Pokémon: Pikachu’s 10 Biggest Failures, Ranked

Just like its trainer, Pikachu has experienced many failures throughout its Pokémon journey with Ash Ketchum.

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Over the course of their journey together in the Pokémon anime, Pikachu may be Ash’s best pal and one of his most powerful Pokémon, but that doesn’t make it perfect. Fans may have grown accustomed to Pikachu consistently winning battles or blasting Team Rocket off again, but the Electric-type Pokémon has also suffered multiple failures over the course of its journey.

With as many wins Pikachu has obtained over the various regions it has traveled to with Ash, it has also faced multiple defeats and failures. However, despite encountering those failures over time, it is because Pikachu faced defeat that it has grown to become the Pokémon fans know today.

10 Pikachu Misjudges Ash When They First Meet

When a trainer chooses their starter Pokémon, the two naturally become fast friends and partners. Both trainer and Pokémon are eager to begin their journey together, as can be seen when Dawn meets Piplup or Serena meets Fennekin. However, when Ash first meets Pikachu, the two get off to a bad start. Right from the start, Pikachu displays its dislike of Ash through electric attacks. Pikachu’s shocking attitude makes it difficult for the two to start their journey together. Thankfully, Pikachu’s dislike of Ash doesn’t last too long in the anime. However, if Pikachu had given Ash a chance right when they first met, one might wonder how their journey might have changed.

9 Pikachu Refuses To Battle & Makes Ash Fight A Wild Pokémon On His Own

Pikachu wasn’t always ready to jump in and help Ash when the two managed to get themselves into trouble. At the start of their journey, Pikachu even refused to battle when it was Ash’s only Pokémon. Ash and Pikachu came across a wild Pidgey as they set off, a Pokémon that was a great Pokémon to capture for starting trainers. Ash, eager to take the next step as a Pokémon trainer, was ready to battle and capture the Pidgey.

Pikachu, however, blatantly refused to battle the Pidgey and instead watched as Ash attempted to capture the wild Pokémon himself. Unfortunately, Ash angered a wild Spearow instead, and the Pokémon attacked Ash and Pikachu in retaliation with its friends. If Pikachu agreed to battle from the start, the two wouldn’t have encountered the wild Spearows at all.

8 Pikachu Loses To Brock’s Onix

Over the course of the anime, fans have become accustomed to Pikachu overcoming the odds and coming out on top. However, even Pikachu had to face defeat in order to get stronger. At Ash’s first gym battle, he and Pikachu come face to face with Brock and his Onix. Both Ash and Pikachu are still inexperienced, having just begun their journey together. So it might not be a surprise that the two of them are no match for Brock and his Onix. Pikachu is already at a type disadvantage and quickly falls victim to Onix’s overwhelming strength. It’s a disappointing battle for the duo, but also an important one for their growth as partners.

7 Pikachu Is Captured By Team Rocket

Fans are accustomed to Team Rocket trying to trick the “twerps,” capture Pikachu, and fail in every episode. Most often than not, Pikachu manages to outsmart Jessie, James, and Meowth, and send the three of them flying with a Thunderbolt. However, every once in a while, Team Rocket manages to outsmart Pikachu and its electric attacks. It is in these instances that Pikachu becomes helpless in the hands of Team Rocket, unable to escape using its electricity and must rely on its friends to battle Team Rocket and save it.

6 Pikachu Loses To Lt. Surge’s Raichu

As Ash battles Lt. Surge for a Vermillion Gym Badge, Pikachu comes face to face with its evolved form, Raichu. At the start of the battle, Lt. Serge mocks Ash and his Pikachu, stating that the only strong Pokémon are the ones that are fully evolved.

Pikachu, riled up by Lt. Surge’s mocking, is ready to prove itself against Raichu. However, despite their fighting spirit, Ash and Pikachu lose. The two of them are unable to overcome the difference in power between Pikachu and Raichu’s evolved strength and attacks. This forces Ash and Pikachu to come to terms with the difference in power.

5 Pikachu Can’t Defeat A Tree

Ash’s Pikachu is known for its unconventional strength, but it has taken time and training in order to learn its iconic attacks. In order to challenge the Rock-type Rustboro Gym, Pikachu must learn the move Iron Tail. However, learning this Steel-type move is not easy, and Pikachu must train hard to strengthen its tail. Eventually, Pikachu does master Iron Tail, but it struggles a lot in the training process. Pikachu practices on a tree, but instead of beating this stationary foe with this new move, Pikachu is the one who suffers defeat.

4 Pikachu Falls Under Butch & Cassidy’s Control

Not all members of Team Rocket are as silly and easy to send blasting off with a Thunderbolt as Jessie, James, and Meowth. When fans are introduced to Butch and Cassidy, they learn that these two Team Rocket members might actually have what it takes to capture Pikachu and take over the world. When Ash, Misty, and Tracey arrive at Mandarin Island, they are suddenly faced with an angry Pikachu and Togepi. The Pokémon suddenly become hostile and attack the trainers before running off. It is revealed that Togepi and Pikachu have fallen under Butch and Cassidy’s complete control. Pikachu and Togepi are saved when Ash tricks Pikachu into attacking Team Rocket’s Drowsy, freeing all the hypnotized Pokémon.

3 Pikachu Trusts Meowth After Losing Its Memory

While traveling through a forest, Ash and friends have a run-in with Team Rocket. In their attempt to kidnap Pikachu, their machine explodes, sending everyone blasting off. The blast separates Ash and Pikachu, and Pikachu loses its memory in the process. Meowth encounters the newly amnesiac Pikachu and decides to trick Pikachu into thinking it’s a member of Team Rocket. Pikachu believes and trusts Meowth, treating the Pokémon like one of its best friends. On the other hand, when Pikachu finally comes face to face with Ash and the rest of its friends, the Pokémon is hostile. Thankfully, Pikachu’s memory does return later on.

2 Pikachu Loses To Trip’s Snivy

Before arriving at the Unova region, Ash and Pikachu have both grown stronger. To kick off their Unova adventure, Ash and Pikachu meet Trip, a new trainer, and challenge him to a battle.

Trip puts up a strong fight with Snivy, taking advantage of Pikachu’s current inability to use Electric-type moves. Pikachu ultimately loses to Snivy, a bitter loss for a Pokémon as strong as Pikachu. With all of Pikachu’s battling experience, it’s shocking that the electric mouse Pokémon is defeated by a newbie trainer.

1 Pikachu Loses To Gary’s Eevee

Fans who have been a part of Ash’s journey from the start should be aware of his long-standing rivalry with Gary Oak. As Ash and his friends travel back to Pallet Town, they run into Gary, and to no one’s surprise, the two decide to battle one another. The rivals decide to have a one on one battle. Gary uses his Eevee, while Ash uses his Pikachu. Despite Pikachu’s best efforts, its attacks seem to have little to no effect on Eevee. Inevitably, Pikachu and Ash lose to their long-standing rival once again.

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