsored by Doraemon once. Who knows.