There are many seemingly eternal nerd battles — Kirk vs Picard, Superman vs Goku, M.C.U. vs… I forget the other one, the original starter Pokémon versus each other. Some of these questions may dragon rage on forever, but it’s in the last one where I think science can be super effective. Maybe we can decide which starter Pokémon we’d actually pick by figuring out which one is the most powerful…in real life.
In my latest episode of Because Science, I’m using physics to choose the strongest generation 1 starter — Venusaur, Charizard, or Blastoise. We are going to ignore all the in-game stuff — stats, effectiveness, and resistances — in favor of a more scientific approach. If we can compare the real energies plausibly continued in each of their classic power moves, we should be able to put this debate to bed (of course not, but humor me here).
So how much kinetic energy is in a hydropump? How much radiation is shot from a solar beam? What is the magnitude of a melt-anything flamethrower?
Watch my latest episode to find out!
