Pokemon Legends Arceus, the action RPG released for Nintendo Switch on January 28, has a really neat detail Japanese Pikachu fans have noticed.

In the first Pokemon games, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green/Blue, Pikachu, and every other pokemon, had digitized cries as voices. While this tradition continued in most Pokemon games, starting Pokemon XY, Pikachu got voiced by Ikue Otani just like in the anime. Similarly, Eevee, since Let's Go Eevee, is voiced by Aoi Yuki.

Ikue Otani is an incredibly popular seiyuu (Japanese voice actresses and actors) known for voicing cute mascot-like characters. Other mascot-like characters she voiced are Chopper in One Piece, Morgana in Persona 5, Candy in Smile Precure, and Unicorn in PriPara. Personally, I like her role as Merle in Escaflowne.

Aoi Yuki is a much younger seiyuu but incredibly famous as well, most notably known for voicing Madoka in Madoka Magica, Futaba in Persona 5, Hibiki in Symphogear, and Lysithea in Fire Emblem Three Houses.

  • MORE - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 could be revealed this year

Japanese Pokemon fans notice Legends Arceus brought back Pikachu and Eevee's original voices

Pokemon Legends Arceus includes a digitized voice cry for Pikachu, going back to the series' roots rather than using the same voice as in the anime. Similarly, the original digitized voice of Eevee was brought back as well.

Pokemon Legends Arceus has early scenes in-game with Pikachu and Eevee so fans quickly noticed the change on social media. As Automaton noted, it's interesting to observe the generational gap between older Pokemon fans who were moved by the comeback, and younger Pokemon fans who never heard the digitized cry in the first place. You can look up several reactions in Japanese by searching "ピカチュウ 鳴き声" on Twitter, and in English by searching for "Pikachu voice".

One of the first tweets sharing a video of Pikachu's cry went viral a few hours after the release of Pokemon Legends Arceus:

What do you think? Do you prefer the digitized Pikachu cry or the "pikapika" voice from the anime? Tell us in the comments below!