Is Black Pikachu shown during the “Pokemon Presents” video a new upcoming character or a subtle message?

During Ishihara Tsunekazu’s presentation of “Pokemon Presents”, many viewers in Japan were surprised to see a black Pikachu (Kuroi Pikachu) on the opposite end of the the yellow Pikachu.

Many wondered if this is The Pokemon Company showing their support for #blacklivesmatter or is this a new character being unveiled?

“Pokemon Presents” was showcasing the diversity of families and children who love Pokemon at the beginning of the video.

昨日のポケモンプレゼンツで石原さんの後ろに同じ大きさの黒いピカチュウときいろいピカチュウがいて、#blacklivesmatter への共鳴はもちろんなんだけど、Covid-19の死者に「ピカチュウが埋められてる」と言ったアジア人差別に対するカウンターもあるのかなと思った pic.twitter.com/7G0bmcVK4b

— みけこ (@mizuki_cathy) June 18, 2020

And the inclusion of the Black Pikachu may be a subtle way for the company to show their support of #BlackLivesMatter from Japan.  And if that is the case, that would be pretty cool.

But is it a new character?

Many feel its the character from the Fujiwara Hiroshi x Pokemon 2nd from 2019 which featured a Black PikachuBlack Evie, Black Mewtwo, etc, .

“Men’s Non-No” featured some of the merchandise as part of Fujiwara’s Fragment Design last April.

ついに黒ピカチュウのマスコットが！　藤原ヒロシ × ポケモン第２弾 | MEN’S NON-NO WEB | メンズノンノ ウェブ https://t.co/w3alizgRJN
例の黒いピカチュウ、コラボ商品なのね

— 平松真次 (@hirasindao) June 18, 2020

Dior Designer Kim Jones featured his Black Pikachu mascot keychain last year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thank you for the Pikachu @fujiwarahiroshi

A post shared by mrkimjones (@mrkimjones) on Apr 1, 2019 at 4:47am PDT

But only mascot keychains were developed, not a huge plush.  Could it be that this is a hint of a possibly character that will be coming soon on any of the Pokemon video games?

We’ll have to wait and see.