| Yusuke Kitagawa vs. N | |
|---|---|
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| Season | TBD |
| Season Episode | TBD |
| Air date | TBD |
| Written by | Koboldy |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous TBD |
Next TBD |
Yusuke Kitagawa vs. N is Episode ??? of Koboldy’s Death Battles. It features Yusuke Kitagawa from Atlus’ JRPG series Persona and N from Nintendo’s monster raising series Pokemon.
Description[]
Persona vs. Pokemon! Two youths, brainwashed and abused by their caretakers, but good natured and kind underneath despite that. The artist versus the king; only one can emerge victorious.
Interlude[]
Wiz: Children are malleable beings. And it’s the parents’ job to mold them into humans that will eventually inherit the earth.
Boomstick: But some people aren’t meant to be parents and use their own kids to further their own ends.
Wiz: Yusuke Kitagawa, artist and member of the Phantom Thieves.
Boomstick: N, the leader of Team Plasma.
Wiz: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills, to find out who would win…a Death Battle.
Yusuke Kitagawa[]
Wiz: The Phantom Thieves: a mysterious group of unknown individuals who claim they can “take your heart”. Their first target was Suguru Kamoshida; a volleyball teacher at Shujin Academy. As promised in their calling card, Kamoshida’s heart was “stolen”, and he underwent a massive change in personality. Going from a cocky, abusive individual into one who would suddenly atone for his sins of abuse and sexual harassment. While the existence of The Phantom Thieves would still be doubted at such an early stage, they had proved their capabilities. Both to themselves and any rotten adults that abuse their power.
Boomstick: Considering the Phantom Thieves were a buncha kids though, they also had a desire to get their names out in public. Not their actual names, of course. That’d be bad. But there was a want for the Phantom Thieves to go viral, especially from everyone’s favorite little blabbermouth Ryuji.
Wiz: A want that would lead them to try and take down someone with much more fame than a schoolteacher. Their search would eventually lead them to the famous painter Ichiryusai Madarame. And by extension, his pupil Yusuke Kitagawa.
Boomstick: Yusuke was born to a single mother, but unfortunately, his mom was taken from him when he was only three years old. Leading him to being adopted by Madarame, the painter of the famous portrait “Sayuri”. And much like his mother, Yusuke became interested in the arts. With Madarame not only acting as a father figure to little Yusuke, but also a teacher. But with any amount of fame comes rumors and accusations.
Wiz: Accusations of plagiarism and abuse bubbled under the surface of Madarame’s fame. While nothing was ever proven nor did they ever exist beyond rumors, it was these accusations that led The Phantom Thieves to set their sights on Madarame. And yet despite being the one closest to Madarame and most capable of proving the abuse, Yusuke denied the allegations levied at his sensei. The Phantom Thieves themselves even began to doubt the accusations when they met with Madarame in person. Seemingly a kindly, humble old man who did not let fame and wealth go to his head. His place of residence was even a mere shack on the outskirts of Shinjuku. Perhaps the information they had received was wrong?
Boomstick: But that all went out the window when they confirmed that Madarame had a Palace. A manifestation of a human’s distorted desires, existing in the Metaverse, formed from the collective unconscious of humanity. These Palaces show how those with these distorted desires truly view the world and the people around them. And for Madarame? It manifested as an art gallery, and the paintings within as the pupils he used and threw away.
Wiz: The rumors were true. Every single pupil that Madarame ever took on was merely a tool for him to use. He would steal their art; claiming he was in a “creative slump”. Putting high demands on teens and young adults, pressuring them more and more until they eventually break. These pupils would lose their passion in the arts, lose their future careers, and sometimes even lose their lives due to suicide. He even lied and claimed that his most famous painting, the Sayuri, had been stolen by a jaded pupil. Supposedly resorting to selling counterfeits to bidders to pay off his debts. But despite the lies, the stealing, and the abuse…Yusuke Kitagawa stayed.
Boomstick: Poor guy had basically nowhere else to go, after all. Mom was dead, dad nowhere to be found, and no real friends at school. Madarame was basically the only real connection he had. Closing his eyes to the truth was more of a defense mechanism for the boy than it was anything else. But he couldn’t keep them shut forever. Eventually he would be brought into the Metaverse and was confronted with the undeniable truth of Madarame’s actions. That shack wasn’t even where he really lived!
Wiz: Yusuke would awaken to his own Persona, a manifestation of one’s own self, and join The Phantom Thieves to right the wrongs he ignored for so long. Gaining the codename “Fox” due to his fox mask and tail, Yusuke fights with a variety of different skills alongside his Persona: Goemon. A Japanese Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
Boomstick: Armed with a sick katana and an assault, Yusuke’s combat style focuses on being the speediest person in the room. Able to amplify his own and his fellow Thieves’ speeds so he can slice Shadows to ribbons or freeze them in subzero temperatures with his Bufu spells.
