Gamefreak's golden (or yellow) child Pikachu has been quite the recurring Pokémon over the years, having extensive roles in the anime, the manga, Pokémon Yellow, and a number of side games. It is about as iconic as the Pokéball itself. Not only does it just appear a lot in the games, Pikachu gets special treatment by obtaining its anime voiceover in Pokémon Yellow, XY, and ORAS. I think this is deserving of its own thread. What do you think of Pikachu? Do you like it or dislike it? Do you think Pikachu is overdone, or that GF should keep using him to attract more fans? If Pikachu disappeared off the face of the Pokémon world, what Pokémon do you think should be the new "mascot" of the Pokeverse? (Yes, I know that Clefairy was supposed to be mascot, but they changed it, so hush child.)
The reason they changed to Pikachu is so the series would appeal to boys and girls alike. But for me, Pikachu holds a special place in my heart as the first Pokémon I ever knew, and Ash's Pikachu has such personality. He may not be the best stat wise, but if you're willing to put in some work with him, he can be pretty powerful.
I don't dislike Pikachu. I just strongly dislike how overrated Pikachu is. I have Pikachu things, I don't dislike seeing them in the games. But I get irritated when people go on about how amazing Pikachu is.
That plus I do dislike Pikachu. Starting with what Endrew said, I don't see why Pikachu is considered so great. Its design aesthetic is meh, and it's capacity in the primary game feature (battling) is pretty average (and Light Ball is just a self-perpetuating item, it would not exist if Pikachu wasn't already popular). Then there's the ridiculousness of Team Rocket trying to catch Pikachu for how long now? And why does only Pikachu say its name in-game these days? Why is it so special! Maybe some of my dislike comes from Smash. Constant Down-B spammers and always hearing it say its own name. Nothing against Pikachu right here here, but I do think it's silly how Pokémon say their own name instead of making more natural noises. Pikachu's Smash popularity just magnifies that for me a little bit. You don't get that from Lucario or Charizard or any of them. Anyhow, Smash is a contributor, not a primary reason.
Pikachu is probably the most loved and hated (aside from Trubbish and Vanilluxe) Pokémon of them all. Honestly, I cannot bring himself to hate him. I mean, he's been so incredibly iconic all these years and he's been one of the most recognizable characters of any game videogame franchise ever. His design is both cute and cool and the only reason I could of why people would hate Pikachu is because he appears so often on everything Pokémon or they find his voice annoying. For me Pikachu is an adorable fluffball and I love him very much <3
It can get annoying to see Pikachu everywhere, but in terms of business his being a mascot almost forces it into that realm of overuse. I mean he's proved successful so far, so they might as well give the electric mouse more spotlight! But ignoring that fact I adore Pikachu. It's such a little cutie! From my standpoint I've always loved the little fella ever since I seen him, first because he was cool (typical boy that I was, it had to be cool) and now because he's adorable (So they really nailed that cute/cool thing apparently!). I've had a lot of fun using Pikachu in the past and I still love using him. Even if from a competitive standpoint he's eh, I still love using him with the old Light Ball/Volt Tackle technique. Besides I like my sub-par Pokémon! So yes I'm enjoying a cliche but eh. It's a cliche I can get behind!
I loved Pikachu ever since the anime first came to NA. Ever since then, it became my favorite Pokémon of all time. Sure its stats are pretty sucky, but due to how adorable it is along with being the series mascot, it's mainly why I love the little guy. If Pikachu weren't the mascot, we'd probably end up with the original mascot idea for Clefairy. To me, I don't think Clefairy fits the whole mascot thing as much as Pikachu does.
I don't mind pikachu, although I find him quite forcefully made to be overpowered with all the moves in the anime, however his character is really sweet and nice, even if I do find him a little too goody to be true. Pikachu is a nice Pokémon in battle too and is a great mascot thanks to everything down to the color it is. It really is what Pokémon is now, and I think the cry change in Gen 6 was really nice!
I love Pikachu. It's adorable and awesome all at once, which is exactly why they changed it to Pikachu in the first place. If I didn't like evolving my Pokémon so much I might actually use it instead of Raichu but y'no, Raichu is cool too.
