Pikachu

Pikachu
File:Pikachu.png National Pokédex Arbok - Pikachu (#025) - Raichu Johto Pokédex Pichu - Pikachu (#022) - Raichu Hoenn Pokédex Pichu - Pikachu (#156) - Raichu Sinnoh Pokédex Pichu - Pikachu (#104) - Raichu
Japanese name	Pikachu
Evolves from	Pichu (from Pokémon Gold and Silver onwards)
Evolves into	Raichu
Generation	First
Species	Mouse Pokémon
Type	Electric
Height	1 ft 4 in (0.4 m)
Weight	13.0 pounds (5.9 kg)
Ability	Static

Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachū) are one of the Template:Pokenum fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series. Pikachu are among the most recognizable of Pokémon, due to the fact that a Pikachu is a central character in the Pokémon anime series.

The name Pikachu is a portmanteau of the Japanese words pika, an onomatopoeia for electric sparkling, and chū, which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a mouse's squeak. The name is similar to, although not based on that of the pika, a small lagomorph. The name Pikachu refers to both the overall species, and to individual Pikachu within the games, anime, and manga series. Pikachu is also the name of an individual character that belongs to this species and is the Pokémon companion of the anime's main protagonist, Ash Ketchum.

In the Pokémon franchise, Pikachu are often found in forests, plains, and occasionally near electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continents throughout the world. 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.

Biological characteristics

Pikachu are mouse Pokémon that possess short yellow fur with brown markings covering their backs and parts of their tails. They have black-tipped pointy ears and red circles on their cheeks, which contain electrical sacs. Their tails are shaped in form of a lightning bolt. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, gender differences were introduced for some Pokémon. For Pikachu, the females now have heart-like shape at end of their tails.

Pikachu often forage for berries Instead of climbing trees, they use small electrical bolts to release the berries from the tree, roasting them at the same time. They store electricity in their cheeks, and discharge them in sparks, bolts or other forms of electricity. An inability to discharge electricity in this last way, as in the presence of strong magnetic field, causes an illness with flu-like symptoms. Pikachu gather in areas with high amounts of thunderstorm activity such as power stations.

Pikachu evolve into Raichu via use of a Thunder Stone. However, it is somewhat common for Trainers to choose not to evolve their Pikachu into Raichu. For example, in Pokémon Yellow, Pikachu refuses to evolve as attempting to use a Thunderstone on it makes it cry and refuse. It is numbered as #25 in the National Pokédex. Also, from the second generation of the Pokémon games onward, Pikachu has an evolutionary predecessor, Pichu, which is the pre-evolution of Pikachu and evolves into Pikachu after establishing a friendship with its trainer.

In the video games

File:Pokemon Yellow box.jpg

Pokémon Yellow, a variation of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue incorporating many qualities of the anime.

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 in the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald versions, Safari Zone. Players playing Pokémon Yellow 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 and Silver, which added an item called the Light Ball. This item, when given to Pikachu to hold, doubles the special attack stat that determines the power of its Special attacks, making it useful in competitive play. While holding the Light Ball, Pikachu's Special Attack surpasses Raichu's Special Attack. Because of this, some competitive players refuse to evolve their Pikachu.

Due to the absence of hold items in Blue, Red, and Yellow, a Gold, Silver, or Crystal version player could employ a very useful trick to obtain an unlimited number of Light Balls, a parody of their extreme rarity. A player in Red, Blue, or Yellow would trade his Pikachu to Gold, Silver, or Crystal. The Pikachu would be holding a Light Ball. The player in Gold, Silver, or Crystal would remove the Light Ball and trade back the Pikachu. Then, the process was repeated until the Gold, Silver, or Crystal player has enough Light Balls. The extra Light Balls can be sold for money. This trick could also be abused with Clefairy and Snorlax. Pikachu is featured in Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Channel, and the Pokémon Pikachu digital pet. It also makes several appearances in Pokémon Snap, famously portraying the Surfing Pikachu sidequest in Pokémon Yellow.

Pikachu has also appeared in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee as a very agile and mobile playable character, equipped with Quick Attack, Thundershock, and Thunder. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, 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.

There has also been a special edition Game Boy Color handheld specifically created for Pokémon Yellow, sporting a yellow color with Pikachu featured on the handheld. In addition, a special-edition Nintendo 64 game console was released, featuring Pikachu as well as saying "Pikachu!" when Pokémon video games were started. This was released along with the game Hey You, Pikachu!, in which you use a microphone to converse with the Pokémon.

