Background
Lucario
Lucario, the Aura Pokemon. This Pokemon was originally discovered in the Sinnoh Region and is the evolved form of Riolu. Lucario and its prevolution can be found deep in mountainous areas, where they live in packs, hunting and training together far away from humans. Being the Aura Pokemon, Lucario naturally has the ability to both sense and utilize aura, the life force present in all living beings, in a variety of ways ranging from simple utility to combat applications. Additionally, Lucario are extremely intelligent and are able to comprehend human speech and can even communicate with humans via telepathy through the use of their aura. Lucario are a favorite among many trainers worldwide because in spite of their proud natures, they are strong and versatile Pokemon who are deathly loyal to those they trust and possess a strong sense of justice, a rare trait among wild Pokemon. Lastly, it should be noted that Lucario was the first Pokemon to achieve Mega Evolution through the bonds it shared with humans and the usage of Mega Stones (and second Pokemon to achieve it overall), a testament to its strength and loyalty.
Renamon
Renamon is a rookie-level Animal Digimon. Compared to other Digimon of the same level, it has high attack and speed stats, though it’s lacking in defenses. Its appearance is that of a yellow fox and is based off the look of a kitsune, a Japanese fox spirit, and as far as personality goes, they tend to be very calm and collected in order to make sure they don’t lose their cool in a fight, though they also greatly desire to grow in power. As such, they always pick their Tamers based off of if they believe the human will help them achieve this goal of digivolving into their further forms, and have no problems being blunt and up-front about the matter. In battle, Renamon tend to rely on their blinding speeds and martial arts prowess, along with their other moves, in order to defeat their foes.
Moveset
Lucario
Aura Sphere
Fighting-type. Lucario’s signature attack. He creates an energy ball made of aura and hurls it at the opponent. This attack can never miss, though it can still be destroyed or defended from. He can charge the attack up to do more damage, and can also fire multiple smaller ones that home in on the target. When he’s taken damage, the size of the Aura Sphere gets bigger, making it stronger. When he’s Mega Lucario, he can charge the Aura Sphere even longer to fire a massive beam of aura. He also has two variations of the attack, one called Snaring Aura Sphere (which makes the Aura Sphere move slowly forward, but it sucks in opponents), and the other called Piercing Aura Sphere (which is a faster, but weaker, Aura Sphere that goes through opponents and projectiles).
Laser Focus
Normal-type. Lucario concentrates intensely, making it so his next attack will always result in a critical hit (1.5x the usual damage).
Metal Claw
Steel-type. The spikes on Lucario’s paws grow into metallic claws, allowing him to be able to slash opponents with them. It also has a chance to raise Lucario’s physical attack power.
Feint
Normal-type. Lucario attacks the opponent while also breaking through their Protect or Detect. Outside of Pokemon, it’d be reasonable to assume it would just break through an opponent’s guard, allowing for follow-up attacks. This attacks has higher priority than most other moves.
Power-Up Punch
Fighting-type. Lucario punches the opponent. For every successful hit with this attack, Lucario’s physical attack power rises.
Swords Dance
Normal-type. Lucario performs a fighting dance, doubling his physical attack power in the process.
Metal Sound
Steel-type. Lucario emits a horrible metallic screech that lowers the opponent’s special defense. It has also been used to stop foes in their tracks by making them try to find relief from the harsh sound.
Bone Rush
Ground-type. Lucario forms a bone made of his aura and clubs the opponent multiple times in a row, from two to five. Lucario can also split the one big bone into two smaller bones or spin it around fast enough to momentarily hover in the air. He can also use numerous of them to trap his foes.
Close Combat
Fighting-type. Lucario fights intensely in close quarters, dealing massive damage. The downside is that this also lowers Lucario’s defense and special defense.
Extreme Speed
Normal-type. Similar to Quick Attack, Lucario dashes forward at high speeds to attack the foe. It is much stronger, faster, and has a higher priority than Quick Attack. Lucario can use Extreme Speed and aura to allow himself to briefly fly in the air (he can also enhance the power, distance and speed of the entire attack by surrounding himself in aura). When he’s Mega Lucario, he can perform a follow-up X-shaped attack made of aura. The more damage Lucario has taken will increase the power, speed, and distance Lucario goes when he uses it. He also has two variations of the attack, one called Ride the Wind (which lets him fly in the air longer, but deals no damage), and the other called Extreme Speed Attack (which lets him attack throughout the entire move, but he leaves himself wide open at the start of it).
Force Palm
Fighting-type. Lucario places his paw against the opponent. A beam of energy then fires at point blank range. This attack has a chance at paralyzing the opponent. Lucario can still fire the beam without the need of touching an opponent. He can charge up the attack to do more damage. When he’s Mega Lucario, he can perform a follow-up aura imbued punch after the beam. The more damage Lucario has taken will increase the power and the length of the attack. He also has two variations of the move, one called Advancing Force Palm (which makes Lucario dash forward for bigger range to grab someone, but leaves him vulnerable if he misses), and the other is called Long-Distance Force Palm (which increases the distance of the beam, but is weaker).
