With Pikachu's prominent role in the Pokémon anime seemingly at an end, it may be time for its role in the games to take a step back as well. Since Pikachu is the most commonly recurring Pokémon in the series, imagining a game without it may be difficult. Even so, it may be time for other Pokémon to finally take the spotlight.It was recently revealed that Ash and Pikachu's role in the anime would be coming to an end after leading the series since its inception. This in turn can bring questions about Pikachu's role as the mascot of the franchise. To date, the only main Pokémon titles that Pikachu could not be caught in are Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, meaning that it has had a presence in every generation so far. Although it took until Ash's appearance in Pokémon Masters for him to get involved in the games, Pikachu has always been there.
Pokémon Games Without Pikachu Could Give Other Pokémon A Chance
No Pokémon has been more present in the franchise than Pikachu. While Zubat has a reputation for showing up everywhere, and some fans have taken issue with Charizard's repeated appearances, Pikachu has overshadowed all others with its longevity. Not only main games, but spinoffs as well have given Pikachu plenty of screen time. Although its role as mascot justified this, it also carries the risk of Pikachu being overexposed.
Pikachu is the world's most recognizable Pokémon, largely thanks to its position in the anime. Now that it won't be taking center stage anymore, it may end up slipping out of game rosters as well. While Pokémon Yellow's Pikachu refusing its Poké Ball was at least a distinctive reference to the anime, its almost guaranteed spot in the roster of every new title has been a bit excessive. If Pikachu doesn't receive this spot, then it's easy to wonder what other Pokémon may end up taking its place - perhaps another Generation 1 Pokémon that hasn't been lucky enough to receive the same amount of attention, or maybe another Electric-type. Due to Pikachu's constant presence, it's hard to say for certain.
Pikachu's perpetual appearances have been driven by its status rather than its usability. Although Raichu is somewhat decent, its role could easily be taken by any number of other Pokémon. Without Pikachu's guaranteed place in the games, it could make a place for more underappreciated Pokémon to earn recognition for themselves. Raichu is cooler than Pikachu in Pokémon, even it gets overshadowed by Pikachu itself. In that way, it may be passed time for Pikachu to take a couple of games off.
Pikachu's Fading Relevance Could Lead To The End Of Pokémon's Pikaclones
Pikachu's place at the forefront of the franchise led to a string of Pokémon that seemed designed to follow in its footsteps in some way. Starting with Pikachu's baby form Pikachu in Gold and Silver, it became a tradition for Pokémon to keep adding a new electric rodent Pokémon with every generation. As a result, these Pikaclones became as predictable as a new early-game bird Pokémon or set of box legendaries. Despite this, they were usually not worth seeking out during a player's adventure.
There are a couple of issues with Pikaclones, the first being that most of them are not especially impressive when it comes to battle. A few of Pokémon's many Pikachu clones have their niches, such as Emolga's Electric/Flying type that neutralizes Electric's only weakness, or Plusle and Minun's specialty in double battles. Their main issue is that in most cases, they aren't very good compared to other Electric-type options. In fact, until Pawmi in Scarlet and Violet, none of the Pikaclones aside from Pichu were even capable of evolution. The fact that almost all of them shared their respective games with Pikachu anyway meant that they often failed to live up to its popularity as well.
If Pikachu's relevance in the games does fade, then the long string of Pikaclones may come to an end as well. There are plenty of good potential ideas for Pokémon that haven't been tried yet, so they don't need to keep making Electric-type rodents time and time again. Giving up on Pikaclones in light of Pikachu's departure would probably be a good thing for future generations. Pokémon GO already has enough Pikachu variants, so putting less focus on trying to recapture Pikachu's formula would be a good thing.
Pokémon Is Big Enough To Not Rely On Pikachu
As of Scarlet and Violet's release, there are now over 1000 Pokémon in the series. Despite such an enormous roster, Pikachu has remained as the face of the franchise for the past nine generations. While each game's box legendaries get a lot of attention when their respective games come out, the spotlight always falls back on Pikachu in the end. At this point, it should be safe to say that Pokémon has outgrown the need to rely on its main mascot.
Almost every Pokémon in the series is someone's favorite, even if they aren't as well-known as Pikachu, Charizard, or any of the series' other big names. Mew also contributed to Pokémon's popularity, and it receives nowhere near as much attention as Pikachu. There are more than enough species to make sure that Pokémon games don't need Pikachu, at least not in every game moving forward. There are more than enough Pokémon in existence for players to collect in each game. Even fans of Pikachu itself would have plenty of other Pokémon to look to, either for Electric-type coverage or for similar style.
With so many Pokémon to choose from, it wouldn't be an issue if Pikachu were to be skipped over in some future games. By not including Pikachu, the developers could benefit from trying to portray other Pokémon as iconic members of their generation, as was done fairly successfully with Lucario in Diamond and Pearl. Pikachu never matched its power from Pokémon's anime, and after nine generations, it doesn't need to be elevated above other Pokémon anymore.
Pikachu may have been the face of the franchise since the beginning, but Pokémon can do just fine without it. Its status and main character role in the anime kept it in virtually every game, but there comes a time when every series needs to make a change. Pikachu will always have its fans, but much like the anime, Pokémon can survive without Pikachu in every game.