Tbh I love Pikachu, I think it's really cute! It's also had a really powerful effect. I mean, everyone knows who Pikachu is. GF/Nintendo is hella racking in that $$$$ cash money with Pikachu as their mascot. Merchandise with Pikachu on is sold hella quick. I know people who have no interest in Pokémon at all, but love Pikachu for it's design. I think it'd be a dumb move on GF's part if they did switch up mascots. And I'm not really sure what is meant by Pikachu is overrated I mean, I think we can all agree it has pretty poop stats.
I like pikachu, its adorable and cute. I know many people who say pikachu is overrated but i think it was the lead Pokémon in anime. Starter for old Pokémon games which made it special. It is the mascot for Pokémon from starting and thus hold some special space. If there would be any other Pokémon it would be treated like this only.
I love pikachu. Not only for its appeal to both male and female fans, but the sheer design of him was really cool as well. I do not own any pikachu gear to tribute to it. Though I do love pikachu cosplay fan art a whole bunch. His reputation is well deserved and if it wasn't for him. I wouldn't really like electric types or even "Pokémon" for that matter. Worth mentioning. But pikachu was the only one on Pokémon stadium that rode a board when using surf... If I remember correctly.
Pikachu is cute. I like it, but kids nowadays will never know how mean Pikachu was to Ash in the first episodes of the anime. Pokémon Yellow was A+ though.
I honestly don't really care much for Pikachu is overrated really, just like many other pokémlon. Only difference is that other Pokémon ain't Nintendo's face when it comes to Pokémon like Pikachu is. It would be nice to see them use a different Pokémon, maybe one from the upcoming generation but I don't really see that happening since more than a few would probably get upset over Pikachu getting replaced.
I came across Raichu, and found myself liking his playstyle. I love the golden rodent, but the yellow one... Well, he is one of my mains in Brawl.
Not a big fan of Pikachu. Probably my least favorite Pokémon, but I love all Pokémon equally! I love costume Pikachu though. Pikachu Libre looks adorable!
I couldn't care less about Pikachu. I never saw the appeal of the electric rodent and I have no clue as to why he is so popular. It might be because he is the mascot or because he is considered cute or cool. But then again I jumped on the Eevee bandwagon a long time ago, so I shouldn't talk badly about Pikachu's popularity.
Honestly, i like pikachu. Raichu has been one of my favourites for quite a while, so the way it's overshadowed is the only thing i can hold against pikachu.
Pikachu's great, and I can totally see why so many people are attracted to the series by it. I loved Pikachu as a child. It's a case where, like Eevee, the popularity gets to me, but I can't really hold it against people because even massive hipsters like myself get their barriers broken down by a cute Eeveelution every now and again. What I don't like is Pikachu saying its name in the games. It's my least favourite part of the mainstream anime, and I love seeing them ignore it in Origins and Generations. Although sadly, Pokémon saying their names seems to have been a thing from the very beginning. That Jigglypuff in the Pewter city Pokémon Centre that sings making a "pupupupu" sound, was saying "purin". Its Japanese name. And in the Sun and Moon demo, there's plenty of Machamps saying bits and pieces of their name... *sigh* It's just so dumb and cringy and awkward when they say their names all the time. Can't people see how cool it is when they make animal noises in Origins and Generations and get to retconning it already? So overall, I would normally bear no ill will towards Pikachu but at the minute it, along with Greninja, is indicating a threat of the anime's nonsense overlapping into my games. So it can swivel.
I can say that yellow mouse does hold a special place in my heart although it's not my utmost favorite. Firstly, I started knowing Pokémon by a Pikachu "gigapet" I still own (the first version). I used to carry it with me quite often during high school to give it the steps and watts it needed, and within these past two years, Pikachu became my yellow pedometer during my usual walking trips around my neighborhood. I also discovered that reaching a million steps is the huge milestone to completing the gigapet's ultimate quest, so to speak. Right now, it's at 850k steps and I'm hoping to accomplish another million before the battery finally dies. Pikachu has always slept with me in bed and I used to carry the little mouse on fun trips. I am referring to a Pikachu plushie that I bought in June of 99'. It still looks quite new despite it being nearly 20 years old and it's the only plushie I've kept on my bed these past few years. Less than occasionally, I'd find myself cuddling the cute mouse in my arms after rousing from a dream. Then finally there are the games with Pikachu being the main icon, like Hey You! Pikachu, Pokémon Yellow, and Pokémon Channel. I did mention before that I wished they continued making remakes for Pokémon Yellow to live it up with the anime since season 1, although I think that got erased in one of this forum's restarts.
