Pikachu Became a Legendary-Tier Pokémon After His Biggest Powerup Ever (2024)

Summary

  • Pikachu unintentionally absorbed the Blue Orb, gaining immense power and glowing lines similar to Primal Kyogre and Groudon.
  • Pikachu uses the power of the Blue Orb to help Groudon escape and defeat Kyogre, showcasing his strength and type advantage.
  • The power-up is temporary, but makes Pikachu the strongest he's ever been, demonstrating his hidden potential and surprising everyone in the anime.

Pikachu's greatest power-up in the Pokémon anime occurred entirely unintentionally during the Team Aqua and Magma arc, when Pikachu took on the power of a Legendary Pokémon. By absorbing the Blue Orb, Pikachu gained an immense amount of power, along with glowing lines across his body similar to those on Primal Kyogre and Groudon.

In the Team Aqua and Magma story arc, the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, takes control of the Red Orb, hoping to use it to control Kyogre and complete his goal of raising the sea levels across the world. However, Team Aqua is currently in possession of Groudon, while Team Magma has the Kyogre they need, along with the Blue Orb.

Pikachu Became a Legendary-Tier Pokémon After His Biggest Powerup Ever (1)

In the episode "Gaining Groudon," Ash, Pikachu and friends are brought to the Team Magma base, and in an attempt to keep the Orb safe while Kyogre escapes, Pikachu grabs it... and accidentally absorbs it into his body, causing the Electric Mouse Pokémon to go out of control with overflowing power.

Pikachu Used the Power of Legendary Pokémon To End Their Conflict

Pikachu Became a Legendary-Tier Pokémon After His Biggest Powerup Ever (2)

Pikachu, even while being overwhelmed by the power of a Legendary Pokémon, manages to climb atop the containment system for Groudon, calling down a massive thunderbolt that awakens it and allows it to escape. Pikachu rides on Groudon and the two work together to defeat Kyogre, using Pikachu's type advantage to help protect Groudon from Kyogre's Water-type moves. As Kyogre takes damage, Archie loses the Red Orb (which had fused with him the way the Blue Orb did with Pikachu) and with it, control over Kyogre. Pikachu similarly ejects the Blue Orb, and collapses out of sheer exhaustion, falling into the water below, where Ash rescues him.

While in the episodes, the Blue Orb is for controlling Kyogre and the Red Orb is for Groudon, the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games show the opposite. In fact, the Blue Orb is the item needed for Kyogre to transform into its Primal Reversion form, a Mega Evolution-like transformation that restores the immense power these Legendary Pokémon once had in the distant past. That suggests that Pikachu was actually channeling the ancient power stored within the orbs, which was simply far too great for an ordinary Pokémon to control for very long. Really, it's impressive that Pikachu lasted as long as it did, taking part in a battle between Legends the likes of which the world had never seen.

This power-up, of course, was very temporary, only lasting two episodes, but it's indisputably the strongest that Pikachu ever was, at any point in the anime. By using the orb's power, Pikachu effectively became a Legendary Pokémon for a brief time, which he proved by standing toe-to-toe with Kyogre. The experience was certainly one that Pikachu wouldn't care to repeat, however, as it left him completely exhausted. While Ash's Pikachu is undoubtedly a strong one, the Blue Orb incident proved that Pikachu is far more powerful than anyone in the Pokémon anime could've expected.

  • Pikachu Became a Legendary-Tier Pokémon After His Biggest Powerup Ever (3)
    Pokemon

    Summary:
    Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the "two-game" trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could "catch 'em all."

    Created by:
    Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda

    First Film:
    Pokemon: The First Movie

    Latest Film:
    Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle

    First TV Show:
    Pokémon (1997)

    First Episode Air Date:
    1997-04-01

    Current Series:
    Pokémon (1997)

    Video Game(s):
    Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Snap, Pokémon GO

    TV Show(s):
    Pokémon (1997)
  • Anime
  • Pokemon

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Pikachu Became a Legendary-Tier Pokémon After His Biggest Powerup Ever (2024)

FAQs

How does Pikachu become a Legendary Pokémon? ›

This power-up, of course, was very temporary, only lasting two episodes, but it's indisputably the strongest that Pikachu ever was, at any point in the anime. By using the orb's power, Pikachu effectively became a Legendary Pokémon for a brief time, which he proved by standing toe-to-toe with Kyogre.

