   #copyright

Pikachu

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection

                            Pikachu
                       Image:pikachu.png
   National
   Arbok - Pikachu (#25) - Raichu
   Johto
   Pichu - Pikachu (#22) - Raichu
   Hoenn
   Pichu - Pikachu (#156) - Raichu
   Sinnoh
   Pichu - Pikachu (#104) - Raichu
   Japanese name Pikachu
       Stage     Basic
   Evolves from  Pichu (from Pokémon Gold and Silver onwards)
    Evolves to   Raichu
    Generation   First
      Species    Electric Mouse Pokémon
       Type      Electric
      Height     1 ft 4 in (0.4  m)
      Weight     13.0 lb (6.0 kg)
      Ability    Static

   Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachuu^ ?) are one of the 493 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. Pikachu is also the
   name of an individual character that belongs to this species and is the
   Pokémon companion of Ash Ketchum. The purpose of Pikachu in the games,
   anime, and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild
   Pokémon—untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through
   various environments—and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.
   Pikachu is among the most recognizable of Pokémon, considering a
   Pikachu is one of the main characters in the Pokémon anime series.

   In the Pokémon universe Pikachu are mammal-like creatures 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. 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 often found foraging for berries. Instead of climbing
   trees, they use small electrical jolts to release the berries from the
   tree, roasting them at the same time. It can also roast marshmallows on
   the tongue with electricity to make them dance. 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 or balls of lightning to defend itself from
   attackers, to be used in battle, at the command from its trainer, or in
   self-defense in the wild. 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.

   For defense against predators, Pikachu uses both its speed and
   electricity to stay alive, however, some predators are immune to
   Pikachu's electric shocks, in this case Pikachu retreats if possible,
   unfortunatly since Pikachus are rather fat, they make easy targets,
   some Pokemon, Like Ariados, make webs to catch wild Pikachu, in this
   case, the Pikachu is virtually helpless and easily wrapped up and
   eaten. Pikachu is a rather common pokemon and has several predators
   however.

   Pikachu is yellow with brown stripes on its back, black-tipped ears,
   red electrical pouches on its cheeks, and has a lightning-bolt-shaped
   tail. It evolves into Raichu via use of a Thunder Stone. Pikachu is so
   popular, however, that in the television anime series and various
   Pokémon-related manga publications, most trainers choose to keep it
   from evolving. 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. Pichu, which is a baby Pikachu,
   evolves into Pikachu after establishing a friendship with its trainer.

Importance and role

In the Pokémon 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 in the Ruby,Sapphire and Emerald 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 Electric attacks,
   making it useful in competitive play.

   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 Colour handheld
   specifically created for Pokémon Yellow, sporting a yellow colour 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 in the Pokémon
   Mystery Dungeon games. Pikachu has also appeared in a video of Pokémon
   Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. It has also been shown in a pre-release
   image that Pikachu will appear in Pokémon Battle Revolution for
   Nintendo's upcoming Wii console.

In the Pokémon 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 based on the anime
   storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash
   Ketchum—an in-training Pokémon Master—as he, May and Hikari (as well as
   several other companions) travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon
   along with their Pokémon partners, Pikachu, Blaziken, and Pochama.

   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 Centre (notably stealing Misty's bike to do so).
   Through this demonstration of a deeply-rooted, 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. 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 favour.

   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. 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 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. 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 colour 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",and
   calls Takeshi Pika pi pi. Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Otani in all
   versions of the anime, except in the English language episode Pokémon,
   I Choose You, in which Rachael Lillis, the regular voice of Misty and
   Jessie of Team Rocket, 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
   Hikari's bike while defending itself from her Pochama. 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 Puka (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 - it glows a bright blue when it feels a powerful wave. It is
   claimed that 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", 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 Centre as their backup
   electrical generator, which was used when Team Rocket cut the power to
   the centre. 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 witch-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 one Pikachu (not Ash's 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 the Go-Getters arrived, Pikachu told
   Pichu to open the treasure bag and the seed fell out. Pikachu kicked
   the seed to Squirtle. When Squirtle swallowed the seed, he got super
   speed. After defeating Skarmory, the Go-Getters saved 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 because of 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

   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 stronger promo cards, giving them an
   advantage, because of their popularity.

   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, these limited edition cards were won in prizes, and copied,
   fake cards were made by places such as cinemas to encourage people to
   buy their tickets. 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), and EX Holon Phantoms
   (appears twice).

   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.

Cultural impact

Background

   Pikachu is arguably the most well-known Pokémon, and is regarded as the
   unofficial 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 name Pikachu is a portmanteau of the words, pika, an onomatopoeia
   in the Japanese language for a spark or a sparkle of lightning, and
   chuu, a Japanese onomatopoeia for the squeak made by a mouse. 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 the mascot of Pokémon, has often been shown in popular
   culture. Pikachu appeared in a " got milk?" ad in 1999. Additionally,
   since 2001, a Pikachu character balloon has been featured in the Macy's
   Thanksgiving Day Parade. 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 (shown in the picture) was
   retired following an appearance at the Pokémon Tenth Anniversary "Party
   of the Decade" on August 8th 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.

   The phrase "Pika-pika" is often considered funny: 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 has made references to Pikachu as well. In the episode
   Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade, after watching too much TV, Bart
   Simpson has strange visions of television characters surrounding him,
   one being Pikachu. Maggie Simpson was also dressed as a Pikachu in the
   openings of episodes 320 and 335 that were parodying anime.

   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.

   A Pikachu was also seen in Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me as
   Austin arrives in Tokyo.

Parodies

   Pikachu, as one of the most popular Pokémon, is often 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 is a parody of Pikachu. Pikachu is also
   parodied in the 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. Also, in The Cheat's Theme Song video, when the singer says
   "who's the guy that looks like The Cheat", a Pikachu flys by onscreen.
   In the anime universe, "Stinko Man K: 20x6", The Cheat is turned into
   "Cheatball", a Pikachu parody, and only says his own name like a
   Pokémon. Cheatball debuted in the e-mail "trading cards".

   In the American clay animated series Robot Chicken, which spoofs on
   many TV shows and celebrities, made a spoof of what really happens in
   Pikachu's Pokéball and what he is really saying to Ash. Not only that,
   but another episode of Robot Chicken showed a Pikachu and a Squirtle
   conversing, with the Squirtle getting fed up of saying his own name.

   In the American animated series Drawn Together the character Ling-Ling
   is a direct parody of Pikachu. In the series Ling-Ling's job is "Battle
   Master" which is a mock of the way trainers use Pokémon to battle each
   other. In flashbacks he is shown disembowelling his old "best friend",
   who resembles Ash Ketchum, and being kept in a triangular Poké
   Ball-like device.

   In the popular cartoon comedy South Park, Pikachu as well as the entire
   Pokémon franchise was spoofed as Chinpokomon.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu"
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