Video Game Character of the Month - March 2016 - Pikachu - Pokémon

Video Game Character of the Month

March 2016

Pikachu
Pokémon

Overview:

As you will, probably, have noticed it was the 20th anniversary of Pokémon on the 27th of February (woot!) and, as such, we have decided to put out some Pokémon related posts for you all to read and, hopefully, enjoy! Therefore, it only seemed right to give this month's award to the mascot of all Pokémon (although not the Pokémon that started it all - that fame goes to Rhydon)... Pikachu! (In fact I have been meaning to give this historic gaming character the award for some time now but, well, do you know how many games he/she's been in? Or what about the amount of trivia? Well, you're about to find out...)
Now for a bit of info on Pikachu:

The mascot of Pokémon
Known as the Mouse Pokémon
He/she is an Electric Type Pokémon
National Dex number = #25
Kanto Dex number = #025
Johto Dex number = #22
Hoenn Dex number =#156(Gen III)/#163(ORAS)
Sinnoh Dex number = #104
Kalos Central Dex number = #036
Fiore Browser Number = R-023
Almia = R-002
Oblivia= R-005/N-154
Height = 1'04"/0.4m
Weight =13.2lbs/6kg
Pikachu has a quadruped body style
His/her Pokédex colour is yellow
His/her egg groups are Field and Fairy
His/her hatch time is 5355-5609 steps
His/her gender ratio is 50/50
His/her base experience yield is 82 (Gen I - IV) and 105 (Gen 5+)
His/her leveling rate is medium fast
His/her EV yield is +2 speed
His/her base friendship is 70 (although for Ash's it was more like -30)
His/her catch rate is 190
His/her ability is Static or Lightning Rod for Cosplay Pikachu and as his/her hidden ability
The male form has a lighting bolt tail whereas the female form has a heart shaped tail
He/she has another form known as Cosplay Pikachu who has a black heart shaped tail if female (which she always is in ORAS but not in the anime)
The different forms of Cosplay Pikachu are: Rock Star (which increases the Cool Super Contest Stat and comes with the special move Meteor Mash), Belle (Beautiful and Icicle Crash), Pop Star (Cute and Draining Kiss), Ph.D (Clever and Electric Terrain) and Libre (Tough and Flying Press)
Cosplay Pikachu cannot be evolved or traded
Normal Pikachu evolves from Pichu when its happiness is full and evolves into Raichu with the use of a thunderstone
Pikachu is the starter Pokémon in Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition and will not evolve unless it is traded to another save file
Pikachu is the only core starter Pokémon to not be of a Fire, Water or Grass Type and also is the only one to have a pre-evolution (although it doesn't in the game it stared in)
It is the starter Pokémon in Pokémon Rumble Blast and Pokémon Rumble World and can be a starter/partner Pokémon in all of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeons games (excluding Blazing and Stormy Adventure)
He is the player character in the PokéPark series of games
It was Ash's first Pokémon in the anime and, while it didn't obey him at first, they soon became steadfast friends
Ash's Pikachu is also only one of three Pokémon to defeat a Legendary Pokémon in the anime and is the only one to defeat two (Brandon's Regice and Tobias's Latios)...
... however, he can also be defeated by a level 5 Snivy owned by a trainer who's only just started their journey (I mean, seriously?! And, yes I know he was ill)
Ash's Pikachu is also a very good mimicker
Ash's Pikachu often becomes sick with an electrical overload
Ash's Pikachu is unique in many ways, such as being the most overpowered Pikachu in existence and being one of the only Pokémon who doesn't want to go in its Pokéball
Ash's Pikachu is in every non-special anime episode and every Pokémon movie since its creation
Pikachu can deliver a constant current of 1000 amperes
Pikachu has the most event-exclusive moves available to it
Pikachu has a special hold item known as the Light Ball which doubles its attack and special attack
Pikachu is the only Pokémon to use its anime voice in the core series' games
It is the highest leveled Trainer owned Pokémon other than in Battle Arenas (as it is used by Red in the Johto games)
Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 are the only core series games in which Pikachu cannot be obtained in some way
Pikachu has had three balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
In 2008, Japanese researchers named a new protein 'Pikachurin' as it possessed 'lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects'
He/she has an amiibo figure
He/she has gone on a severe slimming diet since his/hers inception