Pikachu has also made cameo appearances in Pokémon Pinball, 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 games console. Pikachu is also one of the sixteen starters and ten partners in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. Pikachu has also appeared in a video of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

Pikachu will be available as a prize for completing the 10 colosseums in Pokémon Battle Revolution, complete with a Light Ball, Volt Tackle, and Surf. Before this, a Pikachu with Volt Tackle and Surf did not exist, as Volt Tackle was obtained via breeding and Surf through Pokémon Stadium or Pokémon Yellow (In a special surfing minigame), as well as certain Nintendo Events. Also, Lt. Surge in the Gym Leader Castle in Pokémon Stadium has a Pikachu with Surf.

In the Pokémon anime

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, Pokémon, I Choose You!

The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game loosely based on the anime with the inclusion of some of its characters, particularly Pikachu and Team Rocket). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum—an in-training Pokémon Master—as he, May and Dawn (as well as several other companions) travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners.

In the Pokémon anime, beginning trainers from the Kanto region traditionally choose from Charmander, Bulbasaur or Squirtle as a 'starter' Pokémon. However, the series protagonist Ash Ketchum, an inhabitant of Pallet Town, arrived late at Professor Oak's lab (having slept in from a late night of Pokémon trainer fantasizing). The traditional three starting Pokémon had already been taken by other new trainers, and Ash was given a Pikachu instead. At first, Pikachu largely ignored Ash's requests, shocking him frequently and refusing to be confined to the conventional method of Pokémon transportation, a Poké Ball. However, in the first episode, Ash put himself in danger to defend Pikachu from a flock of wild Spearow, then rushed the electric mouse to a Pokémon Center (notably stealing Misty's bike to do so). Through these demonstrations of respect and unconditional commitment to Pokémon, Pikachu warmed up to Ash, and their friendship was formed.

The bond between Ash and Pikachu is a prominent motif in the series and inviolable in terms of the series ethos. Pikachu is the only Pokémon in Ash's party that has been with him in every episode, movie, and TV special. It is implied that Ash's Pikachu is male, but it is rarely addressed with a gendered pronoun; the official Pokémon web site neither confirms nor denies this, stating that "Pikachu is Pikachu". 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 explicitly shown that there is something 'unique' about Ash's Pikachu, setting it apart from others of its kind; Team Rocket's Meowth quips early on in the first series that Ash's Pikachu's powers greatly exceed that of even its evolution (which was shown in the battle with Lt. Surge's Raichu). For this reason, Team Rocket's attempts to capture Pikachu become a significant theme throughout much of the first series. It is shown in some episodes that they intend to present it to their boss, Giovanni, in order to win favor.

Early in the series, Pikachu underwent a training/conditioning regimen to increase the strength of the electric sacs in its cheeks in order to beat the first gym leader, Brock. 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 Vermilion 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 Pokémon.

When Pikachu cannot release its electricity, it develops flu-like symptoms and can sometimes lose control of itself. Most notably, exposure to a magnetic field will cause Pikachu to get this illness. 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 (that uses Pikachu's power to charge itself), 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.

In Pokémon: The First Movie, Pikachu is the only "original" Pokémon, besides Meowth, that refused to fight its clone. Pikachu also 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 Pokémon present) return Ash to life.

Many of the Pokémon animated shorts with all-Pokémon dialogue have featured Pikachu as the main character. As such, Pikachu is often a leader, helping to break up conflicts among other Pokémon.

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. As seen in the episode, Showdown in Dark City, Pikachu's favorite "food" is ketchup (Pikachu is often seen licking the bottle when Ash and others are eating Omurice). In this 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. Scyther accidentally cut the bottle, spilling the ketchup, causing Pikachu to cry.

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" (the name of his trainer in the Japanese version). It also calls Misty "Pi-ka-chu-pi" similar to her Japanese name of "Kasumi", calls Takeshi (Brock "Pika-pi-pi". Also, when it is referring to Misty's Togepi, Pikachu says "Pi-pi-pi," which in itself sounds similar to "Togepi". Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Otani in all versions of the anime (and even the Pokémon Yellow game), except in the English language episode Pokémon, I Choose You, in which Rachael Lillis, who was the regular voice of Misty and Jessie of Team Rocket for the show's first nine season when 4Kids produced the English dub, provided the voice in cases when another character's voice overlapped Pikachu's. In one episode, it is stated that Pikachu feels that Ash makes rash choices sometimes. This statement is made by Anabel, after talking to Pikachu.

