#ultimate digivolve

[stoneillustrations]

ULTIMATE DIGIVOLVE!

I recently did my rwbymon series and got a couple suggestions that Weiss’ ultimate form would have to be a version of Angewomon. This inspired me to create...an ultimate Schnee.

Thank you for the suggestions @templeofpassion, @jauneschnee-arc

[antirepurp]

Been thinking a lot about Part 5 characters with Digimon, and I think Lucemon would be a very fun partner for Giorno. Lucemon is typically an antagonist in Digimon media, so I think it'd be interesting to give a partner like that to Giorno, who keeps them in check with his strong moral compass.

Also the angel symbolism is just really neat and it works pretty well with Giorno being the son of "God" (aka DIO).

i could see that working too yeah! it could present an interesting dynamic where lucemon's ability to evolve depends entirely on how well they work with someone like giorno, and if he's partnered with a lucemon who doesn't share the same vision as him it would present an opportunity for an arc where one or both of them have to compromise on their views and act beyond strict ideas of good and evil to grow stronger. the only problem that comes to mind is the satan mode that's both visually and thematically the opposite of giorno in many ways, i guess it could make for a nice contrast but it might be a bit much for my tastes lol

also i may have mused about these jojo digimon shenanigans enough to have pucci partner with a lucemon as a way for him to create his new world oop

[qhazomb]

went back to my fan digimon arts and decided to finally give them some proper shading (and also fix mummysmilodomon's left knee.)

i also tweaked the colours a tiny bit on sekhetmon- changed the spikes on her belt and armbands to the same red as her claws, the silver spikes didn't really mesh with the rest of her colourpalette.

and as before, some info about them all (also as before, no baby I stage, as i imagine gatakimon just digivolves from one of the botamons):

Baby II- Gatakimon Baby cats. That’s it, that’s literally it.

Child- Shuredimon Schrodinger’s Cat, but taking the “the cat is both alive and dead” part more literally. Undead things can be described as both living and dead, so. Not at all an original idea, but a funny (punny) one.

Adult- Smilodomon The bakeneko is a Japanese yokai that looks like a giant monstrous cat. Smilodon is an extinct cat that was big in size, especially in regards to its famous fangs. And thus, saber-toothed bakeneko. That punches things.

Perfect- Mummysmilodomon Another feline yokai is the nekomata, which a bakeneko can become if its tail splits in two. In addition to the extra tail, they also gain the power of necromancy, and steal corpses to use as puppets. How lovely. Speaking of corpses, ancient Egyptians were really fond of giving their cats fancy burials, mummifying and entombing them with care and respect. Cats were associated with the gods, after all.

Ultimate- Sekhetmon The lioness-headed Sekhmet was one of ancient Egypt’s cat-like gods, and a particularly vicious one at that, having such lovely titles as “mistress of dread,” “lady of slaughter,” and “she who mauls.” Her favorite colour is blood. She was often depicted dressed in bright red because of her gory associations. Sekhmet could also breathe fire, and control of fire is a power nekomata have too, coincidentally. She was nicer to the dead than nekomata are, though, acting as a protector for the recently deceased as they entered the afterlife. (Bonus fact: Shuredimon, Smilodomon, and Mummysmilodomon are all wearing red in reference to Sekhmet, too, though their red clothing/accessories aren’t as vibrant in colour. They don’t get the fresh blood red until they reach the fully realized Sekhetmon form.)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x39 - Two Great Ultimate Evolutions! Push Back the Darkness / The Battle for Earth

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Vamdemon came back in a Biblical way and began destroying Odaiba via rainbow hip thrusts. To stop him from eating everybody, Takeru and Hikari shot their brothers full of arrows. More importantly, PicoDevimon fucking died.

The first full minute of this episode is just replaying the cool CGI Warp-Evolution sequences from the end of the previous. Both because they're fucking cool and to set the stage for the fight to come, with Show Me Your Brave Heart already blaring.

This is immediately followed by their rundowns, before we've even seen any of the kids. WarGreymon is an Ultimate-stage Vaccine-type Dragon Person Digimon. MetalGarurumon is an Ultimate-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon.

