NOTICE: This is a Recap page, so all spoilers will be left unmarked, per wiki policy. Read ahead only with caution! You Have Been Warned.
Wiz: And Tai, and his Digimon Agumon.
In the finale of season two, a pair of titans of the mons genre square off, landmarks their franchises' respective countless creatures at their beck and call. The hosts will pit a burst of draconic power against ever-increasing strength, legendary strength against an unheard level of durability, for as Red and Tai, as well as Charizard and Agumon, fighting on behalf of their home franchises of Pokémon and Digimon, have been seen as rivals since the dawn of their series' beginning, only one can settle this iconic score in a death battle.
The episode begins with a look at Red, an 11-year-old from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, sent on a quest by Professor Oak to gather information on every known Pokémon and become the greatest trainer in the region in the process. To do this, Red needed a Pokémon to start him on his journey, and the companion he would pick would be the Fire-type Charmander. Their travels across the land would see Charmander grow in size, evolving into a Charmeleon, before ultimately reaching its final form, the draconic Charizard.
During their time in Kanto, Red would teach Charizard a number of moves, such as a Flamethrower attack strong enough to melt boulders. Also in Charizard's repertoire are moves such as the suplexing Seismic Toss, a flurry of Swift stars, and an even higher-temperature attacks in Fire Blast and the ultimate Fire-type move, Blast Burn. But the exploits of the pair do not end there. The journey across Kanto would bring the pair a special camaraderie, strong even by the standards of trainer and Pokémon; and if such a bond becomes strong enough, as the pair can attest to, with the aid of a special trinket known as a Mega Stone, a Pokémon can achieve an even stronger, though temporary form, a Mega Evolution. In Red's case, his Charizard possesses the capabilities needed to become Mega Charizard X, and in this state, Charizard becomes stronger and more durable, giving it enough strength to stand its ground against Pokémon with godlike power. On top of all this, its newfound Tough Claws ability means Mega Charizard X can deal even more damage with moves that directly contact the opponent.
But Red and Charizard did not get to where they are now without problems. As a Fire/Flying-type, Charizard is susceptible to moves that rely on water, rocks, or electricity. In addition, though a Charizard's tail flame generates enough heat to where not even water can douse it, if for any reason, the flame died out, the Charizard would die along with it. Finally, Charizard's battle strategy is dependent on Red's input; without him, it becomes as unfocused as a wild specimen. But Red is nothing if not a prodigy. At the age of eleven, he dismantled the criminal organization of Team Rocket, defeated several of the Kanto region's toughest trainers, and became its champion, before traveling the world, searching for a new worthy challenger to do battle with. And Charizard itself is a specimen to behold; proud warriors, Charizards can, under the right guidance, defeat foes that would otherwise hold a great advantage over them. Together, the pair have proven themselves as one of the greatest bonds that could be forged in their world, and an indomitable challenge indeed.
With that, the hosts look at Red's competition, Tai Kamiya, an 11-year-old whose trips at summer camp with his friends would take a strange turn when Tai and friends were sucked into a digital world. When he came to, Tai was met by Koromon, a creature from the digital world specifically meant for him. Koromon would protect Tai from harm, digivolving into the fire lizard, Agumon. Their journeys together across the digital world would see the pair rescue it from the state brought upon it by more malevolent Digimon.
Though small, Agumon is not helpless. With fiery pepper breath and sharp claws, he was able to survive long enough to grow a bond with Tai, and, like their opponents, the bond would grow strong enough to where Agumon could digivolve to the more ferocious two-story tall Greymon, and in this state, Greymon can stand his own against other champion-level Digimon, but even this is not his full power. Once he reaches this state, Greymon can Digivolve further, becoming the ultimate-level MetalGreymon. As MetalGreymon, he possesses missile launchers and a metal armor stronger than any real-life material, which helps him immensely in this state, for even as he is now, there still remains one final trick. Agumon can digivolve further into WarGreymon, its mega-level form. Here Wargreymon carries a pair of claws known as the Dramon Destroyers, extremely effective against draconic foes. And befitting its status as Agumon's ultimate form, WarGreymon has a signature move known as the Tera Force, an massive orb of fiery energy taken from the atmosphere itself.
