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Pikachu

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Pikachu
File:Pikachu.png
National Pokédex
Arbok - Pikachu (#25) - Raichu
Johto Pokédex
Pichu - Pikachu (#22) - Raichu
Hoenn Pokédex
Pichu - Pikachu (#156) - Raichu
Japanese namePikachu
Evolves fromPichu (from Pokémon Gold and Silver onwards)
Evolves intoRaichu
GenerationFirst
SpeciesMouse Pokémon
TypeElectric
Height1 ft 4 in (0.4 m)
Weight13.0 pounds (5.9 kg)
AbilityStatic

Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachū) is one of the Template:Pokenum fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar[1] Pokémon media franchise – a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. Pikachu is most famous for being the "face" of the Pokémon franchise, perhaps being the most widely recognized around the world. In 2002, Pikachu placed #15 as on of the Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of all Time by TV Guide for its role in the Pokémon anime.[2] Its main purpose in the games, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both "wild" Pokémon, untamed creatures that are encountered while players pass through various natural environments in the game, and to fight against "tamed" Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.[3]

Pikachu is the most popular and notable Pokémon, and is generally regarded as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, in the same way Link is the mascot of the Legend of Zelda series, or Mario[4] is the mascot for the Super Mario franchise and Nintendo [5]. It is obtainable in all of the Pokémon RPGs on Game Boy[4] systems to date, with a prominent role in Pokémon Yellow[4]. The protagonists of the Pokémon anime, the Pokémon Adventures,[6] Electric Tale of Pikachu[7] and the Ash & Pikachu[8] manga all own a Pikachu.

"Pikachu" is a portmanteau of the words, pika,[9] meaning to spark or meaning a sparkle of lightning in the Japanese language, and "chū", an onomatopoeia in the Japanese language for the squeak made by a mouse. Coincidentally, there also is a mouse-like lagomorph that makes its habitat in North America, known as a pika which may have affected the North American name, Pikachu. The "Advanced Generation" drawing and sprite design of Pikachu was created by Ken Sugimori's team for its 2003 release on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.[10]

Cultural impact

Pop culture

File:Pikachu 150x200.gif
Pikachu's "got milk?" ad.

Pikachu, being the mascot of Pokémon, has appeared a lot in pop culture. For example, Pikachu appeared in a "got milk?" ad in 1999. Additionaly, since 2001, a Pikachu character balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. [11] appearance in 2006 was as part of a test examining parade float procedures.[12]

The phrase "Pika-pika" is often considered funny, particularly to Japanese speakers' ears. The Japanese expression "pika-pika hikaru" means stroke of lightning; it is also used to denote a small bald spot on the very top of the head still surrounded by hair. "Pika-pika" can also mean "shining" or "shimmering" and denotes the electric element of Pikachu.

The Simpsons made a reference to Pikachu as well. In The Simpsons, after watching too much TV, Bart Simpson has strange visions of television characters surrounding him, one being Pikachu.

File:Pikachu ThnksgvDayParade.jpg
Since 2001, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has used a Pikachu balloon measured at 65 feet long, 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall.

Parodies

Pikachu also gets parodied. In the comic Hsu and Chan by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appears in the magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly features a character named Chernobyl, a radioactive chipmunk that's a parody of Pikachu. The Comedy Central series Drawn Together features a Pikachu parody named Ling-Ling. Pikachu is also parodied in Topps trading card series Garbage Pail Kids.

The character The Cheat from Homestar Runner is also sometimes considered to be a Pikachu parody, although he was created before Pokémon was imported to America. The Brothers Chaps modified his design to give him more resemblance to a Pikachu after the Pokémon anime made its debut.

Back when GMTV had a kids line up of shows on called Up On the Roof on Sunday mornings, in between commercial breaks On The Roof would poke fun at the show the audience were in the middle of watching. Pokemon's joke was a lollipop who owned a sweet shop called "Pick-a-Chew" (an obvious pun on Pikachu) who would cry out "Pick a chew! Any chew!"

