Cosplay Pikachu (Japanese:おきがえピカチュウClothes-changing Pikachu) is avariant femalePikachu that is able to be dressed up into five different costumes corresponding to each of the fiveContest conditions (Coolness,Beauty,Cuteness,Cleverness, andToughness), and learn exclusivemoves, which are linked to these costumes.

Without a costume, Cosplay Pikachu has the appearance of a female Pikachu with a black heart on the tip of its tail (fitting the heart-shaped notch all female Pikachu have on their tail).

In the core series games

InPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, after the first time the player takes part in aPokémon Contest Spectacular, anNPC will give the player Cosplay Pikachu because according to her it matches the player's costume; the Cosplay Pikachu she gives the player will be in the Pikachu Rock Star costume for male players or the Pikachu Pop Star costume for female players. When obtained, Cosplay Pikachu will have itsHidden Ability and itsContest condition in each category is equally elevated. Cosplay Pikachu cannot beShiny.

Cosplay Pikachu can switch between costumes at any time by going to anyContest Hall in theHoenn region and talking to thePokémon Breeder in the green room. This Pokémon Breeder can also remove the costume.

Upon removing a costume, Cosplay Pikachu will forget the special move associated with the previous costume. Upon putting on a new costume, Cosplay Pikachu will learn the special move associated with the new costume. When changing costume, if Cosplay Pikachu knows four moves but not the special move of its previous costume, the player will be prompted to replace a move with the new exclusive move in order for it to put on the costume. If Cosplay Pikachu's only known move is the special move and the costume is removed, then it will learnThunder Shock. Cosplay Pikachu can remain in a costume even if it forgets the associated special move.

 
Cosplay Pikachu

 Electric 
Thunder Shock

Cool
Pikachu Rock Star

 Electric 
Meteor Mash

Beautiful
Pikachu Belle

 Electric 
Icicle Crash

Cute
Pikachu Pop Star

 Electric 
Draining Kiss

Clever
Pikachu, Ph.D.

 Electric 
Electric Terrain

Tough
Pikachu Libre

 Electric 
Flying Press

Unlike other Pikachu, Cosplay Pikachu is in theNo Eggs Discovered Egg Group, meaning it cannotbreed. It also cannotevolve intoRaichu and is unaffected by theEviolite. Like any Pikachu, though, Cosplay Pikachu is affected by theLight Ball.

Cosplay Pikachu cannot be deposited inPokémon Bank, nor can it betraded viaWonder Trade orGlobal Trade System. If used in a link battle involvingPokémon X and Y, it shows up as a regular Pikachu in theKalos games.

Gift Pokémon

Contest properties

Male player character

Pikachu♀

Type:

Electric

Held item:

[[File:Bag {{{held}}} Sprite.png|x24px]][[{{{held}}}|{{{held}}}]]

Mega Stone:

[[File:Bag {{{megastone}}} Sprite.png|x24px]][[{{{megastone}}}|{{{megastone}}}]]

Quick Attack

Cool

Appeal: 3
♥♥♥

Jam: 0
 

Electro Ball

Cool

Appeal: 3
♥♥♥

Jam: 0
 

Thunder Wave

Cool

Appeal: 1
♥

Jam: 3
♥♥♥

Meteor Mash

Cool

Appeal: 3
♥♥♥

Jam: 0
 

Female player character

Pikachu♀

Type:

Electric

Held item:

[[File:Bag {{{held}}} Sprite.png|x24px]][[{{{held}}}|{{{held}}}]]

Mega Stone:

[[File:Bag {{{megastone}}} Sprite.png|x24px]][[{{{megastone}}}|{{{megastone}}}]]

Quick Attack

Cool

Appeal: 3
♥♥♥

Jam: 0
 

Electro Ball

Cool

Appeal: 3
♥♥♥

Jam: 0
 

Thunder Wave

Cool

Appeal: 1
♥

Jam: 3
♥♥♥

Draining Kiss

Cute

Appeal: 1
♥

Jam: 0
 

Battle properties

Male player character

Pikachu♀Lv.20

Type:

Electric

Ability:

Lightning Rod

Held item:

None

Effort levels:

Quick Attack

Normal

Physical

Electro Ball

Electric

Special

Thunder Wave

Electric

Status

Meteor Mash

Steel

Physical

Female player character

Pikachu♀Lv.20

Type:

Electric

Ability:

Lightning Rod

Held item:

None

Effort levels:

Quick Attack

Normal

Physical

Electro Ball

Electric

Special

Thunder Wave

Electric

Status

Draining Kiss

Fairy

Special

In the spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Pikachu Libre appears inPokémon GO, where it can only be caught during a potential reward encounter for Trainers that have at least reached rank 10 (Legend since Season 6) in theGO Battle League.

