Not a chapter.

Pokémon[a][1][2][3] (an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters[b] in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a company founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996,[4] and is centered on fictional creatures called "Pokémon". In Pokémon, humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train Pokémon to battle other Pokémon for sport. All media works within the franchise are set in the Pokémon universe. The English slogan for the franchise is "Gotta Catch 'Em All!".[5][6] There are currently 901 Pokémon species.[7]

The franchise began as Pocket Monsters: Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue), a pair of video games for the original Game Boy handheld system that were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in February 1996. It soon became a media mix franchise adapted into various different media.[8] Pokémon is estimated to be the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. The Pokémon video game series is the fourth best-selling video game franchise of all time with more than 380 million copies sold[9] and one billion mobile downloads.[10] The Pokémon video game series spawned an anime television series that has become the most successful video game adaptation[11] of all time with over 20 seasons and 1,000 episodes in 183 countries.[9] The Pokémon Trading Card Game is the highest-selling trading card game of all time[12] with over 34.1 billion cards sold. In addition, the Pokémon franchise includes the world's top-selling toy brand,[13] an anime film series, a live-action film (Detective Pikachu), books, manga comics, music, merchandise, and a temporary theme park. The franchise is also represented in other Nintendo media, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, where various Pokémon characters are playable.

In 1998, Nintendo spent $25 million promoting Pokémon in the United States in partnership with Hasbro, KFC, and others.[14] Nintendo initially feared that Pokémon was too Japanese for Western tastes but Alfred Kahn, then CEO of 4Kids Entertainment convinced the company otherwise.[15] The one who spotted Pokemon's potential in the United States was Kahn's colleague Thomas Kenney.[16]

In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. The Pokémon Company International oversees all Pokémon licensing outside Asia.[17] In 2006, the franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary.[18] In 2016, the Pokémon Company celebrated Pokémon's 20th anniversary by airing an ad during Super Bowl 50 in January and re-releasing the first Pokémon video games 1996 Game Boy games Pokémon Red, Green (only in Japan), and Blue, and the 1998 Game Boy Color game Pokémon Yellow for the Nintendo 3DS on February 26, 2016.[19][20] The mobile augmented reality game Pokémon Go was released in July 2016.[21] The first live-action film in the franchise, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, based on the 2018 Nintendo 3DS spin-off game Detective Pikachu, was released in 2019.[22] The eighth and current generation of core series games began with Pokémon Sword and Shield, released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary in 2021, the core series games, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released on November 19, 2021, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus will be released on January 28, 2022, both for the Nintendo Switch.[23] They are remakes and a "premake"[24] of the 2006 Nintendo DS games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, respectively.

Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri first thought of Pokémon, albeit with a different concept and name, around 1989, when the Game Boy was released. The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Tajiri enjoyed as a child.[27] Players are designated as Pokémon Trainers and have three general goals: to complete the regional Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where a game takes place, to complete the national Pokédex by transferring Pokémon from other regions, and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers so they may eventually win the Pokémon League and become the regional Champion. These themes of collecting, training, and battling are present in almost every version of the Pokémon franchise, including the video games, the anime and manga series, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In most incarnations of the Pokémon universe, a Trainer who encounters a wild Pokémon is able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially designed, mass-producible spherical tool called a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the confines of the Poké Ball, it is considered to be under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterwards, it will obey whatever commands it receives from its new Trainer, unless the Trainer demonstrates such a lack of experience that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord. Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing their collection of creatures. In Pokémon Go, and in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, wild Pokémon encountered by players can be caught in Poké Balls, but generally cannot be battled. Pokémon already owned by other Trainers cannot be captured, except under special circumstances in certain side games. If a Pokémon fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the opponent is knocked out ("faints"), the winning Pokémon gains experience points and may level up. Beginning with Pokémon X and Y, experience points are also gained from catching Pokémon in Poké Balls. When leveling up, the Pokémon's battling aptitude statistics ("stats", such as "Attack" and "Speed") increase. At certain levels, the Pokémon may also learn new moves, which are techniques used in battle. In addition, many species of Pokémon can undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of Pokémon, a process called evolution; this process occurs spontaneously under differing circumstances, and is itself a central theme of the series. Some species of Pokémon may undergo a maximum of two evolutionary transformations, while others may undergo only one, and others may not evolve at all. For example, the Pokémon Pichu may evolve into Pikachu, which in turn may evolve into Raichu, following which no further evolutions may occur. Pokémon X and Y introduced the concept of "Mega Evolution," by which certain fully evolved Pokémon may temporarily undergo an additional evolution into a stronger form for the purpose of battling; this evolution is considered a special case, and unlike other evolutionary stages, is reversible.

In the main series, each game's single-player mode requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear path through a specific region of the Pokémon world for the Trainer to journey through, completing events and battling opponents along the way (including foiling the plans of an evil team of Pokémon Trainers who serve as antagonists to the player). Excluding Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the games feature eight powerful Trainers, referred to as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, the Trainer is eligible to challenge the region's Pokémon League, where four talented trainers (referred to collectively as the "Elite Four") challenge the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, they must challenge the Regional Champion, the master Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four. Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the new champion.

Pokémon universe

Pokémon is set in the fictional Pokemon universe. There are numerous regions that have appeared in the various media of the Pokémon franchise. There are 8 main series regions set in the main series games: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh/Hisui, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar. Each of the eight generations of the main series releases focuses on a new region. Every region consists of several cities and towns that the player must explore in order to overcome many waiting challenges, such as Gyms, Contests and villainous teams. At different locations within each region, the player can find different types of Pokémon, as well as helpful items and characters. Different regions are not accessible from one another at all within a single game, only with the exception of Kanto and Johto being linked together in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver versions. There are also regions set in spinoff games and two islands in the Pokémon anime (Orange Islands and Decolore Islands), all still set within the same fictional universe.

Each main series region in the Pokémon universe is based on a real world location. The first 4 introduced regions (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh/Hisui) are based on parts of Japan, with later regions being based on parts of the United States (Unova and Alola), France (Kalos) and the United Kingdom (Galar).[28]

The name Pokémon is a syllabic abbreviation of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters.[25] The term "Pokémon", in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 898 fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the release of the eighth generation titles Pokémon Sword and Shield. "Pokémon" is identical in the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; it is and would be grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu" and "many Pikachu".[26]

In most incarnations of the Pokémon universe, a Trainer who encounters a wild Pokémon is able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially designed, mass-producible spherical tool called a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the confines of the Poké Ball, it is considered to be under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterwards, it will obey whatever commands it receives from its new Trainer, unless the Trainer demonstrates such a lack of experience that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord. Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing their collection of creatures. In Pokémon Go, and in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, wild Pokémon encountered by players can be caught in Poké Balls, but generally cannot be battled. Pokémon already owned by other Trainers cannot be captured, except under special circumstances in certain side games. If a Pokémon fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the opponent is knocked out ("faints"), the winning Pokémon gains experience points and may level up. Beginning with Pokémon X and Y, experience points are also gained from catching Pokémon in Poké Balls. When leveling up, the Pokémon's battling aptitude statistics ("stats", such as "Attack" and "Speed") increase. At certain levels, the Pokémon may also learn new moves, which are techniques used in battle. In addition, many species of Pokémon can undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of Pokémon, a process called evolution; this process occurs spontaneously under differing circumstances, and is itself a central theme of the series. Some species of Pokémon may undergo a maximum of two evolutionary transformations, while others may undergo only one, and others may not evolve at all. For example, the Pokémon Pichu may evolve into Pikachu, which in turn may evolve into Raichu, following which no further evolutions may occur. Pokémon X and Y introduced the concept of "Mega Evolution," by which certain fully evolved Pokémon may temporarily undergo an additional evolution into a stronger form for the purpose of battling; this evolution is considered a special case, and unlike other evolutionary stages, is reversible.

In the main series, each game's single-player mode requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear path through a specific region of the Pokémon world for the Trainer to journey through, completing events and battling opponents along the way (including foiling the plans of an evil team of Pokémon Trainers who serve as antagonists to the player). Excluding Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the games feature eight powerful Trainers, referred to as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, the Trainer is eligible to challenge the region's Pokémon League, where four talented trainers (referred to collectively as the "Elite Four") challenge the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, they must challenge the Regional Champion, the master Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four. Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the new champion.

