Death Battle Predictions: Garnet VS Aile

 

Garnet, the Leader of the Crystal Gems from Steven Universe.

Aile, the Ultimate Mega Man, bearing Model ZX.

You know what they say, teamwork makes the dream work – except with these, uh, “two”, it goes a little deeper than that. Whether the fusion be of living rock or of living metal, sometimes it takes multiple powers combined to create a hero strong enough to defend the world. Will Ruby and Sapphire “save the day” as always, or will Mega Man ZX prove herself the superior model? Find out in a DEATH BATTLE!

Before We Start…

Both characters will be getting their original stories, as well as any supporting media - the Mega Man ZX and Advent manga as well as the plethora of Steven Universe comics and the like. While the ZX manga may star Vent and not Aile, the two are functionally the same character in practice and have all the same abilities, meaning that they should be equals and thus scale to each other regardless.

Background

Garnet

(Credit to Pas for the image)

“I am made of love, and it's stronger than you!”

Approximately 5750 years ago, the Earth was in danger. Warmongering, planet-conquering alien gems from another galaxy descended upon the planet, intent on colonization in the name of their Diamonds. But hope remained in the form of revolutionary figure Rose Quartz, a “Crystal Gem” willing to go to war to protect the planet alongside those who followed her. Gems such as Pearl, Bismuth, and the strong and steadfast Garnet.

But before Garnet ever existed, there was not one Gem, but two: Ruby and Sapphire. Assigned to protect Blue Diamond, Ruby was straightforward and bold, born to be a soldier. Sapphire was calm and guarded, a special Gem with the coveted ability to see the future. Polar opposites in many ways, but their lives would become eternally intertwined when Rose mounted an assault against Blue Diamond. Despite Sapphire’s prediction that her physical form would be destroyed by Pearl, Ruby somehow managed to change that future, and thus the fate of both. Leaping in to save Sapphire, the two became merged, fused into a single entity, something entirely new. And so, Garnet was born.

Of course, Garnet didn’t have much time to get used to her existence at first. The fusion of two different gems was unthinkable and strange for that time, and thus incurred the wrath of Blue Diamond, who condemned them to be shattered. Barely managing to escape, Ruby and Sapphire defused after the confusing experience, getting to know one another and coming to appreciate each other deeply, ultimately fusing once again - and staying that way. In time, Garnet joined Rose and the Crystal Gems, feeling she had a place to belong where she could exist as herself. With her new found family, Garnet fought for Rose’s ideals throughout the following centuries, until the conflict’s bitter end and beyond it.

For the next several thousand years, Garnet and the surviving Gems continued to aid Rose in containing all the Corrupted Gems, while occasionally helping out Earth and its people. Though this static life in Beach City would change upon the arrival of Greg Universe, whose relationship with Rose caused her to sacrifice her life in order to birth Steven Universe. While heartbroken by Rose’s decision alongside the rest of the Gems, Garnet stayed strong and took charge as the de-facto leader of the Crystal Gems. She, Amethyst, and Pearl went on to care for and love the young Steven, raising him into the ever kind, caring, and heroic young man he is in the present.

However, things would change yet again for Garnet and the Gems, as Homeworld began poking at Earth once again. As the Crystal Gems began to grow as old and new allies joined their cause, Garnet led the team in fending off these attacks and saving the Earth time and again. Even when the Diamonds themselves came to do battle, Garnet remained resolute, and the influence that she and the other Gems had on Steven shone through, as his kindness and compassion managed to sway even the hardest of Diamonds. It was the guidance and care of Garnet and the rest of the Gems, in fact, that ultimately allowed Steven to not only change the entirety of Gem society, but also come back from the brink of his own power going out of control.

And as any mom should, she and all of Steven’s family waved him goodbye when it finally came time for him to grow up and explore the world on his own as a young man. But of course, the adventure never really ends. So you can always count on Garnet and the Crystal Gems to fight for their home and for a better future for all!

Aile

(Credit to Pas for the image)

“I'm not interested in ruling the world! Serpent, if you want to be the Mega Man destined to rule the world, then I am the Mega Man that is destined to save it!”

The year is 25XX. 200 years have passed since the fall of Neo Arcadia, and even more time has passed since the era of the Maverick Hunters. Humanoids and Reploids live in harmony, both being treated as nearly equal beings, but dangerous Maverick machines still roam the wild. Traveling from place to place to deliver packages and protect any survivors of Maverick attacks in this environment was the Giro Express, a transporter company led by a man named Girouette and his protegé, Aile. Like many in this world, Aile's home was attacked by a Maverick, and she lost her mother when she was but a child. She spent most of her time with Giro, but one day, while delivering a package as usual, they were ambushed by Mavericks. In that moment, Aile discovered that the package they were carrying was actually a strange, blue Biometal named model X that bonded with her, turning her into a Mega Man!

After obtaining that power, Aile started to learn more about the truth of the world she lived in. Giro was secretly a Mega Man, wielding Model Z, a member of the Guardians, a group that banded together in order to combat the Mavericks and discover the cause of the constant outbreaks. All this time, Giro protected Aile due to knowing that she was one of the Chosen Ones, people capable of bonding with Biometal to become Mega Men. Beyond that, the Maverick attacks were all caused by the mysterious Model W, a Biometal of pure evil that corrupted machine and man alike to spread its terror. In order to stop this evil, Aile set out to fight, but she wasn’t strong enough. When faced against Serpent, the leader of the world’s most powerful company Slither Inc., and one of the wielders of Model W, she nearly died… and Girouette was killed in front of her. Desperately seeking for a way to gain more power and be able to protect those she cared about, Aile called out to Model Z… and the two Biometals combined into Mega Man ZX! 

With her newfound abilities and a goal to save the world from Model W, Aile dedicated her life to fighting alongside the Guardians, facing off against Slither Inc. and all others who would threaten the world, its people and the future. Even as the mastermind behind Model W revealed himself and created the Game of Destiny, a battle between all Chosen Ones so that the winner could rule the world itself, Aile continued to fight on the same as always, not falling for the clear falsehoods of the Game of Destiny and even teaming up with the Mega Man of Model A, a young boy named Grey, to stop him once and for all. What happened to her next, no one really knows. But she’ll likely keep on fighting to protect others until the very end, like the many Mega Men before her. 