Pikachu Pop Star and Pikachu Rock Star were both added in the game as part ofPokémon GO Fest 2021. They can be obtained fromSpecial Research occurring during the event and are mutually exclusive to each other.

Pikachu, Ph. D. was added in the game on March 1st, 2024 as the reward for getting the platinum Showcase Star medal.

Those Cosplay Pikachu, like in the core series, are always female.

Pikachu Libre♀

Pikachu Rock Star♀

Pikachu Pop Star♀

Pikachu PhD♀

Pokkén Tournament and Pokkén Tournament DX

Main article:Pikachu Libre (Pokkén)

Pikachu Libre was first announced alongside theWii U port of the game (standard Pikachu is also a character). Pikachu Libre was later released as an additional fighter on the original arcade version.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Pikachu Libre is one ofPikachu's alternate costumes inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.

• 
  Pikachu Libre in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Alternate Fighter Spirit artwork of Pikachu Libre

In animation

Pokémon the Series

Pokémon the Series: XY

Five Pikachu wearing the Cosplay Pikachu outfits appeared inLights! Camera! Pika!, under the ownership ofFrank. Out of these, Pikachu Rock Star and Pikachu Libre were shown to be regular male Pikachu, while the others were female Pikachu with a black heart marking on their tails like in the games.

Frank was filminga Pikachu movie, with Pikachu Libre acting as the villain and the others as residents ofPikachu Land. SeeingAsh's Pikachu, he decided to give it the role of the movie's hero, "Super Pikachu". WithAsh andhis friends helping out, the movie was successfully filmed and completed.

Multiple Cosplay Pikachu also appeared in the extra scenes of thePoké TV program forXY101, calledPerformer News, in which they were seen performing inPokémon Showcases.

Pokémon movies

One of each Cosplay Pikachu variant appeared inHoopa and the Clash of Ages, amongst the multiple Pikachu summoned byHoopa as part of a prank against Ash and his Pikachu. After initially panicking due to their new surroundings, the entire Pikachu horde, including the Cosplay Pikachu, was calmed down by Ash's Pikachu and sent back to their original homes in an orderly fashion with the help of Hoopa's portals.

• 
  Pikachu Rock Star
• 
  Pikachu Belle
• 
  Pikachu Pop Star
• 
  Pikachu, Ph.D.
• 
  Pikachu Libre

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire arc

InSalamence Evolves, Cosplay Pikachu were introduced toChaz byLisia. Lisia revealed thatRuby created the concept of Pokémon wearing costumes forContests, and even madematching costumes for theirTrainers to wear. There are several Cosplay Pikachu, all but one of which are male; the only exception was Pikachu Pop Star, which is the only one with the black tail tip. They reappeared in a flashback inSlowbro Has an Idea.

Pokémon UNITE Manga - Come On Over to Aeos Island!

InPokémon UNITE Manga - Come On Over to Aeos Island!, duringZirco's Holowear,Zirco thinks of Pikachu Pop Star as he describesPokémon Contests as having "pizzazz". Pikachu Pop Star is depicted with the heart shaped tail and black mark, indicating that it is female.

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Cosplay Pikachu in thePokémon Trading Card Game.

Cosplay Pikachu Cards listed with ablue background are only legal to use in the currentExpanded format. Cards listed with agreen background are legal to use in both the currentStandard andExpanded formats.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Cosplay Pikachu					XY-P Promotional cards		099/XY-P
Pikachu Libre		XY Trainer Kit: Pikachu Libre & Suicune		14/30	XY-P Promotional cards		247/XY-P
		XY Trainer Kit: Pikachu Libre & Suicune		30/30

Pokémon Pins

Pikachu Libre was released as apin for the TCG.