Kinda weird that MetalGarurumon was a Vaccine for his whole evolution chain until now and suddenly becomes Data. That's because these two come from the same evolution tree in the V-Pet, which has one Ultimate for each of the three types.

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon are from the Metal Empire line - along with the Virus Ultimate Mugendramon, who we'll get to meet shortly. Though the 0.5 rerelease several months after this episode would replace Mugendramon with VenomVamdemon; An obvious bit of tie-in synergy that doesn't really fit the theme of Metal Empire.

Narrator: WarGreymon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon Warp-Evolved from Agumon. His special attack Gaia Force gathers ki from his surrounding area and unleashes it all at once.

I think we all understand the concept of chi or ki but just in case, it's the natural energy that exists in all things but especially living things, which can be harnessed, regulated, and controlled according to certain belief systems. Basically what George Lucas ripped off when he invented the Force.

Gaia Force is basically the Genki-dama/Spirit Bomb from Dragon Ball. Pretty unapologetically, in fact; Wait 'til you see it in action.

Narrator: MetalGarurumon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon Warp-Evolved from Gabumon. His special attack, Cocytus Breath, freezes his enemies solid before he smashes them to pieces!

Oh look, there's another ancient mythology reference from the nerds over at Digimon Adventure. :P Cocytus is a lesser-known one of the five rivers that encircles the Greek underworld, literally named "Lamentation". But it's more likely that this is a reference to Dante's Inferno, whose author borrowed many things from the Greek underworld.

In the Inferno, Cocytus is the ninth and final circle of Hell; A frozen wasteland where betrayers are confined. This is where Satan is found, held captive in the ice at the center. You can see the connection between that and the frosty power MetalGarurumon intends to bring to bear against the (Wiki Article who can Punch You version of the) Beast of Revelations today.

Izzy: (rundown) It's WarGreymon! It says here his attack is Terra Force. Gathering the energy around him and focusing it in the palm of his hand! Izzy: (rundown) MetalGarurumon has his Metal Wolf Claw attack! He shoots a powerful cold blast at his enemies, then blows them to pieces!

Unsurprisingly, Izzy does not have the nerve to reference Dante's Inferno right now.

Koushiro: Ultimate-stage... They've evolved into Ultimate-stage Digimon! Tentomon: Well, I feel less useful now. Yamato: Yeah, you're right. Tentomon: What.

In the wake of the two Ultimate evolutions, Tentomon self-deprecates. To which Yamato hilariously agrees, prompting a short but clearly agitated response. XD Fucking rude, Yamato. Holding Taichi's hand is making his bad habits rub off on you.

In the dub:

Izzy: Mega Digimon! They Digivolved into their Mega Digimon forms! Tentomon: That's great, 'cause we'll need them to beat VenomMyotismon! Matt: Yeah! That's for sure! Tentomon: Good luck! I'll wait here....

Really? Come on, dub team. That joke was right up your alley. You love it when the kids are mean to each other for no good reason.

WarGreymon kicks us off, wreathing himself in energy and launching himself into VenomVamdemon like a bullet.

The attack hits so hard it knocks VenomVamdemon off his feet and sends him crashing down into the rubble. The observation deck from the Fuji broadcasting center rolls by. Remember when we blew up Fuji TV? Remember how cool that was!?

I jest, but there's a narrative purpose to showing us the observation deck again. WarGreymon didn't just hit VenomVamdemon, he shoved him all the way back to the FCG Building. Remember, he's trying to close the distance to Big Sight, and we want him to not do that. There's about a mile of space where, if he finishes crossing it, thousands of people will die.

This big energy tackle of WarGreymon's pushed VenomVamdemon all the way back to his starting point. Which is way more of a hit than anyone's been able to do to him thus far.

The humans hops back in the van because now they have to drive half a mile to get back to the fight.

Taichi: GO, WARGREYMON!!! Hikari: SO POWERFUL!!!

VenomVamdemon climbs back to his feet. MetalGarurumon follows up on the attack, opening up countless panels on his body and firing off missiles in every direction.

(Uh. Hopefully the ones that didn't go in VenomVamdemon's direction are homing missiles or something. Please do not randomly destroy parts of Odaiba, MetalGarurumon. The devastation is bad enough as it is.)

