Early June brought a new trailer for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, set to release in November of 2022. The preview came with a few new Pokémon that will be ing the roster, including the electric mouse Pawmi.
Pawmi is a mono-Electric Pokémon inspired by mice with electric cheek pouches and big ears. If that sounds familiar, it's because Pawmi is the ninth Pokémon to be a direct Pikachu knockoff. It feels like there's one every single generation, and some are far better and more inspired than the other mascot knockoffs. How do the Pikachu ripoffs compare?
Pichu
Pichu is part of a line of "baby Pokémon" introduced in generation 2. It's the pre-evolved form of Pikachu but was introduced years after its evolved form.
The very first Pikachu knockoff is actually part of the Pikachu line itself. It would be difficult to call Pichu a knockoff if it had been released in the same generation as Pikachu, but the baby form always felt like a gimmick that was piggybacking off the success of Pikachu. The mouse even somehow made its way into Smash Bros.
Pawmi
Introduced in Scarlet & Violet, Pawmi is an undeniably cute mono-Electric mouse with very basic abilities in Static and Natural Cure.
While Pawmi may be cute, it's arguably the most Pikachu of all the Pikachu clones. It doesn't have an interesting second typing, an interesting ability, or anything design-wise separating it from Pikachu. The one thing saving Pawmi as a Pikachu clone would be if it evolved into something interesting, but right now Pawmi is simply cute yet bland.
Dedenne
Dedenne was introduced in X and Y with Electric/Fairy typing, an interesting combo for the generation that was the debut for Fairy-type Pokémon in the series.
Design-wise, Dedenne is completely uninspired. It basically looks like someone tried to draw Pikachu from memory and messed up the tail and color palette a bit. However, the Pokémon has one unique trait: its typing. The typing of Electric/Fairy at least gave something unique to Dedenne to separate it from Pikachu.
Minun
Minun is one half of a duo of Electric-type mice Pokémon introduced in Hoenn, with the gimmick of being half of a set that creates a plus and minus end of electrical polarity.
Minun is a mediocre Pokémon with one of the worst gimmick abilities in the game in Minus, which boosts its special attack if there is an ally Plus Pokémon. Unfortunately, this isn't practical even in-game for most teams, so the good Minuns have Volt Absorb instead. Design-wise, they get points for an interesting concept in twin polarity Pokémon.
Plusle
Plusle is the counterpart to Minun, a pair of mono-Electric mice that are based on positive and negative electric polarities and very mediocre base stat totals.
While it looks almost identical to its sibling Pokémon Minun, there is a small distinction. Plusle is more offensive, while Minun has slightly higher defense. For Pokémon as frail as Plusle and Minun, the defense doesn't add much and the offense can help secure a KO. Also, Plusle is the only one with Lightning Rod, one of the best doubles abilities.
Pachirisu
Pachirisu is a mono-Electric squirrel introduced in gen 4. It's equipped with a decently high speed stat and a surprisingly incredible move pool.
Pachirisu rose to fame after being on the first-place team for the 2014 VGC world championships. Pachirisu makes an amazing doubles partner primarily thanks to its combination of Nuzzle and Follow Me, two of the best moves in the format. Pachirisu being surprisingly viable for a Pikachu clone isn't all it has going for it, it's an adorable squirrel, making it slightly different from its mouse counterparts.
Emolga
Emolga is a flying squirrel Electric/Flying-type from Unova. It comes with good speed and a decent ability in Motor Drive. It is most associated with Elesa.
Emolga takes the electric rodent theme to a fun and interesting twist with the flying squirrel motif. Not to mention, it's arguably the cutest of every Pikachcu knockoff. With a great utility moveset for a fast-but-weak Pokémon, Emolga is one small Scarlet & Violet away from being a legitimately strong doubles utility Pokémon in all levels of play.
Morpeko
Morpeko is an Electric/Dark-type who can change forms with its ability Hunger Switch. It's also the signature Pokémon of the beloved trainer Marnie.
Morpeko and Marnie make a great Pokémon/Trainer pair, and despite Grimmsnarl being Marnie's ace in battle, Morpeko was her signature. Marnie attachment aside, Morpeko has a cool signature move in Aura Wheel and a very unique signature ability in Hunger Switch. It's probably the clone with the most inspired and unique design, but unfortunately, there's not much reason to use it in a playthrough or in competition.
Togedamaru
Togedamaru is an Electric/Steel mouse introduced in Gen 7. Stat-wise, it comes equipped with decent attack and speed. It is the signature Pokémon of Sophocles.
Togedamaru has a lot going for it. Its design is very cute and spherical, with a unique typing among Pikachu knockoffs. It also comes with a decent signature move in Zing Zap and a great defensive tool in Spiky Shield. While almost all Pokémon among the Pikachu knockoffs are lacking in strength, Togedamaru is possibly the strongest among them.
