Why Pikachu?

I apologize if this is a topic that has been discussed to death already.

But I have wondered about this ever since I started playing Pokemon as a child. Why, of all the 151 originals, was Pikachu chosen to be the main Pokemon of the anime and manga, and the mascot of the entire franchise? Is there honestly any particular reason?

Especially considering it was originally supposed to be Clefairy... why Pikachu?

Probably because it was a name that could easily roll off the tongue in English and Japanese?

I've always figured that Pikachu was the face of the anime/franchise because it's a cute Pokemon (though not the overly cute like Clefiary), yet had the badass special attacks that would excite the young viewers. The only other Kanto Pokemon that I would've considered contenders for the role based on that would be Vulpix and Growlithe, and because they're basically counterparts (along with the Ponyta family), singling out one as "better" than the other two would've been the wrong move in my opinion. They're also both Fire-type, which would've worked against Ash when he picked up the 3 starter Pokemon.

Even though I'm not a big fan of Pikachu, from a marketing perspective it was the logical choice, and a much better one than Clefairy would have been. And clearly it's worked out for them, seeing as how Pikachu's one of the most recognizable characters in the world today, even to non-Pokemon fans.

My guess is because it was the first Pokémon that Ash, the main character of the anime, received, in a manner that he didn't even really plan on getting it with. Not only that, but in Yellow (which has several ties to the anime), in addition to the fact that you get one yourself, nobody else in the game even uses one. Trainers that did had them replaced with other Pokémon, so they might have wanted to symbolize their franchise around what the anime had.

Because it's cute and cool.

Pikachu just looks iconic.

It goes well with the grass, fire, water starters as well. (green, red, blue, and yellow are very complementary)

It's cute AND badass.

And, well, the people have spoken. Even while the the anime was airing, clefairy was supposed to be the mascot, but Ash's Pikachu became an instant fan favorite for the reasons listed above.

Pikachu is cute, fairly strong when raised properly (and there there's Ash's god tier Pikachu) and the colors are bright and appealing.

Pikachu was originally supposed to be the mascot alongside Clefairy, with Clefairy being the main mascot and Pikachu being the runner-up or something along those lines. Pikachu was chosen, in the end, to be the main mascot as it symbolised most closely a household pet for children and used yellow, a primary colour, in its design which is more easily recognisable to children. I reckon that Pikachu has stuck because of the recognition it gained from the anime series as Ash's first Pokémon (though, likewise with the mascot situation, Clefairy was originally intended to be Ash's first Pokémon) and its place as Pokémon has become the global franchise it is right now.

It's cute, doesn't appeal only to one gender (Like clefairy might) and is actually pretty good to have in the original games.

If I'm not mistaken (Which I very well could be) Clefairy was meant as Ash's starter pokemon, however they thought since it looked like a "girly" pokemon and thus the series would only appeal to the young female audience. So they switched it with Pikachu because it appeared to be more of a gender neutral pokemon so it would not only gain a young female audience but also a young male audience.


Whether or not what I said is true, I'm not sure. It's just what I've read before

GhostTrainer said:

If I'm not mistaken (Which I very well could be) Clefairy was meant as Ash's starter pokemon, however they thought since it looked like a "girly" pokemon and thus the series would only appeal to the young female audience. So they switched it with Pikachu because it appeared to be more of a gender neutral pokemon so it would not only gain a young female audience but also a young male audience.


Whether or not what I said is true, I'm not sure. It's just what I've read before

Click to expand...

Pretty much bang on there. That, and Pikachu appeals to children with its primary colourings. But yeah. Poor Clefairy. Kicked out of the limelight and into the gutter at the last second! XD

I agree with the reasonings discussed in this thread (both from personal opinion and my knowledge of the topic). Essentially because either gender can identify with it and it covers the idea of "cute" and "cool" very well. Going from a nice pet, to a neat electric partner on the big/small screen.

I have to add that I personally think the choice of Pikachu was a great idea! I must say that any of the starters would have been a great mascot as well though, but I have assumed they were reluctant in doing that because it could make it seem like one of the starters were better than the others? I'm not totally sure but that was my idea of it. I think Growlithe could have been another good pick, I might add~

Pretty much all of these reasons are why. Choosing Pikachu as the mascot was a brilliant move.

It's cute, but not overtly gender-skewed so it has universal appeal, it is different enough to be interesting, but not so different to the point where it looks strange, like some other Pokemon choices. Pikachu is yellow, which compliments Ash's almost entirely blue attire.

So many reasons. All brilliant.

I pretty much agree with everything that was already said, the reason behind Pikachu's status as mascot instead of Clefairy is because unlike Clefairy, Pikachu has a more gender-neutral appeal whereas Clefairy would only cater to a female audience, especially because it's pink which is viewed as a very feminine color. To get the right mascot, they had to ensure they appealed to both gender demographics or else the franchise could have been viewed in the wrong light.

Also, Gigginold brought up an interesting point. Pikachu's design is unique but not too weird. It's cool but cute at the same time, and complements Ash Ketchum's design in the anime really well, and its yellow color complements the usual green, red and blue color schemes of the starter trios. It just all works perfectly.

Ash's Pikachu may be god tier, but he's the reason why the anime became a success and trust me, I don't think it would have taken off as well if Pikachu wasn't there as the mascot.

i dont why pikachu.....but that dude is dominates Japan right now !





i not a fan of pikachu..but i guess they made the right choice..

He is yellow so he is very eye catching + he is the main characters Pokemon in the anime + he is cute + he has some attitude and character.

Because Pikachu is FFFFing amazing!

Well yellow is a happy colour ...

Why? Why not?

I mean seriously, look at this fuckin' thing:


Look at that cute little guy! He's so adorable it hurts. Aww, he's so cute I wanna drown him. God.

Yeah, it was supposed to be Clefairy originally... I think they picked Pikachu because it's a little less feminine as far as cute things go.

Honestly, I like it. Pikachu is pretty well accepted everywhere as cute while Clefairy is usually dubbed as girly because it's more fairy-ish and pink and everything. I do actually wonder how Pokémon's marketing would have worked with Clefairy as the mascot.