Since its inception back in 1997, the Pokemon anime has held fast to the idea that Pikachu doesn’t want to evolve into a Raichu, but never given fans a solid reason as to why. Now, a recent episode of Pokemon Journeys finally gives fans some insight as to Pikachu’s reasoning.
Pokemon Journeys sees Ash travelling with a new companion, Goh, who’s goal is to catch one of every Pokemon. Along the way, they get into all sorts of problems, but Pikachu remains adamant against evolving. Though it wasn’t necessarily needed, hearing Ash explain Pikachu’s reluctance to evolve to Goh was a nice touch.
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Pokemon fans had a bit of a scare when it was though Ash would evolve Pikachu into Raichu after over 20 years of the show avoiding that exact scenario, but it seems it still isn’t happening. The video clip below sees Ash turn down yet another Thunder Stone for Pikachu, and Goh receiving it instead.
This clip makes it abundantly clear that Pikachu doesn’t want to evolve into a Raichu because he wants to get stronger as a Pikachu. It seems that he knows that evolving would provide him a substantial power boost, but doesn’t think it is necessary. To be fair, Pokemon evolution is a drastic change for a Pokemon to undergo, so it’s understandable that Pikachu would be hesitant and outright against the idea. After two other Pikachus express their desire to remain in their forms, Ash continues on to say that Pokemon should evolve when they want to.
Of course, commenters point out that the real reason is probably because Pikachu is the face of the franchise. Pokemon just wouldn’t be the same if every new anime had Ash and Raichu going on adventures, but having an in canon explanation is nice. Some fans have noticed that Pikachus in the anime have historically avoided evolution, indicating that perhaps Pikachus as a species don’t voluntarily evolve often. This could be backed up by the fact that they require a Thunder Stone to evolve, meaning most wild Pikachus never will become Raichus since Thunder Stones are pretty rare.
Either way, it seems Ash’s Pikachu has avoided this fate once again, and the iconic duo will continue on their quest to become Pokemon Masters. Goh did eventually use the Thunder Stone to evolve his own Pikachu, so at least Raichu will finally get some solid representation in the anime now.
Pokemon Journeys is available to watch now.
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