Why Pikachu?

[Williampettysan]

Well.. pikachu is also the Starter in Pokemon Yellow, but I guess Pokemon Yellow ALSO comes from the anime (sortof).

Actually at first the anime was based off of Pokemon Yellow.

 

[CHAOSDRAGON88]

Pikachu is the most well known pokemon similar to how elmo is the representation for sesame street.

 

[The rAt]

Actually at first the anime was based off of Pokemon Yellow.

That would be somewhat difficult, consdering that the first anime began in Japan in April of 1997, where as Pokemon Yellow wasn't released until September of 1998 (in Japan, as well).

Pikachu is the most well known pokemon similar to how elmo is the representation for sesame street.

It's ironic that you should mention Elmo, considering that his role used to belong to Grover. Also, now all I can't get the mental picture of Pikachu singing the Sesame Street theme (in Pika-nese) out of my head. Well played.

 

[Mad555]

Depending on if the first Smash Bros game had anything to do with some of the anime, it could of been why Pikachu has made it in the first Bros, melee, and now Brawl. I hope that came out right.

 

[LoserNumber2]

its true pikachu is the mascot of pokemon

and think of it this way if they hadn't chose pikachu, the ywould have choosen clefairy(sp?)(i read it in a pokemon book a long time ago, i still have the book).

 

[KingDedede2]

forget about the anime he is still popular without the anime I think.............

 

[E-Jolteon]

Hey, Munchlax, Vulpix, and Teddiursa, despite my manhood, are ADORABLE! yet none of them, with the exception of Munchlax, are even mentioned in smash. EDIT: Pokemon yellow IS the Anime, as good as they could make it. Pikachu interacts with you, and theres more things from the anime than in red and blue.

Munchlax, Teddiursa - Second and fourth generation pokemon. Generally, they would come from first gen; That makes the best since. Plus, Teddiursa is extremely minor, and Munchlax... I can't imagine him performing crazy aerial combos, or, for that matter, jumping.
Pikachu is way more awesome than them anyway, even as a Pokemon.

Vuplix - Yes, she's cute, very cute, but she's a quadropod, and therein lies the problem. She'd make a nice Pokemon as in item, though.

Also, their games have been around for a good long time, and are pretty much first party Nintendo.

 

[gamer8]

Pikachu is the main Pokemon in the Anime.

 

[SJAK47]

Pikachu is the main Pokemon in the Anime.

The point is not to be a part of an anime. The Pikachu in the Smash games are from the games (Red and Blue to be exact).

 

[SmashBro99]

Hitmonchan is better then Pikachu, he should be playable ><

 

[Knyaguy]

Pikachu is just that awesome but.....Aipom is cooler!

 

[SaxyPlayah]

I think you're misinterpreting the "no anime" rule a little. That rule only exists to keep Naruto and other useless anime characters out of Brawl. No matter how you slice it, Pikachu was a video game character first. He got his icon status from the anime, sure, but what else could a pokemon representative have been based on? By the time the first SSB came out, there were 151 pokemon. How was Sakurai supposed to figure out which pokemon to put in if he didn't use the anime? No matter what, the character(s) he chose would be given special treatment. It makes the most sense to pick the pokemon that has now become the face of the franchise.

Think of it like this. With this thread, you're asking "Why Pikachu?"
If any other pokemon were in Smash in his place, people would be asking "Why Mankey and not Pikachu?" or "Why Khangaskhan and not Pikachu?" or "Why Staryu and not Pikachu?"

Pikachu is the mascot, therefor he best represents the fanchise.

I have to completely agree with this one here....

Agreed....pikachu did get his popularity from the anime, but c'mon, how else are you gonna base it on....i mean, im sorry sakurai doesnt want to please just you, hes making a character in the game that will please the majority....its all democracy here, lol.

People just wouldnt get it if Vulpix was a playable character...(a) vulpix wasnt introduced in the anime until about 40 something episodes in...pikachu was in numero uno!! (b) vulpix wasnt even introduced into the videogame until like....cinnabar island i believe...(and also in only one of the version of R/B i might add) or was it cerulean city? i dont remember, but anyways....yeah....pikachu is just popular just because it is basically....and there isnt really anything anyone can do to change that....majority rules

 

[pikachun00b7]

He is one of the most recognized character in Nintendo. Second only to Mario.
Pikachu is also cute.

 

[Archenyte]

Maybe pika was chosen as the most popular pokemon in the anime? And imagine Ash with some other pokemon on his shoulder like a snorlax

 

[Sparce]

Can't believe no one tried to explain it this way. I mean, if the question is "Why Pikachu?", there's more to it than "He's so KYUUUUT!", you just need to think about the answer gamewise.

First of all, I don't think that Nintendo would've chosen Pikachu as the mascot if it hadn't already gained some popularity in Japan. And when you think about the starters, who might be the most iconic of them three? Wouldn't many agree that it's Charmander? Because of, well, fire, red, and mom I want that awesome dragon thing on the cover. Also, Charizard was a version mascot for the very first generation both in the east and the west, which Blastoise and Venusaur weren't. In Japan, the first generation was Red and GREEN.

Now, that doesn't say much about Pikachu, unless you've actually played Pokémon Red and Blue. Choosing Charmander as your starter Pokémon means that you're at disadvantage against the first two Gym Leaders unless you manage to either catch other types of Pokémon or train your Charmander until it can beat Rock and Water types even with the type disadvantage. Also, if you chose Squirtle, you too might have troubles with Cerulean Gym because it's the same type.

Anyways, when you think about the wild Pokémon available in the beginning, there are very few Pokémon that you can use effectively against Water Pokémon. There's either Bellsprout or Oddish and then there's Paras if you want to have something that has an advantage over Water types. But all of those start as fairly weak Pokémon, Paras doesn't even have a Grass attack to go along with its type. As for Electric type, there are none. Except Pikachu, which you may have encountered on your way to Pewter! Pikachu is as good an investment as any -- it learns Quick Attack and Thunder Wave very early and it has decent stats. It's the easy ticket past Pokémaniacs' Slowpokes, all the Flying types, and the sea routes to Cinnabar.

So, Pikachu is useful and you get it very early in the game. I can't think of many other Pokémon that'd live up to both that and the cuteness. If Nintendo had chosen any other mascot, I think the choices are limited to the three starters and something like Eevee or Clefairy. It probably should be something small that you can carry outside the ball anyway, otherwise its screen time would be very limited.

So the real question is, for the umpteenth time in this topic, why NOT Pikachu?

 

[freeman123]

Why put Pikachu in over all the other pokemon? what makes Pikachu better than Slugma? or Hitmonchan?
Pikachu's popularity comes all from the anime, and while this dances around Sakurai's strict "No Anime orginating characters allowed" policy, the only reason Pikachu makes it in,ironically, is the anime.

TOPIC

It's not just the cartoon. Pikachu is basically the mascot for Pokemon all together.

 

[The Noob Legend]

It's not just the cartoon. Pikachu is basically the mascot for Pokemon all together.

Exactly.

Something that appeals to everybody.
Cute, strong, all of everything.

It just is.

 

[W.Jr]

i like pikachu, though i know they could of put a better character

 

[CCC07]

I really dont think that anime rule counts. pokemon get popular with
the anime and movie. If lucario wasnt in a movie then he wouldnt be
that popular so he would not have been put in brawl. lucario isnt unique
to the smash franchise, he's only popular.