A fan’s new Pokémon cosplay prop has turned Pikachu’s tail into an impressive sword. Pikachu is the most iconic Pokémon, and numerous cosplays have reimagined the beloved character over the years.
Undoubtedly the most famous Pokémon of them all, Pikachu has been featured in countless fan works. The Electric-type owes much of its popularity to being featured as Ash’s starter Pokémon in the anime, thereby entertaining generations of fans ever since. Pikachu’s yellow fur and red cheeks are familiar to millions today, and indeed every significant part of its design could be separated from the rest and still be recognized. The success of the anime even led to the development of Pokémon Yellow back in the franchise’s early years. This gave players the opportunity to play a reimagination of Red & Blue more in line with the anime’s storyline, accompanied by their very own Pikachu as a starter which won’t evolve under any circumstances.
Now a creative Pokémon fan has created a cosplay sword based on the design of Pikachu’s tail, with the distinctive yellow thunderbolt shape that becomes brown towards the base. Reddit user Pennykun recently posted an image of the brightly-colored weapon to the site, quickly attracting thousands of upvotes from fellow fans. Made of foam like many cosplay props, the sword sports a red-jeweled handle straight out of a fantasy novel. However, returning to the overall Pikachu theme, a pair of distinctive black-tipped ears form a kind of backswept handguard. This isn’t the first time that cosplayers have provided a more martial take on Pokémon; earlier this year, fans were also treated to a Valkyrie warrior version of Eevee.
Pokémon Fan’s Pikachu Sword Is A True Iron Tail
Although the image makes it hard to accurately judge scale, Pennykun has assured fans that the sword is on the large side, and is “definitely two handed” as a weapon. Other commenters have noted that the narrow pointed handguard could pose a risk of injury, especially to the wrist area, but Pennykun has stated that there have been no such incidents so far. Many have also made jokes about Iron Tail, a move in Pikachu’s movepool frequently seen being used in the anime, as a real sword would be a perfect match for the Steel-type move. And, of course, the idea of an enormous weapon made from a living creatures’ tail has drawn parallels to between this Pokémon cosplay and the Monster Hunter games.
This enormous sword would make a particularly badass prop for any Pokémon cosplayer. Although it looks like it would be somewhat impractical in an actual fight, there are many other popular weapons from across gaming in similar positions. Oversized swords, weapons made from body parts, the list goes on. The fact that this particular sword looks like a Pikachu has run afoul of a Monster Hunter protagonist is honestly far from a detriment. In fact, the apparent size of the weapon only adds to its appeal. The cheerful colors and distinctive lightning-bolt shape both make this weapon’s source immediacy apparent and give it a unique appearance. This Pokémon cosplay prop is a masterpiece of a weapon with an awesome design.
