Pikachu
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50 free Pikachu trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Pikachu was never meant to be the star. It began as a rare find tucked away in the first Pokémon games, and it only became the face of the franchise when the anime paired one with a young Trainer named Ash. Decades on, it is one of the most recognisable characters on the planet. This quiz covers the whole story: how the character was designed and named, how it battles and evolves in the games, its best moments beside Ash in the anime, the Detective Pikachu film and games, and its stranger real-world cameos, from parade balloons to trading cards worth millions. It is pitched for fans of every level. The opening rounds stick to things most players have met, while later questions reward anyone who has spent hours on Bulbapedia or grew up with the games. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you guess.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Pikachu's designer was obsessed with which animal's 'comical' movements while creating the Pokémon?
Squirrel
Squirrel antics fascinated the artist, who was obsessed with the animals at the time. With the rat-like Rattata already in the game, a different rodent became the model.
Q 02Which actor gave the title character of the film Detective Pikachu both his voice and his facial movements?
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds was rarely on set, so his human co-stars often performed to a puppet standing in for Pikachu. His motion-captured expressions were then applied to the furry sleuth.
Q 03Which Pokémon took the blame for an anime episode whose seizure-causing flashes came from Pikachu's attack?
Porygon
Porygon and its evolutions have never featured in the anime since, though the 1997 strobing came from Pikachu blasting missiles. Pokémon's official account later joked that it 'did nothing wrong'.
Q 04Which lonely Ghost-type Pokémon hides under a crude, home-made Pikachu costume in the hope of being loved?
Mimikyu
Mimikyu copies the mascot because Pikachu is so adored, a sly joke about the franchise's own marketing. In the anime, one grew to hate Pikachu and attacks him on sight.
Q 05A giant Pikachu balloon has flown above a New York department store's parade on which holiday since 2001?
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving crowds at the Macy's parade first saw 'Flying Pikachu' in 2001. After it retired, the balloon was used to test wind conditions in Times Square following an accident with another balloon.
Q 06Which Pokémon does Pikachu evolve into when exposed to a Thunder Stone, a change Ash's partner famously refused?
Raichu
Raichu was designed as a stronger counterpart to Pikachu. In the anime, Ash's Pikachu rejected the stone after losing to one, then won the rematch without evolving.
Q 07The 'chu' in Pikachu's name copies the Japanese word for the sound made by which animal?
Mouse
Mouse squeaks are written 'chū' in Japanese, while 'pika' is the sound of something sparkling. Series director Junichi Masuda called the name one of the hardest to create.
Q 08Pikachu co-stars in the music video for 'Electric', a 2021 single by which American pop star?
Katy Perry
Katy Perry and Pikachu spend the video in Hawaii, guiding younger versions of themselves towards her first club performance. The song was made for a Pokémon anniversary album.
Q 09Scalpers mobbed which painter's Amsterdam museum for a promo card of Pikachu in a grey felt hat?
Van Gogh
Van Gogh's own grey felt hat sits on Pikachu's head on the card. The museum pulled the giveaway over safety fears, and several staff were later suspended over missing cards.
Q 10In 1999, Time magazine called Pikachu 'the most beloved animated character since' which other Japanese icon?
Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty was the yardstick as the magazine ranked Pikachu the second-best 'person' of 1999. Only singer Ricky Martin placed higher, with author J.K. Rowling behind.
Q 11Which baby Pokémon, first seen in Pokémon Gold and Silver, is the pre-evolved form of Pikachu?
Pichu
Pichu was created by Ken Sugimori in the hope of repeating Pikachu's success. It is more playful than its famous relative and struggles to control its own electricity.
Q 12Which Pokémon type is the Electric-type Pikachu's only weakness and takes no damage at all from its shocks?
Ground
Ground is the one type that hits Electric Pokémon for extra damage, and Ground-types are immune to Electric moves. Early anime episodes wrongly gave Rock-types the same protection.
Q 13Jessie, James and Meowth spend the Pokémon anime trying to steal Ash's Pikachu for which criminal organisation?
Team Rocket
Q 21Which Japanese voice actor has played Pikachu since 1997 in every language's dub of the Pokémon anime?
Ikue Ōtani
Ikue Ōtani is heard in every dub because the makers wanted Pikachu's name to sound the same in every country. She still records fresh lines rather than relying on old takes.
Q 22Which pink Pokémon was considered alongside Pikachu as the lead character for the franchise's early merchandising?
