My brother and I both adopted a pair of sibling Pikachus we found on our ranch when we were small. Mine has now long evolved into a Raichu. When my brother returned from his stay in the Alola region, his Pikachu had evolved too, except it looks completely different from the Raichu I have, with a rounded physique and the ability to float?! He told me it might have something to do with the diet of his Pikachu during its stay in Alola. Something about sweets? I’m so confused!

Your brother is not that far off. You see, your raichu evolved into a standard form, whereas your brother’s evolved into the Alolan variation. To be more specific, certain pokémon, such as pikachu, are capable of evolving into different forms in the region of Alola than the forms they attain anywhere else. In most cases, this has to do with the unique environment of the Alola region itself.

However, pikachu’s evolution into the half-psychic Alolan raichu has less to do with the environment specifically and more to do with the fact that the pancakes of that region really are about as powerful as natives say they are.