Who designed Pikachu?

Atsuko Nishida designed Pikachu.

Nishida was a graphic artist at Game Freak who worked on Pokémon’s original creature designs. Pikachu began as a more compact, chubby character than the version widely recognized today. Its yellow body, long ears, and lightning-bolt tail helped it become visually distinctive, while Ken Sugimori later finalized and illustrated the design for the games and other franchise materials.

Pikachu was not originally planned as the worldwide face of Pokémon. The anime’s decision to make Pikachu Ash’s partner greatly increased its prominence, and the character soon became the franchise mascot. This is why Ken Sugimori is often associated with Pikachu’s artwork even though Nishida is credited with creating the original character design.