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 try out a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player soon meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. The Pikachu's trust must be earned by the player and eventually it will come and live in the player'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 can earn Pika Points, which is the currency used at Abra's Shop to unlock new items.

Eventually, if the player reaches day 365, Professor Oak appears and says that Pikachu has to be released, as it is a wild Pokémon. The player has to go to the woods where Pikachu was found and say "goodbye" several times, upon which Pikachu realizes he can't live with the player anymore, and, sadly, leaves. After the credits, while the player is looking around the front yard and reminiscing about Pikachu, it returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.

In reference to Nintendo's rivalry with Sony, an easter egg was placed in the game: speaking "PlayStation" into the microphone causes Pikachu to become angry.

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 200 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.

Hey You, Pikachu!
This is the first major game mode in the game. During this event, the player is taken to Viridian Forest where they meet up with Pikachu for the first time. Professor Oak will then tell the player that they must get Pikachu's attention by constantly speaking to. Afterwards, Pikachu will come closer to the player but is still nervous due to meeting a stranger. However, Pikachu will then start to grow to the player and the player then befriends Pikachu. Soon, it starts to get late and the player is forced to go back home leaving Pikachu behind. However, it turns out Pikachu followed the player back home where it tends to meet up with the player.

After playing some of the other activites, the player 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 reaches the other side. However, Pikachu suddenly shocks the player, takes the toolbox, and runs away. The player is forced to chase Pikachu all over Viridian Forest until Pikachu seemingly loses the player after using Thunder on them. The player makes chase and it turns out Pikachu took the toolbox to help feed the Caterpie. Pikachu is disappoianted by it's actions and hands over the toolbox. However, the player then askes Pikachu to stay at their house and Pikachu accepts.

Caring for Caterpie
This take place in Viridan Forest. In this activity, the player and Pikachu will care for Butterfree's Caterpie. During this activity, Pikachu will be focused on the Caterpie while the player watches. However, once a Caterpie turns orange, it is hungry and must be fed. If Pikachu is distracted by something else, the player 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 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 aquires the Megaphone, the player 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 awhile, 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 Pokemon 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 dish can be added as long it is edible). The player 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 Poké at the end.

Part 1 takes place during Pikachu's Discovery Days. Since the activites during Discovery Days is always automatically controlled, the player must tell Pikachu when a correct ingredient is nearby. Part 2 takes place during Pikachu's Play Days and is considered much easier. Now, the player can move willingly and pick up the correct ingredients and give them to Pikachu. It should be noted that during this activity, the player and Pikachu can find an egg that contains Togepi in a cave. Part III 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 and Pikachu can visit Abra's shop.

Little Lost Poliwag
This takes place at Olivine Lake. During this activity, the player and Pikachu must try and save all of the missing Poliwag in the area. The Poliwag tend to either be in the water or hiding behind grasses. If the player sees a Poliwag and Pikachu doesn't notice, the player must point to the Poliwag and call for Pikachu to have it spot it. The player 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 will be informed of this. Additionly, 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 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 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 particapte 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 Pokeball-shaped piñata to get the prizes. As Professor Oak states, the player 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 must tell it to "swing" to have Pikachu break open the piñata. If successful, the piñata will burst open and the player 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 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 Vileploom. If all of the Gloom evolve into VIleploom, the player and Pikachu are treated to something special and results in a reward. The player 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 and Pikachu will be in a rather small area of Springleaf Fields. They player 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 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 can only enter if Pikachu is around. Sometimes, Pikachu will ask to play a game of tag with the player. During Part 3, the player 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 tries to speak. As soon the plants start spinning, Pikachu will look at them dazed until the player 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 and Pikachu must have broken the pinata three times during the "The Pinata Party" activity. Afterwards the player and Pikachu hitch a ride on Lapras to Cobalt Island for some treasure hunting.

During "The Treasure Hunt," the player and Pikachu can find numerous of treasures around in Cobalt Island. During both parts, the treasures will be underground and the player 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. 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 Pokemon and the player must assist in helping Pikachu reel them in. The Pokemon will vary from size from either small to very large. Whenever there is a small Pokémon, the player 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 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 and Pikachu will be rewarded with a flag for that fishing hole.

Professor Oak's Special Training
At one point, Professor Oak will contact the player and gives the player the megaphone. With the megaphone, the player 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 and Pikachu are taken to a special area where the player must use the megaphone properly to speak with Pikachu. Also, the player are given new controls the allows the player 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 telling Pikachu that on "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 tells Pikachu "Pokémon Quiz," Pikachu will turn on the game. During this game, the player must help Pikachu guess the correct Pokémon when their silhouettes are shown. The player has a limited amount of time to tell Pikachu the correct answer. The player 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