gaming What if Pikachu never existed?

[weegeez 150]

my life would be so much better, nothing in the world i hate more then that yellow rat. besides it wouldnt affect anything imo, they would have used one of the starters, or clefairy/jigglypuff.

[Tom The Diamond 1,830]

Well you see, it really wouldn't have effected Pokemon's popularity much. Why?

 

Well, Clefairy was originally gonna be the mascot for the series instead of Pikachu, but Pikachu picked up more popularity, which I would attribute to his Gender Neutral appeal, where as Clefairy appeals mainly to girls, cause boys don't want to play with icky pink things that are adorable and have 'Fairy' in their name. So I'd imagine that either they'd change the mascot to a more gender neutral Pokemon like Poliwhirl (Who has a rather Gender Neutral Design, and is Satoshi Tajiri's favorite Pokemon), or Clefairy would have been the Mascot, which while might have lowered appeal in the West, wouldn't really effect sales in Japan for obvious reasons.

 

Or alternatively they could have opted to not have a Mascot Pokemon. There were 151 at the time, why make the face of them all just one?

 

And Pikachu really wasn't what rose Pokemon to popularity. It was Mew. Ya see, the whole concept of Mew, an extremely rare and powerful creature that could only be obtained by going to Nintendo Events is what really helped Pokemon's sales in Japan, and gave Pokemon the fan base and popularity that allowed it to grow into the second biggest video game series in the world, second only to Mario.

 

And finally, the Anime would pretty much be the same, just with either the Mascot Pokemon, or with Charmander. (His name IS Ash after all, Ash=Fire) And lets be honest; Who would really care? As long as his sidekick was adorable to girls and badass to boys, it would work and help the anime execute it's main plan; To encourage kids to buy the games.

[Captain Marvelous 544]

if pikachu didn't exist?

 

then Clefairy would be Ash's main pokemon, and become Pokemon's mascot

[Fluttershy05 17]

I would have never liked pokemon I guess. Pikachu is powerful and adorable in the show which is why I watched it.

[Cocodrillo 1,565]

I really don´t like Pikachu (I always use thunderstone asap - Raichu is just so much better, and also looks better), but I don´t think it would be the same without him. Even my parents know Pikachu (and they didn´t watch it and don´t know any other poke). The point of Pikachu is that he is.. (well, I have to admit it...) kinda cute, small but also strong and useable. It means that Ash could carry him on the shoulder or anywhere he wanted, he had him out of his pokeball all the time (so everypony could enjoy his cuteness).. but he also could use him in the battles. In this case, I don´t think Pikachu could be replaced with Charizard as you all say. Charizard is just too big to be carried out of his pokeball and he also disobeyed, which could be problem. He looks awesome and cool, but he´s not cute and he doesn´t make an annoying PIKAAAA sound. The only pokemon with similar role as Pikachu was Togepi - still out, adorable, making cute sounds. But again - Pikachu was also fights in battles, that little crap was just useless adorableness, and in the minute he became useable he left the group.

I guess without Pikachu, they would have to make either another cute&strong main protagonist pokemon, or pick one of the existing - I think Eevee is the best for this part, he is way more cute than Pikachu, strong, with plenty of eevolutions - I would kick Ash´s ass for not let him evolve! In this case he and Gary would have the same pokemon which would unlock plenty of new scenario possibilities.

 

Everything is possible.

[SomeoneWhoUsedToBe 14]

I'll admit, it gets old when Pikachu always uses the same attack. And always wins. But, hey, Atleast it isn't a rattata, right?

[Cocodrillo 1,565]

And Pikachu really wasn't what rose Pokemon to popularity. It was Mew.

 

I have to agree with this, while Mew is my most fav pokémon (well, he shares that place with Vaporeon, but still!) and I have even a facebook page based on him. I still have MewTwo vs Mew in my PC and I just have stucked in my mind that moment when I was in the cinema (I was 4/5 years old.. ) and there was a video sample/advert of that movie. I was like "OMG I HAVE TO SEE THAT " and I wished so much that flying adorable thing would win .

