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Is Nintendo trying to replace Pikachu as mascot

WriteThemWrong

LetMeHearYourPokemon's___ Voice
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    We all know there are a few Pikachu "carbon-copies" and a lot of people, including myself, are puzzled at their similarities to the beloved mascot of Pokemon. But were they all designed to replace Pikachu as the mascot?

    Pikachu became the mascot of Pokemon after fans chose it out of the original 151 Pokemons. That's about all the information I could find about it; no proof of voting, no interviews, nothing (I don't blame you Wikipedia, this happened so long ago and was before your glorious inception).

    In an interview with IGN, Game Freak director Junichi Masuda said Pichu was designed "when we were trying to figure out who would be the "next" Pikachu."

    https://ds.ign.com/articles/956/956279p2.html

    I don't know many people that dislike Pichu, it's cute and it obviously evolves to Pikachu, but what about the others: Plusle, Minun, Pacharisu, and now, Emolga. Most of the them are hit or miss visually and none of them evolve so you can't really say they are effective in battle. So what reason do they have being there (very existentialist, I know)? Is Nintendo simply trying to create tie-ins in their new games with the originals with these Pikachu-inspired Pokemons? Or is Nintendo trying to design their own mascot for Pokemon?
     
    Well, change is good.

    It's better if they change their mascots now and then.

    Lucario for President!
     
    Well I read somewhere that Marill was actually supposed to replace Pikachu in gen 2 and that Junchi Masuda or Sugimori. referred to it as "Pikablu" I think it was here actually and the poster did have proof I just can't remember who it was, as for Plusle and Minun they were created as a gimmick to promote double battles and whatnot . I can't really find a reason behind Pachi but I'm pretty sure Emonga is supposed to be a better Pachi?
     
    Ugh, I hate Plusle and Minun. I used to just dislike them, until I tried Pokemon Ranger and was forced to use one. Irrational overreaction to not getting to pick my partner, lol. Anyway, I'm really really glad those two didn't take off.

    Emolga is damn cute, but I'm not sure if it's mascot material. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Tabunne/Audino is supposed to be the BW mascot (not overall I don't think), but I dunno. From the anime, I'd say Kibago/Axew is doing that.

    If any new games are going to build on B&W, though, and keep having all new pokemon, they're gonna need someone for this new set of regions.
     
    Replacing the mascot would be a bad move. Pikachu is the face of the whole multi-media franchise, and it's safe to say that millions and millions of people across the world know the name of that face, or recognize him. If they ever changed their mascot it would only confuse people, it'd be like replacing Mario (For the Mario franchise). Pikachu is used by the protagonist of the anime, has two of his own games, and is catch-able in each of the first four regions. Pikachu's probably one of the most well-known mascots in the whole world.
     
    By making ones that look like Pikachu it is more of a tribute to Pikachu rather then a potential replacement. And if they did have new mascot I think they would want to go a different direction then the small Electric type. If they replace Pikachu then Ash would be replaced as well. They would probably loss more money dumping Pikachu then actually creating something new and fresh.
     
    I don't think those Pokemon are meant to replace Pikachu, they're just supposed to be his equivalent in another region. Constantly reusing Pikachu would get boring, creating new, yet recognizably similar Pokemon is a great way to pay homage.
     
    Yukimi said:
    I don't think those Pokemon are meant to replace Pikachu, they're just supposed to be his equivalent in another region. Constantly reusing Pikachu would get boring, creating new, yet recognizably similar Pokemon is a great way to pay homage.
    Click to expand...
    Couldn't agree more to this. Pichu, Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu and Emolga are meant to be Pikachu's Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova counterparts respectively.

    And I wouldn't want Pikachu to be replaced because it's recognized by a lot of people.
     
    If Nintendo was seriously trying to rebrand the mascot of Pokémon, you'd know it. They'd have immense marketing for said Pokémon--and I don't mean the ridiculous amount they already have for starters & legendaries, I mean like... massive.

    The Pikachu clones are just that... the "Pikachu" archetype of each generation. Aside from Pichu which fit right into the Pikachu line, all of them are pretty much single-form (non-evolving, I mean) Pokémon. To me it's really no different than comparing Pidgey/Hoothoot/Taillow/Starly. Sure, none of the clones really match up to Pikachu at all but that's what they're there for regardless.

    ...and now I read the other posts in this thread and realize the second half of my post was redundant. Oh well. XD;
     
    If they change it, most people won't recognise that it's Pokemon...
     
    Kirbychu said:
    Replacing the mascot would be a bad move. Pikachu is the face of the whole multi-media franchise, and it's safe to say that millions and millions of people across the world know the name of that face, or recognize him. If they ever changed their mascot it would only confuse people, it'd be like replacing Mario (For the Mario franchise). Pikachu is used by the protagonist of the anime, has two of his own games, and is catch-able in each of the first four regions. Pikachu's probably one of the most well-known mascots in the whole world.
    Click to expand...

    Yukimi said:
    I don't think those Pokemon are meant to replace Pikachu, they're just supposed to be his equivalent in another region. Constantly reusing Pikachu would get boring, creating new, yet recognizably similar Pokemon is a great way to pay homage.
    Click to expand...

    These. Replacing Pikachu's role as mascot would just be like all those companies who try to pull off the annoying move of "changing/updating their logo to feel fresh/modern". All it does is ruin something that many people consider to be classic, and will most likely spur backlash (some of which is justified, some of which borders on unnecessary *link removed* territory).

    Considering that Pikachu has gotten its own mini-movie series (the Pikachu Projects that accompany each movie) and has appeared in nearly every episode to date, even tampering with its renowned worldwide mascot status would be a detrimental move to Nintendo and Game Freak. All of those Pika-clones are meant to remind people of Pikachu, serving as regional Expies of our (favorite) electrical mouse critter.
     
    Tonko said:
    I seem to recall reading somewhere that Tabunne/Audino is supposed to be the BW mascot (not overall I don't think), but I dunno.
    Click to expand...
    I see what you did there.

    Since GF has had a single mascot for so long and kept adding little electric rodents to each game to not-so-subtly remind you who the star of the franchise is you can bet they won't ever replace Pikachu. Of course, it seems like each new generation gives a couple of new pokemon their 15 minutes of fame to keep you from OD-ing on Pika-cuteness.
     
    Even though Pikachu is still the mascot...
    And that'll probably never change...
    I still find it funny that you can't even get a Pikachu in Black or White until after you get the National Pokedex xD
     
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