Why doesn't Pikachu's voice sound like it used to?

If you listen to Pikachu’s voice in Pokemon Red and Blue, he sounds VERY different to the “pika pika” that you hear in the Pokemon anime - but why is that? And why did it take until 2013 for Game Freak to change Pikachu’s in-game voice?
TWITTER - / thomasgdocs
MERCH - www.thomasmerchdocs.com
PATREON - / thomasgamedocs
SOURCES
Pokemon Red + Green
- lavacutcontent.com/masuda-inte... (Sound Driver)
Pokemon TV Anime
- www.howtodrawmanga.com/blogs/...
- soranews24.com/2016/02/25/pik...
- bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wik... (Running for a year and a half)
- dogasu.bulbagarden.net/movies...
Pokemon Yellow/Pikachu
- tcrf.net/Development:Pok%C3%A...
- web.archive.org/web/200809250...
Modern Pokemon Cries
- nintendoeverything.com/game-fr... (Why Pokemon don’t say their names)
- www.polygon.com/2013/11/14/51...
CREDITS/FOOTAGE
- • Pokemon Red Game Boy I... (Pokemon Red Footage)
- • The First 17 Minutes o... (Let's Go Pikachu Footage)
- • Game Boy Color Longpla... (Pokemon Yellow Footage)
- • Pokémon FireRed playth... (Pokemon FireRed Footage)
- • Sydney ANIMANIA 2011 【... (Ikue Ohtani fan footage)

[@ThomasGameDocs]

Hi there! Thanks for checking out my video - I took a short break from KZbin but now I’m glad to be back doing the videos thing again! I had to really simplify down the technical details of the Pokemon Red/Green and Pokemon Yellow cry synthesis - if you’re interested in a more detailed breakdown, you should check out these two videos by Retro Game Mechanics Explained, as they’re super in depth but also pretty easy to understand! - Pokemon Red/Green/Blue’s cry sounds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXWvoZV8jdOjm7s - Pokemon Yellow’s Pikachu cry sounds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKDShKt5qrypkJY Anyway, I'm working on next week’s video right this second, so that should hopefully be out pretty soon! Thanks for sticking with me, - Thomas :)

[@admiralAlfonso9001]

I played Pokémon yellow voice so scary

[@gurillamann6534]

@@admiralAlfonso9001 yeah

[@Cliffordlonghead]

Awesome Video

[@Cliffordlonghead]

ITS A LONG BREAK

[@maddafexs]

i guess pikachu in pokemon yelow is triiiiiigeeeerrrrrrddddd

[@Fun_Pokemon_Fan]

Imagine being the most well-known voice actor ever from just saying “Pika-pika-chu!”.

[@Red-lu1rx]

Is it me the only person that prefers the old cry (no I am not a genunner)

[@AndrewJohnson-ny5nx]

@@Red-lu1rx nah, I'm the same. It just seems weird that Pikachu gets it anime voice, while the rest still have their video game calls.

[@RidiculousAnimationsAeos]

@@AndrewJohnson-ny5nx wait, eevee now has hers.

[@AndrewJohnson-ny5nx]

@@RidiculousAnimationsAeos I suppose, but you get my point

[@hotchocolate5261]

@@AndrewJohnson-ny5nx well it would be a lot and it’s literally one of the most popular Pokémon and tons of people like it that way

[@otakutrash6156]

They changed Pikachu’s cry back to the electronic sound in Legends Arceus!

[@liamsgreatbitgaming]

makes sense now that it’s potentially trying to kill you.

[@galacticquasaur2956]

@@liamsgreatbitgaming Plus, it does take place in the past

[@joeyjose727]

I love that detail! Tbh I dislike that only one Pokémon has a spoken cry like that, it’s very off putting to me!

[@sticksterstickme986]

I was so shocked when I heard it but it's awesome! Welcome back actual pikachu cry!

[@Rosegirl398]

@@joeyjose727 Eevee starting with Let’s Go to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl:What now?

[@PrimmsHoodCinema]

My cousins legit know every Pokemon's cry by heart. They make me quiz them & shit it's insane lol

[@LARKXHIN]

That sounds like the basis for a KZbin series. I’d watch!

