Pika - really really freaking cute if you ask me! The real life pikachu!

The pika may look like a hamster, but is actually a cousin of the rabbit. Of course, "Pikachu" is a portmanteau of the words, pika, meaning to spark or meaning a sparkle of lightning in the Japanese language, and "chū", an onomatopoeia in the Japanese language for the squeak made by a mouse. It seems pure coincidence that Pikachu and the Pika bear so much resemblence - or it may just be a third level of cleverness on the japanese creators' part.