MetalGarurumon's ice missiles slam into VenomVamdemon, exploding and freezing every part of him that they hit. Encasing his whole body in an icy prison.

(Kind of like Satan in Cocytus, yes, I got your reference.)

Takeru: Ah! Yamato: Amazing!

The Yagamis are much more enthusiastic with their cheering than Yamato and Takeru. XD Taichi is hollering his lungs off, while Yamato's in the back seat like, "Pretty cool, yeah."

...wait, why is Yamato in the back seat? His dad is driving; How the hell did Taichi pull shotgun?

In the dub, Izzy joins in the cheering for the sake of silence-breaking.

Izzy: WAY TO GO, WARGREYMON!!! YOU CREAMED HIM!!! ...I think.... Tai: Look! There they go! Get after him, WarGreymon! Kari: Put his lights out! MetalGarurumon: ICE WOLF CLAW!!! (MetalGarurumon follows up with ice missiles) T.K.: Frozen! Matt: Solid!

The missiles aren't called as an attack in the original, but the dub identifies them as MetalGarurumon's signature move. Kind of odd because there's no clawing involved, but Cocytus Breath doesn't sound like it has clawing involved either so I'm not sure what's up with that attack name to begin with.

Unfortunately, VenomVamdemon won't go down that easily. Drawing up his power, he breaks free from the ice holding him.

VenomVamdemon: RAAAAAAAARGH!!! MetalGarurumon: He can't...! WarGreymon: How can he do that!? VenomVamdemon: Now I'm mad... NOW I'M MAD!!! VENOM INFUSE!!!

NO MY CONFIGURATION DATA

Finally unveiling his signature move, VenomVamdemon shoots out his Venom Infuse as rainbow streaks from his eyes. Notably different from the disintegration rainbow streaks from his crotch.

Unfortunately, these attacks do not disintegrate their targets. A stray blast knocks half of a building loose, sending it down almost on top of Hiroaki's van. He swerves to avoid being crushed, but the impact sends him into a rollover. R.I.P. to the party bus; It's been a valuable member of this team.

In the dub, VenomMyotismon continues to be more verbose than his counterpart.

VenomMyotismon: GYAAAAGH!!! MetalGarurumon: It didn't work! VenomMyotismon: Your miserable attempts to destroy me have failed! Now you will pay! Hehe... Hehehehehe... AHAHAHAHA!!! (VenomMyotismon shoots unnamed rainbow beams from his eyes)

The dub does not name Venom Infuse. Instead, VenomMyotismon just... laughs... for five straight seconds. Must have been thinking of something really funny. Consequently, it's not really clear that this is supposed to be the big attack, so it just looks like he's shooting more ambiguous projectiles at them.

The dub also gives Hiroaki a silence-breaker when the car flips over.

Hiroaki: Everybody out! Get clear of the van!

If it seems weird that he's making it sound like the van's a threat, remember those American cultural sensibilities at play. Americans are confident that cars will explode into a fireball at the slightest provocation. It's a miracle they're all not burning to death already.

The humans climb out of the car and run for cover to avoid being hit by the next stray shot. Though Masami, it seems, was injured in the crash; Hiroaki supports him and helps him limp to safety.

Meanwhile, at Big Sight, the others watch the fighting from a distance.

Shin emerges from the convention center to join the three Chosen Children.

Jou: Ah! Shin-niisan! How's Dad doing? Shin: No change. (Jou and the girls all slump in disappointment) Gomamon: We'll have to defeat Vamdemon if we want them to wake up. Mimi: My Papa and Mama.... (face hardens) I want to defeat Vamdemon! Palmon: Mimi! I can still fight! Mimi: (smiling) Palmon....

As seen when Lilimon first evolved, this is what gets Mimi riled up. Mimi fights to end the fighting, so that she won't have to fight again. She does not want to be here, and her power comes from her straightforward and honest desire to reach a conclusion.

Piyomon: Sora? (Sora kneels down to get on Piyomon's level; Piyomon simply nods to her) Sora: Okay! Jou: (affectionately) You guys....

