I haven’t watched the series since my childhood - is there actually any backstory to Pikachu? I just remember that I always felt so sorry for Meowth for being so awfully underappreciated when he is so obviously the most precious and interesting Pokemon individual in the whole Pokemon world. I’m not even sure what was supposed to be special about Pikachu - the fact that he is too bratty to go into a pokeball?

I remember the backstory of Meowth and I think even some of Jessy and James (wasn’t she an orphan and he was a rich son being forced into marriage?) but as far as I remember Ash and Pikachu were pretty much white sheets of paper.