Pokémon is set in the fictional Pokemon universe. There are numerous regions that have appeared in the various media of the Pokémon franchise. There are 8 main series regions set in the main series games: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh/Hisui, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar. Each of the eight generations of the main series releases focuses on a new region. Every region consists of several cities and towns that the player must explore in order to overcome many waiting challenges, such as Gyms, Contests and villainous teams. At different locations within each region, the player can find different types of Pokémon, as well as helpful items and characters. Different regions are not accessible from one another at all within a single game, only with the exception of Kanto and Johto being linked together in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver versions. There are also regions set in spinoff games and two islands in the Pokémon anime (Orange Islands and Decolore Islands), all still set within the same fictional universe.

Each main series region in the Pokémon universe is based on a real world location. The first 4 introduced regions (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh/Hisui) are based on parts of Japan, with later regions being based on parts of the United States (Unova and Alola), France (Kalos) and the United Kingdom (Galar).[28]

All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by the Pokémon Company International are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when a sequel to the 1996 role-playing video games Pokémon Red and Green is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main Pokémon video games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins.[29] Some Pokémon from the newer games appear in anime episodes or films months, or even years, before the game they were programmed for came out. The first generation began in Japan with Pokémon Red and Green on the Game Boy. As of 2021, there are eight generations of main series video games. The most recent games in the main series, Pokémon Sword and Shield, began the eighth and latest generation and were released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.[30][31][32] The upcoming core series games, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released in late 2021, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus in early 2022, both for the Nintendo Switch.[23] They are remakes and a premake[24] of the 2006 Nintendo DS games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, respectively.

.

Pikachu[c] is a species of Pokémon, fictional creatures that appear in an assortment of media of the Pokémon franchise by The Pokémon Company. Pikachu is a yellow mouse-like Pokémon with powerful electrical abilities. Pikachu is the best-known species of Pokémon, largely due to its appearance in the anime series as the starter Pokémon of the protagonist, Ash Ketchum. Pikachu is a major character of the Pokémon franchise as well as its mascot, and has become an icon of Japanese pop culture in recent years, as well as one of the major mascots for Nintendo.

Pikachu's design was conceived by Atsuko Nishida and finalized by Ken Sugimori.[1] Pikachu first appeared in Pokémon Red and Green in Japan, and later in the first internationally released Pokémon video games, Pokémon Red and Blue, for the Game Boy.

In most vocalized appearances, including the anime and certain video games, it is primarily voiced by Ikue Ōtani. Pikachu also appeared in the primary cast of the live-action animated film Pokémon Detective Pikachu, performed in CGI and voiced by Ryan Reynolds, as well as in every installment of the Super Smash Bros. series, including Katy Perry's music video, Electric.

Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Pokémon series began in Japan in 1996, and features several species of creatures called "Pokémon" that players, called "trainers", are encouraged to capture, train, and use to battle other players' Pokémon or interact with the game's world.[5] Pikachu was one of several different Pokémon designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team. Artist Atsuko Nishida is credited as the main person behind Pikachu's design,[6][7] which was later finalized by artist Ken Sugimori.[8][9] According to series producer Satoshi Tajiri, the name is derived from a combination of two Japanese onomatopoeia: ピカピカ (pikapika), a sparkling sound, and チュウチュウ (chūchū), a sound a mouse makes.[10] Despite its name's origins, however, Nishida based Pikachu's original design, especially its cheeks, on squirrels.[11] Developer Junichi Masuda noted Pikachu's name as one of the most difficult to create, due to an effort to make it appealing to both Japanese and American audiences.[12]

Standing 40 centimetres (1 ft 4 in) tall, Pikachu were the first "Electric-type" Pokémon created, their design intended to revolve around the concept of electricity.[13] They are creatures that have short, yellow fur with brown markings covering their backs and parts of their lightning bolt-shaped tails. They have black-tipped, pointed ears and red circular pouches on their cheeks, which can spark with electricity.[14] They attack primarily by projecting electricity from their bodies at their targets.[15] Within the context of the franchise, Pikachu can transform, or "evolve," into a Raichu when exposed to a "Thunder Stone."[16] In Pokémon Gold and Silver, "Pichu" was introduced as an evolutionary predecessor to Pikachu.[17] In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, gender differences were introduced; since those games, female Pikachu have an indent at the end of their tails, giving the tail a heart-shaped appearance.

Initially, both Pikachu and fellow Pokémon Clefairy were chosen to be lead characters for the franchise merchandising, with the latter as the primary mascot to make the early comic book series more "engaging". However, with the production of the animated series, Pikachu was chosen as the primary mascot, in an attempt to appeal to female viewers and their mothers, and because it was believed that Pikachu presented the image of a recognizable intimate pet to children. Its color was also a deciding factor, as yellow is a primary color and easier for children to recognize from a distance, and with consideration to the fact that the only other competing yellow mascot at the time was Winnie-the-Pooh.[18] The idea of Pikachu as the mascot of the animated series was suggested by the production company OLM, Inc., which found that Pikachu was popular amongst schoolchildren and could appeal to both boys and girls. Tajiri stated he felt the human aspect of the series was overlooked by Japanese children who embraced Pikachu by itself more readily.[19][10] Pikachu was originally going to have a second evolution called Gorochu, which was intended to be the evolved form of Raichu.[20][21]

Pikachu's design has evolved from its once-pudgy body to having a slimmer waist, straighter spine, and more defined face and neck; Sugimori has stated these design changes originated in the anime, making Pikachu easier to animate, and were adopted to the games for consistency.[22] "Fat Pikachu" was revisited in Pokémon Sword and Shield, where Pikachu received a Gigantamax Form resembling its original design.[23][24][25] With the Gigantamax Form, Pikachu gains access to the G-Max Move G-Max Volt Crash, which paralyzes all opponents.[26]

Pikachu has appeared in all Pokémon video games, except Black and White, without having to trade.[27] The game Pokémon Yellow features a Pikachu as the only available Starter Pokémon. Based on the Pikachu from the Pokémon anime, it refuses to stay in its Poké Ball, and instead follows the main character around on screen. The trainer can speak to it and it displays different reactions depending on how it is treated.[28][29] Pikachu also received the ability to learn several new attacks naturally as it grew stronger, including the best Electric-type attack, Thunderbolt, which no other Pokémon could learn naturally.[30]

An event from April 1 to May 5, 2010, allowed players of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver to access a route on the Pokéwalker, which solely contained Pikachu which knew attacks that they were not normally compatible with, Surf and Fly.[31] Both of these attacks can be used outside battles as travel aids. Seven "Cap" forms of Pikachu, wearing caps belonging to Ash Ketchum across different seasons, were released across Pokémon Sun and Moon as well as their Ultra versions.[32] These games also released two Z-Crystals exclusive to Pikachu: Pikanium Z, which upgrades Volt Tackle into Catastropika, and Pikashunium Z,[33] which upgrades Thunderbolt into 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt when held by a Cap form of Pikachu.[34]

Pokémon Let's Go, which is based heavily on Yellow, has Pikachu as a starter in one of its two versions, with the latter version using Eevee instead.[35] This starter Pikachu has access to several secret techniques and exclusive moves.[36][37] Finally, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pikachu gained access to a special Gigantamax form which grants it the ability to deal massive damage and paralyze opponents at the same time.[38]

Aside from the main series, Pikachu stars in Hey You, Pikachu! for the Nintendo 64; the player interacts with Pikachu through a microphone, issuing commands to play various mini-games and act out situations.[39] The game Pokémon Channel follows a similar premise of interacting with the Pikachu, though without the microphone.[40] Pikachu appear in almost all levels of Pokémon Snap and its sequel, New Pokémon Snap,[41] games where the player takes pictures of Pokémon for a score. A Pikachu is one of the sixteen starters and ten partners in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.[42] PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure and its sequel, PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond,[43] features a Pikachu as the main protagonist.[44] Pikachu has appeared in all five Super Smash Bros. fighting games as a playable character,[45] including in Pokkén Tournament, along with "Pikachu Libre", based on "Cosplay Pikachu" from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.[46][47] Detective Pikachu features a talking Pikachu who becomes a detective and helps to solve mysteries,[48] while Pikachu also appears in a multiplayer online battle arena game Pokémon Unite.[49] It has also appeared in Pokémon Rumble World,[50] Pokémon Go,[51] and also puzzle games such as Pokémon Shuffle, Pokémon Battle Trozei, Pokémon Picross,[52] Pokémon Café Mix,[53] and including 2022 Pokémon Legends: Arceus.[54]

The Pokémon anime series and films feature the adventures of Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, traveling through the various regions of the Pokémon universe. They are accompanied by a group of alternating friends, including Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, Serena, Clemont, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, and Goh.

