Yes Ash we know you choose Pikachu.
He’s you’re #1 pal after all.
This little yellow rodent even gets the luxury
of existing outside a pokeball!
While all the other pokemon around the poke-world
are dematerialized and crammed into the most
marketable fictional object of all time, Pikachu
gets to stretch its legs!
Life ain’t fair is it Squirtle?
That’s right get back to your ball and wait
your turn to feel the wind and sunlight on
your skin.
Just don’t lose your next battle or else
I’m trading your ass!
A happy trainer means a happy pokemon!
At least that’s what I tell myself.
So don’t fuck it up k?
Don’t make me cancel funding for the Squirtle
Squad.
Alright enough with the bit...we’re talking
about Pikachu!
You could say he’s the co-star of the Pokemon
franchise.
Not only is he Ash’s tried and true poke-sidekick
in the anime but he’s also the face of Pokemon
as a whole.
Ask your grandma to name 5 pokemen and chances
are she’ll be able to at least remember
the Pika-Poo guy.
That is to say...Pikachu is important!
But what role exactly does this electric mouse
play in one of the most beloved franchises
of all time?
He’s at the center of it all...but what
makes it work?
When you’ve got a show that lasts...what
is it 20 seasons now?...and merchandise up
the hizzazzle it’s safe to say Pikachu has
had an impact on us all.
But why?
If you popped open this little guy’s head
and looked inside...if you looked at the adventures
he’s been on...you’d find an experience
worth remembering.
An experience that ties together decades of
anime and gameplay with a kind of poetry that
only Nintendo can deliver.
So prepare yourself.
For the story of a beloved companion.
For the story of Pikachu...the story..you
never knew.
Intro
First things first, there’s some questions
about Pikachu we need to answer.
Let’s start with the most important one...it
comes up early on in both the anime and games.
Specifically Yellow Version.
The question is...why won’t Pikachu evolve???
It’s a big question mark.
A common theme throughout the anime that’s
been a cornerstone of Pikachu’s character
since Ash first battled Lieutenant Surge.
To give some insight, in the Season 1 episode
“Electric Shock Showdown” Ash is ready
to obtain his third badge from Lt. Surge.
Unfortunately his first attempt at doing that
left Pikachu with an eclectic array of bodily
injuries.
Pikachu got his ass kicked.
Badly.
He couldn’t do anything against Lt. Surge’s
evolved Raichu.
Raichu was just too powerful for poor unevolved
Pika-pee and Lt. Surge isn’t shy about telling
Ash about it.
It’s at this point we see what our iconic
companion is really about.
Rather than evolve into a Raichu that would
undoubtedly be able to compete, Pikachu wants
to keep his identity despite Lt. Surge’s
advice.
He refuses to evolve with the thunderstone
and stays as he is.
Brave and stubborn.
Just like your trainer eh?
Ain’t Ash a peach for not making Pika evolve?
It should be noted that until this point,
Pikachu had (for the most part) been more
powerful than his opponents.
At least any individual one.
Since the very first episode, Ash’s little
yellow sidekick had been quite literally a
powerhouse.
His shocking electrical abilities were enough
to keep team rocket stocking a ten year old
boy for season after season after all!
It’s only when he comes face to face with
his evolved form that Pikachu really meets
his match.
However when Pikachu finally recovers, he
and Ash devise a plan.
Well actually it was Brock’s plan...cause
Ash is stupid.
It’s a plan that utilizes Pikachu’s speed
rather than his thundershock.
Raichu is strong and slow but Pikachu...is
strong-ish and fast.
THIS RAICHU DOESN’T EVEN KNOW QUICK ATTACK.
WABAM!
And so the day is won!
But what have we really learned about Pikachu?
Well now we know he likes himself the way
he is.
To evolve for the sake of power is heresy.
Prior to the fight, we see Pikachu give a
passionate speech about how he fights in the
name of all Pikachu (according to Meowth’s
translation) and that..that means something.
In fact this idea of favoring choice over
forced-evolution is brought up again later
in season 1.
In The Battling Eevee Brothers, those who
want quick power ups through evolution once
again try to convince Ash to evolve his pika-pee.
In this episode, these people come in the
form of three brothers who..are a bit overly
passionate about their Eevee evolutions of
choice and so each tries to convince their
fourth and youngest brother to choose their
evolution.