Experience & Skill

Garnet

To start, Garnet is a war veteran. She fought in the Gem Wars that lasted centuries on end, and was even one of its last survivors. Even as Ruby, she was literally made for fighting, and that prowess only increased with fusion and time. During the present, she is the de-facto leader of the Crystal Gems and regularly has had to fight with the corrupted remnants of the ancient rebellion for years on end while acting as the strategic leader and decision maker of the Gems. She has fought against similarly experienced warriors, such as Jasper. She was also instrumental in the defeat of the Diamonds and their regime and, when working together with all the Crystal Gems, can even manage to bring the Blue Diamond down to one knee.

Aile

Aile is far from being the most experienced of warriors, having obtained her Biometals at age 14 and having around 4 years of experience wielding them, but she more than makes up for it when it comes to skill. Despite having no prior knowledge about the Biometals or Mega Men, she quickly learned how to utilize Model X and managed to fight and defeat a mind-controlled Girouette, her mentor and Model Z’s original owner. Afterwards, with Model ZX in hand, she faced off against several of Slither Inc.’s military forces, including several Mechaniloids, the Pseudoroids, who held the power of other Biometals, and Serpent himself, who used a great amount of Model W’s power. Despite minimal training, she even managed to defeat Prometheus and Pandora, two Reploids created to fight against Mega Men as part of the Game of Destiny. It's clear to see why she holds the title of Ultimate Mega Man.

Equipment

Garnet

Gauntlets

Garnet's main gem weapons are a pair of enormous gauntlets which complement her fighting style. She has proven to be quite efficient with these despite their size, allowing her to stun her opponents at impressive speeds and generate shockwaves. Thanks to Bismuth, they eventually got upgraded with spiked knuckles. The gauntlets are able to be fired as rockets as seen in “Watermelon Steven”, giving her a benefit in terms of range. They are also able to grow and be used to block incoming attacks.

Attack the Light has given Garnet a series of attacks with them, which include:

Gauntlet Punch: Garnet does a one-two punch with her gauntlets. Does medium damage and takes two Star Points.

Shield Breaker: Garnet smashes the ground to create a defense-lowering shield-breaking wave of energy. If you hit the red spot, it does damage. Takes three Star Points. Upgrades increase damage and stuns enemies for a longer period of time.

Rocket Punch: Garnet aims her gauntlets and fires, dealing high damage and creating an explosion. Upgrades increase the size of the explosion and reduce the Star Point cost to four.

Six-Punch Combo: Garnet punches the enemy multiple times, depending on how many timed commands the player successfully does. Takes six Star Points.

Badges

In Unleash the Light, Garnet has access to a variety of badges to use. While some are reliant on teamwork formations due to how the game is formatted, the badges listed are ones that are not reliant on that.

Harmony Badge: Increases total health by 10%.

Attack the Light Badge: Increases ATTACK by 5%.

Recharge Badge: Slowly regenerates health every turn. Stacks with other regeneration effects.

Immunity Badge: 25% chance to resist all negative effects.

Hardhat Badge: Immune to STUN effects.

Bismuth's Armor Badge: Wearer starts battles with an armor pack.

Star Starter Badge: The Star Meter begins with 1 SP higher than normal at the start of battle.

Lucky Flame Badge: Luck hits have a chance to apply BURN effects to enemies.

Lucky Restore Badge: Luck hits have a chance to restore health.

Lucky Zap Badge: Lucky hits have a chance to electrocute enemies.

Lucky Berserker Badge: While at 15% health or lower, all attacks are guaranteed to be Lucky.

Lucky Star Badge: Lucky hits have a chance to restore 1 star point.

Berserker Badge: While at 15% health or lower, automatically receive an ATTACK buff.

Freebie Badge: Small chance on every attack to randomly make one of your abilities 0 SP for one use.

Turtle Badge: Increases defense by 25% but reduces attack by 30%.

Shamrock Badge: Increases luck by 95%, but reduces defense by 50%.

Star Cap Badge: Increases max star points for the team from 10 to 12.

Grumpy Badge: Increases attack by 30%, but reduces defense by 50%.

Sparkly Badge: The wearer is now sparkly for some reason. Really, that's all it does.

Insult Badge: Wearer's actions generate more threat than normal, causing enemies to attack them more often.

Sneaky Sneaky Badge: Enemies have a harder time noticing wearer, causing then to attack less often.

Onion's Badge: The wearer's Perfect Blocks now always BURN enemies.

Rose's Tear Badge: After being defeated, there's a 33% chance on every turn to automatically revive.

Ambidextrous Badge: The wearer can now activate two costume perks at once.

Aile

Biometals

 

The Biometals are mechanical artifacts created by the first leader of the Guardians, Doctor Ciel, as a way of counteracting Model W, the soul of a human merged with the remnants of the satellite cannon Ragnarok. The Biometals were based on legendary heroes from the past, having access to many of their powers and abilities due to possessing data from Cyber-Elves, essentially sentient computer programs. Biometals are capable of speaking to humanoids telepathically, and are all generally assigned to biomerge with a respective Mega Man. Throughout her journey, Aile started off with Model X, but obtained several other Biometals she’s capable of using in battle. 

Energy Tank

From Mega Man 2, the Energy Tank is a recovery item that heals the user up to full health. While you usually can carry up to 4 or more, in Mega Man ZX, Aile can carry only up to one at a time.

Weapon Tank

From Mega Man IV, the Weapon Tank is a recovery item that restores all of your Special Weapons. While Aile can only carry one, the Weapon Tank restores all energy for the Biometals.

Sub Tanks

Sub Tanks are recovery items that can be carried around on a person. As long as you have Life Energy in them, they’re usable to heal the user. Aile, luckily, can carry around 4.

Equippable Items

These items are usable by Aile as she can equip them on her person. She is able to have all activated at once or not all of them. The items she equips are:

Absorber: Aile will be able to take a blow and won’t be able to get knocked back.

Featherweight: Aile’s body becomes very light so that she won’t crumble any floor that sinks.

Extender: With this item, Aile invincibility frames become extended so that she won’t take damage for a short amount of time.

Quick Charge: Aile’s charging up attacks will take less time. 

Ice Boots: Aile can walk on ice without slipping and sliding.

Wind Boots: Aile is able to grip on the ground without getting pushed by wind and tornadoes.

Frog: Aile can slide down walls slower.

