It’s not fair to make people choose between two franchises they love. When something is connected to our childhood it makes the decision even more difficult. Thankfully we don’t have anyone forcing us to make a decision about anything, but one can still consider, right?
All things considered, it should be easy to say that Pokémon will win any fan-favorite polls when going up against Digimon. Both franchises have barely a 2-year difference between their inceptions, but the idea in our minds always remains that Pokémon has been around for a lot longer. This is due to the series excellently managing to stay fresh in our minds thanks to repeated gaming releases, most notoriously Pokémon Go.
Pokémon also relies heavily on the nostalgia factor it possesses. Once people grow up, they begin drifting away from cartoons and anime into live-action and only occasionally return. Whenever they do return they make sure the classics are revisited. Digimon is a classic too but the show has revamped itself with new characters a few times and thus doesn’t have many mainstay characters to remain in our memories, unlike Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. But the show has definitely kept engaging stories coming.
So, if you are still conflicted between the two franchises, here are 20 memes that should make you choose if you Pokémon or Digimon better.
20 No Son Of Mine
This is a rather cruel demonstration of the Pokémon fanboyism, but one that might be true when it comes to the thinking process of young fans. When we are young we don’t stop to consider things that would seem absurd to grownups. Which is why the idea that one would disown their own child in favor of Pokémon seems plausible.
This poor kid should have chosen his first world wisely.
In this meme, a Pokémon fanboy has a child and hopes the kid’s first word will be Pokémon itself. However, when the baby ends up saying Digimon instead, the father doesn’t want to hear any more and drops the kid off at the orphanage, hopefully to be picked up by a Digimon fanboy.
19 Freedom For All/None
This is a big advantage in Digimon’s favor, should the argument over which universe’s owners treat their pets the best come up. Pokémon trainers are seemingly merciful in many regards. First of all, there’s the manner by which they capture their Pokémon. The poor thing is wild and free on its own, or possibly with its family, when a trainer happens to come by and forces the poor Pokémon to fight another Pokémon, and then be fought and trapped in a Poké Ball.
Just reading all that should be enough to make a call to groups for Pokémon’s rescue. Meanwhile, Digimon are faithful to their owners who treat them more like friends than pets. So it’s a foregone conclusion that Digimon have it better as far as freedom is concerned.
18 Friends No More
There are few situations where the Captain America: Civil War meme hasn’t been used. This meme is perfect to pit two differing opinions against one another, with Iron Man and Captain America taking opposite sides.
A Pokémon and Digimon debate tore the Avengers apart.
At least, that is what it seems in this meme where the two superheroes aren’t having any of the other’s opinion. And when it comes to children, or very intense fanboys, an argument over Pokémon and Digimon could very well break friendships apart. No one is claiming it’s kind of pathetic when that does happen in real life, but unfortunately, there might just be crazies out there who take these anime very seriously. Now, imagine Thanos getting in on the action and favoring some other anime, like Naruto.
17 Commence Discussion
Pokémon has gotten too child-centric in recent times. That’s not to say the series was never aimed at children, but it had an appeal that lured adults in as well, as the show had an interesting premise that seemed to be leading toward a big payoff. However, we’ve never really gotten it. Instead, all we have is our multiple generations' worth of seasons which have slight changes. Perhaps this is why discussions over the favorite generations get heated, as the ones arguing have childlike mannerisms.
Digimon, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many crazy fanboys as Pokémon does. And so as each generation has passed, the fans have matured. Most of the time it is likely that different generations have entirely different fans, so any debate among them is like a senate discussion with every viewpoint considered.
16 All Mine
Can anyone ever forget the Pokémon Go craze that had gripped the world in 2016? There was even a 24-year-old guy who quit his job to become a Pokémon Go trainer full-time! That guy was relatively young so he could take the risk but we would advise people not to quit employment to devote time to a video game, no matter how fun it might be.
People were intensely serious about this game.
You could find groups lurking in certain areas in public, looking insane as they circled around and shouted at their phones. The above meme was made during Pokémon Go’s glory days as there used to be treasured areas where you were bound to find Pokémon for the taking. Talk about obsessed, huh?
15 Bye Bye Biology
Pokémon attempts to make some sense where the evolution of a Pokémon is concerned. Even if you weren’t aware that a certain Pokémon was an evolved form of another, you might be able to guess that, considering they look similar more often than not. For instance, Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu all look alike so it makes sense they are of the same family.
