Pikachu appears to be getting a redesign for the next Pokemon game

Over the past few days, all of Nintendo and Game Freak's secrets have been spilling out across social media, and if I had a nickel for everything that's happened recently, I'd be really rich. This time around, a bit more has been revealed, with key details about Pokémon's launch lineup being revealed, as well as the title of Gen 10 and the existence of a rather interesting “multi-region” MMO project.

A new leak has revealed further details about Gen 10, and if these leaks are true, it seems to suggest that our favorite little electric mouse is set to undergo a bit of a redesign for the next mainline Pokémon title. First shared by Centro Leaks, a new model of Pikachu is currently making the rounds on Twitter, standing next to the current model seen in all the latest games.

Pikachu appears to be getting a redesign for the next Pokemon game

You can see the new model in the tweet above, and you'll immediately notice that this new Pikachu is much less chunky than the current model. His head is much more rounded and his body is much less cylindrical. And I'm starting to get worried that someone at Game Freak has given Pikachu some kind of extreme weight loss treatment and isn't feeding him properly.

Pikachu didn't really need a redesign, but I can't say I dislike his new look. People like Twitter user Swag Kirb have pointed out that this new model looks very similar to the version of Pikachu that Nintendo likes to use to advertise Pokémon events and various merchandise. So it's possible that Game Freak will align the two models a bit better for marketing purposes.

It also raises the question of whether other popular Pokemon will be getting new models in Gen 10, or if it's literally just Pikachu that's on board Ozempic. Given that the latest leaks indicate that Gen 10 will be releasing at some point in 2026, we probably won't have to wait too long until Game Freak finally makes an official announcement and actually shows off the next big mainline game.