Seeking Out Lost Media: Pikachu’s Vacation

This article is part of a series where I search for media from my childhood. In this part, I’ll be finding Pikachu’s Vacation.

When Pokémon: The First Movie was released in Japanese theatres in 1998, there was an additional 20-minute short before the movie. The short movie made its way to Western theatres in late 1999. But I didn’t go to the cinema to see the first movie. So, how did I see Pikachu’s Vacation?

You see, as a child, I was a big fan of Pokémon. I still am. But back then, everything was about the pocket monsters. One year, I received the box set of the first three Pokémon movies. Included on the Pokémon: The First Movie DVD was this gem. I have distinct memories of watching Pikachu’s Vacation on repeat. I would end up switching over to Pokémon 2000, and back to Pikachu’s Vacation again and again.

As the very first Pokémon short, we see the introduction of Pikachu and Meowth’s slimmer designs. The species would go on to adopt these designs from Generation III onwards. I have to admit, though, I didn’t realise they were slimmer until much later in my life.

Who Made Pikachu’s Vacation?

It goes without saying that Pikachu’s Vacation was created by the same people who make the anime, OLM. With the same director as the anime and the movies, Kunihiko Yuyama, the short has incredible heart and a cosy vibe. The same kind we get when watching the show. Since this is the first Pokémon short to accompany a Pokémon movie, the sense of nostalgia is impeccably strong. This is true even if you’ve never seen it.

Hideki Sonoda is the writer of Pikachu’s Vacation. Though this was one of his first Pokémon projects, he went on to write a majority of the movies. This was from Pokémon 3: The Movie until Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction.

The original voice cast returns to grace our ears with their talents. This short could totally be inserted into the anime as a normal episode. Ash, Misty, and Brock aren’t in the short much—you don’t even get to see their faces. With Eric Stuart also returning as Ash’s Pokedex, we get some iconic narrating from the legend.

The theme song was written and performed by 90s singer Colleen Fitzpatrick, better known by her stage name Vitamin C. Dare I say, this is her best song. Although also a big fan of ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ from Hannah Montana, ‘Vacation’ holds a special place in my heart. Kudos to you, Colleen. There’s also a song from Angelia Via in the short. It’s called ‘Catch Me If You Can’, and it’s a great addition to the scene it’s in.

Why Was It Made?

Focusing on the Pokémon, Pikachu’s Vacation shows how they interact without their trainers around. Introducing some of the next generation to the franchise, this short was a way for the Pokémon company to breathe fresh air into the universe. It was also a great way to implement a bit more personality in pre-established characters, as well as creating dilemmas for them to work through without the help of a human.

The issues aren’t completely black and white, and they’re mostly communicated without dialogue; Pikachu’s Vacation is a digestible way of presenting the struggles the real world has for us. This is important to introduce at a young age as it allows people to develop their problem-solving skills.

Initially, made to test the waters in terms of shorter animated content, Pikachu’s Vacation was a huge success for the company. This led to short movies being created for every future movie in the franchise.

Finding Pikachu’s Vacation in 2025

For years, Pikachu’s Vacation was a hole in my heart. My DVD copy had gone missing, and I couldn’t find an official copy with the short on it. The only version I could find online was the Spanish one on YouTube. While the narrator’s comments don’t add much to the short, it still took me out of the nostalgia trip I’d long for. Eventually, I came across a copy of the first three movies, and I was praying, hoping, and pleading to the universe for the shorts to be added. Alas, they were not, and my money was wasted…

However, in a twisted turn of events, soon after I wasted my money (okay, it wasn’t really wasted, the first three movies are still shit-hot), my sibling was having a clear-out… All of their DVDs were destined for the bin, but my mother allowed me to take a look first. And there it was. The DVD from my childhood. My copy of Pokémon the Movie… with Pikachu’s Vacation on it. My days of vacationless torment were finally over. I could finally show my child the reason that I adore Bulbasaur. So we watched it together, and the rest is history.

My particular copy is the yellow snap-case version. Though the price of this copy can get pretty steep, I was able to track down the short on The Internet Archive, so go live your best vacation life, my friends.

