A giant Pikachu joins the staff of Polygon for a day

Pikachu’s had a busy couple of months in the lead-up to Pokémon Sun and Moon.

The games arrive Nov. 18, which means the series mascot has spent the last few months getting battle-ready once more. This time around, though, Pikachu’s training included another kind of task entirely: working an office job.

There’s no better office job than one at Polygon, so Pikachu came on down to our New York City headquarters and landed an editorial internship. What followed was an enlightening workday ... which really showed Pikachu that the Pokémon had better just stick to its day job of fighting other monsters instead of trying to write news stories or make coffee.

Photos by Jeff Ramos/Polygon

Grid View

• Pikachu arrives at the office for his first day on the job. He reports to our news editor Chelsea Stark, who sets her expectations high for the young intern.
• Pikachu puts on a brave face, though. He's pumped to take on anything his favorite site Polygon has to throw at him.
• PIkachu is enlisted by our sister site The Verge for some editing help. He's not of much use when it comes to video production, but he's very supportive all the same.
• Pikachu's first task is a little more physical than he might have expected. The printer was broken yet again, and we asked Pikachu to work his magic. Turns out our office is a Thunderbolt-free zone, though. His alternate solution? Punch the printer a couple hundred times.
• Pikachu tries to make us coffee, like any good intern should. But no opposable thumbs means no deal for the stressed little electric mouse.
• We have Pikachu try to write a story for us, but the reception desk is the only one big enough to seat his oversized body. He quickly makes it feel like home, though, with an extra monitor and a cuddly Pikachu friend.
• Oh wait. No thumbs or fingers or English-language skills makes it very, very hard to be a news reporter.
• Pikachu smiles through the embarrassment of being incapable of his primary responsibility as our editorial intern.
• Chelsea isn't happy, but she gives him one more chance to prove himself. "Time to lead our news meeting, intern," she says. Pikachu is totally game.
• Pikachu lectures the Polygon NY team on the importance of ... Pika? It's a mesmerizing speech, even if the message is a little muddled.
• Pikachu shows his investigative chops on the whiteboard. See those question marks? Asking questions is the sign of a reporter, all right.
• Pikachu stops by our game room on his lunch break for some quality Sun and Moon time. He and reporter Allegra Frank have both beaten the game already, so they take some time comparing their Pokédexes.
• Social media manager Ashley Oh is especially taken with all of Pikachu's hard work today, as ultimately useless as he's been. To show her appreciation, she gifts him his very own baby Pikachu, a staple of the Polygon NY office. She also hands him his pink slip and tells him to find another gig elsewhere.
• Thanks for hanging with us, Pikachu! Best of luck to you in all of your future career endeavors.