Pokémon Pikachu & Pikachu 2 GS (virtual pets): watts, steps & Mystery Gift


Titles	Pokémon Pikachu · Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS ポケットピカチュウ (Poketto Pikachū) ポケットピカチュウカラー金・銀といっしょ! (Poketto Pikachū Karā Kin Gin to Issho!) Pokémon Pikachu Color (Europe)
Platform	Stand-alone pedometer toys; Pikachu 2 GS links by infrared to a second unit or to a Game Boy Color running Pokémon Gold and Silver or Pokémon Crystal
Developer	Jupiter Corporation
Publisher	Nintendo
Players	1 · Pikachu 2 GS: infrared swaps with a second unit or a Game Boy Color
Genre	Virtual pet / pedometer
Launch price	¥2,500 and US$19.95 (Pokémon Pikachu) · ¥3,000 before tax (Pocket Pikachu Color)
Currency	Watts: one for every 20 steps
Unlocks	7 vehicles on the original · 11 Mystery Gift prize tiers on Pikachu 2 GS
Power	One CR2032 coin cell
Released	Pokémon Pikachu: 27 March 1998 (Japan) · 2 November 1998 (North America) · 22 January 1999 (Australia) · 1999 (Europe) Pikachu 2 GS: 21 November 1999 (Japan) · 16 October 2000 (North America) · 2000 (Europe, Australia)
Predecessor	None
Successor	The Pokéwalker (2009, with HeartGold and SoulSilver) · Pokémon GO Plus (2016) and GO Plus + (2023), for Pokémon GO
Sales	No official figures; the original was hard to find in Japanese shops in spring 1998

Overview

Pokémon Pikachu, known in Japan as Pocket Pikachu, is a virtual pet you carry in your pocket: a step counter with a Pikachu living inside it. Developed by the Kyoto studio Jupiter Corporation and published by Nintendo, the little yellow unit, shaped like a miniature Game Boy, went on sale in Japan on 27 March 1998 for ¥2,500 and reached North America on 2 November 1998 for US$19.95. A redesigned follow-up, Pocket Pikachu Color: Kin Gin to Issho!, arrived in Japan on 21 November 1999, the same day as Pokémon Gold and Silver, and came west in 2000 as Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS in North America and Pokémon Pikachu Color in Europe.

Both devices clip to a belt or slip into a pocket and count your steps, and every 20 steps earns one watt, the electricity Pikachu runs on. Watts can be given to Pikachu as presents to win its friendship, or gambled on a built-in mini-game: a slot machine on the original, a high-or-low card game on the sequel. Pikachu keeps its own timetable in the meantime, eating, playing, bathing and sleeping at set hours, and how it behaves depends on how far its owner walks and how generous they are. Big lifetime totals unlock new scenes, from tricycles to stilts.

The second model added a colour screen and an infrared port, so watts could be swapped with a friend’s unit or beamed into Gold, Silver and Crystal through Mystery Gift, where they turn into items ranging from a letter to a Rare Candy. That made Pikachu 2 GS the first Pokémon walking gadget to feed rewards into the main games. The idea came back with the Pokéwalker bundled with HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2009, which kept the same rate of one watt per 20 steps, and again with the Pokémon GO Plus and GO Plus + accessories for Pokémon GO.

In Japan, Pocket Pikachu was a craze in its own right. It was hard to find in the shops through its first spring, publishers brought out more than a dozen guides and walking diaries for it, and Nintendo reused the hardware for two more pocket pets, Pocket Hello Kitty and Pocket Sakura.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon Pikachu and Pikachu 2 GS, answered first and explained in more detail further down the page.

Can you still buy Pokémon Pikachu or Pikachu 2 GS in 2026?

Not new. Neither device has been reissued since the original runs between 1998 and 2000, so second-hand is the only option, and Japanese and Western units both turn up regularly. Each takes a single CR2032 coin cell, so a working unit usually needs nothing more than a fresh battery, although ageing screens and step sensors do sometimes give out. More →

How many steps does it take to earn a watt?