Pikachu has also been featured in the Be with you parody by Junior based on the performance by Enrique Iglesias.[13]. The wording of the parody is as follows

Monday night I watched this show
It had a creature named Do-dri-o
I like the sound of Blastoise
Or a Slowbro
Celebi, Ho-oh's gold
That tree looks kinda like Sudowoodo
Mew is fast, Articuno's cold
Yet I'm all alone
Not an Entei
Or a Piloswine
Maybe I'll take Mr. Mime
Want a Pokémon
I just want a Pikachu
Not a Kang-a-skhan
I want a Pikachu
Want a Pikachu
I can't sleep and I'm up all night
In my dreams I see Totodile
I know that Alakazam
beats Magnemite
Did you know Goldeen
Grows into Seaking
I need a Pikachu some how
Chorus
Want a Pokémon
Who said I like Voltorb now
No Kang-a-skhan
I just want a Pikachu
Chorus

Characteristics

In the Pokémon universe Pikachu are ground-dwelling mammals that have short, yellow fur with brown stripes on their backs, black-tipped ears, and an unusually shaped tail, resembling a lightning bolt. They are often found in forests, plains, and occasionally near electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continents throughout the world [14]. Pikachu often travel in packs, and are rarely territorial, however, when threatened, a group can generate an intense electrical offensive, and the electro-magnetic forces exerted by the resulting field can even produce a short lived, localized thunderstorm.[15]

Living in wooded areas, such as Viridian Forest, and notably intelligent, Pikachu are often found foraging for berries [16]. Instead of climbing trees, they use small electrical shocks to release the berries from the tree, roasting them at the same time. It can also roast berries on the tail with electricity to tenderise them. Pikachu have the ability to release electric discharges of varying intensity, at will, through glandular pouches residing in its cheeks. These glands allow it to store and release bolts of lightning or ball lightning to defend itself from attackers, to be used in battle, at the command from its trainer, or in self-defense in the wild. Pikachu are rarely known to purposefully attack others besides the aforementioned, but particularly aggressive Pikachu have been recorded.[15]

In the video games

File:Pokemon Yellow boxart.jpg
In Pokémon Yellow,[17] a variation of Pokémon Red[18] and Pokémon Blue[19] incorporating many qualities of the anime, players are given a Pikachu as their first Pokémon, opposed to Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle in prior versions.

In the video games, Pikachu is a typical low-level Pokémon, usually found around levels 3-6 in Viridian Forest, and around 25 in the Power Plant or Ruby and Sapphire's Safari Zone. Players playing Pokémon Yellow[17] will have Pikachu as their first Pokémon, and in the other games those who find one (typically it's a rather rare find) often use it as an early-to-mid-level Electric Pokémon.

Few players use Pikachu in competitive head-to-head play, however, because of its relatively low defense stats. It does see occasional play after Pokémon Gold[20] and Silver[21], which added an item called the Light Ball[22]. This item, when given to Pikachu to hold, doubles the special attack stat that determines the power of its Electric attacks, making it useful in competitive play.

File:Ssbbrawl3.jpg
Pikachu and various other characters in a Super Smash Bros. Brawl screenshot.

Pikachu is featured in Hey You, Pikachu![23], Pokémon Yellow[17], Pokémon Channel[24], and the Pokémon Pikachu virtual pet. It also makes several appearances in Pokémon Snap[25], famously portraying the Surfing Pikachu sidequest in Pokémon Yellow[17].

It lacks a typical 'natural' evolution but can be evolved via Thunderstone into Raichu. However, Pikachu is so cute that in the anime and various manga, most trainers choose to keep it from evolving. In Pokémon Yellow , the Game Boy Color game featuring the "Electric Mouse", Pikachu refuses to evolve: attempting to use a Thunderstone on it makes it cry and refuse. Also, in the second and third generations of the Pokémon games, Pikachu has an evolutionary predecessor, Pichu. Pichu, a baby Pikachu, evolves into Pikachu after establishing a friendship with its trainer.

Pikachu has also appeared in Super Smash Bros.[26] and Super Smash Bros. Melee[27] as a very agile and mobile playable character. In Super Smash Bros. Melee[27], Pikachu's Skull Bash move was introduced, and its Quick Attack ability was upgraded so that it did a small amount of damage to opponents. Pikachu is also set to appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[28]

There has also been a special-edition Nintendo 64[5] game console featuring Pikachu as well as saying "Pikachu!" when Pokémon video games were started. This was released along with a game called Hey You, Pikachu!, in which you use a microphone to converse with the Pokémon. However, this didn't see release outside of North America and Japan because of lingual accent and localization problems.

