Pokémon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, in case you forgot. Surprisingly, The Pokémon Company has done quite a bit of promotion for the series, including new game announcements, a new game release (Pokopia), and merchandise lines at Target and beyond. In a nice throwback, it looks as if the original 1997 plush of Pikachu, lovingly dubbed “Chonkachu” by fans and already re-released earlier this year, will be getting a second production run as part of the 30th anniversary festivities.
As reported by Inside Games and Siliconera, Japanese retailer Shimamura Park has opened pre-orders for the second run of a life-sized fat Pikachu plush sometime this month. Stated to be 40 centimeteres tall, or roughly 16 inches, the plush is going for ¥6,300 (about $43) and should be arriving in late June or early July. He’s a fat little rat, which perfectly matches his original depiction in Pokémon Red and Green/Blue.
I vaguely recall seeing these plushes in the US back in the day, but I don’t believe I had one. I did manage to get the recently released grayscale Pikachu plush, who is short and fat and adorable. Pikachu’s design has become slimmed out over the years, likely to make him more appealing to younger generations, but I’ll always have a soft spot for his original, plumper design.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