Eraser: Aile’s saber weapons can destroy energy shots.

Miscellaneous Items

Cake: A slice of a birthday cake that heals you.

Orange: An orange from which Max gives you, which heals you.

Candy: From winning a crane game, it also heals you.

Bread: Fresh from the oven and made by Lucia, restores your health.

Apple: An apple a day keeps the Pseudoriod away, restores your health as well.

Smelling Salts: Aile recovers quickly from ill effects of jamming devices. 

Abilities

Garnet

Gem Physiology

As a Gem, Garnet’s true form is that of the gemstones on her palms, her ‘body’ simply a solid hologram. In general, Gems are more impressive physically than humans, being capable of various superhuman feats and possessing unique abilities. If a Gem sustains enough damage, their physical bodies can be destroyed and revert back into their stones. They will then need to store energy before reforming, a process with a variable time period. For example, Pearl took two weeks to fully reform herself after being “poofed” in “Steven The Sword Fighter”, however Amethyst in “Reformed” can almost instantly reform herself after being “poofed” at the cost of having a very unstable body.

A Gem’s control over their physical body is also incredible. Due to it technically being just a construct around their gems, they have the ability to shapeshift into different creatures, morph the shape and size of their limbs, and can even replicate actual biological organs such as a functioning womb. Amethyst can even turn into a freaking helicopter! The Crystal Gems also demonstrate the ability of creating bubbles and teleporting them back to their home base, frequently using them to store corrupted Gems and keeping them from reforming until the bubble is opened, though they don’t appear to be so durable.

Gems are also quite resilient and can operate in a variety of environments. For instance, Gems are naturally capable of adapting to different strengths of gravity in different locations such as the Moon in “It Could’ve Been Great”. They possess an incredible tolerance for extreme temperatures, being unbothered by standing within an ice covered cavern and considering a pool of lava the equivalent of an ice bath and the liquid core of the sun as relaxing.

Additionally, since Garnet is a fusion, destroying her “body” means having to revert back into Ruby and Sapphire first, who can then simply re-fuse back into Garnet if given the opportunity.

Gem Storage

The Gems appear to have an internal storage space which they can use to store and later summon their weapons or hold small to moderately-sized objects. Though larger items such as massive weapons used during the rebellion or the Laser Light Cannons cannot be stored in Gem storage. Though “storage space” doesn’t really describe the full scope of this ability.

As shown in “A Single Pale Rose”, the storage space within them appears to be vast and is referred to as “infinite” in size in the comics. Pearl appears to have stored at least dozens of items within the surface of her internal space, managed by another internal version of herself. The episode goes on to reveal that there are “Pearls within Pearls”, each one holding past versions of Pearl and whatever she chooses to repress deep within her. While Pearl is stated to have done this out of compartmentalization, it stands to reason this is also possible for other Gems.

Electrokinesis

Garnet can generate electricity from her gemstones, as a result of Ruby’s own fire abilities and hotheaded personality matching with Sapphire’s ice powers and calm personality, with Garnet being described as “electric”. With it, Garnet has enough voltage to power an unplugged arcade machine or kickstart Greg's van, neutralize and redirect it, like against Peridot’s attack. She can also use it offensively, launching electricity as a projectile that travels through the ground to shock its target.

Super Speed

An ability inherited from Sapphire, Garnet is able to move and react at super speeds. She’s demonstrated this ability in the episode "Arcade Mania", karate chopping the Gem Cave Creature's arms and shaking the Meat Beat Mania's ham controllers at high speeds, in "The Message", Garnet was able to rapidly place couch cushions around the Wailing Stone to deafen its sound, and in "Bismuth", she fought the titular gem at incredible speeds. In “Jail Break”, Sapphire could run quickly towards the sound of Ruby’s voice to where she dragged Steven through the air in doing so.

Future Vision

An ability stemming from Sapphire and unique among the Crystal Gems is Garnet’s ability to view multiple possibilities in most situations. Though the ability’s title of “Future Vision” is a bit misleading as Garnet herself admits no one can truly see the future. Instead, she describes this ability as being able to “see options and trajectories.” Time is akin to a river that splits or careens down waterfalls to Garnet and, in her own words: “I have the map, and I steer the ship.”

In the titular episode where she reveals this ability to Steven, she’s able to predict the most likely responses of people like Sadie to Steven’s greeting, count the specific number of certain types of possibilities Steven’s interaction with Lars could go, list numerous possible accidents Steven could get into, predict Steven would be on the roof of their home even before she and the Gems left on their mission, and predict that lightning would strike Steven. While we don’t exactly have a clear upper limit for the number of possibilities Garnet can process at once, she does state that there are millions of possibilities for the future at any given point.

Garnet’s visions are also quite lengthy as in “Winter Forecast” she shared her Future Vision with Steven, allowing him to experience multiple long possibilities several hours long in the time it took for Garnet to kiss his forehead. This ability can also be used to pinpoint the location of others such as in “Marble Madness” where Future Vision managed to pinpoint the location of one of Peridot’s drones in the Sahara Desert or in “Jail Break” where Garnet could identify the path to Pearl and Amethyst’s prison cells on the Gem Warship. And while the “Crossover Nexus” episode itself is non-canon overall, Garnet’s shades helping refine her Future Vision is considered a canon element to the main show.

Fusion Realm

Seemingly separate from the storage dimension that the Gems have, Fusions have access to a unique Fusion Realm. Unlike the storage space, this realm appears to be entirely mental. In the Fusion Realm, the consciousnesses of both fusees exist separately as shown in “Chille Tid” and “Mindful Education”. Outsiders appear to be able to enter this mentalscape through astral projection as Steven entered Malachite’s realm through his dreams while Garnet meditated alongside Stevonnie. 

Aile

Megamerge

Through the Biometals’ Meta-Encapsulated Granule Awareness System (M.E.G.A. System for short), Aile can Megamerge with her Biometal Models, allowing her to turn into a Mega Man. However, being bonded to Model X gave her a unique variation of this, Double Megamerge. She can combine Model X with any other Biometal in her possession, allowing her to reach brand new dual transformations, including Mega Man ZX.

