Ash's Pikachu: Difference between revisions

In the first episode of the [[Pokémon anime]], ''[[EP001|Pokémon - I Choose You!]]'', Ash woke up late the day he was supposed to go to {{DL|Professor Oak's Laboratory|In the anime|Professor Oak's Laboratory}} to obtain his first Pokémon. When he arrived at the lab, the three available starter Pokémon, {{p|Bulbasaur}}, {{p|Charmander}}, and {{TP|Gary|Squirtle}}, had already been taken by other Trainers who arrived earlier. Seeing that Ash was disappointed, Professor Oak gave him Pikachu, who, at first, [[Obedience|did not care at all for his new Trainer]], constantly zapping him and anyone else nearby. He refused to go into his [[Poké Ball]], and when Ash failed to catch a {{p|Pidgey}}, he laughed at him. However, by the end of the episode, Ash gained Pikachu's trust by protecting him from an attack by a flock of {{p|Spearow}}. After defeating the flock, Pikachu and Ash soon became inseparable, a moment that was capitalized on by catching a glimpse of an [[Ho-Oh (anime)|unknown Pokémon]] flying by. Ash then rushed to the next town in order to get Pikachu hospitalized quickly, as he had received multiple life-threatening wounds in the fight.  

In ''[[EP002|Pokémon Emergency!]]'', Ash managed to get to the [[Viridian City]] [[Pokémon Center]] just in time with the help of [[Officer Jenny]], who chewed Ash out for "mistreating" Pikachu. [[Nurse Joy]] agreed to heal Pikachu, and thanks to her, Pikachu managed to regain his health. At the end of the episode, Pikachu managed to gain enough of his strength back to send {{TRT}} blasting off for the very first time.  

 

Pikachu participated in Ash's first gym battle with {{an|Brock}} in ''[[EP005|Showdown in Pewter City]]''. It faced {{TP|Brock|Onix|Steelix}}, but since his Electric moves were ineffective, Ash forfeited. Ash and Pikachu later trained with [[Flint]] in order to increase the strength of Pikachu's Electric moves. Ash later challenged Brock to a rematch, where Pikachu's {{m|Thunderbolt}} attack managed to turn on the gym's sprinkler system, severely harming Onix. Despite Brock forfeiting the match, he still gave Ash the Boulder Badge.

 

Pikachu's next major battle was against [[Lt. Surge's Raichu]] in ''[[EP014|Electric Shock Showdown]]''. Lt. Surge laughed at Ash for attempting to defeat his Raichu with its pre-evolved form. Raichu's Electric moves did prove to be overwhelming for Pikachu, and had to be hospitalized. Later in the episode, Ash offered to let Pikachu evolve into a Raichu with the [[Thunder Stone]] that Nurse Joy had given him. However, Pikachu refused, wanting to defeat Raichu on his own terms. In Ash's rematch with Lt. Surge, Pikachu once again struggled. However, Ash soon found out that since Raichu was evolved so early, it did not learn any of the moves that it could only learn in the Pikachu stage, such as {{m|Agility}}. Through Pikachu's use of that move, it managed to gain the upper hand. Raichu responded with an extremely powerful Thunderbolt attack that Lt. Surge was sure could defeat Pikachu. Luckily, Pikachu used his tail as an anchor to absorb the shock, and used Raichu's own attack to defeat it. It was a tough challenge, but thanks to Pikachu, Ash received the Thunder Badge.