Is pikachu a Stage 1 Pokemon because it is the evolved form of pichu?

Question

or does it not count because pichu is a baby Pokemon?

Answer 1

Pokemon that are evolved from Baby Pokemon are considered Basic Pokemon, as is illustrated by the Pokemon TCG. This means Pikachu is a Basic Pokemon and Raichu is a Stage 1.

The exception to this rule is with Lucario and Riolu, who is considered a Baby Pokemon by the game and a Basic Pokemon by the TCG. This means Lucario is a Basic Pokemon by game standards and a Stage 1 by TCG standards. It's really quite a confusing mess.

Comments

In the game, they are not called Stages anywhere (or Basic for that matter) as far as I know.

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I know, I'm just saying that if we were to translate how the game classifies Riolu, then Lucario would be a Basic Pokemon. But the TCG randomly decided not to make Riolu a Baby Pokemon. Meaning Lucario is a Stage 1.