[访谈翻译] 宝可梦官方专访：皮卡丘诞生秘辛 —— 专访杉森建、西田敦子与西野弘二
档案记录
- Date
- 2018.07.26
- Source
- Creator Profile: The Creators of Pikachu
- People
- 杉森建, 西田敦子, 西野弘二
- Game / Work
- 未标注
- Page
- 未标注
- Language
- en
- Status
- published
2018 年宝可梦官方发布的重磅创作者档案。皮卡丘的原案设计师西田敦子、艺术总监杉森建以及数值策划西野弘二，首次完整复盘皮卡丘的诞生全过程：从最初类似‘和菓子大福饼’的圆滚滚构想、以松鼠为灵感的蓄电脸颊，到西野弘二因‘舍不得被别人捉到’而调低野外遭遇率的开发秘闻。
原始资料
皮卡丘诞生秘辛：从大福饼到风靡全球的电气鼠
图像作为阅读入口保留；正文仍以可检索、可对照的文字档案为主。
逐段译读
皮卡丘诞生秘辛：从大福饼到风靡全球的电气鼠
从杉森建、西野弘二和西田敦子那里了解皮卡丘的起源故事。
Learn Pikachu’s origin story from Ken Sugimori, Koji Nishino, and Atsuko Nishida.
原文
Two years prior to the release of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue in the United States, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green launched in Japan in 1996 for Nintendo Game Boy. It was a hit and drew many fans, especially children. The games’ popularity spread beyond Japan, and soon people around the world became familiar with the creatures known as Pokémon. Among the many Pokémon introduced, the most famous was—and still is—Pikachu.
译文
在《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 蓝》于美国发售的两年前，1996年，《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》在日本登陆任天堂Game Boy。游戏大受欢迎，吸引了许多粉丝，尤其是儿童。游戏的热度超越了日本，很快全世界的人们都熟悉了被称为“宝可梦”的生物。在众多登场的宝可梦中，最著名的——至今仍是——就是皮卡丘。
原文
In Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, Pikachu appears not as one of the first partner Pokémon the main character chooses—which are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle—but as one of the many wild Pokémon caught during the game.
译文
在《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》中，皮卡丘并非主角选择的初始搭档宝可梦——那些是妙蛙种子、小火龙和杰尼龟——而是作为游戏中众多野生宝可梦之一被捕捉。
原文
What made Pikachu so popular? Certainly the fact that Pikachu is adorable is a contributing factor. But looking back on Pikachu’s original design reveals a plumper, somewhat different form than the Pikachu of today.
译文
是什么让皮卡丘如此受欢迎？当然，皮卡丘的可爱是一个因素。但回顾皮卡丘最初的设计，会发现它比现在的皮卡丘更圆胖，形态有些不同。
原文
One of the main reasons Pikachu gained such popularity was the broadcast of the animated Pokémon TV series. Appearing as the partner Pokémon to the main character Ash, Pikachu captivated audiences with its bright yellow body and red cheeks, together with its “Pika!” cry. Pikachu’s popularity only grew, appearing not only in the Pokémon TV series but in movies as well. Pikachu now shows up in a lot more places, such as appearing at events and on many Pokémon products.
译文
皮卡丘获得如此人气的主要原因之一是动画《宝可梦》电视系列的播出。作为主角小智的搭档宝可梦登场，皮卡丘以其亮黄色的身体、红色的脸颊以及“皮卡！”的叫声吸引了观众。皮卡丘的人气不断增长，不仅出现在《宝可梦》电视系列中，还出现在电影中。如今皮卡丘出现在更多地方，例如活动场合和许多宝可梦产品上。
原文
Until now, the origin of the creation of Pikachu hasn’t been told in detail. What were the ideas and stories behind the design of Pikachu when it first appeared in the games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green? How was the beloved Pikachu created? The secret story is finally ready to be revealed—22 years after the game’s release.
译文
迄今为止，皮卡丘的创作起源尚未被详细讲述。当皮卡丘首次出现在《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》中时，其设计背后有哪些想法和故事？深受喜爱的皮卡丘是如何诞生的？在游戏发售22年后，这个秘密故事终于准备揭晓。
皮卡丘起源故事的主要参与者
The Main Actors Behind Pikachu's Origin Story
原文
We spoke with three creators who developed Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green and were deeply involved with the creation of Pikachu.