Wiz: But even after opening his eyes to the real Madarame; the man was even worse than Yusuke imagined. As it would turn out, Madarame’s entire public self was a lie. He never even painted the famous Sayuri. That honor would go to Yusuke’s very own mother. And the fog that added to the “mystique” of the painting? It was in fact a calculated play by Madarame to gain fame within the art world. Because the original painting was a self-portrait of Yusuke’s mother with her newborn child.
Boomstick: And just in case you didn’t think this scumlord could get any lower, the way he managed to steal the Sayuri was through her death. Yusuke’s mother suffered a stroke right in front of Madarame, and he decided at that moment to let her die and steal away her work of art. Even defacing it to sell a bullshit story to the media.
Wiz: A truly unforgivable act. As The Phantom Thieves forced Madarame to repent by defeating his Shadow in the Palace and forcing him to return to his human self a changed person. While Yusuke himself was not the main focus of later Phantom Thief heists, he still was a valued member of the Phantom Thieves. Even forming an odd bond with a later member, Futaba Sakura.
Boomstick: Unlike their leader who could use any Persona under the sun, the other members of the Phantom Thieves were limited to one Persona that could evolve in strength if their bond with Joker became strong enough. For the purpose of Death Battle, we will of course be assuming that Yusuke’s Persona reached its highest point. Social Link go, baby! But storming through those palaces didn’t just change the hearts of rotten adults and provide valuable experience, it also dropped sweet, powerful loot!
Wiz: The Will Seeds: three coalesced distortions that, when collected, combine to create a powerful crystal. Each one represents the main sin of the Palace holder, and each one provides a large benefit to whoever it is equipped onto. But the more the Phantom Thieves’ notoriety grew, and the more Palaces they took down, the more they realized that they had stumbled into something much bigger than themselves. A great conspiracy, both in the physical world and the very Metaverse they traveled.
Boomstick: While they uncovered a government conspiracy that used the Metaverse to further their own agendas; the real conspiracy was the game that was being played by the god Yaldabaoth. A universe altering god cup who wanted to put humanity under his thumb, and rigged the game so that even if the Phantom Thieves “won”, the public’s adoration for them played precisely into his hands.
Wiz: While Yusuke is not as strong as his leader, he still manages to inflict damage and take attacks from the universe busting gods and demigods found in the endgame of Persona 5. Supporting evidence of this is that one of the Palace rulers that the thieves went against was Kunikazu Okumura. Who was capable of utilizing an attack that was a complete recreation of the Big Bang. Not only a universal-scale attack, but one that was capable of being outright dodged by the faster members of Phantom Thieves. A feat that would require a person to be moving nearly 2 quintillion times faster than light.
Boomstick: One would think this is just exaggerated, but, uh. Keep in mind that perception is everything in the metaverse. If something seems real, then it is real. And Yusuke and his fellow Thieves can take that shit directly to the face!
Wiz: Yusuke’s deep friendship with Joker was not without merit, however. Literally! It was his and others’ bonds with Joker that allowed him to muster up the willpower to defeat Yaldabaoth. Yusuke struggled with Madarame’s influence over him; his artistic endeavors nearly crushed. But it was his bonds with Joker and the other thieves that allowed him to recover. Creating multiple art pieces while seeking to create a visual representation of “Desire and Hope”. That representation effectively being a core piece of the bullet that saved humanity.
N[]
(Pokemon Black & White - N Final Battle)
Wiz: In the world of Pokemon, these creatures act as effective replacements for our real world animals. Albeit with some pretty key differences.
Boomstick: Yeah, let me know when your dog can shoot a stream of fire from its mouth.
Wiz: In this world, these creatures are pets, battle companions, and even close friends.
Boomstick: But in the real world, there’s tons of jokes and criticisms to be made that Pokemon battling is effectively this world’s equivalent to dog fighting. It’s wrong and overplayed criticisms, but people sure do talk about it like that.
Wiz: …
Boomstick: What?
Wiz: *awkward cough* Nothing. But in an ironic twist, such criticisms were actually utilized in-game. Enter Team Plasma. The villainous team of Pokemon Black & White. A group of people who found a common goal in liberating Pokemon from their trainers. Dress like knights templar, many of them proved to be incredibly hypocritical. Not really believing in the idea of “liberation” but rather using these supposed ideals to bully and harass trainers who didn’t do anything wrong.
Boomstick: This led them to constantly battle with the main protagonists: Hilda/Hilbert, Cheren, and Bianca. While the rank and file weren’t any big challenges to these trainers, there was one mysterious, fast-talking teen who took an interest in our protagonists’ mons.
Wiz: N: full name, Natural Harmonia Gropius-
Boomstick: There is no way that is his full legal name.
Wiz: Iiiiit’s canon. N, an individual seemingly linked in some unknown way to Team Plasma, could hear the voices of Pokemon. It was this unexplained ability that led his viewpoints with Team Plasma’s. He could hear their anguished cries, the voices of those abused and hurt by their trainers. But when he met the protagonist? That is not what he heard. These Pokemon were happy with their trainer, and they genuinely enjoyed battling with N’s Pokemon.
