>>28032608Pikachu was already kind of the mascot of the series by the time any chance for evolution came up. His cute official artwork, relative rarity in-game, and a few other factors I can't think og probably massively contributed to his popularity.
It is funny to consider though: in hindsight, given Pikachu's lackluster stats (as least as I recall in the original Red and Blue), it felt like the Anime was originally trying to drive home what a true, uphill struggle Ash would face when he fucked up pokemon selection beyond anything possible for a player.
>>28031796I feel if Ash ever did evolve Pikachu, a semi-gag should be that he still gets called Pikachu, even as a Raichu.
>>28032435or this.
