Cosplay Pikachu
Cosplay Pikachu (Japanese: おきがえ・ピカチュウ Clothes-changing Pikachu) is a variant female Pikachu who is able to be dressed up into five different costumes corresponding to each of the five Contest conditions (Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Cleverness, and Toughness), and learn exclusive moves which are linked to these costumes.
Without a costume, Cosplay Pikachu has the appearance of a female Pikachu with a black heart on the tip of her tail (fitting the heart-shaped notch all female Pikachu have on their tail).
| Cool | Beautiful | Cute | Clever | Tough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pikachu Rock Star Electric Meteor Mash |
Pikachu Belle Electric Icicle Crash |
Pikachu Pop Star Electric Draining Kiss |
Pikachu, Ph. D Electric Electric Terrain |
Pikachu Libre Electric Flying Press |
In the games
In the core series
In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, after the first time the player takes part in a Pokémon Contest Spectacular, an NPC will give the player Cosplay Pikachu because according to her, she matches their costume; the Cosplay Pikachu she gives the player will be in the Pikachu Rock Star costume for male players or the Pikachu Pop Star costume for female players. When obtained, Cosplay Pikachu will have her Hidden Ability and her Contest condition in each category will be equally elevated. Cosplay Pikachu cannot be Shiny.
Cosplay Pikachu can switch between costumes at any time by going to any Contest Hall in the Hoenn region and talking to the Pokémon Breeder in the green room. This Pokémon Breeder can also remove the costume.
Upon removing a costume, Cosplay Pikachu will forget the special move associated with the previous costume. Upon putting on a new costume, Cosplay Pikachu will learn the special move associated with the new costume. When changing costume, if Cosplay Pikachu knows four moves but not the special move of her previous costume, the player will be prompted to replace a move with the new exclusive move (otherwise Cosplay Pikachu cannot put on the new costume). If Cosplay Pikachu's only known move is the special move and the costume is removed, then she will learn Thunder Shock. Cosplay Pikachu can remain in a costume even if she forgets the associated special move.
Unlike other Pikachu, Cosplay Pikachu is in the Undiscovered Egg Group, meaning she cannot breed. She also cannot evolve into Raichu and is unaffected by the Eviolite. Like any Pikachu, though, Cosplay Pikachu is affected by the Light Ball.
Cosplay Pikachu cannot be deposited in Pokémon Bank, nor can she be traded via Wonder Trade or Global Trade System.
Gift Pokémon
Contest properties
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Male player character
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Female player character
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Battle properties
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Male player character
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Female player character
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In spin-off games
Pokkén Tournament
Pikachu Libre was first announced alongside the Wii U port of the game (standard Pikachu is also a character). Pikachu Libre was later released as an additional fighter on the original arcade version, and is included in the Nintendo Switch port Pokkén Tournament DX.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Pikachu Libre will act as an alternate skin for Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In the anime
Five Pikachu wearing the Cosplay Pikachu outfits appeared in Lights! Camera! Pika!, under the ownership of Frank. Out of these, Pikachu Rock Star and Pikachu Libre were shown to be regular male Pikachu, while the others were female Pikachu with a black heart marking on their tails like in the games.
Frank was filming a Pikachu movie, with Pikachu Libre acting as the villain and the others as residents of Pikachu Land. Seeing Ash's Pikachu, he decided to give it the role of the movie's hero, "Super Pikachu". With Ash and his friends helping out, the movie was successfully filmed and completed.
One of each Cosplay Pikachu variant appeared in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, amongst the multiple Pikachu summoned by Hoopa as part of a prank against Ash and Pikachu. After initially panicking due to their new surroundings, the entire Pikachu horde, including the Cosplay Pikachu, was calmed down by Ash's Pikachu and sent back to their original homes in an orderly fashion with the help of Hoopa's portals.
Multiple Cosplay Pikachu also appeared in the extra scenes of the Poké TV program for XY101, called Performer News, in which they were seen performing in Pokémon Showcases.
Pikachu Rock Star
Pikachu Belle
Pikachu Pop Star
Pikachu, Ph. D
Pikachu Libre
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In Omega Alpha Adventure 3, Cosplay Pikachu were introduced to Chaz by Lisia. Lisia revealed that Ruby created the concept of Pokémon wearing costumes for Contests, and even made matching costumes for their Trainers to wear. There are several Cosplay Pikachu, including many male Cosplay Pikachu with only one female Cosplay Pikachu.
In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Cosplay Pikachu in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
| Cosplay Pikachu Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Cosplay Pikachu | 
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XY-P Promotional cards | 099/XY-P | ||||
| Pikachu Libre |
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XY Trainer Kit: Pikachu Libre & Suicune | 14/30 | XY-P Promotional cards | 247/XY-P | ||
| XY Trainer Kit: Pikachu Libre & Suicune | 30/30 | ||||||
Trivia
- Cosplay Pikachu shares several similarities with HeartGold and SoulSilver's Spiky-eared Pichu. Both are female-only variants of the Pikachu evolution line who were introduced in remakes. They are both incapable of evolving, breeding, being traded, or being transferred to later games. They also both cannot be obtained Shiny, though Shiny models exist in the game code for them.
- Despite no longer being present in the game data of the Generation VII games, a poster featuring Pikachu Pop Star is on the wall in Mimikyu's room in the Thrifty Megamart (Abandoned Site).
In other languages
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Cosplay Pikachu
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Pikachu Rock Star
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Pikachu Belle
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Pikachu Pop Star
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Pikachu, Ph. D
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Pikachu Libre
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See also
- For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Pikachu.
- Pokémon cosplay
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species. |
