The differences and similarities between popular anime characters have been the source of inspiration for countless memes. It makes sense considering how many anime heroes share the same qualities as other characters.

Some examples of this include Ash from Pokémon who is similar to Tai and Davis from Digimon: Digital Monsters, Yugi from the original Yu-Gi-Oh who is similar to Tyson from Beyblade, and Goku from Dragon Ball who is similar to Naruto from Naruto and Boruto from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

However, the similarities between each characters' traits are only one thing that memes tend to focus on.

Some memes aren't as innocent and make some harsh accusations when they compare various anime. This reason is why they're so funny to many fans-- there's some truth to them.

However, these memes don't insult the shows for copying each other, as it is impossible to avoid overlap and many projects often influence others. Instead, these memes simply point to the obvious connections. Also, anime has become a huge art form and continues to gain popularity, so it's not the end of the world if some fans choose to poke some fun at them through harmless memes on the internet.

Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh popularity has made them a favorite target of the meme movement. Any devoted fan has seen some of these memes and probably laughed at the truth or absurdness behind them.

With that said, here are 20 Hilarious Pokémon Vs Yu-Gi-Oh Memes. 

The Finer Details

Out of all of Ash's Pokémon, the only one that' hass evolved through its three forms is Charizard. Charizard begins as a loveable Charmander, evolves into a defiant and lazy Charmeleon, and then reaches its final form, Charizard.

After some initial bouts of disobedience towards Ash, Charizard finally comes around and starts behaving like a properly trained Pokémon. Charizard uses its fiery and swift attacks to lead Ash to victory throughout the Orange League and the first couple of Johto League battles.

Even with all of its powerful moves, fans often still wonder what Charizard would look like if it were able to evolve again.

This thought comes to many fans' minds when watching Yu-Gi-Oh, especially when duelists like Seto Kaiba, Joey, and Rex Raptor play their own set of dragons. They're extremely similar in design and some of their attacks are almost identical (like Charizard's Flamethrower and Red-Eyes Black Dragon's Inferno Fire Blast).

If Charizard belonged to the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, it would definitely be a coveted card by every Dragon-type card collector in the game, including Seto Kaiba (since this meme indicates that Charizard is Blue-Eyes White Dragon's preliminary form).

This meme is definitely one of the cooler Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh crossover fantasies, but unfortunately we'll never see it in action.

Blurring Reality

This meme brings us back to a time when duel disks were part of the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. Seto Kaiba introduced them in Yu-Gi-Oh when he launched the Battle City Tournament, and from that point forward, they quickly became the coolest thing around for many kids.

Every real-life duelist longed to own their very own duel disk. Thankfully, Mattel eventually heard these pleads and answered fans' prayers by releasing a toy version of the dueling device.

Sadly, this toy replica was nowhere near as exciting as fans had hoped.

In the show, duel disks project holographic images of the monsters that are being summoned, with each monster uttering all sorts of noises, which makes each duel feel all the more realistic. Real-life duel disks just proved to be a plain toy that quickly bored many children.

The person who created this meme might have felt strongly about duel disks at some point too. In fact, they clearly never forgot about the duel disks, as they see it in almost everything-- including on Pokémon.

This meme pokes fun at some of the newer Pokémon. For example, Mega Gallade has one arm that is a bit larger than the other. Because of this, it's easy to envision a duel disk on its arm.

Art Imitating Art

While there are many memes on the internet mocking the similarities between Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh characters and monsters (specifically Ash andYugi, Seto Kaiba and Gary Oak, and Dragon-Type Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh Dragon-Type monster cards), this meme is a bit more bold.

This meme goes ahead and boldly states that Pokémon's Reshiram and Zekrom and Yu-Gi-Oh's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon are pretty much identical.

It's hard to argue otherwise when looking closely at the two sets of dragons. Both Reshiram and Zekrom seem to be almost exact copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

The dragons are the same colours, have similar wings, and their eye colors are even the same. They even each have three claws.

