How Do You Get a Pikachu Onto a Bus?
You Pokémon! (Look, it's a joke better said out loud.)
Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. We gotta catch ‘em all with today’s fact.
Pikachu, the most recognizable Pokémon, is 1 foot, 4 inches tall and weighs 13.2 pounds.
Did you know the original Pokémon games are 30 years old? Frightening, the passage of time.
Of course, the Pokémon franchise has become a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. There have been countless video games building off the originals, including more outrageous adventures like going on a photography safari, and even a game where you simply speak to a Pikachu, and it reacts. This was once groundbreaking voice technology.
The trading card game also continues to thrive (a shiny Charizard was a big deal when I was in middle school), and Pokémon Go has introduced a whole new gang to the wild world of catching ‘em all, including two of my closest friends. Hello, Rob and Kim!
If you’ve never played a Pokémon game, the premise is pretty simple: You travel around a world as a trainer and catch Pokémon in the wild along the way. You raise them, they learn moves, and eventually you defeat the best trainers in the land so that YOU become the best trainer.
In the original games, there are 151 Pokémon. Today, there are 1,025, which is bonkers. Yet if you asked someone to name creatures from the game, they probably wouldn’t rattle through too many before they hit Pikachu. The lil’ mouse with a thunderbolt tail is so endearing. Look at its little happy face sitting next to a Squirtle:
One of the fun elements of the Pokémon games is the Pokédex entries. These are little descriptors with a quick bio on the Pokémon, as well as vital stats like their heights and weights.
That’s how we know Pikachu is 1’4”. Your other starters include Bulbasaur (2’4”, 15.2 pounds), Charmander (2’ even, 18.7 pounds), and Squirtle (1’8”, 19.8 pounds). To be fair, Squirtle does have a giant shell on its back. Surely, that adds some weight.
The tallest Pokémon is something called Eternatus, which is well after my time of playing the games. This thing is 65 feet, 7 inches, and weighs 2,094.4 pounds.
A) I love that we’re rounding to a tenth of a pound here. B) Its species is “Gigantic Pokémon,” so I suppose that’s fitting.
Anyway, I think we’ve covered enough heights and weights of fictional creatures, so let’s dive into two of the most morbid Pokédex entries. Here’s Cubone (in shiny form, because oooh, shiny):
In Red and Blue, the first game released in America, Cubone’s entry was harmless enough: “Because it never removes its skull helmet, no one has ever seen this Pokémon's real face.”
In Yellow, the next installment that came out—and where you started the game with a Pikachu that followed you around—things took a turn:
“Wears the skull of its deceased mother. Its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody.”
What?! This a game designed for children and also played by many adults! What kind of distressing life is this?
Okay, let’s check out Spoink instead. It’s a precious pig, nothing can go wrong here:
Now, let’s check out the Pokédex entry: “SPOINK bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this POKéMON cannot afford to stop bouncing - if it stops, its heart will stop.”
Could you imagine having to constantly bounce on, say, an exercise ball? How does Spoink sleep?? Can it even successfully use the bathroom?
I don’t want to end on such a distressing note, so let’s wrap up with this comic from Deathbulge. It’s a bunch of fictional Pokémon, and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. May you catch lots of good vibes this weekend!
used this exact same Pikachu picture in my own piece!