Copycat
Normal-type. As Lucario sees his opponent use an attack, he becomes surrounded in an aura of light (color depends on the move being copied) and remembers how they do so to repeat the attack himself, regardless of whether or not it’s a move he himself could learn at all.
Other Moves
Lucario and Riolu can learn a lot more moves than the ones listed above, but to make it quick...
- Foresight: Normal-type. Lucario’s eyes glow and he creates a blue forcefield around himself that expands. This reveals invisible objects and illusions. In the Pokemon games, it also allows Lucario to hit Ghost-type Pokemon with Normal and Fighting-type attacks.
- Quick Attack: Normal-type. Lucario dashes forward to tackle the opponent so fast that he almost becomes invisible to the human eye. This attack has higher priority over most other moves.
- Detect: Fighting-type. Lucario’s eyes turn blue and lets him avoid all attacks. The more he uses this, the more likely it is to fail. This move has a higher priority than most other moves.
- Counter: Fighting-type. Lucario allows himself to be hit. If the attack that hits him was a physical attack, he counterattacks the opponent, dealing double the damage he had taken.
- Quick Guard: Fighting-type. Lucario sets up a shield around himself that blocks attacks with high priority, like Quick Attack. Unlike Detect, this move can be used over and over with no decreases in success. This move has a higher priority than most other moves.
- Me First: Normal-type. If Lucario is naturally faster than the opponent, he will copy whatever attack the opponent was going to use on him.
- Work Up: Normal-type. Lucario rouses himself up, increasing both his attack and special attack.
- Calm Mind: Psychic-type. Lucario calms his mind and spirit, increasing both his special attack and special defense.
- Heal Pulse: Psychic-type. Lucario emits a healing pulse that heals anything that comes into contact with it. It should be noted that normally, Heal Pulse can’t heal the one using it, but there have been times where the user of Heal Pulse has healed themselves.
- Dragon Pulse: Dragon-type. Lucario fires a beam of draconic energy at the opponent. It has no additional effects, but it is extremely powerful.
- Endure: Normal-type. Lucario endures the opponent’s next attack, allowing him to hang on from the brink of fainting. This move has a higher priority than most other moves.
- Screech: Normal-type. Lucario emits an earsplitting noise, lowering his opponent’s defense.
- Reversal: Fighting-type. Lucario performs an all-out attack on the opponent. This attack does more damage the less health Lucario, making it work pretty well after using Endure.
- Nasty Plot: Dark-type. Lucario stimulates his brain by thinking of bad thoughts, which doubles his special attack.
- Final Gambit: Fighting-type. Lucario risks everything in order to attack the opponent. This attack does the same amount of damage as the health Lucario has when he uses it. It will make Lucario faint when used. If it fails, whether it be from dodging it, being immune to it, or using Protect or Detect, Lucario will not faint.
Renamon
Diamond Storm
Renamon projects a swarm of sharpened leaves that come down to attack the opponent. They can also attach to objects and then explode, as shown during Renamon’s battle against Terriermon. Renamon can control the leaves, and can cause widescale damage which was shown when the leaves were strong enough to cause a large hole in ice as well as shoot them precisely enough that they cut through spider webs without injuring Rika. In terms of overall power they are strong enough to defeat Champion Level Digimon but the leaves will be less effective to anything else above Champion. Renamon can fire it from the ground or the air.
Fox Switch Deception
This move allows Renamon to switch places with her foe which can allow her to get a tactical advantage in battle. Other variants include her temporarily taking on the appearance of her foe in order to trick foes and her summoning two phantom clones to beat up the opponent.
Power Paw
The Power Paw engulfs both Renamon’s hands and feet in an aura of energy to drastically increase the striking power of her punches and kicks. Her punches are strong enough to destroy a steel snake with a single blow.
Rapid Punches
Renamon punches the enemy Digimon repeatedly before finishing them with a roundhouse kick. There is also a kick variant where Renamon kicks the enemy Digimon multiple times
Spin Kick
Renamon attacks with multiple roundhouse kicks inflicting a good amount of damage.
Power Chop
Renamon strikes with a powerful hand strike.
Swift Chop
Renamon does a swift but powerful chop towards the enemy.
Special Abilities
Lucario
Natural Abilities
Each Pokemon has one or numerous abilities that can aid them in battle, and Lucario has three of these himself.
Steadfast makes it so that every time Lucario flinches, his speed will be increased by 1.5x each. While Lucario has two other abilities, Steadfast is the most common one shown in the games and manga for well known Riolu and Lucario. The Riolu above has it, and so does the Aura Sphere Riolu, Maylene’s Lucario, and Korrina’s Lucario.
His secondary ability is Inner Focus, and it completely contradicts Steadfast as it makes Lucario immune to flinching.
And finally, Lucario’s Hidden Ability is Justified, which increases his physical attack stat by 1.5x whenever the Pokemon is struck with a Dark-based attack.
