Who designed Pikachu, the Pokémon franchise mascot, while working at Game Freak?

Atsuko Nishida designed Pikachu while working at Game Freak. She is a Japanese graphic artist and character designer whose Pokémon credits include several major species and multiple Pokémon Trading Card Game illustrations.

Pikachu’s early design history involved several contributors. Ken Sugimori, the Pokémon art director, wanted cute characters alongside more intimidating creatures, while Nishida developed the recognizable body design. Accounts of the design process describe an early concept based on a daifuku sweet and Nishida’s later squirrel-inspired approach, including the cheek pouches that influenced Pikachu’s electric cheek markings.

Pikachu was later classified in the fiction as a Mouse Pokémon, but its visual design was not simply copied from a real mouse. Nishida also worked on designs for Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and several Eevee evolutions. Satoshi Tajiri created the broader Pokémon concept, but he is not credited as Pikachu’s individual character designer.