Twenty, on both devices. Every 20 steps the sensor counts adds one watt, and shaking the unit counts as walking. Watts can be given to Pikachu as presents or staked on the mini-game, and on Pikachu 2 GS they can also be beamed to another unit or to Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal. The Pokéwalker later used exactly the same rate. More →

How do you send watts from Pikachu 2 GS to Pokémon Gold, Silver or Crystal?

First unlock Mystery Gift in the game by talking to a character on the fifth floor of the Goldenrod Department Store, then save. After that, choose Mystery Gift from the title menu on a Game Boy Color, pick Send under the present icon on Pikachu 2 GS, set the number of watts, line up the two infrared ports and confirm. More →

What items can Pikachu 2 GS send to the Generation II games?

That depends on how many watts you send. A token amount brings Eon Mail, and each band of 100 watts after that brings something better: a Berry, a Bitter Berry, a Great Ball, a Max Repel, an Ether, a MiracleBerry, a Gold Berry, an Elixer and a Revive. Send 999 watts and the prize is a Rare Candy, and there is no daily limit on transfers. More →

Does Pikachu 2 GS work with a Game Boy Advance or the 3DS Virtual Console?

No. The link uses the infrared port that only the Game Boy Color has: earlier Game Boys never had one, and the Game Boy Advance left it out. The 3DS Virtual Console versions of Gold, Silver and Crystal have no Mystery Gift option either, so you need a Game Boy Color and an original cartridge from the same region as the device. More →

Will a Japanese Pocket Pikachu Color work with an English copy of Pokémon Gold?

No. The Mystery Gift link is region-locked, and pairing a device with a cartridge from another region only produces a communication error. A Japanese Pocket Pikachu Color needs a Japanese copy of Kin, Gin or Crystal, and a Western Pikachu 2 GS needs a Western cartridge. Watts can still be swapped with another unit from the same region. More →

What is the difference between Pokémon Pikachu and Pikachu 2 GS?

The original has a black-and-white screen, a slot machine and no way to link up. Pikachu 2 GS adds a colour screen and an infrared port, used for swapping watts and alarm tunes with other units and for sending items to the Generation II games, plus a seven-day step log, a 64-note alarm composer, a high-or-low card game and a completely redrawn set of animations. More →

Is there a sequel or successor to Pokémon Pikachu?

Not under the same name, but the idea lived on. The Poké Ball-shaped Pokéwalker that came with HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2009 kept watts and the infrared link, and Pokémon GO Plus (2016) and Pokémon GO Plus + (2023) brought walking rewards to smartphones, the second of them also tracking sleep for Pokémon Sleep. More →

Official artwork of the Pokéwalker — The Pokéwalker, the walking gadget that came next.

The two devices

Nintendo made two Pikachu pedometers, and they have a lot in common. Both are pocket-sized, borrow the Game Boy’s buttons and keep a Pikachu on the screen that lives by the clock, and both run on watts earned at one for every 20 steps. The differences are in the details: the second model has a colour screen, an infrared port, a new mini-game and an entirely new set of animations.

What both devices share

Counting stepsA step sensor inside each unit counts whenever it is carried, clipped on or simply shaken, and it carries on counting while the screen sleeps to save power. The original shows a resettable step counter that stops at 99,999 next to its lifetime total, while Pikachu 2 GS has a seven-digit lifetime total and a log of the past seven days.

Buttons and menusBoth units borrow the Game Boy’s layout. Left and right on the control pad cycle through three menu icons, a clock, a present and a pair of coins; up and down choose options and set numbers; A confirms and B goes back to Pikachu. Start opens the options for the sound, the clock and its alarm and resetting the step counter, and Select shows how friendly Pikachu is feeling and the lifetime step total.

Batteries and resetsEach unit takes one CR2032 lithium coin cell and blanks its screen after a short idle spell to save power, waking again at a press of A. On the original, a recessed reset button wipes all progress. Pikachu 2 GS is more forgiving: swap the cell quickly and choose Continue, and it keeps lifetime steps, days, watts and friendship, losing only that day’s steps, the time, the screen colour setting and any composed melody. New Game deletes everything and starts the friendship over with a stranger in a Poké Ball.

