05-06-2018, 04:55 PM
We Nearly Had A Terrifying Second Pikachu Evolution With Horns And Fangs
<div><div class="media_block"><a href="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/large.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/small.jpg" class="media_thumbnail"></a></div>
<aside class="picture embed centered picture-900x img-900x">
<div class="img"><a title="pikachu.png" href="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/attachment/0/large.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/attachment/0/900x.jpg" alt="pikachu.png"/></a></div>
</aside>
<p>We all love Pikachu; for people of a certain age (this writer included), that adorable little yellow face is a perfect representation of their entire childhood, when nothing else in life mattered except ‘catching em’ all’. As it turns out, things could have been very different for the electric rodent.</p>
<p>Ken Sugimori, Atsuko Nishida, and Koji Nishino, key illustrators and designers of the <strong>Pokémon</strong> series, recently sat down with Japanese newspaper <a href="http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/fukayomi/ichiran/20180501-OYT8T50139.html?page_no=1">Yomiuri</a> to talk all things Pikachu (translated by <a class="external" href="http://www.siliconera.com/2018/05/03/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/">Siliconera</a>). When asked about Pikachu’s evolution stages, and if there were any other designs created, Nishida spoke of an early idea for a pretty scary sounding final evolution.</p>
<blockquote readability="8">
<p>“Yes. It was “Pika(chu),” “Rai(chu),” and “Goro(chu).” The Pokémon known as Gorochu bared fangs and even had a pair of horns.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The word “Goro” comes from the Japanese phrase “Goro-Goro”, which is used as an onomatopoeic description of large rumbles such as thunder, suggesting that this final evolution may have been a colossal beast of the electric mouse family.</p>
<p>Of course, Gorochu never made it into the games, but it wasn’t scrapped because of its scary nature, or from fear that it wouldn’t suit Pikachu’s loveable ways, as Sugimori explains.</p>
<blockquote readability="7">
<p>“There wasn’t any problem with its appearances, but it was omitted due to matters surrounding game balance.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Was it <em>too </em>strong? Or did it simply not fit well alongside the rest of the original 151? We’ll likely never know.</p>
<p>Do you think a final, beast-like evolution for Pikachu could have worked well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.</p>
</div>
<div><div class="media_block"><a href="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/large.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/small.jpg" class="media_thumbnail"></a></div>
<aside class="picture embed centered picture-900x img-900x">
<div class="img"><a title="pikachu.png" href="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/attachment/0/large.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/we_nearly_had_a_terrifying_second_pikachu_evolution_with_horns_and_fangs/attachment/0/900x.jpg" alt="pikachu.png"/></a></div>
</aside>
<p>We all love Pikachu; for people of a certain age (this writer included), that adorable little yellow face is a perfect representation of their entire childhood, when nothing else in life mattered except ‘catching em’ all’. As it turns out, things could have been very different for the electric rodent.</p>
<p>Ken Sugimori, Atsuko Nishida, and Koji Nishino, key illustrators and designers of the <strong>Pokémon</strong> series, recently sat down with Japanese newspaper <a href="http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/fukayomi/ichiran/20180501-OYT8T50139.html?page_no=1">Yomiuri</a> to talk all things Pikachu (translated by <a class="external" href="http://www.siliconera.com/2018/05/03/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/">Siliconera</a>). When asked about Pikachu’s evolution stages, and if there were any other designs created, Nishida spoke of an early idea for a pretty scary sounding final evolution.</p>
<blockquote readability="8">
<p>“Yes. It was “Pika(chu),” “Rai(chu),” and “Goro(chu).” The Pokémon known as Gorochu bared fangs and even had a pair of horns.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The word “Goro” comes from the Japanese phrase “Goro-Goro”, which is used as an onomatopoeic description of large rumbles such as thunder, suggesting that this final evolution may have been a colossal beast of the electric mouse family.</p>
<p>Of course, Gorochu never made it into the games, but it wasn’t scrapped because of its scary nature, or from fear that it wouldn’t suit Pikachu’s loveable ways, as Sugimori explains.</p>
<blockquote readability="7">
<p>“There wasn’t any problem with its appearances, but it was omitted due to matters surrounding game balance.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Was it <em>too </em>strong? Or did it simply not fit well alongside the rest of the original 151? We’ll likely never know.</p>
<p>Do you think a final, beast-like evolution for Pikachu could have worked well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.</p>
</div>