Marble Palace - Red/Blue/Yellow Guides

Surfing Pikachu

It's a widely known fact that there is the ability to teach Pikachu the move Surf hidden in Pokémon Stadium. There is also some confusion on how to obtain it. Strategically, a Surfing Pikachu is very handy once evolved into Raichu, so it's worth trying if you have Stadium. I decided to make this guide after seeing a topic on it in the Azure Heights Research Lab forum. All the below information is compiled from the anecdotal evidence of the members who contributed to that topic.

Fight and successfully defeat the Master Ball mode of the Prime Cup tournament in Round Two.
You must use a Pikachu in your team of six Pokémon.
All Pokémon must be taken directly from your Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow game pak. This means that you cannot use any rentals.
The team must not have been registered on any previous occassions. You can register it directly before attempting these instructions, but not before.
Pikachu must be on at the final three-Pokémon team you choose for battling. It does not actually have to participate in battle, just be part of the three-man team.
You must defeat the tournament all in one sitting; that is, you cannot save and quit and try to complete it later. You can, however, re-enter or use a continue.
Once all the above conditions have been fulfilled, you will be shown an award screen with a picture of a Pikachu on a surfboard. You can now choose an attack for your Pikachu to learn Surf in the place of.
Your Pikachu can now use Surf in battles and in order to cross water, in all versions.
If you have Pokémon Yellow, you can now access the hidden Surfing Pikachu mini-game on Route 19.