Suspect Detective Pikachu gets transformed into something as cute as the real thing.

Spend enough time as an anime fan, and odds are you’re eventually going to own at least one piece of counterfeit merchandise, like a bootleg soundtrack CD, photocopied poster, or knock-off figure. Maybe you didn’t even mean to buy the bootleg: you simply saw a great price for something you wanted, and clicked to buy it from an online seller who turned out to be shadier than you’d originally expected.

Regardless of what her thought process was during the purchase, Japanese Twitter user @a_nyahandmade recently ordered a Detective Pikachu plushie from a seller in China. But lo and behold, when her package showed up, the plushie inside the box didn’t bear much resemblance to the Pokémon sleuth who’s been charming moviegoers in the franchise’s first live-action film.

That said, the stuffed animal wasn’t ugly, it just wasn’t Pikachu. But it could evolve into something cuter with the help of @a_nyahandmade, who used her talents for sewing and crafting to give her knock-off Pokémon a full makeover.

▼ Before (left) and after (right)

@a_nyahandmade started by using a needle and thread to reshape Pikachu’s face, making it rounder and less oblong. Next, she applied a clear topcoat to Pikachu’s eyes, transforming them from flat and dull to sparkling with the investigative intellect of a world-class detective. A round of flocking added enough extra fiber to Pikachu’s nose to make it appropriately fluffy, and finally @a_nyahandmade applied some bright red dye to his cheeks to give them a healthy glow and complete the energetically friendly aura that Pikachu is supposed to radiate.

▼ A diagram of the changes @a_nyahandmade made

The transformation is as impressive as any celebrity makeover, and admiring Twitter users left comments including:

“What a great plastic surgery job. He’s totally cute now.”

“I ordered the same Pikachu plushie that you did, and when it arrived and I saw how it looks, I was thinking of returning it, but this gives me hope.”

“This almost makes me want to buy the same knock-off and give it a makeover too.”

“It’s like there was a Pikachu who was raised in a bad environment by an evil Pokémon Trainer, but then you saved him and took such kind care of him, creating a Pokémon story of your very own.”

It’s definitely a sweet ending to the story, as it looks like @a_nyahandmade and her detective buddy will be together for years to come. Meanwhile, those of us without sewing skills are probably better off sticking to the officially licensed Detective Pikachu plushies.

Source: Twitter/@a_nyahandmade via IT Media
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