Pikachu might be the main mascot of Pokémon, but it just got one-upped at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships. And it’s all because a very special Pachirisu captured the hearts of spectators both near and far when it emerged from its Poké Ball.
Players and fans alike gathered for the 2024 Pokémon World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii, over the weekend. The tournament hosted competitions for several games, including the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the most recent generation of video games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. While this meant spectators got to see newer additions to the Pokédex, like some of the powerful Paradox Pokémon, the real showstopper was a Pachirisu that belonged to Sejun Park, the 2014 world champion in the video game Masters Division.
To understand the hype around Park and his Pachirisu, it’s helpful to run down a brief history of their roles in the competitive Pokémon scene. Prior to his win in 2014, Park regularly placed at the top of the global player rankings, but never won. Then, in 2014, he ran a creative team centered around Mega Gyarados and Pachirisu. Because of the success of his team, and the fact that his Pachirisu stood out in a sea of similar but more competitive options, his Pachirisu took on a legendary status within the Pokémon community. Today, a video from the Official Pokémon YouTube channel describes his win as “arguably the most iconic moment in competitive history.”
On Friday, 10 years after his big win, Park decided to bring Pachirisu back again, and onlookers could not have been more thrilled. A recording from the Worlds stream shows the moment when Park sent out Pachirisu and you can hear the crowd roar. Pachirisu had the title “the Chosen One,” and fans watched as the little guy tanked an attack with a critical hit from Aaron Zheng’s Chien-Pao.
Online, people on X hailed the return of “King Pachirisu” and shared clips and art featuring the adorable Pokémon. One tweet, with almost 16,000 likes, showed an image of Park’s lineup and said, “HE BROUGHT BACK PACHIRISU NOOOO WAY?!?!”
Unfortunately, Park’s strategy didn’t work as well this time. Park went up against Zheng and lost two games in a row — and, later that day, his spot in the tournament. Still, I have to give him respect for being loyal to Pachirisu. At the end of it all, he shared a celebratory tweet with side-by-side images from his win in 2014 and the 2024 competition. While it’s been 10 years since Park’s Worlds win, it warmed my heart to see his plushie pal Pachirisu is still by his side.
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