For the second time in history, Topeka, Kansas will rename itself Topikachu for one day on October 27th, 2018. Topeka mayor Michelle De La Isla made the declaration to coincide with Nintendo’s ongoing “Pokémon Let’s Go Road Trip” demo experience, which arrives in the Kansas city this week to promote the upcoming Pokémon games, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee!
This renaming of the Kansas capitol is a classic situation of “what’s old is new again”, as they famously did so back on August 27th, 1998. At that time, Nintendo handpicked Topkea as a promotional spot for the upcoming launch of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, and the entire Pokémon franchise in North America. The then-mayor Joan Wagnon made the one-day name change to Topikachu thanks to the city’s name resembling that of the famous Pokémon mascot, Pikachu.
For those readers in the local Topeka area, the “Pokémon Let’s Go Road Trip” demo will take place at Topeka Zoo at Gage Park from 9 AM to 6 PM local time this Saturday, October 27th.