译文
我们采访了三位开发《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》并深度参与皮卡丘创作的创作者。
原文
Ken Sugimori is one of the founding members of GAME FREAK Inc. He was in charge of the official character design for Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. He is currently a director at the company.
译文
杉森建是GAME FREAK公司的创始成员之一。他负责《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》的官方角色设计。目前他是公司的董事。
原文
Koji Nishino is a planner for GAME FREAK Inc. His main role in the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games was data design, including field maps and the appearance rate and strength of Pokémon.
译文
西野弘二是GAME FREAK公司的策划。他在最初的《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》游戏中的主要职责是数据设计，包括场地地图以及宝可梦的出现率和强度。
原文
Atsuko Nishida was a character designer for Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. She currently helps with character design for the Pokémon series as a freelance illustrator.
译文
西田敦子曾是《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》的角色设计师。她目前作为自由插画师协助宝可梦系列的角色设计。
“我也想要一些可爱的宝可梦！”
“I want some cute ones, too!”
原文
First of all, why haven’t you spoken before about how Pikachu was created or who designed it?
译文
首先，为什么你们之前没有谈论过皮卡丘是如何被创造出来的，或者是谁设计的？
原文
“The process of designing not just Pikachu but Pokémon in general was complicated, with multiple people putting their ideas together and modifying the design to create a single character. Because of this, we have always refrained from simply saying who designed which Pokémon. If we were going to talk about it, we wanted to tell the whole story in detail.”
译文
“不仅仅是皮卡丘，整个宝可梦的设计过程都很复杂，是多人集思广益、反复修改设计才最终确定一个角色的。因此，我们一直避免简单地说某只宝可梦是由谁设计的。如果要谈论这个话题，我们希望详细讲述整个故事。”
原文
What is involved in designing game characters?
译文
设计游戏角色涉及哪些方面？
原文
“It involves not only character design but the design of the game itself. Pokémon, as its [Japanese] title ‘Pocket Monsters’ suggests, is a game in which monsters battle each other. At the time, I figured that since they were monsters, they should have a tough look, but midway through I thought, ‘I’d like some cute ones, too.’ There weren’t many designers in the company at the time and I was doing most of it, and since I was designing from the perspective of a man, I hadn’t thought of creating a cute Pokémon. That is why I asked some of our female staff, like Nishida, to join.”
译文
“这不仅仅涉及角色设计，还涉及游戏本身的设计。宝可梦，正如其日文标题‘口袋妖怪’所示，是一款怪物之间互相战斗的游戏。当时，我认为既然是怪物，就应该看起来强悍，但中途我想到，‘我也想要一些可爱的。’当时公司里设计师不多，大部分设计都由我负责，而且我是从男性的视角出发，没有想过要创造可爱的宝可梦。因此，我邀请了一些女性员工，比如西田，加入进来。”
原文
What was the reason behind why you wanted not only tough Pokémon but cute ones as well?
译文
你不仅想要强悍的宝可梦，还想要可爱的，这背后的原因是什么？
原文
“To bolster the concept that you don’t just battle Pokémon but collect and trade them as well, we had to make trading Pokémon more interesting. What kind of Pokémon would a player want when making a trade? Not everyone looks for the same thing, meaning you have to have a lot of variation. There is a limit to the number of tough-looking Pokémon one can make, so we made weird Pokémon, huge Pokémon, mechanical Pokémon…and after considering all these variations, I thought, ‘We need more cute ones.’ It wasn’t that the ones we had designed weren’t cute at all, especially when the Pokémon battled in a shrunken form. But since most of the Pokémon were monster-like, we thought we should add some cuter Pokémon, as well.”
译文
“为了强化宝可梦不仅仅是战斗，还要收集和交换的概念，我们必须让交换宝可梦变得更有趣。玩家在交换时会想要什么样的宝可梦？每个人的需求不同，这意味着你必须提供丰富的多样性。强悍外形的宝可梦数量有限，所以我们创造了古怪的、巨大的、机械的宝可梦……在考虑了所有这些变化之后，我想，‘我们需要更多可爱的。’并不是说我们设计的宝可梦完全不可爱，尤其是在它们缩小形态战斗时。但由于大多数宝可梦都像怪物，我们认为也应该加入一些更可爱的宝可梦。”
“它的名字叫戈洛丘。”
“Its name was Gorochu.”