Aura
In the Pokeverse, aura is a spiritual energy and the essence of all living things, and naturally being the “Aura Pokemon”, Lucario is a master of using it. According to Pokedex entries, Lucario can sense the aura of beings that are over half a mile away and can even fight while blinded thanks to it, so unless you can somehow mask your life-force, you’re never where this guy can’t see you. Additionally, Lucario can use his aura to determine the alignments of others with good natured entities having bluish white aura signatures and evil ones having a darker red.
Aura can also be used to read someone’s thoughts and movements, giving Lucario the advantage of being able to predict oncoming attacks rather easily. Additionally, Lucario can somehow “project” his aura to create barriers to block incoming attacks. Another important thing about aura is that in the Smash Bros. series, as Lucario takes more damage his aura based attacks increase in size, power and range.
Many of Lucario’s attacks revolve around aura, and as Lucario gets more and more beaten up, his Aura abilities become stronger, and thus so do his attacks. Yes, beating up Lucario makes his life-force stronger. Don’t question it.
Using his aura’s maximum capacity, Lucario’s Aura Sphere is almost three times bigger and about the size of the Jackal Pokemon itself in terms of diameter and gets a boost to its power, speed and range. Force Palm’s range extends much further and deals more damage. Extreme Speed propels him further, faster and deals more damage. Lastly, all of Lucario’s standard punches, kicks and general martial arts shenanigans are given a boost, too. This is obviously still a risky move, since even if Lucario’s power has been increased, he himself is still hurt. Kind of an “all or nothing” deal.
Aura Storm
Lucario’s Final Smash from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Lucario jumps up into the air and then fires a giant energy beam made of aura straight down at his opponent. He can change the direction of the beam mid-fire in case he wants to aim at a different target or pursue targets that he either missed or dodged the attack.
Aura Blast
Lucario’s Burst Attack from Pokken Tournament. Lucario combos the opponent by starting with an aura imbued uppercut. He then sends out six small Aura Spheres upwards to hit the opponent, keeping them airborne longer. As his foe falls from the air, he charges up one final Aura Sphere beam and fires it at point blank range when his victim is about to hit the ground. His opponent gets launched forward and the Aura Sphere beam explodes, causing a giant aura explosion.
Same Type Attack Bonus
Not necessarily an ability, but it’s something worth the mention. Same Type Attack Bonus, abbreviated to STAB, is a phenomenon in the Pokemon universe which grants Lucario power increases to moves he shares typing with. As such, any Fighting or Steel-type attacks that the canine Pokemon uses will receive a 1.5x boost in strength.
Renamon
Weapons Master
Surprisingly enough, Renamon is pretty damn skilled at utilizing different kinds of weapons though she usually prefers an axe. She can summon an axe and use that as a means of attack as when a missile was fired at her she was able to summon an axe and easily cut it in half.
Danger Sensing Skills
She is able to sense when people are in danger, either through sensing them or having extremely good hearing. Once when her partner Rika was in danger, she managed to immediately pick up on it and go to help her.
Teleportation
She appears to have some level of teleportation since she can very easily appear and disappear at will.
Manipulation of Energy
Renamon is able to manipulate her own energy in various ways. First of all, she can manipulate energy to create her signature attack - Diamond Storm. Secondly, she can use her energy to sense the location of other people.
Data Absorption
Renamon can absorb data to increase her strength and possibly size. After Renamon kills a Digimon she can also use that Digimon’s Attacks as her own though she mainly sticks to her main attacks rather than using other Digimon’s attacks.
Transformations
In Case You’re Wondering…
While we know that there won’t be any human assistance for either side, we’ve included their transformations as arguments could still be made for them getting these boosts. To certain extents at least. Lucario can activate the form himself in Smash Bros and Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, while Renamon had a scene in early Digimon Tamers where Rika doesn’t explicitly help her to digivolve into Kyuubimon, though forms past that have all been shown requiring her human; in particular, Sakuyamon isn’t going to be covered here since Rika is needed to merge with Renamon.
We realize that these aren’t the most solid arguments, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Lucario
Mega Lucario
The Lucario species is one of the few in history to know how to Mega Evolve, and although these Mega Evolutions usually require the help of a Trainer to do so, numerous Pokemon (like Mewtwo) are capable of doing so by themselves; such is the case with Lucario in most spin-off media, such as Super Smash Bros. and Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon.
In this form, Mega Lucario gains vastly increased speed and offensive stats with decent buffs to his defences. His connection with aura grows much stronger as the aura now courses through his body as evidenced by the black streaks and his mastery over aura increases to its maximum point where even slight movements can generate powerful waves of pressure. Mega Evolution also transforms Lucario into an incredibly savage fighter, with his fighting style even being described as “heartless”.
In this form, Mega Lucario gains vastly increased speed and offensive stats with decent buffs to his defences. His connection with aura grows much stronger as the aura now courses through his body as evidenced by the black streaks and his mastery over aura increases to its maximum point where even slight movements can generate powerful waves of pressure. Mega Evolution also transforms Lucario into an incredibly savage fighter, with his fighting style even being described as “heartless”.
Finally, Lucario’s ability changes from his usual base abilities of Inner Focus, Steadfast or Justified into Adaptability. This ability further increases the power of his Fighting and Steel-type attacks by boosting his STAB multiplier from 1.5x to 2.0x more powerful.
