The Novice Writer: Pikachu Explained!!!

PIKACHU - Electro-cute-ing Pokemon

If you are an aficionado of Pokemon series or game then, you should definitely check out these electrifying facts about the most famous and alluring Pokemon, which always invigorated you. Yes, it is none other than our Pikachu.

The most famous Pokémon of all looks innocent with his red cheeks and yellow fur, but he’s (literally) shockingly powerful. So how lethal is Pikachu – according to science?

Before we answer that let's indoctrinate ourselves with the dynamizing tidings of the cute little killer mouse:

Pikachu is a mouse Pokemon.

It is the 25th Pokemon in the Kanto Pokedex, also known as the first ever Pokedex. However, it is 22nd in the Jhoto Pokedex, 163rd in the Hoenn Pokedex, 104th in the Sinnoh Pokedex and 36th in the Central Kalos Pokedex. Pikachu is 0.4 meters tall i.e. 1 foot 4 inches or 40.64 centimeters.

It weighs 6 kilograms i.e. 13 pounds.

A female Pikachu has a dent in its tail.

Whenever Pikachu comes across any new corporeal it dynamizes it with a jolt of electricity (thunderbolt). If you witness a blackened berry, it is an evidence that this Pokemon misinterpreted its charge.

In the anime series, Ash's first ever Pokemon is Pikachu.

According to the anime series, Trainers were supposed to choose their first ever Pokemon from their respective research scientist's laboratory. Ash being from Pallet Town he was supposed to go to Professor Oaks to choose one of the three Pokemons namely Bulbasaur a grass type, Charmander a fire type, or Squirtle a water type.

But Ash was late and all the three Pokemons were already been taken by other trainers. Hence, Ash had to plead Professor Oak to provide him with any other Pokemon so that he could start his Pokemon expedition. When Professor saw the burning desire that Ash had in his eye to become the Pokemon Master, he decided to give him an electric type Pokemon, who was later asserted by Professor to be Pikachu. He warned Ash that this Pokemon was yet under test and would be difficult for a novice to control it. Regardless, of such a disclaimer Ash took up the responsibility of Pikachu. But little did he know that Pikachu was least bothered to be controlled by a human, at least when it first saw Ash.

Love and compassion provided by Ash helped Pikachu trust him and obey his orders and as time passed they became the best of companions one could imagine having. Pikachu is shown in all the episodes of Pokemon Anime series not to mention that it has traveled a long journey by sitting on Ash's shoulder and cuddling with him after every victory achieved by them. Pikachu is the only Electric-Type Pokemon that Ash ever has in the anime series of the franchise.

Pikachu is emblazoned to be one of the most tenacious and robust Pokemon in the anime series. It has been portrayed as the only Pokemon in the entire series, who was able to succumb two "Legendary Pokemon" and proved to be victorious (Dragonite being the first. Pikachu won the battle in the Orange League's Championship battle).

But, unlike the anime series in games, we don't find the same dynamized appearance of Pikachu. As the overall stats of this Pokemon are rather low especially the defense specifications. Hence, gamers would find a hard time to train and battle with this Pokemon. The highest base stat that it has in the games is speed (agility). Nonetheless, it is good to have a cutie on your team after all.

In the Red, Blue, and Yellow games, Pikachu could not learn Thunderbolt naturally and had to be taught it through the TM.

Pikachu evolves from Pichu when leveled up with extreme bliss moments. It evolves into Raichu when exposed to a Thunder-stone.

It is the only "non-flying" Pokemon in the Pokemon game franchise, which can learn flying via special events.

Pikachu has a special fondness for ketchup but has been seen eating berries and apples.

The original Pokemon mascot was going to be Clefairy, however, Pikachu quickly became more popular.

They are mainly found in a forest.

They attack anything that pulls its tail.

They are weak to Ground Type moves.

Pika is the Japanese word for the noise of electricity crackling; the Chu is how the Japanese describe the sound a mouse makes (squeak), Hence, the name Pikachu.

It's voiced by Ikue Outani.

How does Pikachu restore its electricity?

It recharges itself when it is asleep. If it can not regain the required amount of charge it is taken to the Pokemon Center, where Nurse Joy connects the electrodes to its cheeks and electrocutes it to help it regain the charge.

Niue released a one dollar coin featuring Pikachu as part of a commemorative promotion for the Pokemon Franchise, with Pikachu on one side and the nation's coat of arms on the other.

So,

Can Pikachu kill you?

Shock value: (The Jeopardy of Current)

Pikachu attacks his enemies with electricity. His main fighting move is Thunderbolt (Pokémon power: 90), which delivers a whopping 1,00,000 Volts. Sounds pretty painful, right? But actually, it’s not the voltage of electric shocks that cause the damage – it’s the current. A current of just 0.1 Amps can kill you.

Electricity actually kills you if a current of just 7 milliamps reaches the heart for about 3 seconds. The weak link in this situation is just the heart: it loses its rhythm and everything shuts down. So that’s why some people survive an electrocution. They’re very lucky with what path the current takes through their body.

Pikachu’s deadly Thunderbolt:

Ohm’s law states:

I (current) = V (voltage)/R (resistance).

Now take Pikachu’s Thunderbolt move:

Thunderbolt’s voltage is 100,000 Volts (according to its Japanese name)
Your (dry) body’s resistance is about 100,000 Ohms
That means he hits you with a current of (100,000/100,000=) 1 Amp, which is 10 times the generally deadly dose of Amps.

So yeah, that cute little mouse can zap the living daylights out of you.

More lethal manoeuvres:

Pikachu has 2 other fighting moves:

Thundershock (Pokémon power: 40)
Volt Tackle (Pokémon power: 120).

Thundershock delivers 44,000 Volts, electrocuting you with a current of 0.44 Amps. Not as powerful as Thunderbolt, but still pretty lethal!

Volt Tackle is a little more complicated. With this move, Pikachu electrifies himself and then tackles you. A regular tackle has a Pokémon power of 50, so an electrically charged Pikachu has a power of (120 – 50 =70) – between Thundershock and Thunderbolt. So Volt Tackle will kill you too, even if you avoid being tackled and just get electrocuted.

How to defend yourself?

It’s clear: according to science, you’re probably screwed if you ever get in a fight with Pikachu.

But there are ways to defend yourself! For example:

Avoid water – it decreases your body’s resistance (that’s why Water-type Pokémons are especially vulnerable to electric fighting moves)
Wear rubber – it increases your body’s resistance (that’s why Team Rocket uses rubber gloves when they try to kidnap Pikachu)
Develop a move to deflect Pikachu’s electricity right back to him – to use his power on himself
Protect your heart: If we could just build a cage of Faraday around the heart, we’d be okay! (If we wouldn’t burn)

If I ever encounter a Pikachu – fingers crossed! – I’ll just put on a full rubber suit so I can hug that cute killer mouse!

What would you do? Let me know in the comments!

~Jay Mehta