Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook used one of his final weeks in the job for a campus visit that mixed succession planning with a very yellow guest.
On Thursday, Cook hosted incoming CEO John Ternus and The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara at Apple Park — with Pikachu in tow. Cook posted the moment on X with a short video of the mascot touring the Cupertino campus.
“Today’s agenda at Apple Park: Introduce the @Pokemon team to John, talk gaming, and politely ask Pikachu to stay out of the pond,” Cook wrote. “Two out of three were accomplished.”
The clip, posted Thursday afternoon, quickly circulated. By Friday morning it had drawn more than 2.3 million views and tens of thousands of likes.
Today’s agenda at Apple Park: Introduce the @Pokemon team to John, talk gaming, and politely ask Pikachu to stay out of the pond. Two out of three were accomplished. pic.twitter.com/KzirV3VX8U
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 27, 2026
A campus tour, then a handshake
The video is less than 30 seconds and plays like a short campus travelogue. Pikachu first appears dancing under Apple Park’s rainbow arch, then peers through glass at a row of iPhones inside the visitor center. Next comes the pond Cook warned about: the mascot stands at the water’s edge, looking ready to test the “stay out” request. After that, Pikachu heads into the orchard and reaches for fruit still on the trees.
Cook, Ternus, and Ishihara then walk into the shot. Cook is holding an apple. Ternus puts a hand on Pikachu’s back as the four of them continue down the path. In a later beat, Ishihara raises an iPhone toward the mascot — Apple Insider reported he used Pokémon GO to send out Applin on campus.
Neither company published a formal readout of the meeting. Cook’s post framed it as a gaming conversation and an introduction to Ternus, who takes over as CEO on September 1. Cook will stay on as executive chairman.
Why Pokémon was at Apple Park
The visit landed on the eve of the Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championships, scheduled for August 28–30 in San Francisco. Apple Insider said the Pokémon team stopped at Apple Park on the way to that event.
The business backdrop is larger than a photo op. Pokémon titles have been fixtures on Apple platforms for a decade, including Pokémon GO, Pokémon UNITE, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, and Pokémon Champions. Cook had already met Pikachu once before, during a September 2025 trip to Japan for the reopening of Apple Ginza.
MacDailyNews Take: The meeting also comes as Apple has pointed to weaker mobile gaming as a drag on App Store growth. Sensor Tower reported mobile gaming revenue down 4.5% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, and Apple CFO Kevan Parekh cited “headwinds in mobile gaming” on the company’s most recent earnings call. Neither Apple nor The Pokémon Company said whether those numbers were on the agenda.
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