[@TornaitSuperBird]

Even the ones with the same cry?

[@dabmonstr7403]

Tell him wyat cry i am mimicing:

[@Roboshi2007]

the funny thing is, in Gen 1 and even later on a bit, many pokemon share cries, like ryhorn shares it's cry with another pokemon, so did he say that?

[@MK8MasterJunjie]

Swearing wasn’t necessary! Also, how the hell do you have more subscribers than me?

[@brandonpierce2539]

I always enjoyed Pikachu's digital cry and was happy to see it make a return in Legends Arceus.

[@MariOmor1]

It makes sense considering the game takes place even before Red and Blue existed

[@theblaze2294]

the pikaa is much better

[@bct2308]

@@theblaze2294 My first game was Let’s Go Pikachu. I am used to this sound.

[@sparklepupfaeri7069]

Suprised you didnt go over how she did *kind of* keep the language aspect! Theres several combos of "pika" that she uses for specific words, Bikabi for one being for Satoshi/Ash. It helps explain how Ash knows what pikachus saying- theres consistency in the pika-nese.

[@fnjesusfreak]

Pikachu does in fact attempt to pronounce certain characters' (Japanese) names, within the limits of only having the syllables "pi", "ka", and "chu" to work with (to the foreign viewer it's only noticeable with Togepi, but in Japanese you can definitely tell this for Ash, Misty and Bulbasaur as well). Chikorita also does this.

[@cursedstarflight]

I remember Pikachu calls Ash "Pikapi" and Misty something simular to that

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@cursedstarflight "Pikachupi"

[@cursedstarflight]

@@fnjesusfreak oh thx

[@fnjesusfreak]

Also, "Pikakapika" is Fushigidane (Bulbasaur). (This is obvious in one episode when he not only says that but contorts his body into a semblance of Bulbasaur to drive the point home.)

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Ikue Ohtani: But I thought I was here for Meowth? The anime studio: *Well yes but actually no* Fun fact: In the XY series they paid homage to her. They had an episode (Lights! Camera! Pika!) where Ash's Pikachu was the star of the movie in a village filled with Pikachu and they showed the behind the scenes of how a movie is produced and that's where they showed the recording studio with an actor that closely resembles Ohtani

[@LiveHedgehog]

s18 ep41 at 11:50. That's a really nice tribute to her!

[@chezmix64]

Thanks for the fact Kim!

[@platinumad]

what's ur favorite pokemon Kim??

[@zchaosemperor81]

No way its Kim Jong-Un

[@Blackclaw1000]

in Sword and shield you team up with a trainer called Ikune and her Pokemon is always Pikachu

[@Apronika]

9:36 I love this, especially "Pikaaa... C H O O O O O" being blasted at a high volume.

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

The idea of Pokemon creatures speaking in full sentences after learning how to talk like a baby's first word instead of repeating their names over again sounds interesting. Meowth and Detective Pikachu are the closest we ever get to a Pokemon speaks in full sentences.

[@cantdestroyher7245]

We’d probably just end up with a bunch of idiots who really like food, so basically digimon

[@genericbee1902]

Chatot could say a really short sentence

[@TheGamersState]

I'll always love this series, it's great to learn all these facts about how a character sounds.

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

Yes

[@NicholasBarton2005]

He keeps spamming them for attention and money.

[@TheGamersState]

@@NicholasBarton2005 Ok.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@NicholasBarton2005 yes that’s how KZbin works, the platform incentivises view and watchtime maximisation. AKA attention

[@weshuiz1325]

Next up: why does't every pokemon's voice sound like they used to be? Short answer: better hardware

[@PsiPaula4]

but oddly a lot of the updated cries sound worse than the originals (mainly post-gen 3 Pokemon) so sure the hardware is better but the cries aren't.

[@weshuiz1325]

@@PsiPaula4 my cry for better games is

[@Lokear]

@@PsiPaula4 Are you insulting the delele-wooop?

[@oyeh8908]

@@PsiPaula4 RIP Reshiram's amazing gen V cry.

