Who developed the original Pikachu design for the Pokémon games?

Atsuko Nishida developed the original Pikachu design for the Pokémon games.

During Pokémon Red and Green's development, lead designer Ken Sugimori wanted more cute Pokémon and brought female Game Freak staff into the design process. Nishida was tasked with creating Pikachu and its evolutionary line.

Her design brief included making Pikachu an Electric-type Pokémon and fitting it into an evolutionary family that eventually included Raichu. Pikachu's original sprite used a single color identity, partly because of Super Game Boy hardware limitations.

Ken Sugimori created much of Pokémon's key artwork and is often credited broadly with the franchise's visual style. However, the specific original Pikachu design is associated with Nishida.