Toyota Miraidon Now a Reality: Collaboration Between Toyota and Pokémon Bringing Dreams to Life
The Toyota Engineering Society (TES) has unveiled a unique project that embodies the spirit of innovation and imagination, inspired by the Pokémon universe. The Toyota Miraidon Project, launched in 2024, aims to realise the message "Adult's Devotion Makes Children's Dreams Come True."
Every year, TES sets a theme and creates something, and for 2023, the theme was Future Mobility. To decide on the Toyota Miraidon for the 2023 project, TES reviewed approximately 8,000 responses. The project received a lot of media attention, with the Toyota Miraidon being a Pokémon that appears in the game Pokémon Violet, released in 2022.
The project was initiated with a single drawing sent to TES by Hinano Serizawa. The collaboration between Toyota and The Pokémon Company leverages both technological expertise and cultural elements of Pokémon to make this a unique, playful yet ambitious endeavour.
The Toyota Miraidon project took about six months to go from planning to construction, with the agreement of The Pokémon Company and other companies. A life-sized mobility version of Miraidon was displayed in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya in March 2024.
Hinano Serizawa, the person who sent in the winning idea for the Toyota Miraidon project, was surprised to see the real-life version of Miraidon. For children who have played Pokémon Violet, Miraidon is the most famous future mobility in the world, according to Hinano Serizawa.
The Toyota Miraidon project is intended to be enjoyed from beginning to end as a family. The project is showcased in a video, and TES members' hands are worth taking a close look at in the video. The Toyota Miraidon, being a mobility device, can move as it should.
This project is part of a broader trend of Japanese manufacturers collaborating with cultural IPs like Pokémon to make technologically sophisticated yet imaginative mobility projects that inspire and engage across generations. The Toyota Miraidon Project is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and childhood dreams coming true.
The Toyota Miraidon Project, a testament to innovation and childhood dreams, merges the latest technology with the cultural elements of Pokémon, transforming it into a gadget that embodies future mobility. The life-sized Miraidon, showcased in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, not only represents a lifestyle of imagined play but also serves as a symbol of dreams coming true for many, particularly children fond of the Pokémon Violet game.
