Do fans like Pikachu as much as Nintendo thinks we do?

[SmokedHostage]

I like Pikachu as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise but I've grown to like Pikachu less as a character. Maybe it's both age and the omnipresence of Pikachu in Pokémon related media but I just don't like Pikachu as much as I used to. I wouldn't mind if Pikachu took a backseat to newer Pokémon but Pikachu seems to be more like a crouch to keep older fans interested and aware of the fact that Pokémon is still around.