Pikachu Welcomes New Apple CEO John Ternus at Apple Park

John Ternus, who is set to become Apple's next CEO, met with representatives from The Pokémon Company and the character Pikachu at Apple Park on Thursday. The visit was posted on X by Tim Cook, less than a week before the leadership change takes effect on September 1.

Cook will relinquish daily oversight of the company next week. The meeting served as an introduction between Apple's incoming CEO and one of gaming's most prominent franchises.

John Ternus Discusses Gaming with Pokémon Team Ahead of CEO Handover

Cook maintained a lighthearted approach. He outlined a three-point agenda for the day: introducing Ternus to the Pokémon team, discussing gaming, and ensuring Pikachu stayed away from the Apple Park pond. He joked that two out of three were successfully accomplished.

The video posted by Cook shows Pikachu moving around the campus. The mascot is seen dancing under a rainbow arch and taking fruit from the orchard. Based on Cook's punchline, the pond ultimately prevailed.

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

Ternus comes with a relatively low public profile, having spent two decades in Apple's hardware engineering division. He was appointed CEO in April. Cook has been at the helm since 2011 and will remain on the board as executive chairman.

Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, also participated in the meeting. Pokémon has released mobile games on iOS for ten years. Apple continues to view gaming as a key driver for its services segment.

Apple's stock closed at $314.58 on Thursday, a 0.36% increase for the day. Over the past year, the share price has risen 37.6%. However, it has declined 7.5% in the last month following the market's reaction to third-quarter earnings in late July.

Ternus assumes the role just eight days before Apple's September 9 iPhone event. The company has promoted the event with the tagline "Surprise and shine," and the event is expected to feature the iPhone 18 Pro and Apple's first foldable iPhone.

Pokémon Worlds Event in San Francisco Lifts Nintendo Stock

Nintendo's shares rose 3.5% on Friday in Tokyo to ¥9,032, equivalent to about $57 at current exchange rates. The stock remains about 38% below its record high of ¥14,630 from last year, which was worth nearly $92.

Nintendo is a co-owner of The Pokémon Company alongside Game Freak and Creatures. As a result, Nintendo receives Pokémon revenue indirectly, in addition to sales from Switch software.

Nintendo's revenue for fiscal 2026 nearly doubled to ¥2.31 trillion, approximately $14.5 billion, driven by shipments of the Switch 2. The company's management has subsequently reaffirmed its guidance of 16.5 million Switch 2 units for the current fiscal year.

The timing of the event is beneficial. The Pokémon World Championships begin on Friday at San Francisco's Moscone Center and continue through Sunday. The gaming sector has influenced market movements multiple times this month. Take-Two Interactive saw billions in value wiped out after a Grand Theft Auto VI leak, and later responded with a reveal on Netflix.

For those interested in cryptocurrency, the CEO transition at Apple is more significant for App Store policy than for gaming. Ternus will inherit the rules governing how wallets and payment applications can access iPhone users, a crypto-related aspect of the change that is often overlooked.

John Ternus officially takes over as Apple CEO on September 1. However, Cook will remain as executive chairman, so his influence will not vanish immediately. The September keynote will likely demonstrate how much of Apple's gaming discussions translate into actual products.