{"slug":"surprised-pikachu","name":"Surprised Pikachu","url":"/templates/surprised-pikachu.jpg","w":1893,"h":1892,"top":"DOES SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY DUMB","bottom":"*SURPRISED PIKACHU FACE*","alternateFormats":[{"slug":"surprised-pikachu-gif","label":"GIF Version"}],"description":"Create a Surprised Pikachu meme. Pikachu stares with a wide-open mouth in total shock. For when the completely predictable thing happens.","keywords":"surprised pikachu meme, pikachu shocked face, pikachu open mouth, shocked pikachu meme, pikachu meme, pokemon meme","year":2018,"origin":"A still frame of Pikachu from the Pokemon anime showing his mouth hanging open in shock. The image went viral on Twitter and Tumblr in 2018 as a reaction to situations where the outcome was completely predictable to everyone except the person experiencing it. The format became one of the defining memes of the late 2010s because the joke is universal — we all know someone who is somehow surprised by consequences they caused. For denial instead of surprise, see This Is Fine (ignoring the problem entirely). For causing your own problems and blaming others, see Bike Fall (self-sabotage with zero accountability). For causing chaos on purpose rather than accidentally, see Disaster Girl (deliberate destruction).","format":"both","textBoxes":[{"label":"Setup","x":1,"y":1,"w":98,"h":9,"placeholder":"Does something obviously dumb","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":false,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"left","fontSize":28},{"label":"Action","x":1,"y":15,"w":98,"h":9,"placeholder":"The predictable consequence","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":false,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"left","fontSize":28},{"label":"Reaction","x":1,"y":28,"w":98,"h":9,"placeholder":"*surprised pikachu face*","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":false,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"left","fontSize":28}],"exampleCaptions":["Spends entire paycheck on DoorDash","Bank account is empty","*surprised pikachu face*"],"exampleAltText":"Surprised Pikachu meme about spending all your money on DoorDash and being shocked your bank account is empty","exampleRefreshDate":"2026-02-28","howToMake":["The Surprised Pikachu template is loaded with 3 text fields positioned above Pikachu's shocked face: setup, action, and reaction","Fill in the setup (what someone did), the predictable consequence, and the shocked reaction. Pikachu's face below IS the visual punchline","All three lines stack in the top third so Pikachu's open mouth gets the entire bottom as visual punchline","A plain, left-aligned font in dark text reads like a deadpan narration. Let the face do the comedy","Your predictable disaster is ready. Download the PNG or Copy it to caption someone's totally foreseeable mess"],"seo":{"aliases":["Shocked Pikachu","Pikachu Surprised Face","Pikachu Open Mouth","Pikachu Shocked Meme","Pikachu Face Meme"],"description":"A close-up of Pikachu from the Pokemon anime with his tiny mouth hanging wide open and his round black eyes staring in pure, unfiltered shock. The expression is so exaggerated and innocent that it perfectly embodies the feeling of someone who is GENUINELY stunned by an outcome that literally everyone else saw coming from a mile away. It's the face of someone who touched the hot stove after being told it was hot — the universal portrait of self-inflicted surprise.","definition":"People deploy this one whenever someone acts shocked by consequences they clearly caused. Pikachu's gaping mouth from the Pokemon anime became internet shorthand for feigned surprise at the most predictable outcome imaginable.","useCases":[{"category":"Work & Career","examples":["Never updates their resume for 5 years / can't get a job interview","Replies all to a company-wide email with a snarky comment / gets called into HR","Tells the boss exactly what they think during an 'anonymous' survey that asked for their employee ID / gets a performance review","Does the bare minimum every day for 3 years / gets passed over for the promotion","Sends a complaint about their manager to the wrong Slack channel / manager saw it","Takes credit for the intern's work in a meeting / intern presents the next slide with receipts"]},{"category":"Relationships & Dating","examples":["Texts their ex at 2am saying 'I miss you' / ex shows the screenshot to the group chat","Never plans a single date in 6 months / partner says they feel unappreciated","Follows 200 Instagram models while in a relationship / partner is upset about it","Lies about something easily verifiable / gets caught immediately","Goes through their partner's phone looking for drama / finds out their partner was planning a surprise birthday party","Ghosts someone after 3 great dates / sees them on another date and feels jealous"]},{"category":"Health & Fitness","examples":["Eats an entire large pizza at midnight every Friday / jeans don't fit anymore","Drinks 6 energy drinks a day and no water / doctor says their blood pressure is concerning","Never stretches, ever / pulls a muscle reaching for the TV remote","Skips sunscreen every day at the beach / gets a sunburn so bad they can't sleep","Signs up for a marathon with zero training / can barely walk the next day after mile 3"]},{"category":"Money & Finances","examples":["Orders DoorDash twice a day for a month straight / checking account is somehow empty","Buys a boat because it seemed fun on vacation / boat costs more per month than the car payment","Ignores the credit card bill for 4 months / credit score tanks","Spends $300 on a shopping spree then checks their bank balance / overdraft fee","Invests entire savings into a cryptocurrency a stranger recommended on Reddit / it crashes","Subscribes to 12 streaming services and never cancels any / wonders where the money goes"]},{"category":"School & Academics","examples":["Doesn't study, doesn't go to class, doesn't do the homework / fails the final","Copies their essay word for word from Wikipedia / professor runs it through a plagiarism checker","Pulls an all-nighter fueled by Red Bull and panic / falls asleep during the actual exam","Picks the hardest elective because the schedule was convenient / drowning by week 3","Submits the assignment 10 minutes late to a professor who said no late work / gets a zero","Skips office hours all semester / emails the professor at 11pm the night before the final asking for help"]},{"category":"Technology & Social Media","examples":["Uses 'password123' for every account / gets hacked","Clicks the suspicious link in the email from a Nigerian prince / computer has a virus now","Posts something controversial on main / flooded with angry replies","Ignores the 'storage almost full' warning for 3 months / phone won't take photos at a concert","Shares their hot take without reading the article first / the article says the exact opposite","Rage-tweets about their company by name / company finds the tweet"]},{"category":"Pets & Animals","examples":["Leaves a steak on the counter and walks away / dog ate the steak","Doesn't close the bathroom door / cat knocks every single toiletry into the sink","Brings home a puppy without puppy-proofing anything / shoes are destroyed within 24 hours","Lets the cat sit on the laptop keyboard / cat sends a half-written email to the entire team","Fills the bird feeder right next to the window / birds wake them up at 5am every morning"]}]}}