In the anime, Korrina was capable of Mega Evolving her Lucario, though they originally encountered problems that turned Lucario feral and threw him into a wild frenzy. However, this was due to Korrina and Lucario’s bond simply not being strong enough to handle Mega Evolution, and this was rectified later when they gained a bond powerful enough to wield. Even then, Lucario flying solo means he won’t need to be concerned over something like this should he get this form.
Renamon
Kyubimon
Kyubimon is Renamon's Champion level form. Kyubimon is a nine-tailed yellow fox with a white mane and mystical blue flames flaring around her paws and tail tips. Renamon evolved into Kyubimon after her partner Rika cried over Renamon's sacrifice (after Renamon protected Rika from an attack). Kyubimon is much more powerful than her previous form, not only having increased speed, strength, and durability, but also allowing her to keep up with most Champion level Digimon. Renamon also gains the ability of Pyrokinesis and is able to manipulate fire in various ways, such as:
Fox Tail Inferno
Kyubimon is able to create fire on its tail which can be used as a long ranged projectile. The shots fired are explosive and are strong enough to take down Champion Level Digimon as well as an Ultimate Level Digimon in the movie. Kyubimon can also precisely control the fire, as shown when it manipulated the fire so that it would accurately light the spider web. She can also do a stronger variation of this move called Amatsu-Kitsune where the fire surrounds the enemy and causes a large explosion.
Dragon Wheel
Kyubimon can produce an extremely large and wide flame that can increase and decrease itself in size as well morph itself into a dragon which gives Kyubimon the ability to fly. In can also be used as a protective shield against attacks as shown on the image when Kyubimon used the fire to protect herself from various missiles. It is strong enough to easily defeat Champion Level Digimon and burn the extremely powerful Beelzemon
Headbutt
Renamon can headbutt the foe to disorientate them - she has variations of this attack. First of all, Renamon manipulate the fire around her to headbutt the enemy with the power of fire - this move is called Koshugeki. She also has an electric variation which allows her to headbutt with the power of electricity - this move is called Kodengeki.
Feats
Lucario
Overall
- The main Pokemon of two gym leaders: Maylene and Korrina
- Has been used by a plethora of other trainers throughout Pokemon media too
- The second known Pokemon to achieve Mega Evolution
- Aura Guardian with Sir Aaron and Riley
- Saved the Tree of Life alongside Ash Ketchum, though he sacrificed himself in the process
- Has fought against Ash Ketchum on numerous occasions under numerous trainers, and has only lost twice.
- The first loss was against Maylene, where Ash’s Staravia and Chimchar fought it first before Ash’s Buizel finished it off. But to defeat it, Buizel learned Water Pulse, plus it was raining so its ability, Swift Swim, increases its speed. And even when all was said and done, the fight was a tie, not a full victory for Ash.
- The second loss was against Korrina, and while this one was with Mega Evolution and resulted in an actual victory, it still took the combined might of three Pokemon to take it down.
- Along with Riley, saved all of Iron Island from being destroyed by containing the entire explosion in an aura field and launching it into the sky.
- Got a 100-win streak with Korrina as training for getting his Mega Evolution
Strength
- Blew the roof off Maylene's gym when its Aura Sphere collided with Buizel’s Water Pulse
- Riolu, its pre-evolution, could lift a 260.0 kg Gigalith
- Even with a defensive move (most likely Protect) in use, Aura Sphere could still blow the top off an ice pillar
- Can match the power of a Registeel's Hyper Beam. Keep in mind that Registeel is a legendary Pokemon, and Hyper Beam is a very powerful attack in the Pokemon world.
- And another appearance by Aggron, in which Lucario uses Close Combat to knock it down to the ground. And your average Aggron weighs 360 kg in total.
