What would be the advantages of Pikachu evolving if it was done?

Almonds

Almonds

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*I remember there being a similar thread, but I can't find it. So if it's somewhere, please merge it.


We all know that Pikachu won't evolve, and he's shown that he doesn't want to.

But let's say Pikachu had one more chance to evolve, and he accepted it.


What would be the advantages of Pikachu evolving?

- Better stats. More power, and more speed.
- Access to final-stage-restricted-moves (like Hyper Beam)
- Intimidating look. Ash looking more impressive at first glance.


*Talking about disadvantages is fine, but please keep it within the show. Since we know this isn't going to happen, and it's imagining just for fun, please refrain from stating real life reasons like marketing, or merchandise sales, or advertisements.
 
You hit everything. When Pokemon evolve they become straight up more powerful. It's a consistent mechanic between the games and the anime.
 
The Anime has proved multiple times that even as a Pikachu, Ash's Pikachu can beat even the strongest of the Raichu's. However what the anime couldn't argue is that if this uber strong Pikachu evolves into Raichu, it will be uber-er or uber-est.

Unlike Lt. Surge's Raichu who never learned Quick Attack, Ash's Pikachu can use its niche and become one of the fastest and flexible Raichu. Not to mention, Iron Tail will become way more powerful thanks to its wire like shape. Perhaps it could even cut a boulder in half neatly. And not to mention Focus Blast that could practically destroy things. The anime also showed us many times that despite its uber level, Pikachu lacked in the power department when it is up against Lucy's high level Milotic and what not. Evolving into a Raichu will certainly make it way stronger.

But yeah, it's unlikely. Evolving into Raichu will destroy Pikachu's character and I think neither the fandom or the writers will be willing to do that.
 
Actually, now that I think about it, they would have less excuses to make him lose as a Raichu since he would be so doggone powerful that it may be able to defeat legends with impunity, at best. He would then only have problems with higher tier legends. The only advantage really is that Pika as he is gets thrown around way too much. He has reached the peak of his skill as a Pikachu. The only real way he can progress is as a Raichu. They would have to be pretty doggone clever or pretty doggone lame to gimp Pika as a Raichu, though. It would only be justified if he was finally going to win a League, and we know the answer on that.
 
It would be too heavy to fit on Ash's shoulder so maybe, just maybe he might mature a bit and choose to go inside a pokeball.
 
According to anime, "Pikachu can shock you, but otherwise it's cute and can be used as pets." Though ash's is strong enough to beat a Raichu which "Can shock with more than 100,000 volts, Enough to render a dragonite unconscious."


Well, if i had to guess, I'd say an average raichu is twice as strong as an average pikachu in the anime world. So, I'm not sure if i can imagine how Ash's would be if it evolves.

Offtopic: Have you noticed how the anime characters used to push ash to make pikachu evolve in early episodes but dropped it after pikachu turned into pokemon idol? They only brought that up again as a plot recycle for a filler in the following series.
 
Pros
-Enhanced strength and endurance.
-Tail reaches longer, potentially making his Iron Tail more effective.
-Can learn winder variety of moves like Focus Blast, Giga Impact or Hyper Beam.
-More intimidating looking then a Pikachu.
-Longer legs that provide better agility.
-Bigger ears for hearing.
-Still freaking adorable.

KHAAAAAAAN!!!
-Marketing (though kind of debatable. Would people really not want to buy more Raichu plushies?)
-Bigger size means a bigger target.
-...
-....
-Uh...
-Well he couldn't use... Evolite or Light Ball... even though those items don't exist nor does Ash actually use hold items, so it's a moot point...
-.......
-*points in a direction* Look a distraction!
-*runs*
 
The only advantages I would see in Pikachu's evolution would be an increase in its power and speed, and its access to powerful moves almost exclusive to fully evolved pokemon like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact.
 
Almost everything. He'd have better speed due to having longer legs. His attack power would be magnified and he'd able to knock out Dragonite and Indian elephants. He'd become physically stronger. His Iron Tail would become stronger due to having a longer tail. He probably would be able to learn more improvised techniques. He'd be able to learn more moves, like Hyper Beam. He'd be taller which would allow him to be able to handle bigger foes more easily. All of this adding up to him being able to win even more battles.

The only disadvantage would probably be that Ash probably wouldn't be able to support him on one shoulder anymore. Maybe he could sit on both of Ash's shoulders while holding on to his head? I dunno. If not he'd probably just walk alongside him.
 
Pros are obviously more power, speed and access to stronger moves.

Cons. Ash may not be able to support him on his shoulders any more, but if Pikachu were hypothetically to evolve, they could always age Ash 6 years and make him bigger so he could haha
 
I don't really think the beating a raichu argument works in this case since if pikachu evolved it would be even stronger than that, the speed thing is just a trumped up anime mechanic designed to justify pikachu staying in base form for marketing reasons especially since raichu has a higher speed stat. So the only true reason is that raichu can't fit in Ash's shoulder.
 
Bigger stamina and physical strength + newer maneuvers with a long tail. On a side note, I ever thought why they didn't give Ash an already evolved raichu to avoid evolving pikachu. Ash dealt quite well with the summer camp's raichu and pikachu wasn't jealous at all, so, give him both stages just solves it.

Ashs Battle Coach said:
Ash may not be able to support him on his shoulders any more, but if Pikachu were hypothetically to evolve, they could always age Ash 6 years and make him bigger so he could haha
Click to expand...

To be fair, Ash can hold a pignite up and carry a hippopotas on his head, so, I can't seem a problem.
 
Pros:
Stronger
Hyper beam/Giga Impact
More voltage
Out of NU and into RU
Cons:
Pikachu fans would freak out
GF would have to make Raichu figurines/ads/plushs/etc.
Bigger and can't fit on a shoulder.
 
Less annoying than Pikachu, cuter than Pikachu, more powerful than Pikachu. I am biased, I know.
 
Oh, god, no D: How ridiculous would it be to get a Raichu's level reset every gen? I'm not one of the fans who hates Pikachu getting his level reset, but I think I'd have a problem with it if it were a large, fully evolved Pokémon.

On the plus side, more badass moves and Satoshi might look slightly more threatening. Another negative, Raichu's not quite as adorable as Pikachu and no more riding on Satoshi's shoulders (but I guess that's a plus for Satoshi's shoulders, he surely would've developed scoliosis or something if he were a real person).
 
Please note: The thread is from 12 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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