Sora and Piyomon are on the same wavelength, to the point that they don't even need to exchange words. They feel what the other is feeling and agree.

Suddenly, Gomamon jumps onto Jou and then clambers up his body until he reaches Jou's shoulders, draping himself over Jou's head like a hood.

Gomamon: "Let's go, Gomamon!" How come I'm not hearing those words? Jou: Heh... Alright! LET'S GO, GOMAMON!!! Gomamon: YOU GOT IT!!!

And Jou's better learned how to take charge and be bold as a leader from Gomamon. He sprints towards VenomVamdemon without another word, ready to join the fighting.

Sora: (bows to Shin) Please take care of my mother! (Sora runs off after Jou) Mimi: (to Shin, does not bow) My Papa and Mama too! (Mimi runs off after Sora and Jou) Shin: Don't do anything reckless....

In the dub:

Joe: Jim, how's Dad? Is there any improvement yet? Jim: No, still exactly the same. Gomamon: Alright, I'm tired of fooling around! We have to defeat Myotismon once and for all! Mimi: Our parents always protected us. Now it's time we came through for them! Palmon: Mimi! If we do it together, we can beat him! Mimi: Think so? Palmon: Mhm! Biyomon: I'll try! Sora: You will!? Biyomon: Yeah! Mhm! Sora: Okay! Joe: We already tried! Gomamon: So we'll keep on trying, Joe! Because Digimon never give up! (Gomamon climbs up Joe) Gomamon: Like they always say: All for 'mon and 'mon for all! Joe: Hahahaha.... YOU'RE RIGHT!!! WE CAN DO IT!!! LET'S GET 'EM GUYS!!! (Joe runs off into battle) Sora: (bows to Jim) You'll have to excuse Joe; He's a little hyperactive. (Sora runs off after Joe) Mimi: (to Jim, does not bow) Please take care of our parents, Jim! (Mimi runs off after Sora and Joe) Jim: Good luck, you guys.

Doesn't really capture the moment of strength and determination that this is supposed to be for each of these three characters.

Also, why is Sora apologizing to Joe's older brother for the way he behaves? Jim should already know what Joe's like.

At the FCG Building, the humans have somehow managed to separate from one another despite all being together when they exited the van.

While the Digimon fight, the humans run around calling for one another.

Taichi: HIKARI!!! Hikari: ONII-CHAN!!!

Hikari's voice momentarily distracts Angewomon. She looks down at her human on the ground and misses when a large piece of rubble comes flying her way. By the time she notices it, it's too late to avoid.

Yamato: TAKERU!!! Takeru: ONII-CHAN!!!

VenomVamdemon backhands Angemon into a nearby building's wall. He crashes near the three adults, who've somehow managed to stay together while losing track of all five children. Great adulting, guys. A+ job.

Izzy: DAD!!! MOM!!! Tentomon: Ah! The others are here!

Birdramon, Ikkakumon, and Togemon all charge aggressively at VenomVamdemon's heel.

Togemon: VAMDEMON!!! WE'RE HERE TO FIGHT TOO!!! Tentomon: I'm going to join in!

Man, that shot really puts into perspective how gigantic he really is.

The dub edits the shot of Angewomon getting struck by the rubble. We see the rock carrying her to the ground, but not her momentary distraction or the moment of impact.

They don't edit Angemon getting backhanded into a wall, though. Only Angewomon getting smashed by a rock is edited to obscure which angel got hit. She doesn't even get to make a pain yelp like in the original; We just hear Vamdemon roaring while a rock smashes a vaguely angelic character.

Weird.

I suspect it's about her visible gender. Creatives, especially back in the day, sometimes get hand-wringy about letting violence happen to female characters. Boys are taught that you shouldn't hit a girl and they grow up thinking that's, like, a universal moral constant that women must never be harmed in any situation ever.

I mean, you shouldn't hit a girl. You also shouldn't hit a boy. You shouldn't hit anyone, except in circumstances that are already violent. But the problem is that boys internalize this not as "Don't do unwarranted violence to people" but as "Women are too weak and fragile for manly roughhousing."