[@Nakia11798]

Another short answer: Anime

[@morpheuslordofoneiroi3293]

I didn't realize it took them 6 years to make Red and Green back in the day That's insane, but also understandable. The gaming industry was still very experimental back then, and trying to get its footing when it comes to making all the layers of expansive content.

[@jamesconn5185]

They were essentially an indie studio at the time.

[@kevinbell5674]

It had nothing to do with the industry or experimentation. Far more expansive games already existed or were in development before Pokemon even started it's own development. Game Freak was just an indie studio with limited resources and a team with virtually no real coding experience.

[@okamijubei]

@@kevinbell5674 Yeah, but thanks to Mendall's Palace. Game Freak got their foot in the door.

[@pol...]

@@kevinbell5674 ty for correcting that misunderstanding

[@Flabby555]

0:36: Chapter 1: Before The Anime 3:11: Chapter 2: Pikachu Speaks 7:27: Chapter 3: Pokémon Pikachu 9:47: Chapter 4: Pokémon X & Y 13:42: Credits

[@EmeraldPencil46]

She does a damn good job at putting emotion and life into her seemingly simple voice lines. I've recently been absolutely addicted to the show, and you can tell that voice lines aren't reused. When Pikachu's charging up for an attack, or just cutely sitting on Ash's shoulder, you can hear the different, adorable noises he makes, and you can tell that they're all unique.

[@mA-nd1xr]

9:35 I DID NOT EXPECT THAT LMAO

[@qrcode7665]

lmao ikr i was in shock too

[@koperr9118]

4:07 actually, the first choice for Ash's companion was Clefairy - but it had "to female look", so they chose a more gender-netrueal pokemon, Pikachu :)

[@Lahiss]

And then ten years later they ruined that gender neutral look :p

[@Mary-Ann_B_Mabaet]

Ok, I thought so. Clefairy was the Manga's Series Original Picked Pokémon as the Staple for Pokémon. I was wondering what happened.... in all honesty, with the gender stuff in America, Clefairy could actually work out with all the femboys in the Western States here 🤣

[@pokechannel9758]

No that wasn't the reason. They choose pikachu because they thought it was more cuter and I they were most probably right.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@Mary-Ann_B_Mabaet in 1996? 🤔

[@Mary-Ann_B_Mabaet]

@@kaitlyn__L I grew up in SF, CA so femboys and gays are pretty commonplace here 😆

[@firebrony101]

Also, dont they already have enough Pikachu voice lines to use in a sound bank at this point already? I think she deserves a break. Hell, Charles Martinet has stated that Nintendo has enough Mario voice clips from him that they could continue to use them long after he either dies, or decides to retire.

[@utubeb14]

I'm sure she enjoys the paycheck.

[@TheCommenterDragon]

I often thought the reason why they changed Pikachu's voice was because since he's both the face/mascot of the entire Pokemon franchise/company as well as the most iconic Pokemon of all time, i think they just wanted Pikachu to sound more realistic in the games for fan nostalgia and all that at least that's my guess.

[@KyleEvra]

I believe they are both Pikachu's voice.

[@sjajsjsja4523]

That's obviously why, yes.

[@Hetachan]

Truly have a new found respect and appreciation for Ikue Ohtani! I never thought about how much info you have to convey with just a "Pika"

[@VaughanXV]

I hope "Why doesn't Yoshi's voice sound like it used to?" comes out someday.

[@BassiKun99]

I'm honestly hoping for an episode on Daisy No really, have you heard her voice in Mario Party 4 and 5?

[@user-on1pb3me1x]

I hope that the next video will be about Wario.

[@Nakia11798]

Yeah, I've definitely noticed a difference in Yoshi's voice in the past decade.

[@jbsMUWcreations2089]

It is now check it out!!

