Eventually at one point, memorizing large amounts of information becomes tedious. In my current case, studying dozens of infectious diseases can be quite boring. Learning about different bugs and their structural make-up, virulence mechanisms, mode of transmission, clinical presentations, diagnostic methods, treatment and prevention can soon become mindless.

A few weeks ago I browsing around in a bookstore when I stumbled upon a Pokemon picture book in the children’s section. Having been an avid player back in the day, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the book that I could still identify most of the creatures. Not only that, I could also recall their characteristics, special attacks, locations of capture and weaknesses. This got my brain thinking. Learning and memorizing doesn’t have to be boring, it can be fun.  If you have the interest and time commitment, recognizing bacteria can be very much like recognizing pokemon. So I have created a table below (strictly for academic reasons of course!) contrasting a bacteria and a pokemon, to show that studying can sometimes be fun and silly too.

	Shigella	Pikachu
Species	Invasive Gut Bacteria	Mouse Pokemon
Picture
Type	Gram-negative, Non-spore forming, Rod shaped	Electric
Physical Description	No distinct nucleus, lacks internal structures	Short, chubby, ground dwelling rodent. Yellow fur with brown stripes on back and black-tipped ears. A tail resembling a lightning bolt.
Related Species / Strains	S. Dysenteriae S. flexneri S. boydii S. sonnei	Pichu Raichu
Endemic Locations	Confined populations Refugee camps Developing countries	Viridian Forest Power Plants
Habitat	Found in unhygienic environments, fecal contaminated areas	Found mostly in forests, though due to of attraction to electricity, seen in civilized areas too
Risk Factors / Groups	Contaminated food, immunocompromised, HIV/AIDS, weak gut	Flying and Water Type Pokemon are high risk groups
Mode of Transmission	Oral-fecal	Pokeball, herd movement
Pathogenesis	Stationary growth phase to avoid stomach acid, Entry into M cells and lamina propria of intestine	Evolves from Pichu. Can invade homes, harmful pests around wires and electronics
Toxins / Abilities / Virulence Factors	IcsA (intracellular spread protein) Shiga Toxin	Tail Whip Quick Attack Thunderbolt Slam Thunder
Clinical Symptoms	Bloody diarrhea with mucus & pus, fever, nausea, vomiting, cramps, bowel movement, seizures, coma, reactive arthiritis	Most common symptom, lightning has a chance of causing paralysis. Burnt grass and objects, as result of electric discharge.
Diagnosis	WBC in Stool Stool Culture for Shigella	Pokedex
Treatment	Amoxicillin. Fluoroquinolones (cipro), TMP / SMX, rehydration	Ground based attacks are super effective (eg Earthquake, Dig, Fissure)
Resistance	Some antibiotic resistance with genetic mutations.	Resistant to electric, flying and steel attacks.
Prevention	Hand washing, proper cooking of food	Proper use of pokeballs, frequent discharge of electric cheeks

I’m sure you can see how these two areas of study can overlap significantly. The possibilities are up to you. Make learning and studying fun. Always try to look at old things in a new way.