Pikachu proved elusive, evading capture by Turkish police during a protest in Antalya this week.
#pickachu escapando de la policia pic.twitter.com/JpcsQXnwha
— Nicolas Cuello (@Nicolascuellook) March 28, 2025
Thousands of demonstrators, including an individual dressed in an inflatable Pikachu costume, took to the streets on Wednesday to voice their outrage over the March 19 arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on political corruption and terrorism charges, according to Reuters.
Imamoglu, 54, is widely seen as President Tayyip Erdogan’s strongest opponent in the 2028 presidential race, with nearly 15 million people backing him in a primary, municipal officials told Al Jazeera English on Monday.
Erdogan, who has led Turkish politics for over two decades, has reached his term limit. If he seeks re-election, Parliament will need to either call for early elections or amend the constitution, per Reuters. Since the protests began eight days ago, nearly 1,900 people have been detained, with about 500 released and over 660 still being processed, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Additionally, 150 police officers have reportedly been injured.
Video footage captured Pikachu and other demonstrators fleeing from law enforcement. The original clip, filmed by Akdeniz University photojournalist Ismail Koçeroğlu, has since gone viral, 404 Media reported.
“On the eighth day of the protests, a person dressed as Pikachu joined the demonstrations in Antalya, Turkey,” Koçeroğlu shared in an Instagram post on Thursday. “Following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, citizens across the country have taken to the streets in protest. İmamoğlu is a leading candidate for the Turkish presidency, and many believe his arrest is unjust.”
Pickachu’nun eyleme gelişi 😂 pic.twitter.com/CTugJadYRd
— Tamer Arda Erşin (@tamerardaersinn) March 27, 2025
Pikachu was spotted at demonstrations on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, Koçeroğlu noted. His original video, along with AI-generated images of Pikachu in Turkey, continues to circulate across social media.
“The fact that I didn’t even know protests were happening in Turkey until someone ran around in a Pikachu costume shows the power of memes,” one X user remarked Thursday.