Overdrive

The Overdrive Invoke System (O.I.S.), also called just Overdrive, is an ability of the Biometals that enhances their power exponentially in battle. It makes Aile much, much stronger, and some of her forms gain unique special traits from utilizing this power. HX, FX and LX have their weapons enhanced and imbued with their respective element (Thunder, Fire and Ice), while PX grants them the ability to Shadow Dash, effectively becoming intangible every time they perform a dash. In the manga, ZX’s Overdrive was shown to make the Z-Saber grow in size in order to battle against Serpent and Model W (around 2.67 kilometers).

Forms

Aile

Model X

With the power of Model X, the Blue Mega Man, which is based off the legendary hero X, Aile gains the power to use the X-Buster, as well as gaining X’s enhanced mobility, being able to dash and climb walls. With the X-Buster, she can charge it up to three times, being able to shoot your usual Mega Man bullets with the first stage, a stronger variation with the second stage, a much stronger variation with the third, and with the final stage releasing a laser with a trail behind it. In addition to this, she can use this charge shot to fire at the ground itself, allowing her to boost herself into the air, enhancing her mobility even more.

Model ZX

By combining Model X with Model Z with her Double MegaMerge, Aile gains the power of Model Z, the Red Mega Man, based on the legendary Zero, combined with the power of Model X to bring the power of the Ultimate Mega Man at her disposal. This gives her access to the ZX-Saber, including its typical dash slash, charge slash, and three hit combos. She keeps the X-Buster of Model X within this form, to boot. As well, she can plummet her sword into the ground, kicking up boulders, and also use a rising uppercut that causes a shockwave to come out as well. 

Model HX

With the Double MegaMerge of Model X and Model H, the Wind Mega Man, based off of Sage Harpuia of Neo Arcadia, Aile can become Model HX, and gain access to several new abilities. First of all, she can use her twin swords to deal quick damage, including being able to emit shockwaves from them. She can also release electric projectiles as well, and create large tornados with it, being able to make one in front of her, to both of her sides, as well as diagonally upwards and downwards. In addition, she  can also analyze her opponent and find their weak points with this model, an invaluable skill. However, the real main function of this model is being able to use it to fly and dash in the air quickly, giving her additional mobility none of her other forms can match. 

Model FX

With the Double MegaMerge of Model X and Model F, the Flame MegaMan, based off of Fighting Fefnir of Neo Arcadia, Aile can become Model FX. With this form, Aile gains two massive Knuckle Buster Arm cannons with each hand and is able to fire projectiles out of it. Speaking of fire, Model FX has the fire element in which she can charge up her cannons and shoot out fireballs, shoot the ground to create waves of fire, and shoot a bomb that can stick on to the ground or surfaces. A special feature comes with Model FX is that she can do a buster edit which she can change the path of her shots while shooting horizontally.

Model LX

With the Double MegaMerge of Model X and Model L, the Water Mega Man, based off of Fairy Leviathan of Neo Arcadia, Aile can become Model LX. With this form, she gets a long double-edged spear which she can only more proficiently use in water. She also gains some cryokinetic abilities, being able to create platforms, spikes, and even dragons made out of ice. She also gains a radar called Item Scanner, which makes you able to find items and see platforms in a distance.

Model PX

With the Double MegaMerge of Model X and Model P, the Shadow Mega Man, based off of Hidden Phantom of Neo Arcadia, Aile can become Model PX. In this form, she is able to wield kunai launchers in each hand as she can shoot them out at an amazing speed. She can charge herself up to fire off a shuriken, make a shield that can block one hit, and can use the Mandala Star which has six energy blades which acts as a shield and can damage foes. She can hang and climb platforms, and has a Radar Scope which can help her detect targets around her area, and is able to see in the dark.

Model OX

The final Biometal that Aile can obtain and the strongest of them all, with the Double MegaMerge of Model X and O/Ω (Omega) from defeating Omega from Mega Man Zero 3 or beating the eight Mutos Reploids. With this form, while Model OX has the similar moves of Model ZX, Aile is able to replicate the same moves Omega can do once she uses her Overdrive which has infinite energy. Such moves she is able to do are Ryuuenjin, a flaming rising slash, Shinkuujin, an electric shockwave, Arc Blade, a spinning slash, unleashing several projectiles with ice properties, Earth Crush, a punch to the ground that kicks up rocks, Messenkou, a punch that unleashes energy projectiles, and Rekkouha, which creates several beams of light around Aile. 

Resistances

Garnet

Biological Manipulation: Due to her body being a hologram, Garnet should be immune to any effects targeting her body.

Gravity Manipulation: Gems can adjust to different gravity environments without much issue.

Extreme Temperatures: Gems can survive in space and fight in ice caverns. The core of the sun is stated to be relaxing to Garnet.

Cosmic Radiation: Gems on various occasions have shown to be unaffected by the radiation in space, with even basic Ruby soldiers surviving there just fine.

Black Holes: Garnet, among other characters in “Unleash the Light”, can survive passing through a planet-sized black hole.

Aile

Due to inheriting the abilities of both X and Zero, it is only natural that she also resists everything they did, which entails:

Mind Manipulation: Zero was unaffected by Dark Elf mind controlling every Reploid on the planet in Zero 3.

Soul Manipulation: The Nightmare Virus work by rewriting a Reploid’s DNA which is equated to the soul of a human in Xtreme 2, and it doesn’t work on the Maverick Hunters.

Corruption: X and Zero can withstand strands of the Sigma Virus without being corrupted. Aile wasn’t corrupted by exposure to Model W.

Black Holes: Can both walk around Gravity Antonion’s Squeeze Bomb unaffected. Both are also superior to Rock who can fall into an outer space black hole and fly back out unharmed.

Petrification: Zero can break out of Popla Cocapetri’s petrification beams.

Absolute Zero: Can withstand Frost Walrus’ ice attacks who could freeze Blizzard Buffalo (latter can operate at absolute zero). Can also withstand Avalanche Yeti’s Drift Diamond which is absolute zero. Blizzack Stagroff’s ice attacks can be withstood too which are so cold they atomically condense all matter. Both X and Zero should be superior to Tundra Man who’s Tundra Storm is absolute zero as well.

Extreme Heat: Should be superior to Fire Man and Heat Man, whose Fire Storm and Atomic Fire should be 8000 degrees Celsius and 12000 degrees Celsius respectively.

Electromagnetic Noise: Zero can walk around in Mino Magnus’ stage.

Corrosion Inducement: X and Zero can walk around in Rainy Turtloid’s acid rain stage.

