The long wait is over, my friends. If you have long waited for Ash's Pikachu to return to his roots, your wish has come true. Decades ago, fans first met Pikachu when the stater was little more than a chonky mouse, but he has since gone on to become a champion. Now, a new episode of Pokemon has allowed Pikachu to revisit his old days, and that means his physique was brought back with him.
As you can see below, the Internet is geeking out over the return of Fat Pikachu. It has been well over a decade since Pokemon fans saw the design in action, and it feels good to see the boy in action once more.
The whole ordeal went down this weekend when Pokemon put out a new episode. The series followed up with Ash who has been watching Leon (or Dende rather) take on an old opponent of his. Lance is battling to become the world's best trainer, but the Galar hero beats him out in the end. Things get even more complicated when a stray Drednaw shows up to Dynamax, and Pikachu decides to fight the huge monster before transforming himself.
As many fans expected, Pikachu did Gigantamax, and that allowed the Pokemon to revisit his old form. The monster packed on some girth as he transformed, leaving Ash stunned as he watched his now-massive Fat Pikachu stumble around the field.
Despite being wobbly on his feet, Pikachu put up an intense fight, and fans are feeling proud of the mascot. In fact, most fans would have been happy enough to see Fat Pikachu return period, but his spot-on victory only made the nostalgia play that much better.
What do you make of this surprise Pokemon makeover? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Pokemon: The Series is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. There's also a brand new film on the way to Japan this Summer, Pokemon the Movie: Coco. Netflix will also begin streaming Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution shortly.