Origin of Pikachu:
Pikachu was first developed by Atsuko Nishida, a member of Game Freak's core design team before being finalized by the artist Ken Sugimori. Its design is based around mice with a electric theme pervading its appearance and abilities. According to Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, Pikachu's name is derived from the Japanese words pikapika (an onomatopoeia for sparkle) and chuchu (the sound of squeaking). Pokémon developer and composer Junichi Masuda has stated that Pikachu's name was one of the most difficult to create as it needed to appeal to both Japanese and American audiences. To begin with, both Pikachu and Clefairy were in contention to be the lead characters for the franchise merchandising and, indeed, Clefairy even came out on top with being the primary character in the early comic series so as to make it more engaging. However, with the creation of the anime, Pikachu became the primary mascot of the franchise so as to appeal to female viewers and their mothers as well as the fact that a mouse is more recognizable as a pet than um... whatever Clefairy is meant to be (besides a fairy like creature of course). In addition, its colour was also a deciding factor as yellow is a primary colour and children find it easier to recognize from a distance than pink as well as that the only other yellow mascot at the time was Winnie-the-Pooh. While Pikachu's success has been definite and massive, Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri has stated that Pikachu being the mascot was not an idea of his own and that he felt that the human aspect of the series was overlooked by Japanese children who embraced Pikachu by itself much more readily.


Evolution of Pikachu:
Over the course of the last twenty years, Pikachu has evolved in a few ways. First of all, and probably most obviously, he can evolve into Raichu using a Thunderstone (although this was the case since the very first game, so its not technically an evolution) and can evolve from Pichu when happy enough ever since Gen II. Gen III introduced Pikachu's ability, Static, and Gen IV introduced gender differences, giving female Pikachu their heart shaped tails. Gen V introduced Pikachu's hidden ability, Lighting Rod, and Gen VI introduced Cosplay Pikachu and its various forms. As I said in the info section of the post, Pikachu has also lost an awful lot of weight over the years. In terms of Ash's Pikachu, he has gained many new moves, learnt a lot of things, learned to actually like Ash, defeated many Pokémon including Legendaries (although not a level five Snivy, I feel I should point out), become ill several times and generally become the greatest and most useful of all of Ash's Pokémon (although I'm sure this is up for debate). Pikachu has also gained many other new talents such as joining a Rescue and Explorer team, going to the PokéPark, going onto home console, becoming 3D, gaining his/her actual voice, flying on balloons, surfing, dashing, rumbling among many, many other things. And I'm sure this great character will only continue to evolve as time goes on.


Games:
Main Series Games:
Pokémon Red: released (Japan) on 27th February, 1996/(North America) on 28th September, 1998/(Australia) on 23rd October, 1998/(Europe) on 5th October, 1999 on the Nintendo Game Boy/(World Wide) on 27th February, 2016 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Green: released (Japan) on 27th February, 1996 on the Nintendo Game Boy/(Japan) on 27th February, 2016 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Blue: released (Japan in a CoroCoro Comic) on 15th October, 1996/(North America) on 28th September, 1998/(Australia) on 23rd October, 1998/(Europe) on 5th October, 1999/(Japan) on 10th October, 1999 on the Nintendo Game Boy/(World Wide) on 27th February, 2016 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition: released (Japan) on 12th September, 1998/(North America) on 19th October, 199 and (Europe) on 16th June, 2000 on the Nintendo Game Boy/(World Wide) on 27th February, 2016 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Gold and Silver: released (Japan) on 21st November, 1999/(US) on 15th October, 2000/(Europe) on 6th April, 2001 on the Nintendo Game Boy Color
Pokémon Crystal: released (Japan) on 14th December, 2000/(North America) on 29th July, 2001/(Europe) on 1st November, 2001 on the Nintendo Game Boy Color
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire: released (Japan) on 21st November, 2002/(North America) on 17th March, 2003/(Europe) on 25th July, 2003 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen: released (Japan) on 29th January, 2004/(North America) on 9th September, 2004/(Europe) on 1st October, 2004 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Pokémon Emerald: released (Japan) on 16th September, 2004/(North America) on 1st May, 2005/(Europe) on 21st October, 2005 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: released (Japan) on 28th September, 2006/(North America) on 22nd April, 2007/(Europe) on 27th July, 2007 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Platinum: released (Japan) on 13th September, 2008/(North America/Europe) on 22nd, 2009 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver: released (Japan) on 12th September, 2009/(North America) on 14th March, 2010/(Europe) on 26th March, 2010 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Black and White: released (Japan) on 18th September, 2010/(Europe) on 4th March, 2011/(North America) on 6th March, 2011 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2: released (Japan) on 23rd June 2012/(North America) on 7th October, 2012/(Europe) on 12th October, 2012 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon X and Y: released (World Wide) on 12th October, 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire: released (World Wide exluding Europe) on 21st November, 2014/(Europe) on 28th November, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS

