The Pikachu tail confusion: has the tip of it ever been black?
Pikachu is one of the hundreds of Pokémon today. It is the iconic mascot of the famous Japanese media franchise Pokémon. There have been claims that Pikachu originally had a black-tipped tail that later changed. What is the mystery behind Pikachu's tail?
Source: UGC
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise founded in 1995 and revolves around fictional characters known as Pokémon. Pikachu first appeared in 1996 and has an inverse Pokédex number 25. It has garnered much fame, with fans of the Pokémon franchise curious to know where the tip of its tail has ever been black.
Did Pikachu have a black tail?
Pikachu's tail has been consistently yellow with a brown patch at its base. Contrary to popular belief, the character has never had a black tail. There is no stripe or patch present on its tail. Below are factors contributing to this misconception about Pikachu's black-tipped tail.
Pikachu Mandela effect
Mandela effect is named after the famous Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa. According to the Urban Dictionary, the Mandela effect refers to a phenomenon when a large group of people remember something being a certain way, but when they go back and look at it, it goes against what they remember.
Many people have great memories of Pikachu growing up. What if those memories turn out to be wrong? Based on the Mandela effect definition, someone has to have mistakenly remembered Pikachu with a black tip tail and spread this false memory.
Many people believed it, and it was, therefore, accepted as a belief that persists up-to-date. The fact remains that the main version of the character has never had a black tail.
Introduction of Cosplay Pikachu
Cosplay variant was introduced into the Pokémon franchise in 2013. In the contest, Cosplay Pikachu could wear five unique costumes: Rock Star, Belle, Libre, Pop Star and PhD. In addition, it was known to have a tail with a black heart-shaped tip. It was the only instance of it having the black-tipped tail in any form of media in which the Pokémon has been featured.
Pikachu's appearance
Pikachu is a tiny quadrupedal Pokémon that looks like a giant mouse. It is easily recognisable by its two brown stripes on its back and black-tipped ears. Because of the ears, people might assume that the tail has the same colouring.
It also has bright red cheeks and a dark patch at the base of its tail. A female variant is a bit different, as it has a heart-shaped tip at its tail. Does Pikachu have a black tip on his tail? No, not even the female variant had a black tip, unless, of course, you count the Cosplay version.
Off-brand merchandise
With the rise of popularity of any franchise, there also comes a surge of counterfeit merch. Anyone who is capable of mass-producing toys and other items oriented towards children can make bank creating off-brand items.
Pokémon, being one of the most successful franchises in the world, has seen its fair share of knock-off items, Pikachu merchandise being among them. Some unscrupulous companies might not have paid enough attention to the original design, thus creating a Pikachu with a black tail, and confusing millions of children (and adults) in the process.
Pikachu has been the world's favourite Pokémon for over 25 years. There has been a misconception about Pikachu's tail, with many believing it was initially black. The above article clearly shows that its tail has never been black, apart from the Cosplay variant.
Legit.ng recently published an article about the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Dozens of Pokémon make it hard to select the rarest, most desired Pokémon. Additionally, there are six decades of filtering, which can be hectic.
Getting rare Pokémon and completing the Pokédex is one of the main goals of playing. You must know where to look for them. Shiny Pokémon with hats, costumes, festive items or flower crowns are the rarest.
Source: Legit.ng
