The Last Poster Wins! [v22]

[Arrow-Jolteon]

I mean I can understand why Pikachu was so weak at that point, but after all they've been through at that point. Pikachu could have easily quick attacked or Iron Tailed the baby Snivy and on shot it. Whether Pikachu was sick or not. I mean it was struck by a Legendary Pokémon (Zekrom) with a powerful lightning bolt. So it had adverse effects on Pikachu.

Yeah, people love to use the "Zekrom zapped Pikachu's powers" as an excuse, but dialogue was clear that only Pikachu's electricity was affected, and Pikachu has beaten several opponents without the aid of electric attacks in the past, such as in the Hoenn League, where Pikachu beat a Hitmonlee by using just Iron Tail. Yeah, Ash deliberately handicapped himself in a League fight as a self-imposed challenge and still came out on top. Then this happens.

[Chakramaster]

Yeah, people love to use the "Zekrom zapped Pikachu's powers" as an excuse, but dialogue was clear that only Pikachu's electricity was affected, and Pikachu has beaten several opponents without the aid of electric attacks in the past, such as in the Hoenn League, where Pikachu beat a Hitmonlee by using just Iron Tail. Yeah, Ash deliberately handicapped himself in a League fight as a self-imposed challenge and still came out on top. Then this happens.

Yeah it really just doesn't make sense. (Personally I believe they said all that for anime sake. Imagine, Pikachu's power IS it's electricity. Whenever it had strange effects on it's "electricity" at all it always had adverse affects. To have its very own 'power' affected in such a way and try to bring out something that won't work the right way? Imagine the draining feeling it would bring upon the body. Like total exhaustion on the body. Pikachu is small, so to try that hard to bring up that powerful energy? That's how I see it at anyway).

But yeah some fights he just handicaps himself for no reason. Some he'll show no restraint, others he acts as if he never knew it to begin with or doesn't know how to handle the situation.

[Arrow-Jolteon]

Yeah it really just doesn't make sense. (Personally I believe they said all that for anime sake. Imagine, Pikachu's power IS it's electricity. Whenever it had strange effects on it's "electricity" at all it always had adverse affects. To have its very own 'power' affected in such a way and try to bring out something that won't work the right way? Imagine the draining feeling it would bring upon the body. Like total exhaustion on the body. Pikachu is small, so to try that hard to bring up that powerful energy? That's how I see it at anyway).

But yeah some fights he just handicaps himself for no reason. Some he'll show no restraint, others he acts as if he never knew it to begin with or doesn't know how to handle the situation.

Yeah, Ash and Pikachu's skills are wildly inconsistent, and the only actual explanation for it is plot convenience. Ash's other Pokemon can get this too, but due to the kid's habit of dumping all of them except Pikachu as soon as the generational saga ends makes their cases of plot-mandated power/weakness a lot less egregious most of the time.