Pokémon Pikachu (1998)

Pokémon Pikachu	At a glance
Japanese title	ポケットピカチュウ (Poketto Pikachū, “Pocket Pikachu”)
Released	27 March 1998 (Japan) · 2 November 1998 (North America) · 22 January 1999 (Australia) · 1999 (Europe)
Launch price	¥2,500 (Japan) · US$19.95 (North America)
Made by	Jupiter Corporation, for Nintendo
Genre	Virtual pet / pedometer
Hardware	Yellow Game Boy-shaped shell, monochrome LCD, one CR2032 cell; 62.5 × 49.6 × 28 mm and 40 g with the battery
Mini-game	Slot machine, 5 watts a spin
Links	None

Pocket Pikachu box art (Japan) — The Japanese Pocket Pikachu box.

The first model is the simpler of the two, and in some ways the purer idea. A yellow pedometer the shape of a tiny Game Boy, it weighs 40 grams with its battery and shows Pikachu on a black-and-white screen, going about a daily timetable of meals, play, television, showers and sleep and reacting whenever the unit is shaken.

Watts can be spent in just two ways: given to Pikachu as presents, or gambled on a single-row slot machine whose jackpot of three 7s pays 500 watts. Friendship rises with gifts and walking and sinks with neglect, and lifetime step totals unlock new vehicles and pastimes, from a toy car at 25,000 steps to stilts at 400,000, with lessons and a computer still to come after that.

A resettable step counter that runs to 99,999, alongside the lifetime total
A slot machine at 5 watts a spin, with 500 watts for three 7s
Four everyday moods, plus a rock-bottom state in which Pikachu disappears from the screen
Seven vehicles unlocked by lifetime steps between 25,000 and 400,000, and new pastimes at home
A clock with a single alarm, and no link features of any kind

Pikachu’s day, moods and milestones

Pikachu’s daily routineThe built-in clock runs Pikachu’s day, so it pays to set it properly. It eats at around 7am, noon and 6pm, often brushing its teeth afterwards; through the morning and afternoon it plays in a sandpit, stacks building blocks or reads a picture book; mid-afternoon brings a sweet, the early evening television and a shower, and by about 8pm it is tucked up in bed, where it stays until morning. Shaking the unit during these scenes changes them. It hurries along the tooth-brushing and the page-turning, but it also knocks over the blocks, makes Pikachu drop its snack or wakes it up, and each of those costs some friendship.

Moods and friendshipPikachu’s opinion of its owner shifts with care. A big batch of watts raises friendship quickly, a recent gift holds off the next slide, and neglect slowly wears it down. Day to day its mood runs from a sulk, with its back turned and a shock for anyone who presses the power button, through a neutral default to a Pikachu that looks bigger on screen and finally one that fills the display and waves. Ignore it for long enough and it hits rock bottom: Pikachu vanishes, “Shock!” flashes in its place, and it takes dozens of shakes to coax it back.

Presents are chosen under the gift icon: the control pad picks any number of banked watts, and Pikachu’s thanks depend on the size of the gift. Bigger presents raise friendship further and open up new pastimes:

Watts given	Pikachu’s reaction
0	Pulls a face
1–99	Yawns
100–299	Gives a round of applause
300–699	Blows hearts, turns a backflip or writes a thank-you letter
700–999	Shows off with a trumpet, a piano, ball-balancing, a swim or a hang-glider

Walking milestonesLifetime steps open up new scenes. Ordinary walks show Pikachu trotting along beside its owner until it runs out of puff, but as the total climbs it takes to wheels: a toy car from 25,000 steps, then a tricycle, a pedal car and a bicycle, a unicycle from 225,000, a skateboard from 300,000 and finally stilts from 400,000. Home life grows too, with a kite and a trumpet at 150,000 steps; a yo-yo, a radio-controlled car, ice cream, chopsticks, bubble baths and school lessons at 300,000; and a computer, an English class and a doze at the desk at 450,000.

