Also called Shocked Pikachu · Surprised Pikachu Face
Set up a predictable consequence, then let Pikachu react as though nobody could have seen it coming.
Pikachu's round eyes and open mouth express surprise. The joke is strongest when the caption makes that surprise unreasonable: ignoring every alarm and being late, or skipping the instructions and getting stuck.
This template is a crisp illustrated version of the reaction. Its open space above the face gives you room for the action and the obvious result without covering the expression.
The original reaction uses a screenshot from the Pokémon anime. In an interview with Know Your Meme, Tumblr user Angela, known as popokko, described saving the image while rewatching the show in 2017. [1]
She posted it with a joke on September 26, 2018: deliberately bending something, then being surprised when it broke. She later recalled seeing both new captions and clearer redrawn versions. This page's template is an illustrated variant, not the original screenshot. [1]
Write what someone does, then the result they should have expected. The reader should connect the two before looking at Pikachu. 'I stayed up late; now I'm tired' has the structure, but a concrete detail will make it feel like your own mistake.
Use first person when you're making fun of yourself. A caption about checking one more message at midnight is easier to recognize than a broad statement about people making bad decisions.
Original captions to try with this template.
The button's name already warned you. Pikachu acts as though the outcome needs investigating.
The cause and effect fit in two short sentences, leaving the face to supply the denial.
Skipping the instructions creates the problem. The second sentence exposes it without another explanation.
References for this template. Example captions are original.
Angela's account of saving the anime screenshot, posting it, and seeing later redraws.
