>>42222442Pichu was Gen 2's Pikaclone.
>Sugimori: “In every generation, we have a cute electric type Pokémon that fills the Pikachu role. In the spirit of this tradition, we’ve created Pichu, Plusle, Minun, and Pachirisu. They’re all following in the footsteps of a true star (laughs). This Pokémon’s only purpose is its cuteness. We create other Pokémon with the mindset that simply being cute isn’t enough, but this one really just has to be cute and that’s all.” 