For those in the know, there is a certain thing from the U.S. that is actually very popular around the world, including quite so in Japan and in a way sort-of rivaling Pokémon there. I'm not too involved with it, but just enough to know and be entertained by it. Even so, it might seem possible to discuss it in terms of Pokémon and the other way around - to discuss Pokémon in terms of it. So, I thought I'd go and do just that.
A key part of the "certain thing" is a boy and his dog, which I don't have to say is quite similar to the relationship between Ash and Pikachu. They certainly care about each other in many ways, and I mean that for both cases above. Yet they might differ at times and in some ways, but everything still works out in the end - at least mostly in the former case. The bond is evident in both, and so are the implications that arise.
In a way, the former's pair has been described to be the combination of the "everyman and ideal self", albeit separately. Retaining this line of reasoning for Pokémon, any character in its world, beyond Ash and Pikachu, can be taken as measures of both - although it has to be admitted that Ash does have a lot of that "everyman" quality and Pikachu shows a lot of "idealism" for what anyone, person or creature, can be.
Of course, the "certain thing" is not solely about them. They have their friends, and likewise for Pokémon, there are friends and comrades for every situation. The former can be likened to a smaller, close-knit version of Pokémon Masters EX that doesn't really expand but still has a lot of what is going on in that game. And what goes on is a lot of bonding as well as some friction, as is expected in any human life and relation.
Getting back to Ash and Pikachu, the former has a shirt that bears resemblance to one that is owned by the aforementioned boy, in a way furthering the connection between the two. And though the imagination of Pikachu isn't too unusual - aside from an attraction involving a certain kind of red bottle - the Pokémon benefits from the imagination of his Trainer, achieving feats in battle that may just be unbelievable for others.
The "certain thing" remains a fascination for those in Japan, just like how Pokémon has in turn become a fascination for those in the U.S. and all around the world. Behind that fascination (for either or both of these), it seems easy to draw some parallels between the two things to understand them by way of each other. That's not a "nutty" thing, even if that "certain thing" is, in a way, for all the (Pokémon) kids at heart in a "peanut gallery".
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