Then they become writers and extend it to mean women can't be recipients of slapstick jokes, male heroes must never strike female villains even if they're actively fighting each other, or even that female heroes can never be shown being struck in combat. Or even go so far as to not let women be heroes because that would involve putting them in combat situations where they might get hit.

We've made a lot of strides since I was a kid in allowing female characters to get hit in both slapstick bits and action scenes. But for this turn-of-the-millennium show, that's the only reason I can think of for censoring Angewomon's rock but not Angemon's backhand. Someone in the office probably got nervous when a visibly humanoid woman was struck with a giant rock onscreen.

As for the kids yelling for one another, uh....

Tai: KARI!!! Kari: WHERE ARE YA, TAI!?!? Matt: TAI!!! T.K.: GET 'EM, ANGEMON!!! Izzy: MOM, DAD, I'M COMING!!! Tentomon: Look, Izzy! All the others have Digivolved too! There's Ikkakumon and Togemon and Birdramon! I'm going in!

Tai and Kari stay on point, but Matt's more interested in hooking back up with Tai than in T.K.'s wellbeing and T.K.'s too focused on the fight to even care that he's lost.

Tentomon offers no surprise whatsoever to see the backup Digimon suddenly enter the battle and instead has evolution envy.

Tentomon evolves into Kabuterimon to join the fighting. With the whole team assembled, the only thing left to do is dogpile on VenomVamdemon's stupid crotch-face.

WarGreymon: Yes! Everyone, attack him together!

The entire team combines their attacks, firing into VenomVamdemon's crotch-face. Once their attacks have all struck, WarGreymon follows up by spinning super-fast and wreathing himself in energy. He launches an attack he calls Brave Tornado straight into the vulnerable spot in VenomVamdemon's crotch that they've opened up.

Ultimately, the attack plan works, penetrating through VenomVamdemon and bringing him to his knees.

Hiroaki: They got him.

The dub calls WarGreymon's attack "Mega Claw", reusing the name they gave to MetalGreymon's extendo-arm.

Too bad it's still not enough.

Out of the hole WarGreymon put in VenomVamdemon comes some sort of dark shadowy gremlin thing. To protect its secret identity, VenomVamdemon's crotch-goblin also wears a mask.

Mimi: KYAAAAHH!!! Taichi: WH-WHAT THE HELL!?!?

In the dub, VenomMyotismon's given dialogue here. In the original, he's just roaring in a bestial rage.

VenomMyotismon: YAAARGH!!! YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME!?!? HA!!! YOU'VE ONLY AWAKENED THE BEAST WITHIN!!! (Crotch goblin emerges) Mimi: AHHHHHH!!! Tai: WHAT IS THAT THING!?

Before anyone can get their heads in the game, the crotch goblin attacks.

(Y'all, I am so glad I have screenshots because I don't know how I would even begin describing what is happening right now without illustrations.)

The crotch goblin sprays a burst of dark energy into the ground that explodes out radially, washing over every Digimon. It's a heavy blow to the whole team, knocking them all out of the action and leaving the children defenseless.

VenomVamdemon: I WILL DEVOUR ALL OF YOU!!!

The next half-minute or so is spent cycling through silent reaction shots of each Chosen Child individually. I've selected Hikari's because she hasn't gotten much snapshot screentime yet.

Y'all are lucky Mimi just got a big shared reaction shot with Taichi or this would've been her. YES I AM BIASED AND MY KID DESERVES RESP--

As usual, VenomMyotismon is more verbose than his counterpart. The silent reaction shots are also filled in with silence-breakers.

VenomMyotismon: NOW I'LL DEVOUR ALL OF YOU SO-CALLED DIGIDESTINED!!! YOU'VE STOOD IN MY WAY FOR THE LAST TIME!!! Mimi: (thinking) It can't end like this! Matt: (thinking) I let everyone down again! Sora: (thinking) I wish I could have done more.... Izzy: (thinking) It's impossible he survived that! Joe: (thinking) Maybe we should surrender.... T.K.: (thinking) This is scarier than the movies! Kari: (gasp) Tai: (thinking) I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Mimi, Matt, Sora, Izzy, and Tai are all pretty much perfect in terms of hopeless situation characterization. Joe's being characterized as a coward again. T.K. is... okay, I guess? They literally didn't even try with Kari.