[@MauriceGS]

Funfact: Pikachu was dubbed in Germany for the first 54 episodes by a German voice actor called "Sabine Bohlmann", which is also voice actor for Lisa from the Simpsons or Kenny from South Park just to name a few. Also a nice touch for us was in the Reboot movie Sabine also voiced the line in the movie were Pikachu talked. But why Pikachu was voiced by someone else, which is actually the only version of any dub of the series is still a mystery

[@fnjesusfreak]

Some early French episodes feature a rerecorded Pikachu. Actually, even some early English episodes have scenes where Pikachu was re-dubbed, using the voice of Rachel Lillis (she uses a voice similar to her Jigglypuff voice, hence some of us have nicknamed these rerecorded cries "Jigglychu".)

[@weberman173]

Audio extracting was relativly primitive back then, and depending on what version of the files we got in germany(which.. was iirc the 4Kids version, as we usualy didnt license the original japanese version but the Already licensed 4Kids version in germany) the audio was already gone for pikachu(i know some early episodes of the english dub had pikachus voice also dubed over so they could remove the background music)

[@bri1085]

Why do Germans dub everything? And I'm not just talking anime, more live action shows and movies as well

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Pikachu's cry in Red & Green: p̴̨͚͚̤͍̤̤̹̜̫̜̠̎̌̆͝s̶̢̘̽́͗ḑ̸̛͙̫̥̹̣̏̾͒̃͐̔̈̾̄͌͘̕f̴̢̰̩̯̺̤̣̱̻̯͖̲̹̣̮́͑͛͛ģ̷̯̜͇̩̅̏h̶̠͙̑̾̏̄͊̈́̐̓̕͘q̸̮̹͓̤͙̟̱̍̄̿̀̓͐w̴̛̙͚̩̘͉͍̣̫͎̠̉̊͜ȓ̸̡̡͚̥̱̭̫̒̑͌̋̾̍ Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite: *Hey, I've seen this one!* She went from not realizing the popularity to still doing the voice for over two decades...she is livin the life. Definitely would've hit different if she was chosen for Meowth

[@GrandCorsair]

Honestly I'm glad Legends used Pikachu's original cry because having it being the only one voiced would be weird. For those who have not played it occasionally you can hear Pokemon cry in the background depending on how close you are to them. You can allow pretty much take out all your Pokemon and they will "talk" to each other.

[@chancewrightva]

And now in Legends Arceus it's reverted to how it used to sound.

[@ExplodingPrinny]

I was curious why that happened.

[@madnessarcade7447]

Because it’s set in the past and you could argue pikachu evolved and adapted to say it’s name but in PLA that hasn’t happened yet

[@ruscygunche]

@@madnessarcade7447 Or rather more intutively, the voice actors weren't even existed at that point to give their voice to Pikachu and Eevee.

[@7swordquanta459]

What's weird was that the makers maintained the updated voice for Raichu but used the reverted version for Pikachu. Talk about consistency.

[@zenvariety9383]

@@ExplodingPrinny my guess was due to time constraints. Haven’t played Legends Arceus, but wouldn’t be surprised if Gamefreak rushed the game just to release it leaving no time for recording Pikachu and Eevee’s voices.

[@warriorking9885]

I would love to see an option to toggle Pikachu and Eevee's anime cries on and off in future games (essentially what the DS Sounds item does in BDSP, but without affecting music as well). I know that while many long-time fans are praising the return of the old cries, some newer fans either dislike or are annoyed with the change.

[@toko90s9]

Really interesting. You did miss a small detail though; early on in the English dub of the anime, Pikachu actually did get dubbed over by a two different American VAs (Rachel Lillis and Sabine Bohlmann). This was actually because of the changes to music in the dub; because of how primitive audio extraction was back then, they couldn't remove the background music without also removing Otani's voice work for Pikachu, so they had to replace it in house. It is kinda REALLY obvious when they had to do such. (Also, if you're wondering why they replaced the background music in the dub, money. It was much cheaper to make new compositions for the dub than it was to try and get the licensing rights for the original un-dubbed versions music.)

[@fnjesusfreak]

Nowadays, though, the dub studio gets a separate voice track just for Pikachu.

[@lazsynth]

You think they'd just be provided with the separate audio tracks to being with, how strange.

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@lazsynth Most anime they just get music and effects and that's enough. Pokémon is definitely a special case.

