1/ PIKACHU WASN’T MEANT TO BE THE POKÉMON MASCOT
Ask anyone to tell you the first thing that comes to their mind when they think about Pokémon and they will undoubtedly say “Pikachu.” There’s no single Pokémon more internationally famous than Pikachu, and even those who have never held a Pokémon card, played a Pokémon game, or seen an episode of Pokémon in their life will have some familiarity with Pikachu. It’s undeniable that Pikachu is an undeniable success story of the Pokémon franchise, but it wasn’t always going to be that way.

Originally – when the Pokémon franchise was still in the planning stages – Clefairy was chosen by executives to be the lead character for the marketing of the franchise. It was thought that Clefairy would be engaging and would draw people in, but once the animated series began production it was quickly understood that a yellow central character would be the best for the brand. The thinking went that yellow was easy for children to see from a distance, and there would be little competition as Winnie the Pooh was the only yellow mascot at the time. pikachu plush toy

2/ ASH’S PIKACHU WAS NAMED JEAN-LUC IN THE MANGA
Pokemon is a worldwide phenomenon that originated in Japan, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its Western influences. Just the idea of a small yellow rat that can store and dispense lightning is a crazy one, and it’s something that somehow caught on and made us all feel more cultured for understanding. When making the jump from Japan to everywhere else, Pikachu’s name wasn’t changed to Greg the Rat or anything ridiculous like that, it was just left the way it was and we all understood it; Pikachu was Pikachu. But was he really?

As it turns out, when Pikachu was first introduced his name was actually Jean Luc Pikachu. First mentioned by Ash but then quickly abandoned in any other iteration of the Pokémon franchise, Jean Luc Pikachu appeases fans that thought the ultra-Japanese Pokémon needed to be more French, or perhaps they’re setting up a Star Trek, but it really appeases no one else. It’s a confusing bit of Pokémon trivia that is never given much thought, but it’s one that we should all bring up on occasion just to keep things interesting. pikachu plush toy

3/ FEMALE PIKACHU HAVE A NOTCH IN THEIR TAILS
The one thing that many beginner Pokémon fans don’t understand right away is that Pikachu isn’t just the name of one singular Pikachu, it’s also the plural for an entire Pokémon species. And within that species are – of course – female and male Pikachu, each roaming around with their own distinctive personality. So how do we differentiate the two genders? Well, it’s relatively simple; at least in some cases.

Although Pikachu never had an established gender difference at the onset of the franchise, in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl gender differences were introduced to the Pokémon universe, thus making identification easier; should that be of concern to anyone for whatever reason. Since then, female Pikachu were seen with notches or indents at the end of their tails, and males weren’t. But don’t worry, this isn’t some type of Avatar-esque sex adventure whereby Pikachus everywhere are fitting their tails together. At least, we don’t think it is. pikachu plush toy

4/ PIKACHU ACTUALLY TRANSLATES INTO ENGLISH
For those of you that think Pikachu is just a cool name for a brightly colored electricity rodent, think again. “Pika” is a Japanese word for electricity crackling, and “chu” is how the Japanese describe the sound of mice. Put the two together and you have a name that spread across a generation and actually ended up inspiring some parents to name their children Pikachu; or more accurately, Electricity-Crackling-Mice.

According to Pokémon developer Junichi Masuda, Pikachu wasn’t an easy name to come up with, and creators wanted to develop something that would be a hit to both Japanese and American audiences. Eventually, after much back and forth, Pikachu was chosen, and it eventually led into the sounds that the Pokémon is famous for making. “Pika, pika chu” became a catch phrase for Pikachu and the character’s name quickly spread around the world as something that fit perfectly; despite many not knowing that it actually had a meaning behind it aside from simply sounding cool. pikachu plush toy

5/ ASH WAS ONCE TRANSFORMED INTO A PIKACHU
One of the more interesting facts in Pokémon canon is that, yes, it’s apparently possible for humans to turn into Pokémon. Although it’s not something you’ll see every day, it’s the type of Pokémon fact that makes long-time fans scratch their heads and say “huh.” A shining example of this is when in the episode Hocus Pokémon Ash found himself on the receiving end of a spell that would enable him to think like a Pokémon. Of course, the spell backfires and ends up turning Ash into a Pikachu complete with his own eyes, voice, hair, and infamous hat. pikachu plush toy

This Ash-Pikachu hybrid ended up being called Ashachu – because why not – and is still remembered fondly by fans. And while the transformation was temporary and ended up getting reversed by the next episode, it opens up a lot of possibilities for future transformations of humans into Pokémon. In the meantime, all we can do is set our desktop wallpapers to a photo of Ashachu and remember the good old days. pikachu plush toy

6/ PIKACHU HAS AN OBSESSION WITH KETCHUP
You can tell just how important Pokémon is to the world by the level of nonsense trivia that accompanies it. For example, why would a game that requires you to catch, train, and battle with various pocket monsters require a working knowledge of what condiment is their favorite? Well, you wouldn’t, but nonetheless it’s a known fact that Pikachu is obsessed with ketchup. Not only has it been shown in the animated series at various times, but there are entire threads in online message boards and whole memes dedicated to Pikachu and his love for ketchup. pikachu plush toy

Perhaps his ketchup love comes from his love of all red foods – as the only foods that he’s ever shown eating aside from ketchup are apples and red berries. Or perhaps ketchup reminds him of Ash’s last name, which is Ketchum. Or maybe Pikachu’s creators just thought that it would be funny to see a little yellow lightning rat get overly excited by every five year old’s favorite hot dog topping. Whichever way you look at it, it’s just nice that we get to know something about Pikachu’s private life off the battlefield. pikachu plush toy

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