Sure, there are better Pokemon out there who may deserve more attention, but Pikachu is the franchise mascot, even if it is overatted, nobody is going to care, they're still going to love it just as much.

I don't think he's overrated yeah sure he is the most popular but that don't mean he's overrated. He learned Volt Tackle during one of the seasons when Ash traveled with May and Max and Brock Max was my favorite by the way. He's even in The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. But no I don't think he's overrated.

Thebiguglyalien : well yea ash's pikachu is pretty powerful diferent from all pikachu's but the pokemon overal is overated. bad stats just terrible

He's not really overrated. I can see why people think that he is though. I personally don't think he's overrated, Pikachu's kind of a cute little guy.

kirbmanboggle : No, it's not terrible. Pikachu is a good representation of what an electric type is supposed to be. Fast. And when you evolve him to Raichu, then you're getting into a really well rounded Pokemon.

I can say that even though Pikachu has been very overrated as a Pokemon itself since he's the mascot of the franchise, the pokemon as a whole is pretty good. I enjoy good electric types, but Pikachu's evolution Raichu is much better, since I'm an evolution nut.

Sometimes people think Pikachu is the most powerful Pokémon when in reality, it isn't. Is it overrated? Definitely. Is it a bad Pokémon? Definitely not. Pikachu is actually a decent Pokémon. It's quick in battle and can learn good electric moves. Plus, its signature move, Volt Tackle, is awesome (Despite Recoil Damage).

Of course it is, I mean how can it not be considering it's the mascot of Pokemon pretty much. I feel kind of bad for Raichu though... Why even have an evolution if you're making it's pre evolution the mascot and then also make an item called the light ball that pretty much makes it so there's no reason to evolve Pikachu other then for aesthetics or preference.

I still find Charizard more overrated though, many people like Pikachu but not that many have it as their favorite Pokemon. Charizard on the other hand is probably the favorite Pokemon of at least a 4th of all Pokemon fans and undeservedly so in my opinion but oh well what can you do.

Pikachu is probably the most over-rated Pokémon in existence, alongside Mewtwo; Mew; and Lucario. So much hype about them, I can see why but it's all meh to me.

Pikachu is the mascot of pokemon which makes him overrated already.A lot of games have overrated mascots. That doesn't mean Pikachu is a bad pokemon, he is actually a decent electric type. He's not a arecus though

Is Pikachu overrated? Sure. 

Is Pikachu bad? Not exactly. 

Sure, I would take other Pokemon before I would choose pikachu (like mareep, magnemite, or shinx), but for it's place in the game (at least in Gen I and Gen VI), its pretty good. It starts off with thundershock and it learns a good amount of STAB moves, like thunderbolt, discharge, and thunder, which it can use well unlike Magnemite, which learns thundershock, electro ball, spark, discharge, and zap cannon, however only 2 are really practical when magnemite learns them, because Magnemite has terrible speed, has low attack, and Zap Cannon is too inaccurate to really use, and Shinx, which is more physical based but only has 3 electric moves to really use, spark, thunder fang, both of which aren't very powerful, and wild charge... which has recoil.

Uh, anyway, I think Pikachu is a bit overrated, but  if I was starting a new Pokemon game and the only electric type for a long while is a pikachu, then I would happily use it (and of course evolve it to raichu ASAP, or just replace the little bugger with something else.)

I think he is, but the thing has a good excuse: He is Ash's main pal. 

I think Pikachu was Ash's main pokemon for the first... 3 generations, in terms of the show? He has always been with Ash, and will always be wish Ash. 

Maybe he would not be as over rated if Ash had elected to evolve him that one time into a Richu instead of keeping him a Pikachu, but still. 

Yeah, he is over rated, but for good cause. 

he is verry overreted

yes pikachu is overrated

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Overall I would consider pikachu to be fairly overrated in some ways, but that is mainly becayse he is Ash's main starter pokemon so it is kind of a given he will get a lot of attention. In actual gameplay however, I don't consider him to be the slightest bit overrated, at least not in comparison to pokemon like Charizard and Mewtwo (Both of which have been ridiculously overrated for the longest time) or even pokemon like mew, lucario or some of the new pokemon, *cough greninja cough*.

Still, even though pikachu is a pure electric type which gives it only one serious weakness to rock/ground, its stats are pretty lousy, and I can't even biggen to imagine how it possibly pull of some of the feats it has in the anime when going up against much larger and more powerful, fully evolved pokemon.....The only reason it almost always wins is because of the golden rule, he accompanies the protagonist/good guy and it always manages to pull through no matter the circumstances.

Personally though, if I were Ash, I would've evolved it into a Raichu because it is both stronger and faster....but stats don't really factor into the anime battles....

The bottom line is, yes pikachu is overrated, but there are plenty of other pokemon that are even more so.

For me, He is half Overrated/Half not. Also he is very popular so.

I really don't think Pikachu is overrated at all. As far as appearances go, to say Pikachu is overrated is to say that Mario is overrated. In essence, it just doesn't even make any sense. As the franchise mascot, he'll surely have a place in all the marketing and media, and getting to play as Pikachu in the main series and other games is a highlight because he's THE Pokemon. Why wouldn't you want to have/play as a Pikachu?

If you're trying to say Pikachu is overused, I don't think that's the case either. I mean I don't follow or know anything about the main series' competitive level, but I doubt Pikachu is a part of any competitive team. People like having one and it's a cool Pokemon, but his defenses are horrid.

All in all, his popularity is where it should be, but I don't think his actual usage in the main series is as high as others. As far as favorites go, Raichu is actually one of my favorite Pokemon. Raichu is just so cool. Look at that tail. It's a freakin' lightning bolt (more defined/cooler than Pikachu's tail). In my Pokemon Y game right now, I caught a Pikachu because it's fun to have him in my party. I evolved him to Raichu as soon as I could after learning Thunder and used the new EV training game to max his defenses. Now, as Raichu, his attack power is still really high and he can actually survive a hit, which I've never seen a Pikachu or Raichu do before.

Of trying to balance the Pichu line is only one method. You could just max out the Attack stats use Pikachu as a glass cannon. Then he's definitely not overrated, as his Speed and Special Attack are very high, and the Electro Ball move does wonders (add in Static for a good Paralysis speed reduction and Electro Ball's power maxes at 150).

[Why did I just spend all of this time talking about Pokemon....?]

I think Pikachu is overrated all you ever hear when the topic of Pokemon comes up is this:"Pikachu this" or "Pikachu that".

I love pikachu I grew up with a stuffed one and still have it to this day in good shape 
he is the mascot of the series that's like saying megaman or sonic is overrated when both are awesome 
 I'm looking forward to the contest pikachus in the newest games rock star all the way 

Not really in my opinion i think Pikachu is one of the most cute things i ever seen EVER IN MY LIFE, But i pretty much never use him in the actual games i like Mudkip better