The designers know you’re going to try to ride that Pokémon you bought “for your kids,” so this Pikachu is as sturdy as it is adorable.

You’ve really got to admire how Pokémon has stayed true to its roots. It’s been almost 25 years since its debut, but the franchise has shown no interest in gritty reboots or subtly sliding adult humor into its content, remaining entirely unabashed and completely committed to its original priority of providing wholesome fun for young children.

Still, Pokémon knows that while all of its fans will eventually grow up, not all of them will grow out of their love for the Pocket Monster friends they made in their younger days, and so this adorable Pikachu toy is designed to be something both kids and adults can enjoy.

The newest creation from character merchandise design studio JAM (which stands for “joy around me”) is the Pokémon Air Pikachu. A 50-centimeter (19.7-inch) inflatable figure, it’s an adorable rendering of the series mascot, and unlike many other Pikachu toys it shows the Pokémon standing on all fours.

That stance keeps Pikachu stable, so that you can sit on him like in the picture above, And when we say “you,” we don’t just mean “your kids,” since the Pokémon Air Pikachu can support weights of up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds).

▼ Though perhaps we should expect such feats of strength from Pikachu after this.

That means that Pokémon-loving parents can use Pikachu as a chair or backrest too. Also, given the size of the Pokémon Air Pikachu, it won’t look out of place as an interior decoration, if you’re too mature to actually “play” with your Pokémon merch (or at least want a plausible excuse when you have company over).

JAM also boasts that the Pokémon Air Pikachu features “a subtle forest aroma.” While that might seem like a more fitting scent for a Grass-type Pokémon, Pikachu does spend a lot of time tramping through woodland areas in the Pokémon anime, and we’re not sure what “electricity” would smell like anyway.

The Pokémon Air Pikachu is priced at 7,500 yen (US$71) and goes on sale October 1 through JAM’s online store here, with shipping scheduled for mid-November. Oh, and JAM also mentions that pre-orders will open at 11 a.m. sharp, since there’s a good chance they’ll sell out quickly.

Source: Press release
Top image: JAM
Insert images: Press release, JAM
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