The Story

Welcome to PokéPark… I Mean, Just a Place With The Word “Pokémon” Posted Everywhere

At the beginning of this short, we get to see the main trio, Ash, Misty, and Brock, dropping off their beloved besties at a Pokémon play park. After a banger of a tune, and Pikachu being trampled by the group’s Pokémon, we see Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Psyduck attempting to look after the baby, Togepi.

When Togepi’s tummy starts to rumble, and the egg bursts into floods of tears, Pikachu tries to soothe the baby by making funny faces. This works swiftly. Unfortunately, when Squirtle tries a funny face, it results in the baby breaking out into even more tears. Defeated, Squirtle walks away, then he sees a juicy-looking apple hanging in the tree. Success! Calling over to Bulbasaur, Squirtle requests his help in getting the food for Togepi. With a razor leaf attack, the apple falls directly in front of Togepi… and Psyduck.

Ahh, Psyduck. A guy after my own heart. He obviously gobbles up the apple and just… walks away. Togepi is crying louder than ever, and Bulbasaur, the absolute sweetheart, wraps the baby in his vines and starts rocking him back and forth whilst singing a lullaby. A perfect resolution.

*Bellsprout transition*

Now that Togepi is sleeping soundly, the rest of the Pokémon can relax… Right? Wrong! Along comes another group of Pokémon buddies, laughing out loud and enjoying life. This group consists of Raichu, Cubone, and the newly discovered Marill and Snubbull.

The Challenges

We see the PokéPals growing quite frustrated toward the other group of buddies. With their loud chortling, they end up disturbing Togepi’s sleep. This results in the teams competing in ways not usually seen in the Pokémon franchise. These battles are not a form of fighting (or really that aggressive at all), they are competitions of skills and talents.

Though Pikachu does not want this conflict, Squirtle and Bulbasaur are little badasses who are right and ready to defend the egg’s naptime. The other team of Pokémon is also ready to fight it out. However, Pikachu notices Togepi wandering off in the background, so he runs off to collect the baby before Snubbull is even able to grip the little rat.

*Water Pokémon transition*

Though this next bit is honestly quite irrelevant to the rest of the short, we see Togepi toddling across a log bridge, which, when Pikachu tries crossing to collect the baby, becomes unstable and starts rolling down the cliff’s edge. Whilst dangerous, and we clearly see Pikachu struggling to stay atop the log, Togepi is having the time of his life, having no troubles at all staying balanced on the rolling log.

When Pikachu falls into the water, we see the log reaching the end of the cliff and plummeting into a big body of water… causing many dangerous water-type Pokémon to fly in the air… Luckily, Togepi is on top of the cliff now and was able to reach safety before the log landed in the water. A true display of the species’ luck.

*Slowpoke transition*

The Weird Eye Challenge

First up is Bulbasaur vs. Snubbull… When Snubbull and Squirtle are holding their breaths, in an attempt to show dominance, Squirtle runs out of puff, so Bulbasaur steps up in order to challenge Snubbull to a skill battle.

Bulbasaur’s talent is moving his eyes around in circles without getting dizzy. Because of his big eyes, he is completely fine moving his eyes around, and around, and around… However, Snubbull has tiny eyes. Because of this, Snubbull quickly gets dizzy and loses the battle.

With this victory under his belt, Bulbasaur laughs with his friends, celebrating his win. However, this is short-lived, as the other group of friends aren’t happy with their loss. This causes Marill to challenge Squirtle to another battle. Pikachu returns, Togepi upon his back, animosity in the air, and sighing with disappointment.

*Primeape transition*

The Water-Washdown

Next up: Squirtle vs. Marill. In this challenge, the two race it out to see who can swim across the resort’s swimming pool faster. Whilst this seems a pretty simple challenge for a couple of water Pokémon, you have to remember that they aren’t the only Pokémon attending this resort. As the pool is full of Slowpoke, Staryu, Goldeen, and Horsea, it’s quite difficult for the race to go on uninterrupted.

Our team is incredibly supportive of Squirtle in this challenge. We see Pikachu waving a flag with his face on, Togepi and Bulbasaur jumping up and down and cheering. This is super motivating for the little turtle.

