Hey You, Pikachu!

Hey You, Pikachu! (known in Japan as "Pikachu Genki dechū" (ピカチュウげんきでちゅう, lit. a pun on "Pikachu genki desu" (Pikachu is fine)) is a Nintendo 64 game that features voice recognition technology used to talk with a Pikachu.
The game begins when the main character is asked to test out a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player character soon meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. The Pikachu's trust must be earned by the player character and eventually it will come and live in the player character's house. There are three different activity days: Pikachu's Daring Days, Discovery Days, and Play Days. Each day has a different objective (e.g. collecting food, going fishing) and the player character can earn Pika Points, which is the currency used at Abra's Shop to unlock new items.
Eventually, if the player character reaches day 365, Professor Oak appears and says that Pikachu has to be released, as it is a wild Pokémon. The player character has to go to the woods where Pikachu was found and say "good bye" several times, upon which Pikachu realizes he can't live with the player character anymore, and, sadly, leaves. After the credits, while the player character is looking around the front yard and reminiscing about Pikachu, it returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.
Video game review aggregators like Metacritic and Game Rankings gave the game mixed reviews. Some complaints included the simplistic music and graphics, the controls, and the limits of the voice-recognition technology, which only understood about two-hundred words. Because of this, it was never released outside of Japan and North America.
A spiritual sequel to Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Channel was also developed by Ambrella. It was released on the Nintendo GameCube.
==Game Modes==
===Hey You, Pikachu!===
This is the first major game mode in the game. During this event, the player character is taken to Viridian Forest where they meet up with Pikachu for the first time. Professor Oak will then tell the player character that they must get Pikachu's attention by constantly speaking to it. Afterwards, Pikachu will come closer to the player character but still nervous due to meeting a stranger. However, Pikachu will then start to grow to the player character and the player character then befriends Pikachu. Soon, it starts to get late and the player character is forced to go back home leaving Pikachu behind. However, it turns out Pikachu followed the player character back home where it tends to meet up with the player character.
After playing some of the other activities, the player character heads back to the entrance to Viridian Forest where Pikachu is on the other side. Pikachu takes out some dead plants using Thunderbolt and the player character reaches the other side. However, Pikachu suddenly shocks the player character, takes the toolbox, and runs away. The player character is forced to chase Pikachu all over Viridian Forest until Pikachu seemingly loses the player character after using Thunder on them. The player character makes chase and it turns out Pikachu took the toolbox to help feed the Caterpie. Pikachu is disappointed by its actions and hands over the toolbox. However, the player character then asks Pikachu to stay at their house and Pikachu accepts.
===Caring for Caterpie===
This takes place in Viridan Forest. In this activity, the player character and Pikachu will care for Butterfree's Caterpie. During this activity, Pikachu will be focused on the Caterpie while the player character watches. However, once a Caterpie turns orange, it is hungry and must be fed. If Pikachu is distracted by something else, the player character can call to Pikachu to have it immediately notice the Caterpie. In order to feed the Caterpie, Pikachu must get a rosebud from one of the many trees around. However, the rosebud is too high for Pikachu to get and the player character must tell Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to make one fall down. Pikachu will then take the rosebud to the hungry Caterpie and it will be fed. "Caring for Caterpie" is available during Pikachu's Play Days and Pikachu's Daring Days.
It should be noted that during Pikachu's Daring Days, once the player character acquires the Megaphone, the player character can knock down rosebuds and feed the Caterpie themselves. Once the Caterpie have been fed enough (about three times for each one), the Caterpie will evolve into a Metapod. After a while, the Metapod will evolve into a Butterfree and fly away. After the day has ended, Butterfree will appear and give out an reward. The reward is determined if there was any hungry Caterpie or that all of them evolved.
===A Pokémon Picnic===
This takes place in Ochre Woods. During this event, Bulbasaur will tell Pikachu what ingredients he need for a certain dish. Professor Oak will always say which type of dish is being served by the types of food being used in it. There is always three ingredients that will be shown (but a fourth ingredient can be added as long it is edible). The player character and Pikachu must then find the ingredients and hand them to Magnemite. After getting the ingredients, Bulbasaur will call everybody to dinner and taste the food. The quality of the dish is determined by Pikachu's expression. It can range from good to great to awful (weird dish). The dish is then calculated into the Pika at the end.
