Pikachu is a squat, round rodent Pokémon covered in yellow fur with two brown stripes running across its back. It's got a tiny mouth, long pointed ears with black tips, and brown eyes. The most distinctive features are its red cheek pouches—basically built-in batteries for storing electricity. Its front paws have five fingers each, back feet have three toes, and its lightning bolt-shaped tail has a brown patch at the base. Female Pikachu have a distinctive V-shaped notch at the tip of their tail, making it look like the top of a heart. While technically classified as a quadruped, Pikachu regularly stands and walks on its hind legs, making it a facultative biped.
In the wild, Pikachu live together in forest groups, communicating through squeaks and tail movements. Alolan Pikachu greet each other differently—they sniff and rub tails together. They also use electricity to send messages to one another and other Electric-types. Pikachu tend to raise their tails to scout their surroundings, which ironically makes them targets for lightning strikes. Large groups of them can accidentally trigger full thunderstorms. They forage for berries and roast them with electricity to soften them up. You can usually tell Pikachu are living somewhere by the patches of scorched grass scattered around. In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, they're depicted eating telephone poles and electronic equipment, sometimes destroying it in the process.
Pikachu charges up while sleeping and needs a full night's rest to maintain proper energy levels—stress and sleep deprivation mess with this process. They can discharge electricity at different intensities and actually need to release built-up energy regularly to avoid health problems. Their tail works as a grounding rod and can also recharge other Pikachu. Interestingly, they generate electricity through their cheeks while sleeping, and they discharge energy while dreaming of firing electric attacks.
Forms
Pikachu has sixteen additional forms spread across four categories: Cosplay Pikachu, Pikachu in a cap, partner Pikachu, and Gigantamax Pikachu.
Cosplay Pikachu is always female and sports a black heart-shaped mark on its tail. It can wear any of five outfits tied to the five Contest conditions.
Pikachu in a cap is always male and comes in eight versions, each wearing one of Ash's hats from the anime. It's the only Pokémon that can use the Z-Move 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, but it can't learn Catastropika or access Gigantamax.
The partner Pikachu is what you start with in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and can be any gender. It has better base stats than a standard Pikachu and learns three exclusive moves—Zippy Zap, Floaty Fall, and Splishy Splash—plus access to the Partner Power Pika Papow. The Pokédex treats it the same as regular Pikachu, and you can't transfer it out of the game.
Gigantamax Pikachu gets noticeably larger and rounder. Its tail stretches out and glows bright yellow, able to store all the electricity it generates—making it hit as hard as an actual lightning bolt. Three red clouds float around the tail. Its power rivals a power plant, though it's impractical for home use since Gigantamax only lasts a short time.
Evolution
Pikachu evolves from Pichu and evolves into Raichu. In Alola, it becomes Alolan Raichu instead. Cosplay Pikachu, Pikachu in a cap, partner Pikachu, and any Pikachu with the Gigantamax Factor cannot evolve.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