In the first episode, Ash Ketchum, a young boy from Pallet Town, turns 10 years old and acquires his first Pokémon, a Pikachu, from Professor Oak. At first, Pikachu largely ignores Ash's requests, shocking him frequently and refusing to be confined to the conventional method of Pokémon transportation, a Poké Ball. However, Ash puts himself in danger to defend Pikachu from a flock of wild Spearow,[55] then rushes Pikachu to a Pokémon Center. Through these demonstrations of respect and unconditional commitment to Pokémon, Pikachu warms up to Ash, and their friendship is formed. However, he still refuses to go into his Poké Ball. Soon after, Pikachu shows great power that sets him apart from other Pokémon, and other Pikachu, which causes Team Rocket to constantly attempt to capture him in order to win favor from their boss, Giovanni.[56] Only once had Ash almost released Pikachu, and that was in the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye", because Ash thought Pikachu would be happier living in a colony of wild Pikachu, but Pikachu chose him instead.[57]

Other wild and trained Pikachu appear throughout the series, often interacting with Ash and his Pikachu. The most notable among these is Ritchie's Pikachu, Sparky (レオン, Reon, Leon).[58] Like most other Pokémon, Pikachu communicates only by saying syllables of his own name. He is voiced by Ikue Ōtani in all versions of the anime. In Pokémon Live!, the musical stage show adapted from the anime, Pikachu was played by Jennifer Risser.[59]

As the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu has made multiple appearances in various promotional events and merchandise. In 1998, then Topeka, Kansas Mayor Joan Wagnon renamed the town "Topikachu" for a day,[64] and a "got milk?" advertisement featured Pikachu on April 25, 2000.[65] Pikachu has also always been a popular character amongst Pokémon card collectors, along with Charizard. A rare Pikachu card sold for over $200,000 after a bidding war,[66] while the 1998 Japanese promo card "Pikachu Illustrator" psa 7 nrmt was sold for $375,000.[67] A Pikachu balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001.[68] The original balloon was flown for the last time publicly at the Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary "Party of the Decade" on August 8, 2006, in Bryant Park in New York City,[69][70][71][72] and a new Pikachu balloon that chases a Poké Ball and has light-up cheeks debuted at the 2006 parade.[73] In the 2014 parade, a new Pikachu balloon was wearing a green scarf and holding a smaller Pikachu snowman.[74] As of 2021, the latest balloon is that of a Pikachu and Eevee together in a sled.[75] Pikachu and ten other Pokémon were chosen as Japan's mascots in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[76] In August 2017, The Pokémon Company had partnered with Snap Inc. to bring Pikachu to the social media app, Snapchat.[77] In December 2020, a 15-minute long ASMR video of Pikachu by The Pokémon Company was released.[78] An image of Pikachu has been featured on the ANA Boeing 747-400 (JA8962),[79] including JAM Corporation as inflatable air.[80] In 2021, the first Pokémon Jet (Boeing 747-400D) of Pikachu and other Pokémon was also covered.[81] Pikachu has been made into several different toy and plush forms, as well as other items. These items include a Tomy takara Tomy Pikachu,[82] Moods figure,[83] bonzai figures,[84] fishing lures,[85] gaming setups,[86] necklace,[87] a Pikachu hat,[88] Alcremie milk-styled drinks,[89] McDonald's desserts,[90] a mashup Pikachu and Xenomorph figure,[91] electric shock,[92] Centipede plush,[93] and a Pikachu Crystal has been also made.[94]

Collectible cards featuring Pikachu have appeared since the initial Pokémon Trading Card Game released in October 1996, including limited edition promotional cards. One of these collectible cards was "Pikachu Illustrator", limited to about 20-40 printed in 1998, and was auctioned off for about $55,000 in 2016.[95] For the franchise's 25th anniversary, The Pokémon Company announced special trading cards in 2021, each featuring 25 Pikachu drawn by 25 artists.[96] The character has also been used in promotional merchandising at fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King.[97][98][99][100]

During the first episode of the 11th season of Top Gear, presenter Richard Hammond compared an image of the Tata Nano to one of Pikachu, stating, "they've saved money on the styling 'cause they've just based it on this."[101] In the episode "Dual" of the third season of Heroes, Hiro Nakamura is nicknamed "Pikachu" by Daphne Millbrook, much to his chagrin. He is called this again by Tracy Strauss, after which he excuses himself before punching her in the face.[102] The Chilean independent politician Giovanna Grandón famously went to many protests during the 2019 protests dressed in an inflatable Pikachu suit.[103] In July 2021 during the climate protest, Group of Seven, dressed as Pikachus, demonstrated on Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth,[104] while in November 2021, a group of activists dressed up as Pikachu to protest, due to Japan's refusal to reduce coal consumption at COP26.[105]

Pikachu has appeared several of times on The Simpsons. In the 2002 episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade", Bart Simpson has a hallucination while taking a test in class and envisages his classmates as various television characters, one of which is Pikachu.[106] Maggie Simpson appeared as a Pikachu in a couch gag during the opening sequence of the 2003 episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season".[107] The couch gag was used a second time for the 2004 episode "Fraudcast News".[108] In the 2010 episode "Postcards from the Wedge", Bart is distracted from his homework by an episode of Pokémon. After watching Ash Ketchum talk to his Pikachu, he muses how the show has managed to stay fresh over the years.[109]

Pikachu has been well received by reviewers; it was ranked as the "second best person of the year" by Time in 1999, who called it "the most beloved animated character since Hello Kitty". The magazine noted Pikachu as the "public face of a phenomenon that has spread from Nintendo's fastest selling video game to a trading-card empire", citing the franchise's profits for the year as "the reason for the ranking", behind singer Ricky Martin but ahead of author J.K. Rowling.[112]

The character was ranked eighth in a 2000 Animax poll of favorite anime characters.[113] In 2002, Ash's Pikachu received 15th place in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.[114] GameSpot featured it in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero".[115] In 2003, Forbes ranked Pikachu as the "eighth top-earning fictional character of the year" with an income of $825 million.[116] In 2004, the character dropped two spots to tenth on the list, taking in $825 million for a second straight year.[117] In a 2008 Oricon poll, Pikachu was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Solid Snake.[118] The character has been regarded as the Japanese answer to Mickey Mouse[119] and as being part of a movement of "cute capitalism".[79] Pikachu was listed 8th in IGN's "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time."[120] Manga artist Hiro Mashima referred to Pikachu as "the greatest mascot character of all time!" when talking about adding these types of characters to series.[121] Nintendo Power listed Pikachu as their ninth favourite hero, noting that while it was one of the first Pokémon, it still remained "popular to this day".[122] Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll called Pikachu the best Electric-type Pokémon and the best Pokémon overall. They added that if a person were to go around and ask Pokémon players who their favourite Pokémon was, they would "almost always" choose Pikachu. They also called Pikachu "brave and loyal".[123] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Pikachu as the 20th-top video game character of all time.[124] Zack Zwiezen of Kotaku described Pikachu as a popular and cute character that overshadows an entire show or franchise, and further thanked the character for saving all of us from horrible timeline.[125] Kevin Slackie of Paste listed Pikachu as second of the best Pokémon.[126] Dale Bishir of IGN described Pikachu as the most important Pokémon that impacted the franchise's history, and further stated that "Its irresistible cuteness, merchandising power, army of clones in every generation... if your mom calls every Pokémon 'Pikachu', then you know in your heart that it is the most important Pokémon of all time."[127] In 2019, Mitsuhiro Arita said that Pikachu and Charizard were "fan favourites" in Pokémon's design on the trading cards.[128] Lauren Rouse of Kotaku listed Pikachu as the best animal companions that are the real MVPs of video games, stating that "Pikachu symbolises one of the best animal-human friendships in pop culture history and it makes a damn good Pokémon to have in your roster."[129] Steven Bogos of The Escapist listed Pikachu as third of their favorite Pokémon, describing it as the "one of the cutest little monsters of all".[130] Time Magazine named Pikachu as one of the twelve most influential video game characters of all time, lauding its appearance as the "most recognizable and beloved sidekick in pop culture."[131] Hobby Consolas also included Pikachu on their "30 best heroes of the last 30 years."[132] In 2021, Chris Morgan for Yardbarker described Pikachu as one of "the most memorable characters from old school Nintendo games",[133] while Rachel Weber of GamesRadar ranked him as second iconic video game character of all time, stating that "If Pokemon has a spokesperson, it's the adorable and electrifying yellow fuzzball."[134]