Just when all seems lost, the Chosen Children's Crests begin to shine brightly.

Beams of holy energy emerge from the Crests, ensnaring VenomVamdemon's limbs and neck. Crotch goblin starts yelling at the kids.

VenomVamdemon (Crotch): RELEASE ME, YOU FILTHY CHOSEN CHILDREN!!! Taichi: It talked? That's it! The disgusting bakemono must be Vamdemon's true form!

That's a leap in....

Oh, hey, no, he's right. That is the weird shadow ghoul thing possessing Vamdemon's mask last episode. I always thought it was weird that VenomVamdemon is supposed to be Vamdemon's "true form" 'cause, like, that implies he could transform like this at any time but allowed himself to be slain earlier for funsies.

But it's the crotch goblin. Vamdemon's true form is a formless undead spirit inhabiting a mask. Both the Dracula man and the Wiki Article Beast of Revelations are just outer shells he forms around him when he's consumed enough energy.

(I kind of love that a bakemono inside the Dracula is the true Vamdemon too because Vamdemon is the evolved form of Devimon and Bakemon, so that makes sense.)

This actually makes sense to me now.

The dub has Tai talk over the Crests glowing.

Tai: Huh!? My Crest! Everybody, look at your Crests! They're all starting to glow!

But once they start grabbing VenomMyotismon, he stays quiet and lets the scene play out until the crotch goblin starts talking.

VenomMyotismon (True Crotch): Curse you, DigiDestined! Curse you and your lousy Crests! Let go! Waugh! Let go! Tai: Look at that! Mega freaky! I wonder if that monster represents Myotismon's actual form?

Tai reaches the same conclusion as Taichi but I guess it just didn't make sense to me as a kid because the only explanation he offers is that it's "mega freaky". To be fair, Taichi's not acting on that much more information.

Crotch goblin sounds way more pathetic in the dub. XD

Taichi has an idea now for how to win this

Taichi: WARGREYMON!!! WarGreymon: Got it! MetalGarurumon: WarGreymon!

MetalGarurumon bops the poor Fuji TV observation deck into the air, passing it to WarGreymon.

Sora: NICE PASS!!! Children: SHOOT!!!

WarGreymon receives the observation deck like a soccer ball, shooting it straight into crotch goblin's dumb face. It lets out a shrill scream like a baby cry, forcing me to take back what I said about VenomMyotismon's crotch goblin being the more pathetic of the two.

The dub leans in on this.

Tai: WARGREYMON!!! WarGreymon: Pass me the ball! (MetalGarurumon silently passes it) Sora: Nice pass. Children: SHOOT!!!

Dub Sora sounds way less invested in the impromptu soccer game.

With VenomVamdemon momentarily stunned by the soccer shot, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fire up their strongest attacks. Sending Gaia Force and Cocytus Breath straight into VenomVamdemon's vulnerable crotch, they annihilate the little shadow wraith and finally, finally strike the kill-shot.

His true form destroyed by the overwhelming power of soccer hooliganism, VenomVamdemon breaks down, disintegrating into pixels chunk by chunk until nothing is left. The battle for Odaiba is finally, truly over.

With Vamdemon's true death, his spells break. The mesmerized adults at Big Sight wake up, with Tachikawa Keisuke being the first to speak up.

Keisuke: Huh? What happened? Shin: Great job, Jou!

Glad to see Shin knows who the real hero here is. This was a triumph for Jou-senpai. And, to a lesser extent, his crew.

Their energy drained, Koromon and Tsunomon return to Taichi and Yamato. Yamato pets Tsunomon affectionately while Taichi hoists Kunomon aloft and dances.

Koromon: TAICHI!!! Taichi: Great job, Koromon! Yamato: You did well, Tsunomon.

Speaking of drained energy, Mimi notices an unidentified Digimon now among their group.

Mimi: Huh? Who are you? Plotmon: I'm Plotmon. It's nice to meet you.