Part 1 takes place during Pikachu's Discovery Days. Since the controls during any of Discovery Days' activities are always fixed to Pikachu's location, the player character must tell Pikachu whenever a correct ingredient is nearby. Part 2 takes place during Pikachu's Play Days and is considered much easier. Now, the player character can move willingly and pick up the correct ingredients and give them to Pikachu. It should be noted that during this activity, the player character and Pikachu can find an egg that contains Togepi in a cave. Part 3 takes place during Pikachu's Daring Days and is much tougher than the last two. However, this offers a little more exploration and the player character and Pikachu can visit the second Abra's Shop of the game.
===Little Lost Poliwag===
This takes place at Olivine Lake. During this activity, the player character and Pikachu must try and find all of the missing Poliwag in the area. The Poliwag tend to either be in the water or hiding behind grasses. If the player character sees a Poliwag and Pikachu doesn't notice, the player character must point to the Poliwag and call for Pikachu to have it spot it. The player character must be careful not to get too close to the Poliwag or it will run away. Also, a Poliwag may go missing and the player character will be informed of this. Additionally, a Haunter may appear and scare all of the Poliwags away. Telling Pikachu to use Thunderbolt at the right time will cause the Haunter to go away without losing any Poliwag.
Little Lost Poliwag can be played during "Pikachu's Discovering Days" and "Pikachu's Daring Days" in two parts. In Part 1, the player character and Pikachu can take any amount of Poliwags to Squirtle. Professor Oak will then say that Squirtle will safely take the Poliwags to Poliwhirl farther away. However, during Part 2, the player character and Pikachu can actually take any missing Poliwag to Poliwhirl now. The reward depends on if all of the Poliwag are returned or not.
===The Piñata Party===
This activity takes place on Cobalt Coast. During this event, Pikachu and his friends will participate in trying to open a piñata and the event itself is hosted by Venusaur. Pikachu will be blind-folded and must attempt to break open the Poké Ball-shaped piñata to get the prizes. As Professor Oak states, the player character must assist Pikachu in breaking open the piñata by telling it to go in the correct directions. When Pikachu is right near the piñata, the player character must tell it to "swing" to have Pikachu break open the piñata. If successful, the piñata will burst open and the player character can quickly grab any of the prizes close by to earn money at the end. There are three rounds to this and if Pikachu breaks open the piñatas in the three rounds, Venusaur will reward them. Also, the treasure hunt will be available for play.
===A Field Trip===
This activity takes place in Springleaf Fields. During this event, the player character and Pikachu enjoy a nice day during the fields. However, there is a hidden objective for parts one and two that involves finding Oddish hiding the ground. After Pikachu inspects the plant, it may be an Oddish or a strange weed. Usually, if it is a strange weed, Pikachu will pick it up the weed and Thundershock it. If it is an Oddish, it will jump out and, after finding the same Oddish three times, will evolve into a Gloom. This goes the same with Gloom evolving into Vileplume. If all of the Gloom evolve into VIleplume, the player character and Pikachu are treated to something special and results in a reward. The player character must be careful not to get too close to an Oddish or Gloom or it will run away and this doesn't count toward it evolving.
"Field Trip" is one of few activities that takes place during all three of Pikachu's "days" meaning it has three parts. During Part 1, the player character and Pikachu will be in a rather small area of Springleaf Fields. They player character cannot pick up any of the items since this takes place during "Pikachu's Discovering Days". Charmander can also be found on a high area and Pikachu will commonly wave to it. During Part 2, the area is much more larger and the player character can pick up items to add to the reward count. It should be noted that Abra's Shop can be found here and the player character can only enter if Pikachu is around. Sometimes, Pikachu will ask to play a game of tag with the player character. During Part 3, the player character and Pikachu will be at a much larger area of Springleaf Fields that contains trees. Also, there are many swirly plants around that spin whenever the player character tries to speak. As soon the plants start spinning, Pikachu will look at them dazed until the player character stops talking (since talking makes them move). Also, there is a Diglett here that Pikachu may start to chase until the Diglett disappears.
