Pikachu Crashes Tim Cook's Final Apple Park Tour as Gaming Hopes Emerge

Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomed Nintendo's Pokémon team to Apple Park for a visit before handing over the reins to John Ternus on September 1. The tour included a life-size Pikachu, which wandered through the orchard and headed towards the pond. Cook joked about asking Pikachu to stay out of the pond.

The visit also marked a chance for Cook to discuss gaming with Ternus, who will oversee Apple's hardware engineering across products including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The Pokémon team's presence sparked speculation about a potential collaboration, but no new game or device was announced.

Apple has been expanding its gaming capabilities through services like Apple Arcade, which offers over 200 games without ads or in-app purchases. However, mobile gaming faced headwinds, weighing on App Store performance despite posting a record revenue in the June quarter.

Ternus will take the helm as CEO on Monday and is set to unveil Apple's next iPhone lineup on September 9.