What Level is Ash's Pikachu Anway?

[Totaldie-l]

I was wondering, since Ash's Pikachu never got sent away, what level pikachu ;025; is. Since they never show level ups in the anime, what dyou think? it may be level 100, but why does it have that much difficulty in the first few gym battles? btw, referring to third and fourth gen anime. Just something to think about.

 

[Worst. Username. Ever.]

Well, every region, Pikachu has some kind of power-down, so that it has the same strength as his new pokemon. And the level? I'd say Lv. 603- one level each episode.

 

[blueparakeet]

As far as levels go, I think Pikachu should be level 100 by now.
But then, Pikachu always reverts back to like, level 5 at the beginning of the region.
I'd say the level Pikachu reaches by the end of the region is around level 60. It can hold it's own in some battles, but always gets defeated in the end.

 

[Slowking[George]]

Levels in the anime? Come on. They have never given us any hints as sto how one could calculate or even estimate a pokemon's level in the anime (if it exists in the firstplace). So my guess would be something between level 1 and level 100? ;(

 

[Bisasam]

Games =/= Anime

There are no levels in the anime.

 

[I Am Become Death]

i remember in one episode when ash was first starting out, they went to some stupid prep school for trainers, and some of the students were talking about what levels pokemon evolve at, and what moves they know at that level, so levels do exist somewhat in the anime

 

[FlameRose]

^ Just so you know, that was a dub mistake...

As others have said, levels DON'T exist in the anime. I think the writer's do this so kids who have just negun watching don't get confused at why Pikachu is so powerful compared to Ash's other Pokemon.

 

[S.Suikun]

^ Not a dub mistake, but a retconned piece of dialogue.

This question is already answered in the current FAQ, but I'm gonna give you guys a sneak preview of what lies in waiting for the new one, which should hopefully provide an adequate response:

Q: “Do levels exist in the anime?”

A: No. Numerical levels are not implemented into the anime. In spite of the fact that the anime is based on the games, it is a non-game adaptation, and featuring numerical statistics that equate to battle experience would simply be unrealistic. There is some discrepancy in regards to what a “level” means in the anime, as it is occasionally brought up in dialogue. Generally, this refers to levels of power or experience, not a digital number that somehow exists in the confines of a more realistic setting. But Pokemon do not evolve or learn new moves based on a literal numeric level. Not to mention the series features various inconsistencies in regards to a Pokemon's power.

The most common rebuttal to the argument of nonexistent levels is Episode 9, “The School of Hard Knocks”. In the episode, numeric Pokemon levels were repeatedly mentioned similar to the games. Mind you, this episode was very early in the series, and over a decade has passed without a mere mention of such. In comic book terms, the concept was “ret-conned”, in which continuity is retroactively changed. This is not uncommon in a continuing series, especially when you consider how back in the show’s earliest episodes, the writers were still working out the kinks in the story and deciding what worked and what didn’t.

The question has been answered by others already, anyways, so I'm closing to prevent spam.