When it comes to Digimon, however, logic gets thrown away where evolution is concerned. For some reason beings from one species can ‘digivolve’ into something else entirely. As seen in the case of Yokomon, who is a plant type of Digimon, it digivolves into Biyomon, which is inexplicably a bird. As to how a plant can turn into a bird is a question you’d have to ask Digimon creators themselves.
14 Only On PlayStile
If you’ve spent your life in the West, then chances are you’ve always seen the right artwork with the right franchise. But if you are someone who lives in the East, then you know just how common this instance is.
Hustlers will do anything to sell their product.
Most of the time the contents of such materials turn out to be extremely faulty. Odds are the game inside is of Pokémon but it will only work a couple or so times before crashing. People who sell fake things such as this only are aware of brand names rather than what comprises the brand. Any cartoon or anime which has a kid with a weird looking animal is instantly assumed to be Pokémon as it is the most popular one out there.
13 One Or The Other
Digimon are able to digivolve back and forth for when the time calls for it. Agumon remains so as his default form, but when it comes to battle conditions he prefers to turn into Greymon, and if the battle is extremely difficult you’ll see him digivolve into Wargreymon. Pokémon, on the other hand, are stuck once they evolve further. There is no going back to the previous version and a lot of the times the Pokémon will even show personality changes like Charizard had turned into a real jerk from the cute Charmander.
This has a somewhat simple explanation. Digimon are part of the digital world where such transformations are possible, while Pokémon are part of the ‘real world’ of that universe and their evolution is part of them growing and maturing.
12 To-May-Toe/To-Maa-To
There is a similar meme for DC and Marvel comics where Thor and Batman claim they haven’t been noticed as God and Human respectively after a number of days. Here that meme is applied to great effect in the Digimon and Pokémon scenario.
Digimon do have a likeness to Pokémon.
As we have grown in the generation that saw these two shows beginning, or if you were born in the 2000s then you never knew a world without these anime, we know how to distinguish between Digimon and Pokémon. But when it comes to older people – those who had already grown up by the time these shows had started – they won’t really be aware which character belongs to which universe. Maybe that is what’s going on this picture.
11 Bullets Are Fun
Here’s a nice bit of Catch-22 for you. Pokémon and Digimon are both children’s shows but have a whole lot of hostility going around in each episode. You’ve got people controlling animals and making them fight other creatures in order to capture them to do their bidding. The difference between the two is Pokémon masquerades as a non-violent show by making us focus on the fluffy Pokémon instead of lingering on the fights.
On the other hand, Digimon seeks to amp up the thrill-seeking in the child watching by adding as many firearms as possible to the Digimon we see in the show. It’s likely a child who watches Digimon will have more tendency to be aggressive than a child who watches Pokémon because of the outright showcasing of guns in Digimon.
10 How Does That Work?
Elaborating on an earlier made point, it’s a headscratcher for sure to see Digimon digivolving into humanoids. On this front Pokémon should take positive points in that it doesn’t perplex one with its evolutions. Although Pokémon can evolve into something else entirely, they still remain around the confines of their species which doesn’t throw the viewer off completely.
Digimon has its creatures turning into something you would never have guessed. This has to do with the digital aspect of the Digimon series kicking in but understanding this trope is particularly difficult. For this reason, it would be simpler to suggest someone watch Pokémon instead as you won’t be on the receiving end of a flurry of questions you don’t know the answer to.
9 This Or That?
In actuality, there should be no debate that Digimon was inspired by Pokémon as the latter came first. That’s not a shot at Digimon’s expense by any means as the majority of competition is inspired by works of the competitor. But it should be laid clear which franchise arrived first so as to prevent people from wrongly assuming otherwise.
Some people think the shows rip each other off.
But that’s not necessarily true. Pokémon’s storyline is very linear. We’ve seen Ash Ketchum remain 10 years-old for 21 years now. And Team Rocket has been after Pikachu for the same amount of time. Digimon has seen multiple iterations, although the first generation is rightfully considered the best, and the series has varied in its stories. To this end, it’s not fair on either franchise when people argue the shows are a rip-off.
8 Anime Galore
At first glance, this meme might confuse you. There’s a whole lot going on which will be uncovered after a few seconds of scrutinizing. For starters just completing the sentence will indicate the person has no clue what they are talking about when they say their favorite Pokémon from Naruto is Sasuke.
Then there’s the fact that Pikachu is actually Agumon here. Agumon is considered Pikachu’s equivalent from Digimon as these two are the mascots of their respective shows. As Naruto is considered to be one of the most popular anime ever it has been inserted in the joke as well. But it doesn’t end there as Goku from Dragon Ball Z has been photoshopped over Ash Ketchum. And you thought you had your hands full choosing between Pokémon and Digimon, did you?