原文
Did you receive any orders when creating Pikachu?
译文
你在创作皮卡丘时收到过什么指示吗？
原文
“There were no specifications other than gameplay ones, such as it had to be Electric-type and that it would evolve twice. I designed Pikachu and Raichu based on that.”
译文
“除了游戏性方面的要求，比如它必须是电属性并且会进化两次之外，没有其他具体规格。我基于这些设计了皮卡丘和雷丘。”
原文
“Weren’t you told to make it an Electric-type Pokémon and to make it cute?”
译文
“不是让你设计一只电属性的宝可梦，并且要可爱吗？”
原文
“No, I wasn’t. I was told to make its final form look strong. That’s right, there was an evolved form after Raichu at the time. Its name was Gorochu. It had fangs and horns and looked like a god of thunder.”
译文
“不，没有。我被要求让它的最终形态看起来强大。没错，当时雷丘之后还有一个进化形态。它的名字叫戈洛丘。它长着尖牙和角，看起来像雷神。”
原文
Why was this Gorochu rejected?
译文
为什么这个戈洛丘被否决了？
原文
“That’s because, in the game specifications, Pikachu ended up being the kind of Pokémon that evolves only once.”
译文
那是因为在游戏设定中，皮卡丘最终被设计成只进化一次的宝可梦。
原文
“There was nothing wrong with its appearance—it simply had to do with the balance within the game.”
译文
它的外观没有问题，只是与游戏内的平衡有关。
原文
“There was also a problem in terms of the size of the game data. We had to save space by taking Pokémon originally designed to evolve twice and making them evolve only once. Pikachu was not one of the first three Pokémon, so it was an easy target for this kind of reduction.”
译文
另外还有游戏数据大小的问题。我们不得不通过将原本设计为进化两次的宝可梦改为只进化一次来节省空间。皮卡丘并不在最初的三只宝可梦之中，因此很容易成为这种削减的对象。
原文
“Come to think of it, the one who came up with the name was Ms. Nishida.”
译文
想起来，给它起名字的是西田女士。
原文
“Since it was an Electric-type Pokémon, I thought ‘pika‘ [the expression of light flashing in Japanese]. For ‘chu,‘ [the “squeak” sound a mouse makes in Japanese] I wasn’t thinking of a mouse but rather chose it because it sounded good, and also because of its size, so I combined several different elements to come up with its name. Pikachu is not particularly mouse-shaped, and a Mouse Pokémon named Rattata already existed, so I actually hadn’t intended to make it a mouse.”
译文
因为它是电属性的宝可梦，我想到了‘皮卡’（日语中表示光闪烁的拟声词）。至于‘丘’（日语中老鼠的吱吱声），我并不是想到老鼠，而是因为发音好听，也考虑到它的体型，所以结合了几个不同的元素来起这个名字。皮卡丘并不特别像老鼠，而且已经有名为小拉达的老鼠宝可梦了，所以我其实并没有打算把它设计成老鼠。
原文
“Making Pikachu a Mouse Pokémon happened after the fact. I think Mr. Tajiri [the president of GAME FREAK], who wrote the setting text, made that decision.”
译文
将皮卡丘设定为鼠宝可梦是后来才发生的事。我认为是撰写设定文本的田尻先生（GAME FREAK社长）做出了那个决定。
“我们当时真的是什么都干得出来。”
“We really would do whatever.”
原文
By the way, who designed the first three Pokémon chosen by the main character?
译文
顺便问一下，主角最初选择的三只宝可梦是谁设计的？
原文
“Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle were all designed by Ms. Nishida.”
译文
妙蛙种子、小火龙和杰尼龟都是由西田女士设计的。
原文
“I created the designs for Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle by working backward from their final forms. I wanted people to be surprised when it evolved into Charizard, so I designed the original Charmander in such a way that Charizard would be unimaginable.”
译文
我设计妙蛙种子、小火龙和杰尼龟时，是从它们的最终形态倒推的。我希望人们看到它进化成喷火龙时会感到惊讶，所以我把小火龙设计得让人完全想象不到喷火龙的样子。
原文
“The experience of keeping small animals such as frogs, lizards, and baby turtles as pets gives the game a sense of reality and makes it easier to get into the game. I realized it might be difficult to make an emotional connection if the first partner Pokémon is a tough-looking character.”