[@lazsynth]

@@fnjesusfreak Right, but that being the case, why would the voice acting be printed to the music and sounds tracks before the final mix? It's all supposed to be provided separately so the appropriate changes and mixing can be done, this would be the case even back then, it's nothing new.

[@sexyfryingpan9166]

You're kinda right, but also wrong. Rachael Lillis is American. She redubbed Pikachu's lines in a few of the first episodes where 4kids had lost/ruined the original Japanese audio. Sabine Bohlmann on the other hand is German. She voiced Pikachu almost entirely during the first season in German (also minor tidbit, if you didn't know most Pokémon have different names in Germany, so many of the Pokémon also have new German voice actors). But the German dub switched back to Ikue Ohtani during the Orange Island season.

[@Lokear]

I went crazy when Pikachu had the original cry in Legends: Arceus. It was so nice to hear.

[@PBody54M]

There's actually one more different in-game voice for Pikachu. In the Pokemon Stadium games for N64, all 251 Pokemon from the first two generations had updated cries. These cries are essentially much higher fidelity versions of their Gameboy counterparts, mainly using stock animal sounds that were edited to replicate the original 8-bit sounds, and of course Pikachu was no exception. Although, if I remember correctly, if you transferred the starter Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow into Stadium, it would use Ikue Ohtani's voice (without any of that horrible compression).

[@IceSpoon]

You remember correctly. Also, Pikachu's model was different if you brought it from Yellow: his ears were slightly sideways (like anime Pikachu), instead of them going straight to the back of the head like the normal model. And he also had a different surfing table when he used Surf compared to the "normal" Pikachu.

[@KimFareseed]

Wow, the 1-bit cry from Yellow brings back memories. Never though they were that compressed.

[@limitbreak2966]

9:45 IM FUCKIN DEADDDD LMFAOOO the rest sounded professional but man this last one killed me, the compression made it sound like she was just eating her mic and yelling xD

[@ModernDayGeeks]

Pikachu's digital cry will always be in the hearts of many 90s to early 2000s youth out there. Awesome video!

[@Littencito]

The earrape Pikachu is so funny, they should have kept it

[@verivik4500]

i assume this video was a while in production but it’s funny that the answer to the title would now be “he does.”

[@RedPolarBearRanger]

They brought the OG Pikachu cry from the original Game Boy games back in Pokémon Legends Arceus instead of using the anime voice.

[@SchoolofRockNRoll]

You whats weird, this lady is the voice of my childhood. Now, 20+ years later im an uncle and even my nephew knows and love pikachu.

[@CwapPlatinum]

Just as I am starting to watch your videos again, the Thomas returns. Good to see you back!

[@A-really-cool-Youtube-name]

This man's voice is so smooth and nice to listen to.

[@paulstephens2861]

Side note: Eevee now also has its own sound that’s a lot different to the others.

[@ArticioFox]

I played yellow first.. Ive played 1-2 games from every gen since then.. I forgot pikachu sounded like that and had some memories awoken from deep inside my brain. Oh geez that screeching sound everytime you talked to pikachu. I loved it so much

[@Shadtulip]

Amazing video! I loved that you took the time to explain the memory problem with the sound effects for the cartridge, thanks for your great work!

[@remukko5178]

Strangely enough, they changed his voice back to Pokemon: Legends Arceus, where they use either his original samples, or a changed one, like what happened in X/Y for the rest of the pokemon.

[@Whispernyan]

The cry pikachu uses in Legends doesn't sound updated at all. It's more crisp but it's very noticeably lower quality compared to basically every other mon.

[@iiokrammii693]

Well, the game takes place in the past, and retro refers to the past, so they went retro and reverted the voice acted cry to the og one

[@user-uu9ru3de1y]

I think all the 151 cries are original voice samples since the ones from later gens sound more crisp and clear compared to gen 1 Pokemon cries side by side. Example Luxray vs Ponyta.

[@s1y22]

Thomas Game Docs is back with another voice banger!! I love this series, hope you can do more!

[@ThomasGameDocs]

I've actually just recorded the voiceover for another one in the series - it should hopefully be out soon!! (also it's very related to the specific character from this video wink wink)

[@Chkprofilename]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2i4hIaqi6aGlbM Fax yes...

