Pikachu
Encyclopedia : P : PI : PIK : Pikachu
is one of the 401 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar“[Pokemon Franchise Approaches 150 Million Games Sold]" PR Newswire. URL accessed on March 27, 2006. 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.[TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time]. 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.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[Nintendo Game boy games] Amazon.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006 is the mascot for the Super Mario franchise and Nintendo [Nintendo's official website] Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006. It is obtainable in all of the Pokémon RPGs on Game Boy systems to date, with a prominent role in Pokémon Yellow. The protagonists of the Pokémon anime, the Pokémon Adventures,Pokémon Adventures [ ISBN 1569315078] Electric Tale of PikachuElectric Tale of Pikachu [ ISBN 1569313784] and the Ash & PikachuManga volume 6: Ash & Pikachu. [ ISBN 4091400981] manga all own a Pikachu.
"Pikachu" is a portmanteau of the words, pika,[Definition for Pika] Reference.com URL Accessed July 16, 2006 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.[Pokémon Sapphire information] Amazon.com. URL accessed on March 27, 2006.
Cultural impact
Pop culture
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. [Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade] Ncytourist.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006 appearance in 2006 was as part of a test examining parade float procedures.
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.
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!"
Characteristics
In the Pokémon universe Pikachu are ground-dwelling mammals, 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, on most continents throughout the world [The in-game Pokédexes (A copy of them from serebii.net)] URL Accessed July 16, 2006. 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.The in-game Pokédex of the Game Boy series ([A copy of them from pokémondungeon.com]) URL accessed on March 27, 2006.Living in wooded areas, such as Viridian Forest, Pikachu often are found foraging for berries [Experience Intervals article on Ash Ketchum] URL Accessed July 16, 2006. Instead of climbing trees, they use small electrical shocks to release the berries from the tree, roasting them at the same time. 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.
In the video games
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
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[Pokémon Gold on Amazon.com] URL Accessed July 17, 2006 and Silver[Pokémon Silver on Amazon.com] URL Accessed July 17, 2006, which added an item
called the Light Ball[List of In-game items] Pokémon Elite 2000 URL Accessed July 17, 2006. 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.
Pikachu is featured in Hey You, Pikachu![http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-127 Hey You, Pikachu! Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Channel[Pokémon Channel] IGN.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006, and the Pokémon Pikachu. It also makes several appearances in Pokémon Snap[Pokémon Snap] Nintendo.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006, famously portraying the Surfing Pikachu sidequest in Pokémon Yellow.
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.[http://www.smashbros.com/ Shash Bros.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006
There has also been a special-edition Nintendo 64 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[Pokémon Pinball on Amazon.com] URL Accessed July 17, 2006, ', Pokémon Trozei, Pokémon Colosseum, ', Pokémon Dash and Pokémon Ranger. It has also played a role in various games for the Pokémon Mini Handheld.
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, 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 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. [Episode 373, Gaining Groudon]
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. [Episode 14, Electric Shock Showdown] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006
In ,[Serebii.net's movie guide] URL Accessed July 17, 2006 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.
Many of the Pokémon animated shorts with all-Pokémon dialogue have featured Pikachu as the main characterAll-Pokémon dialogue. 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.
Another notable Pikachu one named Puka[Pokémon episode guide] tv.com URL Accessed July 17, 2006 (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"[Episode 39, Pikachu's Goodbye] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006, 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 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.
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, Raichu, 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.[Pikachu TCG Deck Dex] Psypokes.com. URL accessed on April 31, 2006. 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].
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In the anime
Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
In the Pokémon anime, Pikachu was Ash Ketchum's first Pokémon. In the first episode[Episode 1, Pokémon, I choose you] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 16, 2006 of the Pokémon anime[Serebii.net's anime guide] URL Accessed July 16, 2006, Pikachu did not like Ash and shocked him with electricity every time Ash came near. However, by the second episode [Episode 2, Pokémon Emergency] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 16, 2006, 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[Indigo, Pokémon first season] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006, Pikachu would shock Ash occasionally. After the first season, Pikachu no longer shocked Ash (As they were now the best of friends).
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[BIOS information on Richie] Serebii.net URL Accessed July 17, 2006, 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 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.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 Pokémon Trading Card Game
References
External links
Games:
Super Smash Bros. | Melee | Brawl
Super Smash Bros.
Captain Falcon | Donkey Kong | Fox McCloud | Jigglypuff | Kirby | Link | Luigi | Mario | Ness | NPCs | Pikachu | Samus Aran | Yoshi
SSB Melee:
Bowser | Dr. Mario | Falco Lombardi | Ganondorf | Ice Climbers | Marth | Mewtwo | Mr. Game & Watch | Pichu | Princess Peach | Princess Zelda | Roy | Sheik | Young Link
SSB Brawl:
Meta Knight | Pit | Solid Snake | Wario | Zero-Suit Samus
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