View source for Puka

{{samename|[[Pokémon Trading Card Game]] player|Kyle Sucevich}}
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{{AnimePokémonInfobox|
type1=Electric|
ball=Unknown|
nickname=Puka|
jnickname=マイケル|
tmnickname=Michael|
image=[[File:Puka.png|200px]] |
caption=Puka |
location={{an|Seafoam Island}} |
pokemonname=Pikachu|
gender=Male|
epnum=EP067|
epname=The Pi-Kahuna|
prevonum=025|
current=[[Party|With Victor]]|
java1=[[List of Japanese voice actors|Chika Sakamoto]]|
}}
'''Puka''' (Japanese: '''マイケル''' ''Michael'') is a {{m|surf}}ing {{p|Pikachu}} that appeared in ''[[EP067|The Pi-Kahuna]]''.

==History==
[[File:Young Puka.png|thumb|left|200px|Puka in his youth]]
[[File:Victor and Puka.png|thumb|left|200px|Puka and Victor]]
Puka is at least twenty years old, having been first found by surfing enthusiast {{OBP|Victor|EP067}} shortly after he failed to conquer a large wave, "Humungadunga" (Japanese: '''ビッグ・チューズデー''' ''Big Tuesday''). Victor was trying to emulate a feat achieved by his surfing hero [[Jan]] two decades ago. It met up with [[Ash's Pikachu]] when he visited {{an|Seafoam Island}} with {{Ash|his Trainer}}. {{TRT}} spotted the two of them together and used their [[Team Rocket's mechas|Gyarados submarine]] to snatch them.

Puka was rescued by Victor after Team Rocket's submarine was attacked by a group of angry {{p|Gyarados}}. At that moment, Humungadunga made its scheduled appearance, twenty years after Victor first fell to it. {{Ash}} and his friends watched from the beach as Victor, with Puka on his surfboard, successfully rode the big wave and planted a flag atop the rock, right next to where Jan first placed his flag forty years earlier. Puka and Victor returned to shore to be greeted by Ash, {{an|Misty}}, and {{an|Brock}}, as well as by young children looking up to Victor in awe. In a similar fashion to what his hero did after riding the big wave, Victor encouraged two young surfers and gifted them Jan's surfboard.

==Personality and characteristics==
Puka has gotten along with Victor very well ever since the time they first met. Puka looks noticeably {{pkmn|aging|older}} and larger than [[Ash's Pikachu]], with wrinkles beneath his eyes. His ears have a different shape, similar to mini-humps, while most Pikachu ears are straight and pointy. His eyes are blue, while Ash's Pikachu's eyes, as well as most Pikachu eyes, are dark brown. Puka can sense big waves coming to the {{an|Seafoam Island}} beach where he lives, causing his eyes to glow. Incidentally, he does not use any {{type|Electric}} attacks throughout the entire episode, even when captured by {{TRT}}; it is Ash's Pikachu that attacks. Whether Puka can in fact use any Electric attacks is up for debate, since his cheeks do not spark during the episode either.
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==Trivia==
* Puka's English name comes from {{wp|Puka shell}}s, which are pieces of a shell belonging to a snail. They are used to make jewelry, and are very popular in Hawaii. "Puka" is also somewhat similar to "Pika", as in "Pikachu".
* Puka's Japanese name, along with Victor's Japanese name (Vincent) and Jan's name, are a [[List of references to popular culture in Pokémon|reference]] to Hollywood actor {{wp|Jan-Michael Vincent}}, the lead actor of the movie {{wp|Big Wednesday}}, from which their episode takes inspiration.
* Puka might be based on the [[Pikachu's Beach|minigame of the Surfing Pikachu]], located in {{game|Yellow}} in {{rt|19|Kanto}}, near [[Seafoam Islands]].

==Related articles==
{{Animespecies|Pikachu}}

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[[Category:Kanto characters of the day]]
[[Category:Animation characters (Pokémon)]]
[[Category:Male characters (Pokémon)]]
[[Category:Alternately colored Pokémon in the animated series]]
[[Category:Nicknamed Pokémon]]

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