Ash's Pikachu/History/Original Series/Kanto

In the first episode of the Pokémon anime, Pokémon - I Choose You!, Ash woke up late the day he was supposed to go to Professor Oak's Laboratory to obtain his first Pokémon. When he arrived at the lab, the three available starter Pokémon,, , and , had already been taken by other Trainers who had arrived on time. Seeing Ash's disappointment, gave him Pikachu, who, at first, did not care at all for his new Trainer, constantly zapping him and anyone else nearby. He refused to go into his Poké Ball, and when Ash failed to catch a, he laughed at him. However, by the end of the episode, Ash gained Pikachu's trust by protecting him from an attack by a flock of angry. Seeing this act of selflessness, Pikachu defended Ash from the Spearow as well, and the two of them became inseparable friends, a moment that was capitalized on by catching a glimpse of an flying by. Ash then rushed to Viridian City in order to get Pikachu hospitalized quickly, as he had been badly injured during the fight.

In Pokémon Emergency!, Ash managed to get to the Viridian City Pokémon Center just in time with the help of Officer Jenny, who scolded Ash for "mistreating" Pikachu. Nurse Joy agreed to heal Pikachu, and thanks to her, Pikachu managed to regain his health. At the end of the episode, Pikachu had regained enough of his strength to send blasting off for the very first time.

Pikachu participated in Ash's first Gym battle with in Showdown in Pewter City. He faced, but his attacks were ineffective. Onix then started ing Pikachu. Seeing no other option, Ash forfeited. Ash and Pikachu later trained with in order to increase the strength of Pikachu's Electric-type moves. Ash later challenged Brock to a rematch, where Pikachu managed to defeat Brock's Geodude thanks to his training. Pikachu then faced Onix again, who was able to Bind Pikachu once again, but this time Pikachu's Electric-type attacks dealt quite some damage. However, despite their training, Pikachu was still unable to defeat Onix, who was tightening its grip on Pikachu. As Ash was about to forfeit again, Pikachu's managed to turn on the Gym's sprinkler system, severely harming Onix. As Ash was about let Pikachu finish Onix off, he was stopped by Brock's siblings and he decided to forfeit again. Despite Ash forfeiting the match, Brock still gave him the.

Pikachu's next major battle was in Ash's Vermilion Gym battle against Lt. Surge's Raichu in Electric Shock Showdown. Lt. Surge laughed at Ash for attempting to defeat his Raichu with its pre-evolved form, angering Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu started off using which seemed to do nothing to Raichu. Raichu then used its own Thunder Shock, which was much more powerful than Pikachu's attack, and dealt much more damage. Following advice from Brock, Ash tried recalling Pikachu in order to forfeit. However, Pikachu was determined to defeat Raichu, and therefore, kept fighting. While trying to attack, Pikachu got overwhelmed by Raichu's and  and was finally defeated by a powerful Thunderbolt. Due to all the damage he had taken during the battle, Pikachu had to be hospitalized. Later in the episode, Ash offered to let Pikachu evolve into a Raichu with a Thunder Stone that Nurse Joy had given him. However, Pikachu refused, wanting to defeat Raichu on his own terms.

Later, Ash challenged Lt. Surge to a rematch, where Pikachu once again faced Raichu. Trying to get close, Pikachu got hammered to the ground by Raichu's tail, followed up by repeating hits from its tail. Raichu then hit him hard with. As Raichu was about to finish him off with another Body Slam, Pikachu managed to get up and dodge it. Ash soon found out from Brock that since Raichu was evolved so early, it did not learn any of the moves that it could only learn as a Pikachu, such as and. Through his use of these moves, Pikachu managed to gain the upper hand and dodge Raichu's attacks. Raichu responded with an extremely powerful Thunderbolt attack that Lt. Surge was sure could defeat Pikachu. Pikachu, however, used his tail as an anchor to absorb the shock. Raichu tried using Thunderbolt again but due to its previous attack it had run out of electricity. It then tried to hit Pikachu with a, but was outsped by Pikachu's Quick Attack. Pikachu then used his tail to slam Raichu and defeat it, earning Ash the.

In Abra and the Psychic Showdown, Pikachu was sent out to battle against Sabrina's Abra during Ash's Saffron Gym battle. It proved to be a tough foe, using to avoid Pikachu's Thunder Shock. Abra then suddenly evolved into Kadabra, making it much stronger. Pikachu tried filling the battlefield with lightning to prevent Kadabra from using Teleport, but Kadabra countered with to send the attack back to Pikachu. Kadabra then used to control Pikachu's body and started to repeatedly smash him into the ceiling and back down. Unwilling to see his friend suffer even more, Ash forfeited the match. In Ash's rematch with Sabrina in Haunter versus Kadabra, Pikachu selflessly fought Kadabra, since didn't show up and his other Pokémon were too terrified. Pikachu used Thunder Shock, which Kadabra avoided using Teleport. After taking a hit from Kadabra's, Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt which dealt major damage to Kadabra. Kadabra, however, quickly used, negating the damage it had taken. At that moment, Haunter appeared, and made Sabrina and Kadabra laugh. As both Sabrina and Kadabra were unable to continue the battle, Ash was declared the winner by Sabrina's father which earned him the.

