History Characters / PokemonTheSeriesPikachu

* WorldsBestWarrior: [[spoiler:As of the end of ''Journeys'', Pikachu's performance in the Masters Tournament has effectively proven him the strongest Trainer-owned Pokémon in the world. Not only was he the only one in the series to defeat multiple of Leon's Pokémon, but he even took down Leon's strongest partner, Charizard, after already taking heavy damage against Cinderace. He's also the only Masters Eight Pokémon that was never outright defeated in battle, as the only time he was knocked out was due to Spiritomb's [[TakingYouWithMe Destiny Bond]].]]

* LetsGetDangerous: In Alola, like Ash, he seems to have relaxed into a more playful overenthusiastic mood and spends a lot of the new competitions and situations acting like a FishOutOfWater. When a threat or battle occurs however, we are reminded that Pikachu is by far the strongest and most experienced Pokémon of the entire class[[note]]with Kiawe having both the second (Charizard) & third (Turtonator) strongest and experienced [[/note]].

* {{Foil}}:
** To Ash, of course. It's a ''lot'' more prominent in the earlier seasons, when Pikachu would frequently need to step in to prevent Ash from going clear off the deep end ([[CharacterDevelopment it's perhaps because Ash has matured somewhat over the course of the series that the contrast is less obvious in more recent episodes]]), but even to this day it's clear that Pikachu is much more reasonable and level-headed than his Trainer, and he's not above reproachful glares and exasperated sighs (or, y'know, electrocution) when the humans around him get a little too stupid for their own good.
** Also with Dawn's Piplup during the ''Diamond & Pearl'' saga. Pikachu being the mature veteran to contrast the rash newbie, Piplup.

* {{Keet}}: Very energetic and high spirited. In any series Ash is especially hyperactive, Pikachu will often replicate.

** Similar to Ash when it comes to helping others [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself who don't want it]]. He similarly has to be forced not help to Goodra in his war with Florges, while Hawalucha has to dissuade him from helping Noibat in his fight with a Breloom.

* {{Keet}}: Very energetic and high spirited. And in any series Ash is especially hyperactive, Pikachu will often replicate.

** Recent beginnings downplay this. The beginning of the Kalos anime pitted him against the Normal-type Bunnelby, who knows Dig, but he still handled Team Rocket fairly easily. The Alola anime showed him and Ash having difficulty with some sample competitions, but they were nothing like actual Pokémon battles. And in ''Journeys'', he still could easily beat Team Rocket single-handedly despite them having a revolving-door of mix-and-match mook Pokémon at their disposal, and only had slight difficulty with Scorbunny due to unfamiliarity before ultimately beating it easily.

* PokemonSpeak: Has a more variety in speech patterns than most Pokémon, but is still limited to only saying syllables from his name. If you listen close enough, you can tell when he's calling for someone. "Pika-pi" is what he called Ash (Satoshi). "Pi-pi-pi" is what he called Togepi. And here are some others:

[[folder:A-I]]

* InexplicablyAwesome: It's established in universe as early as episode 2 that he's ''not'' just an ordinary Pikachu, but quite why is never expanded on. Over-levelled? Good [=IVs=]? An outright anomaly like the partner Pokemon in the [[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee Let's Go games]]? Something not analogous to the games at all? It's never explicitly confirmed.

** ''All'' of Pikachu's battles against Meowth which didn't involve mechs or some other device were not only wins, but a one hit KO in his favour. It took until "A Frenzied Factory Fiasco", the ''878th'' episode of the show, for Meowth to finally get in at least a CurbstompCushion and break this humiliating streak.

* DemotedToExtra: During the battle against Gary in the Johto League, Pikachu is ''not'' part of Ash's full team (Tauros, Heracross, Muk, Bayleef, Snorlax and Charizard) and is just a spectator in the stadium. The same thing is implied when Ash battles Conway in the Sinnoh League, since besides having Noctowl, Donphan and Gible in his team, he also had Infernape, Torterra and Glalie at the beginning of the episode, which were the original line-up against Conway, and Pikachu is seen being with the other spectators rather than with Ash. While Ash's exact roster isn't as clear, Pikachu is also notably in the stands during Ash's battle with Stephan, implying that the three Pokemon in his current roster for that round did not include Pikachu.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/IkueOtani[[note]]Creator/RachaelLillis and Sabine Bohlmann also inconsistently dubbed over some lines in the first few episodes of the English and German dub respectively. Also, in the [=LatAm=] Spanish dub of episode 17, Claudia Motta did the voice-over of Pikachu's dialogue. [[spoiler: Voiced by Creator/KateBristol in the English dub of ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' during the climax]].[[/note]]

* BlueWithShock: In "Berry, Berry Interesting", [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/houen/394ps4.shtml he goes Blue with Food Poisoning]] after being made to eat [[LethalChef May's purple Pokéblocks]]. Creator/IkueOtani's voice work really sells it, too: ''[munching]'' "Pika, pika...''pecch!!''"

