Memes come in all shapes and sizes, and when you find out where they came from, you might be as surprised as Pikachu.
The Pokemon symbol is already well-known because of its cute design and lively personality, but the Surprised Pikachu meme has made it almost impossible to go a day without seeing the creature’s wide-eyed expression.
Anyone who has been surprised by what was going to happen can relate to Pikachu’s face. If you have ever thought where it came from or just want some examples, we have you covered.
What Pokemon Episode Is Surprised Pikachu From?
The first Pokemon anime, which ran from 1997 to 1999, is where the “Surprised Pikachu” meme comes from.
During this time, the Pokemon anime was a big part of the game’s success. It showed Ash Ketchum’s journey to become the best Pokemon trainer ever.
With the computer games and trading cards, the TV show and the movies that came after it gave people even more ways to get into the Pokemon world.
In the first 82 episodes of the anime, you can see Ash Ketchum and his buddy Pikachu start their journey as Pokemon Trainers.
During the trip, he teams up with other characters like Misty, Brock, and Todd Snap to travel across Kanto and the Orange Islands, beat Gym Leaders, and stop Team Rocket from taking over the world.
In Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village, the tenth episode of the Pokemon series, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty see an Oddish drinking from a pond.
After Misty knocks it down with her Starmie, she tries to catch it, but a Bulbasaur knocks her Poke Ball out of the air.
Then, Ash uses Butterfree to try to beat the Grass-type, but Bulbasaur easily blocks its moves and knocks it out.
The camera then cuts to our heroes’ shocked responses, where you can see Surprised Pikachu in the bottom right corner.
Shocked Pikachu’s Popularity
Most people liked the meme because Pikachu’s face perfectly shows that “I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am” feeling you get when something likely but bad happens. It’s especially funny because the events of the show are so unexpected.
No one would have thought that Bulbasaur would be able to reflect sleep powder. Since Pikachu’s face takes up such a small part of the frame, it’s usually not very clear, which helps the joke stick.
Still, it is sometimes replaced by a vectorized redrawing of the scene, which sometimes cuts out Brock’s legs from the background of the original frame.
The meme is also often stretched, which makes Pikachu’s face bigger and his ears point down, making the picture even funnier.
Because the meme is so specific and Pikachu is so well-known, it quickly became famous and has stayed that way, more or less, for the past 4 years.
The Shocked Pikachu joke isn’t likely to go away any time soon, so it doesn’t hurt to know where it came from and how to use it correctly.
Surprised Pikachu Examples
Most of the time, people use the “Surprised Pikachu” meme to show how surprised they are by a clear truth or to act surprised by something that should have been obvious.
Here are some ways the meme has been used:
As you can see, Surprised Pikachu is a meme that can be used in a lot of different ways. It is often used to show harsh truths and unavoidable results.
Everyone can relate to Pikachu’s face, which is why it has become one of the most famous internet memes.
