Mega Dimension adds new forms for Raichu, and by extension, ensures a dead monster stays gone

Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s *Mega Dimension *DLC is out now, and it adds new Mega Evolutions, timed roguelike expeditions, and some more story to tie it all together. However, hidden in all this new stuff is the death of a dream that *Pokémon *fans have nurtured for years. Raichu’s two mega forms may have been met with celebration from fans, but by finally giving the boy his due, Game Freak put the final nail in the coffin of Pikachu’s original final form, Gorochu.

For those who don’t know, Gorochu was meant to be a third form in the Pikachu evolution line back in the *Red *and *Blue *days. This mysterious form never saw the light of day, but Game Freak has described it in interviews. While discussing the original Pikachu design process in 2018, artist Atsuko Nishida said that her original parameters for the electric mouse that would become the series’ mascot were that it had to be an electric-type monster that would evolve twice. Nishida designed Pikachu, Raichu, and Gorochu, but this third and final monster never made it into the final game. It had fangs and horns, and Nishida said it looked like “a god of thunder.”

In the same interview, artist Ken Sugimori says there was “nothing wrong” with Gorochu’s design, and *Red *and *Blue *designer Koji Nishino said it was ultimately cut for game balance purposes and because there was only so much space on older Game Boy cartridges, so some monsters got cut along the way. In 2020 the original source code for these games leaked, which included Gorochu’s back sprite. This is the only “official” look we’ve gotten of the monster, but one of the most popular pieces of Gorochu fan art captures Sugimori’s style so well that many fans believe it to be an in-house artistic rendition of the scrapped monster.

Apparently Raichu had an evolution named Gorochu, so I had a go at the design of it. Tried to keep consistent to the first generation of Pokemon’s look and style. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/U4KrTr1DKW

— VivinkArt (@VivinkArt) May 7, 2018

All this mystique has had fans asking for Game Freak to bring Gorochu back and make the Pikachu line the first “four-stage” monster, now that *Gold *and *Silver *added Pichu, a pre-evolution to Pikachu. However, Legends: Z-A’s *Mega Dimension *DLC may have killed this dream, as it gives Raichu two Mega forms. As AZ lays out in the main game, Mega Evolution is only possible if a Pokémon has reached its final stage of Evolution. This isn’t just a fan assumption, and Legends: Z-A’s endgame makes a point of driving this home by allowing AZ’s Floette, which was unable to evolve due to its exposure to the Ultimate Weapon thousands of years prior, to Mega Evolve.

Now that Raichu is out here doing what only fully evolved Pokémon can do, Gorochu seems to be officially dead, but both of its Mega designs have some elements that feel like echoes of Gorochu. Both forms have fangs, and the Y variant has jackalope-style horns. The X form also flies around like he’s Superman, and that’s giving “god of thunder” in my eyes.

We’ll have a full review of *Mega Dimension *in the coming days.