Editing 1516: Win by Induction

{{comic
| number    = 1516
| date      = April 24, 2015
| title     = Win by Induction
| image     = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}
==Explanation==
In the ''{{w|Pokémon}}'' franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's English dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.

In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, or a spectator.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof about a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, each step leading to the next. Induction proves an assertion is true for one case, and then infers that it must also be true for all related cases. The title suggests that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will never end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. But the title is '''win''' by induction, by which Randall implies that we have been given enough information to reason logically whether Megan or Cueball will win. We have here turned mathematical induction on its head: part of the humour in the comic is that the logic of induction doesn't work in reverse. We cannot reason about an initial case by inferring something from a related case whose proof is dependent on knowledge about the initial case. Or perhaps the "win" referred to is precisely that the battle is indefinitely postponed.

The name "induction" comes from logic and discrete mathematics, and is thus unrelated to the physical phenomena of {{w|electromagnetic induction}}; but the fact that Pikachu is an "Electric-type" Pokémon could be word play connecting the two ideas.

If there were always only a single Pikachu in each Pokéball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu growing at a constant rate. Since, as the title text notes, there are occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential growth assuming each of the spawned Pikachu in this case is bearing a Pokéball! This may be a reference to the rate of twins, which is approximately 1/30 in humans.

Pikachu was used in one of the storylines of [[1350: Lorenz]]. See all the attack moves it made [[1350: Lorenz#Pok.C3.A9mon|here]].

==Transcript==
:[There is a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The frontmost Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

==Trivia==
*For some reason Pikachu is drawn without its lightning shaped tail. Pikachu is also drawn rather stocky; this was common in early Pokémon media, but in recent times Pikachu's official design is much slimmer.
*In Pokémon canon, Pokémon are only allowed to hold on to an ''empty'' Pokéball when stored in a Pokéball.
*In Pokémon canon, only one Pokémon can exist in a Pokéball, contrary to the title text.
*Randall has drawn the Pokéballs with the button that opens them in the middle of the red half. Whereas in actual (modern) Pokéballs the button is located where the two different halves meet. However, in the Pokémon canon, earlier Pokéballs are shown with buttons or timers on top, though it is doubtful this is the intention, unless the infinite line of Pikachus has been continuing for over thirty years.
*The open Pokéballs are shown broken in two. While early Pokémon games occasionally stated Pokéballs could break, they are now always shown to be connected by a hinge. It is an uncommon visualization that the two halves are fully separate.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Math]]
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