Conversely, Pikachu was ranked first in AskMen's top 10 of the most irritating 1990s cartoon characters.[135] Similarly, in a poll conducted by IGN, it was voted as the 48th best Pokémon, with the staff commenting "despite being the most recognized Pokémon in the world... Pikachu ranks surprisingly low on our top 100".[136] Kotaku writer Patricia Hernandez criticized Pikachu's over-representation in Pokémon-related media, saying: "it's hard not to be barraged by Pikachu's constant presence if you're a Pokémon fan, and it sucks."[137]

Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi (サトシ) in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He is the protagonist of the Pokémon anime and certain manga series as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. In Japanese, the character is voiced by Rika Matsumoto, and Hana Takeda. In the English dub, he was voiced by Veronica Taylor in the first eight seasons and has been voiced by Sarah Natochenny since season 9. In the Korean dub, he was voiced by Choi Deok-Hui in the first five seasons and first two films, An Hyeon-Seo in Pokémon films three through five, and has been voiced by Lee Seon-ho since season six and the sixth Pokémon film.

His English name is derived from the Japanese name (as the letters 'ash' are included in 'Satoshi') and his English motto is derived from the Japanese motto (as the letters 'Gotta catch ém all!' are included in 'Pokémon getto da ze!'). Ash's dream is to become a Pokémon Master. He is loosely based on Red, the player character from the Generation I games Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow as well as the Generation III games Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen versions.

Ash Ketchum was first mentioned in a video game at the dialogue of Pokémon Play It!, and his first appearance in a game was in Pokémon Puzzle League. Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon, with whom Ash shares his Japanese name, has stated that Ash represents the 'human aspect' of the series, and that Ash reflects what he himself was like as a kid.[3]

As the protagonist of the Pokémon anime, Ash has appeared in all but one episode of the anime, all the films, and several of the television specials.

Due to the huge popularity, success, and longevity of the Pokémon anime series around the world since its debut,[4] Ash has gone on to become one of the most well-known and recognizable fictional characters of all-time[5][6] due to his status as the protagonist of the Pokémon anime.[7] However, he is often overshadowed in series representation by the franchise mascot, Pikachu. Despite this, Ash, along with others from the series,[8] is considered a pop culture icon, and a figurehead character of the wave of anime in the late 1990s; which is credited by most anime fans as having popularized anime in the west, alongside others such as Goku of Dragon Ball Z, Yugi of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Sailor Moon of the show of the same name. He is also considered a major icon for Japanese pop culture in the United States.

Ash has been criticized for being stuck in a 'floating timeline', as well as for his inability to win any major Pokémon leagues until the 22nd season of the anime.[9][10] However, his longevity and persistence have also been positively received by major news outlets such as CNN and the BBC, as they are seen to represent that it is never too late to achieve one's dreams.[11][12]

Ash's outfits through the anime,[13] especially his various hats, are also considered to be just as iconic as him,[14] and also have good reception,[15][16] in particular, his first costume from the original series.

He is the winner of the Orange League and also the Alola Region's Pokémon Champion receiving the title after winning its first Pokémon League Conference.[17]

Named after creator Satoshi Tajiri,[18] Satoshi, whose name can be taken to mean "wisdom" or "reason", was designed by Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida,[19] and intended to represent how Tajiri was as a child, obsessed with catching bugs. During localization of both for North American audiences, the character's name was changed in the anime to "Ash Ketchum", the first name taken from one of the possible default names players could select for the player character in Pokémon Red and Blue, and the surname tying into the former tagline (and as of Pokémon XY revived) for the series, "Gotta catch ém all!" ("ポケモンGETだぜ!", "Pokémon getto da ze!").[20]

Tajiri noted in an interview that between Japanese and US reactions to the series, Japanese consumers focused on the character Pikachu, while the US purchased more items featuring Ash and Pikachu, his Pokémon, together. He stated that he felt the character represented the concept of the franchise, the human aspect, and was a necessity.[21] The character was given a rival named Gary Oak (Shigeru Okido in the Japanese version, after Tajiri's idol/mentor, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto), loosely based on Red's rival Blue. In an interview Tajiri noted the contrast between the characters' relationship in the games and anime; while in the games they were rivals, in the anime, Shigeru represented Satoshi's master. When asked if either Satoshi would equal or surpass Shigeru, Tajiri replied "No! Never!"[18] Ash's character design was initially overseen by Sayuri Ichishi, replaced by Toshiya Yamada during the Diamond and Pearl storyline arc. Ash received a redesign in the Best Wishes! series, which included larger brown irises. In the XY series, he received minor changes, such as a decrease in the size of the 'birthmarks' on his cheeks. Ash received a major design overhaul for the Sun and Moon anime series, which started airing in Japan on November 17, 2016.[22]

In Japan throughout the anime media, Rika Matsumoto has always provided the original Japanese voice of Ash, and Hana Takeda. For the English dubbing, Veronica Taylor provided the voice of Ash in the first eight seasons of the English adaption of the Pokémon anime, which was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment. At the time of her audition, Taylor stated that the character was temporarily named Casey, which was the name later given to a recurring character in Johto. After the script was translated from Japanese, the lines were adapted to fit the movements of the character's mouth (called lip flap). All the voices were recorded separately, so Taylor was the only one in the booth when she recorded her lines, which took approximately six to eight hours per episode. Taylor was often the first person to record, so she had to "imagine how the previous line will be said". "Luckily, I work with a great director who helps with the interpretation of the line, matching of the lip flap, and consistency of the voice". Taylor enjoyed playing Ash because of his "low, husky voice" and "energy and excitement".[23]

Taylor commented that Ash and the other characters "loosened up" after the first ten episodes of the anime; she believed the writers were more relaxed and no longer felt the pressure of making sure everything was done correctly. Taylor commented: "I enjoy playing Ash now much more than I did in the very beginning because I can have fun with him more, and we kind of know him and can work out how he really would react. We have the classic Ash responses and things like that."[23] Sarah Natochenny replaced Taylor in season nine when The Pokémon Company International (known at that time as Pokémon USA) took over the licensing, prompting a shift in recording studios.[24]

For the Korean dubbing, Choi Deok-Hui provided the voice of Ash in the first five seasons and first two movies of the Korean adaption of the Pokémon anime, which was dubbed by Seoul Broadcasting System. An Hyeon-Seo replaced Deok-Hui in Pokémon movies three through five. Lee Seon-ho replaced Hyeon-Seo in season 6 and in the sixth Pokémon movie.

In episode 28 of the nineteenth season (Pokémon the Series: XYZ), "Seeing the Forest for the Trees!", it reveals the true story of why Ash Ketchum loved Pokémon. When he was a little boy, Ash went to the forest to look for wild Pokémon. However, during the trip in the woods, it started to rain, and Ash got lost and was so scared to the point of bursting into tears. Ash was forced to take shelter under a hollow tree. However, he noticed a group of Pokémon who were also seeking shelter from the rain. So, he invited them inside the tree and the Pokémon kept him safe and warm.[27] This made Ash so happy that he wondered how much he wanted to become a Pokémon trainer to travel across the entire world with his Pokémon friends.