	Release Date	August 17, 2016
	Release Information	Gamescon
	Description	Pin featuring Pikachu Libre

Merchandise

Pikachu Libre Special Pack

ThePikachu Libre Special Pack (Japanese:マスクド・ピカチュウ スペシャルパック <セブン＆アイ・ポケモンセンター限定>Masked Pikachu Special Pack <Seven & I•Pokémon Center Limited>) was released alongside theFever-Burst Fighter andCruel Traitor expansions on June 17, 2016 exclusively at Pokémon Centers and Seven & I owned store chains such as7-Eleven andIto-Yokado. It features the Cosplay Pikachu variant Pikachu Libre as an exclusive promotional card and comes with 2 Fever-Burst Fighter booster packs and 2 Cruel Traitor booster packs.

Promotional card:

• Pikachu Libre (XY-P Promo 247)

Product image:

Pikachu Libre Special Pack	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins
The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins
The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins
The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins
The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins	The Sneak-Peek Tins

Trivia

• Cosplay Pikachu shares several similarities withPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver'sSpiky-eared Pichu. Both arefemale-only variants of thePikachu evolutionary line who were introduced inremakes. They are both incapable ofevolving,breeding, or beingtransferred to later games. If used in a link battle involving games that predated them, they show up as regular forms of the Pokémon. They also both cannot be obtained asShiny, though Shiny models do exist in the game code for them. They also appear as alternate costumes inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• As ofGeneration VIII, two of Cosplay Pikachu's special moves,Draining Kiss andElectric Terrain, are able to be learned by any Pikachu viaTM.
• Despite no longer being present in the game data of theGeneration VII games, a poster featuring Pikachu Pop Star can be seen on the wall inTotemMimikyu's room in theThrifty Megamart.
• In most official books, these costumes are stated to have come fromKanto.
• Cosplay Pikachu's costumes are often not considered distinct forms of Pikachu:
  • InPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Cosplay Pikachu is registered as a single form, in its uncostumed appearance.
  • InPokémon Bank, Cosplay Pikachu is not registered as a form at all.

In other languages

Related articles

Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:

New Japanese XY airings announced

• For more information on this Pokémon's species, seePikachu.
• Pikachu Libre (Pokkén)
• Pokémon cosplay
• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

Pokémonforms andvariants Permanent Shiny Pokémon (GO ·GO list ·TCG) •Alternately colored Pokémon (animation) •Gender differences Form differences (GO) •Totem-like Pokémon •Brilliant Pokémon •Alpha Pokémon Form changes and transformations Mega Evolution (Shuffle ·Masters ·GO) •Primal Reversion (GO) •Bond Phenomenon Ultra Burst •Dynamax (GO) •Gigantamax (GO) •Eternamax •Terastal phenomenon Groups Totem Pokémon •Noble Pokémon •Titan Pokémon Regional forms Alolan •Galarian •Hisuian •Paldean Analogous species Paradox Pokémon •Convergent species Species-specific Arbok variants •Pikachu variants (Surfing ·Flying ·Cosplay ·Cap) Ditto transformations •Eevee variants Miscellaneous Giant Pokémon •Spiky-eared Pichu •Partner Pokémon (LGPE) Fusions (GO) •Human–Pokémon transformation •Talking Pokémon Side series original Colo/XD:Shadow Pokémon (Shadow Lugia ·list) Spin-off original GO:Shadow Pokémon (list) •Battle-Only Form •Mighty Pokémon Mystery Dungeon:Primal Dialga •Rumble:Toy Pokémon (Rusty Pokémon) Pokkén:Shadow Mewtwo •Quest:Pokéxel •New Snap:Illumina phenomenon Animation original Pokémon the Series:Pink Butterfree •Clone Pokémon •Crystal Onix Mirage Pokémon •Meta Groudon •Green-crystal Deoxys Manga original Adventures:Thu-Fi-Zer •Electric Tale:Black Fog •Golden Boys:Black Tyranitar TCG original Crystal Pokémon •Dark Pokémon •Light Pokémon δ Delta Species • • •Radiant Pokémon

This Pokémon article is part ofProject Pokédex, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.

• Variant Pokémon
• Pokémon characters
• Pokémon Adventures characters (Pokémon)
• Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire characters
• Pokémon Contests
• Female characters (Pokémon)
• Super Smash Bros. spirits