Who can beat Sora?

Just like the thread title states. However it is only referring to characters within the KH Universe (Disney and FF characters OF THAT UNIVERSE ONLY are also counted.) Plus, by Sora I mean at his peak condition/most recent form.

 

Nobody. Sora's the main character, he's got too much plot-armor.

 

That's the exact plot armour that shatters the moment the story needs some drama

 

It has been stated at some point that Xemnas is stronger than Sora. Yes Sora beat him, but only with Riku's help. Neither one could have done it alone. Then by extension that is several characters. Ansem SoD is about equal to Xemnas (perhaps a bit weaker); Xehanort is stronger than his parts; Terra's Sentiment was almost as strong as Xehanort; ditto for Aqua; Vanitas seemed about on par with Aqua; Ventus is equal to Vanitas...

Let face it, Sora relies on "my friends are my power" because he wouldn't win going 1-on-1.

 

This. Without his allies, Sora could probably hold his own against the heartless and Nobodies but against the big bosses he'd probably be crushed. Don't think he'd stand a chance vs Xemnas or Xehanort..

 

uhhh...

 

By story that only proves my point.

Spoiler

In the following cutscene Xemnas is mostly fine and Sora loses consciousness. The whole thing was just Sora playing into their hand.

Plus that "victory" was with the help of spirits so it still wasn't a clean 1-on-1

 

Sora doesn't pass out from exhaustion, it's something about the dream. Xemnas is even shocked at Sora defeating him.
And considering the Dream Eaters aren't acknowledged in the cutscene, and there's nothing that REQUIRES the Dream Eaters be a part of it
Besides, you could make the same argument with Xemnas not being alone: he's using the power of Kingdom Hearts.
The only time Xemnas fights alone, Sora is alone as well

 

I think a plethora of people COULD beat Sora but since he's the main character, they won't.

 

You'll be surprised what sora is capable of. He's in par with Xemnas as far as strength goes , and it seems you guys forgot about something called "Development".

Yes at some point everyone was stronger than Sora, but as time goes, he begins to realize his true potential. He gets stronger and stronger, sizing up to those he never had before. See it all depends on his development.

In kh1 Sora had a great amount of strength, but what he mainly lacked was stamina to pull out his strength. This is where kh 2 Sora comes in. Because he was able to gain the stamina needed, he was able to par with most the characters he knew.

 

Line by line quote tree time! Because people just love those. Plus actual spoilers for anyone reading this far that still cares.

Spoiler

Exhaustion is at least a catalyst. To quote Young Xehanort "You just make it too easy. I know you think you've won, but you lost the moment you dived this far in. You're in the deepest pit of slumber, and you've worn yourself down to nothing. There's no returning to the world above"

I checked the scene and I share some fault on remembering the Xemnas response. He does appear wounded, but he also teleports away immediately. So we don't know what Xemnas thinks of the outcome. But per the above quote, the result is obviously what the new Org XIII wanted.

This is likely just due to the difficulty of adding them to the scenes coupled with the fact that they wouldn't be doing anything of importance. And while it isn't required it is clearly expected that you will us Spirits. In KH1 you can also find Riku in Monstro after having seen him go through the door to darkness. I don't think the cannon is that he left The End Of The World, just to visit Monstro and screw with Pinocchio and go back, but nothing REQUIRES you not to play it that way.

Xemnas was alone for the end of that fight. You beat him in KH with a full party and then out of KH with just Riku. The true 1-on-1 you have with Xemnas at Memory's Contortion is rather unclear on what is actually happening. Xemnas appears to be fine afterword, but so does Sora. My guess is that it was a test, one that Sora passed well enough that Xemnas decided to use an incomplete Kingdom Hearts. Though given all the other people there and the state Org XIII was in, that might not have been based on Sora alone.

And don't hear me wrong. In story context, fighting along side friends is a plenty fair strategy. Whatever gets the job done. But if you strip that away and pit him directly against one of our villains, the odds aren't as good.

 

I think anyone is able to beat Sora, as much as he can beat anyone.. his victory/defeat must be ideological not only "by power", as Sora says his friends are his powers whenever he feels left behind , alone , etc.. he is most vunerable! Or when he have to chose between his life or his friends. Because his friends are his power, he can always count on them coming back to save him aswell , but he could be trapped in a Ventuslike situation.

 

Auron could XD
Auron deals 9999 dmg at his peak :P