POKÉMON Anime Director Explains Why Ash Got Pikachu

Kunihiko Yuyama is the director for the Pokémon anime and a recent interview provided some interesting tidbits about the series. The fan and reporter Dephender over on Serebii translated a recent interview with Animedia in the lead up to the end of the current Pokémon anime and Ash’s journey. One of the biggest takeaways from the interview for fans is the reason Yuyama gives for Ash (Satomi in the Japanese) to have started with a Pikachu. He shares:

I think of Pikachu as a combination of cuteness, strength and the ability to bring a few laughs (laughs). By the way, I decided from the very get-go that the Pokémon that would become Satoshi's partner would not be one of the three you choose between at the start of the video game, since I figured that might make some of the viewers sad. That's why he ended up with a Pikachu, a decision I'm really glad I made.

In short, it’s because Yuyama didn’t want to play favorites between the three starters and have that create a ripple effect for the fans. I think that’s a very fair and understandable point of view. The anime came out after the games and so it could’ve really made some fans angry to not have their favorite starter selected or made fans feel like their starter was the best because it was the one used by Ash. I also enjoy Yuymama’s vision for Ash’s character:

The Pocket Monsters anime started airing about a year after the first video games had been released, and Pokémon was already massively popular with children at the time. So in that respect, Satoshi was "the boy who showed up late". The viewers knew way more about Pokémon than he did. Satoshi positioned himself as a very equal-opportunities kind of guy as far as Pokémon and the world they live in goes... I think people normally project themselves onto things or filter their thoughts about them in some way, but Satoshi doesn't. He accepts the Pokémon he encounters for what they are, showing no prejudice or fear, and is able to befriend them quickly. I think this is the main thing that makes him so appealing.

He also shares why Ash and Pikachu didn’t immediately get along in the anime.

Pokémon aren't always what humans expect them to be like. They're unique individuals that each have their own individual reasons for how they interact with humans. That's the kind of themes, or relationships, the Pokémon anime shows; How someone can eventually get along despite being unable to communicate at all when they first meet. Communication is one of the main themes of the show, and Satoshi's first Pokémon, Pikachu, puts it into practise.

There are so many different kinds of Pokémon in this world, so when we depict them, we try to start by imagining what would happen if these Pokémon actually DID exist in a given place, and what those Pokémon would be doing in that case, then let the story develop from there.

You can read the entire translated interview on Serebii courtesy of Dephender. What’s your favorite takeaway? If you were going to choose a non-starter for Ash to use, which Pokémon would you have chosen?