>>50696587>And yet Pikachu's the mascot instead of Bulbasaur because Pikachu best describes a Pokemon better than even the most "Pokemon" of Pokemon... Hm...Think about it a little.
In the original games, Pikachu is nothing special, just a rare early route mon, while Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are the starters.
Then came the anime.
If Satoshi started with a Fushigibane, fans of the other two starters would complain, and the same would happen if one of them were chosen.
The solution? Pick another mascot-like mon to be the anime protagonist's starter.
Observe that there's an old Pokémanga (not Adventures) where Clefairy was the main character's starter.
It was the worldwide success of the anime, amidst the larger context of PokéMania of course, that catapulted Pikachu's status, and it became the *de facto*, and later *de jure*, franchise mascot.
Also, there's the insider perspective of the game designers, producers, etc. compared to the fans'.
I'd say that, among the starters, Pikachu, Clefairy and some others, there was mascot potential, and it could've happen with any of them.
It happened to be Pikachu. As a design, sure it has its merits, but luck and cirscumstances also played their part.
