20 Mind-Blowing Things You Didn’t Know About Pokémon

20. Pokémon Went To The World Cup

The overlap between Pokémon and football (or soccer to our American friends) seems at first glance to be fairly minimal - there isn't much football in Pokémon and there certainly isn't much Pokémon in football. Well, at least until last year, at any rate.

Japan went to Brazil in the summer of 2014, having qualified for the World Cup finals - and they took along a fair few characters for the ride. In total, 11 of the characters were featured as official mascots of the Japanese football team, due to an agreement between Nintendo and Adidas, who were Japan's official kit sponsor and provider.

Unfortunately for Pikachu and friends, Japan went out at the group stages - but the idea of Pokémon Football is fantastic and should definitely be re-explored.