However, unlike instances when Yu-Gi-Oh has been subtly hinted at finding its inspirations from Pokémon, this is the reverse case ,as Reshiram and Zekrom are newer Pokémon that have only come out in the last few years.

Nevertheless, the comparisons are too obvious to dismiss the idea that these Pokémon aren't inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh's most iconic dragons. After all, anime are known to copy each other every now and then.

 20. FRENEMIES

Gary Oak and Seto Kaiba are the self-proclaimed arch rivals of Ash Ketchum and Yugo Mutou since the very first episodes of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

Though both of these characters have some stark differences (for example, Ash doesn't defeat Gary in battle until season five, while Kaiba loses to Yugi in the first episode), they're still extremely similar.

Gary Oak is arrogant and self-entitled, often using his grandfather's prestigious title as one of the Pokémon world's most respected researchers to boost his own status.

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba is the richest person in the Yu-Gi-Oh world and he gloats about this at every opportunity.

While both characters have over-inflated egos, Gary's arrogance is actually grounded in fact, as he is initially a far better trainer than Ash. However, Kaiba simply resents Yugi for beating him during their first duel and proving that he can be defeated.

Ultimately, these despised characters begin to relate and sympathize with both of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh's respective heroes as they start to get to know them.

Nevertheless, Gary and Seto still exhibit their egotistical character traits more often than not throughout both series, and thus it's difficult to differentiate between the two very similar characters.

Yugi Ketchum!

This is definitely one of the funniest memes out there when it comes to Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, as it playfully mocks every anime hero in existence.

True anime fans know the terms "Super Saiyan," "Spirit Detective," and the "Digital World" and can thus call out this meme for it's joke. Anyone who's watched Dragon Ball Z knows that its heroes are part of an elite and powerful race known as Super Saiyans, Spirit Detective refers to the titular character's profession in Yuyu-Hakusho, and the Digital World refers to the alternate universe in Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Whoever took the time to incorporate these well-known details into one meme has a great sense of humor.

Another commendable part of this meme is the fact that it highlights a common misconception that is believed by non-anime fans: that all anime are the same.

Anime have elaborate and sometimes convoluted storylines but they're still quite different in their respective premises, so it's easy for most fans to avoid confusing them.

However, for many who don't watch anime, these terms and characters can become easily blurred, despite Yugi Muto, Goku, and Ash Ketchum having barely anything in common.

While this meme might make an avid anime-watcher cringe, it is hilarious to many people who aren't invested in the shows.

THE AFTERMATH OF DEFEAT

Anyone who's ever watched Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh knows that the two shows are very different when it comes to losing.

In Pokémon, losing a battle usually results in Ash growing as a person and becoming even more motivated in order to push forward. In Yu-Gi-Oh, losing a battle means a one-way ticket to the Shadow Realm (though this only applies to the 4Kids dub, which eludes to the fact that a duelist losing a duel means they are losing their life).

Though the two series are considered kids shows for the most part, losing a duel in Yu-Gi-Oh is pretty intense.

Pokémon focuses its entire plot on Pokémon battling each other in vicious, drawn-out battles where trainers push their beloved Pokémon to their physical limits.

At the end of the battle, the Pokémon are taken to a Pokémon Center and they're healed and as good as new within minutes.

Meanwhile, in Yu-Gi-Oh, losing a sheer card game results in the defeated opponent losing their life. Through both his and his friends' defeats, Yugi has seen his grandpa, Kaiba, Joey, and many others become bedridden for episodes.

Granted, everyone comes back to life thanks to Yugi's dueling intervention, but it's still pretty unbelievable that Yu-Gi-Oh is so heavily fixated on life-threatening consequences while Pokémon's battles simply cause it's creatures to "faint."

A Dragon's Tale

Though the Pokémon used for battle in Pokémon are immensely different from the holographic images projected when a duel monster's card is played in Yu-Gi-Oh, there's one type of creature that's prevalent in both anime: dragons.