7 Don't You Dare
Digimon is well-known in its own right, but you would be kidding yourself if you say the show is as popular as Pokémon. Truth is, Pokémon is probably the most popular anime out there. There are others that may steal that claim but Digimon most certainly cannot.
Pokémon has a special place in people’s hearts.
And badmouthing Pokémon seen as the equivalent of insulting our childhoods. Due to this reason, it isn’t taken well when someone tries to be a hipster and looks to start a riot by saying Pokémon is terrible. Worldwide, you will find it difficult to find Digimon media as commonly as Pokémon is. The show has products in every country and Pikachu is one of the most widely known mascots ever.
6 They Could Be Twins
When Pokémon first started out the Pokémon looked different than the ones we see today. The classics like Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu all had a cuteness factor going for them. And this cuteness was exploited for sure as these characters still persist today as far as franchise media is concerned. But Pokémon has identified certain generations for itself as Ash Ketchum’s travels have gone farther and farther.
Back in the earlier days, we would get Pokémon the likes of Pikachu but later we would get edgier looking creatures. It is not known if these were inspired by Digimon’s cooler looking characters but there was no doubt that Pokémon had seen some stylized changes and to many, it was reminiscent of Digimon.
5 My Head Hurts
Unlike Pokémon, who evolve from one lower form to a more advanced one, Digimon can digivolve however they want. This wouldn’t be so confusing if there was a set pattern to the digivolving but that is not the case.
Digivolving can be very confusing.
There are even times when one form of Digimon isn’t the only one that can evolve to the same higher level Digimon. Yes, it’s hard to understand. The above picture was meant to illustrate how one Digmon can digivolve into another and also takes into account the certain clauses needed to make the Digimon evolve into something different but it should be too much to comprehend for most readers. To make life easier for you, take a quick peek at the Pokémon frame and you are good to go.
4 Mine Is Bigger Than Yours
The age-old argument between superiority and bragging rights for Pokémon or Digimon never ends, and here it spreads itself to an imagined scenario. Both shows have ridiculous elements to them, and Tai berates Ash over his name as he feels it is appropriate for a girl. Ash hits back well by pointing out the absurdity of wearing goggles for no reason.
Tai’s argument is his ownership of Agumon, who can digivolve into enormous proportions and turn into any of Greymon, Metal Greymon, or Wargreymon. However, Tai doesn’t realize Ash’s Charizard isn’t one for conformity as it escaped its Poké Ball and roars its flame on Tai. There is capacity here for a follow-up as well. Wargreymon could easily drop by and shut Ash’s side of the argument up instantly. But for the moment it is Pokémon who steals the win.
3 Grow Up Already
One of the few gripes from the Pokémon anime is Ash's inability to age. At some point, it has to get really annoying to the viewers. It has been 21 years since the anime began, but we are more or less the same place we were back then.
Ash has been 10 years old for two decades.
The boy’s travels have taken him seemingly to the ends of the Earth but he refuses to even turn 11 years of age. It is an impossibility in itself as Ash’s travels have certainly constituted for more than 365 days so it doesn’t make sense how he has remained the same. For this, kudos should be given to Digimon for delivering a definite end to its seasons as fans at least have some closure while in Pokémon the same thing happens over and over again.
2 The Real Heroes
Here lies the fallacy in almost everyone’s claims that Pokémon is better than Digimon. This isn’t an argument in favor of Digimon as Pokémon should receive credit for retaining viewers even after two decades, but the fact of the matter is that stakes are much higher in the Digimon world.
These kids saved the world and demonstrated selflessness at an extremely young age. In essence, it teaches our kids to be brave and to think of other while letting their imaginations take control of them. It’s a pretty good message all in all. Meanwhile, Pokémon is more focused toward preserving children’s innocence and making them appreciate the wonderment in the world. But when it comes to saving it, Digimon takes top honors.
1 What Did You Say?
Finally, we have the biggest difference between Pokémon and Digimon: The matter of speech. In Pokémon, the creatures have no other manner of speaking other than uttering their own name all the time.
How many times have we heard the phrase Pika Pika?
Somehow it is supposed to mean something different each time Pikachu says it. Supposedly it depends on the tone of Pikachu’s voice, but when we have an example like Meowth, who can talk just fine, in front of us, it makes the other Pokémon look stupid. Meanwhile, Digimon possess the ability to converse right from the start, and this made them seem less like pets and more like friends to the children. So all in all, it should be clear that Pokémon are meant to be seen as pets and Digimon more like allies.