Summary
Pikachu accidentally absorbed the Blue Orb, gaining immense power and brilliant streaks of light similar to Primal Kyogre and Groudon. Pikachu uses the power of the Blue Orb to help Groudon escape and defeat Kyogre, demonstrating his strength and species advantage. The power increase is only temporary but makes Pikachu the strongest ever, showing off his hidden potential and surprising everyone in the anime.
Pikachu’s greatest strength in Pokémon anime happens completely accidentally during the Team Aqua and Magma arc, when Pikachu holds the power of the legendary Pokémon. By absorbing the Blue Orb, Pikachu gained an immense amount of power, along with glowing lines on his body similar to those on Primal Kyogre and Groudon.
During the Team Aqua and Magma story arc, Team Aqua’s leader, Archie, takes control of the Red Orb, hoping to use it to control Kyogre and accomplish his goal of raising sea levels worldwide. . However, Team Aqua currently possesses Groudon, while Team Magma has the Kyogre they need, along with the Blue Orb.
In the episode “Gaining Groudon”, Ash, Pikachu and friends are taken to Team Magma’s base, and in an attempt to keep the Orb safe while Kyogre escapes, Pikachu grabs it… and accidentally absorbs it into his body, causing the Electric Mouse Pokémon to lose control with overwhelming power.
Pikachu uses the power of legendary Pokémon to end the conflict
Pikachu, even when overwhelmed by the Legendary Pokémon’s power, still manages to climb to the top of the Groudon containment system, calling forth a massive bolt of lightning that awakens it and allows it to escape. Pikachu rides on Groudon and the two work together to defeat Kyogre, using Pikachu’s advantage to help protect Groudon from Kyogre’s Water-type moves. When Kyogre takes damage, Archie loses the Red Orb (which merged with him the same way the Blue Orb did with Pikachu) and with it, control of Kyogre. Similarly, Pikachu releases the Blue Orb and collapses from exhaustion, falling into the water below, where Ash saves him.
While the Blue Orb is used to control Kyogre and the Red Orb is for Groudon, the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games show the opposite. In fact, the Blue Orb is the item needed for Kyogre to transform into its Primal form, a Mega Evolution-like transformation that restores the immense power these legendary Pokémon once had in the distant past. That suggests that Pikachu is truly channeling ancient power stored in orbs, it is simply too large for a normal Pokémon to control for long periods of time. Truly, it’s impressive that Pikachu has survived this long, engaging in a battle between Legends the likes of which the world has never seen.
Of course, this power-up is temporary, lasting only two episodes, but it’s indisputable that this is the strongest Pikachu has ever been, at any point in the anime. By using the power of the orb, Pikachu effectively became a Legendary Pokémon in a short period of time, which was proven by going head-to-head with Kyogre. However, this experience is definitely something Pikachu won’t want to repeat as it left him completely exhausted. While Ash’s Pikachu is certainly a strong one, the Blue Orb incident proved that Pikachu is stronger than anyone in the world. Pokémon anime might have expected.
Pokemon
Summary: Spanning over 25 years, Pokemon, also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is a multimedia franchise co-created by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in conjunction with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in a fictional world where humans live alongside tameable creatures called Pokemon. People who catch, raise, and battle these creatures are called Pokemon Trainers. They embark on cross-continental journeys to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become champions. Pokemon spans a massive range of properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful card game to the medium that started it all, the video game. Additionally, Pokemon started the “two games” trend, where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between versions, encouraging players to meet others and trade so they can “catch them all.”
Created by: Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
First movie: Pokemon: The First Movie
Latest movie: Movie Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle
First TV show: Pokemon
Date of first episode airing: 1997-04-01
Current line: Pokemon
TV program): Pokemon
Video games): Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon GO