It is the most famous secret of Pokémon Stadium: a Pikachu can learn Surf there, a move it cannot learn in any first or second generation game. The Surfing Pikachu appears in the introduction of Pokémon Yellow, and the Game Boy game even reserves a hidden mini-game for it: you just had to be able to get one. Here are the exact conditions, the pitfalls to avoid and what the Surfing Pikachu unlocks afterwards.
The Conditions
Pikachu learns Surf after the Master Ball division of the Prime Cup, in Round 2. So you must have completed the whole game once: all ten trophies, the Castle, then the victory against Mewtwo that opens Round 2.
Then, the cup must be won while following three rules:
- All your Pokémon must come from a Game Boy cartridge plugged into the Transfer Pak. No Rental Pokémon and no registered team: select your six Pokémon directly from the cartridge before each match.
- A Pikachu must be among the six. It can come from Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow, and it does not need to be the starter Pikachu of Pokémon Yellow. It must at least be selected among your three fighters for the final, but it does not have to fight.
- Do not save during the cup: the run must be played in one go. Continues, however, are allowed if you lose a match.
Once the trophy is handed over, the game offers to teach Surf to your Pikachu. If Pikachu already knows four moves, choose the one to forget. The change is written directly onto the Game Boy cartridge.
Preparing the Team
Since Pikachu is dead weight at this level, you are really playing five against six. Three tips:
- Raise five Pokémon to level 100 with maximum stat experience (the vitamins HP Up, Protein, Iron, Carbos and Calcium help): the difference with a Rental Pokémon of the same level is significant.
- Aim for complementarity: a fast Psychic-type Pokémon (Alakazam, or Mewtwo if you caught it in Cerulean Cave), a Water or Ice-type Pokémon (Lapras, Cloyster), a sturdy Normal-type Pokémon (Snorlax, Tauros) and an Electric-type Pokémon (Zapdos, Jolteon).
- Keep Pikachu in reserve: for the final, select it among your three fighters, but place it last and finish the match with the other two.
In the Game Boy games, Mewtwo, Mew, the legendary birds and most Pokémon can join your team; however, Mew was only available through official distributions. The Prime Cup imposes no species or level restriction: Mew and Mewtwo are allowed there (see the cup rules).
What the Surfing Pikachu Unlocks
Pikachu’s Beach in Pokémon Yellow
Brought back to Pokémon Yellow, a Pikachu that knows Surf opens a hidden mini-game. Head to the beach house on Sea Route 19, south of Fuchsia City, with the Surfing Pikachu in your party: its resident offers you “Pikachu’s Beach”, where Pikachu performs tricks on the waves to score points. On the water, Pokémon Yellow also displays a special sprite of Pikachu on its board.
Stadium’s GB Tower lets you play Pokémon Yellow on the television, and so enjoy this mini-game on the big screen.
And in the Following Games
The Surfing Pikachu can be traded to Gold, Silver and Crystal, which also display its sprite on the water. It cannot go any further: no official method allows a second-generation Pokémon to be moved to the third. Later, other games took over: Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire (a Pichu Egg that knows Surf), Pokémon Battle Revolution, then the Pokéwalker of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
A Bit of History
In Japan, a Surfing Pikachu could already be obtained in the very first Pocket Monsters Stadium of 1998, under a different condition. The Western versions, which correspond to the second Japanese Stadium, took up the idea by placing it at the very end of the game. The precise conditions, long debated, were established by testing from the player community.
For all the other rewards in the game (gift Pokémon, Amnesia Psyduck, GB Tower Doduo and Dodrio), see the rewards of Pokémon Stadium.