Spin-Off Games (Not Part of a Series):
Pokémon Snap: released (Japan) on 21st March, 1999/(North America) on 26th July, 2009/(Europe) on 15th September, 1999 on the N64/(Japan) on 4th December, 2007/(North America) on 10th December, 2007/(Europe) on 17th December, 2007 on the Wii Virtual Console
Hey You, Pikachu: released (Japan) on 12th December, 1998/(North America) on 6th November, 2000 on the N64
Pokémon Dash: released (Japan) on 2nd December, 2004/(North America) on 14th March, 2005/(Europe) on 11th March, 2005 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Channel: released (Japan) on 18th July, 2003/(North America) on 1st December, 2003/(Europe) on 2nd April, 2004 on the Nintendo GameCube
The E-Reader/E+ (Japan): released (Japan) on 27th June, 2003/(North America) on 16th September, 2002 on the Game Boy Advance with E-Reader Peripheral
Pokémate: released (Japan) on 5th June, 2006 on Mobile Devices
Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure (White Keyboard): released (Japan) on 21st April, 2011/(Europe) on 21st September, 2012 on the Nintendo DS
Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure (Black Keyboard): released (Japan) in November 2011 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Conquest: released (Japan) on 17th March, 2012/(North America) on 18th June, 2012/(Europe) on 27th July, 2012 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Tretta Lab for Nintendo 3DS: released (Japan) on 10th August, 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS with Pokémon Tretta peripheral
Pokémon Dream Radar: released (Japan) on 23rd June, 2012/(North America) on 7th October, 2012/(Europe) on 12th October, 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokémon Art Academy: released (Japan) on 19th June, 2014/(Europe) on 4th July, 2014/(North America) on 24th October, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS
The Band of Thieves & 1000 Pokémon: released (Japan) on 5th June, 2014 and removed from the eShop on 30th September, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokémon Picross: released (Japan) on 2nd December, 2015/(North America/Europe) on 3rd December, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS
Pokkén Tournament: released (Japan) on 30th January, 2015 on Arcade (Location Test)/(Japan) on 16th July, 2015 on Arcade (Main Launch)/(Japan/North America/Europe) on 18th March, 2016 on the Wii U
Detective Pikachu Birth of a New Duo: released (Japan) on 3rd February, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Nintendo Badge Arcade (First Pokémon Set): released (Japan) on 17th September, 2015/(North America) on 17th November, 2015/(Europe) on 24th December, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop

Pokémon Puzzle:
Pokémon Puzzle League: released (North America) on 25th September, 2000/(Europe) on 16th March, 2001 on the N64/(North America) on 5th May, 2008/(Europe) on 30th May, 2008 on the Wii Virtual Console
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge: released (Japan) on 21st September, 2000/(North America) on 4th December, 2000/(Europe) on 15th June, 2001 on the Nintendo Game Boy Color/(North America) on 6th November, 2014/(Europe) on 27th November, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console

Pokémon Colosseum:
Pokémon Colosseum: released (Japan) on 21st November, 2003/(North America) on 22nd March, 2004/(Europe) on 14th May, 2004 on the Nintendo GameCube
Pokémon XD: Gales of Darkness: released (Japan) on 4th August, 2005/(North America) on 3rd October, 2005/(Europe) on 18th November, 2005 on the Nintendo GameCube

Pokémon Trading Card Game:
Pokémon Trading Card Game: released (Japan) on 18th December, 1998/(North America) on 11th April, 2000/(Europe) on 8th December, 2000 on the Nintendo Game Boy Color/(Europe) on 10th July, 2014/(Australia) on 11th July, 2014/(North America) on 13th November, 2014/(Japan) on 24th December, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Card Game: How To Play DS: released (Japan) on 5th August, 2011 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Trading Card Game Online: released (World Wide) on 24th March, 2011 on Browser/(World Wide) on 15th May, 2012 on Windows/(World Wide) on 5th November, 2012 on OS X/(World Wide) on 30th September, 2014 on iPad

