To English children, Pikachu is more familiar than any wild animal

More than a hundred children were interviewed in two primary schools. Each of them was asked to identify ten animal and vegetal species and, later, then species of Pokémon. The kids acknowledged faster, more easily and with far less doubts Pikachu, Metapod, Muk and Wigglytuff than mice, otters, beetles, willows and oaks the researchers show them.

The “Pokemania” has been a while with us now. The series, the games and all that carries the golden seal of Pokémon is, almost before starting, a success.

The cartoon has had such an impact among kids that the University of Cambridge, UK, decided to measure its influence. And it discovered than, to English children, Pokémon’s characters are more familiar than Britain’s original animals and plants.

According to the researchers’ final report, 4 years old kids succeeded at 32% of the answers, while 8 years old children gave correct answers 53% of the times. What surprised the scientists was that the same selection of children identified without mistake the characters from Pokémon in 78% of the cases.

Translation by Carolina Friszman Autor: María Arce
Fuente: cla