Cartoon show where people use cards to summon monsters

Question

I'm trying to find a show from 2000s/2010s where people fight each other by summoning monsters from cards. The main character (MC) was a boy and he had one friend (maybe 2?).

In the show, the monster summoning cards is a part of a game and it was popular. I remember the main character is a student who decides to go to a store that sells the cards. An employee gives him a deck that he uses to fight another person in the store as like an trial to see if he likes the deck or not.

Then (I don't remember how long after the store visit) a strong monster finds the main character and then becomes a smaller version of itself. The MC was able to use it in battle, but instead of them summoning the monster from a card, it just followed the main character around (kind of like Pikachu).

I think after realizing that the main character wasn't good at the game (or after they had an argument), the monster decides to run away to the MC's friend, since he was much better. They eventually made up and monster went back to the MC.

I also remember after like the game's "Champion" (or just the best player) saw the MC, they decide to give the main character a strong card that was like a big fiery sword. The user would raise their arm with the card straight up, say something, then the giant sword would appear. They would then slam it down onto the other player/monsters. I think the champion had the only one, but he gave the MC a replica that was weaker.

The monster was reptilian and mostly orange/yellow and I think it had spiky red hair. Pretty sure the MC had clothes similar to the monster's colors, but I don't remember clearly. I also think main character's friend had blue clothes and glasses, but I might be mixing it up with another show I watched.

The show is similar to Yu-Gi-Oh and Bakugan. I also remember the show's name being something like "Battle Buddy/Buddies," but when I searched it up nothing came up.

Pretty sure the show is from USA, but it might've been from Japan or Korea.

Answer 1

This is Future Card Buddyfight (2014-2015).

Future Card Buddyfight takes place in a more futuristic version of today. The card game connects to a parallel universe through special cards (Buddy Rare Cards) that act as portals. They bring monsters to Earth in order for them to become buddies with humans. Through friendship and courage, they take on and fight challenges, known as Buddyfights, where people of all ages have friendly non-hurtful competitions. The main character, Gaou Mikado has just started Buddyfighting. As the story progresses, Buddyfights are seeming to become a little too real...

This is a Japanese animated series based on a real life card game.

The main setting of the story is a near-future version of Japan where some humans participate in televised 'Buddyfights,' in which they use cards to summon monsters from a parallel universe and do battle with one another. These monsters can talk and seem similar in intelligence to humans. Buddyfighters can summon multiple monsters in each battle, but they have one main monster that hangs around with them as standard, referred to as their 'buddy.'

In the first episode, we see the protagonist, Gao Mikado, watching a Buddyfight on a TV in a store. He's just a regular kid -- albeit a skilled martial artist, since his mother teaches aikijujutsu -- but aspires to be a Buddyfighter himself. Unbeknownst to him, he's observed from the parallel universe by Drumbunker Dragon, a strong monster looking for a suitable human to become buddies with. Drumbunker Dragon has orange and red skin and wears gold armour. Gao himself wears a red, orange and yellow T-shirt beneath a blue jacket.

Later in the first episode, Gao attends a class in school, and the teacher gives each of the students a pack of Buddyfight cards, asking them to write stories based on the monsters depicted on the cards. One of the cards in the pack given to Gao is a Drumbunker Dragon card, and when Gao touches it, it glows and flies out of his hand and out of the classroom. Gao chases it out of the school, at which point Drumbunker Dragon materialises in front of him. Apparently, this sort of reaction to a human touching a Buddyfight card is rare, and indicates that a human and a specific monster are meant to be buddies.

Moments later, a famous Buddyfighter named Tasuku Ryuuenji shows up with his buddy, Jackknife Dragon, and gives Gao a Core Deck Case to help equip him to participate in Buddyfights.

Early on in the second episode, Drumbunker Dragon shrinks himself down to childlike proportions, to appear less scary when walking around amongst humans.

Later in the second episode, Gao acquires a Dragonblade Dragobrave item card from a friend, Baku Oomori, who wears blue overalls. When Gao uses the card in a Buddyfight, a sword materialises in his hand, with which he can attack his opponent. Tasuku has a rare and powerful Gargantua Punisher card, which causes a giant flaming sword to strike down from the sky. Tasuku gives this card to Gao near the end of the second episode.