Pikachu has also made cameo appearances in Pokémon Pinball[29], Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon Trozei, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokémon Dash and Pokémon Ranger. It has also played a role in various games for the Pokémon Mini Handheld.

In the anime

File:ScreenshotPokemonEpi1.gif
Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, Pokémon, I Choose You!

Ash Ketchum's Pikachu

In the Pokémon anime, Pikachu was Ash Ketchum's first Pokémon. In the first episode[30] of the Pokémon anime[31], Pikachu did not like Ash and shocked him with electricity every time Ash came near. However, by the second episode [32], Ash demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice himself for Pikachu, and they became fast friends. Pikachu soon established its dislike of being confined in a Poké Ball, and prefers to travel alongside Ash. During the first season of Pokemon[33], Pikachu would shock Ash occasionally. After the first season, Pikachu no longer shocked Ash (As they were now the best of friends).

Pikachu is the only Pokémon in Ash's party that has been with him in every episode. It is implied that Ash's Pikachu is male, but it is rarely addressed with a gendered pronoun. Also, many times Ash and Pikachu have been separated by cave-ins and explosions. Most of these times, Meowth is also separated from Team Rocket, and they usually end up working together to find their trainers.

It is interesting to note that Pikachu has a peculiarly high amount of power[15], and Team Rocket's Meowth seems to know all of its secrets, as he has already quipped that Ash's Pikachu's powers greatly exceed that of even its evolution. It is shown in the first movie[34] as being even able to defeat a Golem (which, in the games, would undoubtedly have a clear advantage). It is generally accepted that it is a very high energy level.

Early in the series, Pikachu was given an operation to increase the strength of the electric sacs in his cheeks in order to beat the first gym leader, Brock. Despite this, when it cannot release its electricity Pikachu can also get a cold and lose control . Most notably, exposure to a magnetic field will cause Pikachu to get this cold. This has happened to Pikachu twice in the series, both times by Team Rocket: the first time, Pikachu was cured when the extra electricity was used in attacks against a group of Grimer and Muk, and in the second time, Pikachu was inadvertently cured by one of Team Rocket's battery robots, which subsequently overloaded and exploded. During the Hoenn arc, Ash trained Pikachu to use Iron Tail, which greatly improved its ability to fight Pokémon with resistance to Electric attacks. Several interesting storylines involving Pikachu are in "Pikachu's Goodbye" where Ash nearly released Pikachu into the wild to be with other Pikachu, Pikachu losing his memory in the final chapter of the Hoenn adventures and it temporarily joined Team Rocket, Pikachu getting injured at the beginning of the Hoenn arc and later getting corrupted by the recently-awakened Groudon. [35]

In another first season episode (in Vermilion City), Pikachu, who is often rather independently minded, believed that it was strong enough without evolving and refused to evolve into a Raichu. In fact, in Ash's third gym battle in Vermillion City, Pikachu was successful in defeating a Raichu, and to this day, Ash's Pikachu has participated in more gym battles than any of his other Pokemon. [36]

In Pokemon: The First Movie,[34] Pikachu attempts to revive a downed Ash (who had been turned to stone, and thus, killed) with repeated thundershocks, to no avail; a grief-stricken Pikachu bursts into tears, which (along with the tears of all other Pokemon present) return Ash to life.

File:Pikachu2001.jpg
Opening titles for the Pikachu animated short, Pikachu's Pikaboou featured before Pokémon 4Ever.

Many of the Pokémon animated shorts with all-Pokémon dialogue have featured Pikachu as the main character[37]. As such, Pikachu is often a leader, helping to break up conflicts among other Pokémon. In the second Pikachu Movie, it is revealed Pikachu lived in a large tree with many friends including an Elekid, a Snorlax and a trio of dancing Bellossom.

Pikachu typically eats a specially formulated pellet made by Brock. It also likes fresh fruit, especially apples. Sometimes it is shown eating the same meal that his human companions are eating, in smaller portions. If ketchup is available on the table it would most often partake of it. In one case Ash's Pikachu kept the bottle and became slightly obsessed with it. This caused problems because a Scyther and an Electabuzz that were enraged at the color red were nearby.

