Pokémon and Mini Cooper announce new electric car inspired by Pikachu

Beep beep That sound you can hear? That’s the sound of distracted drivers everywhere because Pokémon announced a new collaboration with Mini (otherwise known as Mini Cooper) to bring a new Pokémon-model of the electric Mini Concept Aceman car. On Tuesday, the special model was unveiled at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live.

The hatchback has a neon, futuristic look to it all that’s very reminiscent of an LED gaming setup. A trailer showing off the fully electric hatchback shows the beloved Pokémon front and center on the digital dashboard. An electric animation is played as you get in the car. Electrical bolts flash across the dashboard. The model also sports animated pixelated front lights on its bumper, as well as custom puddle lights that shine “Mini x Pokémon” when you open the doors.

According to Oliver Heilmer, head of Mini Design, you can connect your gaming console to the car, but it’s unclear what this means. Perhaps we could play Nintendo Switch in the car while it is charging and parked? Also, there’s a built-in projector in case you get the urge to rewatch old Pokémon movies while hanging out under bridges with your friends. The Pokémon Mini is basically a specialized version of a previously announced model, which you can learn more about at Mini’s website.

Heilmer said that Mini is promoting a “playful mindset” and that the official motto of the collaboration is, “Play on. Never stop playing.” We can only hope that this motto isn’t applied literally, since none of us want to bang fenders with drivers who were itching to catch rare shiny Pokémon.