Pikachu is considered to be the mascot of the whole Pokémon franchise. The small, yellow Electric-type Pokémon is quite possibly the most famous creature from the whole franchise and not many people around the world can say that they’ve never heard of Pikachu. The most famous Pikachu is, of course, Ash’s Pikachu and we are going to talk about it and its strengths today. Ever wondered why is Ash’s Pikachu so powerful? We have the answer!
Ash’s Pikachu is so much more powerful than other Pikachu because he has been given several power boosts during the early days of its partnership with Ash, and because he has gained much experience during their joint adventures.
Pokémon, which is short for Pocket Monsters, is a media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori back in 1995. It is a fantasy franchise set in a world where humans live together with creatures called Pokémon, who take on different shapes and sizes. It started off as a series of video games for the Game Boy console, but soon expanded to other media. Video games and anime (including the connected films) are the most popular brands today, although the franchise has expanded to even live-action movies like Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
Now that we’ve given you a short introduction, let us discuss the topic in more detail.
Why is Ash’s Pikachu so powerful?
Pikachu was Ash’s first Pokémon. After he sleeps in and arrives late to Professor Oak’s laboratory, he is not able not receive a regular Starter Pokémon.
Seeing how desperate Ash was because of that, Oak offered him a wild and untamed Pikachu he had in his lab and Ash gladly accepted. Although Pikachu did not like Ash in the beginning and hurt him intentionally with his Electriy-type attacks after Ash risked his own life to save Pikachu’s they became the best of friends and started their journey together through the different regions of the world of Pokémon.
Ash’s Pikachu has probably become the strongest Pikachu in the whole franchise, with the only possible exception being Ritchie’s Pikachu, Sparky, but that is not a confirmed fact. What we do know is that Pikachu is not only stronger than most Pokémon on a similar level, but also than quite a large number of nominally stronger Pokémon. We are going to see the reasons for that.
The first is a rather obvious one – Pikachu’s experience. Pikachu is the only Pokémon Ash has kept with him all the time and he is his only Pokémon to have been with him on all his adventures in the different regions of the world of Pokémon.
During that time – and it’s been a while – Pikachu has traveled with Ash, battled different opponents, and learned new moves and techniques. All of this contributed to his experience and a Pokémon grows with the experience he gains.
Ash’s Pikachu has also been a mentor-type character to some of Ash’s other Pokémon, which is proof of its status among Ash’s Pokémon. Pikachu has surpassed all expected levels for a Pikachu and has collected so much experience that it has certainly surpassed its expected peak.
The second reason why Ash’s Pikachu is so powerful is connected with several power boosts he received at the beginning of its journeys with Ash.
In the very first episode, “Pokémon, I Choose You!”, Ash’s Pikachu is initially incapable of delivering anything stronger than a mild shock.
But, after being struck by thunder, Pikachu gains so much power that it is able to electrocute a whole flock of wild Spearow and send them away. Based on the evolution of its powers, later on, we can assume that he retained this boost permanently.
In the very next episode, “Pokémon Emergency!”, Pikachu received not one, but two power boosts. Firstly, when Team Rocket attacked the Viridian City Pokémon Centre – where Pikachu had been recovering – a group of the Centre’s Pikachu, which was in charge of charging (pun intended) the power generator, came to Ash’s Pikachu’s aid and charged his energy levels, simultaneously giving him a power boost. Several scenes later, Ash pedals Misty’s bike to charge the light on it so that Pikachu, who is connected to the light, can get yet another power boost.
His last power boost was shown in the fifth episode, “Showdown in Pewter City”, where Brock’s father, Flint, boosts Pikachu’s power by generating electricity using a water wheel and directing the charge into Pikachu’s cheeks. Although some might interpret this scene as abuse, Pikachu was able to knock out Brock’s Geodude with just one attack.
Why is this so amazing? Well, Geodude’s a Rock-type Pokémon and by default, he should be completely immune to Electric-type attacks. Pikachu being able to knock it out with just one attack shows just how powerful he had become after Flint’s “treatment”.
These are the reasons why Ash’s Pikachu is so powerful. He has a lot of experience and assuming that he has retained all the boosts he had received – and there is nothing to suggest otherwise – it is clear why his power levels are so high.
What is Ash’s Pikachu’s level?
Unlike the games, the anime doesn’t really have levels so there is no way we can determine Pikachu’s exact level. Still, we can speculate and assume, based on what we know from the anime and our knowledge of the video games.
We know that the highest level a Pokémon can reach is 100. At that stage, a Pokémon has reached its maximum potential and cannot become any stronger. In the games, at least.
Based on what we’ve seen in the anime, Ash’s Pikachu has certainly surpassed level 100. There is absolutely no doubt that Pikachu surpassed his maximum and that will all the experience and the power boosts, Ash’s Pikachu has become more powerful than expected. We’ve seen the evidence of that in the preceding section.
As to its exact level, that is a question of debate and interpretation. We can assume, based on what we’ve seen, that he would be somewhere between levels 200 and 300. Ash’s Pikachu is at least twice as strong as regular, fully-powered Pikachu so that would make his level – if the anime had levels – somewhere around those numbers. But again, this is just an assumption since the anime doesn’t keep track of levels.
Is Ash’s Pikachu the strongest Pokémon?
The answer to this question is simple – no, it is not. Despite all of its powers and boosts, Ash’s Pikachu is definitely not the strongest Pokémon and even Ash is aware of that. It is questionable whether he’s even Ash’s strongest Pokémon, yet alone the strongest in the whole franchise.
Pikachu has beaten some amazing foes, a lot of which are nominally much stronger than him. It defeated Drake’s Dragonite in the Orange League, knocked out Brandon’s Regice at the Battle Frontier and battled Tobias’ Latios to a draw in the Sinnoh League semi-final. These are all impressive feats, since the latter two are Legendary Pokémon, while the first one is a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon. On the other hand, Pikachu has also lost some battles that he shouldn’t have lost in a million years, like the one against Trip’s level 5 Snivy, or has had surprising draws, like against Paul’s Elekid.
And while the lack of consistency is something we can attribute to the anime, especially when compared to the video games, Ash’ Pikachu is still far from being the strongest Pokémon out there. He is powerful and he can defeat strong opponents, but we cannot go that far to state that he could defeat anyone, since he can’t, and the anime has proven that on several occasions.
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we helped solve this dilemma for you. See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!