In the first episode of the twenty-third season (Pokémon Journeys: The Series), Ash at the age of six asked his mother if he can go to Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp which she happily signed him up. However, Ash missed the camp due to breaking his alarm clock and overslept.

In episode 7 of the seventeenth season (XY series), "Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!", Ash attends Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp, where he had previously met his childhood friend Serena.[28] At one point during the camp, Serena had hurt her knee from falling over after being startled by a Poliwag. Ash had used his handkerchief to wrap up her injury, which she had kept, and returns to Ash in this episode.

In episode 58 of the fifth season (Master Quest), "The Ties That Bind!", Ash started his rivalry with Gary, Professor Oak's grandson, after they both fished out an old PokéBall then broke it in half. After that, Ash and Gary kept both half as a reminder of the day they started their rivalry.

The series starts with the episode "Pokémon, I Choose You!", with Ash's tenth birthday, which according to Pokémon trainer registration bylaws allowed him to become a full-fledged Pokémon trainer and obtain a starter Pokémon. As a ten-year-old hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, Ash was offered a choice between three Pokémon as his starter: Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. While he was planning to choose Squirtle, he received the electric type Pokémon Pikachu from Professor Oak instead in this episode, because he woke up late and all the other starter Pokémon had been taken by other trainers. After receiving Pikachu and a Pokédex, Ash left Pallet Town to start his journey. Since then Ash has traveled the world of Pokémon, competed in many challenges and caught newer Pokémon. He has met many companions, such as Misty and Brock.

Throughout the series, Ash's primary enemies are a criminal organization called Team Rocket, specifically the two comical and bumbling members, Jessie and James, and their talking Meowth, who is essentially the third member of the group. Ever since being defeated by Ash's Pikachu in the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", the three of them have obsessively never stopped chasing after them to steal Ash's Pikachu, maintaining the delusion that Pikachu is abnormally powerful and presenting it to their criminal boss would make them very rich. As the enduring comical villains of the series, the Team Rocket trio occasionally show signs of goodness, such as care and friendship with their Pokémon and each other, and despite their constant antagonism, they occasionally put their differences aside and work together with Ash against a common threat, such as in Pokémon: The Movie 2000, where they aid Ash in retrieving the three treasures in order to save the world.

During his travels, Ash still had a lot to learn as a trainer. He caught his Pokémon by merely befriending them, knew absolutely nothing about battling, and many of his gym badges were earned rather controversially. In fact, the only legitimate victories were over Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine, while the others were earned on technical convenience or given to him out of gratitude. Ash also shows a deep love for Pokémon in the series, protecting wild Pokémon or his own from getting injured or trying to help them, despite getting significantly hurt himself. He honed his skill as a Pokémon trainer and was able to get all 8 badges, enabling him to compete in the Indigo League. Ash was able to go to the 5th round, and achieve the Top 16 — one round further than his competitive rival Gary, who finished in the Top 32. However, due to his inexperience in handling his more powerful Pokémon, Ash was eliminated from his first Pokémon League competition in a very unflattering manner, which greatly disappointed him but he got over it and vowed to not make the same mistake in a league again.

Ash traveled to the Orange Islands with Misty and Tracey Sketchit, a Pokémon watcher, obtained all 4 badges and competed in the Orange League to battle Drake, the Orange League Champion. Ash was able to win his battle against Drake, giving him his first League Championship as a Pokémon trainer. This particular Pokémon League exists only in the anime series, and not adapted from the video game series.

He then traveled on to the Johto region with Brock and Misty, hoping to meet with Gary and finally defeat him in the Johto League. He won 8 badges and competed in the Johto Conference. Ash beat Gary again, in the 1st round of the conference, and was able to make it to the quarter-finals, and achieve Top 8. However, he lost in the 2nd round.

Ash then moved on and traveled through the Hoenn region, along with Brock and two new characters: May, an aspiring Pokémon coordinator, and her younger brother Max, and together they ended up bringing down the rival teams Team Magma and Team Aqua. He was able to get all 8 badges and then competed in the Hoenn Conference and lost in the 3rd round.

Having gone through several leagues and gotten a lot stronger, Ash decided to challenge the Kanto "Battle Frontier" and its 7 Brains (leaders). Brock, May, and Max accompanied him. Ash defeated all of the Brains and acquired all the 7 Battle Frontier symbols, becoming a "Strong Battle Frontier champion" and qualifying for becoming a Frontier Brain himself. However, Ash, wanting to learn more about Pokémon and get even stronger, decided to continue his journey, not as a Frontier Brain, but as a trainer. However, having acquired all 7 symbols, he left with the privilege of becoming a Frontier Brain if and when he wants in the future.

Ash, along with Brock, traveled to Sinnoh, befriended a new traveling companion, Dawn, and also found a brutal new rival in Paul; and through their journey they encountered and defeated Team Galactic. Ash won all 8 Sinnoh gym badges and competed in the Sinnoh conference at the Lily of the Valley Island. He eventually faced Paul in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League Festival and finally defeated him, marking the first time Ash has ever made it into the semi-finals in a Pokémon League. Afterwards, however, Ash was matched against Tobias, a trainer who famously swept all eight Sinnoh League gyms and all other opponents with only his legendary Pokémon Darkrai. Ash was eventually defeated by Tobias, but not without having defeated his Darkrai, as well as his Latios, which is also a legendary Pokémon, whom Ash also defeated in a draw with his final Pokémon, making Ash the only known trainer to have defeated two of Tobias' legendary Pokémon. Ash concluded his participation in the Sinnoh League with an impressive new ranking. He bade farewell with Dawn in Twinleaf Town, and parted ways with Brock for the last time.

Once again, Ash continued his journey to the Unova region, with only his Pikachu. Here, he met and traveled with two new companions: a female trainer named Iris, and a Pokémon Connoisseur named Cilan, who, like Brock before him, is a gym leader. Throughout Unova, Ash met and competed against more rivals than before, including Trip, Bianca, Stephan, Cameron, and Virgil, most of whom he befriended. Unlike previous seasons, Ash notoriously displayed a drop in skill and competence, and instead regressed back to a beginner, showing little of his previous expertise and relearned many of the basics of catching Pokémon (though this may have been due to over-excitement of entering a new region with exclusive Pokémon, and slowly wore off as the seasons went on). However, Ash still managed to win all eight gym badges in Unova and then entered the Unova League, where he defeated his arrogant rival, Trip, in the first match, but was defeated by Cameron in the quarter-finals, one match below his previous Pokémon League ranking. Cameron was then defeated by Virgil, who went on to win the League with his team of Eevee evolutions. Also unlike previous seasons, Ash battled against a much more malevolent Team Rocket, as well as the evil Team Plasma. After his latest attempt to compete in the Unova League, and foiling both Team Rocket and Team Plasma's attempts to enslave Pokémon to conquer the world, Ash's friends traveled with him back to Kanto, where they parted to go own their ways and bade each other farewell.