Pokémon Link:
Pokémon Trozei/Pokémon Link! (Europe): released (Japan) on 20th October, 2005/(North America) on 6th March, 2006/(Europe) on 5th May, 2006 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Battle Trozei/Pokémon Link Battle: released (Japan) on 12th March, 2014/(Europe) on 13th March, 2014/(North America) on 20th March, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokémon Shuffle: released (World Wide) on 18th February, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon Shuffle Mobile (Beta): released (Unknown - presumably to select devices) on 30th June, 2015 on iOS and Android Devices
Pokémon Shuffle Mobile: released (Japan) on 24th August, 2015/(World Wide excluding Japan) on 31st August, 2015 on iOS and Android Devices

PokéPark:
PokéPark Fishing Rally DS: released (Japan) at the PokéPark in Japan between 10th May, 2005 and 25th September 2005 on the Nintendo DS
PokéPark Wii - Pikachu's Adventure: released (Japan) on 5th December, 2009/(North America) on 1st November, 2010/(Europe) on 9th July, 2010 on the Nintendo Wii/(Europe) on 16th July, 2015 on the Wii U Virtual Console
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond: released (Japan) on 12th November, 2011/(North America) on 27th February, 2012/(Europe) on 23rd March, 2012

Pokémon Stadium:
Pokémon Stadium (Original Japanese Version): released on 1st August, 1998 on the N64
Pokémon Stadium: released (Japan) on 30th April, 1999/(North America) on 29th February, 2000/(Europe) on 7th Europe, 2000 on the N64
Pokémon Stadium 2: released (Japan) on 14th December, 2000/(North America) on 28th March, 2001/(Europe) on 19th October, 2001 on the N64
Pokémon Battle Revolution: released (Japan) on 14th December, 2006/(North America) on 25th June, 2007/(Europe) on 7th December, 2007 on the Nintendo Wii

Pokémon Pinball:
Pokémon Pinball: released (Japan) on 14th April, 1999/(North America) on 28th June, 1999/(Europe) on 6th October, 1999 on the Nintendo Game Boy Color
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: released (Japan) on 1st August, 2003/(North America) on 25th August, 2003/(Europe) on 14th November, 2003 on the Game Boy Advance/(Japan) on 10th December, 2014/(Europe) on 11th December, 2014/(North America) on 1st January, 2015 on the Wii U Virtual Console

Pokémon Storage:
Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire: released (Japan) on 30th May, 2003/(North America) on 11th July, 2004/(Europe) in August, 2004 on the Nintendo GameCube
My Pokémon Ranch: released (Japan) on 25th March, 2008/(North America) on 9th June, 2008/(Europe) on 4th July, 2008 on the Nintendo WiiWare
My Pokémon Ranch (Platinum Version): released (Japan) on 18th June, 2008 on the Nintendo WiiWare
Pokémon Bank (Original Release): released (Japan) on 25th December, 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokémon Bank (Re-Release): released (Japan) on 22nd January, 2014/(North America) on 5th February, 2014/(Europe) on 4th February, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop

Pokédex:
Pokédex for iOS: released (Japan) on 16th November, 2012/(North America/Europe) on 10th December, 2012 on iOS
Pokédex 3D: released (North America) on 6th June, 2011/(Europe) on 7th June, 2011/(Japan) on 17th June, 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokédex 3D Pro: released (Japan) on 14th July, 2012/(North America/Europe) on 8th November, 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop

Pokémon Rumble:
Pokémon Rumble: released (Japan) on 16th June, 2009/(North America) on 16th November, 2009/(Europe) on 20th November, 2009 on the Nintendo WiiWare
Pokémon Rumble Blast/Super Pokémon Rumble (Europe): released (Japan) on 11th August, 2011/(North America) on 24th October, 2011/(Europe) on 2nd December, 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon Rumble U: released (Japan) on 24th April, 2013/(North America) on 29th August, 2013/(Europe) on 15th August, 2013 on the Wii U
Pokémon Rumble World: released (Japan/North America/Europe) on 8th April, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop/(Japan) on 19th November, 2015/(Europe) on 22nd January, 2016/(North America) on 29th April, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS Retail