Throughout the series, there's a running gag involving Pikachu zapping the bike of the female protagonist. It first destroyed Misty's bike, which she used as an excuse to travel with Ash, then when Ash went to Hoenn, Pikachu destroyed May's bike. Most recently Pikachu destroyed Dawn's bike while defending itself from her Piplup. While the first actually had worked as part of the plot in order to add Misty to the main group, the laters were more of a reference to the original and served exclusively for comedy purposes, having no real influence in the story, other than forcing the female protagonist to walk instead of ride her bike.

Many other Pikachu have appeared in the Pokémon anime. The most notable among these is Richie's Pikachu, with mussed hair on its forehead. This one is nicknamed Sparky (Leon in the Japanese original). Sparky, unlike Ash's Pikachu, is indifferent to being inside its Poké Ball, but save for the first season, it is 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 is Pooka (Michael in the Japanese version), a surfing Pikachu owned by a surfer named Victor. Pooka has blue eyes instead of the usual black and also seems to have a harmony with the sea - it glows a bright blue when it feels a powerful wave. It is claimed that Pooka is over 20 years old (it is unknown whether such longevity is unusual for a Pikachu - although Eagun from Pokémon Colosseum, who has been a legendary trainer for over 40 years, mentions that the Pikachu which accompanies him everywhere was his first Pokémon) 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", 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 backup electrical generator, 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.

At the end of the episode "Hocus Pokémon!", a magician-in-training accidentally transforms Ash into a Pikachu (he keeps his hair and his hat). He then plays with Pikachu. At the beginning of the next episode, "As Clear as Crystal!" he is still a Pikachu, but the spell wears off and Ash goes back to being a human.

There is a special episode of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out Of The Gate! in which a Pikachu got captured by Skarmory leaving his little brother Pichu alone. After Skarmory captures Pichu, Pikachu apologized to Pichu for getting Pichu in the middle of getting captured. When Team Go-Getters arrived, Pikachu told Pichu to open the treasure bag and the Quick Seed fell out. Pikachu kicked the seed to Squirtle, and when Squirtle swallowed the seed, he got super speed. Team Go-Getters defeated Skarmory and freed Pikachu and Pichu.

In Pokémon 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 (known in Japan as "Dengeki! Pikachu"), 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.

In the Getto Da Ze manga, the main character Shuu owns a Pikachu, whom he communicates with using a device called an In-Com. This Pikachu is very feisty and a little sarcastic.

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 Masato, 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 collectible card game first published by Wizards of the Coast in North America, in 1999, which simulates a Pokémon battle in the video games and anime.

Pikachu has been seen in at least thirteen incarnations in Pokémon Trading Card Game sets released in North America, and that number increases to twenty when limited edition promotional cards are included. The expansion sets Pikachu cards are found in are the Base Set (as well as Base Set 2 and Legendary Collections reprints), 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), EX Holon Phantoms (appears twice), EX: Power Keepers, POP 2, POP 4 and POP 5 (appears twice).

Cultural impact

Background

File:Jessie-63(2) edited.jpg

The original Pikachu balloon from the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade, used 2001-2005, making its final flight over Pokémon's "Party of the Decade" August 8, 2006 in New York City's Bryant Park.

File:Graffiti in tunis.JPG

Graffiti of Pikachu in Tunis

Pikachu is arguably the most well-known Pokémon, and is regarded as the official mascot of the Pokémon franchise. Pikachu are obtainable in all of the Pokémon video games to date, with a prominent role in Pokémon Yellow. The leading characters of many of the anime and manga series have all captured Pikachu, including Pokémon Adventures, and Magical Pokémon Journey.

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.

Popular culture

Pikachu, being one of the mascots of Pokémon (the others being Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur) has made multiple appearances in popular culture. A "got milk?" advertisement featured Pikachu in 1999. In addition, a Pikachu balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001. Its appearance on May 22, 2006 during the morning rush hour was as part of a test examining parade balloon handling procedures. The original balloon was retired following an appearance at the Pokémon Tenth Anniversary "Party of the Decade" on August 8 in Bryant Park in New York City, and a new Pikachu Balloon that chases a Poké Ball and has light-up cheeks debuted at the 2006 Parade.

A picture of Pikachu has also been featured on the ANA Boeing 747-400 (JA8962), landing at London Heathrow Airport. (see image). In 2002, Ash's Pikachu received fifteenth place in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.

References

• Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Notes

Books

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
• Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Bulbapedia entry on Pikachu species
• Template:Serebiidex
• Pokémon Dungeon - Pikachu Game Boy Coverage
• PsyPoke - Pikachu Pokédex and Usage Overview
  • Pikachu sprite and artwork by Ken Sugimori
• PokeRealm Pikachu battle analysis
• Template:WikiKnowledge
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