Pikachu

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Character
Name: Pikachu
Occupation:
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Fandom: Pokémon
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Pikachu is a fictional character in the Pokémon fandom. It was introduced in the first generation and became the image of the franchise and one of the most popular pokemon overall. It is recognized even by people who know nothing about the franchise.

Canon

Evolution Line

Pikachu evolves into Raichu and from the Generation II onwards it evolves from Pichu. Raichu also has an Alolan Form. Pichu is a baby form of Pikachu. Pichu is designed to be cuter than Pikachu, and even though is not as iconic as Pikachu, it still features on a lot of merchandise and is featured often in promo material.

Pikachu in Super Smash Bros.

Fandom

Example of the surprised Pikachu meme

Despite being from the first generation, no other pokémon of the more than one thousand ones released until now has been capable to pass it in terms of popularity. Pikachu's popularity resides in its cuteness. It is a small, yellow mouse-like creature, with big eyes and red circles on its cheeks. A pikachu is also Ash Ketchum's first pokémon, the protagonist of the anime series. It also was the starter in "Pokémon Yellow" where it remained outside of its pokéball like in the series, following the main character's sprite.

Pikachu is also hated by a section of Pokémon fans. This is due to its overexposure in merchandise and promo material by Nintendo, that some people find annoying. Pikachu is also considered not that useful in terms of fighting power. Back on early internet, there were anti-pikachu shrines full of gory photo manips and fanart of pikachu being killed in a variety of ways.

Pikachu's most popular meme is the surprised Pikachu face. It is a screenshot of Pikachu from the Pokémon anime, with its mouth agape and eyes wide open in surprise. The meme is often used to express disbelief or shock about obvious consequences, and it has been used in a variety of contexts, from political jokes to more light-hearted humor.

Fanworks

Fanart

Archives and Links

Resources