译文
饲养青蛙、蜥蜴、小乌龟等小动物的经历给游戏带来了真实感，也更容易让人投入游戏。我意识到，如果最初的搭档宝可梦看起来很强悍，可能很难让人产生情感联系。
原文
Which “cute Pokémon” were designed by Mr. Sugimori?
译文
哪些“可爱的宝可梦”是杉森先生设计的？
原文
“I came up with the Pokémon Clefairy, but it is just one cute creature, and I was never really able to branch out from that.”
译文
“我创作了宝可梦皮皮，但它只是一个可爱的生物，我从未真正能够从中拓展出更多。”
原文
At the time, how many people were working on creating Pokémon?
译文
当时有多少人参与创作宝可梦？
原文
“A total of three people, including professional designers and those who worked in both design and programming. They were all men. Then, Ms. Nishida joined to create a four-person team. Incidentally, the company GAME FREAK had only about 10 employees at the time.”
译文
“总共有三个人，包括专业设计师和同时从事设计与编程的人。他们都是男性。后来，西田女士加入，组成了四人团队。顺便提一下，当时GAME FREAK公司只有大约10名员工。”
原文
“We didn’t have enough people, so job categories were all jumbled, and we really would do whatever. I would make resources within the game, and programmers would make designs, as well.”
译文
“我们人手不足，所以工作类别混乱，我们真的什么都做。我会制作游戏内的资源，程序员也会做设计。”
原文
“There just weren’t enough people, so we’d help each other out while working on other projects, that kind of thing.”
译文
“就是人手不够，所以我们在做其他项目时会互相帮助，诸如此类。”
“我受到了启发。”
“I was inspired.”
原文
Under the circumstances, what did you actually do to get Pikachu to appear in the game?
译文
在这种情况下，你实际上做了什么让皮卡丘出现在游戏中的？
原文
“I didn’t draw an illustration on paper, but went straight to the computer screen and punched in the dots. Using dots to create the face of this dumpling-shaped creature with no definition between its head and body! At the time, I was obsessed with squirrels. I didn’t own a squirrel, but I wanted to because I thought its movement was comical. It was here that I was inspired to make Pikachu store electricity in its cheek pouches. When hamsters store food, their entire body puffs up, but with squirrels, it’s just their cheeks.”
译文
“我没有在纸上画插图，而是直接对着电脑屏幕输入点阵。用点阵来创造这个团子形状、头身不分的生物的脸！当时我迷上了松鼠。我没有养松鼠，但我想养，因为我觉得它的动作很滑稽。正是在这里，我受到启发，让皮卡丘在脸颊的颊囊里储存电力。仓鼠储存食物时整个身体都会鼓起来，但松鼠只有脸颊鼓起来。”
原文
“Afterwards, Mr. Nishino started working as the ‘cuteness supervisor.‘ Mr. Nishino might not look like someone who could do this job, but he’s very particular about cuteness.”
译文
“之后，西野先生开始担任‘可爱监督’。西野先生可能看起来不像能做这份工作的人，但他对可爱非常挑剔。”
原文
“I just really love cute things. With Pikachu, the name alone has a cute ring to it, doesn’t it? I came to love it more and more, and wanted it to be even cuter.”
译文
“我就是非常喜欢可爱的东西。就拿皮卡丘来说，光是名字就很好听，对吧？我越来越喜欢它，希望它变得更可爱。”
原文
“Every time I would submit the design, Mr. Nishino would tell me to make it cuter, which was frustrating! I worked hard so Nishino would give me a nod of approval!”
译文
“每次我提交设计，西野先生都会让我做得更可爱，这很令人沮丧！我努力让西野先生点头认可！”
原文
Tell us more about the specifics of the design. Why are the tips of Pikachu’s ears black?
译文
请告诉我们更多关于设计的具体细节。为什么皮卡丘的耳朵尖端是黑色的？
原文
“I think that is a vestige from when he was dumpling-shaped.”
译文
“我认为那是他曾经团子形状时的残留痕迹。”
原文
“The Game Boy didn’t have color. That’s probably why we made coloring something that could be easily expressed in black and white.”
译文
“Game Boy没有颜色。这可能就是为什么我们让颜色变得容易用黑白表现。”
原文
Pikachu has a very distinctive tail as well, doesn’t it?
译文
皮卡丘的尾巴也非常有特色，不是吗？
原文
“I wanted to include some parts that expressed lightning—since Pikachu is an Electric-type—so I created this design.”
