I didn’t know that Pikachu was a pika… I thought it was the only starter whose name was really random! My life has been a lie
Yeah, why did I always hear him referred to as an “electric mouse”?
Pika is also the Japanese onomatopoeia for spark
I think it is supposed to be a mouse (Meowth of Team Rocket being a cat chasing a mouse btw), but I'm pretty sure its name is still a reference to pikas.
Pikas don't have tails so that doesn't really fit for an origin of Pikachu's design. I think the name is a coincidence.
Then let me blow your mind by telling you that "chu" is an old-timey Chinese word for "tail", which is a fact I completely made up just now but wouldn't that be cool!
The tail just shows what element it is. That probably just added it cuz it's cute
Best use of that meme I've ever seen