Ash then ventured to the Kalos region to challenge the Kalos League, as well as learn more about Mega Evolution, a transformation that can take certain fully evolved Pokémon to a more powerful temporary form. While there, he began traveling with the siblings Clemont and Bonnie, along with Serena, whom he had met during a Pokémon summer camp in Pallet Town when they were much younger. Ash gained new rivals like Sawyer and Alain. While in Kalos, Ash befriended and acquired new Pokémon, including Froakie, which later evolved into a powerful Greninja. Although Ash did not yet have a Pokémon that can mega-evolve (at least not in his current party), the group discovered that his Greninja was capable of "Bond Phenomenon", a transformation where Ash and Greninja connect mentally and Greninja's body changes to a color scheme resembling Ash. Like Mega Evolution, the transformation is temporary and makes "Ash-Greninja" much more powerful and well capable of defeating mega-evolved Pokémon. Currently, no other known Pokémon in existence is capable of Bond Phenomenon, and several rivals took great interest in competing with it in the Kalos League with their own mega-evolving Pokémon. Like before, Ash earned all eight gym badges qualifying him to compete in the Kalos League, and with his newest Pokémon, Ash defeated many opponents and their mega-evolved Pokémon, advancing all the way to the finals, breaking his previous highest ranking, but was defeated by Alain.[29] After the tournament, Ash and his friends got involved in Team Flare, the local evil organization, final operation to take over Kalos. During the crisis, Ash and his Pokémon were captured by Team Flare, who unlike Team Rocket and the previous evil organizations, Team Magma and Team Galactic, he dealt with in the past who captured him so he wouldn't meddle in their plans or used him as a hostage, as their leader, Lysandre, wanted to use him alongside Greninja for his plans. Ash's other Pokémon were used by Team Flare as hostages in an attempt to get Ash and Greninja to cooperate. Team Flare used a mini version of their device, capable of controlling Zygarde, in an attempt to control Ash along with Greninja for their Bond Phenomenon while Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Kalos Pokémon watched in shock. However, Ash, who was able to hear Pikachu's voice, and Greninja resisted Team Flare's control as they couldn't break their fighting spirit and the bond they share for their friends and each other then used Bond Phenomenon to break free from their restraints. After Alain freed Ash's Pokémon from their restraints, Ash and his Pokémon were ready to stop Team Flare once and for all with Alain, who was once a Team Flare member, but decided to help stop them as he saw through his mistakes and due to his friendship with Ash as well, helping. Once Team Flare was stopped, Ash released Greninja to help protect Kalos from other threats. Ash and Greninja also wanted to keep themselves and their friends, especially Pikachu and the rest of the Kalos members, out of harm's way knowing that someone like Team Flare would not only try to use their abilities for evil, but would also use anyone close to them as hostages in an attempt to get what they want. Ash then bade farewell to his friends, before returning to Pallet Town once again.

During a vacation with his mother on Melemele Island in the Alola Region, Ash had an encounter with Tapu Koko, one of the local Island Guardian Pokémon, who gave him a Z-Ring, an item that allows a Trainer to bring forth super-powered attacks from their Pokémon. When Ash used the Z-Ring for the first time with Pikachu, it produced a massive surge of energy that overloaded and shattered the Z-Crystal that powered it, making Ash realize that he needed to learn to control it. In order to master the power of the Z-Ring, Ash then decided to stay in Alola and enrolls at the Pokémon School, living with Professor Kukui and studying with his new classmates: Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles and Kiawe while battling against Team Rocket & Team Skull. During his stay in Alola, Ash not only encountered many new varieties of Pokémon, some of which became part of his new Pokémon team, but also competed in the Alolan Island Challenges, each of which led to a Grand Trial against each of the Island Kahunas; emerging victorious in both the Challenges and Trials, Ash received different Z-Crystals. With the discovery of Pokémon from other dimensions, known as Ultra Beasts, emerging through wormholes, Ash and his classmates became part of the Ultra Guardians team, charged with capturing the Ultra Beasts and returning them to their own dimensions. Ash later participated in the Alola League, resulting in his first Pokémon League conference championship win in his career as a Pokémon Trainer and breaking his last League ranking.[9] After the League was done, Ash decided to go back to Pallet Town once again to continue his journey then bid farewell to his friends before setting off to his hometown.

Ash went to a grand opening of a new research facility in Vermilion City with Professor Oak and his mom. After meeting Lugia and befriending a new Trainer named Goh, Ash accepted the head professor of the new research facility's offer to be a special assistant alongside his new friend. After accepting the offer, Ash decided to stay in Vermilion City as he and Goh will be traveling all over the world to gather information on Pokémon. During his journey, Ash learns about Dynamax and even received a Dynamax band from the current world champion Leon, who is also the Galar Region champion. After seeing that his Pikachu can Gigantamax and losing an unofficial battle against Leon, Ash decided to compete in the World Championships so he can climb up the ranks and have an official battle against the current world champion one day. After climbing the ranks, Ash sought out Mega Evolution as he went to Kalos for a Key Stone and Mega Stone, which increased his Aura abilities.

Ash has considerably improved his abilities as a trainer over the course of the series. However, his earnestness and determination remain the same. During the first season of the series, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although he was always shown to be the stronger trainer. He soon began to focus more on each of his Pokémon's abilities. Ash has shown to have the ability to sense and control Aura, which was mainly used with either with Riolu or Lucario. Also, Ash can use Bond Phenomenon, which he used with one of his Pokémon. Through his love for Pokémon, Ash seems to understand the feelings of them as he sometimes shares a link with them as he senses their pain, see their thoughts, memories, have them appear in his dream as a way of asking for his help for various reasons and hear what they are saying, although the abilities are usually shown mainly with Legendary Pokémon but it was once shown with a Mythical Pokémon. Also, Ash has shown to sometimes sense a Pokémon presences or when one is coming.

Although he got involved and ended up getting captured by Team Rocket and an evil organization from his past journeys for various reasons, Ash did avoid getting captured or gotten away from a couple of evil organizations, Team Aqua, Team Plasma and Team Skull.

Although not parodied quite as frequently as the franchise mascot Pikachu, Ash still has many parodies and appearances in various other media, ranging from an unofficial fan-made film to several representations in web media, including many parodies on the YouTube channel Smosh.[33]

Ash makes a brief cameo in the animated series The Simpsons, when, in the episode "Postcards from the Wedge", the character Bart Simpson is watching TV while doing his homework, and a parody of the Pokémon anime appears on TV, starring Ash (in what appears to be a loose parody of his Diamond & Pearl outfit) and Pikachu. Bart remarks "Wow, how does this show stay so fresh?", which is both a reference to the length of the anime, as well as referencing the length of The Simpsons itself in an ironic way. In the episode "The Perspiration Implementation" of the TV show The Big Bang Theory, Ash is mentioned by the character Sheldon Cooper when he attempts to ask a girl out by saying "And as Ash Ketchum said to Pikachu, I choose you.",[34] which specifically references how Pikachu was Ash's first Pokémon. In the episode "Chinpokomon" of the animated show South Park, a parody of Ash makes an appearance, along with a parody of Team Rocket's James, as characters in a TV show parodying Pokémon. The title itself is a reference to Pokémon.

A character wearing Ash's League Expo hat makes a cameo in the 4th episode of the 4th season of Rick and Morty.[35]

Ash also makes appearances in several segments of the show Robot Chicken, including "Poké Ball High Life" and "Pokémon Tennis". In the show The Norm Show, the character Tommy thinks that he is Ash, and faces off against the character Norm in the episode "Artie Comes to Town".[36] In the Japanese light novel series High School DxD, the character of the familiar master Zatouji is a clear parody of Ash, even his catchphrase being "Gotta catch 'em all!"[37] Ash also features in an ADHD Short segment called "Pikachu Gets Pokémon Rabies".[38]

A man wearing Ash's original outfit also appears in a few Taiwanese Subway ads teaching passengers basic safety procedures.[39][40][41] A man wearing Ash's original League Expo hat is also shown in the third episode of season 4 of the show Metalocalypse. In the episode "Johnny'mon" of the cartoon show Johnny Test, the character Blast Ketchup is a blatant parody of Ash Ketchum. The title is also a parody of Pokémon.

A boy wearing Ash's attire from the original series can be seen in the episode "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E." of Codename: Kids Next Door.[42] Ash also appears in the Captain Tsubasa (2018) series as a spectator, in his Sun and Moon attire.[43]

In the game Overwatch, the character Hanzo says the line "I choose you, spirit dragon", which is a reference to the phrase Ash frequently uses when sending out one of his Pokémon to battle, such as "Pikachu, I choose you!"[44]

Ash also made a brief appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he has a 'Pokémon battle' against Cartoon Donald Trump with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.[45][46]

Greninja is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise, introduced in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, that has since appeared across a wide variety of Pokemon media. It is the final evolution of Froakie, the Water-type starter Pokemon of X and Y, with either the ability 'Torrent' or 'Protean', with 'Battle Bond' as an event ability, enabling it to become Ash-Greninja, and the immediate evolution of Frogadier. Categorized as the "Ninja Pokémon", Greninja is a Water- and Dark-type Pokemon who is a frog-like master of swiftness and stealth.