- Due to its clean scaling to Ash’s Pikachu, having defeated it numerous times, should get up to about city level
Speed
Durability
- Takes a Blaze Kick from a Blaziken and is fine
- Has taken hits from and defeated Ash’s Pikachu, scaling his durability to the electric Pokemon’s power
Renamon
Overall
- Has defeated and absorbed the data of countless Digimon (extremely well known as a Digimon in the Digi-World)
- Easily defeated Petramon who is a Champion level Digimon (Renamon fought Petramon in Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 10:46)
- Defeated BlueMeramon who is an Ultimate level Digimon by morphing into Kyubimon (Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 28:20)
- Fought Mephistomon who is an extremely powerful Ultimate level Digimon (Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 39:39)
Strength
- Able to damage an Armor level Digimon Allomon (Armor Digimon are on the level of Champion Digimon) (Link to Episode 6 of Tamers - 3:34)
- Able to easily slice through an Armor level Digimon in one blow (Link to Episode 12 of Tamers - 2:25)
- Able to temporarily knock out Harpymon who is also an Armor Level Digimon with multiple punches at once (Link to Episode 12 of Tamers - 15:20)
Speed
- Renamon is easily able to dodge multiple missiles being fired at her all at once (Link: Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 10:23)
- Able to react and dodge to Guilmon and Impmon’s fire attacks (Link: Digimon Tamers Episode 3 - 1:05)
- Able to easily run up a skyscraper with little to no effort (Link: Digimon Tamers Episode 14 - 05:33)
Durability
- Tanked a blast from Harpymon, the same type of blast was easily able to slice through concrete (Link to Episode 12 of Tamers - 16:00)
- Tanked Allomon’s fire attack and got knocked into a telephone poll (Link to Episode 6 of Tamers - 4:20)
- Survived a beating from IceDevimon who is a Champion level Digimon (Link to Episode 10 of Tamers - 15:25)
- Survived being frozen solid by BlueMeramon who is an Ultimate level Digimon (Link to Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 26:32)
- Survived an attack from Mephistomon who is an extremely powerful Ultimate level Digimon (Digimon Tamers: Adventure Movie - 27:10)
- Gets knocked off the top of a skyscraper by Mihiramon after also being knocked her out of her Kyubimon form. Renamon then fell several stories below landing on solid concrete (Link to Episode 14 of Tamers - 8:40)
Weaknesses
Lucario
As a Fighting/Steel-type Pokemon, Lucario is weak to Fire, Fighting and Ground-based attacks, all of which can be applicable in a Death Battle, and his defenses are pretty lacking for a Steel-type, so he tends to compensate for this via speed. Unfortunately, that means he may struggle against foes who can keep up with him, though he still has a number of other ways to defend himself. And while taking damage does increase the power of his attacks, it takes a lot of damage before Lucario is 100% maxed out, so a good enough blow could either get him the win, or take him right out.
Renamon
Much of the great power Renamon possesses only really shows itself through her various Digivolutions, and trying to maintain that power is a weakness in and of itself. A tamer is needed to allow Renamon to tap into her later stages faster (for example, while Taomon is something she can theoretically reach on her own, it would take far more time and effort) and her Mega stage Sakuyamon requires both Renamon and a tamer to biomerge together, which won’t be happening in this episode. Even if she managed to transform, suffering enough damage would force her back into her earlier stages.
Summary
Lucario
Advantages:
- Moveset is far larger and more versatile
- Can transition between fighting styles such as a fist fighter, projectile attacks, staff user, etc. to keep Renamon on her toes
- Can copy Renamon’s techniques
- Outclasses Renamon’s stats when they’re in their base forms
- Aura allows for thought/movement/position sensing, allowing all of Renamon’s strategies to be read before executed and it prevents her from getting the drop on him
- Aura can raise his aura-based attacks’ power the more damage he takes (assuming Smash is included)
- Can potentially paralyze Renamon with Force Palm, slowing her down a lot and potentially making her incapable of movement
- Mega Lucario allows for max-powered Aura without needing to take damage
- Mega Lucario is stronger than Kyubimon
Disadvantages:
- If one were to classify Renamon’s moves as “fighting-type”, they would be “super effective” on Lucario
- Close Combat, while powerful, lowers Lucario defense and special defense
- Kyubimon’s fire attacks would also be “super effective”
- Loses access to many moves without the inclusion of Smash, the anime and manga
- Mega Lucario may not be included
- Kyubimon > base Lucario
- Completely screwed over if Renamon gets her higher-up forms like Taomon
- Less strategic
Renamon
Advantages:
- Renamon can debatably use a super effective “fighting-type” move, and Kyubimon can definitely use a super effective fire-type move
- Kyubimon > base Lucario
- More level headed and more of a strategist while Lucario relies more on instinct and martial arts than tactics
- Taomon and Sakuyamon win the match for her pretty easily
- Fox Switch Deception could prove useful
Disadvantages:
- Outclassed by Lucario without digivolving
- Mega Lucario > Kyubimon
- Has a far less versatile moveset then Lucario
- Lucario’s Aura can be used to sense Renamon’s movements and potentially thoughts, making any of her strategies pretty moot since they’ll be seen coming the moment they’re thought of
- No counters to Lucario’s stat changing moves and abilities
- Copycat may allow Lucario to copy Renamon’s techniques himself
- Only really has the one fighting style while Lucario can have multiple
Verdicts
Grand Blazer
NateWantsToBattle best husbando
*Ahem*
Aight. Okay. Lucario VS Renamon. Okay. Aight. Finally. A Pokemon that isn’t from Gen I. ‘Bout time, ain’t it? And it’s my favorite Pokemon of all time too, so combine that fact with the win streak that I have going this season and that I’m getting a shot at redemption here for what Charizard VS Greymon was, and you can sure as hell bet that I’m rooting for the jackal a lot here. Do I think he can take it though? Well, I’m not gonna have the same long-ass essays I had to support Natsu and Zero’s victories. Gonna try to keep this short, relatively speaking at least, and say that the winner of this depends a lot on what you allow the two to have.
