10 Ways Pokémon Would Change If Ash Let Pikachu Evolve

Ash has built an undeniable connection with his Pokémon, Pikachu, over the years. But if it were to evolve, a lot could change as a result.

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Anime has been able to grow in exponential ways over the past decade, but Pokémon is a property that’s never struggled to find an audience. Pokémon has been able to tackle video games, manga, anime, movies, and a wealth of other markets—all while the series adapts with time and modernizes itself.

The Pokémon universe has survived many changes, but one area that’s remained a constant is Ash’s Pokémon companion, Pikachu. Plenty of Ash’s Pokémon have evolved—and even Pikachu has had some close calls—but it’s never happened. Ash has built an undeniable connection with his Pikachu over the years, but if it were to evolve into a Raichu, a lot could change as a result.

10 He Wouldn’t Spend Time With Ash Outside Of His Poké Ball

The Pokémon universe contains some very powerful items that can both enable and control the many creatures in the world, but the Poké Balls themselves should not be underestimated. It’s standard practice for Pokémon to remain in their trainer’s Poké Ball, but Ash regularly lets his Pikachu hang outside with him.

Raichu is considerably bigger than Pikachu, so it might not be practical to have such a big Pokémon following Ash. Part of the reason that it works with Pikachu is that he’s so nimble and can even ride Ash’s shoulder.

9 Team Rocket Might No Longer Be After Them

Many of the conflicts that Ash faces in Pokémon involve his Gym battles and the larger competitions that he gets involved in over his overall reputation as a Pokémon Master. Ash’s growing ability as a trainer is a frequent hurdle for him, but a more prevalent frustration is that Team Rocket frequently targets Ash specifically because of his Pikachu.

Team Rocket’s obsession with Pikachu grew out of misinformation, but they’ve remained vigilant in their hunt. It’s unclear if they’d care as much about a Raichu. Pikachu’s evolution could become the impetus that puts Team Rocket on a different path.

8 Ash’s Other Pokémon Might Grow More Uncomfortable

The Pokémon anime is full of changes—whether it’s the regions that Ash explores or the partners by his side during his adventure. Pikachu has been the constant through it all, which is a nice grounding element for not just Ash and the audience, but also his fellow Pokémon.

All of Ash’s Pokémon have built strong relationships with Pikachu. If he evolves and becomes a Raichu then all of that could change, whether it’s because the dynamic with Raichu is different or because the other Pokémon are worried that they might be next to change, too.

7 Ash Would Need To Resort To An Arsenal Of Different Attacks

Ash is so used to Pikachu being a part of his party that he practically doesn’t even need to think anymore when it comes to what attacks he turns to in battle. There’s a shared moveset to some degree between Pikachu and Raichu, but it’s not identical.

Furthermore, the longer Ash is exposed to Raichu the more his previous moves fade in favor of new ones. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can still be enough to throw off Ash’s groove. The absence of even one ability that he’s relied on in the past could ruin his strategy.

6 Ash Would Lose Access To A Gigantamax Pokémon

Evolutions have been present from the very start of Pokémon, but more recent generations have tried to extend the concept in new ways, whether it’s new pre-evolved forms, Mega Evolutions, or the radical new Gigantamax forms.

Ash’s Pikachu hasn’t evolved, but he has turned to his Gigantamax form on a few occasions to overcome dangerous opponents. Raichu does not have a Gigantamax form so Pikachu’s evolution would come at the price of losing this vital skill that’s previously brought Ash to victory. It’s an important factor and the seemingly improved strength of Raichu might not be worth a Gigantamax transformation.

5 Ash Would Maybe Have A New Rotating Companion Pokémon

One of the endearing trademarks of the Pokémon anime is that Ash’s Pikachu follows him around rather than remain in his Poké Ball. If it’s to be presumed that Raichu would stay in his Poké Ball due to size, then it’s entirely possible that a new Pokémon would get to be Ash’s outside partner.

The Pokémon Sun and Moon anime shows this with Ash’s Rowlet—but the anime could go even further and feature a rotating roster of companion Pokémon for Ash before he figures out which one works best.

4 Ash Might Not Want To Evolve Other Pokémon In The Future

The Pokémon video games treat evolution like a satisfying reward, but there’s a lot more emotion behind the process in the anime series. The anime looks at evolution as not just a transformation into a potentially stronger Pokémon, but also the loss of the previous one.

If Ash ends up regretting the evolution of his Pikachu, he could become filled with guilt. The sour experience from evolving Raichu might give Ash serious pause on evolving his other Pokémon and make him miss out on important opportunities as a result.

3 He Could Acquire A New Pikachu

Ash’s favorite Pokémon is Pikachu and a large part of that has to do with his specific relationship with the Pokémon, but it’s also likely that Ash has developed a natural affinity for any Pikachu.

It’s possible that if Ash’s first Pikachu evolves into a Raichu then he may seek out a new one to fill the void so he can still have a Pikachu representative on his team. There could be some very rich material that comes out of Ash’s bond with a new Pikachu, as well as how the evolved Raichu would respond to it.

2 He Might Struggle More With Legendary Pokémon

Some of the rarest and most important Pokémon are the Legendary and Mythical creatures that are present in each region. These are typically extremely powerful beasts that a conventional Pikachu would seriously struggle against.

However, Ash’s Pikachu has actually defeated four Legendary Pokémon, Regice, Latios, Silvally, and Tapu Koko. It’s possible that these Legendary Pokémon let down their guards to some degree because they were up against a Pikachu, whereas they’d perhaps go harder on a Raichu and not make it so easy for Ash to defeat these powerful creatures.

1 Pikachu Could Potentially Become A Psychic-Type Pokémon

One of the more interesting concepts to get introduced to Pokémon over the past few generations is that old Pokémon can have new designs due to unique forms specific to different regions of the Pokémon world.

There’s an Alolan Raichu that’s both an Electric- and Psychic-Type Pokémon and the only difference in evolution is that it just needs to happen in Alola. This could easily inadvertently happen to Ash and he’d end up with not only new attacks and Z-Moves but also lose previously valuable ones from Pikachu, like his signature 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt.

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