Granted. Pikachu is no longer a Pokémon, but rather an item which you use to Surf. Pichu and Raichu are deleted from the game, as well as the move Surf. This doesn't affect competitive too much because they all suck poop and everyone uses Scald anyway. The merchandise department isn't affected too much, since Pikachu still exists. However, something that was affected was the anime, in which Ash grabs on to Pikachu in order to swim across the water. More specifically, they had to retcon the episode "The Flame Pokémon-athon!" and are airing the new episode this summer on Disney XD.
Originally, the episode had Ash riding Lara Laramie's Ponyta because she got injured the night before. However, this time, Misty rides in her stead (girl power!) and Ash rides Pikachu, who can swim. Despite being 10 years old, Ash is still pretty heavy. Under the pressure of the race and having not eaten for a while, Pikachu starts slowing down and both it and Ash almost drown and are rushed to the Pokémon Center for medical attention. Misty, noticing this, exits the race and tends to Ash, while Ponyta wins on its own. This causes Ash (voiced by Veronica Taylor in the dub and not Sarah Nachobenny) and Misty to grow close together. Finally PokeShipping is official and saves millions of lives, having solved world hunger and cured cancer just by being canon.
However, this is where the good news stop and the bad news bears come to town. PETA, noticing the "blatant abuse of animals" once again, decides to speak out against Pokémon for the umpteenth time. But unlike their previous attempts, they are joined in their protest by Amourshippers. Together they make two terrible movie parodies of Pokémon and one even worse Direct-to-video sequel. They also burn down the Japanese embassy in Uganda as a sign of protest. This is very bad, and nearly sparks the beginning of World War 3. Despite having tensions quelled by peace activists Miley Cyrus and those three guys that are responsible for cosplaying that famous Dugtrio, the animosity between the different countries in the world have never been higher...
(to be continued???)
I wish that Pokémon Green was released in South America.