As Tai and Agumon have a number of strengths to their name, so too do they have weaknesses. Agumon is weak to earth-based attacks, and, under enough damage, can be forcibly reverted to a weaker form. The bond the pair share is also a critical element, as digivolving cannot happen without Tai, and if Tai attempts to force a Digivolution with negative emotions rather than courage, Agumon will transform into the uncontrollable SkullGreymon. Thankfully, Tai has overcome his faults, becoming a source of courage for his Digimon, who has proven itself capable of fighting upwards of a million Digimon and defeating Apocalymon, a legend in its own right felled by a legendary duo.
Greymon: Nova Flare! (fires a ball of light that engulfs an opposing Parrotmon)
With all said and done, an advertisement for the Lenovo Game State project is brought up. But once that takes its leave, it's time for a death battle!
The scene is in by a canyon, dead in the middle of daytime. As Agumon enjoys the surroundings with a toasted marshmallow, behind a boulder lies Red, Champion of the Kanto region, seeing the Reptile Digimon and mistaking him for a Pokémon. With a mistake made and a marshmallow lost, Agumon's aggression is met with Red letting loose his signature Pokémon, Charizard. Luck tips a bit more in Agumon's favor, however, when Tai arrives, his shock at the two strangers soon met with an acceptance of Red's challenge.
FIGHT!
Though Agumon makes the first move, his pepper breath is blocked by the Flame Pokémon's wings. Going close-range fares little better, the Reptile Digimon's slashes rendered moot by Charizard's hide. The fight shifts into the Champion's favor shortly afterward, throwing into a Mega Punch that gives Charizard the opening to Seismic Toss its foe into the dirt. Tai decides to treat his foe to a greater challenge, digivolving Agumon into Greymon, though not without Red once more failing to capture the Digimon. The tides of battle completely reverse afterward, the once-damaging blows from Charizard seemingly doing nothing against Agumon's champion-level form; even a Fire Blast is met with a Great Horn from Greymon, knocking the fire/flying-type through the canyon.
But Red refuses to be daunted. With a Flamethrower attack, Greymon counters with a Nova Flame, the streams of fire meeting in the middle. Some extra effort on Greymon's part ends the clash, but Charizard follows its trainer's lead, getting back in the action immediately, dodging Nova Blasts left and right. A barrage of Fire Blasts ensue, Greymon trapped in the bursts. However, a Rock Smash gives way to Greymon's Tail Whip, giving the Digidestined and his own companion a chance to follow up with a Nova Blast, knocking Red's starter into a lake. Assured in his victory, Tai and Greymon prepare to part.
Once more, though, does Red carry the fight on. Calling upon his confidence in Charizard, the trainer pulls out a Charizardite X, bringing his starter back from the brink of defeat, and from the waters emerge Mega Charizard X. A brief conflict of terminology later and the battle gets going once again, Mega Charizard X laying into Greymon with a combination Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz. So ferocious is this offensive that Greymon reverts back to Agumon. Tai's hand is forced. Warp digivolving, Agumon is immediately brought to his final form, WarGreymon.
The two draconic monsters, now at the pinnacle of their strength, collide in a duel of Dragon Rush and Great Tornado. Shaking off the attack, Mega Charizard X lets loose a Fire Blast, but a Great Shield shuts down the offensive. As the battle takes to the skies, Mega Charizard X and WarGreymon trade slashes before WarGreymon retreats, chased by Swift. The stars pelt the mega-level Digimon, giving Red a chance to end the fight with Blast Burn. Horrified that his best friend is getting beaten up, Tai turns the tables by racing in and socking Red in the face and kicking him in the shins, confusing both Trainer and Pokemon, giving WarGreymon a second wind. A brutal onslaught of slashes shears the flesh from Mega Charizard X's wings before being hurled into its trainer, breaking Red's legs. Warned beforehand by his Digimon, Tai can barely escape as WarGreymon unleashes a Terra Force that swallows the crippled Red and his critically-injured Pokémon, incinerating them into nothingness. In the distance, Tai pays his respects to his foe for the challenge brought upon him.
K.O.!
As WarGreymon reverts back to Agumon, he reunites with Tai, staring at the inferno brought about by the Terra Force. Though Charizard had the initial advantages, such as in speed and versatility, those edges were lost over time. Both sides had close-knit bonds forged over countless trials, but in the end, the bond between Red and Charizard is that of master and slave; in comparison, Tai and Agumon are companions who see each other as equals, and this is where Tai's faith in Agumon comes to play. As Digidestined, Tai and Agumon have enough power to stop an attack that could wipe out both the digital and real world; it is this power that Agumon relies upon to digivolve. The contrast does not end there, either; impressive as Charizard's boulder-melting fire attacks are, even MetalGreymon has been stated as having power comparable to a nuke, and WarGreymon's Dramon Destroyers could turn the Mega Evolution's gained Dragon-type against it. The hosts summarize the fight in the difference between Pokémon evolution and Digimon digivolving; where evolution is a steady power boost, digivolving gives each form a far greater surge in strength than the last. Both teams are legends both in and out of their respective universes, but Red and Charizard fought an opponent with too much power for them to compete with.