Is Ash's Pikachu as strong as a legendary? ›

Pikachu is one of Ash's most powerful pokemon being able to defeat psuedo-legendary pokemon such as Metagross and Dragonite and even actual legendary pokemon such as Regice.

Is Ash's Pikachu actually special? ›

However, Pikachu defeats the Raichu in their second battle using agility that gives it superior speed. Despite Raichu's higher evolution, it still loses to Ash's Pikachu without it ever having to use the Thunderstone and evolve into a Raichu itself. After the battle, Team Rocket reaffirms that Ash's Pikachu is special.

What legendary did Pikachu beat? ›

Dragonite, Silvally, Latios, Zeraora, and Regice are some of the most powerful Pokemon Pikachu has come up against, and the fact that he was able to hold his own with each one, and even defeat a few of them, shows just how much power he possesses.

Is Ash's Pikachu level 100? ›

Ash's pikachu is actually probably level 68.

Is Ash's Pikachu stronger than Raichu? ›

With Ash leading the way, Pikachu has defeated pretty strong opponents, despite being a pre-evolution form of Raichu. Even normal Raichu pale in comparison to the power of Ash's Pikachu.

Is Ash's Pikachu a girl? ›

Any event that distributes the Electric Mouse Pokémon makes it male with no way to get it as a female. This is especially noteworthy for the special Pikachu in a cap, which is supposed to be based directly on Ash's Pikachu. This seems to act as definitive proof that Pikachu is a male in the eyes of the game developers.

Is Ash's Pikachu stronger than Greninja? ›

Given their unique bond and its incredible win record, there should be little doubt that Greninja is Ash's strongest Pokémon other than Pikachu.

Can Pikachu defeat Mewtwo? ›

Pikachu is nowhere near the top 10 strongest Pokemon. I can understand that Pikachu may seem extremely strong due to Ashe's Pikachu being exceptionally powerful. However even Ashe's Pikachu just can't compare against the legendary and mythical Pokémon in the franchise.

Who will win, Charizard or Pikachu? ›

Since the typing is simplified Charizard would be fire and Pikachu would be electric making the damage to each other about even. Moves in the card games get stronger when a Pokemon evolves. Charizard having stronger moves and more hp would beat Pikachu. Charizard wins.

Can Ash Pikachu defeat Arceus? ›

In the anime, Arceus is weak to QUICKSILVER, which is used to try to kill him in the past. Ash's Pikachu has ridiculous plot armor, which has made the anime very boring to watch, but realistically, Arceus would wipe out Ash's whole team.

Did Pikachu defeat Rayquaza? ›

Pikachu was able to defeat Rayquaza with a Thunderbolt. The heroes wanted to escape and Rayquaza fused with Mismagius, attacking the heroes and preventing them from escaping. The heroes tried to defeat Rayquaza with their Pokémon which eventually succeeded.

Why doesn't Ash Pikachu evolve? ›

Summary. Pikachu's refusal to evolve was due to his determination to win and prove himself as a Pikachu, staying true to who he is. Pikachu's decision to not evolve fits the narrative of being great without changing, teaching young viewers an important lesson.

Did Pikachu beat Dragonite? ›

At Ash's command, Pikachu shocks Dragonite with a close-range Thunder. Dragonite and Pikachu are left exhausted and, after staring each other down, Dragonite falls to the ground, defeated. The Pummelo Stadium erupts in cheers as the undefeated Drake finally meets his match.

What makes a Pokémon legendary? ›

Legendary Pokémon are rare, powerful Pokémon that are closely related to local lore surrounding the creation or destruction of a certain region. There is only one of each in the world, as opposed to the plentiful Pikachus that populate the Pokémon manga, games, and anime. Legendaries also can't evolve.

Why can't Ash's Pikachu evolve? ›

Evolving Ash's Pikachu would have meant changing the mascot for the franchise and, as a result, losing marketability. Keeping Pikachu as a Pikachu has allowed the franchise to maintain its iconic branding. For many reasons, it's a good thing that Ash Ketchum's Pikachu never wanted to evolve in Pokémon.

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