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Pikachu is small, cute, fairly docile and one of Ash's more patient Mons who is more than content to just sit on his friend's shoulder while they travel around - basically, he's just something you want to smush in a hug[[note]]We would, however, suggest you ''don't'' as he'll probably spark you by mistake, unless you're Mimey, Delia or, of course, Ash himself.[[/note]]. However, there's a limit to that patience. If you dare attack him, particularly while his back is turned, all bets are officially off as you have finally pushed Pikachu's buttons and he'll blow!

* BlueWithShock: [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/houen/394ps4.shtml See this picture.]]
** More like Blue with [[LethalChef Food Poisoning]]. Ash's other Pokémon have similar reactions to [[LethalChef May's purple Pokéblocks.]]
** Creator/IkueOtani's voice work really sells it, too: (''munching'') "Pika, pika...''pecch!!''"

* CoolBigBro:Whenever the team gain a younger or more inexperienced capture, Pikachu is almost always the most proactive Pokémon in looking out for them and keeping them safe from the likes of Team Rocket. He’s been this since as caught Caterpie and has g e onto be this to many Pokémon.

* CoolBigBro: Whenever the team gain a younger or more inexperienced capture, Pikachu is almost always the most proactive Pokémon in looking out for them and keeping them safe from the likes of Team Rocket.

* ComicallyLopSidedRivalry: On the blatant winning end against Meowth toe-to-toe. It took until "A Frenzied Factory Fiasco" all the way in ''XY'' for Meowth to so much as ''land an attack'' on Pikachu. Give [[AcePilot Meowth]] a HumongousMecha and he can [[NotSoHarmlessVillain make it interesting]], but even then, ultimately, TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin.

* WorldsStrongestMan: [[spoiler:As of the end of ''Journeys'', Pikachu's performance in the Masters Tournament has effectively proven him the strongest Trainer-owned Pokémon in the world. Not only was he the only one in the series to defeat multiple of [[WorldsBestWarrior Leon's]] Pokémon, but he even took down Leon's strongest partner, Charizard, after already taking heavy damage against Cinderace. He's also the only Masters Eight Pokémon that was never outright defeated in battle, as the only time he was knocked out was due to Spiritomb's [[TakingYouWithMe Destiny Bond]].]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/IkueOtani[[note]]Rachel Lillis and Sabine Bohlmann also inconsistently dubbed over some lines in the first few episodes of the English and German dub respectively. Also, in the [=LatAm=] Spanish dub of episode 17, Claudia Motta did the voice-over of Pikachu's dialogue. [[spoiler: Voiced by Creator/KateBristol in the English dub of ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' during the climax]].[[/note]]

'''Advanced Generation:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireGymLeadersAndFrontierBrains Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains]]\\

Ash's first and ever-faithful Pokémon partner. Despite their first meeting being anything but friendly, Pikachu would go on to be Ash's longest-standing companion who has been with him every step of his journey. Unlike most of his species, Ash's Pikachu refuses to stay cooped up inside his Poké Ball for any period of time. Tropes involving Ash's Pikachu include:

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokémon]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesAntagonists Antagonists]]\\

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokemon]]\\

* ExtraOreDinary: Knows [[WhipItGood Iron Tail]], a Steel-Type attack that was originally taught to counter Rock-Type Pokémon, notably Roxanne's, and has since become Pikachu's go-to move for when his Electric attacks are ineffective or compromised.

'''Movies:''' [[Characters/PokemonMovies Movies 1 to 19]] | [[Characters/PokemonIChooseYou I Choose You!]] | [[Characters/PokemonThePowerOfUs The Power of Us]]-]]]]]

'''Pokemon 2023:''' [[Characters/Pokemon2023LeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/Pokemon2023Pokemon Pokemon]]\\

* WorldsStrongestMan: Only time will tell if it sticks, but [[spoiler:as of the end of ''Journeys'', Pikachu's performance in the Masters Tournament has effectively proven him the strongest Trainer-owned Pokémon in the world. Not only was he the only one in the series to defeat multiple of [[WorldsBestWarrior Leon's]] Pokémon, but he even took down Leon's strongest partner, Charizard, after already taking heavy damage against Cinderace. He's also the only Masters Eight Pokémon that was never outright defeated in battle, as the only time he was knocked out was due to Spiritomb's [[TakingYouWithMe Destiny Bond]].]]

* HeroicSecondWind: Occasionally gets them during tough and climatic battles, but Pikachu gets an exceptional powerful one in episode [=JN132=]. After his ImagineSpot of seeing [[spoiler:all of Ash's Pokémon cheering for him, Pikachu stands up and uses every energy he has left, being covered in golden thunder and black lightning. It gives Pikachu enough strength to defeat Leon's Charizard in a Thunderbolt vs Fire Blast clash, which heavily resembles a clash between Volt Tackle and Flare Blitz]].

* {{Determinator}}: Far more so in the early seasons, when he had to ''work'' to get all-powerful.