Matter Manipulation: Can take hits from Heat Genblem’s particle beam and Deathtanz Mantask’s molecularly sharp blades

Time Stop: The Maverick Hunters’ Dark Hold doesn’t work on one another.

Technology Manipulation: Resisting the Sigma Virus which could create Spike Rosered (Axle the Red) and being superior to Shadow Man who’s Shadow Blade deranges technology.

Spatial Manipulation: X and Zero are superior to Rock who could take hits from the Wily Star’s spacetime-distorting Ion Cannon & Cut Man who could cut through space.

Sealing: Crystal Hunter doesn’t work on Zero.

Electricity Manipulation: Can take hits from Panter Flauclaws whose electricity is 100 Million Volts strong.

Possession: X is built with the perfect anti-virus system blocking out viruses like the Nightmare which possess Reploids.

BFR: Gravity Well’s uncharged variant doesn’t work on X.

Feats

Garnet

Overall

• First fusion in all of Homeworld’s story of two completely different gems

• Was one of the few survivors from Diamond’s corrupting blast thanks to Rose Quartz

• After having to fuse back, grew to be strong enough to defeat Jasper no issue

• In Attack the Light, one-shots George (embodiment of the Light Prism) on his regular form, scattering his pieces across the world

• With the help of the Crystal Gems, fought pretty even against Spinel

• Beat the crap out of Uncle Grandpa that one time

Power

• Alongside Amethyst and Pearl, Garnet punches Centipeedle so hard it generates a large explosion that parts nearby clouds (10:22)

• Destroys the base of a pillar and punches it over. (8:15)

• Alongside other Crystal Gems, stopped a tectonic emergency offscreen. (6:48)

• Spikes Amethyst hard enough she appears to reach terminal velocity and creates a large crater on the sand. (9:50)

• Creates a large crater while clashing with Lapis’ water clone of her. (9:45)

• Launched Amethyst into the air and slammed her back down, making a large crater. (0:50)

• Easily broke open Peridots escape pod, which crashed down into earth from space completely unharmed. (84 Megatons of TNT)

• Alongside the Crystal Gems, Garnet can shake Mask Island with one attack. (3:17)

• Sapphire herself created a hailstorm. (9.8 Kilotons - 998 Kilotons of TNT)

• Beat up the Snow Beast, which could create snow storms (603 Kilotons of TNT - 25.3 Megatons) 

• Destroyed part of a mountain in a single punch, which Steven states she can do in an earlier episode. (10:45)

• Can resist the force being exerted within a planet-sized black hole. (63.5 million metric tons)

Speed

• Capable of throwing Amethyst at terminal velocity (9:18)

• Blocked a bolt of lightning (11:05)

• While it does appear as if Garnet used her Future Vision for this feat, she only moves her arm after the lightning comes into frame

• When sharing her Future Vision with Steven, he could view multiple long possibilities that lasted for several hours long in the timespan of a single kiss to his forehead

• Able to intercept Steven mid-warp travel (8:10) (5.8 trillion times FTL)

Durability

• Can tank being at the epicenter of a cloud-splitting explosion (10:22)

• Able to survive Lapis Lazuli crushing her with a water construct (10:11)

• Tanked being at point-blank range from a combined attack from Pearl and Amethyst that shook Beach City (1:23)

• Has no issues walking along the bottom of the ocean (2:05)

Aile

Overall

• Survived a Maverick Raid at a very young age

• Was able to Mega Merge with Model X and join the Guardians

• Rescued hostages kidnapped by Pseudoroids to be turned into Cyber-Elves

• Was able to retrieve, re-power and master the other Biometals

• Saved the whole country of ‘Inner’ from devastation

• Fended off a surprise invasion by Slither Inc. on Guardian HQ

• Fought different Mega Men of varying backgrounds

• Assisted Grey in defeating Master Albert

Power

• One-shot a Model W after Grey was struggling to deal any lasting damage to it

• Defeated Serpent after Megamerging with Model W

• Held her ground against 4 Mega Men at the same time to help Grey stop the Game of Destiny

• Can one-shot Bora Boras

• Tied against the Model Z Mega Man: Girouette

• Defeated many Pseudoroids who use the powers of the 4 Guardians

• Defeated both Prometheus and Pandora at the same time

• Defeated Omega, an impostor Cyber-Elf who uses the original body of Zero

• Drove away and defeated Giga Aspis, a snake-like Mechaniloid

Speed

• Could swing her Z-Sabre at superluminal speeds (19.823c)

• Escaped the collapsing and destroying Ouroboros while rescuing Grey in the nick of time

• Could react to the attacks of different Pseudoroids’ attacks which include electricity attacks

• Could outrun a sea of magma while maneuvering through the stage

• Could react to Diadrake’s dispersion laser

• Could outmaneuver missiles coming from above

Durability

• Survived falling off a cliff

• Survived getting struck down by Serpent at the beginning of the game

• Survived getting her attack reflected by Prometheus

• Can survive Protectos the Goreroid’s Atomic Core attack which can destroy a whole facility

• Could take hits from Omega and other Pseudoroids

• Could take hits from Grey

Scaling

Garnet

The Crystal Gems

As de facto leader of the Crystal Gems, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Garnet more than keeps up with her fellow comrades in battle. When we were first introduced to the original trio + Steven, Garnet was in fact the strongest Crystal Gem and portrayed as its powerhouse. This would remain mostly true even as the group would expand to include Peridot, Bismuth, and close allies such as Connie Maheswaran and Steven’s pet Lion. However even though more powerful gems within the team would take the spot from her, namely Lapis Lazuli and Steven Universe himself, she should still be comparable to their lower showings when not at their full power. Also goes without saying that every Crystal Gem has fought one another at some point, so everyone scaling to one another outside of Lapis and Steven at their peaks should be fair game.

