>>40216058In Japan it's mascot status was at a point where it was on equal footing with Pikachu which had never happened before. There was a lot if shock when it started appearing on promotional material Pikachu normally had to itself.
Dawn was really popular too. May was popular too because of her VA but Dawn eclipsed her and had moved a lot of toys to little girls and was pretty much on equal footing to Ash in promotional material in Japan. It was honestly kind of a surprise when she left because of this.
