Summary
Nowadays, it’s easy to accept Pikachu’s role as the official mascot of thePokémonfranchise as a foregone conclusion, but that wasn’t always the case. Pikachu has been around since the very beginning, as one of the original 150 Pokémon with a national Pokédex number of 25. But its popularity has endured throughout the decades. Pikachu is at the forefront of two mainline games andcountlessPokémonspin-offs, including the virtual pet gameHey You, Pikachuand theDetective Pikachugame-turned-film series.
But Pikachu wasn’t always the series' mascot - in fact, another Pokémon was almost chosen for the role, but was replaced for a litany of reasons. It’s been a long journey to the top, butPikachu still reigns as thePokémonmascot even 28 years later.
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How Pikachu Rose To Prominence
Before Pikachu cemented its place as the official mascot,another Pokémon was considered - the cute, pink Fairy-type Clefairy. Clefairy was created by designer Ken Sugimori, according to an interview inYomiuri(translated into English bySiliconera). Conceived from the beginning as a cutePokémon, Clefairy was briefly considered for the role of official series mascot, where it would’ve played a pivotal role in marketing and merchandising. However, Pikachu eventually won out.
Pikachu’s Popularity Makes It The Perfect Pokémon Mascot
Pikachu’s Role In The Anime Made Pokémon A Hit
Butit was Pikachu’s outsize role in thePokémonanime that eventually made it the series' sole definitive mascot. In an interview for the officialPokémonwebsite (which has since been removed, but is preserved by a translation viaPolygon) Game Freak co-founder Ken Sugimori explains that Pikachu’s starring role was no accident. None of the starters fromRed,Green, orBluewould’ve sufficed, as they would alienate players who had chosen different starters, as if they had made the “wrong” choice. So producers at OLM, Inc., the company behind thePokémonanime, suggested Pikachu.
Redesigns were proposed for many Pokémon prior to the game’s release in the West. Pikachu was nearly turned into an anthropomorphic tiger, but these designs were eventually scrapped.
Pikachu was a rare find in the original games, which, like many Pokémon since, made it a legend among players. That made Pikachu a welcoming face for the anime’s lead. Between the anime and the games,Pokémonwas an instant success, in no small part due to Ash’s Pikachu. Popular with both boys and girls, Pikachu was hitting the target demographic. It featured heavily in the marketing and merchandise, slowly but surely becoming its official mascot. The following year,Pikachu starred in its very own game -Pokémon Yellow- and the series has never looked back since.
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Pikachu’s enduring popularity proves it’s earned its place as the official series mascot. To this day, it’s the first thing most associate withPokémon, whether they’ve played every game on day one, or have never touched a trading card in their lives. It’s a worldwide merchandising powerhouse with four balloons devoted to it in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to date. As the face of the franchise, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Pikachu is at least partially responsible forPokémon’s smash-hit success.
