The Pokemon and Digimon Argument
by Martial Arts Master
Pokemon and all related characters copyrighted by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., Satoshi Tajiri, 4Kids, Wizards Of The Coast, and TV Tokyo. This takes place in the real human world, and Peter, Katie, and Vince are characters I made up. I wrote this fic because I'm getting sick of people arguing over whether Pokemon is better, or whether Digimon is better. This fic will settle the argument once and for all, and it's opinion free. I promise you that only cold, hard, undeniable facts will be used in this fic. I don't usually reveal too much about myself over the Internet, but I think it's safe to tell you that I'm the type of person that never voices my opinion unless I have actual facts to back it up. Now that my explanation for this fic is out of the way, on with the story!
***
It was a rainy day at Peter, Katie, and Vince's house. Peter, Katie, and Vince were basement where the Playstation and the N64 were. Vince was reading a book, and Peter and Katie were arguing over whether to hook up the Playstation and play Digimon World, or whether to hook up the N64 to play Pokemon Stadium.
"We should play Pokemon Stadium!" Peter said. "Pokemon is much better than Digimon!"
"Says you!" Katie says. "We should play Digimon World! Anyone with a brain in his head can see that Digimon is better!"
"Nuh-uh!" Peter exclaimed. "Pokemon are the best!"
"No way!" Katie exclaimed. "Digimon rules!"
"Wanna bet?" Peter retorted. "A Pokemon could whip a Digimon's butt any day!"
"Yeah right!" Katie shouted back. "A Digimon could kick a Pokemon's butt in 7 seconds!"
Vince, meanwhile, was trying to read his book, but was not having much success due to Peter and Katie's arguing. Finally he closed the book, and stood up.
"Hey!" he shouted to Peter and Katie. "Would you two please stop arguing?"
"I will if she stops being stubborn!" Peter said.
"I will if HE stops being stubborn!" Katie said.
Vince sighed. It looked as though this was not one of those arguments that his siblings could work out by themselves. If he wanted any peace, he would have to settle the argument himself.
"I have an idea," he suggested. "Why don't each of you tell me the advantages of both of your favorite shows, and I will judge which show is better by the number of advantages each show has."
"That seems fair," his siblings agreed.
"All right, for example," Peter started, "Pokemon look much cooler---"
"Wait a minute," Vince interrupted, holding up a hand. "I only want facts, not opinions. Appearance does not count because everyone judges appearance differently."
"For example," he continued, speaking to both of his siblings, "do you like things to be cute, or to look cool?"
"Looking cool, definitely," Peter said. "Cute things are for sissies."
"Cute, definitely," Katie said. "Things that look 'cool' usually look ugly."
"You see?" Vince said. "Each of you judges appearance differently, so if I counted appearance as an advantage, you two would be arguing all day deciding which show's appearance is better."
Peter and Katie sighed.
"Ok, I guess you're righted," Peter admitted.
"So why don't we start?" Vince said.
"Ok, Pokemon have more than two attacks," Peter said. "Some Pokemon have like 10! Digimon only have two at the most."
"Is that a fact?" Vince said. "Can you confirm this?"
"Yes," Peter said. "For example, Bulbasaur can learn Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Poisonpowder, Razor Leaf, Synthesis, Growth, Sleep Powder, and Solar Beam."
Vince turned to Katie.
"Katie," he said, "how many attacks can you name for a Digimon?"
Katie thought really hard. She struggled to find a Digimon with more than two attacks.
After about 10 minutes, she said grudgingly, "Peter's right. Digimon have only two attacks at most."
"It looks like Pokemon has one advantage so far," Vince said. He turned to Katie with an expectant look, obviously wanting her to name an advantage Digimon had.
"Well," Katie said, "Digimon fight for better reasons. They fight to save the real world and the digital world."
"And what do Pokemon fight for?" Vince asked of Peter.
"Pokemon fight to help their trainers become masters," Peter said.
"So let me get this straight," Vince said. "Pokemon fight for the good of humans, and Digimon fight for the good of worlds."
"That's right," both of his siblings said. Then a look of horror came to Peter's face. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.