Evolve to Vaporeon.
No flareon!
No Jolteon!
Little do they know their brown haired, brown
eyed, little bro isn’t buying into the evolution
game.
Poor Mikey is all about keeping eevee as eevee!
Heretic!
Just kidding his older brothers were super
cool about it after they saw eevee REK team
rocket.
They even said he shoulda told ‘em how he
felt earlier.
What a wholesome ending!
But deeper concepts lie within this particular
episode.
Don’t believe me?
Then why does Mikey say he’s more interested
in Eevee being his best friend than in battling
it?
Obviously that’s what Ash and company are
all about too...the idea that you don’t
“own” your Pokemon and so decisions about
what it will become should be left up to the
Pokemon itself.
As seen throughout the show and in a conversation
with the flamboyantly elemental Eevee brothers,
many trainers feel superior to their Pokemon...enough
to where evolving them without asking is totally
fine.
Just look at this conversation Ash and Brock
had with the Eevee brothers!
Why all these evolution stone users all gotta
be so pushy?
Huh??
Lt. Surge wouldn’t shut up about the stones,
these brothers are trying to ram ‘em down
Ash and Brock’s throat..
KEEP YOUR STONES TO YOURSELVES GUYS GEEZE.
It’s almost as though a philosophy of poke-power
above all else is what a Pokemon trainer’s
journey is all about to these people!
I guess it’s all a matter of taste but why
you gotta be so dramatic and dogmatic about
it??
As much shit as I give Ash for being stupid...he’s
a good guy compared to a lot of trainers.
He may let his best Pokemon go at the end
of every season, he may use electric attacks
against rock and ground types, and he may
even not recognize team rocket when they have
the worst disguises ever, but beneath that
confused soup of mediocrity is a heart of
gold: a trainer with a philosophy on life
that knows Pokemon are people too!
I mean like...they deserve to be treated well.
With compassion!
That’s not to say trainers who evolve their
Pokemon with stones don’t treat their Pokemon
with compassion ever...in fact the Eevee brothers
seem like a bunch of swell albeit overthetop
guys.
But like a lot of trainers they fall into
the trap of thinking they know what’s best
about every aspect of their Pokemon journey.
They aren’t so open to taking advice from
the non-human members of their team because
they’ve “got it all figured out.”
Each of the three older brothers is an example
of what this mindset looks like.
“No Jolteon’s the best!
No Vaporeon!
No Flareon!”
Okay guys each one is good for a certain purpose.
Didn’t anyone teach you how Pokemon types
work???
I mean I know Ash didn’t but none of these
eevee evolutions are “the best.”
Stop sucking your own dicks about the decision
you forced on your eevees.
Anyway...what does this tell us about Pikachu?
Well it certainly paints Pikachu in a new
light.
Now we know how so many other trainers besides
Ash think.
Making Pokemon as strong as possible as fast
as possible is such a prominent strategy that
the Eevee brother’s literally threw a party
at their mansion to evolve their Pokemon with
other trainers.
Did I mention they threw a party?
LIKE IT’S A PASTIME!
Pikachu fights this style of training, however,
and that’s why Ash is his perfect companion.
Pikachu cares.
That’s not to say Pikachu is entirely selfless,
but in a universe where pokemon trainers seem
to have total and utter control over the pokemon
they capture, Pikachu sheds a different light
on this Trainer-Pokemon relationship.
This isn’t an Ash Charizard situation, where
the Trainer’s Pokemon is too strong for
the for the trainer to control:
Ash: Yo dawg, use fire smash
Charizard: HELL NAH!
YOU AIN’T THE BOSS OF ME
Ash: DAMMIT CHARIZARD!
YOU HAD ONE JOB!
ONE.
JOB.
Charizard: WHATEVER MOM.
Go make me some food.
Hard to realize that that is the exact transcript
from the original Pokemon anime.
I never remembered it going down quite like
that...but the evidence don’t lie!
The fact that Charizard is too strong for
Ash to handle causes the Pokemon to disobey
and not respect the trainer.
This isn’t the same as Pikachu.
It’s quite the opposite actually.
Pikachu and Ash not only care for, but respect
each other.