On Your Marks…

The race starts off with a Voltorb using self-destruct in place of a starting pistol, then Marill and Squirtle dive into the pool, swimming off with all their might. This contest is clearly an exciting time for many of the Pokémon at the resort, as a giant crowd of cheering fans has amassed. This is also when we get another catchy tune playing in the background, ‘Catch Me If You Can’, performed by Angelia Via.

Marill accidentally swims into the back of a Starmie, who reflexively blasts the mouse into a wall. Squirtle is ahead! Swimming along happily, we suddenly see him slowing down as he is being lifted out of the water… A Goldeen. This really made me hate the fish. Goldeen drags Squirtle backwards in the pool as Marill goes on ahead. Luckily, Squirtle is able to get off the fish and speeds ahead with all his might! He reaches the end of the pool, and with a huge smile on his face, looks up at his friends… and the Marill, who is already out of the water, celebrating its win.

This scene is truly upsetting. Seeing Squirtle sink into the water in disappointment really does make me well up. I’m not sure why the Pokémon company hate the water turtle, but it seems as though they made this short just to pick on him.

*Exeggutor and Oddish transition*

The Racing Rodents

The conflict gets intense between Bulbasaur, Cubone, and Marill again. When Pikachu is trying to calm down the Pokémon, Raichu sends electrical sparks around Togepi, causing the baby to stumble around in their attempt to avoid them. Pikachu then runs over to comfort the little egg.

Though Pikachu initially tried to quell the situation, things are flipped on their side when Raichu shocks Togepi while they’re being comforted. Pikachu gets incredibly angry, shouting at Raichu. This results in Pikachu and Raichu racing each other, cheek-to-cheek in rage. Whilst zooming through the park, we see them run across water, up a waterfall, zipline, and even plough down a Jigglypuff. Bursting through a hedge maze, there’s an interruption by—

*Diglett and Dugtrio transition*

Surprise! Team Rocket has also dropped off their Pokémon! Whilst Meowth, Weezing, and Arbok are settling down for a catnap, the mice zoom into the trio, causing them to fly into the air and slam down on each other in a pile.

*Farfetch’d transition*

An Unfortunate Place to Be

Pikachu and Raichu clearly do not care about their surroundings at this moment. We see a Hitmonlee and a Hitmonchan training, only to be interrupted by the rat race. They get pummelled into and again, thrown into the air to slam down to the ground in a pile, just like Team Rocket.

*Chansey transition*

The next thing we see is a beautiful orange being, snoozing up against a wall. Unfortunately, Charizard’s tail is lying across their path. This leaves him exposed to the crushing pitter-patter of rodents’ feet. Waking up, yelling in pain—and probably surprise—Charizard leers at the guilty individuals as they race away, still oblivious. In an impressive effort, the dragon races ahead of the mice and flaps his wings, blowing them away, down a cliff, onto a sleeping Snorlax’s tummy. When they bounce off his tummy, they land on the floor next to the Snorlax, which then proceeds to roll over in his sleep. Crushed it.

Worried, the team rushes over to the squished pair. Luckily, Snorlax rolls off them almost immediately, allowing for the two to bolt back to their feet, still angry with each other, before collapsing in exhaustion. With Charizard awake, now flying around the area, he swoops down over the quarrelling teams, trying to show his dominance. Unfortunately, whilst doing this, he crashes into the park’s assault course, causing him to lose his footing and fly headfirst into a pipe. This is when Charizard gets stuck. With his head locked into place within the pipe and no way to get out, he starts panicking.

This wakes Meowth up, yet again, and whilst shouting down the cliff for the dragon to “keep it dooown!”, he gets his face burnt with a flamethrower. Poor Meowth.

*Magnemite transition*

The Ending

Saving Charizard

With the PokéPals in a bit of a rut and Charizard stuck in the pipes, the friends need to figure out a way to release him from his prison. Whilst the dragon is panicking, trying to escape, we see the team, along with the other Pokémon from the TV series, tie a rope around Charizard’s foot and work together to try and free him. This includes Brock’s giant Onix, so we know that there is quite a bit of strength behind this rescue mission. Despite their efforts, Charizard is unable to be freed from the pipe.