Let’s start this off easy. Humans being involved fucks Lucario up real bad. Going past Kyubimon in transformations fucks Lucario up real bad. We know no trainers or tamers are showing up in this, so that cuts out non-natural attacks like TM/HM moves, Tutor moves, egg moves, moves from Smash/anime/manga moves (probably), Mega Lucario (probably), card-boosts, Kyubimon (probably), Taomon, Sakuyamon and maybe some other stuff I’m forgetting. Also, for all we know, Death Battle won’t even include a lot of the feats these two have, since the previews seem to make it appear a lot like they’re going with wilds of both and aren’t focusing on any specific monster like the M08’s Lucario or Rika’s Renamon. So I’ll just be sticking to this stuff for today.
This essentially means that both of them are gonna be relying just on what they’ve got packed in their move lists to win, and even when you limit him a lot, Lucario’s just got a lot of better stuff to his than Renamon has to her own.
Renamon’s set focuses almost entirely on martial arts moves, along with Diamond Storm, the Fox Switch thing, teleportation and danger sensing, though I don’t see that last one as being too useful. And while you could maybe say “martial arts are Fighting-type so super effective lmao”, I don’t think that’s really enough for her to take down Lucario, whose arsenal has far more hax stuff to it. Plenty of variety, from energy blasts to martial arts to Wolverine claws to a bo staff to two smaller bo staffs, and lots of hax amongst them to.
Laser Focus to increase attack power (and in a real-time combat situation that’s gonna be hella more useful than turn-based gameplay), moves like Power-Up Punch and Metal Claw to increase his attack while also dealing damage, and then things like Swords Dance, Nasty Plot and Calm Mind to just raise stats. And not only can he raise his own stats, but things like Metal Sound and Screech can also be used to lower Renamon’s. Force Palm can potentially paralyze Renamon to lower her speeds and potentially make her incapable of attacking, Copycat lets him copy some of her own moves, Heal Pulse can get some healing in, or use Detect for some hard reads. Or if you just want some good ol’ powerful moves, you have a great selection in the form of some Close Combat, some Dragon Pulse, some Aura Sphere, or best of all some Aura Storm.
And let’s not forget Aura here. While you can debate the whole “rising strength thing when it takes damage” (which btw would make for a killer Reversal, since that move already gets stronger the less HP the user has left) since it’s just a thing in Smash Bros, the jackal still has some mind-reading abilities to give him a kind of pseudo-precog, or general surrounding sensing to prevent any kind of sneak attacks from coming up. And even if you wanna try saying “Renamon is a digital being so it’s not alive and therefore can’t be sensed”, I’d like to point out that it’s a bit of a recurring theme in Tamers that Digmon actually are living creatures. At least, from what I remember. It’s been awhile since I saw that show. But even if you still said they weren’t living, that really only eliminates mind-reading. He’s used Aura to sense non-living things before (like entire landscapes), or he’s just got some good ol’ Detect.
If you want the tl;dr of what I just said, Lucario’s got way more shit with way more different uses for Renamon to deal with than Renamon has shit for Lucario to deal with. And even more than that, despite them being wilds here, both Pokemon and Digimon battle each other in the wild regardless. As such, Lucario’s still fought against Pokemon with diverse movesets as well, while Renamon’s lineup is just like her: lacking in variety. This sets Lucario up to just naturally be having a lot easier of a time with Renamon, while the fox is gonna naturally have a lot harder of a time.
And if you do include feats and scaling, which they probably should since even a wild Pokemon/Digimon should be somewhat comparable to their trained counterparts, the result doesn’t really sway much. Lucario gets scaling to Pikachu, so that puts him at city level, mach 3000 or something, and Renamon gets… not as good as that.
And if you take out scaling, again, not the biggest Digimon fan around, but I don’t think Renamon herself has any direct feats that match Lucario and Riley throwing that giant explosion into the sky. And even if you wanna say that was 50-50 between the two of them, that’s still mighty impressive based off everything we saw happen. And I’d be willing to say it wasn’t 50-50, since Riley is an Aura Guardian in training while Lucario appeared a bit more advanced with it, since it was defending itself from the waves on the island making steel-types go crazy, and could sense his surroundings to make sure they weren’t in danger. Not to mention when the two return from their feat, Riley nearly falls over while Lucario stays perfectly upright, which implies to me that he used up just about everything he had, while his partner (who had already fought in numerous battles that day without healing up) still had some stuff left. Maybe that’s a shaky argument, but I’d still say 50-50 is good enough to handle Renamon anyways.
With any luck, that streak of mine won’t be ending here. I imagine someday we’ll probably get Mewtwo VS BlackWarGreymon as the third and (hopefully) final round of Pokemon VS Digimon, and that’ll hopefully turn out interesting. But as of the present time and round 2, I’m giving this win to Lucario.
Malcolm Belmont
Oh boy - Lucario VS Renamon. I am going to split up my analysis for this fight into multiple different situations, as I feel it is appropriate to do so considering the fact that both Lucario and Renamon have multiple different forms. So basically, I am going to look at the different scenarios that this fight could end up playing out and seeing who I think wins each one.
