LagomorphShipping

2006fandom shipping namesemi-active

Published September 5, 2026

LagomorphShipping is the fan-coined name for the romantic pairing of Pokémon characters Pikachu and Buneary, first used on Bulbagarden forums in November 2006. The term draws from Lagomorpha, the taxonomic order that groups rabbits, hares, and pikas together, tying the two species under one label. It grew into a long-running Pokémon fan pairing with a steady trickle of DeviantArt art, forum threads, and YouTube fan edits.

Overview

The ship became popular because the anime canon actively fed it. In the Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl series, Buneary is portrayed as openly smitten with Pikachu, nuzzling up to him and getting flustered whenever he shows off1. Fans latched onto those scenes and treated the pairing as one-sided crush comedy rather than a mutual romance, which shaped the tone of the fan art3.

Most LagomorphShipping content leans wholesome. DeviantArt galleries are filled with cutesy digital illustrations, cuddle poses, and short comics playing on Buneary's blush-and-run reactions45. Forum discussions on Bulbagarden and Serebii dwell on episode-by-episode moments, cataloguing every hint of chemistry between the two27. Video edits, meanwhile, tend to be silent supercuts scored with pop love songs6.

Origin & Background

Platform
Bulbagarden forums / DeviantArt (viral spread)
Creator
Habunake
Date
2006

The label LagomorphShipping was coined on Bulbagarden forums on November 2nd, 2006 by user Habunake, in a thread about the manga adaptation of the Pokémon episode 'Setting the World on Its Buneary'2. Three days later, Serebii Forum user alecsdell100 picked up the same term in a parallel discussion7. Both posts predated the actual episode airing, since fans had already seen Buneary in previews. The name draws from Lagomorpha, the taxonomic order containing hares, rabbits, and pikas, which lets a Pikachu-Buneary pairing sit neatly under one umbrella3.

The episode 'Setting The World On Its Buneary' aired in Japan on November 16th, 2006 and introduced Buneary falling for Pikachu after watching him do slow-motion flips to catch a flying potato1. The dub reached the United States on July 18th, 20073.

How It Spread

On July 22nd, 2007, four days after the English dub aired, DeviantArt user Stump8 uploaded 'Fluffy love,' the earliest known Pikachu and Buneary fan piece on the site, which drew over 170 views by its ten-year mark4. On June 28th, 2008, another DeviantArt user, cicuskamarichu, posted 'Pika pika,' a short comic that pulled in more than 24,000 views over the next nine years5.

Discussion kept moving between Bulbagarden and Serebii threads, where fans documented every Buneary blush moment in the show27. On December 27th, 2016, YouTuber Sophirisu uploaded a supercut of Pikachu and Buneary anime clips set to music, which gathered over 6,000 views in under a year6. The pairing kept a small but steady presence across Pokémon fan sites through the late 2010s.

How to Use This Meme

Fans typically use the LagomorphShipping tag on DeviantArt uploads, fanfic archives, and forum threads that treat Pikachu and Buneary as a crush pairing. Common conventions include cutesy pastel art, one-sided flirt gags where Pikachu is oblivious, and anime-clip supercuts of Buneary's blush moments set to pop love songs6.

Frequently Asked Questions