In a display of gross disrespect, the opposing group of Pokémon laugh in glee at the failed rescue attempt. Due to this failure, the team’s hopes of saving their friend are shot. We see Pikachu with tears in his eyes, but what’s even worse, we get a close-up of Charizard’s face in the pipe, crying. Let me tell you right now, I will not deny that I sob every time I see Charizard crying in this short. There’s something about seeing a big dragon who usually doesn’t give a fuck shedding visible tears and looking like their life has just ended. I end up like Pikachu with his bottle of ketchup every time.

Coming Together

Realising they can’t help their friend without some extra monpower, Pikachu pleads with the opposing team to help them release Charizard from his prison. After a discussion, we see that Raichu, Snubbull, and Marill are more than happy to help their rivals. Unfortunately, Cubone is not. Appreciating the help, the team gets back to work trying to free the dragon. We see Cubone standing alone, watching from afar, turning his nose up at their efforts. Despite being a solitary Pokémon and its initial refusal to help, Cubone shows a touch of empathy and joins in the efforts to free Charizard.

With the entire group working on freeing the dragon, one final tug and a fire-blast from Charizard, he is finally free from the pipe. As everyone flies through the air due to the impact, we see Charizard flying by with the rope still tethered to his leg… being held by Psyduck. With another interrupted nap, Meowth is now angrier than ever. Whipping off his sleep mask and pulling out a bomb, he is promptly sat on by the newly free Charizard, and blows up.

Rebuilding the Park

Now that Charizard is free and the two teams are freshly reconciled, it’s time for the Pokémon to fix what has been broken. Working together, we see the Pokémon help each other to carry logs, rebuilding the assault course. This includes Togepi using his awesome log-balancing skills. Even Charizard is happy to help!

*Jigglypuff transition*

The park is complete, and everyone is happy. There is no more animosity between the two teams, and we see Cubone and Pikachu swinging side-by-side in the park. Marill, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Raichu are also having the time of their lives, sliding down tube-pipes, alongside Geodude. It’s finally time for the Pokémon to have the vacation they came here for. Togepi is in great spirits, the team is having fun, and they’ve made some new friends. We see Charizard joining in on the fun, too, lying on the seesaw pretending to sleep whilst Snubbull’s crew are on the other side having fun.

However, all good things must come to an end. It’s the end of the day, the sun is setting, and the two teams have to say their goodbyes. After watching the sunset together, we hear the humans call their Pokémon back to them. Before leaving, Pikachu and Snubbull share a handshake and a big wave farewell. The final shot is Pikachu jumping into Ash’s arms. When asked if he had fun, Pikachu gives a gleeful response with a big smile on his face.

The Influence Pikachu’s Vacation Had On Me

Pikachu’s Vacation has some iconic transition scenes. These transitions make for incredible earworms, and most of what I know about how a Pokémon sounds is from this short. Even though this is not important to someone’s characterisation, it is still an influence the short has had on my everyday life.

As stated in a previous section, this short makes me cry. Sometimes there’s no knowing when it’ll just pop up in my head and cause me to shed a tear; however, I don’t believe this is a bad thing. It reminds me that there is still compassion in the world, and showing a little bit of empathy isn’t a bad thing.

I’m quite a guarded person. Despite this, Pikachu’s Vacation taught me at a young age that being standoffish isn’t always the best idea. Things can go your way and life can be much more enjoyable if you help those in need. It might seem cheesy, but this short has had a large impact on the person I am today, even if it is just a silly little movie from a silly little kids’ show.

Overall, I highly suggest you watch Pikachu’s Vacation if you are a fan of Pokémon. Even if you have seen it before, I implore you to revisit the short.

If you’re curious about my upcoming articles about lost media, be sure to join our Discord or bookmark our website to follow along. Check out the other entries in this series here.

You can also leave your childhood media in the comments below. You never know, maybe you’ll help me find something old but new that I’ll fall in love with!

Dividers provided by @thecutestgrotto on Tumblr.