Miraidon is a Pokémon that appears in the game Pokémon Violet, released in 2022. A life-sized mobility version of Miraidon was displayed in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya in March 2024. It gathered a lot of attention from children and even adults (like this writer) who fell in love with “Red” and “Green” back in 1996 and, of course, plenty of media.

The Pokémon Company and Toyota cooperated in running the Toyota Miraidon Project event, which began with a single drawing that was sent to the Toyota Engineering Society (TES)*.

^{*A volunteer group of mainly Toyota Motor Corporation engineers with over 70 years of history}

Every year, TES sets a theme and creates something, and the theme for 2023 was Future Mobility. They surveyed elementary schools in Aichi Prefecture and decided on the Toyota Miraidon after reviewing approximately 8,000 responses. Toyota Times News spoke to Hinano Serizawa, who sent in the winning idea.

“For children who have played Pokémon Violet, Miraidon is the most famous future mobility in the world,” Hinano reflects on her entry. She didn’t know they were actually building it and was surprised to see the real thing. In the video, she speaks about her dreams for the future.

The project began with the concept of adults working to make children’s dreams come true. With the agreement of The Pokémon Company and other companies, the project took about six months to go from planning to construction. Naturally, it can move as a mobility device should. See it for yourself in the video. Also, take a close look at the hands of TES members.

This special edition goes out on Children’s Day. Enjoy from beginning to end as a family.