Wizard: The winner is the Digimon!
Next time on Season 3 of Death Battle...
Pokémon vs. Digimon contains examples of:
- Beat Them at Their Own Element: Fire dragon vs ...other fire dragon. Ultimately, Charizard is overwhelmed despite his heavy resistance to fire.
- Continuity Nod: As noted in the Pokemon Battle Royale, Charizard is Boomstick's favorite Pokemon. Watching Charizard get disintegrated hurt his childhood.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once Agumon Digivolves into WarGreymon, the battle becomes this in his and Tai's favor.
- Deconstruction: The end of the fight gives a nasty deconstruction of what happens when one picks a fight with a random monster they see.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Red and Charizard pick a fight with Agumon and Tai just because the former wants to catch Agumon, forcing the latter to fight in self-defense. WarGreymon killing Red and Charizard can be a big shocker to those who are too used to Pokemon's more sports-style fights.
- The Law of Diminishing Defensive Effort: Averted. WarGreymon, despite being more than tough enough to simply No-Sell everything Mega Charizard could throw at it, makes a point of dodging or blocking as many attacks as possible, as he has no information on how powerful each attack is. Red exploits this to leave him vulnerable to a Blast Burn.
- Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: Or more like Linear Pokemon, Quadratic Digimon. Pokemon evolution increases power in increments (linearly), while Digimon Evolution increases power in huge tiers (quadratically). This allowed the Digimon to take the win when WarGreymon entered the fray.
- Mythology Gag:
- When Red sends out Charizard, its classic cry from the games can be subtly heard as it roars.
- The Digivolution sequences are framed much like they were in Digimon Adventure.
- Next Tier Power-Up: The main reason behind Tai and Agumon's victory; digivolving grants the Digimon far more power than evolution does its Pokémon.
- No Body Left Behind: WarGreymon's Tera Force attack is enough to disintegrate Red and Charizard.
- Power of Friendship: Plays a major part on both sides. Charizard is able to Mega-Evolve into Mega-Charizard because of his bond with Red, but it is stated this plays a much bigger role on the Digimon side of things, as Agumon draws direct power from his friendship with Tai. Another major difference between how Pokémon and Digimon handle this trope, is that the bond between Red and Charizard is more like the bond between a master and a slave, while Tai and Agumon treat each other as equals. This led Tai to angrily punch Red for attacking Agumon, causing Charizard to be confused, due to the lack of guidance from his trainer. WarGreymon thankfully used this opportunity to prepare his Finishing Move.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Agumon tries to slash Charizard's belly with his claws. It doesn't work.
- Season Finale: Of season two.
- Shooting Superman: Averted. Despite Fire-type Pokemon generally being resistant against Fire-type damage (to the point where they can withstand being near molten lava), Greymon's fire attacks have enough force to pummel Charizard like a rag-doll throughout the fight. Even Mega Charizard X had to avoid being hit by Greymon, as though he can still be hurt by him. Played straight with Agumon's Mega level, however, who isn't visibly damaged by any of Charizard's attacks. The only one that comes close is Blast Burn, and all did was create a Smoke Shield.
- Theme Music Power-Up: Agumon's ascension to WarGreymon is heralded by "Uncontrollable".
- Wrong Genre Savvy: In this fight, Red obsessively holds on to the rules of the Pokémon universe. First he thinks Agumon is a wild Pokémon. Then, after hearing Agumon talk, he thinks he is a rare Pokémon, making him more eager to catch it. Even when Tai and Agumon do things normally impossible for a Pokémon, like Agumon transforming to a giant dinosaur, he never seems to think something is wrong and still treats this like a Pokémon-battle. This ultimately leads to Red's death, as he did not expect Tai coming to Agumon's aid by punching Red. Red instead thought Tai was Agumon's trainer and violence between trainers is a no-go in Pokémon battles. This left Charizard without the guidance of his trainer, giving WarGreymon time to prepare his devastating Terra Force.