[@s1y22]

@@ThomasGameDocs Ok, that's nice! Can't wait to see it! :D

[@Stomc321]

@@ThomasGameDocs I know it is mewoth

[@madnessarcade7447]

You could say pikachu evolved to talk Cuz in PLA set in the past it reverted Hope one day every Pokémon translates to their anime cries

[@poliwharaslah965]

That a good one.. i never realize that.. i tot why they put back the original sound.. part of me is good with it bcuz its not fair for other pokemon..

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@poliwharaslah965 I think pikachu is just the first step then they did it with eevee and then one day they’ll do it for the rest

[@HorseWithNoUsername]

@@madnessarcade7447 hard to do when most Pokémon have different names in each language. Pikachu is a rare one that's the same in all.

[@apatheticandaesthetic3882]

@@HorseWithNoUsername meh. Game freak is a rich company and I think it would be cool of them to do all Pokemon cry's voiced along with dialogue with characters. Seriously they could afford the actors.

[@zenvariety9383]

@@madnessarcade7447 yeah, Meowth seems to be the next one to get that treatment. Then after that they may as well give the rest of the Pikachu line voices.

[@hollylaughlin7274]

Thank you Thomas, we missed you! Happy to binge more of your videos as they come out 😊

[@SemiHypercube]

I'm probably not the only one who hears "Pikachu" in its Game Boy cry. That might have not been intentional but once you hear that you can't really unhear it

[@Qoobon_]

Yeah, i heard the other names in other cries

[@NitroIndigo]

When I was little, I used to try to hear Pokémon's names in their cries.

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

It's also worth pointing out the Pokémon Stadium games in which, just like in Pokémon X and Y years later, all 151 Pokémon got new cries from scratch that sound more animal-like, including Pikachu's. It also uses some cries from the anime, but these are only used in the minigames. However, apparently Red's Pikachu retains its cries if you transfer it from Pokémon Yellow. That's a neat touch.

[@Louie_Log]

Pikachu in Yellow kinda sounds like an 8 yr old with a DSI recording with the Mic app.

[@jbsMUWcreations2089]

I've always thought Pikachu was a child

[@Louie_Log]

@@jbsMUWcreations2089 same. I always thought that with Elmo as well. I was surprised as heck when I learned the truth

[@MLG_Kitten]

I wasn't prepared for a deepfried Pikachu today

[@yunurrahmat]

before, i only know that Charles Martinez as the only voice actor for Mario as video game character that never changed for basically eternity, but now i known that it also happened to Pikachu with Ikue Ohtani, thanks for the info, keep it up!

[@ZipplyZane]

To be fair, the GBC cries don't sound nearly as bad on the actual Game Boy with its limited speaker. The staticky parts are much less pronounced. It's similar to how GBA audio samples from various games don't sound nearly so bad on the GBA's built in speaker, but start to sound bad on the GBC player.

[@Thefnaffan1234]

THX,Thomas😄😄😄. I've been waiting for something like this😄

[@thekindaprogamer9090]

Pikachu’s compressed voice in Yellow shown in the video really caught me off-guard but made me shit myself lmao

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

OLM: We wanted to make Pokémon speak full sentences, but Game Freak did not approve the idea. Bandai/Digimon creators: _It's free real estate._

[@mumbo4567]

Right when I was starting to wonder where you went you release a new video 👍

[@statesminds]

Another neat change is Meowth were quadrupedal creatures and only Team Rocket’s Meowth could walk on 2 legs but over time they made regular Meowth walk on 2 legs

[@train_cam]

I always assumed the voice actor got old and their voice became raspier. Kinda like Marge on the Simpsons.

[@missedthebandwagon976]

This is amazing. For all the Gen 1 trivia I've learned over the years, I never knew this about their original cries, that so many Pokémon shared the same clip.

[@Chkprofilename]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2i4hIaqi6aGlbM Fax yes...

