Why Pikachu Is Pokémon's Mascot

Nowadays, it's easy to accept Pikachu's role as the official mascot of the franchise 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 and countless spin-offs, including the virtual pet game and the game-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, but Pikachu still reigns as the mascot even 28 years later.

Pokémon is filled with incredibly charming creatures, but some scary much more visual appeal than others. There's a reason some Pokémon are so iconic!

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 in (translated into English by ). Conceived from the beginning as a cute, 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.

But it was Pikachu's outsize role in the anime that eventually made it the series' sole definitive mascot. In an interview for the official website (which has since been removed, but is preserved by a translation via ) Game Freak co-founder Ken Sugimori explains that Pikachu's starring role was no accident. None of the starters from,, or would've sufficed, as they would alienate players who had chosen different starters, as if they had made the "" choice. So producers at OLM, Inc., the company behind the anime, 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