It appeared prominently in the XYZ series of the Pokémon anime as one of Ash Ketchum's primary Pokemon, voiced by Yūji Ueda. This Greninja used its bond with Ash to transform into a unique and powerful form, Ash-Greninja, which was later released to the games as an empowered form of Greninja accessible to players of the Pokemon Sun and Moon Special Demo Version. Greninja was introduced as a playable fighter to the Super Smash Bros. franchise with Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as one of the Pokemon series' five representatives, and was integrated into manga such as Pokémon Adventures.

Greninja has been met with a very positive reception, quickly becoming one of the most popular Pokémon of the sixth generation, and of all time in the 2020 vote with 140559 votes, because of its endearing design and strength in competitive play. Its popularity has resulted in its integration into various merchandising and promotions of the Pokémon franchise.[1]

Greninja is a streamlined frog-like creature with dark blue skin and a beige underbelly, with long limbs and thin, slender physique particularly reminiscent of tree frogs. What resembles a pink scarf is actually its prehensile tongue wrapped around its head. Two long, ear-like protrusions extend from both sides of its head and connect with a smaller horn-like structure in the middle by azure blue-colored webbing. Spots of the same azure coloring can be found on each thigh, arguably resembling ninja stars or battle scars along with a stubby tail that wraps inwards. Much like a frog, Greninja has webbed feet, wall-clinging suction cups on each digit, and powerful hind legs. It shoots streams of compressed water patterns from its palms. A large bubble can be found on each limb. A bipedal creature, Greninja can comfortably stand on its hind legs, but leans on one of its front limbs in a crouching stance when in battle. When at rest its eyes are white with hyphen-shaped pupils, but when engaged they gain red, oval-shapes irises, white pupils, and a narrow gaze. It only weighs 88.2 lbs. (40 kg), but is still quite tall at 4' 11" (1.5 m).[2]

It shares a motif of role-playing game classes with its Grass-type (Chesnaught) and Fire-type (Delphox) counterparts; while the former resemble a knight and witch respectively, Greninja draws heavy inspiration from the ninja. In Japan, frogs and toads have long been associated with ninjutsu through the folk story "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya" a story about a ninja who can shapeshift into a large toad.

Greninja is able to move with "a ninja's grace",[3] and has a design and set of abilities associated with Ninjutsu. Among its attacks are the formerly exclusive Water Shuriken, which lets it quickly fire throwing stars made from compressed water,[3] Shadow Sneak, and Double Team.[4] It is also the only Pokemon to learn Mat Block, which shields the user's side with a flipped-up mat. The Protean ability, which lets the user camouflage to the type of the attack it uses, is exclusive to Greninja and the chameleon Pokemon Kecleon (as well as the former's pre-evolutions). Capable of vanishing and reappearing quickly, it enjoys toying with enemies in such a manner.[3] It is very adaptable, learning many moves such as Bounce, Extrasensory, and Low Kick from different types.[4]

Greninja's stealth and swiftness are unique among Water-type starters, contrasting with previous designs like Blastoise and Swampert. It shoots jets of compressed water from its hands, as opposed to many other Water-types that shoot water from their mouths. It was created by Yusuke Ohmura, who designed the Water-type starters of the previous two generations as well as the mascot creatures for X and Y, Xerneas and Yveltal.[5][6] Greninja's design was finalized by Ken Sugimori, Game Freak's art director.

As Pokémon X and Y take place in Kalos, a fictional region inspired by France, Greninja's name combines the French word for frog (grenouille) and "ninja".[7] It is used for the English, Spanish, and Italian localizations of X and Y. Ironically, a completely different name is used in the French localization, with "Amphinobi" combining the French word for amphibian ) and "shinobi". Its Japanese name is , combining the Japanese word for croak and the Koga ninjutsu school .[8]

Whereas its pre-evolutions Charmander and Charmeleon are ground-bound lizard like creatures, Charizard's design is inspired by dragons,[8] more specifically European dragons.[9] Even though Charizard gains the Flying secondary type instead of the Dragon type upon evolving, it belongs to the Dragon Egg Group, learns Dragon moves like Dragon Claw, and has its Flying type replaced by Dragon in its "Mega Charizard X" form.[10]

Charizard has two teal wings, with a mostly orange body and back. Its plantigrade feet have the bottom mostly covered by a single pad that is cream-colored like its large belly, while its eyes are light blue in color. When Charizard is Mega Evolved, it can take on one of two forms. Both forms are characterized by white pupils, bigger and sharper teeth, claws and horns and the bright coloring of the belly reaching the whole bottom of the muzzle, which also features a more pronounced snout. In its "X" form, its color scheme changes from orange and cream to black and blue, with red eyes, two claws appearing on each shoulder and wings acquiring a multilobed, feather-like structure. The flame at the tip of its tail becomes blue and blue flames are constantly breathed out from the sides of its mouth. In its "Y" form, its appearance is influenced by that of Pteranodons, with a central big pointed horn, loss of fingers passing through the patagia of the main wings that increase in size, smaller wings stemming from Pteranodon-like hands. It also gains a more slender appearance with a thinner torso, a longer tail and digitigrade feet that are longer and devoid of pads.

Although categorized as a fire-flying type Pokemon by physique, by its nature or attack formations Charizard has a remarkable resemblance with an actual dragon, and with the dragon type moves skill set such as Dragon Rage, Draco Meter, Dragon Wing, Dragon Claw, Dragon Pulse, etc. Charizard can be easily marked as a Fire-Flying-Dragon type Pokemon, a very rare tri-variant combination, making it one of the most powerful Pokemon in the collection.

The video games describe Charizard as having wings that can carry them close to an altitude of 4,600 feet,[11] flying proudly around the sky and constantly seeking for powerful opponents to quarrel with.[12] They can breathe intense flames that can melt any material, but will never torch a weaker foe.[13] If Charizard becomes angry, the flame at the tip of their tail can flare up in a whitish-blue color.[14] Because of their reckless behavior, Charizard are known to unintentionally cause wildfires.[15] While Mega Charizard X is known for its black, toned body, hotter blue flames as well as its Dragon type,[16] Mega Charizard Y is generally regarded for its flying prowess, with it allegedly being able to reach up to 10000 meters of altitude while flying.[17][18] In Pokémon Go, Charizard exists in two forms, its original form with orange body and a cream-coloured patch on its belly, and its shiny form, which is a gray body with the same cream-coloured patch on its belly. Charizard's shiny form first made its appearance in Pokémon Gold and Silver, during Pokémon Go's Community Day event featuring Charmander. During the Community Day event, shiny Charmander may be encountered, which can be evolved into a shiny Charmeleon, and in turn, evolved into a shiny Charizard.[19] In Generation VIII, Charizard is capable of Gigantamaxing, a special type of Dynamaxing wherein it completely changes Charizard's form. When Gigantamaxed, Charizard's belly is all lit up, its wings are cloaked in fire, and its tail flame has grown as well. If Charizard knows any Fire-type damage dealing moves, they will be transformed into G-Max Wildfire, which deals damage for five turns. Gigantamax Charizard is best seen during battles with Galarian Champion Leon. The player can also get a Gigantamax Charizard by obtaining a Charmander in a Poke Ball in Leon's house (the Poke Ball is located in his bedroom) and evolving it into Charizard.[20]