Dragon-type Pokémon and Dragon-type duel monster's cards have been active players in battle since both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh's very first episodes. Seto Kaiba quickly uses his favorite card, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, while Ash Ketchum's Charizard soon becomes one of his most powerful Pokémon.

Any fans of the series have surely noticed the similarities between some of the dragons in both of the shows.

This meme illustrates a hybrid between Charizard and Red-Eyes B. Dragon, and while it's only a joke, it highlights an obvious truth: these dragons aren't as original as many fans thought.

This meme also lightheartedly mocks a prevalent theme in almost every anime: fusion-evolution.

In both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, a creature or character's next-level ascension is pivotal to the show's plot. Charizard had to evolve from its first two forms, Charmander and Charmeleon, before it reached its ultimate form. At the same time, Blue-Eyes White Dragon serves Seto Kaiba best when it is fused with its two other card replicas to form Blues-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

However, this meme does raise an interesting idea: what would an actual fusion of Charizard and any other Yu-Gi-Oh dragon look like?

AGELESS

One of the running jokes among anime fans is Ash's age. Ash hasn't aged since Pokémon first aired on TV in 1997.

In the first episode of Pokémon, a brief narration introduces Ash as a ten-year-old boy about to embark on his own Pokémon journey. From this episode on, Ash remains ten years old for what is now 20+ years.

While Yugi  doesn't seem to age physically throughout Yu-Gi-Oh, it's mentioned in several episodes that he's been friends with Joey, Tea, and Tristan for several years. It's also implied that time has passed between his duels with Pegasus, Marik, and Bakura.

Yugi starts the anime as a teenager, and four years could have easily expanded without him going through considerable physical changes.

Nevertheless, this meme's most obvious truth revolves around the fact that compared to Yu-Gi-Oh (which only ran for 217 episodes), Pokémon stands the test of time with its episode count nearing the thousands.

Ash has done a lot throughout the many Pokémon series. It's incredible difficult to image that every Pokémon battle that Ash has fought in and that all of the experiences that he has been through have only taken place during one calendar year. However, somehow Pokémon keeps going and Ash doesn't age a day.

Your Dragons Vs My Dragons

There are many similarities between the Dragon-type creatures in Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. The Pokémon universe consists of hundreds of hundreds of different creatures, and of those hundreds, a large number are Dragon-type.

In Yu-Gi-Oh, Seto Kaiba gloats that his Dragon-type deck, specifically his Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, is significantly stronger than any monster card that Yugi owns. In fact, Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the strongest normal monster card in both the Yu-Gi-Oh anime and card came.

The Pokémon illustrated in this meme is a Rayquaza, one of Pokémon's newer Legendary Dragon-type creatures with an HP of 120.

The dragon illustrated behind Yugi, Slifer the Sky Dragon, is technically classified as an Egyptian God-- Yugi just claims that it is the strongest dragon in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe for some reason.

It goes without saying that both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh have their own set of powerful dragons that are constantly highlighted throughout different episodes, but this meme brings up an idea that's bound to have crossed fans' minds at one point or another: which anime's dragons are stronger?

Though many fans have wondered what would happen if the dragons in the two series were pitted against each other, it is extremely unlikely that this will ever happen. Thus, fans will never have an answer to this question.

Two Worlds Collide

This meme is dedicated to fans who clearly prefer one anime over the other. From heated debates in school yards to social media feuds, fans have voiced their opinion about which anime they prefer time and time again.

Of course, anyone can be a fan of both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, as they're both amazing and entertaining in their own right. However, some fans are more strict and have decided to take a side and loyally stick to it.

It's interesting to think about how the Yu-Gi-Oh card game and Pokémon card game would contrast or be similar if the two different universes collided.

Pokémon power levels are determined by their evolutions and their attacks are executed through energy cards. In Yu-Gi-Oh, fusions, spells, and trap cards increase the attacks points of each card.

Additionally, Pokémon get more leeway in their duration on the field, as they can be attacked several times before their HP hits zero and they faint and are unable to battle.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, a monster is sent immediately to the graveyard after it's attack is successful. While there are some similarities between the two games, these two card games are very different from each other.

