Like Ash's Pikachu, these Pikachu are always male and cannot evolve. They are, however, present in Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Pikachu in a cap are not present in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, despite Pikachu being present in these games. World Cap Pikachu was released at the tail end of a set of distributions to celebrate the anime's timeslot move to Friday nights in Japan and the release of The Crown Tundra in October 2020. A seventh Cap Pikachu, Partner Cap Pikachu, debuted in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and an eighth, World Cap Pikachu, debuted in the Version 1.2.0 update of Pokémon Sword and Shield. The first six variations of Pikachu in a cap were introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon and were distributed to celebrate the Pokémon anime's twentieth anniversary and movie, I Choose You!.
It is not used in any other form of promotional media.
The term ' Pikachu in a cap' is derived from the in-game description of Pikashunium Z in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon.