The slot machineThe coin icon opens a single-row slot machine at 5 watts a spin. A starts the reels and each one is stopped in turn, much like the Game Corner slots in the main games. Three Magikarp return a modest prize, three flowers or three Pikachu pay 50 watts and three 7s land the 500-watt jackpot. It is the only way to earn watts without walking, so a lucky run can pay for a lavish present, while a bad one sends the owner back out for another stroll.

PikachuThe pet on both devices
MagikarpA symbol on the slot reels

Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS (1999–2000)

Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS	At a glance
Japanese title	ポケットピカチュウカラー金・銀といっしょ! (Poketto Pikachū Karā Kin Gin to Issho!, “Pocket Pikachu Color: Together with Gold and Silver!”)
Western titles	Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS (North America) · Pokémon Pikachu Color (Europe)
Released	21 November 1999 (Japan) · 16 October 2000 (North America) · 2000 (Europe, Australia)
Launch price	¥3,000 before tax (Japan)
Credits	Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak and Jupiter
Hardware	Game Boy Color-style shell, colour LCD, infrared port, one CR2032 cell
Mini-game	High-or-low card game, 5 watts a round
Links	Another Pikachu 2 GS, or a Game Boy Color running Pokémon Gold and Silver or Pokémon Crystal

Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS box art (North America) — North America: Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS.

Pokémon Pikachu Color box art (Europe) — Europe: Pokémon Pikachu Color.

The second model went on sale in Japan on the same day as Pokémon Gold and Silver, and its full Japanese name, Pocket Pikachu Color: Kin Gin to Issho!, spells out the connection. The formula is the original’s, but the shell now echoes the Game Boy Color, the screen is in colour, and an infrared port lets the unit talk to other devices.

Pikachu’s whole routine was redrawn, with yo-yos, swings, fishing trips and fireworks before bed. Friendship now has five named levels and drops whenever the owner walks fewer than 100 steps in a day, and a high-or-low card game takes over from the slot machine. Watts can be swapped with another unit or sent to Gold, Silver or Crystal through Mystery Gift, for prizes up to a Rare Candy at 999 watts.

Colour screen and infrared port; the link to the Generation II games needs a Game Boy Color
Mystery Gift items from Eon Mail to a Rare Candy, with no daily limit
A high-or-low card game at 5 watts a round
A seven-day step log and a seven-digit lifetime total
An alarm composer for melodies of up to 64 notes, which can be shared with another unit
A Continue option that keeps watts, steps and friendship through a battery change

A new routine, five levels of friendship and a card game

A redrawn routineThe sequel gave Pikachu a whole new repertoire. Meals come at 7am and 6pm, Pokémon Food at noon and a snack of apple, juice or ice cream at 3pm. Mornings bring a yo-yo, aerobics, drawing or writing its own name; afternoons a swing, skipping, pull-ups, a hula hoop, digging in the sand, which can turn up a Diglett, and fishing, which may land a Poliwag or an empty can. Evenings end with sparklers and fireworks, a bath from 8pm and sleep from 9pm to 7am. Shaking still matters: it can make Pikachu drop its food, lose a fish or wake up.

Five levels of friendshipThere are now five levels, usually given in English as Stranger, Meanie, Playmates, Friends and Best Pals, and each shows in the way Pikachu faces the player. A Stranger is still tucked inside its Poké Ball, a Meanie keeps its back turned, Playmates face left, Friends face forward and Best Pals come right up close. Presents are still the quickest way up, and bigger gifts count for more. Walking matters just as much, though: any day with fewer than 100 steps strips away friendship worth around 500 to 600 watts, so an idle week can undo a lot of goodwill.

The high-or-low card gameThe coin icon now opens a card game, ハイアンドロー (Hai ando Rō) in Japanese, in place of the slot machine. A round costs 5 watts: Pikachu turns up a card, and the player presses up if the next one will be higher or down if it will be lower. Each right call makes the pot bigger, and B banks it at any point, but a single wrong guess wipes out everything won in that run. Knowing when to stop is the whole game, and a good run is the fastest route to a big present without walking.

