721 Pokémon. That's the staggering number of Pokémon that now exist thanks to the continued success of the franchise and yet, not a single one of those critters has ever come even remotely close to matching the astronomical popularity of Pokédex entry #25. Just look at those rosy cheeks, don't you just want to pinch, pull and squeeze them until every last volt of electricity has been extracted and left you a little crispy? No? I guess it's just me that's a creepy grown man with a yellow mouse fetish. Which is strange, because - I'm sure I risk my safety when I say this - Pikachu isn't particularly special in his native video game format. In fact, his abilities and prominence have been lacking ever since the days of the original Red and Blue (and Yellow) versions released at the height of the Pokécraze back in the 90s. Indeed, it's all thanks to the Pokémon Anime, and more specifically, Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, that the 'Mon has since become the all-encompassing face of the franchise. You may think he's popular in the West, but in Japan, the character has become a part of the country's pop culture and one of its most recognisable exports of all time.
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
