Pokemon Fan Spots Incredible Pikachu Car in Real Life
One Pokemon fan has spotted an incredible and rare Pikachu-themed car in real life, just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary.
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Over the course of its 25-year-long history, the Pokemon franchise has seen some incredible pieces of merchandise and promotions. These have ranged from ultra-rare cards in the Pokemon TCG to symphonic concerts that travel across the world. And while Pokemon is still as popular as ever, marking itself as the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, it’s hard to ignore the “Pokemania” of the late 1990s.
While the first mainline Pokemon video games released in Japan in 1996, the franchise exploded into popularity when it came to the West in 1998 and hit other countries in 1999. The Pokemon TCG, anime, movies, and video games were a sensation, especially with younger demographics. The franchise began to see more promotion than ever, and one fan has now spotted a rare piece of promotion from the ’90s: a Pikachu car.
Over on Reddit, user MantaRayBoi posted an image of a decked-out Pikachu-themed Volkswagen Beetle they spotted at their local gas station. Back in 1998, 10 Pikachu-themed cars, coined “Pokemon Patrol” by The Pokemon Company and “Pika Bugs” by fans, were created to promote the launch of the Pokemon franchise in the United States. However, Reddit user mewisme700, who owns one of the cars themselves, noted that this particular Beetle was sold by American toy company FAO Schwarz.
In a video detailing the history of the Pikachu Volskwagen Beetles, mewisme700 explains that these 1999 FAO Schwarz-sold cars, while not officially registered through Nintendo, originally retailed for $39,995. Additionally, only 2 Pika Bugs were made and sold, though the toy company originally wanted to sell 50. So, this particular car may be considered even rarer than the original 10. Since their creation, the cars have been used over the years to promote different movies, video game releases, anniversaries, and even E3 1999. The Pika Bugs came complete with a speaker that played Pikachu voice-lines, a CRT television in the trunk with a Nintendo 64 console, and more.
Out of the 2 FAO Schwartz Pika Bugs ever made, this particular vehicle spotted by MantaRayBoi seems to be the only one currently accounted for, residing in New York, while the location of the other car is currently unknown. Reportedly, there are now a total of 7 complete and in-tact Pika Bugs left in the world, with 2 of them supposedly being owned by Nintendo itself.
While this is undoubtedly a rare sighting to say the least, it is certainly fitting that a rare Pikachu-themed car would gain traction online just in time for Pokemon’s 25th anniversary. While The Pokemon Company has since resorted to more modest marketing tactics, it will be interesting to see if any more Pika Bugs show up or are created in the future.
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