As if the holiday rush wasn’t stressful enough, many people are entering a new phase of lockdowns and quarantine due to COVID-19. It’s shaping up to a stressful end to a stressful year for a lot of gamers, but luckily, they have Pikachu to help them relax thanks to Nintendo and its associates’ latest dabbling in “autonomous sensory meridian response.”
The audio stimulation-based form of relaxation has become increasingly popular in recent years for all of the different ways it can be achieved, utilizing anything from household items to the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. Nintendo in particular has been embracing it lately, having released a number of ASMR videos in the past year based on franchises ranging from Super Smash Bros. to Xenoblade Chronicles.
And now it’s Pikachu’s turn. The Pokemon Company has released a new 15-minute Pokemon-themed video featuring the fan-favorite electric type playfully running around a sunlit patio, playing with a ball, and occasionally taking a nap. All the while, viewers are treated to the dulcet sounds of Pikachu’s voice. Whether that makes for a soothing experience or not will ultimately depend on how much viewers enjoy listening to Pikachu saying different variations of “Pika” and “Pikachu” for minutes at a time.
If anyone has found the sights and sounds in the video relaxing as intended, there’s more where that came from. The Pokemon Company has a growing playlist of Pokemon ASMR videos on YouTube, which feature Pokemon like Charmander resting by a fire and Squirtle taking it easy on a beach. There’s also a video featuring the sounds the slimy Grimer makes while moving over different surfaces, for those who've ever been curious about it.
Source: YouTube