As a way to bring Pokemon closer to fans located in Japan, The Pokemon Company has once again partnered with the country's local government authorities to place new Pokemon-themed manhole covers across one of its prefectures. This time, the new lids' design and theme puts the spotlight on the Normal-type oviod Pokemon Chansey.This is not the first time that Chansey is the center of attention in a specific area in Japan. Back in 2019, Chansey was appointed as the Pokemon ambassador for the country's Fukushima prefecture which is located in the Tohoku region. Since then, The Pokemon Company has implemented different campaigns within the area to remind the public about Chansey's appointment as a local ambassador. This includes building Chansey-themed playgrounds for children in 2021, recent peach picking events within 2022, and now, new manhole cover designs featuring the Gen 1 pocket creature. On the official Pokemon Japanese Twitter account, the company revealed the nine new manhole lid designs that are coming to nine different municipalities within the Fukushima prefecture. In total, there will be over 25 designs that put the spotlight on Chansey that fans will likely enjoy. Most of the manhole covers include another Pokémon together with Chansey. Some of these include Pokemon from Chansey's evolution line such as Happiny and Blissey, other Gen 1 Pokemon such as Ponyta, Rapidash, and Jigglypuff, and many more from other Pokemon generations.
For fans located in Japan, the official website of the Pokemon-themed manhole covers provides the exact location for each of the lids. This makes it easy for avid members of the Pokemon community to spot them on visits to the prefecture. At the moment, only eight prefectures in the country have Pokemon ambassadors. With Japan having 47 prefectures, and Pokemon already having more than 900 pocket creatures in the roster, fans will likely see more of them being appointed as representatives for different areas in the country.
Now that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has been released, fans will likely think it would be nice if The Pokemon Company considers one of the new Paldean Pokemon as an ambassador to one of Japan's prefectures. Fans would probably enjoy seeing newer Pokemon generations as part of the company's efforts in boosting local tourism. However, given that Oshawott is the only starter Pokemon that made it to the roster of representatives, fans may have to wait awhile before another starter is chosen to be a Pokemon ambassador.