Pikachu was part of the very first wave of amiibo figures, launching alongside the Super Smash Bros. line in November 2014 in North America.
Since then, Nintendo has released a second, visually distinct Pikachu figure tied to Detective Pikachu, built in a noticeably larger extra-large format than the original Smash Bros. release.
Broad amiibo checklist sites cover the full lineup well, but they rarely tell a boxed collector which case size actually fits which Pikachu release, which matters once you start displaying rather than just scanning the figures in-game.
This guide breaks down both Pikachu releases, their game compatibility, and the protector size each one actually needs.
The original Pikachu amiibo belongs to the Super Smash Bros. line, released in the first wave back in November 2014, with a standard-size figure base shared across most Smash Bros. characters.
This version is the one most collectors picture by default when they hear Pikachu amiibo, and it remains readily available since Nintendo has reprinted Smash Bros. figures multiple times since the original launch wave.
In 2016, Nintendo released a second Pikachu figure tied to the Detective Pikachu game and film tie-in material, built at an extra-large scale distinct from the standard Smash Bros. line.
The size difference is immediately obvious side by side: the Detective Pikachu figure is noticeably taller and bulkier than the standard release, which is the main reason the two need different case sizes on a display shelf.
The standard Pikachu amiibo scans into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, 3DS, and Ultimate as a Figure Player you can train and customize over time.
It also unlocks a themed Pikachu costume in Super Mario Maker and grants a Spark electric-attack power-up in Kirby: Planet Robobot, with additional read-only functionality in select newer Switch titles.
The Detective Pikachu figure was built primarily around its own tie-in game rather than the broad multi-game support the standard Smash Bros. line enjoys.
Collectors buying it purely for display rather than specific in-game functionality should treat it as a dedicated display piece first, since its practical game support is narrower than the standard figure's.
Unlike some Pokemon-adjacent releases, Pikachu was never issued as an amiibo card; Pokken Tournament's only amiibo card release was for Shadow Mewtwo, not Pikachu.
That means any Pikachu amiibo on the market is a physical figure, either the standard Smash Bros. release or the Detective Pikachu XL version, with no card-format alternative to track down.
The standard Pikachu figure is one of the smaller amiibo bases in the Smash Bros. lineup, so it fits a small-format amiibo protector sized for compact single figures.
The Detective Pikachu XL figure needs a larger single-standard amiibo case instead, since forcing the bigger figure into a small-format protector will not close properly or protect the taller profile.
Collectors who own both the standard and Detective Pikachu figures often want to display them together, which means stocking both case sizes rather than assuming one will do.
A larger single-standard amiibo protector handles the Detective Pikachu figure specifically, while the small-format case covers the original Smash Bros. release right next to it.
Pikachu shares its standard Smash Bros. figure base size with most of the roster from that line, including related figures like Pichu, which share similar small-format display needs.
Collectors building a broader Pokemon amiibo shelf alongside Pikachu should expect most Smash Bros.-line figures to fit the same small-format case, while any future extra-large or special-format Pokemon release would need the larger case instead.
Keeping a Pikachu amiibo boxed and displayed away from direct sunlight helps prevent the kind of color fading that can affect painted vinyl figures left on a bright windowsill shelf for years at a time.
Scanning the figure into a game occasionally does not affect the box or the figure itself, so there is no need to choose between keeping it boxed and actually using its in-game functionality on a regular basis.
November 2014 in North America, as part of the first Super Smash Bros. wave.
Yes, it is built in an extra-large format distinct from the standard Smash Bros. line.
No, Pokken Tournament's only amiibo card was for Shadow Mewtwo.
Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS, Ultimate), Super Mario Maker, and Kirby: Planet Robobot.
Matching the case to the actual figure size keeps both the standard Smash Bros. release and the larger Detective Pikachu releases looking shelf-fresh for years to come; start with a small-format amiibo protector for the standard Smash Bros. figure.
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