[@qwertyuiopanezd1256]

yooooo I was just rewatching all of your videos yesterday

[@Cherrypitbullpupper]

I learned a lot from this video and it's neat to see the evolution of the voice acting/sounds in the games and how much they've changed over the years!

[@Mickelraven]

I think we can all agree that humans speak some words more often than other words. I wonder how many times Ikue has said "Pika" in her life compared to other words she's spoken. :D

[@timrob12]

Even though I don't speak Japanese, I really hope that I can meet Ikue Otani someday. She's a true legend.

[@LonelyWolfWestern]

Your videos are always so good, thanks for putting them out!

[@angiesushii]

Your back! We missed you!

[@MetaVaria]

I wish they would make an option to hear every anime pokemom voice in-game.

[@briansivley2001]

Fun fact Ikue Otani also voiced Sailor Tin Nyanko in Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. She also voiced Candy in Smile Precure which had a lot of voices that did Pokemon currently or in the past.

[@Greouille]

Congrats on 500k

[@theartofnina]

I'm actually so nostalgic for the horribly compressed Pikachu cries from yellow lol

[@DarkTyyp]

Pikachu lost some weight over the years. He lost a lot of things as well... RIP [Pikachu.cry.noise.mp4_gameboy_file]

[@psychotheunsane7285]

Actually, the Pikachu you got in Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition had a relatively modern sounding voice (it had the "Pikachu!" "Peeee...kah..." "Pee-ka-CHU?" sounds).

[@christianskjod3440]

I honestly thought all the cries were the same, so I was surprised to find out some of them had unique ones that were altered.

[@CrookiNari]

I met Ikue Ohtani at a convention about a decade ago. I'd drawn something specifically for her to sign and she said it was very cute. I've still got that signed picture somewhere. :)

[@mrshaddow0376]

Pokemon is so cool ! Thank you Thomas for let me know more about pickachu ^^

[@americosanchez3800]

Fun fact Rachael lillis voiced pikachu in earlier episodes but instead they wanted ikue otani voice

[@supermathews0209]

Those Pikachu screams from Yellow GB scared me and catched me off guard!

[@evamagnussen7468]

Yes me to

[@theguywhoruinsthejoke9027]

They brought back the original Pikachu cry in the most recent Pokemon game!

[@SmolPotato8]

And in legends, they brought back the original sound

[@SmolPotato8]

So weird lol

[@vivimannequin]

Nice

[@nahumgardner]

Do one for Eevee! She's somehow became important and has had multiple voices.

[@superluigi124]

It*

[@moviewatcher1610]

Next video: Why does Thomas Doc Gaming's voice always sound the same?

[@IceSpoon]

Otani also spoke in sidegames: Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 (if you bring the Pikachu from Pkmn Yellow), Snap and Puzzle League all have Otani making the voices, and she's credited as such. And as others comments have said, Pikachu does "speak" with those three syllables, like "pipipi" (Togepi) and "Pikapi" (Satoshi, Ash's name in japanese)

[@Hopey6371]

This was great to watch whilst shiny hunting

[@catsboxesyt]

What you looking for

[@Hopey6371]

@@catsboxesyt been looking for a wurmple using the original 1/8192 odds, at around 4500 encounters with no luck so far

[@catsboxesyt]

@@Hopey6371 I hope you catch it!

[@Hopey6371]

@@catsboxesyt thanks

[@lezaiah24]

9:35-9:47 had me dying 💀 🤣

[@mikemontenegro4039]

Pikachu be playing online with a crappy mic🎙️😂

[@lezaiah24]

@@mikemontenegro4039 lol

[@pokefan213]

and yet for legends arceus they went back to the electronic-sounding pikachu cry lol

[@DarthCobay]

And then there’s 2022, where Pikachu has lost his voice again

[@jazzminrice]

I’m so happy they brought back the original cry in legends arceus I never liked the anime cries, they break immersion imo, it’s as if your dog said “dog” or if your cat said “cat”, it didn’t help that pikachu and eevee were the only ones to do it It definitely has its own charm and it carries nostalgia but it was always goofy to me I think Pokemon Origins and Pokemon Evolutions did it best

[@relo999]

Exactly this, and it also just really stands out. Pretty much all pokemon have some sort of electronic growl sound or something close to it even new ones. And than we go from growls to "pika". The only pokemon I want to hear being somewhat human sounding is Chatot as it's a parrot.

