If you were a child sometime in the last three decades, you’ve likely had some sort of a connection to the cultural juggernaut that is the Pokémon franchise. An intellectual property so well known that Microsoft Word has autocorrected my spelling of the word Pokémon three times now. My personal connection to the franchise has persisted throughout my life. As a seven-year-old, I scrounged together change to buy a pack of the trading cards at the local 7-11.  Later in life, I almost got robbed in a park while playing Pokémon Go at 2 AM in 2016 (true story).

Most recently, I’ve begun to see Instagram ads for products not associated with Nintendo that draw from the vast pool of Pokémon nostalgia to push their products. One service in particular, called Pika Pika by Arianna, caught my eye. It’s a commission-based service that offers to draw your pet and insert them into a Pokémon card. The card looks like it could be used in the actual game. The picture of the pet is drawn in the style of a Pokémon. Typically, on every Pokémon card, there is a picture of the Pokémon and a list of abilities or moves that it can do.  The abilities that are listed on the Pika Pika card are creatively adapted in accordance with your pet’s personality. I have two pets myself, and I’ve thought about using this service on more than one occasion.

Continue reading “Nintendo’s IP: That’s No Pokémon, That’s My Pet!”