In the anime, the most notable Charizard is one Ash Ketchum has had since he was a Charmander abandoned by his former owner Damian.[39] Ash's Charmander evolved into Charmeleon after a battle against an army of Exeggutor, and his personality changed completely,[40] becoming a disobedient and prideful Pokémon and fighting when and how he pleased. Charmeleon evolved when Ash summoned him for protection from wild prehistoric Pokémon; when an Aerodactyl attacked him and carried Ash off, Charmeleon evolved to fight the Aerodactyl and rescue Ash.[41] Charizard still disobeyed Ash, preferring to sleep, and only battled Pokémon that would pose a challenge, but Charizard helped Ash reach his goals, particularly against Gym Leader Blaine.[42] Charizard's disobedience to Ash cost him the Indigo League because Charizard chose to sleep instead of fighting.[43] Charizard became loyal during the Orange Islands arc after Ash battled a trainer with a Poliwrath and Charizard was frozen solid. Because Ash helped Charizard thaw out, he began to obey Ash and defeated the Poliwrath in a rematch.[44] He remained on Ash's team and contributed to his wins in the Orange League[45] and parts of Johto. He eventually stayed behind in the Charizific Valley, a reserve where wild Charizard battle and train to become stronger. This was likely due to meeting Charla, a female Charizard for whom he developed a fondness.[46] Charizard, like some of Ash's other Pokémon, returns on a temporary basis to battle at Ash's side, typically when Ash faces a particularly powerful Pokémon.[27] Charizard has saved Ash's life on more than one occasion, as seen in the film Spell of the Unown, where he battled against Entei after arriving in the nick of time to prevent Ash and Pikachu from falling to their deaths, having flown over from the Charizific Valley after originally seeing a live broadcast of Ash running after Entei who had kidnapped Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum.[27][47] Charizard returned during the Johto Pokémon League and defeated Gary's Blastoise, who had a type advantage over Charizard. Charizard also returned for Ash's first Battle Frontier battle, where he took on Articuno at the Battle Factory and won thanks to an unorthodox strategy.[27][48] During the Best Wishes series, Charizard officially rejoined Ash's team, while Ash was exploring Unova. Upon meeting Ash again, he gave his trainer a Flamethrower to the face much to everyone's surprise. Charizard also developed a fierce rivalry with Iris's Dragonite so much so that both Ash and Iris agreed to have a battle. During the battle which originally began on the ground but later ascended skywards when both Pokémon took to the skies, it was shown that Charizard had learnt Wing Attack, Slash, and Dragon Tail but despite the two Pokémon having something of a very fierce rivalry with one another, N immediately called the battle off after realizing that Dragonite had injured its right arm. Charizard stayed with all of Ash's Pokémon sans Pikachu at Professor Oak's laboratory when Ash leaves Kanto once more for the faraway Kalos region.[49] In Pokémon Go, Charizard exists in two forms, its original form with orange body and a cream-coloured patch on its belly, and its shiny form, which is a gray body with the same cream-coloured patch on its belly. Charizard's shiny form first made its appearance in Pokémon gold and silver, during Pokémon Go's Community Day event featuring Charmander. During the Community Day event, shiny Charmander may be encountered, which can be evolved into a shiny Charmeleon, and in turn, evolved into a shiny Charizard.[19] In Generation VIII, Charizard is capable of Gigantamaxing, a special type of Dynamaxing wherein it completely changes Charizard's form. When Gigantamaxed, Charizard's belly is all lit up, its wings are cloaked in fire, and its tail flame has grown as well. If Charizard knows any Fire-type damage-dealing moves, they will be transformed into G-Max Wildfire, which deals damage for five turns. Gigantamax Charizard is best seen during battles with Galarian Champion Leon. The player can also get a Gigantamax Charizard by obtaining a Charmander in a Poke Ball in Leon's house (the Poke Ball is located in his bedroom) and evolving it into Charizard.[20]

Charizard has been featured in lines of soft toys and action figures in the Pokémon franchise, made by Hasbro, and Tomy.[59] In 2004, the "Charizard Medium Plush" was part of a major recall of 13 plush toys due to a manufacturing fault where tips of needles were being found with the stuffing. This allowed Tomy to replace the toys with compensation or replacements.[59] Charizard appears often in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, most notably in the series' initial release. Cards featuring the character have been stated to be the most desired of the series, quickly rising to high prices amongst collectors and retailers.[60][61][62] In 2005, search engine Yahoo! reported Charizard as "one of the top Pokémon-related web searches".[63] David Caballero of Screen Rant listed Charizard as the best Ash Ketchum's Pokémon from each region.[64] Kevin Slackie of Paste listed Charizard as fourth of the best Pokemon, and further stated that Charizard may seem like a giant scary dragon, but for many people this was the first Pokémon they ever fell in love with.[65] Dale Bishir of IGN described Charizard as the most important Pokémon that impacted the franchise's history, and further stated that Charizard has fared well in the past 25 years, having appearances in the anime, playable appearances in three different Smash games, and even having all kinds of forms, from Gigantamax to Mega Evolution.[66] Steven Bogos of The Escapist listed Charizard as second of their favorite Pokémon, describing it as "awesome across all of the franchise's properties".[67]

Described by the media as "a lean, ferocious, fire-breathing dragon [...] sleek, powerful, and utterly destructive", Charizard has been noted as one of the franchise's "most popular" characters.[68] Retailers have attributed the high sales of merchandise related to the character to the popularity of the character's dragon-like design with children.[61] Interviewed children have stated similar; they attributed its appeal to its "cool looking" appearance and associating the character with the "concepts of stubbornness and power".[69][70][71] The book Rebuilding Attachments With Traumatized Children stated psychiatrists utilized the character as an empowered character traumatized children who were fans of the Pokémon series could relate to.[72] The book Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon cited Charizard as "popular" with older male children who tend to be drawn to "tough or scary" characters,[73] and compared the character's evolution from Charmander into Charizard with the loss of "cuteness" as one leaves childhood.[74]

IGN editor "Pokémon of the Day Chick" called Charizard "certainly the most popular and perhaps the most well-balanced of any of the current starting Pokemon".[75] GamesRadar's Brett Elston described Charizard as "hands-down one of the coolest Pokémon out there", heavily praising its character design and calling it "one of the coolest" designs of the entire series.[76][77] GamesRadar editor Raymond Padilla stated "Charizard was an awesome Pokemon back in the day and still an excellent choice more than a decade after it was introduced."[78] UGO.com described Charizard as a "winged, dragon-like creature" which is "able to breathe fire and smash opponents into red-tinged goo", but states that in Brawl, it is "as slow as Bowser" and "lacks the coolness factor of Mario's arch-nemesis."[79] Ben Skipper of the International Business Times praised the designs of Charizard, and calling it a great design, but not good as Blastoise.[80] Charizard was ranked 19th in Complex's "The 50 Best Pokemon Up to Pokemon Crystal", with Elijah Watson saying that Charizard is one of the best out there.[81] IGN readers voted Charizard as one of the best pocket monster, receiving 86.3% of win percentage.[82]

Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll called Charizard the "best Fire type Pokémon" and the "third best Pokémon overall". They wrote that "there was nothing else that could better fit that spot" and that "it has won [their] hearts and had [them] cheering for more."[27] 1UP editor Kat Bailey expressed concern about which Pokémon could follow the player in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, stating "allowing popular favorites like Charizard would go over quite well".[83] The Daily Cardinal editor Kyle Sparks called Charizard "the most dominant Pokémon in the whole universe, a force of sheer strength".[84] In a poll conducted by IGN, it was voted as the "best Pokémon", where the staff commented about remembering being torn between choosing Blastoise and Charizard at the start of the game.[85][86] In a poll by Official Nintendo Magazine, Charizard was voted as the "best Fire-type Pokémon". They stated, "not only is Charizard your favourite fire Pokémon, but it is probably one of the most popular 'mon of all time".[87] Kotaku editor Patricia Hernandez criticized Charizard's Y Mega Evolution for not differing enough from Charizard's original design, while praising Mega Charizard X for changing color, and turning Charizard into a dragon-type.[88] Game Informer ranked Charizard as the "coolest Pokémon out of the original 151", describing it as "Powerful, gigantic, and imposing". They further commented that "Pikachu may be the one you recognize, but Charizard is the one you want."[89] Laura Gray of Screen Rant stated that Charizard was too overrated on franchise, and has created problems from fans, the popularity also prevents other Pokémon from having a chance at the spotlight.[90]

Charizard has always been a popular character amongst Pokémon card collectors. According to eBay, Charizard's Pokémon card is the one that is sold mostly, especially when a 1999 base 1st-edition holographic shadowless stamp of Charizard was sold for $350,100.[91] In October 2020, popular YouTuber and influencer Logan Paul purchased a base set Charizard card for $150,000.[92] Later in December 2020, another base set Charizard card sold for a record $369,000.[93] In 2021, A rare card called "thicc Charizard" was sold over $30,000.[94]