And while this mutual respect between Pokemon
and Trainer isn’t unfound in the Pokemon
universe, Pikachu is different.
I mean...besides the whole PIkachu not being
in a pokeball thing, Pikachu has the wherewithal
to make his own battle decisions based on
his own moral compass.
In gym and typical trainer battles, we see
Pikachu going all out in an attempt to...obviously...defeat
its opponent.
But in The Johto Journeys, when Ash and Misty
are battling over who would take home the
precious Totodile...well, just watch:
Sure, it may have been Tokepi’s battle tactics.
But it’s not like Tokepi using charm was
the reason why Pikachu ran away from the battle.
It’s not the whole reason, anyway.
Pikachu didn’t want to fight Tokepi in the
first place.
It was obvious from the get-go.
Yeah, they’re friends...but we’ve seen
PIkachu fight “friends” in the past.
This is different.
Tokepi is a baby.
A Pokemon that hatched so recently that it
is STILL IN IT’S SHELL.
A much lower level than Pikachu, so, obviously
our Yellow Mouse shoulda won the battle easily.
It’s not like Ash didn’t tell Pikachu
to attack:
It’s just Pikachu was using his own discretion
in deciding not to attack.
And then ultimately deciding to flee from
battle.
It seems that PIkachu has...free will.
SEE SAM HARRIS!
FREE WILL ISN’T A MYTH.
But blah blah blah...maybe this compassion
PIkachu showed is due to his bond with Tokepi.
But the thing is...this isn’t the last time
something like this happened.
In the first episode of Pokemon Black and
White, Ash goes up against a dude named Trip.
Now for those who’ve seen the series...you
know exactly where I’m going here.
For those who haven’t...well...you’ll
see.
So that sequence just looked like Pikachu
lost to a Snivy.
But that’s only part of the story.
The guy who Ash is battling, Trip, just started
his Pokemon League challenge and chose the
Grass-type Pokemon Snivy.
He literally JUST picked Snivy as his starter
Pokemon.
Meanwhile Ash has had Pikachu for 13 seasons
prior to this.
THIRTEEN.
SEASONS.
And still manages to lose.
But why?
Well Ash tries to have Pikachu go to his typical
lightning attacks right off the bat, but the
fact that Pikachu doesn’t follow through
isn’t due to all that free will mumbo jumbo.
It’s because earlier in the episode Pikachu
got shocked by the legendary Zekrom, and supposedly
that shock caused Pikachu to not be able to
use lightning attacks.
But still.
You’re fighting a STARTER POKEMON.
A POKEMON THAT IS LITERALLY LVL 5.
A Pokemon so fresh that it hadn’t yet gotten
a taste of battle.
So...WHAT THE FUCK PIKACHU!?!
He knew quick attack.
And iron tail.
AND AT LEAST TACKLE.
A Tackle should be able to beat a fresh blooded
starter pokemon.
Did Pikachu lose all stats once the season
restarted?
No.
The answer is much more psychological than
that.
Pikachu was holding back.
Giving the weaker Pokemon, Snivey, the experience
of sparring in battle and seeing what it’s
capable of as opposed to just coming in and
knocking them out right off the bat.
Because...what’s the fun in that?
It’s much more interesting in battle to
see what your opponent is capable of as opposed
to just finishing the fight as soon as possible.
And Pikachu lost because he underestimated
Snivey.
Much like a black belt holding back while
fighting a white belt...then suddenly the
white belt lands a lucky blow.
Even when Ash calls out attacks, Pikachu doesn’t
listen like your normal Pokemon.
He’s on a different level than other Pokemon
in the universe, and even the other ones on
Ash’s team.
Pikachu doesn’t disobey because he is too
strong for Ash to control.
But more because he follows his own set of
morals.
Pikachu doesn’t just fight battles for the
purpose of winning.
Even in situations where the battle should
be heavily favored in the side of this sparky
rat, Pikachu is more interested in holding
back for the benefit of others than for just
bulldozing the competition.
And in that way, Pikachu shows compassion.
This isn’t even the most interesting thing
about Pikachu, however.
Pikachu’s compassion is second to his love
for the thrill of the adventure.
It’s not about being the very best like
no one ever was but the journey that leads
to that.
Pikachu is far more interested in personal
growth, experiencing new experiences, and
of course kickin it hardcore when the opportunity
calls for it.
