Surprised Pikachu
The wide-eyed Pikachu reaction face used when an obvious consequence somehow still shocks someone.
A reaction image of Pikachu looking shocked with an open mouth. Captioned for moments of fake surprise — when someone does something predictably dumb and then acts stunned by the result. The joke is that the outcome was obvious.
History
The still comes from the Pokémon anime. Know Your Meme and Wikipedia credit Tumblr user popokko with popularizing the shocked-face crop as a reaction format in September 2018; it then flooded Twitter and Reddit as a caption meme.
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. Scores last reviewed 2026-07-25. How scoring works
Timeline
1997–98
Source animation appears in the original Pokémon anime
Sep 2018
Tumblr user popokko popularizes the shocked Pikachu still as a reaction
Late 2018
Format explodes on Twitter/Reddit with 'surprised by obvious consequences' captions
2019+
Becomes a durable reaction staple across platforms
Examples
- “Me when I skip studying and somehow fail the test [Surprised Pikachu]”
- “Company ignores users for years → users leave → Surprised Pikachu”
- “Any 'I did the thing that causes X and got X' joke”
Media
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
Distracted Boyfriend
MemeThe 2015 stock photo turned object-labeling meme — a man glances at another woman while his girlfriend looks shocked.
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Hide the Pain Harold
MemeHungarian stock-photo model András Arató — whose forced smile became the internet's face of polite suffering and fake enthusiasm.
Woman Yelling at Cat
MemeA two-panel meme pairing a screaming Real Housewives cast member with an unimpressed white cat at a dinner table — one of the most versatile reaction formats of the late 2010s.
Arthur's Fist
MemeThe clenched-fist Arthur Read still — the internet's default reaction image for bottled rage and 'mood.'
Dafoe Looking Up
MemeWillem Dafoe as van Gogh staring skyward — the go-to still for anxiety, overwhelm, or literally looking at something above you.
Dramatic Chipmunk
MemeThe prairie-dog head-turn set to horror stingers — a 2007 YouTube reaction clip that became a universal punchline edit.
References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- Surprised Pikachu — Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org