A Pikachu vs. Agumon vs. Dark Magician battle royale

1996 was the year that the world was exposed to a juggernaut.

That unstoppable force was the Pokémon series, and its global popularity gave rise to what can now be dubbed the “Monster Collecting” genre. Despite being valiant, Monster Rancher, Medabots and Beyblade tried to grab as much as the Pocket Monsters from their parents, but they were unable to sustain the same level of success. Yet among the competition, two staunch outliers, the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game and the Digimon series, have managed to survive — and even put up a good fight — against the undisputed king.

Pop culture has a constant question: Who would win? This is why we are dedicating an entire week of debates to those who have had a profound impact on comics, movies and TV. Polygon’s Who Would Win Week is upon us.

Pokémon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh are now the global “Big Three” of the monster-collecting genre. As such, each series’ mascot has garnered fame of their own: Digimon’s Agumon, Yu-Gi-Oh’s Dark Magician, and Pokémon’s omnipresent, effortlessly cute Pikachu have all stepped up to the plate. As they have for decades, fans debated who would win the W in an old-fashioned knocker.

So, in the spirit of Polygon’s Who Would Win Week, we decided to put that speculation to rest. Let’s start by breaking down the monsters and their abilities.

Dark Magician can be described as a magiccaster. He was the ace villain of the first (and most beloved) Yu-Gi-Oh characters, Yugimoto or Yami Yugi. Dark Magician is capable of transforming into many powerful versions, such as the Dark Magician Knight and Dark Eradicator Warlock. However, each of these transformations requires items that aren’t normally equipped with the base character in the card game, anime, and manga. For the purposes of this battle, we’ll abide by the same rules. (We’ll also avoid the blatant rule-breaking the Magician sometimes does in the anime.) So, while Dark Magician does have some transformational tricks up their sleeve, they’re just that: Tricks that won’t and can’t factor into this particular fight.

Image: Studio Gallop

Yu-Gi-Oh cards don’t go too deep into the actual abilities of monsters, so it’s hard to know their exact stats. But, the manga and anime can help us to compile some helpful details. Dark Magician is able to use many skills that will completely destroy anyone. He has the Thousand Knives ability which allows him to throw a massive barrage with literally 1000 knives at any enemy. You can use his black-magic abilities to open and fire holes, as well as redirecting incoming attacks. These offensive powers, in conjunction with speed that could dizzy even the monster Diabound, who was powerful and fast enough to defeat six of the Pharaoh’s Sacred Guardians, make him an ample threat. On the flip side, Dark Magician isn’t very durable — he takes massive damage from strong energy blasts and, in the Yu-Gi-Oh Diabound knocked manga through a column. He’s basically a glass cannon with ancient Egyptian powers, and while that may be badass in its own right, it might not slide here.

Next up, there’s Pikachu, who’s a force to be reckoned with, even in its base form. In various cases, the electric rat can reach Mach speeds, fire powerful electric bolts and jump many stories high. None of this is to mention its great durability against even legendary Pokémon. Thunderbolt, which it can use to dispel dark energies, is also an apparent ability. This was demonstrated against Mimikyu, in Sun and Moon, where it destroyed a Shadow Ball attack and made everything go. It sounds very dumb, but when you factor in the fact that we’re talking about a rodent with electric powers, it makes as much sense as it should.

Despite all of its strengths, Pikachu is also easily caught off guard by surprises — such as when it was caught by its own deflected thunder bolt in The X and Y anime. It also can’t break anything as hard as diamond, as seen in a battle with Golispod in the Sun and Moon anime, and it’s super vulnerable while it charges Thunderbolt (something many of you may know from spamming down-bIn Super Smash Bros.

The Pokémon Company/Nintendo

Finally, there’s Agumon, wthe initial weakest of the three. Agumon is the cooler of all three. It has a Pepper Breath fireblast that can be accelerated, a fast jab, sharp claws, and is also able to use sharp claws. But here’s the catch. Digimon have the latent ability to Digivolve into new forms, but aren’t always limited in the way that Pokémon are. These transformations can take place through age, training, a Digivice forcing the change, or, most relevant to this argument’s purposes, the anger and will to survive in a tough battle — say, against Pikachu and the Dark Magician.

Agumon is now able to change into its strong Greymon form. This can be combined with stronger subsequent forms, such as Metal Greymon SkullGreymon and RizeGreymon. For this fight, we’ll focus on the most likely transformations to occur: Greymon and SkullGreymon.

Agumon’s first evolution, Greymon, is an aggressive yet intelligent dinosaur Digimon, which is scary enough on its own. It’s also huge, has a protective shell on its head, and can shoot heat blasts that turn whatever they touch into ash. None of this is to mention Greymon’s highly durable body, which allows it to tank various attacks from other powerful Digimon.

What’s more, if Greymon begins to lose footing and cling to life, it will most likely shed all non-combat intelligence — along with its literal flesh — and become SkullGreymon. This ultimate-level Digimon can shoot tracking missiles from its spinal cord, move at high speeds (why wouldn’t a giant skeleton be quick on its feet?) It can also tank and destroy planets with its devastating attacks. It is also capable of paralyzing and poisoning opponents. You think that’s not enough? Well, don’t worry: SkullGreymon can transform once more into BlackWarGreymon. This Digimon can be faster, last longer, have more intelligence and is stronger. No wonder it’s the series’ mascot!

Now, to the action: The battle begins with Agumon getting washed, whether by Dark Magician’s wide assortment of attacks, or Pikachu’s overwhelming speed. As Agumon goes through its most desperate transformation, it becomes an all-out battle between the purple-clad magician and the electric rat.

The two are evenly matched at first: Pikachu easily weaves through the Magician’s Thousand Knives, thanks to quick reactions and lightning-fast speed, and the Mage takes a bit of damage every time Pikachu lands a hit with its Iron Tail. Dark Magician can answer back with dark energy attacks, but as we’ve covered, Pikachu can dispel dark energy with its bolts, making them a non-issue. Despite Pikachu’s valiant efforts, though, it’s clear that Dark Magician dwarfs Pikachu in power and durability, seeing as how he’s fought with much stronger foes than a starter Pokémon throughout his martial tenure. In the end, Pikachu has to dodge volleys of blasts, constantly jump to Dark Magician’s airborne height, and lower his defenses to charge his Thunderbolt attack. Eventually, it’ll exhaust itself, and Dark Magician will emerge victorious.

Image: Toei Animation

Pikachu may be out, but the fight isn’t over. Agumon, which would then have become Greymon at this point in the battle against Pikachu, could easily have taken down Pikachu as fast as an ant on a sidewalk. However, while Greymon is an extremely powerful Digimon, its might isn’t quite on that level of a spellcasting monster that’s taken on near-god-level enemies. What did the result look like? A 6-4 matchup in Dark Magician’s favor ending with him standing, battered and victorious, over a sleeping dinosaur. We now move on to the next stage. This is where it all leads.

SkullGreymon’s live-for-combat mentality and heat-seeking missile barrage would finish what his previous forms started. Even if the target was not killed or paralyzed, it’s unbreakable durability, gigantic size, and near indestructible endurance would seal victory. If all of this were to happen, it would be amazing. wasn’t The dub can evolve enough to be able to keep earning it. Agumon’s ability to transform into so many broken messes rivals that of your favorite Dragon Ball character. And we weren’t even close to its final form.

The first of three big monster-collecting 3 won the battle. Pokémon, for all of their grandeur and ubiquity, lost their mascot first. That’s got to count for something, right?

Greymon is making a mess of Pikachu’s bank account by stepping on it and using leftover rubble for a mattress.