“There are no doubts about it; Pikachu is famous. As one of the most widely distributed electric types in the world and with fame both in and out of battle along with its adorably cute looks Pikachu is beloved amongst the entire world.” – from A Zoological Guide to Pokémon by Super-mega-punch
Creators
Satoshi Tajiri was a avid bug collector as a child,
before getting into video games. In 1981 he began writing and publishing a
fanzine, called Game Freak.
Ken Sugimori joined Game Freak as an
illustrator. They (and Junichi Masuda) turned the magazine into a game
developer after pitching an idea to Namco in 1989. This game became Mendel
Palace.
In 1990 Satoshi saw two GameBoys connected to a link cable and imagined bugs crawling along it. This jogged his old bug collecting passion, leading to the games that’ll become Pokémon.
Atsuko Nishida was working with Ken on Pulseman
before both worked on Pokémon.
Koji Nishino was game planner for Game Freak. He was data designer for the first Pokémon games, which included field maps and the strength and appearance rate of pokémon.
Inspiration/Conception
Ken initially designed pokémon tough-looking. Then, dev team
members commented that they wanted to see more cuter creatures. He decided to
get a female perspective and asked Atsuko to design some. She was asked to make
“an electric-type” and “a monster with two evolutions.” That’s it.
Her design began as “a daifuku [a rice cake filled with
sweet filling] with ears sticking out of it.” When she came up with the name “Pikachu”
the suggestion to make it an electric mouse came from Satoshi. Atsuko was in to
squirrels at the time, leading to the idea of Pikachu’s charge-storing cheeks
and lightning bolt tail. Koji Nishino refined the design.
Introduced to our world
Players first encountered Pikachu in Viridian Forest in Pokémon
Red and Green, released in Japan on 27th February 1996. TV
viewers first saw Pikachu on the first episode of the Pokémon anime, premiered
on Tokyo TV 1st April 1997.
“Both the game and anime shared influences, and Pikachu
further evolved. At first its body type was more plump, but its neck was made
more defined and its back was made longer. From there the design on the game
production side also changed. And that’s how we got the Pikachu you know today.”
- Ken Sugimori
The average Pikachu is 40cm high and weighs 6kg.
Atsuko added the stripes on Pikachu’s back because “it’s
back was lonely without anything on it” while facing back from the player when
battling.
The Pikachu has yellow fur which serves as a warning to
predators. Many Pikachu can build a lot of static charge in their fur, in the
form of the ability Static. Ken decided on the yellow colour, because of its
association with electricity.
The tail features nerve tissue that serves as a grounding
rod for electricity. It can also function as a lightning rod and a sensor for
electrical activity.
Female Pikachus have an indent on the tip of their tail,
forming a heart shape. Males don’t.
Pikachus are quadrupedal, but can walk on their hind legs if
needed, such as when scouting or holding something.
Making electricity
The Pikachu family features a pair of cell structures in
their cheeks that produces and store electric charge. Been land animals, the Pikachu
has to produce a lot of power to create electric arcs that can travel across
air to hit their target. According to Wildgun-Edge (on Deviant Art’s Attempting
To Calculate Pikachu's Stats (2014)) an average Pikachu’s can discharge up
to 150,000 volts. But volts are harmless, unless it pushes a high amount of
current. According to the calculations of fanfiction writer DarkV (in A
Deductive Dissertation on the Nature of Pikachu (2002)) a Pikachu’s Thunder
attack has an output of 200 milliamps – which can be lethal.
“Sparkle-squeak”
Atsuko has said this about naming Pikachu - “I named it
without giving it much thought, but since it was an electric type, I threw in a
“Pika” [from Japanese onomatopoeia “Pika-Pika” meaning to glitter, sparkle, or
shine]. I didn’t have a mouse in mind for the “-chu” [a Japanese mouse noise
like “squeak”] part, and I actually don’t remember the reason… but anyway, the
name “Pikachu” came first, and from there it was made into a mouse.”
Life of a Pikachu
Pikachu can be mostly found in dense forest, but have been
observed hanging out in sheltered gardens and power stations. They are
omnivores, but they mostly eat berries in the wild, due to their electrolyte
content. They rarely eat meat, due to their disadvantaged body if made to hunt.
A Pikachu is able to mate from their second year of life and can live up to 20
years in the wild, if their lucky.
Social animals
Pikachus are intellect creatures that can live in tight
communities of up to 30 individuals, where they could groom and raise pichus
collectively. These groups can develop their own rituals and customs, as well
as collaborate when threatened. Although they prefer to flee, when a danger can’t
be avoided a group of pikachu can even kill the largest of predators.
A lot of Pikachu communication is based on tail touching,
cheek rubbing and sending sparks to each other, as well as vocal and visual
cues.
Pichu
The Pikachu begins their life as a Pichu. Commonly born in
litters of 2-4, Pichus are helpless and prone to self-electrocution, needing
help from parents to absorb uncontrollable discharge. After about two weeks the
Pichu can walk, play and imitate their parents to learn. They are naturally
curious, leading to many situations, which has led some to death, sadly. By the
time their electrical system control is matured, they evolve into a Pikachu.
Raichu
When exposed to a thunderstone, a Pikachu evolves into a
Raichu. The Raichu is a bigger beast, able to produce more electricity than a
Pikachu. So much so they exude a weak electric charge all over their body,
making them glow slightly in the dark. They are rare in the wild.
“Rai” comes from the Japanese word for thunder. “Goro” comes
from “Goro-Goro,” the Japanese onomatopoeia for rumbling usually used in the
context of thunder, leading to the rejected Gorochu.
“It was “Pika(chu),” “Rai(chu),” and “Goro(chu).” The Pokémon
known as Gorochu bared fangs and even had a pair of horns.” - Atsuko Nishida
“There wasn’t any problem with its appearances, but it was
omitted due to matters surrounding game balance.” – Ken Sugimori
“Hodad” the Alolan form
In Alola, Raichu evolve into a different form than most
Raichu in the world. Not only their a different colour and different shaped
ears, Alolan Raichu can also collect physic energy in their tails, which allow
them to float, like a surfer on a board. Their cheeks can also produce a sweet
smell as well as store charge. Some believe that this form of Raichu comes
about due to a more sugar-rich diet.
World icon
“When the number of Pokémon started coming together, we
needed to shake things up. That’s when I printed out the pixel-art and had a
popularity contest in the company asking “which one do you like?” And Pikachu
was by far the most popular.
….
Even before the animated series started, products developed
at the time almost always included Pikachu. Since I knew Pikachu was being
featured, I really felt how popular Pikachu was.” - Ken Sugimori
Kunihiko Yuyama (director of the Pokémon anime) decided to make Ash Ketchum’s first pokémon Pikachu, instead of one of the starters. It would have caused an “us and them” situation among players. When Pokémon was introduced to foreign markets, many of the creatures names were changed – except Pikachu’s. So, no matter where in the world the anime aired viewers heard Ikue Otani’s “pika.”
In the early times of the Pokémon franchise, Clefairy had an equal star billing. Clefairy and Pikachu were the star pokémon in the Pocket Monsters manga series, first published in CoroCoro Comic in November 1996. “Clefairy was the result of my attempt at creating a “cute Pokémon.” However, Pikachu managed to impressively take away the popularity and left Clefairy in the shade.” - Ken Sugimori
Comments
Post a Comment