Surprised Pikachu
Surprised Pikachu is a low-resolution screenshot of Pikachu with its mouth hanging open, posted as a reaction to an outcome everyone saw coming. The frame comes from Season 1, Episode 10 of the Pokémon anime, 'Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village,' and the first meme use was a Tumblr post by user popokko on September 26, 2018. The joke only lands when the result was entirely predictable.
Names & aliases
What’s it called?
One umbrella name, many instance formats — here is how the names nest.
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UmbrellaPokémon memes
The low-res screenshot of Pikachu with its mouth agape
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InstanceShocked Pikachu
KYM entry alias: 'also known as Shocked Pikachu.'
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InstanceSurprised Pikachu face
Common descriptive form of the name.
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InstanceSurprised Pikachu
imgflip template name, ID 155067746 (verified via imgflip API 2026-11-08).
Usage
How to use it
Tone
feigned shock.
Where it lands
Reacting with surprise to an outcome everyone saw coming — the caption states the cause, the face plays dumb.
How it evolved
Source frame: Season 1, Episode 10 of the Pokémon anime, 'Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village' (moment at ~3:05); first meme use September 26, 2018 (Tumblr user popokko).
Easy to get wrong
The joke is the gap between a predictable setup and the surprised face — if the outcome genuinely was a shock, the meme doesn't fit. The famous frame is also a low-resolution screenshot, not official artwork.
Origin
Origin & timeline
- 2018Source frame: Season 1, Episode 10 of the Pokémon anime, 'Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village' (moment at ~3:05); first meme use September 26, 2018 (Tumblr user popokko) — Tumblr for the first post; Reddit and Facebook for the spread
- 2018September 26, 2018: popokko's Tumblr post pairs the screenshot with a setup that leads to an obvious outcome, gaining 223,000+ notes (KYM).
- 2018September 30 - October 2, 2018: it hits r/MemeEconomy (880 points) and the Facebook page Meme Extreme (3,900+ reactions, 4,000 shares) (KYM).
- 2018October 2018: the format runs wild on r/me_irl (3,900+ points on October 14; a deliberately blurry edit mocking screen fatigue gets 6,200+ points on October 24) and r/freefolk tops 20,000 points with a Game of Thrones version (KYM).
- 2019March 2019: Twitter briefly auto-suspends accounts for posting the image as 'gratuitous imagery'; the locks stop by March 18 and the cause is never officially confirmed (KYM).
Verifiable sources
Templates
Make your own
Open the Surprised Pikachu generator — imgflip↗We link out to generators and blank templates; meme images are never rehosted on memefern.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the Surprised Pikachu meme?
A screenshot from the Pokémon anime showing Pikachu with its mouth hanging open in shock, paired with captions where a setup leads to a completely predictable outcome that the poster pretends to be surprised by (KYM).
What episode is Surprised Pikachu from?
Season 1, Episode 10, 'Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village,' at roughly the 3:05 mark (KYM).
When did Surprised Pikachu become a meme?
Autumn 2018. The first known use is a September 26, 2018 Tumblr post by popokko that gained over 223,000 notes; by mid-October it was everywhere on Reddit (KYM).
How do you use the Surprised Pikachu meme?
Describe a cause and its obvious effect ('skips sleep for a week, feels tired'), then let the face deliver the fake shock. It mocks performative surprise, including your own.
Why did Twitter suspend people for posting Surprised Pikachu?
In March 2019 several users reported automatic suspensions for posting the image as 'gratuitous imagery.' The cause was never officially explained — mass reporting was the leading theory — and the locks stopped by March 18, 2019 (KYM).