Pokemon Reveals New Pikachu and Snorlax Forms

Pokemon has just revealed new forms for Pikachu and Snorlax, both of which will be introduced in the upcoming cozy life sim Pokemon Pokopia. Pokemon has a long history of giving its most iconic creatures variant designs, ranging from Mega Evolutions to unique regional-exclusives like Alolan and Hisuian forms. But these new Pikachu and Snorlax forms might go down as some of the franchise’s best alternate designs, especially in recent years.

Announced during the September 2025 Nintendo Direct, Pokemon Pokopia looks like an exciting mashup of Pokemon, Minecraft, and Animal Crossing, with its gameplay seeing players team up with Pokemon to create an island paradise. Pokemon Pokopia is set to launch on March 5, 2026, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2, though original Switch owners can join their friend’s game via GameShare.

Pokemon Pokopia Introduces Peakychu and Mosslax

A new Pokemon Pokopia deep-dive has just been uploaded to the official Pokemon YouTube channel. This lengthy trailer showcases a plethora of new gameplay features heading to the cozy Pokemon game, such as the player-character Ditto’s ability to transform into Lapras to surf across water and turn into Dragonite to fly through the air. At the end of the 10-minute Pokemon Pokopia breakdown, three new Pokemon forms are shown. The first is a colorful, paint-splattered Smeargle form named ‘Smearguru.’ The second is a droopy-eared, pale Pikachu called ‘Peakychu.’ And the third is a grass-covered Snorlax with a blooming flower on its head named Mosslax.

Being the Pokemon franchise’s most prominent mascot, Pikachu has had countless redesigns and special variants over the years, ranging from recolored shiny variations to a bevy of costumed iterations. That said, aside from its Gigantamax version introduced in Pokemon Sword & Shield, Pikachu has never been given an entirely new form before. The same is true for Snorlax. But while Pikachu and Snorlax have at least had Gigantamax forms, Pokemon Pokopia‘s Smearguru is the very first alternate design that Smeargle has ever been given.

Developer Koei Tecmo hasn’t confirmed Peakychu, Mosslax, or Smearguru’s roles in Pokemon Pokopia‘s gameplay, though it seems likely that the new forms will grant the player-character’s Ditto some new abilities, similar to how Bulbasaur allows the player to grow grass and Squirtle lets them water crops. Alternatively, these special forms could be some of Pokemon Pokopia‘s newly confirmed quest-givers, who ask the player to complete specific tasks in exchange for rewards that go towards the island’s progress.

Source: Pokemon Website