Pikachu

The Pikachu (Japaneseピカチュウ, Pikachu ) is a fictional character and one of the best known Pokémon from the eponymous video games Japanese games software company Game Freak, and a central figure in the corresponding anime series. It is considered the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, and is often seen on packaging for such products. The name " Pikachu " is made up of two Japanese words sound Pika (ぴか), for the sound of an electric spark, and Chū, for the beeping of a mouse, together. Japanese researchers at the Osaka Bioscience Institute, named after the Pokémon a newly discovered protein, Pikachurin, where a role is attributed to the motion vision.

Appearance

The Pikachu has a mouse-like body, yellow hair and a roundish head with red puffy cheeks, black button eyes and elongated, ending in black lace ears. About his back cut across two brown stripes and his flat tail extending in a broad flash form. As part of the subspecies of the Electric Pokémon, it is able to distribute electric shock and deliver lightning. In the cartoons and the Pokémon Yellow Edition is the Pikachu, like most other Pokémon also, no animal sounds, but speaks ( with a childlike voice ) its name ( or individual syllables of it).

Video Games

In the Pokémon role-playing games that Pikachu is, an ordinary Pokémon that you find more often in combat given landscapes, and capture. It is to be found in all versions of the role play. Similar to most Pokémon Pikachu is also part of an evolutionary series, which transforms under a Pokémon into another. The precursor of a Pikachu, the Pichu; a Pikachu can evolve using a thunder stone in a Raichu.

Was released in 1998 in Japan for the Nintendo 64, the game Pikachu Genki dechu (ピカチュウ げんき で ちゅう; pun on " genki desu Pikachu " Pikachu is doing well ), which in 2000 also in America under the title Hey You, Pikachu! was expelled. The title is a form of life simulation with speech recognition: The player talks about the included microphone statements that cause the Pikachu to different actions, as long as it has a certain minimum level of satisfaction. Other sections include a play hide and seek. Over time, the player points to represent his friendship with Pikachu gets. The game has sold slightly loud IGN. Fran Mirabella III ( IGN) held the control in the first-person view for very heavy, lift them with speech recognition errors, the level of difficulty. The graph would correspond to a very early stage in the life of the gaming platform and the background music falls short music loops unpleasant. Very positive is the Pikachu character per se, their animations soft and expressive failures, which would still enhanced by the extensive forms to say his own name. In principle, it was stated that the game was a rather entertaining fun for young children.

In 1999, Nintendo released a modified version of the original Pokemon Game Boy game as Special Pikachu Edition, which borrows from the Pokémon animated series: One chooses at the beginning of the game, none of the usual three Pokémon, but receives a stubborn Pikachu which is opposite to the protagonist initially repellent behaves and whose affection depends on the player's actions; Furthermore, the game also includes other bonds from the television series, such as the in every episode recurring antagonistic Team Rocket. The title sold within two weeks about a million times, in the long term were 14.6 million copies over the counter. In Europe, the game was released a year later.

One of the first games for the Nintendo DS in 2005 was Pokémon Dash: The player controls a Pikachu from the top view in a race against other Pokémon by continuously drawing lines on the screen of the DS with the stylus and thus dictates the movement of Pikachu. The game comes from the Ambrella - studio, which already for Hey You, Pikachu! responsible recorded, and received by critics largely bad reviews.

The Pokémon Pikachu is a portable device, where one is - must take care of a virtual Pikachu - similar to Tamagotchi. The device includes an pedometer with integrated clock and a colorless liquid crystal screen where the Pokémon can be seen. Through physical exercise with the pedometer on your belt you get virtually watt units that can give Pikachu to become friends with him. The unit sold in Japan within the first 30 days over 2.5 million times.

The successor, the Pokémon Pikachu Color has a color screen and an infrared interface through which you can transfer to other Pokémon Pikachu Color watts. It is also possible to transmit via the infrared port of the GameBoy Color watts on the Pokémon role-playing games, gold, silver and crystal and convert there in virtual items. With an integrated mini-game extra watt units can earn.

Pikachu is a playable character in all parts of the Super Smash Bros series and there arises another Nintendo game characters with an arsenal of different, electrically based attacks. Spoken there, as well as in the anime, Ikue Otani from.

Pikachu's Adventure and its successor PokéPark Wii: PokéPark Wii Furthermore, the games are for the Wii console from Nintendo, the dimension of desire appeared. In both parts of the Pikachu is a playable main character. The games simulate the life of Pikachu in a fictional landscape, the eponymous PokéPark. The aim is to overcome some mini games as to anzufeunden with other Pokémon.

Anime

In the anime series and in the movies, a Pikachu is the constant companion of the protagonist Ash Ketchum and his best friend. The series begins with the fact that Pikachu is assigned to the protagonist as his very first Pokémon, however, rejects this as his Pokémon Trainer, ignored his orders and attacks him sometimes. During the first episode the main character gains the trust of his Pokémon, so this henceforth remains at his side, as his favorite fighters throughout the series is getting stronger. However, it avoids every time the further into Raichu. Since it is highly preferred by his coach, it will never substitute with another Pokémon. It receives, as usual in the series, no name and will instead with its species name, " Pikachu " called. In almost every episode, the Team Rocket, a group of Pokémondieben trying to steal Pikachu. However, they fail every time.

The Pikachu the main character is portrayed as particularly idiosyncratic specimen which is against its storage in a Poké Ball, which commonly is common in the fictional world of Pokémon, fights, acting largely independently outside of battles and the events around it occasionally with cute ( " kawaii " ) commented gesture or action loosens.

In the planning phase of the character tricks the producers were looking for a Pokémon that should be the focus of the series. Pikachu already belonged to the most popular characters and was equally accessible, which is why it was chosen for this role as potentially boys and girls. According to Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of the Pokémon games that Pikachu is perceived differently in Japan and the United States; Children in the United States would prefer the items together with his coach represent Pikachu, while in Japan a focus on Pikachu lying alone.

Reception

In the years 2003 and 2004, the website of Forbes magazine published an overview of each of the ten most profitable fictional characters. In both Pikachu was conducted on behalf of the Pokémon franchise. In the Asian edition of Time - December 1999 Pikachu was ranked second behind Ricky Martin in the category "The Best People of 1999 " ( in English, translated: " The Best People of 1999 " ) called.

The autonomous Pacific island of Niue coined 2001 1 - New Zealand - dollar commemorative coins of Pikachu in a quantity of 100,000 copies.