译文
“我想加入一些表现闪电的部分——因为皮卡丘是电属性——所以我设计了这样的造型。”
原文
What is the pattern on its back?
译文
它背上的花纹是什么？
原文
“I didn’t think that hard about it, but during Pokémon battle scenes, you always see the back of your Pokémon on the screen. That is why I figured it would be better to put something there rather than having it be perfectly smooth.”
译文
“我没有想得那么深，但在宝可梦对战场景中，你总是会在屏幕上看到自己宝可梦的背面。所以我觉得在那里放点东西比完全光滑要好。”
原文
Although Game Boy didn’t have color, when we made the official art with color based on the dot pictures, wasn’t it Mr. Sugimori who decided on the colors?
译文
虽然Game Boy没有颜色，但当我们根据点阵图制作彩色官方艺术图时，决定颜色的不就是杉森先生吗？
原文
“Toward the end of development, we decided that the games should be compatible with a new peripheral called the Super Game Boy, which would let players play the Game Boy on their TVs. This hardware made it possible to add just one color to Pokémon, which would be black and white on the Game Boy. That is where we decided on the colors for each Pokémon—basically an attribute color that expresses the Pokémon’s type in a way that is easy to grasp. All of the official art for Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green was based off of the dot drawings, which led to the use of yellow in Pikachu’s official art.”
译文
“在开发接近尾声时，我们决定让游戏兼容一种名为Super Game Boy的新外设，它可以让玩家在电视上玩Game Boy游戏。这个硬件使得给宝可梦添加一种颜色成为可能，而在Game Boy上它们原本是黑白的。就在那时我们决定了每只宝可梦的颜色——基本上是一种属性颜色，以易于理解的方式表达宝可梦的属性。宝可梦红和宝可梦绿的所有官方艺术图都基于点阵图，这导致了皮卡丘官方艺术图中使用了黄色。”
“我就是太喜欢皮卡丘了……”
“I just loved Pikachu so much…”
原文
Seen here are a New Year’s card and its original artwork from prior to the 1996 release of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. The design for Pikachu is slightly different.
译文
这里展示的是一张新年贺卡及其原始艺术图，时间在1996年宝可梦红和宝可梦绿发售之前。皮卡丘的设计略有不同。
原文
How was it received within GAME FREAK at the development stage?
译文
在开发阶段，它在GAME FREAK内部的反响如何？
原文
“I printed out the completed dot drawings of the Pokémon and asked people, ‘Which Pokémon do you like best?’ The overwhelming winner of this survey was Pikachu. The reason for this survey was to sort out which Pokémon would appear in the game given its limited capacity.”
译文
“我把完成的宝可梦点阵图打印出来，问大家：‘你最喜欢哪只宝可梦？’这次调查的压倒性胜者是皮卡丘。进行这次调查的原因是为了在游戏容量有限的情况下，筛选出哪些宝可梦会出现在游戏中。”
原文
“For the most part, many of the Pokémons’ final forms were removed from the final version. I think what people wanted was more variation rather than having the same Pokémon evolve twice.”
译文
“在大多数情况下，许多宝可梦的最终形态都被从最终版本中删除了。我认为人们想要的是更多的变化，而不是让同一只宝可梦进化两次。”
原文
“In the survey, Pokémon were evaluated simply on their appearance. Since their abilities during the game and things like that were still under development, it wasn’t really relevant.”
译文
“在调查中，宝可梦仅根据外观进行评价。由于它们在游戏中的能力等还在开发中，所以这并不重要。”
原文
Does that mean you were expecting Pikachu to be popular?
译文
这是否意味着你们当时就预料到皮卡丘会受欢迎？
原文
“While it was the clear winner of the in-house survey and was chosen as one of fifteen Pokémon to have its official artwork featured in the game instruction manual, at the time, I did not know what reaction to expect from players.”
译文
“尽管它在内部调查中明显胜出，并被选为十五只官方插画收录在游戏说明书中的宝可梦之一，但当时我并不知道玩家会有什么反应。”
原文
Was there anything special about the game settings for Pikachu? For example, its number in the Pokédex is 25. Does that have any special meaning?