• Amethyst can release her whip before electricity from Peridot can channel through it and shock her (4:35)

• Pearl can maneuver a ship around an asteroid field as it’s flying at relativistic speeds (44.3% SoL)

• Peridot’s drones can survive impacts that can shake Beach City all the way from the Sahara Desert (3:52)

• Lapis Lazuli can lift all the water from all of Earth’s oceans into space (35.2 Petatons of TNT - 11.4 Zettatons of TNT)

• Lapis performed this feat with her gem cracked and was explicitly weakened until Steven healed her

• Lapis can also take on two other Lapises in a fight, taking hits from and overpowering them

• Lapis can fly from Earth to the edge of the Milky Way (93,414.5 times FTL)

• Bismuth, while catching Lapis off-guard, could poof and crack her gem in one punch

• Lapis can briefly restrain Blue Diamond with her water constructs

• Steven can perceive his surroundings and react to moving objects while warping, which can cross intergalactic distances in seconds

• A collective assault from all the Crystal Gems managed to stagger Blue Diamond

• The Crystal Gems kept up with this robot from the comics, who was able to jump between galaxies (7 billion times FTL - 86 billion times FTL)

Jasper

An incredibly powerful Quartz that survived the Rebellion and has proved herself as one of Yellow Diamond’s elite soldiers. Described as the “Ultimate Quartz” by Peridot, her first appearance gave a strong first impression when she matched Garnet in a head-on clash, poofed her with a Gem Destabilizer, and easily took out Pearl and Amethyst. But when Ruby and Sapphire eventually reunited and fused back into Garnet, she proved more than a match for Jasper, who even admits that Garnet was indeed stronger than her.

• Defeated Pearl and Amethyst off-screen

• Could survive being at the epicenter of the Gem Warship's core exploding

• She managed to catch Lapis Lazuli before she could fly off into space

• Eventually wrested control over Malachite from Lapis

• Totally unfazed by attacks from Amethyst

Aile

Mega Man ZX and ZX Advent

From her own series, there are many different characters Aile can scale to due to either possessing the same powers as her (i.e. Vent) or having tussled with them (i.e. Grey, Serpent, other Mega Men and Pseudoroids). Due to Aile’s extensive involvement in this sub-series, she can scale to the following stuff:

• Bora Boras can turn microbes into pure energy (22.1 kilotons of TNT)

• Serpent with Model W could destroy an entire city (3.7 - 471 gigatons of TNT)

• Master Albert’s 1st Form can create black holes (86 ronnatons of TNT - 1.1 FOE)

• Grey can move in-tandem with microwaves (145c - 49.2 thousand times FTL)

• Master Albert created and stabilized a pocket reality (1.05 KiloFOE, Debatable)

Mega Man Zero

Aile has the Biometals of Model H, Model F, Model L, and Model P which contains the essence of Sage Harpuia, Fighting Fefnir, Fairy Leviathan, and Hidden Phantom, so she should have similar powers to them. She also was able to obtain Model O/Ω from defeating Omega, who had the body of the original Zero from the Mega Man X series, and was defeated by Zero (MMZ) in Mega Man Zero 3. And lastly, Model Ws are fragments of the space station Ragnarok which fused with Dr. Weil during his final battle with Zero. Due to this, Aile should at least scale to all of these feats as shown:

• Fairy Leviathan is capable of splitting the sea

• Zero and Omega are caught up in an explosion that destroys an entire district

• Blizzack Stagroff can permanently freeze seawater into blocks of ice

• Dark Elf and Omega control Reploids all over the planet (Mach 3894)

• Zero can move his sword in-tandem with a particle cannon (13.7 times FTL)

• Ragnarok was treated as the greatest plan out of 8 other diversion feats that the 8 Einherjar carried out. Such plans include:

• Heat Gemblem powers a particle cannon which was going to destroy Area Zero (97 gigatons of TNT)

• Sol Titanion can control an artificial sun

• The submarine Tech Kraken was driving contained bombs that were going to destroy a tectonic plate (2.8 petatons of TNT)

• Ragnarok itself also destroyed Neo Arcadia (2.5 gigatons of TNT - 1.3 teratons of TNT)

• Elpizo and Dark Elf together create a microscopic black hole (14.4 ronnatons of TNT)

• Cyber-Elves can rewrite the data of a tower that connects Area-X -which is 36000 km high- to the ground (61.5 million times FTL)

Mega Man X

Aile has the Biometals of Model X and Model Z, which contains the essence and powers of Mega Man X and Zero. Due to having the similar powers as them and beating characters stronger than them, it’s fair to assume she would at least scale or upscale to any feats in the X series such as:

• Blizzard Buffalo freezing an entire residential area

• X being capable of reacting to lightning in Wire Sponge’s stage

• X could outrun fast flowing magma

• Zero surviving the Eurasia Space Colony destruction (11.8 petatons of TNT)

• General stopping a laser that would destroy the Earth (59.44 zettatons of TNT)

• Zero being a JoJo character by showcasing different cases of laser timing:

• Explicitly stated to have FTL synapses (>Speed of Light)

• Moving in-tandem with electromagnetic waves (1.2 - 31.1 times FTL)

• Moving in-tandem with Nightmare Lasers (2.3 - 64 times FTL)

• Moving in-tandem with Optic Sunflower’s laser (23.52 times FTL)

• Can save X with Tag Assist before Optic Sunflower’s laser can hit them (Tag Assist is canon and portrayed the same way as in gameplay) (105 thousand times FTL, possibly higher)

• Teleporters are also used in combat for the Maverick Hunters, granting them scaling to teleporter speeds

• Gravity Manipulators being capable of creating black holes:

• Gravity Well, which can move in tandem with Neon Tiger’s Ray Splasher (1,485 quettatons of TNT)

• Squeeze Bomb, which can move in tandem with Optic Sunflower’s orbital laser (19 quettatons of TNT)

• Lumine destroys a star with Paradise Lost (1.05 KiloFOE, Debatable)

Mega Man (Classic)

From where it all began, of course. Due to Aile being so far ahead of the timeline plus having the powers of Mega Man X and Zero both whom were stated to be far above Mega Man, Bass and everything in the Classic Era, it makes sense considering that Aile upscales to every feat in the classic series:

• Wily could survive an explosion visible from outer space (514.6 gigatons of TNT)

• Slash Man’s Slash Claw is strong enough to destroy asteroids

• Tengu Man can create typhoons (239.9 megatons of TNT)

• The Power Stone should be this strong (2.4 megatons of TNT)

• Bilibri and Bilibary both could cause a world-wide power outage (665.6 tons of TNT)

• Rock could:

• Dodge Cloud Man’s lightning (Mach 138.3)

• Also defeat him who could create storms (3.6 megatons of TNT)

• Move in-tandem with the Force Beams (28% SoL)