Pokémon Ranger:
Pokémon Ranger: released (Japan) on 23rd March, 2006/(North America) on 30th October, 2006/(Europe) on 13th April, 2007 on the Nintendo DS/(Europe) on 15th February, 2016 on the Wii U Virtual Console
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: released (Japan) on 20th March, 2008/(North America) on 10th November/(Europe) on 21st November, 2008 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Ranger Guardian Signs: released (Japan) on 6th March, 2010/(North America) on 4th October, 2010/(Europe) on 5th November, 2010 on the Nintendo DS

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon:
Pokémon Red Rescue Team: released (Japan) on 17th November, 2005/(North America) on 18th September, 2006/(Europe) on 10th November, 2006 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance/(Europe) on 11th February, 2016 on the Wii U Virtual Console
Pokémon Blue Rescue Team: released (Japan) on 17th November, 2005/(North America) on 18th September, 2006/(Europe) on 10th November, 2006 on the Nintendo DS/(Europe) on 11th February, 2016 on the Wii U Virtual Console
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness: released (Japan) on 13th September, 2007/(North America) on 20th April, 2008/(Europe) on 4th July, 2008 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky: released (Japan) on 18th April, 2009/(North America) on 12th October, 2009/(Europe) on 20th November, 2009 on the Nintendo DS
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Blazing Adventure Squad: released (Japan) on 4th August, 2009 on the Nintendo WiiWare
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Let's Go! Stormy Adventure Squad!: released (Japan) on 4th August, 2009 on the Nintendo WiiWare
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go For It! Light Adventure Squad: released (Japan) on 4th August, 2009 on the Nintendo WiiWare
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Gates To Infinity: released (Japan) on 23rd November, 2012/(North America) on 24th March, 2013/(Europe) on 17th May, 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: released (Japan) on 17th September, 2015/(North America) on 20th November, 2015/(Europe) on 19th February, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS

Pokémon Battrio:
Pokémon Battrio: released (Japan) on 14th September, 2007 on Arcade
Pokémon Battrio S: released (Japan) on 19th July, 2008 on Arcade
Pokémon Battrio 0: released (Japan) on 18th July, 2009 on Arcade
Pokémon Battrio V: released (Japan) on 15th July, 2011 on Arcade

Pokémon Mini:
Pokémon Puzzle Collection: released (North America) on 16th November, 2001/(Japan) on 14th December, 2001/(Europe) on 15th March, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Party Mini: released (North America) on 4th December, 2001/(Japan) on 14th December, 2001/(Europe) on 15th March, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Zany Cards: released (North America) on 4th December, 2001/(Japan) on 14th December, 2001/(Europe) on 15th March, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Pinball Mini: released (North America) on 4th December, 2001/(Japan) on 14th December, 2001/(Europe) on 15th March, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Tetris: released (Japan) on 21st March, 2002/(Europe) on 15th March, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Puzzle Collection Vol. 2: released (Japan) on 26th April, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Race Mini: released (Japan) on 26th April, 2002 on the Pokémon Mini

Super Smash Bros.:
Super Smash Bros.: released (Japan) on 21st January, 1999/(North America) on 27th April, 1999/(Europe) on 19th November, 1999 on the N64
Super Smash Bros. Melee: released (Japan) on 21st November, 2001/(North America) on 3rd December, 2001/(Europe) on 24th May, 2002 on the Nintendo Game Cube
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: released (Japan) on 31st January, 2008/(North America) on 9th March, 2008/(Europe) on 27th June, 2008 on the Nintendo Wii
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS: released (Japan) on 13th September, 2014/(North America/Europe) on 3rd October, 2014 on the Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: released (North America) on 21st November, 2014/(Europe) on 28th November, 2014/(Japan) on 6th December, 2014 on the Wii U

Anticipated:
Pokémon Go: expected release 2016
Pokémon Sun and Moon: expected release Holidays 2016

Well that's it for Pikachu but, as always, if I've missed something out or made a mistake then please don't hesitate to comment! Or if you want a specific character to win the award then please comment as well! Happy 20th anniversary, Pokémon and Train On/remember 'Gotta Catch 'em All!'

Goodbye for now, Harry

Sources:
Serebii.net for the majority of games and release dates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_TCG_Online
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_You,_Pikachu!
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ash%27s_Pikachu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pikachu_(Pok%C3%A9mon)#Ash.27s_Pikachu