Nick Kyrgios debuts Pokémon-themed back tattoo

FLASHBACK: Kyrgios has missed all three Grand Slams this year with injury, and was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros due to an injury sustained in a robbery.

Pokémon, Nick chose you!

Nick Kyrgios has never been shy about using his body as a canvas, and the Aussie debuted the newest addition to an expanding art gallery on Tuesday: a Pokémon-themed mural that extends down the entirety of his back.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist was inked up by a team of five tattoo artists at Ganga Tattoo in Los Angeles, which he dubbed as “one of the best studios in the world” in an Instagram story that chronicled his latest tattoo session. The design, he said in a later story, was created by Australia tattoo artist Alexi Bouras, and Kyrgios offered him a ringing endorsement.

“Dude’s a king, and anyone needing work done in Australia, he’s your guy,” Kyrgios wrote.

Kyrgios is a noted fan of the Japanese anime and video game series, routinely taking to Twitter to chronicle his adventures playing the franchise's mobile game, Pokémon Go, and the online multiplayer game Pokémon Unite.

Whether Kyrgios is trying to send a bigger message with his latest body art is unclear, but the Pokémon spotted in his design are some of the strongest a trainer can tame, including Blastoise, Dragonite, Snorlax, Gengar and Gyarados, as well as the rarest in-universe, Mewtwo.

Reactions to the art were split, even among Kyrgios’ family. His girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, commented “Omg,” while his mother, Norlaila, made her position clear by adding, “NO!!!!!!”

His brother, Christos, was on his team. “Pokémon master,” he wrote. “Love it.”

Per a subsequent post on the studio's Instagram account Monday, drawing the lines for the masterpiece only took the artists an hour. Currently sidelined with a wrist injury that forced him out of Wimbledon, will Kyrgios have enough time on his hands to get the piece finished completely before he returns to the tour? Only time will tell.