Just look at surfing Pikachu from Pokemon
yellow.
Surfing Pikachu is an obvious visual representation
of Pikachu’s adventure seeking and personal
boundary dissolving nature.
Not to mention all the emotions Pikachu can
experience in Pokemon Yellow.
Remember all the expressions you can see in
this game?
You can really see how Pikachu reacts to different
experiences throughout your journey together.
Low health?
Burnt?
Poisoned?
Perfectly healthy?
Regardless of what’s happening, you can
see the situation in Pikachu’s face.
When I said this little guy was the face of
the Pokemon franchise...I meant it figuratively
and literally!
He’s really our connection to all Pokemon.
He’s the one who reeled us in, in the first
place, he’s the one who takes identity and
personal growth seriously while so many other
Pokemon blindly obey their trainers to become
as powerful as possible.
Pika’s appeal is more than just good marketing,
it runs deep!
It carries us through twenty seasons and a
ton of movies.
You could say Pikachu embodies the journey
to be the best like no one ever was.
Not because of his impressive electric abilities
but because he’s all about the deeper reason
for doing it in the first place.
Do you remember what attracted you to Pokemon
in the first place?
If you’re like me, the idea of filling out
my Pokedex and beating the elite four was
rewarding.
Not to mention watching Ash stumble his way
through Kanto was entertaining...but that
wasn’t where the passion came from.
It was all about exploring this huge and magical
world...the sense of being free and growing
from adventures as you work towards being
the best.
The “I will travel across the lands searching
far and wide” the “our courage will pull
us through…” the “you teach me and I’ll
teach you”...that’s what gives these creatures
sprinkled throughout at fictional world their
meaning.
Ash’s Pikachu in the anime and also Red’s
in the games...that symbol of Pikachu we’ve
been sold for so long...he knows why he’s
here.
He doesn’t need a trainer to give him a
purpose.
We see this in the lighthearted surfing Pikachu,
we see it in the emotions of Pokemon Yellow,
we see it in all the times Pikachu refused
to evolve despite so much pressure from other
trainers, we see it in Pikachu’s passionate
speech about “fighting for all Pikachu”
and maintaining an identity rather than being
a cookie cutter plushie that can flex its
power on command.
All this adventuring is building towards something.
As new lands are explored and new Pokemon
are caught and bonded with this whole collection
of experiences adds up.
It accumulates into the Pokemon journey we
all longed for as kids and Pikachu isn’t
asleep for any of it.
Within this little yellow mouse is a collection
of experiences our childhood selves could
only dream of.
Pikachu’s inner fire and true sense of adventure
is what keeps Pokemon alive and it’s this
idea that keeps the franchise from devolving
into just a stats war with some new additions
every once in awhile.
We all remember that first line of the song,
“I wanna be the best like no one ever was.”
But sometimes we forget that other line…”YOU
TEACH ME AND I’LL TEACH YOU!”
It’s not about growing stats...it’s about
growing together.
Growing as an individual and appreciating
the journey for the reasons you set out for
in the first place.
Pikachu isn’t just marketable...he is wise.
Wise enough to not mind his trainer’s a
tool sometimes.
And that’s the story you never knew.
Ahhh nothing like a video about good ol’
Pika Pee to get me worked up!
I’m Grant and I’ve been dying to make
this video for a while now.
Me and Pikachu go way back so it was only
a matter of time really.
That being said I know I’m not the only
one to appreciate this adorable yellow mascot
thing.
I’m sure YOU’VE got a thing or two to
say about my opinion.
So why don’t you let me know down below
what YOU think Pikachu represents.
Also don’t forget to subscribe and hit that
cute little bell so you don’t miss more
content like this.
Story You Never Knew is going to come out
WAY more often now that we’ve got some editors
helping us so don’t miss it.
Speaking of exciting news, I’m going to
the Retro World Expo on October 14th and 15th
at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford
Connecticut.
I’ll be hosting some panels with Lockstin
of Gnoggin and Brad from SwankyBox.
It’s gonna be super interesting and it’d
be awesome to meet you guys in person!
Come see me IRL!
My awkwardness will be endearing I assure
you.
Once again I’m Grant and I’ll see you
in the next video.
Bye everyone!
