Which Pokémon creator designed Pikachu?

Atsuko Nishida designed Pikachu, with the final design completed by Ken Sugimori.

Nishida worked on the Pokémon project after lead designer Sugimori wanted more cute creatures to balance designs that were often more intimidating. She was given guidelines including Pikachu's Electric typing and its evolutionary relationship with Raichu.

Nishida's early design work drew inspiration from squirrels, including the idea of storing electricity in cheek pouches. Satoshi Tajiri later described Pikachu as a mouse-like Pokémon, and the character's official species classification became the Mouse Pokémon.

Pikachu was not originally guaranteed to be the franchise mascot. Clefairy was also considered for a leading promotional role, but Pikachu's appeal to children of different genders helped it become the anime's central companion and Pokémon's most recognizable symbol.