Adventuresome Pikachu

It's no secret that I like Pikachu just as much as Pokémon itself; by virtue of me liking Ash, I have come to like Pikachu as well. In fact, I like anything where Pikachu becomes a prominent main character and/or portrayed in a different manner. As a sidekick (and faithful friend of Ash's), Pikachu is powerful in its own ways. But on its own, Pikachu is a total character, and can seemingly adapt and be adapted to almost any situation. This versatility of character is something that I enjoy and appreciate.

In the games, this becomes a natural thing when Pokémon become main characters rather than people. The PokéPark series does it, and I have great fun as I play it; I haven't played it in some time and I miss this experience. Another game series that does the same is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, although this doesn't happen each and every time. In the first two sub-series of the game, the player character is determined by a personality test, which you would have to answer in a certain way to get a certain Pokémon. I don't try to do this, and instead I prefer to choose Pikachu as the accompanying character, which is indeed a free choice. Of course, in the third sub-series, both were free choices, so that was the one time I chose Pikachu as the player character. There is also a game where Pikachu becomes a detective, but a friend of mine, who also informed of its existence, says that it is Japan-only, with no English localization foreseeable for it, which is a shame, since it might be intriguing to play. In all of these games, Pikachu becomes more than an ordinary Pokémon and actually helps to move the story along.

In merchandise, this becomes an area of wide interpretation. One such (official) interpretation has already been done by Pokémon Center, which has offered at one time Pikachu plushes that are dressed like a member of the villainous teams from across generations. These are stylishly evil and I'm tempted to get one, though not in the near future, and only if it works out for me. Other interpretations tend to be indie and unofficial, but they can be as interesting. Consider the Pikachu illustration on this hand fan that I got from one of the stalls of yesterday's event:

On this hand fan, Pikachu is illustrated as an aviator, with a distinctive cap and scarf. It might be a little hard to imagine Pikachu as an aviator, since Pikachu normally stays on the ground. However, there is always the possibility of Pikachu riding along on Flying-type Pokémon and going to places across the world. It might just be what some Pikachu dream about.

Pikachu is popularly recognized as a result of its close association with Ash, but arguably on its own there is a great deal of character personality that is associated with it. Thus it becomes unsurprising that Pikachu can take a primary role in the games or become associated with personalities that are often ascribed to its human counterparts. I think there is nothing wrong with that; it enhances the experience, develops the character, and most importantly, makes me like it and Pokémon even more.