译文
皮卡丘在游戏设定中有什么特别之处吗？例如，它在宝可梦图鉴中的编号是25，这有什么特殊含义吗？
原文
“A Pokémon’s number in the Pokédex is approximately the order that it appears in the game. This is so they don’t suddenly jump in number as the player advances through the game filling up the Pokédex.”
译文
“宝可梦在图鉴中的编号大致是它们在游戏中出现的顺序。这是为了避免玩家在游戏进程中填写图鉴时编号突然跳跃。”
原文
“That is why the number 25 for Pikachu doesn’t have any special meaning.”
译文
“所以皮卡丘的编号25并没有任何特殊含义。”
原文
Well, was there anything else special about its settings?
译文
那么，它的设定还有其他特别之处吗？
原文
“In truth, I just loved Pikachu so much, I didn’t want players to find it easily. So I made it difficult to find, placing it in the Viridian Forest with a low appearance rate.”
译文
“说实话，我非常喜欢皮卡丘，不想让玩家轻易找到它。所以我把它放在常青森林，并降低了出现率，让它难以遇到。”
原文
“It was maybe being selfish about Pikachu. But instead it just made Pikachu more valuable.”
译文
“这也许是对皮卡丘的自私吧。但反而让皮卡丘变得更加珍贵。”
原文
“Among players, it was treated as the first rare Pokémon to appear in the game. That made everyone want it, and articles on how to catch Pikachu appeared in strategy books. As a result, everyone had a Pikachu. My plan completely backfired.”
译文
“在玩家中，它被视为游戏中出现的第一只稀有宝可梦。这让每个人都想要它，攻略书中也出现了如何捕捉皮卡丘的文章。结果，每个人都拥有了皮卡丘。我的计划完全适得其反。”
“敏锐的洞察力”
“A keen insight”
原文
No longer just a game, Pokémon has expanded into an animated series, merchandise, and a variety of other media.
译文
宝可梦不再仅仅是一款游戏，它已经扩展到动画系列、周边商品以及其他各种媒体形式。
原文
“Even before the animated series started, products developed at the time almost always included Pikachu. Since I knew Pikachu was being featured, I really felt how popular Pikachu was.”
译文
“甚至在动画系列开始之前，当时开发的产品几乎总是包含皮卡丘。因为我知道皮卡丘是主打，所以我真切地感受到皮卡丘有多受欢迎。”
原文
Pikachu’s popularity was a big reason why it became the partner Pokémon to Ash, the main character of the animated TV series Pokémon, wasn’t it?
译文
皮卡丘的人气是它成为动画系列《宝可梦》主角小智的搭档宝可梦的重要原因，不是吗？
原文
“That was the decision of the director of the animated series, Mr. Yuyama. In the game, players can choose from one of three partner Pokémon—Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle—but the director felt that viewers who didn’t have their partner Pokémon chosen might feel some distance to the series, so they decided to use a Pokémon that players were unable to choose at first during the game. At the time, Pikachu was already so hot you could almost feel it on your skin, so I think that is why Pikachu was chosen. There was not much information on the internet back then, so I couldn’t see exactly how players were reacting.”
译文
“那是动画系列导演汤山先生的决定。在游戏中，玩家可以从三只搭档宝可梦——妙蛙种子、小火龙或杰尼龟——中选择一只，但导演觉得，如果观众没有选择自己的搭档宝可梦，可能会对系列产生距离感，所以他们决定使用一只玩家在游戏初期无法选择的宝可梦。当时，皮卡丘已经火到几乎能感受到它的热度，所以我认为这就是选择皮卡丘的原因。那时互联网上的信息不多，所以我无法确切看到玩家的反应。”
原文
What were your thoughts when Pikachu was chosen as Ash’s partner Pokémon?
译文
当皮卡丘被选为小智的搭档宝可梦时，您有什么想法？
原文
“Funnily enough, I just thought, ‘Oh, all right.’“
译文
“有趣的是，我只是想，‘哦，好吧。’”
原文
“Pikachu doesn’t evolve into a magnificent form like Charizard, so at the time I wondered how we would make it stronger. But since Pikachu worked with its ‘cute and strong‘ image for over years, I think it was a keen insight.”
译文
“皮卡丘不会像喷火龙那样进化成华丽的形态，所以当时我在想我们如何让它变得更强。但既然皮卡丘多年来一直以‘可爱又强大’的形象运作，我认为这是一个敏锐的洞察。”
原文
What was your impression when you saw Pikachu moving?