Base Lucario VS Base Renamon: While I do suspect that Death Battle will end up including Kyubimon as well as Mega Lucario - I do think the main focus will be on Base Lucario VS Base Renamon which is personally fine. As for who would win - I am a huge fan of Renamon but I would have to say Lucario. In terms of how strong, fast, and durable, I would say that Lucario edges out base Renamon slightly. A lot of Renamon's feats are Large Building Level while Lucario has shown feats which are both that and more. Plus, besides stats there are other factors to consider. The first is that Lucario will be able to easily read Renamon’s movements through using aura, meaning that Lucario will easily be able to figure out what is coming and counter attack. Plus, there is also that in terms of movesets. Lucario absolutely destroys Renamon when you compare their movesets. At most, Renamon has about 5-6 moves in her base moveset while Lucario has 20-30 which gives him greater variety in terms of attacks while Renamon is stuck using the same 2-3 moves for the most part, and due to aura, Lucario will easily be able to predict and counterattack. So in terms of who would win in terms of Base Lucario VS Base Renamon, I would say Lucario for sure.
Base Lucario VS Kyubimon: This one is slightly more tricky due to the fact that Lucario is weak to fire and Kyubimon’s main method of attacking is through pyrokinetic manipulation. I do think Base Lucario’s stats and Kyubimon’s are similar with Kyubimon slightly edging out in terms of stats but Lucario’s impressive movepool as well as aura keep him fine. I think that overall Kyubimon would edge out slightly over Base Lucario due to her more destructive fire based moves but it would be extremely close.
Mega Lucario VS Kyubimon: I would say that Mega Lucario would beat Kyubimon - not only has his Attack, Special Attack and Speed significantly increased, but his aura is at its peak when he is Mega Evolved, which heavily increases his range, sensing skills, and damage output. Kyubimon is quite durable for a Champion Level Digimon and Mega Lucario still suffers from the Steel weakness typing but in the long run that shouldn’t matter as Mega Lucario should win over Kyubimon in terms of stats as well as Lucario’s extensive movepool.
Trainers: If we go higher than Mega Lucario VS Kyubimon then we would have to include trainers. For this, I would go with Rika for Renamon and Korrina for Lucario, but in terms of who would win with trainers, it’s no contest. With Rika, Renamon can transform into the much more powerful Taomon and Sakuyamon, which are perfect defensive Digimon that can easily get around Mega Lucario’s strength and kill him, plus Rika can upgrade Renamon mid battle so that she gets even more of an advantage. Simply put Mega Lucario would struggle to beat Taomon and would definitely lose to Sakuyamon. However, this scenario won’t be in consideration when I make my verdict as trainers have been exempt from this matchup.
Verdict: In terms of who I think will win, due to the fact that Ben has confirmed there are no trainers included, I think that Lucario will win. The two fights that we are likely to get in this Death Battle are Base Lucario VS Base Renamon and Mega Lucario VS Kyubimon. In both situations, Lucario edges out due to his superior stats (strength, speed, and durability) as well as being able to analyse and predict any attack that Renamon fires at Mega Lucario. But what really tips it over for me is that Lucario’s extensive movepool simply outclasses any attack that Renamon could throw at him. So in terms of who would win, well it should be obvious by now that excluding trainers, Lucario outclasses Renamon.
I predict that Lucario will win this fight.
ThankSwalot
IF YOU COULD GAZE INTO THE FUTUUUURE, YOU MIGHT THINK LIFE WOULD BE A BREEZE-
It may not be Torrian’s fight but I saw it coming a mile away, considering the new movie is coming out. Just ignore all the Torrian hints that I thought were related to it okay.
Anyway, since it’s confirmed that there will be no trainer influence, and one of the researchers (forgot who) said Lucario can’t Mega Evolve on his own, my prediction is going to be just based on the two base forms of Lucario and Renamon even though we have Mega Lucario and Kyubimon on here.
Needless to say, Renamon is gonna be outfoxed in this fight. Lucario isn’t just stronger, faster, and tougher, but considering aura allows him to sense everything around him, any of Renamon’s tactics such as teleportation, switching places, and creating ghostly clones will not effect him in the slightest. It may just end up the exact opposite, where Renamon is surprised that Lucario could sense her, catching herself off guard before she meets her end.
Not to mention, Lucario’s wide arsenal allows him to do multiple things that outmatch Renamon even more, such as copying her moves and using them against her or using stuff like Swords Dance or Calm Mind to buff himself up. Renamon just doesn’t have anything that could help her when she loses in every stat that matters and has almost no good techniques that could keep up with Lucario. The closest thing that would help her win is Power Paw, which would be good against Lucario due to his Steel-typing. However, not only would she have to live long enough to learn that Lucario is weak to it, but that’s only one useful move from her small arsenal compared to Lucario’s massive and more useful arsenal.
There’s no reason for Renamon to win this fight, aura reason for Lucario to lose due to something minor like Power Paw. C’mon, a lot of you probably agree. My reasoning is Justified.
Lucario will steel this victory from Renamon.
ramon_zer0
To the show’s credit, they’re now bringing up another really popular fight that I’m sure people have requested. Probably to appease the one salty Pokemon fanboy or fangirl who watched the Pokemon VS Digimon episode and saw the utter stompage that was WarGreymon burning Red and Charizard to an extra-crispy doom. Yeah, no.
