Pikachu

Pikachu is an Electric-type Pokémon from the Pokémon series of games. It is numbered 25 in the original Pokedex. Pikachu is easily the most popular Pokémon and is recognized by nearly everyone, not just Pokémon fans, mostly because it's the main Pokémon in the anime series—which lead to its starring in Pokémon Yellow, the #1 fastest-selling Nintendo game in history (beating The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time).

The name Pikachu is a portmanteau of the Japanese words pikapika, an onomatopoeia for electric sparkling, and chū, which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a mouse's squeak. It may also be based on the pika. The name Pikachu refers 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 mountains, islands and electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continents throughout the world. When threatened, a group of Pikachu can generate an intense electrical offensive, and the electro-magnetic forces exerted by the resulting field can even produce a short-lived, localized thunderstorm.

Special Treatment
Pikachu, because of its popularity and status as a Pokémon mascot of sorts, often has certain bonuses that make it good for an un-evolved pokémon. For example, in Pokémon Yellow, they enabled a special bonus "surfing Pikachu" when hooked up to Pokémon Stadium. This is a special Pikachu that knows how to use the move "Surf", giving it a powerful water attack, while letting it participate in a surfing mini-game.

In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pikachu can sometimes be found with an item called a Lightball, which makes its special attack obscenely high.

With that in mind, if you bred a female Pikachu holding Lightball with another Pokémon of its Egg Type, it would result in a Pichu with the move Volt Tackle. Volt Tackle is a very powerful attack, which can be described as an Electric-type version of Double-Edge.

Characteristics
Pikachu are short, stocky 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 light red circles on their cheeks, which contain electrical sacs. Their tails are shaped in the form of a lightning bolt. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, gender differences were introduced for some Pokémon. For Pikachu, the females now have a "dent" at the end of their tails giving it a heart-shaped appearance.

Pikachu often forage for berries. In lieu of climbing trees they use small electrical bolts to release the berries from the tree, roasting them at the same time. For fallen berries, they use their electricity to roast the berries with electricity, tenderizing them. They store electricity in their cheeks, and by simply squeezing them they can 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.

Pokédex entries

 * Red/Blue: When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms.
 * Yellow: It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you.
 * Gold/Pokémon Stadium 2: This intelligent Pokémon roasts hard berries with electricity to make them tender enough to eat.
 * Silver: It raises its tail to check its surroundings. The tail is sometimes struck by lightning in this pose.
 * Crystal: When it is angered, it immediately discharges the energy stored in the pouches in its cheeks.
 * Pokémon Stadium: Lives in forests away from people. It stores electricity in its cheeks for zapping an enemy if it is attacked.
 * Ruby: Whenever a Pikachu comes across something new, it blasts it with a jolt of electricity. If you come across a blackened berry, it's evidence that this Pokémon mistook the intensity of its charge.
 * Sapphire: This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up.

Appearances
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. In Pokémon Yellow, Pikachu is the starting 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.

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. and pokemon trading card game for game boy color.

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.

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 also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with Volt Tackle as its Final Smash.

Red/Blue
Pikachu is relatively uncommon in Red/Blue, appearing only and rather rarely in Viridian Forest and the Power Plant.

Yellow
Pikachu is your starter Pokémon in Yellow, and there isn't a single other one in the whole game. And they don't even give it as a starting Pokémon a very large stat boost to compensate for its low stats in Red/Blue. Or the fact that it'll refuse to evolve. Lame.

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Pikachu can be caught in the Safari Zone's entrance area and left area.

Pokémon Snap
Pikachu can be found on the Beach level as well as the Power Plant level. If you play your pokeflute, he performs the Thunder attack. You can also make him perform the "Surfing Pikachu" poses on the Beach level if you throw apples leading him to the pink surfboard with the electric symbol on it. He also can be used to break open Zapdos' egg on the Power Plant level by, again, leading him with apples. But this time, when he gets close to the egg, play your pokeflute and his Thunder attack with break open the egg, unleashing Zapdos! pikachu is all so in the level with articuno he has balloons tied to him which makes him fly (flying pikachu) if you pop them with a gas ball he will land on articuno back and they will fly a way.

Diamond/Pearl
Pikachu can be caught in the Trophy Garden on Route 212

Platinum
Pikachu does not appear in the trophy Garden on route 212 in Platinum very often (20 minutes of searching resulted in a male level 22) however several Pichu are available. Carry a pichu around for a bit, use some pomeg Berries, and level it up, and you have your own pikachu!

Stats
Max Stats at Level 100 with Beneficial nature
 * HP: 274
 * Attack: 229
 * Defense: 174
 * Sp. Attack: 218
 * Sp. Defence: 196
 * Speed: 306

Super Smash Bros. series
Pikachu appears as a default playable character in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Pikachu is fast, and has a unique attack where an electrical charge crawls around surfaces upside down.

Anime
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, Misty, 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. Ash's Original choice was Squirtle. 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, when Ash confronts Pikachu about its attitude towards him and asks "Is it because you don't like me?" Pikachu confirmed by nodding its head and saying "Pika-pika". 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. When Ash had to battle Misty for the Cascade Badge, Pikachu refused to fight "A Friend.".

The bond between Ash & 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". However, in a recent Sinnoh episode, "Setting the world on it's Buneary", a female Buneary (which Dawn later captures) has a crush on Pikachu, further more establishing this rumor. It is explicitly shown that there is something 'unique' about Ash's Pikachu which sets it apart from others of its kind; Team Rocket's Meowth says early in the first series that the strength of Ash's Pikachu exceeded that of its evolutionary power. 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. However, in some other episodes, they also try to catch other Pokémon.

Like most other Pokémon, Pikachu communicates only by saying syllables that are in its own name. 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 an episode of Pokémon: Master Quest, Ash Ketchum was transformed into a Pikachu, with aspects of his physical appearance - his hat, hair, eyes, and voice - remaining the same as his human form. That lasted till the beginning of the next episode.

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.

In "Cooking Up a Sweet Story," Theresa's aunt owns a Pikachu called Sugar who helps her with cooking. When Sugar disappeared, Theresa couldn't find it and asked Ash if she can borrow his Pikachu. When it turns out that Theresa's aunt already knew that, Team Rocket captured Pikachu and almost got away with it before being stopped by Sugar. However, Sugar had evolved into a Raichu when training new moves which it used on Team Rocket's latest machine where Staravia's Wing Attack wouldn't work on.

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.

Trading Card Game


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 FireRed & Leaf Green EX Diamond & Peal EX Electric Dreams EX Holon Phantoms (appears twice), EX: Power Keepers, POP 2, POP 4 and POP 5 (appears twice).