Pikachu’s Tail & The Mandela Effect

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Why do people remember Pikachu having a black tail?

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by ThePokéRaf

Last Updated: March 21, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Does Pikachu have a black tail?
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• Ash's Pikachu
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• Cosplay Pikachu
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• Pikachu & the Mandela Effect
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• Why do people think Pikachu has a black tail?
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• Other Pokémon Mandela Effects
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• Tips

|Show more |Show less

Have you seen a picture of Pikachu and wondered what happened to the black tip on its tail? If you remember this detail, you might be shocked that this Pokémon never had a black tail. So many people share the memory of Pikachu’s tail color, and there are some logical reasons why people still believe it. Keep reading, and we’ll explain what Pikachu’s tail looks like and the reasons why you may misremember it. We also spoke to communication therapist Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP, for more insight into this phenomenon.

Did Pikachu have a black tip tail?

Many people remember Pikachu’s tail having a black tip, but it's yellow with a brown base and does not have a black tip. This is an example of the Mandela Effect, or a false memory that a large group of people have. The misconception may be due to unofficial Pikachu merch with a black tail tip.

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Section 1 of 6:

Does Pikachu have a black tail?

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1. 
   No, Pikachu never had a black-tipped tail. Since Pokémon was released in the 90s, Pikachu has had a yellow tail in the anime, on the trading cards, and all official merchandise. While Pikachu has brown stripes on its back and brown fur near the base of its tail, the black stripe on the tip never appeared in any official art.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP is a Communication Therapist with over 18 years of clinical and educational experience in the field of mental health.
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Section 2 of 6:

What about Ash's Pikachu?

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1. 
   Ash’s Pikachu from the Pokémon TV show doesn’t have a black tip. Even though Ash’s Pikachu is one of the mascots for the series, it looks the same as all other Pikachu (except for female Pikachu). He has a yellow tail with a brown base—no black tip.

Section 3 of 6:

Does Cosplay Pikachu have a black tail?

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1. 
   Yes, the female cosplay Pikachu has a heart-shaped tail with a black tip. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, players can earn a special female Cosplay Pikachu that can change costumes and learns special moves. To show that this Pikachu is different from a standard one in-game, she has a heart-shaped tail with a black tip. This is the only time Pikachu has had a black tip on its tail, but people still claim it existed before the games released in 2014.

   • Why does Cosplay Pikachu have a heart-shaped tail? Starting in Gen IV with the release of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, female Pikachu were given a heart-shaped tail while males kept a square tip. Besides Cosplay Pikachu, all other female Pikachu still have a yellow tail with a brown base.
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Section 4 of 6:

Pikachu and the Mandela Effect

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1. 
   The Mandela Effect is why people think Pikachu has a black tail. The Mandela effect is when a group of people remember specific details or events that aren't true or never occurred in real life. People may picture Pikachu with a black tail and think their memory or imagined image is real, even though it's not.

   • According to Tenzer, “The Mandela Effect occurs when groups of people confidently remember something that either never happened or they’re remembering it incorrectly. These false memories happen because memory is not a recording; it’s a reconstruction. We remember things based on what we think we saw, what we expect to see, and what society tells us we saw.”
   • Tenzer says, “A powerful way to understand this is by imagining five people witnessing the same crime. Even though they all experienced the same event, at roughly the same time and place, each of them is likely to recall it differently.”
   • The Mandela Effect got its name from a group of people misremembering Nelson Mandela passing away while he was in prison, even though he was released in 1990 and survived until 2013. Tenzer continues, “The brain doesn’t always prioritize accuracy, especially under stress or in confusing situations.” The stress and confusion surrounding Mandela’s imprisonment may have somehow affected the public’s memory.
   • Other common examples of the Mandela Effect include:
     • Remembering The Berenstein Bears instead of the actual name The Berenstain Bears
     • Misquoting the Darth Vader line as “Luke, I am your father,” when he says, “No, I am your father”
     • Thinking the Monopoly man is wearing a monocle when he doesn’t have one
     • People thinking Sinbad starred in a movie called Shazaam when they are probably remembering the movie Kazaam starring Shaq

Section 5 of 6:

Why do people think Pikachu has a black tail?

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1. 
   1
   The black tips on Pikachu’s ears may be mistaken for its tail. One of Pikachu’s recognizable features is its pointed ears with black tips. At certain angles, Pikachu’s ears may overlap its tail and make it appear to have a black tip.
2. 
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   There was unofficial merchandise that gave Pikachu a black tail. Pokémon has been extremely popular since it started, so many people made bootleg products to cash in. Even if there are shirts, cards, or stuffed animals of Pikachu with a black tip on its tail, they were never made by the official Pokémon company.
3. 
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   Pichu has a black tail until it evolves into Pikachu. Generation II introduced Pichu, a smaller mouse Pokémon that evolves into Pikachu. Pichu has a smaller tail than Pikachu, but it’s solid black instead of yellow. It might be easy to think that Pikachu keeps some of the black on its tail once it evolves, but it changes to solid yellow instead.
4. 
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   People may be thinking of a “Pikaclone” with a black tail. Every Pokémon generation adds an Electric-type rodent that looks kind of similar to Pikachu. Each of these Pikaclones has circular cheek pads and a similar body shape, so it can be easy to confuse them with Pikachu at a glance. A couple of these Pikaclones have black tails, so it’s easy to think Pikachu has one too.

   • Emolga is a flying squirrel Pokémon introduced in Black and White, and it has a large black lightning-shaped tail.
   • Dedenne is an orange mouse from Pokémon X and Y, and it has a long and skinny black tail.
   • Mimikyu from Sun and Moon isn’t technically a Pikaclone, but it wears a disguise that looks like Pikachu. Its tail has a darker tip, so it may lead people to think Pikachu has a black tip on its tail too.
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Section 6 of 6:

Other Mandela Effect Examples from Pokémon

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1. 
   People have found many examples of the Mandela Effect in Pokémon. Even though Pikachu’s tail color is probably the most notable Mandela Effect in the series, a lot of people misremember other details from Pokémon, too. A few of the other details that people don’t remember correctly include:

   • Mew being white instead of pink
   • Psyduck being part Psychic-type when it is only a Water-type
   • Magnemite having the Levitate ability when it only has Magnet Pull or Sturdy
   • Electric-type attacks are strong against Steel Pokémon
   • Psychic-type attacks are strong against Ghost Pokémon
     • This Mandela Effect has some truth to it because a glitch in Pokémon Red and Blue made Psychic-types immune to Ghost attacks, and the only Ghost-types in Gen I were part Poison-type, which is weak against Psychic

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Tips

• Many people are still convinced that Pokémon changed how Pikachu looks and claim to have evidence, but these are usually edited images or off-brand merchandise. If you’re unsure, always check official sources, like the Pokémon website or by watching old episodes of the TV show.
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