Who designed Pikachu’s original Pokémon character design?

Atsuko Nishida designed Pikachu’s original Pokémon character design.

Nishida worked at Game Freak and created Pikachu during development of the first Pokémon games. Her design was inspired by a squirrel, including the idea of storing electricity in cheek pouches in a way that recalled how squirrels store food. The finished character became a small, yellow, electric-type Pokémon with red cheeks and a lightning-bolt-shaped tail.

Ken Sugimori, the franchise’s art director, illustrated and refined many Pokémon and helped establish the series’ visual style. Because Sugimori is so closely associated with Pokémon artwork, he is sometimes incorrectly credited as Pikachu’s sole designer. Nishida’s specific contribution was the original creature design.

Pikachu’s appearance changed over time. The earliest game design was rounder and heavier, while later artwork and animation gave Pikachu a slimmer shape. Despite those changes, Pikachu remained the franchise’s mascot and one of the most recognizable characters in video-game history.