"Usually worlds are made up of different species," Vince said. "In Pokemon, the Pokemon fight for the good of one species. Namely the humans. In Digimon, the Digimon fight for the good of the world, which includes many species. Now, mathematically, many species are worth more than one species just as many dollars are worth more than one dollar. Therefore, Digimon has the advantage in this respect."
Vince held up a finger on each hand to show that so far Pokemon and Digimon each had an advantage.
"But there's also evolution to consider," Peter said. "When Pokemon evolve, they STAY in their evolved forms. No matter how hard my sister thinks, she's never going to be able to think of an instance where a Pokemon reverted back to its pre-evolved form."
"And what happens in the case of Digimon?" Vince asked of Katie.
"In the case of Digimon, Digimon digi-volve when they are needed to do so, and then they digi-volve back to their original forms," replied Katie.
"So which is better?" both siblings said expectantly.
"Well," Vince replied, "in our world, animals evolve every few million years. The purpose of evolution is help a creature adapt to its environment. Since Pokemon stay in their evolved forms, they are better able to adapt to their environment. But Digimon can digi-volve backwards, becoming LESS adapted to their environment. Since the whole point of evolution is to make the creature better, the creature becomes worse if they digi-volve backwards. Therefore, Pokemon is better in this respect."
Vince held up another finger on his left hand to show another advantage with Pokemon.
"But what about communication?" Katie asked.
"What about it?" Vince asked.
"Digimon are able to speak human language, with only a few exceptions," Katie said. "Pokemon are able to only say their own name, with a few exceptions."
"But the Pokemon can understand each other anyway," Peter said.
"Here's what I think," Vince said. "It seems to me that the purpose of Digimon being able to speak the human tongue is to communicate with their human partners and allow them to work together for the cause they are fighting for. Pokemon generally cannot speak in a language understandable by humans, so it is more difficult for humans to work together with Pokemon than it is for humans to work together with Digimon."
Vince held up another finger on his right hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Don't forget morals," Peter said. "With Pokemon, there are no truly bad Pokemon, only Pokemon with bad masters following orders. With Digimon there are some Digimon that are pure evil, like Devimon and Myotismon."
"But the evil Digimon is what makes people appreciate the good ones more!" Katie retorted.
"Well, let me tell you something," Vince said. "Since we are humans, we are judging Pokemon and Digimon by human standards. One human standard we have in our society is that you should strive toward being good at all times. Now, since Pokemon are basically good, they fulfill this standard of society quite easily. However, some Digimon are pure evil. Those Digimon do not even try to become good, so they are not socially acceptable. Now, since almost all Pokemon are good and a lesser amount of Digimon are good, Pokemon is better in this respect."
Vince held up another finger on his left hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Digimon, though, are better in another respect," Katie said. "With Pokemon, the Pokemon sometimes disobey their human partners. With Digimon, the Digimon belonging to the Digi-Destined never turn disobedient."
"But it's no fun to be totally obedient," Peter said.
"Yes, but when there is a cause to be fighting for," Vince said, "and sentinent beings must work together to fight for it, it is obvious which show is better in this respect. When Pokemon turn disobedient, it becomes extremely difficult to accomplish the cause of becoming masters. The Digidestined Digimon, however, being obedient, can easily work together to accomplish the cause of fighting evil."
Vince held up another finger on his right hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Now, can either of you think of any other advantages?" Vince said.
Both of them looked deep in thought.
Finally, after about 3 minutes...
"No, I can't think of anything else," Peter said.
"Me neither," Katie said.
Vince put his fingers down and said, "Well, since both shows have an equal amount of advantages, they are therefore equally good. If you two can't decide which game to play, both of you should do something else."