Clefairy
Clefairy lost out once Pikachu proved a hit with schoolchildren and appealed to boys and girls alike. The anime's team even kept a checklist that favoured a face able to show emotion.
Q 23Pokémon boss Tsunekazu Ishihara said a proposed American redesign of Pikachu resembled a character from which musical?
Cats
Team Rocket's trio made capturing Pikachu their life's mission after first meeting him in the anime's second episode. They want the unusually strong Pikachu as a prize for their boss.
Q 14Which professor handed a late-arriving Ash Ketchum a rebellious Pikachu because all three starter Pokémon were taken?
Oak
Professor Oak had only Pikachu left after Ash overslept and ran to the lab in his pyjamas. The anime's makers skipped the three starters so that no viewer's own first pick was left out.
Q 15In the Pokémon anime's first episode, Pikachu warms to Ash after he shields it from a flock of which bird Pokémon?
Spearow
Spearow swarmed the pair after Ash threw a rock at one, mistaking it for a Pidgey. The injured Pikachu then scattered the whole flock with a single huge lightning blast.
Q 16Whose bicycle does Ash's Pikachu char with a lightning attack in the Pokémon anime's very first episode?
Misty
Misty vowed not to leave Ash alone until he replaced the bike, which is how she came to join his journey. She finally got it back, repaired, at the end of the Johto adventures.
Q 17In the Pokémon anime, Ash's Pikachu has a fondness for which condiment, first shown in 'Showdown at Dark City'?
Ketchup
Ketchup is the one treat Pikachu truly prizes, though he will happily eat almost any human or Pokémon food. The running gag resurfaces in a handful of later episodes.
Q 18Pikachu stores its electricity in small pouches found in which part of its body?
Cheeks
Cheeks charge up overnight while Pikachu sleeps, so a drowsy one may let off a shock on waking. Touch the red pouches and you may feel a small jolt yourself.
Q 19In which Game Boy game does the starter Pikachu refuse its Poké Ball and trail behind the player instead?
Pokémon Yellow
Pokémon Yellow was designed to resemble the anime, so its starter behaves like Ash's partner. Players can turn and speak to it, and it reacts to how well it has been treated.
Q 20Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! launched in 2018 alongside a twin version starring which other partner Pokémon?
Eevee
Eevee is the partner in the twin version, riding along with the player just as Pikachu does. Neither starting partner is able to evolve during the adventure.
Cats came to mind because the pitch looked 'something like a tiger', he recalled. The idea was scrapped, and Pikachu kept the same design in the West as it had in Japan.
Q 24Which cut Pokémon, drawn with horns and fangs, was planned as a third stage of Pikachu's evolutionary line?
Gorochu
Gorochu was dropped from the very first Pokémon games, when tight cartridge space forced cuts. Ken Sugimori said there was nothing wrong with the design itself.
Q 25Female Pikachu can be told apart from males by a heart-shaped notch at the end of which body part?
Tail
Tail tips on female Pikachu have a V-shaped notch that looks like the top of a heart. Cosplay Pikachu, which is always female, goes further with a heart-shaped spot there.
Q 26Which number does Pikachu hold in the National Pokédex, sitting one place after the snake Pokémon Arbok?
025
025 is also Pikachu's number in the Alola Pokédex of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Its evolved form follows at the very next number.
Q 27Which standard ability of Pikachu can paralyse an attacker that makes direct contact with it?
Static
Static means the Pokémon is charged with electricity, so a foe that strikes it directly may be left paralysed. Pikachu's rarer hidden ability, Lightning Rod, works differently.
Q 28Which held item, useless to every other Pokémon, doubles both the Attack and Special Attack of a Pikachu?
Light Ball
Light Ball is described in the games as a puzzling orb. The legendary Trainer Red's Pikachu holds one in later games, making his best-known Pokémon far more dangerous.
Q 29Which powerful recoil move is the signature attack of Pikachu and its evolutionary relatives, who alone can learn it?
Volt Tackle
Volt Tackle hurts its user with recoil equal to a third of the damage dealt. Ash's Pikachu stumbled on it mid-battle, when a Quick Attack morphed into the new move.
Q 30Ash's Pikachu usually sends the Pokémon anime's bungling villains 'blasting off' with which Electric-type move?
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt is the usual send-off for the scheming trio. A running joke also has it frying a new travelling companion's bike at the start of a series.