That just means there’s more of him to love.
“Welcome back, Pikachu!” might seem like an odd thing for Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy to be saying. After all, Pikachu was there right from the start as one of the original Kanto region Pocket Monster species, and in the three decades since, he’s never once left the spotlight in one of the world’s most popular entertainment franchises.
But Takara Tomy is specifically welcoming back the original Pikachu design. Prior to his anime TV series debut, Pikachu was depicted as being quite a bit more heavyset for the original Pokémon Game Boy games…
…and was especially hefty in his original Pokémon card game illustration.
First iconic illustration of Pikachu card, published as part of the Base Set (TCG) in 1996!
— Hi-Res Pokémon! - Rescuing official Pokémon Art! (@HiResPokemon) May 5, 2020pic.twitter.com/LGnPrRqxuk
With the Pokémon franchise celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, there have been a couple of salutes to the original Pikachu (also sometimes referred to as “chunky Pikachu” or “fat Pikachu” by fans), including this one from the official Pokémon Twitter account…
ポケモン30周年、はじまる！
— ポケモン公式 (@Pokemon_cojp) December 31, 2025
『ポケットモンスター 赤・緑』の発売から30年。
2026年2月27日（金）にポケモンは30周年を迎えるよ。
今年は最高の1年になる予感！
お楽しみに！#ポケモン30周年 pic.twitter.com/iPXR83Ib66
…and now it’s Takara Tomy’s turn to give the big guy some love, with the Pokémon 30th Anniversary Welcome Back Pikachu plushie.
The welcome back here goes deeper than just Pikachu’s physique, as it’s a reconstruction of the original life-size Pikachu plushies that went on sale in 1997, but have been absent from store shelves since Pikachu achieved true mega-stardom with the more svelte form most people are familiar with today.
You can actually see this Pikachu in photos of the Pokemon Center Tokyo from 1999. https://t.co/ISJjMBrwGp pic.twitter.com/PXytuPlPc2
— Bobsplosion (@Bobsplosion) January 16, 2026
In keeping with Pikachu’s official Pokédex entry, the plushie is 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) tall. The Pokédex doesn’t include waist measurements, but visually, it looks like the plushie’s girth is consistent with the original-0design Pikachu graphics and illustrations.
▼ Please save some of those mikan for the rest of us, Pikachu.
The Pokémon 30th Anniversary Welcome Back Pikachu is priced at 7,480 yen (US$48) and will be available for order through the Takara Tomy Mall online shop here, with an official on-sale date of February 28.
Source: Takara Tomy via Jin
Top image: Takara Tomy
Insert images: Pokémon official website (1, 2), Takara Tomy
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