Nevertheless, fans often enjoy imagining the two games combining.

Do You See What We See?

This meme eludes to the many similarities between the illustrations in Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

The card featured here is Zorc Necrophades, the final creature that Yami Yugi/Atem faces in Yu-Gi-Oh. The two Pokémon that Zorc Necrophades most obviously resembles are Ekans and its later evolution, Arbok.

Not every detail is the same (for one, Ekans and Arbok are purple, while Zorc is a dark blue), but Zorc's tail looks exactly like the head of Ekans and it's head looks extremely similar to Arbok.

Zorc's signature attack (the one it unleashes with its tail) also looks a lot like Arbok's and Ekans' Poison Sting.

This isn't the first time that fans have seen similarities between Yu-Gi-Oh Pokémon's many creatures and monsters, though.

Other examples of Yu-Gi-Oh monsters strongly resembling Pokémon can be seen with Dragon-type creatures like Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Chaos Emperor, The Winged Dragon of Ra-Phoenix Mode, and Slifer The Sky Dragon, which look like Dragonite, Charizard, Reshiram, Latias, Rayquaza, Stardust, Moltres, and Lugia respectively.

It's understandable that Yu-Gi-Oh has drawn some inspiration from Pokémon since the latter premiered first. With all the anime in existence, coming up with entirely original ideas for designs is almost impossible.

Pokémon: Ages Three and Up

This is yet another meme that focuses on the differences between Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Ash and Yugi repeatedly summoned monster after monster in each series.

However, while Ash is the one actually dealing with real fire-breathing, thunder-jolting creatures, it seems like Yugi and the rest of his gang are often the ones who end up harmed or injured, despite the fact that the monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh are merely fantasy.

Throughout Pokémon, Ash has owned a variety of Pokémon such Fire-types like Charmander, Charmelon, Charizard, Cyndaquil, Quilava, to Electric-type creatures such as the popular Pikachu.

All of these Pokémon have used their powers against Ash in-and-out of battle. In the first episode of Pokémon, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on Ash when they first meet, as Pikachu doesn't originally like Ash. This remains a continuous habit of Pikachu's whenever it gets irritated at Ash.

Similarly, when Charmander evolves into Charmeleon in later episodes, it decides to use Flamethrower on Ash. Charmeleon ultimately evolves into Charizard and this final evolution continues using its moves against Ash.

Somehow at the end of the day, though, Ash remains completely unharmed, while everyone in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe risks their lives with each duel.

James Kaiba

Anime (at least the English dubs) are known to maximize their use of voice actors. This is a common trend in both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

Some notable examples are Maudie Blaustein, who voices Meowth in Pokémon and Solomon Moto in the original Yu-Gi-Oh, Dan Green, who voices Yugi and Atem in Yu-Gi-Oh and Entei in Pokémon, and Megan Hollingshead, who voices Mai Valentine in Yu-Gi-Oh and Nurse Joy in Pokémon.

There are a great many more English voice actors who are known to voice various characters across different anime series. This is sometimes done due to budgeting constrains,. Other times, though, voice actors can make a name for themselves by working with different series.

One voice actor who is well known for his work with 4K!ds is Eric Stuart, the actor who voices Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh as well as Brock and James from Pokémon.

This revelation has inspired meme after meme because Seto Kaiba, Brock, and James have vastly different personalities, but Stuart managed to portray each of them perfectly.

Seto is a conceited, arrogant, and ruthless mastermind when it comes to dueling and business, whereas Brock is a hopeless romantic Pokémon breeder with great cooking skills. At the same time, James is a bumbling lackey to Jessie and often follows her every command. All three are complete opposites, and yet they're all given life by the same man.

This comes to show that even in anime, acting is important in order to portray characters realistically.

What If Wobbuffet...

Wobbuffet is introduced in Pokémon's Johto League arc when it accidentally comes into Jessie's ownership. Much like Misty's relationship with Psyduck, Jessie despises Wobbuffet because he thinks it is utterly useless in battle.

