Pikachu is actually based on squirrels and the pikas are up in arms

Pikachu, which looks something like a cross between a mouse and a rabbit, has always been put in the “mouse” category in the Pokédex, the digital encyclopedia for Pokémon. Legendary artist Atsuko Nishida, who designed Pikachu and a number of creatures in the “Pokémon” franchise for game developer Game Freak, previously revealed that she based Pikachu's original design concept on a squirrel, according to SVG. Nishida told local platform Yomiuri that she developed a fascination with squirrels while developing the original design concepts for “Pocket Monsters Red” and “Pocket Monsters Green,” the video games where the iconic characters first appeared.

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