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Back in the day, Pikachu was just the best. He was cute, bold and dangerous all at the same time, had a cute voice and said nothing but his own name. People the world over loved him. Then Pokemon got like 5,000 other collectible monsters and Pikachu kind of took a backseat to the cooler new kids in class.

For a while, Pikachu clung to his fame like an aging Hollywood star exhibiting a little too much potbelly and affinity for sub sandwiches, but now, like a DJ part-timing as a kid’s birthday party clown, he’s stooped to new lows – showing up for any random appearance with five to ten audience members and the promise of some Tauros meat.

Pikachu, kids apparently don’t choose you, because they’re too busy watching Yokai Watch – the newest and apparently best monster collection-based anime franchise.

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As you can see from these photos, this is an event in which Pikachu was the main draw and only, like, four kids showed up with their bored-looking parents.

It’s important to note that Pokemon is still a huge cultural phenomenon in Japan, with airlines painting major characters on their planes, a train line pretty much devoted to Pokemon, several Pokemon specialty shops in major downtown areas still drawing thousands and a general cultural fascination with collectible monsters. But, on the other hand, Yokai Watch is really killing it in stores and on television, leaving Pikachu and his ilk in the dust.

We wonder if this will affect the price tag of that super rare Pokemon card…

Source: My Game News Flash