译文
当您看到皮卡丘动起来时，您的印象是什么？
原文
“I simply thought, ‘How adorable!’“
译文
“我只是想，‘多么可爱啊！’”
原文
We were also influenced by the introduction of the animation. Since the animation had them doing a variety of movements, including human-like gestures, we changed the shape of Pikachu’s body to make acting easier. While Pikachu was originally very short and stout, we gradually gave it a more defined neck and elongated its spine. The Pikachu appearing in the Pokémon series released after the broadcast of the animated series was influenced by how it appeared in the show. Also, I had no idea they were going to make its cry ‘Pikachu.’ It’s like a cat crying out the word ‘cat.’ I thought it should have been ‘chu.’“
译文
我们也受到了动画引入的影响。由于动画中它们做了各种动作，包括类似人类的姿态，我们改变了皮卡丘的身体形状，使其更容易表演。虽然皮卡丘原本非常矮胖，但我们逐渐给了它更明显的脖子并拉长了脊椎。在动画系列播出后发布的宝可梦系列中出现的皮卡丘受到了它在动画中形象的影响。另外，我不知道他们会让它叫‘皮卡丘’。这就像猫叫出‘猫’这个词。我认为它应该是‘丘’。”
原文
“I thought [Ikue] Otani had a great voice for it.”
译文
“我认为大谷育江的声音非常适合它。”
原文
“Nishino, our ‘cuteness supervisor,’ was satisfied!”
译文
“西野，我们的‘可爱监督’，很满意！”
“可爱宝可梦的代表。”
“The representative of cute Pokémon.”
原文
What do each of you find cute about Pikachu?
译文
你们各自觉得皮卡丘哪里可爱？
原文
“The proportion of its eyes to its face, and its chubbiness. Also, its tiny limbs are nice as well.”
译文
“眼睛在脸上的比例，还有胖乎乎的样子。另外，它的小手脚也很不错。”
原文
“The cheek pouches I was so particular about when I was creating the design.”
译文
“是我在设计时特别在意的脸颊电囊。”
原文
“I think how some parts feel cool, like its linear tail, yet it looks cute and strong.”
译文
“我觉得它有些部分很酷，比如它那线条状的尾巴，但看起来又可爱又强壮。”
原文
By the way, what are your favorite Pokémon?
译文
顺便问一下，你们最喜欢的宝可梦是什么？
原文
“I would have to say Charizard. It looked so cool drawn in dots. Its filled with the kind of coolness that boys would adore.”
译文
“我得说是喷火龙。用点阵画出来时看起来非常酷。它充满了男孩子会崇拜的那种酷劲。”
原文
“I’d say Clefairy and Snorlax.”
译文
“我会说是皮皮和卡比兽。”
原文
“I thought the Clefairy I designed would be the representative of cute Pokémon, but it was completely outdone by Pikachu. My favorite Pokémon is Gengar. I like how it’s weird and cool.”
译文
“我曾以为我设计的皮皮会成为可爱宝可梦的代表，但它完全被皮卡丘超越了。我最喜欢的宝可梦是耿鬼。我喜欢它那种古怪又酷的感觉。”
“那么，让我们来玩游戏吧！”
“Well, let's play the game!”
原文
With the release of Pokémon GO two summers ago, it seems you’ve further expanded the range of Pokémon.
译文
随着两年前夏天《宝可梦GO》的发布，你们似乎进一步扩大了宝可梦的受众范围。
原文
“I get the feeling that a wider range of people are playing the game than anything so far in the Pokémon series.”
译文
“我感觉玩这款游戏的人群比以往任何宝可梦系列都要广泛。”
原文
“We try to broaden our audiences with each game in the Pokémon series, but the mechanism behind roleplaying games might not be very familiar to people who do not normally play games. Plus, you can’t play the game unless you have the game console in the first place. However, I was surprised how many people play Pokémon GO on their smartphones. When developing Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, the simple designs of the Pokémon made it easy to understand, perhaps reaching even those who are not usually game enthusiasts.”
译文
“我们试图通过宝可梦系列的每一款游戏来扩大受众，但角色扮演游戏背后的机制对于不常玩游戏的人来说可能不太熟悉。而且，首先你必须拥有游戏机才能玩游戏。然而，我很惊讶有这么多人在智能手机上玩《宝可梦GO》。在开发《宝可梦 红》和《宝可梦 绿》时，宝可梦的简单设计使其易于理解，也许甚至能触及那些通常不是游戏爱好者的人群。”
原文
Pikachu is famous worldwide today, isn’t it?
