Ash Ketchum, the eternally 10-year-old star of the Pokemon anime, is a man of many talents.
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He has a natural gift for befriending Pokemon; he’s convinced his mother to finance his world-hopping adventures, and he has a knack for meeting mythical Pokemon every couple of months.
But many fans overlook Ash’s most impressive ability: his freakish strength.
The picture below shows Ash carry a Larvitar, a small Rock/Ground Pokemon that’s about two feet tall. While it might not look like a large Pokemon, Larvitar actually weighs over 250 pounds. And yet, Ash is carrying Larvitar around like it’s a stuffed teddy bear.
Ash’s superstrength has been on display multiple times during the series. In an episode during the Diamond & Pearl series, Ash befriends a Hippopatas and insists on carrying it on his head.
According to the Sinnoh Pokedex, a Hippopatas weighs over 100 pounds, and Ash is wearing it like a hat.
In yet another episode, Ash grabs a log twice his size and hurls it like a javelin at a Bagon. (As you can see, the list is easy to compile.)
Now, there are a couple of theories as to why Ash is depicted as so unnaturally strong.
Some suggest that having a Pikachu (with an average weight of about 14 pounds) perched on his back has gradually built up his strength to circus strongman levels.
Others think that people in the Pokemon world are just naturally strong. After all, we’ve seen Brock throw a 275-pound Pokemon like a baseball and have had a seven-year-old boy fireman carry a 230-pound Pokemon like it’s nothing.
Personally, I think that there’s something wrong with gravity in the Pokemon universe.
We’ve seen countless examples of Pokemon like Geodude floating off the ground without explanation. And Pokemon tend to stay airborne longer while fighting in Pokemon battles, shooting off multiple attacks before they hit the ground. A lack of gravity also explains how Team Rocket blasts off every other episode but appear in the next episode totally unscathed.
No matter what the explanation, it doesn’t change the fact that Ash probably has a 12 pack set of abs underneath that musty shirt he wears every day on his travels.
So the next time you’re watching the Pokemon anime, remember that Ash could probably kill everyone around him with his bare hands. If he wanted.