[@galacticquasaur2956]

Personally, I disagree. While it does seem weird that the Pokemon say their names, I always thought the cries sounded... Fake? Like even the updated cries don't really sound like animals, it sounds like a synthesizer trying to pretend it's an animal sound. At least with the anime, it's like real actors saying these lines. No offense to you guys of course, just wanted to say my opinion.

[@madnessarcade7447]

It’s so new comers can memorize the names a lot easier Repetition. Improves memory

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@relo999 It’s so new comers can memorize the names a lot easier Repetition. Improves memory

[@madnessarcade7447]

The anime cries humanizes the creatures imo

[@Imamotherfreakingavocado]

When I was playing through Legend's Arceus, I was like "Cool, they kept Eevee's old cry", then I got to the fight with Rei and it completely slipped my mind that Pikachu's cry also used to be different, so it was wild not hearing it say Pikachu lmao

[@aisadal2521]

Eyyy, it's great to see another addition to this amazing series! Thanks for all of your hard work, Thomas! 🥰

[@block.b]

The master is back!

[@LautaroArgentino]

I prefer pikachus having their original cry. I find it weird how other pokemon have more fitting cries but pikachus just say their name.

[@52Legend]

I think an Eevee version of this would be kinda cool

[@aarenmarchi_xL]

The process for the voice on the Gameboy color cartridge makes it way more impressive they had American idol on a Gameboy advance cartridge lol

[@THGMR-ox7sd]

They brought the old cry back in legends: arceus.

[@Viruo]

09:47 I'm surprised you completely skipped over & didnt even mention the game "Hey You, Pikachu!" that came out just a few months after Pokémon Yellow. I could've swear I remember as a kid talking to Pikachu through the mic & hearing Ikue Ōtanis voice.

[@Garfield_Minecraft]

アイ ラブ ピカチュウ ソー マッチ　ピカピカ マイ　イアル　ピカチュウ　ノイス　パワー！

[@TheDogalaxy]

“Here’s how she sounds:” (ad plays)

[@Gh0stData27]

I am 18 yeara old. Started with the anime. Now my passiom are the games and manga. But Pikachu has always been my baby in my 11 years of loving Pokémon. Anime, manga, or games. Pikachu will always be my favorite Pokémon no matter how much stronger other Pokémon can be. I appriciate this woman. She completed my childhood and made it a happy one too.

[@joeyadventures1477]

If pikachu still sounded like his original gameboy version I would have some concerns

[@madnessarcade7447]

@ThomasGameDocs can you do voice changes in the Pokémon anime I know most of it is common knowledge but it would still be a fun video

[@ThomasGameDocs]

i'm actually working on that video right now haha! should be one of my next videos out, crossed fingers!

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@ThomasGameDocs oh nice not sure it’s cuz u saw my comments before Srry for the spam lol but dope can’t wait I’m honored u replied

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@ThomasGameDocs are u gonna do every character that had voices changed or just a few

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@ThomasGameDocs hope people don’t hate on those new voices but probably will unfortunately

[@ThomasGameDocs]

ah sorry, I didn't see your reply! The video is focused on Ash, so I mainly talk about Veronica Taylor and Sarah Natochenny, plus the Japanese voice Rica Matsumoto and Kayzie Rogers who voiced Ash on two individual occasions. Anyway, you'll have to wait until the video comes out to find out more!

[@madnessarcade7447]

She also plays team rocket’s pokedex in Pokémon journeys

[@KnockoutKO1122]

Pikachu has its old cry back

[@oncodeii7509]

Great video. But I wonder why Pikachu has its “digital” voice again in Pokémon Legends Arceus. At least, I don’t think it has voice acting in the game.

[@weberman173]

if i want to be nice to the studio who made it.. Probably a nice "easteregg" or joke about the whole "this is in the past" thing with legends.. ya know the game is set in the past, thus pikachu gets his old voice back