• Lift a whole fortress with his own strength (0.3 tons - 5.1 kilotons of TNT)

• Fly to Jupiter’s stage which is in interstellar space (2 thousand times FTL - 8 billion times FTL)

• Fly through outer space to rescue stranded astronauts (21 - 104 million times FTL)

• Classic Mega Man teleporters can teleport characters to other uncharted planets (375.6 million times FTL)

• Rock reacts to Terra’s teleporters even jumping away in tandem with it

• Duo and Evil Robot’s clash created an explosion this large next to Jupiter (633 petatons of TNT - 975 yottatons of TNT)

• Duo also chases Evil Robot across the Solar System (55 - 130 times FTL)

• Saturn’s Black Hole is this strong (0.3 FOE)

Weaknesses

Garnet

While Garnet is a formidable fusion, she’s not without her flaws. For one, Gems are susceptible to Gem Destabilizers, tuning fork-shaped weapons that channel electricity that can instantly poof a Gem on contact. Enough physical damage or instability in her own mental state will cause her to unfuse and revert back into Ruby and Sapphire.

Her Future Vision also appears to require a level of concentration that Garnet can’t get into mid-combat, rendering it effectively useless if she doesn’t catch a break in the middle of a battle. She also needs to be aware of certain factors otherwise her predictions can gloss over important details, such as how Pearl deceived her in “Cry for Help”. Garnet also cannot resist Diamonds’ mind controlling powers on her own, needing the power of other Diamonds or Steven to be freed from it.

Aile

While the Biometals provide Aile with great amounts of power, they’re not without flaws. Most of her Models run on a limited pool of energy, and once that runs out she loses access to many of her abilities once that runs out. Also, much like any Mega Man, she has a deadly weakness to spikes.

Before The Verdict…

Steven Universe Speed

Steven Universe’s speed has been contentious, due to the fact that one episode of the show has stated that Gems cannot go at FTL speeds. However, to be blunt, this just doesn’t work with how the show itself operates. Warp Pads themselves move at MFTL+ speeds, and Garnet blatantly intercepts Steven using one. Lapis has multiple MFTL+ flying feats. A robot that the gems in the comics are able to keep up with jumps between galaxies, which gets MFTL+ as well.

Overall, it’s just much safer to rule out the one episode as opposed to the multiple other feats that show it’s just not that accurate. Even in the context of the episode itself, the statement that Gems can’t move FTL doesn’t really make any sense. Basically, the ship that the Gems are traveling in travels many light years in a short time, and because the Gems’ forms are made of light, their bodies lag behind the ship which is moving faster than light. However, when the ship stops upon reaching its destination… the Gems’ bodies catch up and reform immediately afterward? Despite the fact that the ship is now light years away from its starting location, and their light-based bodies “should” have taken years to catch up? With this in mind, it’s not even internally consistent within the episode where the statement occurs.

Using said statement as indisputable fact becomes especially hard to justify considering the fact that Lapis’ feats are crucial to the plots of multiple episodes, meaning that it’s all but impossible to just ignore them. We also can’t rule them out as outliers, due to the fact that there are at minimum four examples showcasing MFTL speed, arguably more, meaning it’s not simply a one-off instance. As a result, we believe it’s fine and consistent to place Gems such as Garnet at such speeds, superseding the singular example to the contrary.

Mega Man Black Holes

Multiple characters within Mega Man have wielded black holes, though X is notable for having ones most likely to be real. Others like Galaxy Man’s Black Hole Bomb are a bit less solid.

Gravity Beetle in particular possesses an ironclad black hole ability. Gravity Well is referred to as a black hole that can manipulate gravity and suck up light. Gravity Beetle is also, as the name suggests, a gravity manipulator, so him possessing such a power isn’t out of the question. It should be reasonable to assume his black holes are the real deal.

As for other characters like Gravity Antonion and Albert, not only are they stated to create black holes, but since their technology is far above the likes of Gravity Beetle (Antonion has a copy chip, meaning he has the data of past Reploids like Beetle, and Albert is much later down the timeline from the X saga), it stands to reason that their black holes should be just as efficient and real as Beetle’s.

Verdict

Stats

In terms of stats, both Garnet and Aile have a fair amount of arguments you could use for their stats.

Starting with Garnet, she should likely scale to Lapis, as while Lapis is likely stronger than her, she has shown to be able to keep up with her at her weaker levels, and Lapis’ most impressive feat, lifting the oceans was done with a cracked gem, i.e. not at Lapis’ peak. As a result, Garnet should scale, which should give her at most scaling to 11 zettatons of TNT, or around Small Planet level. In terms of speed, as we addressed earlier, Steven Universe has a variety of MFTL+ feats performed by Gems and characters who they scale to - including Lapis’ flight feats (93,000c), the Heart Robot jumping between galaxies (7 billion to 86 billion c), and finally and most importantly, her own feat of intercepting Steven’s warp (5.8 trillion c), putting her well in the MFTL+ range for speed.

Meanwhile, for Aile, things are a bit more… complicated. Starting with feats just from ZX itself, she should reliably scale to Grey, due to the two being roughly equals as shown through Advent, and consequently Master Albert, who created a black hole. The energy to create these black holes can get anywhere from 86 ronnatons to 1.1 FOE in terms of power. You could potentially push this even higher, though, as within the same boss, he also creates and stabilizes a pocket reality with a sun in the background. Potentially, this could get in the kiloFOE range, giving Aile solar system level scaling. As for speed, she should scale to Grey’s microwave feat, which should get anywhere from 149 to 49 thousand c, putting her reliably in the MFTL range. However, to say this is where the scaling for Aile ends is a bit absurd, as there’s more to unpack.

Aile should scale to basically every prior feat within the Mega Man Timeline, due to the fact that she beats Omega in a fight. Omega is Zero’s equal as shown in Mega Man Zero 3, and consequently with this and the fact that she is literally powered by X and Zero’s fusion should give her reliable scaling to them, and as a result the rest of the series. This gives her a lot more feats to scale to, such as various black holes moving in tandem with lightspeed attacks getting into quettatons of TNT ranges. There’s also the debatable Lumine star busting feat which can get 1 KiloFOE, the Cyber Elves’ millions C feat, and Rock’s flight to Jupiter’s stage, which at high ends can get into the billions c range. That’s around the maximum for Aile’s speed.

