In the past few days, Pokémon fans have shared photos of their tattered, cuddly Pikachu online. Which means I have been having a lot of fun lately, indulging in an abundance of deformed Pikachu.
It all started when the Twitter account Out of context, Pokémon shared a screenshot of a post which appeared to be a store made up entirely of strange Pikachu toys. Polygon was unable to find a source for the images, but regardless of whether it was a legitimate store, the people in the responses embraced the luxurious ones.
Any of these Pikachu would embarrass Mimikyu. Some, with their strange proportions, look like imitations. Others look like the result of some horrible laboratory accident somewhere and are missing whole parts of the body. But many are simply exhausted and have dedicated their time as beloved stuffed animals! Regardless of the supposed “failures” of each one, they make me want to take them all and love them.
While the post itself is great, what makes it even better is that, in the responses, people started to flood the original tweet with pictures of their own wonderful babies. It turns out that abnormal Pikachu are strangely common.
Perhaps the most horrifying thing I found was this Pikachu, whose head is turned completely like an owl. It will really haunt me in my dreams for years to come.
Some are simply dear, as any Pikachu should be. I like this one because I swear you are looking at infinity with your big black eyes.
Was this perhaps torn by a pet? I don’t know, but its current state is strangely identifiable.
This looks like it will try to sell illicit products to you.
After examining these works of art, I suddenly remembered my own childhood toys. So I asked my mom to send me pictures of my wonderful little goblins. The largest portrayed in the main image of this article is a permanent fixture in our basement and entryway, and greets every person who comes to my family’s home.
I have another orange Pikachu that my mom bought from a random Amazon seller. I’ve only had him for four years, and he already has a seam on his ass. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to lock it in a storage unit – in video calls with story sources, they often just wanted to talk about the giant Pikachu behind my head.
That aside, I really appreciate my stuffed Pikachu and people’s responses online. No matter how you do it, Pikachu is the best-known mascot of one of the biggest media franchises since the turn of the millennium. We see Pikachu the way the Pokémon Company wants us to see it. These stuffed animals are great, because I love to see their beloved symbol all distorted and melted.
No matter what people say, I will always love these damn Pika babies.