Captain Pikachu could be coming to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Your exits are located here, here, and here. The Pokemon franchise is soaring to new heights in the anime, and while we're distraught that Ash and his Pikachu are off on their travels without us, Captain Pikachu is stepping into the cockpit.
The anime and games have largely kept themselves apart because Ash has never properly appeared in a mainline game - apart from a blurry photo in the background of Sun and Moon. We've seen things come together more recently, with the Gen IX starters being the poster 'Mon for the post-Ash anime.
Is Captain Pikachu coming to the Pokemon games?
Presumably, to avoid criticisms that Captain Pikachu is just our Pikachu in a captain's hat, adding him to the games in an easy way to ease the transition and set him up as a fan-favourite in both mediums.
As pointed out by Serebii creator Joe Merrick on Twitter, The Pokemon Company has trademarked the symbol on Captain Pikachu's hat. Originally, players were worried this would tie into those rumoured Pokemon NFTs, but thankfully, Merrick doesn't think it's the case.
Merrick added, "I'd be surprised if one isn't added alongside one of the DLC patches." Then again, with the next anime series coming in April and the first DLC (The Teal Mask) not expected until Autumn, Captain Pikachu coming sooner makes sense.
If Captain Pikachu is flying into Scarlet & Violet soon, the promised game update coming by the end of April could be a time to add him. However, that update is seemingly just for bug fixes, so it remains to be seen whether there's room for that flying mouse.
What is Captain Pikachu's role?
It's not too much of a surprise that Captain Pikachu's role is as a pilot. The anime is already setting him up, with Professor Friede's airship suggesting Captain Pikachu will be touring the world with new protagonists Liko and Roy.
Serebeii offered an update on the anime, with a reveal of Friede's crew, known as the "Rising Volt Tacklers." We assume the team will have a role to play in the overarching story. Captain Pikachu's role will likely become clearer when the episodes start to air.
If Captain Pikachu is coming to the games, we'll likely be taking to the skies. Either way, the filing of the Captain Pikachu trademark opens the floodgates to a deluge of Pokemerch. Expect everything from plushies to Funkos to be soon flooding stores.