Overall, while Garnet should reliably be much faster, Aile should take strength fairly reliably, with even her lower end scaling matching and eclipsing Garnet’s best.

Arsenal & Abilities

In terms of arsenal and abilities for these two, both of them have a decent amount of things to go over.

First of all, in sheer versatility, Aile should definitely far exceed Garnet. While Garnet does have a good amount of abilities at her disposal, more than most would give her credit for, it simply cannot compare to the six forms that Aile has access to and can switch between at any time. This gives her reliable ways to adapt to almost all of Garnet’s various strategies, including giving her some resistances to some of Garnet’s more potent abilities. For example, while Garnet’s electricity manipulation may be helpful, both Model ZX and Model HX should resist electricity and be able to use it for themselves. Model HX gives Aile much more mobility then Garnet has, being able to camp in the air and use this area control to her advantage. This leads into another advantage with Aile’s immense arsenal.

Aile’s arsenal gives her a lot wider of a range then Garnet generally has with a lot of her abilities, including having many more ranged options then her and being able to use far more AOE moves then Garnet is able to have at her disposal. This lets her keep Garnet at her preferred range at any time she really wants, which is a huge boon considering the speed gap between the two of them. Aile’s arsenal also lets her mitigate any damage Garnet could do to her, due to her having both an E-Tank and Sub Tanks at her disposal to refill her health at any time. This lets her essentially have multiple full heals and a way to bypass the damage Garnet may be able to inflict.

She also has a Weapon Tank to refill any of the ammo/Overdrive she may have used for her Biometals, giving her ways to use more of her kit at any time. Model OX’s infinite Overdrive gives Aile the ability to spam her most powerful abilities with it at will, effectively making the energy usage of her other Biometals moot as a problem. Garnet’s badges allow for minor stat buffs and healing, but her immense strength disadvantage means she can’t capitalize on it. While she has a chance to revive if knocked down, there’s nothing stopping Aile from just… killing her again.

While Garnet’s Future Vision isn’t completely useless, it’s not going to be much of a factor within this fight. First of all, you could make the argument that Garnet hasn’t actually used it in a fight before that much, and so she wouldn’t rely on it, and you’d be right! However, Aile is much slower than anyone Garnet usually fights, who’re usually on her level in terms of speed - as a result of this, she’d have more ease in using Future Vision for her own benefit within the fight. Unfortunately for her, it can’t really help her much, beyond being able to dodge more of Aile’s attacks, but she already has an edge in speed against her to begin with, and doesn’t really have a way to use it to give herself an edge, making it more of just another way for Garnet to stall more than anything.

Overall, while Garnet does have a few more abilities then you may expect, Aile’s sheer versatility, superior range, and useful healing should ultimately give her a solid edge in this category.

Tertiary Factors

In terms of tertiary factors, both Garnet and Aile have quite a few advantages that they can take within this category.

In terms of experience, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Garnet vastly outclasses Aile - she’s simply been around for far longer and has fought in far more battles than Aile, including one of the components of her fusion, Ruby, being literally made to fight. This should give Garnet a lot more experience and to an extent, skill then Aile, even with Aile’s Biometals as an aid. 

However, while Garnet probably has the edge in overall stamina, given that Gems have practically unlimited stamina, and less resilient ones than Garnet such as Lapis have showings of operating under strenuous conditions for months without rest, Aile should have enough options to contend. Her ability to refill her energy and heal herself at any time should allow her to keep herself at peak capacity for quite a while, to the point where the fight would likely never last long enough for stamina to matter. Gems may not need to sleep or rest, but they can get tired out, and Aile’s multiple ways of keeping herself healthy is a great advantage in the fight.

Both Garnet and Aile’s advantages within experience/skill and stamina should roughly counter each other out within this department, making them roughly even within tertiary factors.

Conclusion

"I will fight for the place where I'm free! To live together and exist as me!"

Advantages:

• Far more experienced

• Higher reactions and combat speed

• Greater overall stamina

• Future Vision can help her avoid most of Aile’s attacks…

• Stronger Than You

• Series actually had a proper ending

• Estelle

Disadvantages:

• Much weaker and less durable

• Less mobile

• Cannot keep up with Aile’s sheer versatility

• Most abilities are resisted 

• Much smaller range and area of effect

• …but can’t help her actually find a way to beat her, rendering it mostly just a stalling tactic

• Fewer methods of healing or replenishing energy

• Ratio’d by Sans

"Facing our destinies and carving out the future... That's our struggle. Everyone has fought to give me something precious. I have a power, and with that power comes responsibility. I will fight! I will fight for what matters!"

Advantages:

• Much stronger and more durable

• Far more versatile

• Resists almost all of Garnet’s abilities

• Larger area of effect 

• Greater mobility

• Better healing and energy replenishing options

• Mega Man music

Disadvantages:

• Slower

• Less experienced

• Less overall stamina

• Got robbed in the manga

• Series STILL doesn’t have a third installment or a proper ending

With everything in mind, Aile should win with moderate difficulty at worst. While Garnet does have notable edges in speed and experience, they don’t really make up for how Aile simply is much stronger and more durable then her, which is all that really matters in the end. Garnet has no real way to bypass Aile’s durability advantage, while Aile’s sheer amount of AoE attacks should allow her to land a blow that should reliably one-shot Garnet, due to the gap in strength. While Aile may conversely have a hard time hitting Garnet due to the speed gap, it’s not going to be enough to earn Garnet a win.

While you could try to argue that Garnet could eventually wear down Aile, the amount of healing and refill items at her disposal in contrast to Garnet’s more limited options in that department should render that point moot, as Aile can simply refill to full health at any time, and she has five of these full heals on her. With this in mind, Garnet’s speed advantage can only really buy her time, even with her Future Vision being able to see what Aile does, before Aile lands one of her many area of effect attacks, ending the fight within one blow.

While Garnet was certainly no pushover, and her experience and speed were helpful, Aile’s power, versatility, range, and stamina ultimately brought her the win. Guess Garnet should’ve seen the Advent of her defeat within this wide Universe coming.

The winner is Aile, the Ultimate Mega Man.

Final Tally

Garnet (0) - 😔

Aile (9) - door-kun, greymerlion2, HeavenPiercerChris, Mikha’el, Soma, Rina, Giotto, Ibuki-Doujifanboy, CardinalKing

Next Time…