Virtual Hand

Virtual Hand (バーチャル・ハンド) is the boss of the Pulseman Stage 1: Japan is a giant virtual hand created via a device by a Galaxy Gang member. The majority of the boss fight is inside the VR device facing off against the digital hand of the G.G. member.

The boss is encountered inside the television station, where he appears to be hooked up to multiple devices, explaining how he is controlling the tech in the building. Unfortunately, a wall divides him and Pulseman, forcing Pulseman into a computer in order to arrive on the other side of the wall.

While inside, Pulseman is assaulted by the digital hand of the G.G. member. The stage is made of breakable blocks that both the boss and Pulseman can destroy. If all the blocks are broken, Pulseman will find the bottom floor contains a HUD with an image of the hacker using the interface.

The boss only has 2 attacks.
 * Attempting to ram the target with its fist. This is also used to break some of the breakable blocks away.
 * A large overhead palm slap. This goes straight down.

When Pulseman collides with the hand with any of its attacks, it stops dead in its tracks and diffuses, before reappearing off screen to come attack Pulseman again. As it takes damage, it goes from green, to yellow, to red, to blinking red, and finally defeat. There is no damage indication in the first few hits that any of Pulseman's attacks are doing anything.

After his success, Beatrice will congratulate Pulseman, who will reappear on the side of the wall with the hacker. After a single slap (and no attempted retaliation), the computer system explodes, damaging the hacker and destroying his equipment, ending stage 1.

Trivia

 * Fighting the hand on the breakable blocks is harder than facing him on the floor, since the player can typically stand still for the most part and just bat him away if he gets close while on the floor.
 * Despite destroying the hand, the hacker continues interacting with the interface, obliviously unaware to his doom. This seems confusing since the HUD in the boss battle indicates the hacker is fully aware he was fighting Pulseman, and Pulseman suddenly disappearing should have sparked a response.
 * Outside of Doc Waruyama, no other human characters are seen to exist on the villains side.
 * The boss takes 5 hits to turn yellow, 3 to turn red, and 2 to be destroyed, for a grand total of 10 hits.
 * It is entirely possible to kill this boss before even getting halfway down the block tower.
 * Voltteccer can be used to reach higher on the block tower, but the highest Pulseman can go is two grid rows above the starting point.
 * Due to the spacious room, Voltteccer is effectively pointless, and since the boss is so fast, the best method of attack is Pulseman's close range electrical punch.
 * In game, the boss is never given a name. Lisa Hatfield only reports, at the end of the stage, that the case was completely solved, and the pre mission text from Beatrice doesn't state a name either.