Pikachu is a short, chubby rodent Pokemon. It is covered in yellow fur, and its ears are long and pointed with black tips. It has a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. There are pouches inside its cheeks where it stores electricity. Its forearms are short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet have three toes. It has two brown stripes on its back, and its tail is in the shape of a lightning bolt with a patch of brown fur at the base. A female will have a V-shaped notch at the end of its tail, which looks like the top of a heart. It is classified as a quadruped, but it has been known to stand and walk on its hind legs.
The anime has shown that Pikachu sometimes travel in groups. It raises its tail to check its surroundings, and is occasionally struck by lightning in this position. Living in forested areas, Pikachu is found foraging for berries it roasts with electricity to make them tender enough to eat. It has been observed eating and sometimes destroying telephone poles, wires, and other electronic equipment.
It evolves from Pichu when leveled up with high friendship and evolves into Raichu when exposed to a Thunder Stone. However, the starter Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow will refuse to evolve into Raichu unless it is traded and evolved on another save file.