[Zalgo 593]

Well the mascot was originally going to be clefairy... So I guess maybe Ash would have a clefairy?

 

Although that doesn't really seem to fit...

[Twiliscael 3,960]

If Pikachu never existed, it wouldn't be weird for him to be gone. Another Pokemon would have been used, and taken Pikachu's spot. As for who, I'd say either one of the starters or an Eevee. I dunno why, Eevee just seems kinda appropriate, especially since it has so many evolutions it could be hard for Ash to decide on one which actually gives a reason for Ash not evolving Pikachu.

[Devious Detonation 442]

If Pikachu never existed, then the first games that would come out of Pokemon franchise would be pokemon black and white :3

[Vaporeon 1,168]

While Clefairy was going to be Ash's main Pokemon and of course be the mascot if Pikachu wasn't created I would prefer Eevee just because he's cute, he has several different evolutions and he's just as marketable as Pikachu. Plus Jolteon is a better electric type.

[RippedOffMattress 314]

My guess is that Charizard or Charmander would take place. Makes sense doesn't it? They're already very popular, even without all the whoring out that Pikachu's doing.

[pactor 29]

Actually weirdly enough allot of people I know hate pikachu so I doubt it would change the following. And if they were to replace him one of the starters would take his place.

[~Sugar Sprinkles~ 638]

I would be so upset :/ I wub Pikachuu!!!!! Life would not be the same without him he ish soooo adorable

[Driz 1,552]

I heard somewhere that Jigglypuff was almost chosen as the Pokemon that would accompany Ash in the anime and everything, but was replaced by Pikachu because she was pink. So I guess if Pikachu never existed, Jiggly would probably be the face of GameFreak nowdays...

 

I'm not sure if Jiggly would have the same fanbase as Pikachu, because they are completely different after all. I like her better than Pikachu though, but that's just my opinion. :3

 

But I mean, SOME Pokemon needs to be used as a mascot to sell their products.

Edited August 18, 2012 by DrizzleSTAR

[OkBuddy 586]

Pikachu never existing? That would be like taking magic from Disney. Pokemon would never be the same with pikachu.

[Clover Heart 978]

I would be so sad ;_; As a gen 1 Pokemon fan, seeing a bajillion new Pokemon that you don't recognize, it's nice to see something familiar (Pikachu) when attempting to wade through all the unfamiliarity. That, and he's my favorite character in the original Super Smash Bros.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

meh, like others said, nothing HUGE would change. i do like pikachu though, so i wouldnt be as happy with the show. the games are seriously awesome tho.

[Thundershock 310]

pikachu is really cute, but i would have to say that if pikachu never existed, the mascot would either be charmander, squirtle, or bulbasaur

[ErBoi 501]

Supposedly, before the anime reached production stages, Ash/Satoshi was planned to have Clefairy as a starter but that was ultimately swapped for Pikachu in favour of marketability towards boys (at least that's how I recall the story). At the time though, Pikachu already existed anyway so he wasn't created for the anime.

So...Ash may or may not have had a Clefairy if Pikachu didn't exist but it's also likely that another Pokémon would have been chosen instead for the same reason that Clefairy was swapped out.

[Marcato 2,143]

What if Pikachu never existed?

 

 

 

If Pikachu never existed then ash would never have gotten a pokemon, and the entire pokemon anime/tv show would have never worked~

[Danny Phantom 9]

If Pikachu never existed, then Ash would have a Clefairy. No joke. Look it up. It's creepy. Also, Pokemon Yellow would likely be Pokemon Pink, and Clefairy would be on all of that merch instead of our favorite little electrical mouse. In other words, Pokemon in general probably wouldn't have been as popular without Pikachu. Aren't you glad Nintendo thought of that little guy?