No, Chrome was never more intelligent than Senku and possibly will have a hard time surpassing the intelligence of Senku. However, this does not mean that Chrome is way out of the league of Senku’s intelligence. Chrome has shown on a lot of occasions that he also deserves the same level of recognition as their village chief, Senku. Read more to find out why!
In the world of Dr. Stone, Chrome was always a scientist from within although he had no clue of this in the beginning. He is portrayed in the series as a kind-hearted, brave, loyal, and curious man. He is someone who can disregard what other people perceive of him as long as he isn’t hurting anybody. Due to his innate intelligence and curiosity about the things around him, he has been ridiculed by the other native locals from the Ishigami village.
They kept on calling him just a mere sorcerer and did not see the good in what he was doing. Instead of acknowledging his talents the villagers pertained to his experiments as cheap sorcery. But, of course, let’s also give the benefit of doubt to the people. Well, because they used to lack certain knowledge that made them think that way about Chrome not until Senku came.
Furthermore, Chrome has built his own storage room outside his village. This is where he puts all the minerals and scientific materials he collects and tries to make something out of them. Chrome might have been the only local from the Ishigami Village who doesn’t fear the unknown. This bravery and curiosity led him to become one of the smartest people in the Stone World.
How Intelligent is Chrome?
Chrome possesses an intelligence above average and is not far from those of the modern world. But, as mentioned it might be difficult for him to be on the same level as Senku. However, this is not also impossible. Before even Senku enters the life of Chrome, he has built a foundation as a sorcerer or a scientist in the Stone World which Senku even recognize when they first met.
Watch me, Tsukasa. Even if you try to kill me or the others… Even if you try to reset science, there’s always an idiot [none other than Chrome] who’ll try anything. The butt naked ape will inevitably create a technological civilization.
Senku Ishigami (Season 1: Episode 7)
Since he was a kid he has been fond of collecting anything. He always gathered materials that interests him and even tried them out himself. Yup, he tasted almost every plant he collected despite not knowing anything about them. Chrome is one of the descendants of Byakuya and the other astronauts who flew to space right before the certification happened. Hence, it is safe to assume that his intelligence is something that is innate because he already came from a brilliant line of ancestors.
In addition, there have been a few instances where Chrome tries to impress others, particularly Senku. He always wants to show off his talent with his own scientific inventions. Unfortunately, Chrome has always failed in surprising him. This is because Senku has already tried those inventions himself and has read all kinds of books just to fill his hunger for knowledge before the petrification. But, there are a few instances in the series where Chrome was able to surprise Senku with his ideas.
For instance, when everyone was getting ready for the stone war against Tsukasa’s empire, Chrome had an idea of his own that he wanted to surprise Senku with. Therefore, he asked for the assistance of their craftsman, Kaseki. When the old man heard about the plan, he instantly agreed to what Chrome wanted them to build.
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Both Chrome and Kaseki spent days building it and finally showed it to Senku after three days. Their invention awed Senku and the others and they really surprised him by being able to build it. Senku might already be aware of what it is which is a waterwheel. But he still showed his amazement because of the two who successfully built it from zero knowledge and helped in ending the manual labor for all.
We should be aware that through these kinds of ideas from Chrime, he is definitely showing that he is thinking way ahead of his time with all of his inventions no matter how amateur they can be. This proves that he might be from the primitive times but he sure is no ordinary guy. Moreover, through the knowledge and guidance of Senku, he is becoming a much better scientist from the Stone World and he has proven that in seasons one and two of Dr. Stone.
Chrome’s Greatest Proof of Intelligence
Senku has stood not only as Chrome’s friend but more like his teacher or master all throughout the series. The success of Senku in transforming the Stone World step-by-step into a modernized civilization would have been impossible to begin without Chrome, his local scientist.
Senku always lets Chrome work on his own inventions and just shows him the support he needs, if ever he asked for it. By being a scientist who came from the modern world, Senku is far smart than Chrome. Hence, instead of them being rivals to each other, Senku just stood as Chrome’s teacher or mentor. Chrome even called him once as Professor Senku. The mentorship that Chrome got from Senku did not go to waste because Chrome might have proven that he can become the new Senku of the Stone World.
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Byakuya, Senku’s father and the ancestor of Chrome have made a hundred stories to help their descendants live on. In writing The Hundred Stories, Byakuya also included pieces of information about minerals. He hoped that including it will spark an interest in someone in the future. This actually came true and it was none other than Chrome who took interest in them.
Since the Kingdom of Science has been established, Chrome has been one of Senku’s main people who were always trying to invent things for others’ betterment. From the creation of ramen to the smartphone, Chrome always had a vital role. Through these inventions, he has become more knowledgeable than before by working with Senku. As much as these inventions were enough to prove Chrome’s intelligence, something even better happened that unlock his inner scientist.
In episode six of season two, Chrome was imprisoned in Tsukasa’s Empire in order to save Magma and Gen. Instead of waiting for the others to save him, Chrome decided to find a way to free himself. He decided to do this to save the others from falling into the trap of Tsukasa’s underlings. He started off his plan by pretending to be a literal ape-man with no knowledge at all. The guards and Yo, a former policeman, ridiculed and made fun of him but he couldn’t care less.
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By using his bathroom break as an excuse, Chrome was able to go outside and gather anything that could possibly help him. With the materials he gathered, his intelligence, a little help from Ukyo, and his literal sweats, Chrome managed to escape the prison. He even got away from Yo. Crushing the plants he collected and getting some of it in his mouth made it seem like he had pneumonia that made Yo fear him as he doesn’t want to get infected. So, yeah! The local scientist managed to escape the former policemen in the funniest and most brilliant way.
Through his brilliant plan, it was not only the guards whom he outsmarted. But, even a police officer from the modern times like Yo Uei. His prison break has proven that Chrome has come so far from being just a mere sorcerer to a real scientist. Working with Senku allowed him to grow and stand up for himself using the power of science.
Chrome is probably the person from the lshigami Village with the greatest potential in the field of science. He might not be as smart as Senku yet. But, he will surely reach that point someday, as he keeps on inventing and planning scientific kinds of stuff that will help humanity. We can never say that without Senku there is no Chrome. Because Chrome always had it in him, he just needed a little push to believe in his scientific skills more.
Therefore, Chrome’s curiosity as a child and innate intelligence should be given an equal amount of recognization because he literally started from scratch and is now helping to save and de-petrify more than seven billion people in the Stone World.