Boomstick: N forged an odd sort of friendship/rivalry with the protagonist, at least until one semi-romantic ferris wheel ride. Where N revealed that not only was he aligned with Team Plasma, but he was their leader! The “king” of Team Plasma, as he put it. Stating his intentions to befriend Unova’s legendary Pokemon and defeat the champion of the Elite 4.
Wiz: It should be noted that unlike the rest of Team Plasma, N is not a hypocrite. Every time the player character battles N, he comes equipped with a new Pokemon team. Each team he battles you with is released later, and he acquires a new team composed of Pokemon from the surrounding area. Despite aligning with a team that is primarily composed of bullies and thieves, N himself is very genuine in his belief that Pokemon and humans are better off separated from each other.
Boomstick: And in a way, the legendary Pokemon of Unova found themselves agreeing with N. While both Reshiram and Zekrom usually stay dormant in their stones, they can reform their bodies and become whole when met with a hero who truly believes in truth or ideals. And N succeeded in his goal to befriend these legendary dragons, once again proving that he is an angel in a sea of devils.
Wiz: For our purposes, picking which dragon to give to N is a tricky subject, due to him canonically ever only having one of them. Due to both of them being stated as completely equal, however, this would not change their stats, only their abilities. With that in mind, we feel its only fair to give N access to both legendary dragons, despite its sketchy canonicity.
Boomstick: And speaking of stats, these dragons earn the title of “Legendary Pokemon”. Not only are they stated to be able to destroy all Unova with their fire or electricity, but the Champion Alder even states that these dragons are a threat to the planet itself!
Wiz: While possibly exaggerated, we have seen other Legendary Pokemon pull off similarly powerful feats. The meteor that the space-faring Deoxys was inside threatened to destroy the entire planet as well; something prophesized by the ancient Draconid people. A feat that would require nearly 900 zettatons of TNT.
Boomstick: Or Necrozma, the thing that absorbed all of the light within an alternate universe! The ability to absorb energy that is equivalent to 1.2 yottafoes. Those are the numbers used to measure supernovas by the by. And fellow Alola Legendary Lunala was capable of traveling through Ultra Space at nearly 1 billion times faster than light. Point is: Legendary Pokemon are fucking crazy!
Wiz: But N wasn’t the only one with a legendary dragon at his side. The protagonist also would eventually befriend the opposite legendary dragon and oppose N, and once again, N would lose. This battle would be the one to finally shake N’s worldview. That the world isn’t just one of truth or ideals, but a mixture of both.
Boomstick: ORRRRRR you could say that the world isn’t…Black & White? Hehe.
Wiz: But that wasn’t the only thing that truly shattered N’s opinion on the world. Ghetsis, N’s adopted father and one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, revealed himself to have been the true leader of Team Plasma all this time. Merely molding and manipulating N like a puppet that would further his dreams for world domination. Team Plasma never had any true intent of separating Pokemon and humanity, but rather they would separate them…so that they would be the only ones with Pokemon.
Boomstick: Father of the year over here even specifically surrounded N with Pokemon that had been hurt or abused by their trainers to shape his worldview, all while secluding N in his room away from other humans. It’s no wonder the kid came out as screwed up as he was.
Wiz: But N had doubts about his upbringing from the very start. Ever since his battle with the protagonist, he wondered if Pokemon truly were better off away from humanity. Each battle only served to chip away at this ideology, as he heard the voices of their Pokemon. And they were happy. Happy to be their battle companion and their friend. Far different from the teachings of Ghetsis and Team Plasma.
Boomstick: And after Ghetsis’ defeat, he rode off into the sunset on the back of his dragon buddy. Excited to see the real world through his new eyes, and with a desire to learn every bit of information that had been denied to him in the past. Though that wasn’t the end of N’s story.
Wiz: Ghetsis had gotten away, after all. And Team Plasma split up into two splinter factions. The old Team Plasma sought to atone for their actions. Following N’s lead, they opted to truly befriend Pokemon and deliver abused creatures to trainers that would care for them. New Team Plasma, however, continued to follow Ghetsis’ lead.
Boomstick: N, with his newfound look on life, challenged his adoptive father’s new attempts to dominate the world. Allying himself with the protagonists of Black & White 2, and even attempted to appeal to his former father’s empathy. Though it failed, N and the protagonist finally ended Ghetsis’ plans for control. With Ghetsis finally out of the picture, and finally understanding the bond between Pokemon and trainer, N would continue his efforts to help Pokemon in any way. All while hoping for another opportunity to see the friend that had helped become who he was today.
DEATH BATTLE![]
“GOEMON!” "Archeops, to me!”
A flash of steel was seen as a blade was swung at the creature emerging from the red and white ball. The emerging feral-like bird raising a wing in defense as it was shoved backwards towards its owner, who was currently sitting on a throne. His eyes flashing a brief golden before returning to their natural color. Archeops flapping its wings as it returned to a neutral position.
“Natural Harmonia Gropius! Your heart is twisted! It is ours to take!” Yusuke Kitagawa commanded as he aimed his assault rifle towards his target. A small chuckle escaping from the King of Team Plasma’s lips.
“Foolish phantoms…my dreams are not yours to take.”
FIGHT!
Conclusion[]