Just to get this out of the way: Renamon would win with humans involved, no other way about it. Getting faster access to Taomon and especially Sakuyamon would be too much for Lucario to handle, even with his Mega Evolution in play. Death Battle has already established how Digimon evolution provides power boosts leaps beyond Pokemon’s equivalent, and it still rings true here. Thus, in terms of any other additional forms both fighters will have, we’d primarily be dealing with Mega Lucario and Kyubimon, even if including the former needs some wonky logic in allowing Lucario to go Mega without a Trainer.
Alas, we don’t live in that world - as it’s most likely we’d be getting a one-on-one fight with no transformations included as well, and as my friends above have been so kind to explain, Lucario kind of takes this.
Taking into account move lists, Lucario boasts a wider array of attacks and status buffs that gives him an edge in versatility. Nothing in Renamon’s default moveset can exactly abuse Lucario’s weaknesses; fire attacks only come into play when she Digivolves into Kyubimon and we’d be on very iffy ground if we had to try and assume that any of her normal attacks would classify as Fighting or Ground-type moves. There’s also Lucario’s connection to Aura; with it, he can potentially track Renamon’s moves, read her mind and boost his own power beyond his normal limits. With feats and scaling included, it only widens the gap between the two and makes Lucario’s victory a lot clearer.
Tl;dr: Would have made a longer verdict but the boys above did a better job at this than me so there you go. Lucario’s taking this one.
So there’s nothing I can really say about this match that hasn’t been said already. If trainers and tamers were included in this match, Lucario would get decimated. There’s no Mega Evolution, Digivolving past Kyubimon, unnatural moves, Lucario has better moves and stats, Renamon is smarter, GB is gay, Swalot is cancer, all that good shit. So I guess I’ll just look at possible arguments that can be made for Renamon.
Let’s start with types and resistances. Renamon is a Data Attribute Digimon which holds a weakness to Virus attacks and is strong against Vaccine - All of this is meaningless against Lucario, who isn’t a Digimon. However, a lot of Renamon/Kyubimon’s attacks can be rationalized into Fire or Fighting Type attacks which are strong against Lucario. Cool. However that doesn’t mean much considering Lucario has better defensive showings, excellent speed and agility, precog via Aura and attacks that let him bolster his defences are dodge most incoming attacks. So while Lucario isn’t exactly the sturdiest of mons gameplay or not, it can tank pretty much anything Renamon throws at him even with the potentially Super Effective damage or just avoid attacks altogether.
Moving on, there’s the matter of both Renamon and Lucario being inherently nerfed due to not having their human partners. Not only are they both not as strong as trained variants, they’re also both at an inherent tactical advantage considering it’s the trainers/tamers that issue the commands meaning neither Renamon nor Lucario are gonna be shining as brightly as they could, granted this is much less of a problem for Renamon than it is for Lucario. Digimon tend to be far more independent in battle than Pokemon and Renamon is notably smart regardless, so when it comes to thinking and making up a battle strategy it should have no problems there. However, intellect only goes so far in a fight. Renamon being smarter isn’t going to be as helpful as it could be when Lucario, a Pokemon, defies most of the logic common in Renamon’s universe. It has a MUCH larger arsenal with extremely varied effects and applications whereas Renamon is used to fighting Digimon with a lot less. Additionally, Lucario can literally sense her intentions, so he’ll know what she plans to do the instant she does. There’s also the issue of a lot of Renamon’s strategies and common fighting tactics being turned against it or useless altogether. Renamon teleports? Lucario already knows where she is and is capable of dodging so he’s not getting taken by surprised. Renamon summons an axe for a weapon advantage, Lucario uses Bone Rush or fights from a distance. Renamon can’t copy moves from foes unless they’re Digimon that she’s defeated whereas Lucario can use Copycat any time. So not only will Lucario be constantly surprising Renamon by defying her expectations, he’ll also be rushing her down at full force giving her little time to properly come up with a plan in the first place.
Lastly, there’s the transformations and Renamon, or rather, Kyubimon actually has something going for her now. Kyubimon’s stats are above those of base lucario’s and granted while it’s not by a terribly large margin, it’s still far better than she was before. Unlike Lucario who can’t Mega Evolve without a trainer (unless Death Battle does some weird shit and uses Mystery dungeon looplets or Smash Bros.), Renamon can Digivolve into Kyubimon all on her own and gain higher stats while retaining superior intellect and still being able to rely on her own sensory abilities to try to compete with Lucario and having a stronger emphasis on Fire Attacks.. Kyubimon is really Renamon’s best and only chance of clutching a win here. ...That being said, Lucario can still pull out a win here. Renamon likely won’t resort to Kyubimon until she’s in a pinch and after she Digivolves she’ll still be injured. On top of that, Lucario has a wide variety of moves that can boost his stats which will allow him to keep up with Kyubimon and deal massive damage with his more powerful attacks.
In the end, Kyubimon is really Renamon’s only shot and taking this match but even then it’s not a guarantee by any means. By the end of this fight, Lucario will show everyone why he’s always the top in their furry hentai the power of aura!
