Pokemon Designers Reveal Pikachu's Original Third Evolution

Koji Nishino, Atsuko Nishida, and Ken Sugimori, key illustrators and designers for the original Pokemon video game, spoke about the could-have-been for Pikachu's lineage in a recent interview on yomiuri.co.jp.

One topic they dive deeply into is the origin and development of the brand's franchise character, Pikachu. One of the things they confirm was the rumored idea of a third evolution for the electric mouse.

"Yes. It was Pika(chu), Rai(chu), and Goro(chu). The Pokémon known as Gorochu bared fangs and even had a pair of horns." Nishida stated. Sugimori followed up the statement with "There wasnt any problem with its appearances, but it was omitted due to matters surrounding game balance."

Much like how "Rai" means thunder in Japanese, Goro comes from "goro-goro," the Japanese onomatopoeia for thunder.

When asked if they tried to create anything that could rival Pikachu, they remarked on their desire for other cute Pokemon to gain attention, such as Clefairy.

Nishino: I would like to see other Pokémon get some attention. Like Clefairy.

Sugimori: Clefairy was the result of my attempt at creating a cute Pokémon. However, Pikachu managed to impressively take away the popularity and left Clefairy in the shade.

It's hard to imagine what Gorochu would have looked like, fangs and horns don't exactly fit the -chu family's cute nature. Though I'm sure they would have found a way. You can read an English translation of the interview at ResetEra.