Hisoka vs. Gon: Who Won the Fight? (& Is He Really Stronger?)

Hunter × Hunter is one of those anime series, like Berserk, where the hiatuses are more famous than the series itself. And while Berserk is going forward, the future of Hunter × Hunter is still very unclear. Still, that doesn’t stop us from actually analyzing the characters of the series and comparing their strengths and abilities. In this article, we are going to compare Hisoka and Gon Freecs, two characters that have fought in Hunter × Hunter, and tell you who won and whether he really is stronger.

At this moment, Hisoka is still more powerful than Gon, and we could observe that during their fights in the series. Still, being the protagonist and having a more versatile skillset, Gon Freecs is probably going to surpass Hisoka at some point in the future (if Hunter × Hunter ever ends), but he cannot beat him at this moment.

The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we are going to compare Gon and Hisoka in more detail. Through several categories, you are going to see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Hisoka can still defeat Gon Freecs in a fight, although the balance will probably change in the future.

General overview

Hisoka has all the benefits granted by his Hunter status. Known for his graceful, cruel and deceitful fighting ability, Hisoka himself has proven himself to be a deadly adversary. However, he would never have shown his true abilities, making him willing to fight famous enemies because of his terrifying power.

For example, he pondered that he provoked Illumi (whose strength scored 95 points, even higher than 3 Zodiacs) into having a fight to the death with him, and even longed to face Ging Freecss and Isaac Netero. Apparently, he doesn’t fight according to any traditional martial art, combining his massive physical attributes with razor-sharp poker cards, an unpredictable mind, and an insatiable thirst for kill.

By forming a circle with his index finger and thumb and looking through it, he can improve his vision. It is unclear if this is a Nen ability.

At the beginning of the series, Gon had a fishing rod that he could swing with unnerving precision, even going so far as to take Hisoka’s tag from afar while the latter moved at high speed. The fishing rod can also be used as an offensive weapon if the situation calls for it. During the Hunter Exam, Gon was often praised for his powers of observation and agility.

In battle, he quickly thinks of alternative solutions and strategies. As an Enhancer, he should be fairly balanced between attack and defense, but he prefers to go on the offensive, as his stubbornness tends to come out during combat. Because of this, he sometimes attacks recklessly, but at the same time he doesn’t give up until he can’t move anymore.

He is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat having been trained in the fundamentals of Shingen-Ryu Kung-fu by Biscuit Krueger, as well as through natural experience. Rage greatly enhances his abilities, especially by increasing his already remarkable aura. The most notable characteristic of him, however, is the sinister, bottomless potential with which he is endowed.

Many powerful characters like Hisoka, Wing, Biscuit, and Razor were stunned when they realized the full extent of Gon’s talent, which is often described as limitless. This allows him to learn extremely quickly, and that’s especially true in the field of Nen, with abilities like his being very rare. Even before learning it he managed to use Zetsu on one occasion.

As stated, at this moment, Hisoka is superior to Gon. Having said this, Hisoka himself has acknowledged that Gon is going to surpass him one day, but until that day comes, the point goes to Gon.

Points: Hisoka 1, Gon 0

Physical capabilities

Hisoka is incredibly strong, ranking third in the Ghost Squad in terms of physical strength. He can break rock and send a block from the Sky Arena ring flying with a single kick. He can effortlessly lift five human puppets with one hand and spin them around with enough force to destroy them and all other organs that came in contact with them.

As shown in the game of Dodgeball, he is able to catch a Nen-enhanced ball with the destructive ability of a cannonball with one hand, and launch the ball with such power that Razor’s Nen puppets are unable to stop him unless combined, though they are able to intercept Razor’s lightning-fast passage.

Gon possesses very acute senses, especially smell and hearing. Gon has a very advanced sense of smell, which led him to be compared to a dog. Another distinctive trait of animals is their evolved instinct. Gon has great strength as he was able to open the first entrance of the test gate that weighs 2 tons before learning Nen.

He can also break rock and incapacitate skilled warriors by pushing his hand. It is unknown how much he can push after learning Nen. However, he managed to defeat Nobunaga in arm wrestling. When he transforms, he is able to launch Neferpitou so high into the air that he was nearly invisible from the ground.

During the first few chapters of the series, Gon demonstrated an unusual ability to recover from injuries that according to doctors should heal within 4 months. This is something that surprises Killua himself, who also has a remarkable healing factor.

Hisoka is known as one of the best fighters in the series and one of the physically strongest characters. Gon is still not on that level and that is why this point goes to Hisoka as well.

