In terms of iconicism, there are few things that can stand up to Pikachu from the Pokemon franchise, but they do exist. One might argue that Godzilla and his array of monster companions and enemies are equally recognizable, and now they can be seen together like never before. Shell Studios just revealed a new Pikachu figurine with an incredible twist: he's cosplaying as Mecha Godzilla. While both characters are awesome and iconic, few would have expected to see them in any official capacity like this, but it doesn't seem like anyone's complaining about the odd collaboration.
Pokemon is no stranger to giant monsters, but the ones in that franchise tend to be less intense. Between Tyrannitar, Venemoth, Monkezuma, and others, the whole cast of Godzilla could be recreated in a Pokemon team. Even so, this news is as surprising as it is awesome, and fans are loving the design of this enthusiastic cosplaying Pikachu. By contrast, there aren't a lot of electrical rats in Godzilla, but despite this simple truth these two seem to fit together so perfectly.
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At the moment, Mecha Godzilla Pikachu is set to release during the third quarter of 2021, but there's no exact release date just yet. In terms of pricing, fans can secure their figurine with a down payment of $33.99, but the rest of the $103.99 price tag will have to be paid later. That means that those that pre-order now can expect a $70 charge once the figurine finally releases. Given that the figurine is 148 mm tall (just under six inches), this may seem a bit pricey to some, but for a figure like this, there are those that would pay even more.
Oddly enough, there's a substantial amount of fan art out there that already imagines this type of mash-up. One notable example of this comes directly from RJ Palmer. The artist for Detective Pikachu created a Pokemon evolutionary chain for Godzilla, and other art along this line exists in great numbers as well. Why fans have drawn this connection between Pikachu and Godzilla remains unclear, but few would argue against the results. The fact that Shell Studios is able to create a figurine like this and sell it is truly something amazing. It won't be long now until players want to see Godzilla in Super Smash Bros.
More likely than not, this figurine got the greenlight because 2021 marks the 25 year anniversary of Pokemon, with the first games in the franchise releasing way back in February of 1996. Over the last 25 years, players have seen eight generations of Pokemon games, several anime adaptations, manga versions, a successful card game, merchandising, and more. At this point, Mecha Godzilla Pikachu almost seems like the next logical step forward, but the concept is still so bizarre that it has caught many fans off guard.
There is surely more to come this year as Nintendo celebrates the birth of one of its most popular franchises. Last year marked the 35th anniversary of Mario, and Nintendo didn't hold anything back when celebrating that. There were several new game releases, remakes of popular games like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Fans should expect to see more great collaborations like this, remakes of old, beloved Pokemon games, and information about what the future holds for the franchise in the next few months. Though what exactly this will look like remains uncertain. Fans should have some idea of what's to come by February 27th.
Pokemon's Mecha Godzilla Pikachu releases in Q3 2021.
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