# Surprised Pikachu

> Surprised Pikachu is a 2018 reaction meme from the Pokémon anime, popularized by Tumblr user popokko to illustrate shock at predictable outcomes, featuring the character with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Surprised Pikachu is a reaction image pulled from a 1997 episode of the Pokémon anime, showing Pikachu with wide eyes and an open mouth in a look of shock. First used as a meme on Tumblr in September 2018 by user popokko (Angela), it became the most-used meme of that year by pairing the image with scenarios where someone is "surprised" by a completely predictable outcome. A WIRED investigation into its viral trajectory raised questions about whether its November 2018 popularity spike was connected to the Detective Pikachu film marketing, though no definitive link was established.

## Origin
The source image comes from Season 1, Episode 10 of the Pokémon anime, titled "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village," which first aired in Japan on June 3, 1997[5]. In the scene, Ash's Butterfree attempts to fight a wild Bulbasaur, which deflects the attack and knocks it out. The camera cuts to the group's reactions, and Pikachu is visible in the lower-right corner with its mouth agape[1].

Angela, a Tumblr user known as popokko, captured the screenshot in 2017 while rewatching the original anime series[5]. She had been collecting screenshots of scenes where Pikachu looked "a bit... off" compared to its usual appearance, originally planning a compilation post[6]. She kept only the surprised expression screenshot and sat on it for over a year[8].

On September 26, 2018, Angela posted the image to Tumblr paired with a self-deprecating joke about intentionally bending something she knew would break, then acting surprised when it snapped[5]. The post gained over 223,000 notes on Tumblr[4]. In a later interview, Angela said her approach was entirely spontaneous. She needed a reaction image for an unrelated joke, searched her files, and decided the surprised Pikachu face fit perfectly[6].

- **Platform:** Pokémon anime
- **Creator:** Angela / popokko (original meme post), OLM Inc. (animation studio)
- **Date:** 2018-10-25

## Overview
The meme is a low-resolution screenshot of Pikachu looking directly at the camera with its mouth in an "O" shape and eyes wide open. The image is slightly off-model compared to Pikachu's standard design, partly because the character was in the corner of the frame and not the animators' primary focus[6]. That slightly rough, non-corporate quality is part of what makes the image work as a meme. It looks organic, almost bootleg, which gives it an authentic internet feel[9].

The format follows a simple three-part structure: state a decision, show its obvious consequence, then drop the Surprised Pikachu face as if the outcome were genuinely shocking[3]. It's sarcastic shorthand for "what did you expect?" and works for everything from personal bad decisions to political disasters. You don't need to know anything about Pokémon to read the expression. The face is pure, uncomplicated shock[9].

## How It Spread
The meme jumped from Tumblr to Reddit within days. On September 30, 2018, it appeared on r/MemeEconomy, earning 880 points[4]. By October 2nd, Facebook's Meme Extreme page picked it up, pulling over 3,900 likes and 4,000 shares[6]. The format grew especially popular on r/me_irl, where a post on October 14th hit 3,900 points and a deliberately blurred version (making a joke about screen-induced eye damage) reached 6,200 points on October 24th[4].

By mid-October, the template was spreading across multiple subreddits. A Game of Thrones-themed post on r/freefolk broke 20,000 points[4]. A tweet using the format scored over 42,000 points when crossposted to r/me_irl[4]. According to SlangLang, Surprised Pikachu became the most-used meme of 2018 despite only debuting in late September[2].

The meme's popularity spiked sharply in early November 2018. A data analysis by WIRED's meme-tracking project found that Surprised Pikachu had more views in a single seven-day stretch than any other meme managed throughout the entire year[8]. That peak landed around November 10, just two days before the first Detective Pikachu trailer dropped on November 12[8].

## How to Use
The standard Surprised Pikachu format follows a three-part structure:
1. **Set up a decision or behavior** that has an obvious consequence. ("Me: doesn't study for the exam")
2. **State the predictable outcome.** ("Me: fails the exam")
3. **Drop the Surprised Pikachu image** as the reaction, implying shock at something entirely foreseeable.

## Cultural Impact
WIRED's year-long meme tracking study ranked Surprised Pikachu as the fourth most popular meme template of 2018, and it held the record for the highest seven-day view count of any meme that year[8]. The study's investigation into whether the meme was an astroturfing campaign for Detective Pikachu brought serious data journalism to meme culture, treating internet images with the same analytical rigor as TV ratings[8].

The Detective Pikachu connection, while likely coincidental, highlighted how memes and corporate marketing can intersect in unexpected ways. The film's trailer, which dropped November 12, 2018, featured a shot of Pikachu with a similar shocked expression, and the meme's pre-existing popularity almost certainly boosted awareness of the trailer[2]. Some viewers came to the trailer already primed by weeks of Surprised Pikachu posts flooding their feeds[6].

The March 2019 Twitter suspension incident demonstrated the meme's sheer volume of circulation. The likely explanation, that the image had been mass-reported enough to trigger automated content flags, suggests millions of individual posts containing the image[4].

