Life-size Miraidon Pokemon that visitors can sit on unveiled

In the know: Toyota Engineering Society, in partnership with the Pokémon Company, showcased its latest creation at the Tokyo Midtown Hibiya Atrium on Friday. The free but limited-entry event will continue to run until Sunday, March 17.

The video: The Pokemon Company also uploaded a video to YouTube and X on Thursday to showcase the Toyota Engineering Society’s work on “The Miraidon Project.” The two-minute clip shows snippets of engineers working on the Miraidon and later shows children’s excitement upon seeing the Pokemon that they can ride in real life.

How it works: Unlike in the game, where players can ride Miraidon to any place they like, the life-size replica is an immobile version of the legendary Pokemon that only transforms between its quadrupedal and motorcycle forms, the press release, published on Thursday, explained.

At the event, fans can “test drive” the Miraidon by sitting on them. The companies noted that the maximum weight for the replica is 65 kilograms (143 pounds).

Its history: The idea to create a life-size Miraidon came after the team asked 8,000 elementary school students in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, about their vision for the “future of mobility” about a year ago.

Interestingly, one of the respondents submitted a hand-drawn picture of Miraidon, with the child explaining how they can communicate with the legendary Pokemon like a friend and that “you can also enjoy moving around on its back.”

Inspired by the submission, the Pokémon Company partnered with Toyota Engineering Society and began working on the project in June 2023. Pictures and a video were then shared on X in November.

Reactions: Many fans commended the engineers for making the children happy, with one YouTube user commenting under the Pokemon Company’s post in Japanese, “It’s really nice to see people who loved Pokemon as children now creating children’s dreams as adults.”

“The eyes of the child riding Miraidon are sparkling. Watching things like this makes me think that children are wonderful,” another fan wrote.

Meanwhile, one fan requested to also see Koraidon, the other legendary Pokemon and counterpart of Miraidon in “Pokemon Scarlet and Violet,” in real life, writing, “After Miraidon, it would be great if they could create a full-body skeleton of Koraidon at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.”