译文
皮卡丘如今在全世界都很有名，不是吗？
原文
“As an illustrator, I always work to create characters that will always be loved, but its seems right now Pikachu is the only one. As a result of working hard to get Nishino’s approval, I created something popular with people worldwide, something I find astonishing.”
译文
“作为一名插画师，我一直致力于创作能被永远喜爱的角色，但目前看来皮卡丘是唯一一个。由于努力争取西野的认可，我创作出了在全球广受欢迎的东西，这让我感到惊讶。”
原文
“I wonder if it was because the design was so simple after all. If we had created the game in a richer environment, we could have had more detailed, colorful design, but these characters were created at a time when games were limited, since the Game Boy didn’t have color and resolution was low. But perhaps it is for this very reason, the simple shapes and distinctive coloring, that the characters are so widely loved now, even to this day.
译文
“我想毕竟是因为设计如此简单。如果我们是在更丰富的环境中创造游戏，我们可能会有更细致、多彩的设计，但这些角色是在游戏受限的时代创造的，因为Game Boy没有彩色显示，分辨率也低。但也许正是因为这个原因，简单的形状和独特的配色，使得这些角色至今仍被广泛喜爱。”
原文
“Now the world has so many characters. With smartphone games and mascots, it feels like there are a million times more characters now than when Pikachu was created. So I feel like it would be more difficult now to a create a character that would have the same presence as Pikachu. As people who love games and are still making games, we would be delighted if people first of all know of Pikachu, then think, ‘Oh, it’s a character in a game. Well, let’s play the game!’ and actually play the game.”
译文
“现在世界上的角色太多了。随着智能手机游戏和吉祥物的出现，感觉现在的角色比皮卡丘诞生时多了一百万倍。所以我觉得现在要创造一个具有皮卡丘同样存在感的角色会更加困难。作为热爱游戏并仍在制作游戏的人，如果人们首先知道皮卡丘，然后想‘哦，这是游戏里的角色。好吧，我们来玩这个游戏吧！’并真正去玩，我们会很高兴。”
原文
“We are happy if you play the Pokémon series and come to love Pikachu even more.”
译文
“如果您游玩宝可梦系列并更加喜爱皮卡丘，我们会很高兴。”
原文
With all the Pokémon series, there is an incredible number of Pokémon, isn’t there?
译文
宝可梦系列中，宝可梦的数量多得惊人，不是吗？
原文
“I didn’t think the series would continue for so long. I figured there might be a part two and that would be it.”
译文
“我没想到这个系列会持续这么久。我以为可能只有第二部，然后就这样了。”
原文
With all these Pokémon, is there anything you anticipate from Pikachu in the future?
译文
有了这么多宝可梦，您对皮卡丘的未来有什么期待吗？
原文
“I hope that people of all ages will play the game, and that different generations will know of the game and Pikachu, increasing conversation between generations.”
译文
“我希望各个年龄段的人都能玩这个游戏，不同世代的人都能了解这个游戏和皮卡丘，从而增加代际之间的交流。”
原文
“I think Pikachu is already working hard enough! There are many other cute Pokémon besides Pikachu in the Pokémon series, so I would like for them to get some attention, too.”
译文
“我觉得皮卡丘已经够努力了！宝可梦系列中除了皮卡丘还有很多其他可爱的宝可梦，所以我也希望它们能得到一些关注。”
原文
“I think characters play the role of consoling those who have been through hardship, and I hope Pokémon can play that role as well.”
译文
“我认为角色扮演着安慰那些经历过困难的人的角色，我希望宝可梦也能扮演这样的角色。”
原文
Hopefully this gives Pokémon fans a better understanding of how Pikachu came to be. The great love the three creators poured into creating this Pokémon are part of the reason it’s loved by so many today. And the story of Pikachu continues to evolve—what will we see from Pikachu in the future?
译文
希望这能让宝可梦粉丝们更好地了解皮卡丘的诞生过程。三位创作者倾注在创造这只宝可梦上的深厚情感，是它如今深受众人喜爱的原因之一。而皮卡丘的故事仍在继续发展——未来我们将会看到怎样的皮卡丘呢？