Points: Hisoka 2, Gon 0

Speed and reflexes

One of the pillars of his distinctive fighting style is his speed, paired with his similar surgical precision. He was able to easily grab Togari’s spinning blades, dodge Gon’s continuous attacks without moving from the position he was in, and barely avoid a ball thrown by Razor, even blocking it when it was redirected. He can take down a group of professional hunters with one hand, and dodge objects like bullets or capture them with ease.

Combined with his Bungee Gum ability, he can disappear from sight and move at speeds that even experienced combatants are unable to keep up with. Hisoka can attack from any position, as seen when he fought Gotoh. Due to his coordination, he can adapt to whatever fighting style he’s up against (an example being when he seamlessly caught the spinning blades Togari threw at him) and avoid most threats he might encounter.

Gon has been shown to possess great speed on par with Killua’s (when not using Nen) and has shown great reflexes reacting to the slightest amount of danger quickly. With his speed and agility, he can create various afterimages of himself and disappear from sight. Gon is very agile, as he can attack from any position. His quickness is mainly used to dodge enemy attacks and react immediately after being hit.

We know that speed is not one of Hisoka’s strongest points, whereas Gon is exceptionally fast and since he will definitely surpass Hisoka in due time, we can give him this category. Plus, he was fast enough to land some punches on Hisoka, so go figure.

Points: Hisoka 2, Gon 1

Nen

Hisoka’s Nen abilities have served him well on numerous occasions mostly to complement his sinister nature. They can be used in direct combat, or to trick your opponents into confusing, hesitating, fearful, or angry. Hisoka uses two versatile Hatsu that make a formidable combination. Hisoka makes frequent use of Shu to increase the offensive power of his cards and to hide his aura by setting up his trap.

Although his Ren (bloodlust) can be sensed from far away, it doesn’t seem to activate it every time he starts fighting. His Ken however is very solid, as it allowed him to survive multiple fully charged blasts from Chrollo’s Sun and Moon at close range, though he still lost a leg. While it is unknown if he is capable of using En, Hisoka’s raw sensory ability is enough to allow him to detect an expert Zetsu user.

Gon is an Enhancer, which gives him his great strength and recovery abilities. A natural Zetsu user, Gon has the talent of one in a million. Although described by Kaito as “starting slow”, Gon’s main strength in battle is his ability to increase the size of his aura during a confrontation. This process is completely unconscious and highly dependent on one’s mental state.

For example, when he and Killua prepare to fight Neferupito in the palace of the Kimera Ants, Killua stated that he had never seen his friend exude such a strong aura. Determination and Anger, in particular, give him incredible power bonuses. While Killua is generally considered to have the better control of his aura of the two, Gon is often admired by his enemies and allies for a large amount of aura he can unleash.

And while Gon still has a lot of work to do, we have to give him credit and divide the points here because his Nen skills are truly amazing for someone with so little experience.

Points: Hisoka 3, Gon 2

Hisoka vs. Gon: Who would win?

We could, actually, give you a proper analysis of the things we have written above but that wouldn’t really do the trick when compared with what we have decided to go with. Namely, as Hisoka and Gon have, indeed, fought in the manga, we thought that it would be better for us to just recap this battle and show you how it all played out, while giving some additional comments in the end.

After the two victories obtained by Gon, Hisoka stands before him to tell him that he can now choose the day they will fight. In that fight Gon begins to attack, but cannot move Hisoka from his place. Therefore, he makes use of one of the heavy tiles on the floor to attack him with hundreds of projectiles and hide.

This is how he manages to punch Hisoka, returning his plate and leaving the public without understanding anything. Then the blows continue to happen between the two. Hisoka manages to catch Gon with his Bungee Gum technique, to which Gon to counteract his inability to flee decides to face Hisoka directly, to which Hisoka gets excited and begins to detail Gon’s strong spirit, with which he lets himself be hit to the point of feeling pleased and even more excited, saying that he feels like killing him.

However, he stops muttering that Gon is still a fruit that needs to mature. Finally, Hisoka in the absence of a point for the defeat of Gon, tricks him and deals him the last blow. He then announces that they would fight again, but not there, but in real life. Hisoka managed to defeat Gon and that is, at this moment, a realistic comparison of their powers.

Hisoka is simply the more experienced fighter, but Gon Freecs is a Hunter with practically unlimited potential and there is no doubt that he will, in the future, surpass Hisoka, as the latter acknowledged himself.