Alarm tunes and the infrared portThe options menu holds a composer for alarm melodies of up to 64 notes, which can replace the standard alarm sound. Beside Give, the present icon now offers Send and Receive, which use the infrared port to trade watts or a finished tune with another Pikachu 2 GS and to send watts to Gold, Silver or Crystal.

DiglettDug up in the sandpit
PoliwagHooked while fishing

Watts, steps and the Mystery Gift link

Watts are what hold the whole family together. Earned at a fixed rate of one for every 20 steps, they buy Pikachu’s friendship and pay for the mini-games, and on Pikachu 2 GS they became the first bridge between a Pokémon walking toy and the main series: beamed into Pokémon Gold, Silver or Crystal by infrared, they turn into Mystery Gift items that get better the more watts are sent. The same unit of exercise carried over to the Pokéwalker a decade later.

20steps for every watt, on both devices
5watts a go on either mini-game
11Mystery Gift prize tiers
999watts for a Rare Candy

Earning and spending watts

Earning wattsBoth devices add a watt for every 20 steps, whether the owner is out walking or simply shaking the unit, and the tally keeps climbing while the screen is asleep. Saving up pays off, because the showiest presents and the best Mystery Gift prizes need hundreds of watts at once.

Spending watts at homeWatts handed over as presents raise friendship, with bigger gifts counting for more and drawing showier reactions. They also pay for the mini-games: 5 watts a spin on the original’s slot machine, where three 7s pay 500, and 5 watts a round on the sequel’s high-or-low card game, where every right call makes the pot bigger.

Mystery Gift with Gold, Silver and Crystal

Pikachu 2 GS was the first Pokémon walking gadget to reach into the main games. In Pokémon Gold and Silver and in Pokémon Crystal, watts beamed across by infrared become Mystery Gift items, a feature those games otherwise used for swapping presents between two cartridges.

The Mystery Gift screen in Pokémon Gold and Silver — Mystery Gift in Gold and Silver.

Setting up Mystery GiftMystery Gift joins the game’s title menu once the player has spoken to a character on the fifth floor of the Goldenrod Department Store and then saved. To make a transfer, choose Mystery Gift on the Game Boy Color, pick Send under the present icon on Pikachu 2 GS, set the number of watts, point the two infrared ports at each other and confirm. The watts are spent, and the matching item is sent across to the game.

What the watts buy

The prize depends on the number of watts sent, in bands of 100. A token amount brings Eon Mail and 900 to 998 watts a Revive, while the full 999 watts earns a Rare Candy. Halfway up, the 600 band gives a MiracleBerry, the Generation II berry that cures any status problem. Every tier:

Watts sent	Item in Gold, Silver and Crystal	Japanese name	What it does
1–99	Eon Mail	メール	A letter for a Pokémon to hold
100–199	Berry	きのみ	Restores 10 HP
200–299	Bitter Berry	にがいきのみ	Cures confusion
300–399	Great Ball	スーパーボール	Catches better than a Poké Ball
400–499	Max Repel	ゴールドスプレー	Keeps weak wild Pokémon away for 250 steps
500–599	Ether	ピーピーエイド	Restores 10 PP to one move
600–699	MiracleBerry	きせきのみ	Cures any status problem
700–799	Gold Berry	おうごんのみ	Restores 30 HP
800–899	Elixer	ピーピーエイダー	Restores 10 PP to every move
900–998	Revive	げんきのかけら	Revives a fainted Pokémon with half its HP
999	Rare Candy	ふしぎなアメ	Raises a Pokémon’s level by one

No daily capMystery Gift between two cartridges is rationed to five exchanges a day, with only one gift from each partner. Transfers from Pikachu 2 GS have no such limit: the only cap is how far the owner is willing to walk, so a dedicated walker can keep topping up a save file with Rare Candies, at a little under 20,000 steps apiece.

The Mystery Gift screen in Pokémon Crystal — Mystery Gift in Crystal.

