You Gotta Have Friends
ET08.png
ともだち
Friend
Info
Collected in Vol. 2
Chapter number 8
Other
Location A forest
Manga series The Electric Tale of Pikachu
Chapters
Previous Chapter Pikachu's Excellent Adventure
Next Chapter I'm Your Venusaur

You Gotta Have Friends (Japanese: ともだち Friend) is the eighth chapter of the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu. It was first published in the June 1998 issue of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special. It was collected in the second volume, Pikachu Shocks Back. It is based on the episode Pikachu's Goodbye.

Plot

Pikachu is exhausted after a battle, so Ash takes it to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy tells Ash that Pikachu is too stressed and prescribes rest and relaxation in the country. The group decide to camp in a field near a large forest. A herd of wild Pikachu watch them from afar. Ash's Pikachu wants to make friends with the wild Pikachu, but they don't like it because Pikachu's human-trained.

Suddenly, a wild Pinsir attacks the herd of wild Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu chooses to defeat the Pinsir, even though the group snubbed it before. In the commotion, a Pikachu with a flower on its head falls into the river. Ash's Pikachu goes in after it and rescues it. The wild Pikachu choose to accept Ash's Pikachu into their group after all, and it runs off with them to celebrate. Off in the distance, Jessie and James plot to capture the entire group.

It is sunset and Pikachu still hasn't returned, causing Ash to worry. Misty reassures Ash, reminding him that Pikachu is being treated as a hero. However, another full day passes, and Pikachu still hasn't returned. Ash is feeling lonely and calls out to Pikachu, but it doesn't return. Ash calls his other Pokémon out to spend time with them instead, but Oddish uses Stun Spore on him, followed by Charmander's unidentified Fire-type attack. Ash gives up and recalls all of the Pokémon to their Poké Balls.

Pikachu finally returns, but Ash gives it the cold shoulder, since it took so long to come back. It asks for food and Ash reluctantly hands over a box of Pokémon food. Pikachu runs over to the flower-head Pikachu and they run off together with the food. Ash freaks out and gets even more upset with Pikachu.

That night, Team Rocket steals all of the Pikachu while they are asleep, except for Ash's, which ran away. Pikachu is seen trying to open the Poké Balls that Team Rocket put all of its friends in. Ash helps it open one ball, which turns out to be the flower-head Pikachu. Ash commands Pikachu to defeat Jessie and James' Arbok and Weezing. Pikachu wins the fight, but then runs off with the flower-head Pikachu once again.

The next morning, Ash and his friends decide to leave the forest without Pikachu. Just as they are about to leave, though, Pikachu runs to catch up with the group. Ash asks Pikachu if it's sure it wants to leave the forest, and it agrees. The wild Pikachu wave goodbye as the group leave the forest.

Major events

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia


  This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.