It's an exciting year for fans of the Scarlet And Violet, and there are tons of cool returning and new Pokémon that fans are excited to see.
The franchise's mascot, Pikachu, has been left cold during all this, though. There have been alternate and regional versions, but Pikachu has overall lost some prominence. It's a shame for fans because there are a lot of great Pikachus from throughout the franchise's history. These unique characters warm the hearts of fans all over with their cute charm.
Surfing Pikachu/Puka
Pikachu has a quite a few alternate forms, with the earliest being Surfing Pikachu and Flying Pikachu. These two forms could both be found in early Pokémon spin-off titles. Of the two, Surfing Pikachu is more popular and this Pikachu uses the older fatter Pikachu design, which is just adorable.
Additionally, a specific Pikachu was created to represent the Surfing Pikachu variant. This was Puka, who appeared in the anime episode "The Pi-Kahuna." He's an adorable Pikachu who's been surfing his entire life and has some wrinkles to show his age. Besides this, Surfing Pikachu is usually identical to the standard Pikachu.
Mystery Dungeon Pikachu
There are a ton of great and obscure Pokémon spin-offs, but one of the most prolific is the Mystery Dungeon series. It tells the tale of a human (the player) who is turned into a Pokémon and must embark on a journey across various biomes. The Pokémon the player becomes is determined by a personality quiz, and one of the Pokémon available is always Pikachu.
Once the human becomes Pokémon, they some kind of team dedicated to exploring mysterious dungeons. This team hip gives them a snazzy bandana. The bandana looks good on Pikachu and really helps him stand out. It is really the only thing the player Pikachu has defining them from others, though.
Snow Pikachu
The Snow Pikachu is an adorable snow version of the iconic electric mouse. They can be found dotted throughout winter areas in the games as scenery. Pokémon seem naturally predisposed to create them. Ash's Pikachu made one, and it seems like a common creation of Snorunt in the card game.
It might seem strange to call a snow sculpture a "variant of Pikachu." Nintendo has released merchandise and art of it as its own entity, though. In fact, in their debut, they were referred to as a species of Pikachu. Whatever the case may be, they certainly look adorable being held by Pikachu in the Macy's parade float.
Chuchu
Pokémon Adventures is the longest-running manga adaptation of the series, and it's absolutely fantastic. It adapts every main game in the franchise and brings more characterization to its various protagonists and teams. It also incorporates a number of unique elements, so its adaptation of the anime-based Pokémon Yellow actually has a new protagonist.
Yellow is a kind-hearted soul and so is her Pikachu, Chuchu. Chuchu is a delight and had a unique design compared to other protagonist Pikachu partners, having a flower in her ear. She also gets together with Red's Pikachu and has a child, the Pichu Pibu. As a family, the three of them together are adorable.
Red & Ash's Pikachu
Pokémon has had two protagonists for a long time in Ash and Red. They're even currently facing off in the mobile game Pokémon Masters. Their Pikachus aren't that different from each other, though. They both have the standard design expected for a Pikachu, although Red's is sometimes nicknamed Pika.
What makes these Pikachus stand out is their personality. Both of them are pretty feisty and devoted to their trainers and they both love fighting but are also fiercely loyal. In Pokémon GO, they can be found wearing their trainer's hat, which helps their adorability score a lot.
Sparky
Ash had a ton of rivals in the Pokémon anime, but none were quite as exciting as Ritchie, who also had a Pikachu. Ritchie's Pikachu, Sparky, felt like a pure rival of Pikachu himself, rather than just Ash. He also had a cute tuft of fur poking out of his head that was just adorable.
Ritchie and Sparky's big gimmick was that they were an equal challenge for Ash. They mirrored the protagonist duos in a lot of ways, characterized by their strong bond. They didn't get a lot of screen time, but Ritchie's close bond with his Pokémon and tendency to nickname was certainly eye-catching. Sparky, on the other hand, is so cute he's heart-catching.
Pikachutwo
Pikachutwo is the clone of Ash's Pikachu that appeared in Pokémon: The First Movie. He fights against Pikachu tooth and nail in one of the harshest battles of the original anime. Thankfully, he lightens up at the end and goes into hiding alongside Mewtwo. Besides Mewtwo himself, he stands out the most among the clones.
This is probably due to his distinctive ear markings. The pattern at the edge of his ears is sharper and has a new protrusion, which makes him look cute yet fierce. He reappears alongside Mewtwo in certain episodes of the anime, and even appeared in the Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution remake. He's almost as essential to Mewtwo as the regular Pikachu is to Ash.
Detective Pikachu
people don't know it was an adaptation of a video game. It took a lot of liberties with the original game's story, but still presented its lead as adorable. While the original game version can't really compete with Ryan Reynolds, he was still a formidable detective.
Just like in the movie, this protagonist teams up with Tim Goodman, who can understand his voice. Unlike in the movie, players never learn why exactly this is. Instead, they are free to just enjoy the talking Pikachu for the adorable buddy he is. There are also multiple cases to uncover as opposed to the movie's one, giving more time for the Detective's personality to shine.
Pikachu Libre
This Pikachu originally debuted as one costume of many worn by Cosplay Pikachu. She has branched off to become her own character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Pikachu Libre is a wrestler Pikachu who performs professionally. It seems like she's so devoted to the craft that she followed fellow wrestler Incineroar into Smash Bros.
She has a boatload of powerful grappling moves, but her costume is clearly the biggest draw. The orange and black actually work very well with Pikachu's natural red and black. Additionally, her heart-shaped tail works great as an accent on her tough spandex. She's completely adorable, but could probably take on any challenger.
Cosplay Pikachu
The only thing better than one unique design is five. Cosplay Pikachu debuted in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as a special Pikachu that could be entered in that game's fashion contests. This female Pikachu comes with five different costumes that are suited to each of the different contest types. Pikachu Libre even originally debuted as a Luchadore costume here before being spun out into her own character.
The other costumes dress her in Rock Star, Belle, Pop Star, and Ph.D. outfits. These outfits are all adorable, and some of them have even made it to Pokémon GO. Cosplay Pikachu herself, however, has never returned since her debut. Contests are a feature a lot of fans want back, as it helps show off how cute their Pokémon can be. Bringing back contests and Cosplay Pikachu would be one of Game Freak's best decisions regarding the cutest version of their iconic mascot.