Region and hardware locksDevice and cartridge must come from the same region, or the game reports a communication error, so a Japanese Pocket Pikachu Color needs a Japanese copy of Kin, Gin or Crystal. The link also needs the Game Boy Color’s infrared port, which the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Pocket never had and the Game Boy Advance dropped, and the 3DS Virtual Console releases of the three games have no Mystery Gift option at all.

Unit to unit, and the watt after Pikachu

Unit to unitTwo Pikachu 2 GS units can swap watts directly, one choosing Send and the other Receive, so friends or family members can pool their steps for a big present or a Rare Candy. Sending zero watts swaps the owner’s composed alarm melody instead.

A Pokéwalker linking by infrared with a Nintendo DSi — A Pokéwalker linking with HeartGold or SoulSilver.

The watt after PikachuThe Pokéwalker that came with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver kept the rate of one watt per 20 steps. There, watts pay for Poké Radar searches at 10 a time and for dowsing at 3, and unspent watts travel back to the game, where growing totals open up new routes.

Pokémon

Choosing a Pokéwalker route in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Pikachu is the only Pokémon you raise on either device. It is on every screen, and its moods, hobbies and vehicles supply all the variety. A handful of others make cameo appearances: Magikarp is a symbol on the original’s slot reels, and on the second model Pikachu can dig up a Diglett in the sandpit or hook a Poliwag while fishing, while at the lowest level of friendship it hides away inside a Poké Ball. Pikachu’s career as a companion carried on in Hey You, Pikachu!, where players talk to it through a microphone.

The walking gadgets that followed widened the cast enormously. The Pokéwalker lets players take any Pokémon from HeartGold or SoulSilver out for a walk and catch others on themed routes, and two more Pokémon are tied to the successors:

JirachiOpens a special Pokéwalker route
SnorlaxNightcap Snorlax via GO Plus +

Regional Variations

The two devices changed names, colours and shells on their way around the world:

The devices were renamed for the West: Pocket Pikachu became Pokémon Pikachu, and Pocket Pikachu Color: Kin Gin to Issho! became Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS in North America and Pokémon Pikachu Color in Europe.
The standard Japanese Pocket Pikachu Color has a clear shell with white buttons, and Japan also had several limited editions, among them a pearly silver-white shell sold at Pokémon Centers and clear and solid blue versions sold through particular retailers.
In North America, Pikachu 2 GS came in a sparkly silver shell printed with “GS” and “Pokémon Pikachu 2”, while Europe’s Pokémon Pikachu Color has a transparent shell with black buttons.
The Mystery Gift link is region-locked, so each unit pairs only with Generation II cartridges from its own region; watts swapped between two units from the same region are unaffected.
The release order differed too: the original reached Australia in January 1999, well before Europe, while the second model took almost a year to leave Japan.

Videos & media

Three official presentations that follow the walking idea into the smartphone era, with the Pokémon GO Plus and GO Plus + accessories.

The September 2015 press conference that revealed Pokémon GO and its Pokémon GO Plus wearable, a distant descendant of Pocket Pikachu.

The May 2019 press conference where Pokémon Sleep and the Pokémon GO Plus + were first announced.

The Pokémon Presents of 27 February 2023, which brought Pokémon GO Plus + back into view ahead of its July 2023 launch.

Trivia & facts

Reach 450,000 steps on the original and Pikachu starts English lessons, answering the textbook sentence “THIS IS A PEN.” with a cheerful “PIKA PI PI CHU!”. Its maths class is a little less ambitious: the sum on the board is 9 + 2.
When Pikachu takes to a bicycle on the original, its legs are too short to reach the pedals, and the bike’s lamp is switched on.
Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS.

Walking 1,000,000 lifetime steps with Pikachu 2 GS brings up a special screen of Pikachu holding a congratulations sign, which can be called up again from the clock screen.
The original rewards the truly dedicated too: a thank-you letter from Pikachu can appear when the lifetime total reaches 999,999 steps.
Pikachu 2 GS gives Gold, Silver and Crystal players a dependable way to get a MiracleBerry, the Generation II cure-all that is otherwise very hard to come by.
Pikachu 2 GS’s big main button is modelled on the Game Boy Color’s A button, one of several touches that make the second model look like a shrunken Game Boy Color.
Nintendo of America promoted the original’s launch with a press release titled “Take a Walk on the Pokémon Side With Pokémon Pikachu”.
A Rare Candy turns up on the Pokéwalker.