In The Flame Pokémon-athon!, Pikachu entered the Big P Pokémon Race with. The two were at a significant disadvantage due to Squirtle's short legs, and Pikachu's comparative weight, but in a way, this helped as they managed to escape an self-destructing. They made ground when they reached the water stage, putting them in the top four with Ash, and Dario. However, intervention from Team Rocket forced a battle, and the two were put out of the running by a attack from.

In Pikachu's Goodbye, Ash and ran into a group of  Pikachu, which was a very rare encounter. Pikachu tried to make friends with the other Pikachu but received a lukewarm response. After saving a baby Pikachu from falling down a waterfall, Ash's Pikachu was accepted by the group. Ash was overjoyed by this at first, but soon began to feel sad, because he thought that Pikachu would be better off with the rest of his kind. After stopping Team Rocket from poaching his Pikachu and the wild Pikachu, Ash decided it was best to leave Pikachu behind with the others. However, Pikachu refused to leave Ash, and quickly ran to catch up with him, followed by the wild Pikachu, who supported Ash and Pikachu being together.

In Princess vs. Princess, Pikachu was borrowed by Misty, so she could use him in the, where he was seen defeating a. In the finals, Pikachu was Misty's first Pokémon used against Jessie. Pikachu easily managed to defeat Arbok, and  in succession with a single Thunder Shock. Pikachu then faced Jessie's Lickitung. He tried attacking with Thunderbolt, but was then licked by Lickitung and knocking him out.

In Riddle Me This, Pikachu was Ash's last Pokémon used in his seventh Gym battle at the Cinnabar Gym, where he faced off against Blaine's. Pikachu used his quickness to dodge Rhydon's and then used Thunderbolt, which was ineffective. Despite being immune to Electric moves, Rhydon was defeated when Pikachu aimed his Thunderbolt attack at the horn on Rhydon's head. Pikachu then faced Blaine's Magmar. Pikachu tried dodging Magmar's the same way he had dodged Rhydon's Fury Attack, but got hit. Pikachu then tried hitting Magmar with an Electric-type attack, but it proved to be ineffective due to Magmar's Air Lens ability, which heated the air surrounding Magmar, making Electric-type attacks ineffective. Magmar then attacked with a series of Fire Punches, driving Pikachu to the edge of the battlefield. Magmar then unleashed its, which managed to push Pikachu further back, and almost caused him to fall off the battlefield in the lava. Seeing that, Ash then decided to forfeit the match.

In The Battle of the Badge, Ash had Pikachu attack Team Rocket and their Pokémon after they sent out Arbok and Weezing to attack during their Gym battle. Using Thunderbolt, Pikachu hit all the opposing Pokémon at once, causing, Rhydon and to run away in fear, and defeating Arbok and Weezing. After Team Rocket got blasted off, Ash got his eighth Gym Badge, the.

Pikachu made friends with another Pikachu, named Puka in The Pi-Kahuna This particular Pikachu had blue eyes, and was an excellent surfer. Ash and his friends had to save both Pikachu when Team Rocket tried to steal them both using their submarine.

Ash used Pikachu many times during the Indigo Plateau Conference. In Fire and Ice, Pikachu fought against Pete Pebbleman's powerful. Pikachu started off using Agility to confuse Arcanine, but this strategy was countered by Arcanine, who melted the ice field using its Fire Blast, causing to whole battlefield to become one big pool of water. Pikachu, however, used this to his advantage by using the water to conduct his electricity and managed to defeat Arcanine with a powerful Thunderbolt.

In The Fourth Round Rumble, he fought against Jeanette Fisher's, who already had defeated Ash's Bulbasaur. Pikachu tried using Thunder Shock, but Bellsprout dodged and used. Managing to avoid Razor Leaf, Pikachu used Thunderbolt, but it was ineffective since Bellsprout used its roots to conduct the electricity to the ground. Pikachu then engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Bellsprout, but despite trying his best, he was easily defeated by the skilled Pokémon's.

Pikachu later faced off against Happy, Ritchie's, in Friend and Foe Alike. Despite being exhausted from battling Team Rocket earlier, he still wanted to participate in the battle. Pikachu started off with, knocking Happy to the ground. As Happy tried flying up, he held on to it, and defeated the Butterfly Pokémon with a Thunderbolt. He then faced off against Zippo, Ritchie's, but due to being exhausted by all his battles, Pikachu was quickly overwhelmed by Zippo's and was knocked out by its.

In Pallet Party Panic, Ash decided to take Pikachu, along with some of his other Pokémon, to the Orange Archipelago with him.