- —Tagline
Ryu VS Lucario is the seventh episode of DBX, featuring Ryu from the Street Fighter series and a Lucario from the Pokémon series in a battle between energy-blasting video game martial artists.
Exhibition
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Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia) by Shota Kageyama 
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On a bright sunny day, a Lucario strolls beside a dojo when it suddenly notices a shadowy figure standing nearby, marked with an exclamation point above its head. Realizing he has been forced into a Pokémon battle, Lucario tries to flee, but is unwillingly drawn into the confrontation by the game's mechanics. The scene shifts to a Generation III-style battle arena, where Lucario faces off against the shadowy figure, who is revealed to be Ryu. Lucario's level is set to 57, while Ryu's level is set to 64. A text box styled after the early Generation I-II Pokémon games appears, reading "Trainer RYU has challenged you to a battle!". The screen then transitions to a menu with the options "FIGHT", "BAG", "POKéMON", and "RUN," with the cursor defaulting to "FIGHT." As the player hovers over this option, a list of Ryu's moves is revealed: "HADOUKEN," "TATSUMAKI," "SHORYUKEN," and "FOCUS." The cursor selects "HADOUKEN."
Ryu: Hadoken!
Ryu blasts a Hadoken at Lucario, who jumps in an attempt to avoid it, but ends up landing on it and is blasted into a wall. In retaliation, Lucario lunges from the wall to kick Ryu, who blocks the attack with his arms. After some more hand-to-hand combat, they take on their fighting stances and rush towards each other.
Ryu: Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!
Ryu uses Tatsumaki Senpukyaku on Lucario, sending him flying towards a large dark blue crystal. Irritated, he fights back by landing two punches on Ryu before blasting him away with Aura Sphere. In response, Ryu uses his own blue energy sphere.
Ryu: Hadoken!
Lucario: Your aura is mine.
Ryu and Lucario both blast four of their respective energy spheres at each other, which collide.
Lucario: Watch the power of aura!
Lucario sends out a fast barrage of Aura Spheres at Ryu, which briefly overwhelm him. Ryu then surrounds himself and Lucario in a large cloud of mist as his eyes glow red. Unable to see his opponent, Lucario is struck by Ryu several times omnidirectionally, but Lucario doesn't give up.
Lucario: Behold the aura!
Lucario taps into his aura, glowing blue. Briefly creating two afterimages of himself, he takes on a fighting stance and dispels the mist, leaving Ryu visible. Lucario then proceeds to jump high into the air.
Lucario: The aura!
Lucario launches another Aura Sphere at Ryu, who counters it by using Hadoken. As Lucario lands on the ground, the snow around him errupts as he runs in his foe's direction at high speeds. Preparing himself, Ryu takes on a fighting pose. When Lucario arrives, he immediately attacks, but to his surprise, his attacks have no effect on Ryu, not even making him to flinch. Afterwards, Ryu punches Lucario in the face...
Ryu: SHORYUKEN!
...and decapitates him with his Shoryuken, resulting in the snow erupting as the "K.O." message from the Street Fighter series appears on-screen.
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Ryu pulls out his phone and plays Pokémon GO, in which he catches a Lucario. As Ryu grasps his phone, another text box appears, saying "CONGRATULATIONS! You caught a Lucario!".
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Ryu and Lucario are that they are both video game martial artist capable of manipulating a form of energy (ki and aura, respectively) which they primarily use to form a blue energy sphere as their signature move (the Hadoken and Aura Sphere, respectively). In addition:
- Both have transformations that enhance their abilities (both Evil Ryu and the Power of Nothingness and Mega Lucario, respectively).
- Both have been playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series together since Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
Easter Eggs
- This episode's tagline, "When you wanna catch 'em all, you better be ready for a battle!", is a reference to the Pokémon series slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!".
Errors
- When Lucario is forced to fight Ryu, the scene transitions to a battle arena reminiscent of the Generation III style of Pokémon battles. In this format, the player is given the option to select "FIGHT" to choose Ryu's moves. However, this setup is inherently flawed in the context of Pokémon mechanics. In the series, the Pokémon facing backwards is the player's Pokémon, while the one facing forward is controlled by the opponent. Therefore, it's impossible for the player to directly select moves for the opposing Pokémon, as the game only allows move selection for the player's own Pokémon.
Other
- This is the third Video Game-themed episode, after Trish VS Jeanne and Amy Rose VS King Dedede, with the next 31 being Terry Bogard VS Jon Talbain, Greninja VS Espio, Link VS Meta Knight, Genji VS Raiden, Guile VS Paul Phoenix, Aigis VS Noel Vermillion, Cloud VS Guts, Mega Man VS Bomberman, Mario VS Luigi, Zero VS Strider, Ken VS Blaziken, Samus VS Master Chief, Wii Fit Trainer VS Dhalsim, Alucard VS Demitri, Noctis VS 2B, Kratos VS Dante, Captain Falcon VS Viewtiful Joe, Lara Croft VS Jill Valentine, Chun-Li VS Tifa Lockhart, Yoshi VS Pac-Man, Juri VS Mileena, Vergil VS Hakumen, Chie VS Karin, Bendy VS Cuphead, and D.Va VS Tron Bonne, Ezio VS The Prince, Shantae VS Shovel Knight, Lucario VS Blaziken, Ness VS Sans, and Goomba VS Koopa 2.
- This is the first Street Fighter VS Pokémon-themed episode, with the next one being Ken VS Blaziken.
- This is the first time the Street Fighter character wins.
- This is the first Fighting Game VS non-Fighting Game-themed episode, with the next ten being Iron Fist VS Akuma, Ken VS Blaziken, Wii Fit Trainer VS Dhalsim, Alucard VS Demitri, Chun-Li VS Tifa Lockhart, Daredevil VS Kenshi, Chie VS Karin, Batman VS Scorpion, Wolverine VS 100 Barakas, and Naruto Uzumaki VS Ryu Hayabusa.
- This is the first time the Fighting Game character wins, with the next five being Ken VS Blaziken, Wii Fit Trainer VS Dhalsim, Chun-Li VS Tifa Lockhart, Daredevil VS Kenshi, and Batman VS Scorpion.