Merchandise featuring the Surprised Pikachu expression appeared on platforms like Etsy, including t-shirts, mugs, stickers, and 3D printing files[6].

## Fun Facts
- Angela captured the screenshot in 2017 but let it sit on her hard drive for over a year before using it in a meme post[8].
- Pikachu's expression in the screenshot is slightly off-model because the character was at the edge of the frame, not the animators' main focus for that shot[6].
- Of the 10 fastest-growing memes in 2018, Surprised Pikachu was the only one that took more than two weeks to reach peak popularity, taking 26 days compared to the typical one to two weeks[8].
- The meme's peak on November 10, 2018 came two days before the first Detective Pikachu trailer, making it impossible for the trailer to have caused the spike[8].
- Twitter's content moderation system briefly auto-suspended accounts for posting the image in March 2019, flagging it as "gratuitous imagery"[4].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Surprised Pikachu?
Surprised Pikachu is a reaction image from the Pokémon anime showing Pikachu with wide eyes and an open mouth. It's used to express sarcastic shock at predictable outcomes[3].

### Where did Surprised Pikachu come from?
The image is from Season 1, Episode 10 of the Pokémon anime, "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village," which aired in Japan on June 3, 1997. It became a meme on September 26, 2018, when Tumblr user popokko (Angela) posted it as a reaction image[5].

### What does Surprised Pikachu mean?
The meme expresses ironic surprise at something entirely foreseeable. It's used when someone ignores an obvious warning and then acts shocked by the inevitable result[3].

### How do you use Surprised Pikachu?
Set up a scenario with a bad decision and its obvious consequence, then place the Surprised Pikachu image as the punchline. The format implies feigned shock at a self-inflicted outcome[6].

### Is Surprised Pikachu still popular?
The meme peaked in late 2018 and saw heavy use through 2019. It still gets periodic revivals when predictable news events unfold, but its most intense period of circulation was 2018-2019[2].

### Who created the Surprised Pikachu meme?
Angela, known on Tumblr as popokko, created the first Surprised Pikachu meme post on September 26, 2018. She had captured the screenshot in 2017 while rewatching the original anime[5].

### What episode is Surprised Pikachu from?
The image comes from "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village," the tenth episode of the first season of the Pokémon anime. The specific frame appears around the 3:05-3:45 mark during a battle scene[1][6].

### Was Surprised Pikachu a marketing campaign for Detective Pikachu?
A WIRED investigation found suspicious timing between the meme's popularity spike and the Detective Pikachu trailer release, but the meme peaked on November 10, 2018, two days before the trailer dropped on November 12. No evidence of coordination was found[8].

### Why did Twitter suspend accounts for posting Surprised Pikachu?
In March 2019, Twitter's automated systems briefly flagged the image as "gratuitous imagery," leading to account suspensions. The issue was likely caused by mass-reporting and was resolved within two days[4].

### How popular was Surprised Pikachu compared to other 2018 memes?
A WIRED data analysis ranked it as the fourth most popular meme template of 2018, behind Drake Hotline Bling and Expanding Brain. It held the record for the highest seven-day view count of any meme that year[8].

### Why does Pikachu look weird in the meme?
The character is slightly off-model in the screenshot because Pikachu was at the edge of the frame during the scene. The animators focused their attention on the main characters, giving Pikachu a simplified, slightly unusual expression[6].

## References
1. [The Origin Of The Surprised Pikachu Meme](<https://www.thegamer.com/surprised-pikachu-pokemon-meme-origin/>)
2. [The Origins Of The Surprised Pikachu Meme](<https://www.thelist.com/589977/the-origins-of-the-surprised-pikachu-meme/>)
3. [Surprised Pikachu Meme — Origin, Meaning, History | MemesGuy](<https://memesguy.com/meme/surprised-pikachu>)
4. [Surprised Pikachu - Know Your Meme](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/surprised-pikachu>)
5. [Surprised Pikachu | Meme Reference](<https://www.memereference.com/meme-database/surprised-pikachu>)
6. [Surprised Pikachu - Story Behind the Popular Pikachu Meme](<https://pokepolis.com/en/surprised-pikachu-face-meme/>)
7. [Surprised Pikachu Meme Explained and Origin Revealed - Pop Creep](<https://popcreep.com/surprised-pikachu-meme-explained-and-origin-revealed/>)
8. [Was the ‘Surprised Pikachu’ Meme a Stealth Marketing Campaign? | WIRED](<https://www.wired.com/story/was-the-surprised-pikachu-meme-a-stealth-marketing-campaign/>)
9. [Create a Surprised Pikachu Meme | Meme Generator](<https://imgmeme.com/meme/surprised-pikachu>)
10. [The Cultural Impact of Surprised Pikachu](<https://visualfoodie.com/how-surprised-pikachu-influenced-meme-culture/>)
11. [The Origin Of The Surprised Pikachu Meme | MyOtakuWorld](<https://myotakuworld.com/pokemon/the-origin-of-the-surprised-pikachu-meme>)
12. [The Pokémon memes that defined the last 30 years | Mashable](<https://mashable.com/article/pokemon-best-memes>)

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