Hey guys, HDvee here. Now, Every entertainment
franchise has a mascot. Everyone is well aware
of Pokemon’s fluffy yellow mouse: Pikachu.
The electric Pokemon has been the face of
the franchise since Pokemon Yellow’s release
in 1998. Pikachu has since become a world
renowned phenomenon. The cute mouse has appeared
on various TV shows, aside from its own, and
has appeared on airplanes, in magazines, and
has swept the globe with its popularity. However,
there are quite a few facts that most people
don’t know about Pikachu. With that being
said, today’s video takes a look at 5 Facts
You Didn’t Know About Ash’s Pikachu. Don’t
hesitate to drop a comment down below about
the video and if you found it interesting
or not! Don’t forget to leave a like on
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further ado, let’s get into the video and
I really hope that you enjoy!
Ever since Pikachu made his debut in the base
set of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, he
has been featured on card after card with
increasing rarity and value. Always a basic
Pokémon – and therefore a part of every
beginner Pokémon player’s cards – Pikachu
debuted as a character with 40 HP and transitioned
from there depending on what card he was on.
From Lt. Surge’s Pikachu, to Surfing Pikachu,
to Japanese exclusive Pikachu, the famous
Pokémon has had so many variations over the
years that 95 cards with Pikachu currently
exist in the wild. One Pikachu in particular
however is often considered the rarest and
most valuable Pokémon card that there is.
Released in 1998, the “Holy Grail of Pokemon”
is the Pikachu Illustrator Card, and only
six are known to exist. Recently, one of them
sold on eBay in mint condition for $100,000,
which proves that Pokémon isn’t just fun;
it’s big business.
Pokemon is a worldwide phenomenon that originated
in Japan, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t
have its Western influences. Just the idea
of a small yellow rat that can store and dispense
lightning is a crazy one, and it’s something
that somehow caught on and made us all feel
more cultured for understanding. When making
the jump from Japan to everywhere else, Pikachu’s
name wasn’t changed to Greg the Rat or anything
ridiculous like that, it was just left the
way it was and we all understood it; Pikachu
was Pikachu. But was he really? As it turns
out, when Pikachu was first introduced his
name was actually Jean Luc Pikachu. First
mentioned by Ash but then quickly abandoned
in any other iteration of the Pokémon franchise,
Jean Luc Pikachu appeases fans that thought
the ultra-Japanese Pokémon needed to be more
French, or perhaps they’re setting up a
Star Trek, but it really appeases no one else.
It’s a confusing bit of Pokémon trivia
that is never given much thought, but it’s
one that we should all bring up on occasion
just to keep things interesting.
One of the more interesting facts in Pokémon
canon is that, yes, it’s apparently possible
for humans to turn into Pokémon. Although
it’s not something you’ll see every day,
it’s the type of Pokémon fact that makes
long-time fans scratch their heads and say
“huh.” A shining example of this is when
in the episode Hocus Pokémon Ash found himself
on the receiving end of a spell that would
enable him to think like a Pokémon. Of course,
the spell backfires and ends up turning Ash
into a Pikachu complete with his own eyes,
voice, hair, and infamous hat. This Ash-Pikachu
hybrid ended up being called Ashachu – because
why not – and is still remembered fondly
by fans. And while the transformation was
temporary and ended up getting reversed by
the next episode, it opens up a lot of possibilities
for future transformations of humans into
Pokémon. In the meantime, all we can do is
set our desktop wallpapers to a photo of Ashachu
and remember the good old days.
For those of you that think Pikachu is just
a cool name for a brightly colored electricity
rodent, think again. “Pika” is a Japanese
word for electricity crackling, and “chu”
is how the Japanese describe the sound of
mice. Put the two together and you have a
name that spread across a generation and actually
ended up inspiring some parents to name their
children Pikachu; or more accurately, Electricity-Crackling-Mice.
According to Pokémon developer Junichi Masuda,
Pikachu wasn’t an easy name to come up with,
and creators wanted to develop something that
would be a hit to both Japanese and American
audiences. Eventually, after much back and
forth, Pikachu was chosen, and it eventually
led into the sounds that the Pokémon is famous
for making. “Pika, pika chu” became a
catchphrase for Pikachu and the character’s
name quickly spread around the world as something
that fit perfectly; despite many not knowing
that it actually had a meaning behind it aside
from simply sounding cool.
Pikachu is incredibly popular in Japan, the
US, and worldwide, but the electric rat is
the center of a town in the US: Topeka, Kansas.
Topeka served as the launch point for Pokemon
when it came to the US in August 1998. In
celebration and support of the franchise,
the city named itself ToPikachu for a day.
Pokemon Red and Blue were promoted heavily
in the city. Slug Bugs were decorated to look
like Pikachu and toured the U.S. to promote
the games. Although they did this in 1998,
Topeka still heavily supports Pokemon and
Pikachu. The Visit Topeka website features
a Pokemon Go page that lists popular attractions
with Pokestops.
But with that, wraps up this video. I really
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