To Jessie's credit, she sends Wobbuffet into battle repeatedly hoping that will eventually learn how to fight. Unfortunately, Wobbuffet doesn't learn much over time, and continues to be one of Team Rocket's weakest Pokémon throughout the series.

Monsters' strengths are valued differently in Yu-Gi-Oh. Yugi doesn't become discouraged when he draws a card that has low ATK/DF points-- if anything, he quickly formulates a card combo in order to maximize the card.

This happens in the first episode of  Yu-Gi-Oh when Yugi's battles Seto Kaiba. Yugi plays Silver Fang, Celtic Guardian, and a variety of other monsters with low attack points that he supports through spell cards.

When Kaiba seems to finally have the upper hand in the duel, Yugi proves that ATK/DEF are just one factor of winning by playing all five pieces of Exodia The Forbidden One and winning by default.

The pieces of Exodia aren't powerful monster cards on their own, but when played together, they create the ultimate fighting team.

Exodia's first appearance in Yu-Gi-Oh is shocks viewers, as most had written it off as a bad draw. However, Pokémon like Wobbuffet are occasionally what they appear to be at first glance.

Lost In Translation

This meme addresses one of the biggest complaints that Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, and every other anime fan has expressed over the years: dubbing.

Animation studio 4Kids specializes in translating original anime content from Japanese into English for kids in the USA and other English-speaking countries.

However, dubs can completely change the anime series. Dubs can change characters' personalities, dialogue, as well as action sequences. Because 4Kids targets children, the company will often tone down violent scenes in order to make them more PG.

One of the most important elements of series such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, and Digimon is the epic battles that take place in each series. Anime fans know that a great show consists of a combination of intense fighting, serious dialogue, and dark undertones.

In the 4Kids' dubbing of Yu-Gi-Oh, the Shadow Realm is often mentioned as the punishment for losing a duel. Yet in the original dub, there is no such thing as the Shadow Realm, as losing a duel means that the contestant loses their life.

Another notable difference between the dub and the original is illustrations in the series itself, with card designs and clothing being altered to suit viewers of all ages.

Lastly, the violence is significantly toned down. In both the original Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh series, monsters are shown in extremely violent battles. However, the 4Kids versions of these shows removes any gore.

This is ultimately a required practice by 4Kids, though, as most parents would freak out if their children were watching violent cartoons.

 If Ash Met Yugi

Kuriboh is one of Yugi’s most played and valued cards since the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh. From his battles with Seto Kaiba, Pegasus, and Noah, Yugi manages to draw Kuriboh in the nick of time during each duel, making it one of his best cards.

Ironically, Kuriboh is actually one of the weakest monsters in the card game.

The might of Kuriboh is obviously embellished for dramatic effect in the show, and it works well. Yugi has made Seto Kaiba cringe repeatedly throughout the series simply by playing the card, whether on its own or through a card combo involving spells such as Multiply.

This is another misconception that the show creates in order to increase the stakes-- supporting spell cards such as Multiply are nowhere near as powerful as audiences are led to believe.

In the actual card game, Multiply is a spell card that allows a player to summon as many Kuriboh tokens to the field as there are available monster slots (which is limited to five per player). However, in the game, these tokens are neither indestructible nor infinite.

However, in the world of anime anything is possible, and thus Yugi's Kuriboh would probably stand a chance against Ash's Charmander or any other opposing Pokémon.

The Might of the Egyptian Gods

Though Yugi initially relies on his grandpa's passed-down deck to duel, Yu-Gi-Oh soon introduces fans to an unbeatable trio of cards: the Egyptian God cards.

These cards are considered the most powerful cards in Yu-Gi-Oh, with an opponent who faces them rarely surviving to tell the tale.

This is another example of the anime exaggerating the real-life effects of cards for dramatic effect. A few years after the original Yu-Gi-Oh ended, Konami (the card company that manufactures the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game ) announced that they would be releasing the Three Egyptian Gods so that consumers could finally create an unbeatable deck with them.