With that, Vince left Peter and Katie standing there and went to another room to finish his book. The End
***
So there you have it. Vince here, in this story, and I, in real life, have determined, from actual facts, that both shows are equal. If you fans out there like Pokemon better than Digimon, or vice versa, you are free not to associate yourself with the one you don't like. But don't try to change others' opinions with comments like "Pokemon sucks" or "Digimon sucks" unless you have facts to back yourself up. Also, I did a review of a story once having most of these same arguments, but I had to replace a couple of them because I had found that the original final argument for each show had been inadvertantly based on my opinions. Therefore, I replaced each final argument with something else. E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@msn.com.
by Martial Arts Master
Pokemon and all related characters copyrighted by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., Satoshi Tajiri, 4Kids, Wizards Of The Coast, and TV Tokyo. This takes place in the real human world, and Peter, Katie, and Vince are characters I made up. I wrote this fic because I'm getting sick of people arguing over whether Pokemon is better, or whether Digimon is better. This fic will settle the argument once and for all, and it's opinion free. I promise you that only cold, hard, undeniable facts will be used in this fic. I don't usually reveal too much about myself over the Internet, but I think it's safe to tell you that I'm the type of person that never voices my opinion unless I have actual facts to back it up. Now that my explanation for this fic is out of the way, on with the story!
***
It was a rainy day at Peter, Katie, and Vince's house. Peter, Katie, and Vince were basement where the Playstation and the N64 were. Vince was reading a book, and Peter and Katie were arguing over whether to hook up the Playstation and play Digimon World, or whether to hook up the N64 to play Pokemon Stadium.
"We should play Pokemon Stadium!" Peter said. "Pokemon is much better than Digimon!"
"Says you!" Katie says. "We should play Digimon World! Anyone with a brain in his head can see that Digimon is better!"
"Nuh-uh!" Peter exclaimed. "Pokemon are the best!"
"No way!" Katie exclaimed. "Digimon rules!"
"Wanna bet?" Peter retorted. "A Pokemon could whip a Digimon's butt any day!"
"Yeah right!" Katie shouted back. "A Digimon could kick a Pokemon's butt in 7 seconds!"
Vince, meanwhile, was trying to read his book, but was not having much success due to Peter and Katie's arguing. Finally he closed the book, and stood up.
"Hey!" he shouted to Peter and Katie. "Would you two please stop arguing?"
"I will if she stops being stubborn!" Peter said.
"I will if HE stops being stubborn!" Katie said.
Vince sighed. It looked as though this was not one of those arguments that his siblings could work out by themselves. If he wanted any peace, he would have to settle the argument himself.
"I have an idea," he suggested. "Why don't each of you tell me the advantages of both of your favorite shows, and I will judge which show is better by the number of advantages each show has."
"That seems fair," his siblings agreed.
"All right, for example," Peter started, "Pokemon look much cooler---"
"Wait a minute," Vince interrupted, holding up a hand. "I only want facts, not opinions. Appearance does not count because everyone judges appearance differently."
"For example," he continued, speaking to both of his siblings, "do you like things to be cute, or to look cool?"
"Looking cool, definitely," Peter said. "Cute things are for sissies."
"Cute, definitely," Katie said. "Things that look 'cool' usually look ugly."
"You see?" Vince said. "Each of you judges appearance differently, so if I counted appearance as an advantage, you two would be arguing all day deciding which show's appearance is better."
Peter and Katie sighed.
"Ok, I guess you're righted," Peter admitted.
"So why don't we start?" Vince said.
"Ok, Pokemon have more than two attacks," Peter said. "Some Pokemon have like 10! Digimon only have two at the most."
"Is that a fact?" Vince said. "Can you confirm this?"
"Yes," Peter said. "For example, Bulbasaur can learn Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Poisonpowder, Razor Leaf, Synthesis, Growth, Sleep Powder, and Solar Beam."
Vince turned to Katie.
"Katie," he said, "how many attacks can you name for a Digimon?"
Katie thought really hard. She struggled to find a Digimon with more than two attacks.
After about 10 minutes, she said grudgingly, "Peter's right. Digimon have only two attacks at most."
"It looks like Pokemon has one advantage so far," Vince said. He turned to Katie with an expectant look, obviously wanting her to name an advantage Digimon had.
"Well," Katie said, "Digimon fight for better reasons. They fight to save the real world and the digital world."
"And what do Pokemon fight for?" Vince asked of Peter.
"Pokemon fight to help their trainers become masters," Peter said.
"So let me get this straight," Vince said. "Pokemon fight for the good of humans, and Digimon fight for the good of worlds."
"That's right," both of his siblings said. Then a look of horror came to Peter's face. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.