===The Treasure Hunt===
This activity takes place a little further from Cobalt Coast on Cobalt Island. It should be noted that this is the only activity in the game that must be unlocked first before playing it. To play the first Treasure Hunt activity, the player character and Pikachu must have broken the pinata two or three times during the "The Pinata Party" activity. Afterwards, the player character and Pikachu hitch a ride on Lapras to Cobalt Island for some treasure hunting.
During "The Treasure Hunt," the player character and Pikachu can find numerous of treasures around in Cobalt Island. During both parts, the treasures will be underground and the player character must tell Pikachu when a treasure chest is nearby. After inspecting the treasure chest to make sure it's real, Pikachu will dig it up, but then a sign will appear indicating what to do in order to open the treasure chest. This can range from "Thundershock" to a rather silly command like "tickle". After the treasure chest is opened, Pikachu will take the item and hand it over to the player character. The prize can either range from something useless like a bottlecap ring or something valuable like a gem. "The Treasure Hunt" can be played during "Pikachu's Play Days" and "Pikachu's Daring Days".
===Gone Fishing!===
"Gone Fishing!" is a rather special activity that can only be played during "Pikachu's Discovery Days". During this activity, Pikachu will fish for Pokémon and the player character must assist in helping Pikachu reel them in. The Pokémon will vary from size from either small to very large. Whenever there is a small Pokémon, the player character can simply tell Pikachu to reel it in when it's close. However, if it's a large Pokémon and is putting up a fight, the player character can tell Pikachu to hang in there until the Pokémon is close enough to reel in. If the Pokémon is too big and too far for Pikachu to reel in, it's best to tell it to let the Pokémon go in order to save Pikachu's energy.
"Gone Fishing!" can be played at three different locations: Ochre Woods, Cobalt Coast, and Olivine Lake. Each of these locations have different kinds of Pokémon to catch. Professor Oak will sometimes give advice on a rare Pokémon that may be at a fishing hole (such as a Dratini being at Olivine Lake). The more Pokémon Pikachu catches, the higher the points. It's easier to catch Pokémon by buying different lures and they can be bought at Abra's Shop. After getting a certain amount of points, the player character and Pikachu will be rewarded with a flag for that fishing hole.
==Other Modes and Features==
===Professor Oak's Special Training===
At one point, Professor Oak will contact the player character and gives them the megaphone. With the megaphone, the player character is able to talk with Pikachu from a distance away. When the megaphone is used, it produces a large, orange speech bubble that travels in a straight line rather than follow Pikachu. The megaphone has an added effect on knocking things down from trees.
The player character and Pikachu are taken to a special area where the player character must use the megaphone properly to speak with Pikachu. Also, the player character are given new controls that allows them to automatically lock onto Pikachu's location or view the area around them on their own. Professor Oak's Special Training can be played anytime by saying "Professor Oak's Special Training" to Pikachu on the menu screen of "Pikachu's Daring Days".
===Pokémon Quiz===
In the bedroom, there is a television set with a game system on it (a Nintendo 64 game system to be exact). If the player character tells Pikachu "Pokémon Quiz", Pikachu will turn on the game. During this game, the player character must help Pikachu guess the correct Pokémon when their silhouettes are shown. The player character has a limited amount of time to tell Pikachu the correct answer. They must speak clearly so that Pikachu puts in the correct answer. The time for the quizzes answered is recorded at the end each time.
==Pokémon that appear==
*Pikachu
*Bulbasaur
*Charmander
*Squirtle
*Togepi
*Caterpie
*Metapod
*Butterfree
*Poliwag
*Poliwhirl
*Haunter
*Magnemite
*Oddish
*Gloom
*Vileplume
*Abra
*Venusaur
*Slowpoke
*Magikarp
*Goldeen
*Seaking
*Staryu
*Starmie
*Krabby
*Kingler
*Horsea
*Seadra
*Dratini
Category:Pokémon Games
Category:Side Games
Category:Nintendo 64 Games