A few months later, these cards became readily (and expensively) available for loyal fans to purchase. However, what resulted was utter disappointment from players.

The card effects were nowhere as useful as the ones in the show, with the Winged Dragon of Ra (the most powerful of the three in the anime) being deemed the weakest by real-life duelists.

However, despite the fact that the Egyptian God cards are not as powerful in real life, many fans still enjoy the creatures in the show.

Also, the idea of a crossover between the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh universes has always interested fans, specifically if the Egyptian God cards were included in battle.

The scenario depicted above shows Yugi using Slifer the Sky Dragon to easily defeat Charizard and summoning Obelisk The Tormentor to instantaneously wipe-out all of Ash's Pokémon.

I Choose You!

Anyone who's watched Yu-Gi-Oh knows that when it's time to duel, Yugi can get a little dramatic. It's not not a bad thing, however, as Yugi’s overly enthusiastic behavior is part of the fun of watching him duel.

His enthusiasm is universal, and he shows excitement despite how powerful (or weak) his opponent is. From the weakest of opponents like Weevil Underwood to the strongest like Seto Kaiba, Yugi dives into a duel with his iconic catchphrase “It’s time to Duel!”

Ash Ketchum isn’t very different from Yugi in the Pokémon series. The hot-headed ten-year-old always has his game-face on whether he’s battling a gym leader, a newfound friend, or even when facing the meddling Team Rocket.

The thought of how a battle between Ash and Yugi would unfold is truly exciting to think about (especially considering the fact that Ash would probably send out Pikachu to battle first).

These two opponents would certainly use their strongest Pokémon and monsters against each other. They would either be equally matched or one would defeat the other just barely.

It would be funny to see Yugi and Ash face off against each other, as their faces would both be intense and serious.

Wild At Heart

One of the longest-running jokes in Pokémon is that Pikachu hates going into its Pokéball. Since the very first episode of the series, Pikachu was upset about being sent into its Pokéball and defiantly threw it back at Ash a few times.

Throughout the entire series, Pikachu's opinion of Pokéballs doesn't change, and it refuses to be sent into the small ball. No matter how violent the battle or how close it is to losing, Pikachu doesn’t allow itself to be called back into its Pokéball.

Instead, Pikachu choses to fight until the very end.

In Yu-Gi-Oh, monsters don’t really have a choice in this matter. When they’re destroyed, they’re sent to the card graveyard until they are revived.

However, there are some monsters that are so unfathomably strong that their trip to the graveyard is virtually impossible. Slifer The Sky Dragon is one of these nearly unbeatable creatures.

With the ability to accumulate limitless attack points and a special ability that decreases its opponent’s attack points by 2000 points upon summoning, it takes some serious strategizing to defeat this Egyptian God.

Because of its sheer strength, even the defiant Pikachu would certainly give the safety of its Pokéball a second thought during a battle against Slifer.

Lovestruck

Brock has always been one of the biggest comic relief characters in Pokémon. From nagging Ash about his immaturity and unintentional mistreatment of his Pokémon, Brock keeps Ash in line.

His vast knowledge of Pokémon also helps Ash out a lot when he encounters unknown Pokémon on the road. Even his cooking abilities have proven themselves invaluable considering the number of times that the team has been miles away from the nearest restaurant.

Virtues aside, Brock has one downfall that's inspired many, many memes: he is a hopeless romantic. From Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Misty, Brock is always on the lookout for love.

Seto Kaiba couldn’t be the farther from this type of personality. He has only a few sentimental attachments that he openly talks about: his desire to keep Kaiba Corp. afloat, his love for his little brother Mokuba, and the inexplicable link that he feels towards his Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards.

The idea of Seto Kaiba losing his composure in order to meet a girl just wouldn't fly in Yu-Gi-Oh. It would be completely out of character.

It's hard to imagine that both Brock and Seto Kaiba are voiced by the same actor in the English dub-- Eric Stuart.

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Can you think of any other Pokeémon vs Yu-Gi-Oh memes that fans need to see? Sound off in the comments!