"Usually worlds are made up of different species," Vince said. "In Pokemon, the Pokemon fight for the good of one species. Namely the humans. In Digimon, the Digimon fight for the good of the world, which includes many species. Now, mathematically, many species are worth more than one species just as many dollars are worth more than one dollar. Therefore, Digimon has the advantage in this respect."
Vince held up a finger on each hand to show that so far Pokemon and Digimon each had an advantage.
"But there's also evolution to consider," Peter said. "When Pokemon evolve, they STAY in their evolved forms. No matter how hard my sister thinks, she's never going to be able to think of an instance where a Pokemon reverted back to its pre-evolved form."
"And what happens in the case of Digimon?" Vince asked of Katie.
"In the case of Digimon, Digimon digi-volve when they are needed to do so, and then they digi-volve back to their original forms," replied Katie.
"So which is better?" both siblings said expectantly.
"Well," Vince replied, "in our world, animals evolve every few million years. The purpose of evolution is help a creature adapt to its environment. Since Pokemon stay in their evolved forms, they are better able to adapt to their environment. But Digimon can digi-volve backwards, becoming LESS adapted to their environment. Since the whole point of evolution is to make the creature better, the creature becomes worse if they digi-volve backwards. Therefore, Pokemon is better in this respect."
Vince held up another finger on his left hand to show another advantage with Pokemon.
"But what about communication?" Katie asked.
"What about it?" Vince asked.
"Digimon are able to speak human language, with only a few exceptions," Katie said. "Pokemon are able to only say their own name, with a few exceptions."
"But the Pokemon can understand each other anyway," Peter said.
"Here's what I think," Vince said. "It seems to me that the purpose of Digimon being able to speak the human tongue is to communicate with their human partners and allow them to work together for the cause they are fighting for. Pokemon generally cannot speak in a language understandable by humans, so it is more difficult for humans to work together with Pokemon than it is for humans to work together with Digimon."
Vince held up another finger on his right hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Don't forget morals," Peter said. "With Pokemon, there are no truly bad Pokemon, only Pokemon with bad masters following orders. With Digimon there are some Digimon that are pure evil, like Devimon and Myotismon."
"But the evil Digimon is what makes people appreciate the good ones more!" Katie retorted.
"Well, let me tell you something," Vince said. "Since we are humans, we are judging Pokemon and Digimon by human standards. One human standard we have in our society is that you should strive toward being good at all times. Now, since Pokemon are basically good, they fulfill this standard of society quite easily. However, some Digimon are pure evil. Those Digimon do not even try to become good, so they are not socially acceptable. Now, since almost all Pokemon are good and a lesser amount of Digimon are good, Pokemon is better in this respect."
Vince held up another finger on his left hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Digimon, though, are better in another respect," Katie said. "With Pokemon, the Pokemon sometimes disobey their human partners. With Digimon, the Digimon belonging to the Digi-Destined never turn disobedient."
"But it's no fun to be totally obedient," Peter said.
"Yes, but when there is a cause to be fighting for," Vince said, "and sentinent beings must work together to fight for it, it is obvious which show is better in this respect. When Pokemon turn disobedient, it becomes extremely difficult to accomplish the cause of becoming masters. The Digidestined Digimon, however, being obedient, can easily work together to accomplish the cause of fighting evil."
Vince held up another finger on his right hand to show another advantage with Digimon.
"Now, can either of you think of any other advantages?" Vince said.
Both of them looked deep in thought.
Finally, after about 3 minutes...
"No, I can't think of anything else," Peter said.
"Me neither," Katie said.
Vince put his fingers down and said, "Well, since both shows have an equal amount of advantages, they are therefore equally good. If you two can't decide which game to play, both of you should do something else."
With that, Vince left Peter and Katie standing there and went to another room to finish his book.
***
So there you have it. Vince here, in this story, and I, in real life, have determined, from actual facts, that both shows are equal. If you fans out there like Pokemon better than Digimon, or vice versa, you are free not to associate yourself with the one you don't like. But don't try to change others' opinions with comments like "Pokemon sucks" or "Digimon sucks" unless you have facts to back yourself up. Also, I did a review of a story once having most of these same arguments, but I had to replace a couple of them because I had found that the original final argument for each show had been inadvertantly based on my opinions. Therefore, I replaced each final argument with something else. E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@msn.com.