The exchange rate has never changed: Pocket Pikachu set it at 20 steps a watt in 1998, Pikachu 2 GS kept it, and the Pokéwalker was still using it in 2009.
Watts outlived the Pikachu pedometers altogether: Pokémon Sword and Shield reused the name for one of the Galar region’s in-game currencies.

Legacy

What came after

Early press coverage – January 1998. GameSpot reports on the upcoming Pocket Pikachu two months before it reaches Japanese shops
Pocket Pikachu launches in Japan – 27 March 1998. A yellow, Game Boy-shaped unit at ¥2,500
Pocket Hello Kitty – 21 August 1998. A pink, Sanrio-licensed version of the original hardware, in Japan
Pokémon Pikachu launches in North America – 2 November 1998. Priced at US$19.95
Australian launch – 22 January 1999. The original arrives in Australia
European launch – 1999. The original reaches European shops
Pocket Pikachu Color launches in Japan – 21 November 1999. On the same day as Pokémon Gold and Silver; ¥3,000 before tax
Pocket Sakura – 23 June 2000. A Sakura Wars virtual pet built on the Color hardware, published by Media Factory
Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS launches in North America – 16 October 2000. In a sparkly silver shell; links with the English Gold and Silver
Pokémon Pikachu Color in Europe and Australia – 2000. Europe’s version has a transparent shell and black buttons
The Pokéwalker – 12 September 2009. A Poké Ball-shaped pedometer packed with every copy of HeartGold and SoulSilver, which launched in Japan that day
Pokémon GO Plus – 16 September 2016. A Bluetooth wearable that brings walking rewards to Pokémon GO
Pokémon GO Plus + – 14 July 2023. A rechargeable device for Pokémon GO and Pokémon Sleep; Europe followed on 21 July 2023

Where to play it today

Both devices are long out of production and have never been reissued or turned into a digital version, so the only way to own one in 2026 is second-hand, where Japanese and Western units both turn up regularly. Each runs on a standard CR2032 coin cell and usually springs back to life with a fresh battery, although old screens and step sensors can fail. Pikachu 2 GS can still send Mystery Gift items to original Gold, Silver and Crystal cartridges on a Game Boy Color from the same region, but not through a Game Boy Advance, and the 3DS Virtual Console versions, which went off sale when the 3DS eShop closed for purchases on 27 March 2023, have no Mystery Gift option. The walking idea itself carries on in Pokémon GO and its GO Plus + accessory.

How it was made

Pocket Pikachu was developed for Nintendo by Jupiter Corporation, the Kyoto company that also made Pokémon Pinball, and its casing was designed inside Nintendo. It arrived in the wake of the virtual pet boom led by Bandai’s Tamagotchi and borrowed the idea of rewarding exercise from Hudson’s Tekuteku Angel, but it dropped the feeding and cleaning chores of other pets in favour of walking. GameSpot was already reporting on the device in January 1998, two months before its Japanese launch on 27 March, and Nintendo of America announced the November release with a press release of its own.

The sequel was timed to launch alongside Pokémon Gold and Silver on 21 November 1999 and is credited to Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak and Jupiter. Its two big additions, the colour screen and the infrared port, were what tied it to those games, turning the watts walked on the device into items for a main-series adventure for the first time.

Successors, spin-offs and cameos

The Pokéwalker (2009)The Poké Ball-shaped Pokéwalker that came with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver took Pocket Pikachu’s idea and plugged it straight into a main-series game. Players beam a Pokémon from the game to the device by infrared and take it for a walk on one of several themed routes, catching wild Pokémon found with the Poké Radar and digging up items by dowsing, then send the Pokémon home to the game with everything it caught and found. Where Pikachu 2 GS could only post items into Gold and Silver, the Pokéwalker made the walk part of the adventure itself.

The Pokémon GO Plus logo.