File:Pikachu 18.gif
Pikachu

Like most other Pokémon, Pikachu communicates only by saying syllables that are in its own name. Its most common sentence is "Pika-pika". When it wants to talk to Ash it says "Pika-pi," which sounds similar to "Satoshi", and calls Misty "Pikachupi" similar to her Japanese name of "Kasumi", and refers to Togepi as "Pipipi". Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Otani in all versions of the anime, except in the first episode, entitled "Pokémon, I Choose You!", in which Rachael Lillis, the regular voice of Misty and Jessie of Team Rocket, provided the voice in cases where another character's voice overlaps Pikachu's.

Other Pikachu

In the Pokémon anime, many other Pikachu have also appeared. The most notable among these is Richie's Pikachu[38], with mussed hair on its forehead. This one is nicknamed Sparky (Leon in the Japanese original). Sparky[38], unlike Ash's Pikachu, is indifferent to being inside its Poké ball, but it is almost always shown outside, similar to Ash's Pikachu. In fact, every captured Pikachu in the anime has been shown spending most or all of its time outside of a Poké ball, even though this is not noted by any characters to be typical of the species.

Another notable Pikachu one named Puka[39] (Michael in the Japanese version), a surfing Pikachu owned by a surfer named Victor. Puka has blue eyes instead of the usual black and also seems to have a harmony with the sea, and it glows a bright blue when it feels a powerful wave. Puka is over 20 years old (it is unknown whether such longevity is unusual for a Pikachu), and is noticeably larger than Ash's Pikachu (though still smaller than a Raichu). It also has somewhat frazzled hair on around the tips of its ears.

Many episodes of the anime have also featured other unnamed Pikachu. Among them is "Pikachu's Goodbye"[40], in which a large group of wild Pikachu appeared, and in "Pokémon Emergency", a group of Pikachu are always hidden in the Viridian City Pokémon Center as their very own "Pika-Power Source", which was used when Team Rocket cut the power to the center. The footage of these Pikachu is later reused for a group of Pikachu aboard the SS Anne.

There is also an episode in which Ash is himself magically transformed into a Pikachu for the last few minutes. Pikachu tickles Ash, and the episode ends. In the following episode, Ash is still a Pikachu, but reverts to human form before the episode's actual plot starts. This form of Ash is nicknamed by some as "Satochu", a portmanteau of "Satoshi" and "Pikachu".

In general, Pikachu in the anime (including Ash's Pikachu) have only had their tails shown from the flat side, never its "razor side". Why this is, is never explained, but it may be merely because they're coincidentally drawn from particular angles only.

In the manga

A Pikachu has appeared in every Pokémon manga series as of 2005. In Pokémon Adventures, Red, the "first protagonist" of the Pokémon Adventures series, captures a mischievous Pikachu causing trouble for the people of Pewter City which became one of his main Pokémon from there on. After Red goes missing two years later, his Pikachu teams up with Yellow, the "fourth protagonist" of the series, to find him. Yellow is accompanied by Pikachu throughout the Johto saga, as well as her own Pikachu, Chu Chu.

In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga, Hazel, the main character of the series, obtained a Pikachu as her first Pokémon. Although Hazel's task is to capture Pokémon for a scientist, her and Pikachu often fall into trouble because of their joint scatterbrained personalities. This Pikachu, along with Hazel's other main Pokémon, Clefairy, re-appears in the spin-off series, Pokémon Chamo-Chamo Pretty.

In the Electric Tale of Pikachu series, often referred to as the series, Ash's Pikachu was originally a feral Pokémon he caught chewing on wires in his walls. This manga follows the storyline of the Pokémon anime, featuring Ash, Misty and Brock alongside Pikachu battling Team Rocket. This series was released in four volumes called The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo and Surf's Up Pikachu and respectively.

Pikachu also stars in the Ash & Pikachu manga series, another to closely follow the Pokémon anime. Unlike in the Electric Tale of Pikachu, Professor Oak gave Pikachu to Ash as his first Pokémon, rather than Ash finding him in the former. Another difference between the two is that Ash and Pikachu continued to follow the anime storyline, leading Ash and Pikachu to Hoenn, being accompanied by Haruka and Matosho, May and Max in the English version.

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game

File:Baseset pikachu.JPG
Pikachu in the Pokémon Trading Card Game (Base set).

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectable card game first published by Wizards of the Coast in North America, in 1999. The concept is similar to that of a Pokémon battle in the video games in that each player takes turns to hit the opponent’s Pokémon. Most Pikachu cards are typical, Basic Pokémon cards, primarily used to play stronger cards, such as Stage-1 Pokémon, Poliwhirl, and Stage-2 Pokémon, Charizard. Some Pikachu cards are similar in attack and defense (see picture) to other Basic Electric-types, such as Mareep and Electrike, but often have an advantage because of their popularity.

