Question: Why hasn't Ash's pikachu evolved into raichu?
Sammo
21st Nov 2019
Pokemon (1998)
Answer: He refused to! He is also not the only Pokemon in the series to have done that, the first time in episode 14 fighting a Raichu, and then other times in the series (episode 540 comes to mind). Pokemon have their own free will (for being a bunch of critters locked in tiny balls...) and some are so happy with themselves that they prefer not to turn into their evolved version. Which usually is way less cute, incidentally.
Unlike most Pokemon which evolve as they gain levels, Pikachu can't evolve into Raichu unless it uses a Thunder Stone. In Indigo League episode "Electric Shock Showdown", Pikachu explicitly refuses to evolve, wanting to win its rematch with Lt. Surge's Raichu itself. Pikachu again refused to evolve in the Diamond and Pearl episode "Pika and Goliath!", simply resolving to train harder.
What I heard is that pikachu is the mascot of the franchise, and evolving it into raichu the anime would enrage a lot of pokemon fans.
Even if Pikachu had evolved into raichu, wouldn't there be a risk that it would decrease the number of the show's viewers?
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: I don't think so. Pikachu needs a thunderstone to evolve and I think in that episode Pikachu said it was happy the way it was.