Pokémon GO Plus (2016)Revealed alongside Pokémon GO in September 2015 and released on 16 September 2016, Pokémon GO Plus took the walking idea to smartphones. The small Bluetooth gadget, worn on a wrist strap or clipped on, buzzes and lights up when a Pokémon or a PokéStop is nearby, so players can try for a catch or collect items with one press of its button while the phone stays in a pocket.

The Pokémon GO Plus + device — Pokémon GO Plus +.

Pokémon GO Plus + (2023)Its successor, Pokémon GO Plus +, was first announced with Pokémon Sleep in May 2019 and went on sale on 14 July 2023, with Europe following on 21 July. Rechargeable and shaped like a Poké Ball, it handles the same catching and item-collecting in Pokémon GO and also tracks sleep for Pokémon Sleep, and pairing it with Pokémon GO unlocks Special Research for a Snorlax wearing a nightcap.

Companion booksJapanese publishers treated Pocket Pikachu as a craze in its own right. Shogakukan, Enix, SoftBank, Futabasha, MediaWorks, T2 Shuppan and others released more than a dozen guides, walking diaries and fan books for the original, and Shogakukan produced Nintendo’s official guide to Pocket Pikachu Color, the Pikachu Friendly Book, alongside further titles from Enix, T2 Shuppan and MediaWorks.

Cameos in Nintendo gamesThe original turns up as the Pocket Pet, one of the treasures in Wario Land 3, sitting at The Big Bridge, where Wario cannot do anything with it. Animal Crossing and its Japanese forerunners include a Pocket Pikachu as an errand item that villagers ask the player to deliver; it cannot be kept or displayed, and its icon shows the clear shell of Pocket Pikachu Color.

Pocket Hello Kitty and Pocket SakuraNintendo reused the hardware for other characters. Pocket Hello Kitty, a pink, Sanrio-licensed version of the original, launched in Japan on 21 August 1998. Pocket Sakura, built on the Color hardware with the Sakura Wars heroine Sakura Shinguji in Pikachu’s place, followed on 23 June 2000 under a deal between Nintendo, Sega, Red Company and Media Factory, and linked by infrared to Sakura Wars GB.

Pokémon GO Plus packaging (North America) — Pokémon GO Plus, North America.

Pokémon GO Plus packaging (Europe) — Pokémon GO Plus, Europe.

Pokémon GO Plus + packaging (Japan) — Pokémon GO Plus +, Japan.

Popularity & reception

Sales and success

There are no official sales figures for either device, but the original’s success in Japan is plain from the way it was received. Launched at ¥2,500 at the height of the Pokémon boom, Pocket Pikachu was so popular that many fans spent the spring of 1998 hunting for one, and Nintendo built on that success with Pocket Pikachu Color, priced at ¥3,000 before tax and timed to arrive with Gold and Silver. In North America the original sold for US$19.95, and Pikachu 2 GS followed it there in October 2000.

What players and the press said

Neither device was scored by the big review outlets, which treated them as toys rather than games, but the coverage has been warm. Looking back, GamesRadar called the original “a great idea from 1998 that combined pedometer with virtual pet” and, in its history of the Pokémon games, saw a clear line from it to later hardware: “the inspiration for the later Pokewalker and 3DS system is quite obvious”. The Punished Backlog‘s look back put the sequel’s big upgrade simply: “The GS version had a color screen so you could see Pikachu in all his bright yellow glory.”

The two devices were judged on charm rather than depth, and they had plenty of it. In Japan the original is remembered as an affordable, explosive hit from the peak of the Pokémon boom, and later retrospectives have cast it as a forerunner of Pokémon GO for marrying Pokémon to walking. Western writers liked the simple appeal of a pedometer joined to a virtual pet that, unlike its Tamagotchi rivals, never needed feeding or cleaning, and enjoyed the way Pikachu’s attitude changed with how well it was treated. GamesRadar pointed out that the first model sold well enough to earn a sequel timed for Gold and Silver, and singled out that sequel’s colour screen and infrared link.

Pokémon Pikachu & Pikachu 2 GS (Virtual Pets)