Pikachu has been seen in at least eleven incarnations in Pokémon Trading Card Game sets released in North America, and that number increases to nineteen when including both mainstream releases and limited edition promotional cards. The expansion sets Pikachu cards are found in are the Base Set (as well as Base Set 2), Jungle, Gym Heroes (As Lt.Surge's Pikachu), Gym Challenge (As Lt. Surge's Pikachu), Neo Genesis, Expedition, Skyridge, EX Sandstorm, EX Team Magma VS. Team Aqua, EX Firered & LeafGreen, EX Emerald, EX Legend Maker (as a secret card), and EX Holon Phantoms.[41] In a Gameboy game based on the TCG, there were also Surfing Pikachu and Flying Pikachu cards. Each knew the move that their alternate name came from, "Surfing Pikachu" knew Surf, and "Flying Pikachu" knew Fly.

Pikachu cards are often sought after because of their wide appeal and often unavailability. Although most Pikachu cards are Common variety (see picture), meaning that they can be found very often in booster packs of cards, promo cards were only available by purchasing tickets for the Pokémon movies. An often overlooked error in the original Base Set Pikachu design (see picture) was known as the "Red-Cheeked Pikachu." The name came from the mouse's mis-coloured cheeks that were supposed to glow yellow from the protruding electric sparks. This error was later fixed in the Base Set 2 version.

References

Notes
  1. ^ “Pokemon Franchise Approaches 150 Million Games Sold" PR Newswire. URL accessed on March 27, 2006.
  2. ^ TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.
  3. ^ Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire Review (page 1) Ign.com. URL Accessed June 1, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Nintendo Game boy games Amazon.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  5. ^ a b Nintendo's official website Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  6. ^ Pokémon Adventures ISBN 1569315078
  7. ^ Electric Tale of Pikachu ISBN 1569313784
  8. ^ Manga volume 6: Ash & Pikachu. ISBN 4091400981
  9. ^ Definition for Pika Reference.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  10. ^ Pokémon Sapphire information Amazon.com. URL accessed on March 27, 2006.
  11. ^ Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Ncytourist.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  12. ^ Crecente, Brian (2006-05-22). "Giant Pikachu Runs Flights Through NYC". Kotaku. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
  13. ^ "Be With You". Am I Right. Retrieved July 20, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ The in-game Pokédexes (A copy of them from serebii.net) URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  15. ^ a b c The in-game Pokédex of the Game Boy series (A copy of them from pokémondungeon.com) URL accessed on March 27, 2006.
  16. ^ Experience Intervals article on Ash Ketchum URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  17. ^ a b c d Pokémon Yello on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  18. ^ Pokémon Red on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  19. ^ Pokémon Blue on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  20. ^ Pokémon Gold on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  21. ^ Pokémon Silver on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  22. ^ List of In-game items Pokémon Elite 2000 URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  23. ^ [http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-127 Hey You, Pikachu! Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  24. ^ Pokémon Channel IGN.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  25. ^ Pokémon Snap Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  26. ^ http://www.smashbros.com/ Shash Bros.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  27. ^ a b Supser Smash Bros Melee. detstar.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  28. ^ Super Smash Bros. Brawl screenshot gallery Ign.com. URL Accessed May 11, 2006.
  29. ^ Pokémon Pinball on Amazon.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  30. ^ Episode 1, Pokémon, I choose you Serebii.net URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  31. ^ Serebii.net's anime guide URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  32. ^ Episode 2, Pokémon Emergency Serebii.net URL Accessed July 16, 2006
  33. ^ Indigo, Pokémon first season Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  34. ^ a b Serebii.net's movie guide URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  35. ^ Episode 373, Gaining Groudon
  36. ^ Episode 14, Electric Shock Showdown Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  37. ^ All-Pokémon dialogue
  38. ^ a b BIOS information on Richie Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  39. ^ Pokémon episode guide tv.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  40. ^ Episode 39, Pikachu's Goodbye Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006
  41. ^ Pikachu TCG Deck Dex Psypokes.com. URL accessed on April 31, 2006.
Books
  • Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
  • Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
  • Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0761547614
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585
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