Captain America is one of the most successful fighters in Marvel comics. He’s incredibly well-trained in combat, and he’s one of the best strategic minds in the Avengers or SHIELD, so he can be very hard to defeat in battle, since, even if he isn’t the strongest, he’s often the smartest.
But there are probably some Pokémon who could give him a run for his money in a fight both due to their strength and their own skills in battle. Here are five Pokémon that could definitely take Captain America in a fight and five that would almost certainly lose to him.
10 Could: Gallade
Gallade is a Pokémon that has a strong sense of honor in battle, which is pretty interesting for a creature that is essentially an animal. It fights with blades on its elbows, which it uses like a sword, and it can predict its opponent’s movements. Gallade would definitely give Captain America a run for his money with these skills; it’s hard to strategize against an opponent who can tell what his next move will be.
9 Couldn’t: Primeape
Primeape is a monkey-like Pokémon that has hands that look like boxing gloves. It also seems like it probably does weight training, if the shackles on its ankles and wrists are anything to go by, so it’s probably fairly strong. Primeape is easily angered, which can make it physically stronger, but it becomes less intelligent as a result. Captain America would likely be able to outsmart Primeape pretty easily and use his strategic skills to make outmaneuver it.
8 Could: Lucario
Lucario has the ability to use auric energy in an offensive manner. It can both read others auras and use the energy of auras in order to create explosive energy spheres that it throws at its enemies.
Captain America would have a hard time avoiding these and, if hit with them, would also have a hard time recovering. Lucario is also telepathic and understands human speech, which would make it very hard for Cap to come up with a strategy to fight against it, since it’s actually able to read his mind.
7 Couldn’t: Toxicroak
Toxicroak’s main ability is being able to secrete a venom that is so toxic, it can knock out an opponent. This is pretty scary, since that would be an easy way for an opponent to go down without much effort from Toxicroak. But Captain America likely wouldn’t need to get close enough to it in order to knock it out, since he has the use of a shield. Despite the fact that Toxicroak is fast, Cap would probably be able to evade any frontal attacks with the venom.
6 Could: Blaziken
Blaziken is a Pokémon that uses martial arts in battles, which already makes it a pretty solid opponent for someone like Captain America, who also fights hand-to-hand for the most part. Blaziken has incredibly powerful kicks, and it can make these even more powerful by activating an ability to form a ring of fire around its ankles, so that it is literally delivering flaming kicks to its opponents. Captain America would have to work very hard to avoid being taken down by these strikes, since they not only hurt him through their power but through the fact that they can literally burn him.
5 Couldn’t: Medicham
Medicham could probably give Captain America a run for his money, but ultimately, it would likely fall to Cap’s superior strength and strategizing.
Medicham’s biggest strength is being able to create extra arms for itself via telekinesis in order to use them in battle, and it is generally pretty fast, able to dodge movements easily. But Medicham is not the first quick enemy that Captain America has faced, and he would likely use his experience to create a strategy to overcome that strength.
4 Could: Zamazenta
Zamazenta, like Captain America, also uses a shield to protect itself when in its Crowned Shield mode. Zamazenta’s shield is also incredibly strong and hard to damage, making it very difficult to do damage against. Also like Captain America, Zamazenta uses this shield as a weapon, essentially bashing their opponents with it until they submit, and this is such a powerful move that it can change the landscape around it while doing so. This would definitely be an epic face-off, since the two have such similar battle styles, but Zamazenta’s strength might be even more impressive than Cap’s.
3 Couldn’t: Makuhita
Makuhita is pretty much always ready to box, since its hands are essentially already boxing gloves, and it mostly fights by throwing itself at its opponents. But it’s not a terribly strong Pokémon otherwise. While it’s hard to damage it, because it builds energy by getting hit, its actual attacks aren’t all that powerful. So even though it might take Captain America a while, he’d eventually be able to knock it down for good.
2 Could: Mewtwo
There are very few Pokémon who can defeat Mewtwo. It’s the most powerful Pokémon out there, with both incredibly high defensive stats and really damaging attacks.
Even with the super-soldier serum, Captain America would be hard-pressed to take a Mewtwo down, especially considering that this Pokémon has powers at their disposal besides just hand-to-hand combat the way that Captain America does.
1 Couldn’t: Hitmontop
Hitmontop is a Fighting-Type Pokémon that mostly does a lot of kicking. It doesn’t actually walk very well, so it mostly spins on its head and delivers kicks this way. While it might be hard to land blows on something that is constantly kicking him, Captain America also has his shield at his disposal, which might be able to break his non-stop spinning and kicking in order for him to land some punches. From there, it would probably be easy for Captain America to overpower him.