Plotmon is a Child-stage Data-type Mammal Digimon. I believe we already went over her V-Pet status back in her backstory episode, but she gets her formal rundown here.

Narrator: Plotmon. A Child Digimon with long, floppy ears. She is the degenerated form of Tailmon. Her special attack is Puppy Howling. Hikari: Tailmon must be in her Child form now because she used up all her energy helping Agumon and Gabumon evolve to their Ultimate levels. Jou: Kehhhhh...?

Jou doesn't get it but I do.

In the dub, apparently Mimi's parents know Joe's brother. Don't ask me how.

Keisuke: Hey, what happened, Jim? Jim: IT MUST BE JOE AND THE OTHERS!!! THEY DID IT!!! THEY WON!!! (Cut back to the FCG ruins) Koromon: We did it, Tai! We did it! Tai: Ahahahaha! Tsunomon: Wasn't that cool, Matt? Matt: Great job, Tsunomon! Mimi: Look, a stray Digimon! Salamon: Don't you recognize me? I was Gatomon. Salamon: (rundown) What do I have to do, cough up a furball? Kari: (rundown) That's Salamon, the Rookie form of Gatomon. Isn't she cute? Much more cuddly than her Ultimate form of Angewomon. Kari: But I guess she's back to being a Rookie because she used up all of her energy during the fight. What are we going to do? They don't allow pets at our apartment! Joe: Drag!

Uh. Nobody tell Kari but I'm pretty sure her apartment is a parking lot right now. She's going to be living in a refugee shelter for a few months. They'll probably put people up at Big Sight, now that I think about it. The damage Vamdemon did to Odaiba is catastrophic.

(Also, she has a cat. This bit doesn't work. They clearly do allow pets at her apartment.)

With Vamdemon's spells broken the fog barrier breaks down. At last, we can see the sky again.

Sora: Hey, look! The sky is clearing up!

The final sign of our true victo--what the FUCK is that!?

Sora: (gasp) Mimi: DYAAAAAAH!?!? Takeru: It's not true! Jou: I-It can't be....

At some point during all that nonsense within the fog barrier, the merging of worlds has begun. Strips of reality hang in the sky, on the other side of which lies the Digital World.

Hikari: Onii-chan, I'm scared! Taichi: What is this...?

This is easier to grasp, right off the bat, what's happening in the original. The dub cut the one line where Myotismon mentions that he's "destined" to merge the two worlds and reign over the conjoined reality as its king. He's dead now, but he apparently made some headway into fulfilling his task while we were all trapped in the fog.

But since the dub didn't mention that, this comes more out of left field there.

Sora: Hey, look! The sky's clearing up! (Jubilation slowly turns to horror) Sora: ...what...? Mimi: AAAAAUGH!!! T.K.: HEY!!! NO WAY!!! Joe: That's... not possible.... Matt: Huh!? Joe: There's a... giant island... floating in the sky! Upside-down! Kari: (gasps) Tai: Things... Just keep getting weirder!

Their dialogue isn't really any different than in the original; We just don't have the previous context to make sense of what they're seeing.

Commercial break, then we return to the strange new phenomenon taking place all across the world.

Narrator: The upside-down continent appearing in the sky could be seen all across the world.

We cut to various places across the planet including New York and Antarctica before returning to Big Sight. Yagami Yuuko and Susumu exit the convention center, laying eyes on the strange phenomenon.

Susumu: Is this... a mirage? Shin: (on his moped) No, I think that's real. Yuuko: Um, do you know where our children are? Where are Taichi and Hikari? Shin: They're at Fuji TV station. I'm on my way to check out the situation. I'll meet back up with you afterward!

Shin takes off on his moped before they can ask any further questions.

We then briefly see a ferry finally able to cross the bay into Odaiba. Takaishi Natsuko, Takeru's mom, is on her way. Everybody there is staring up in shock at the ribbons streaked across reality in the sky as well.

Narrator: The mysterious continents floated eerily in the night sky. Strangely enough, none of the radars, satellites, or other electronic equipment on Earth recognized their existence.

Ironically, if you were to ask Google AI, it'd probably have a better grasp of what's hanging in the sky up there than real-world tracking equipment would. There's no way the Digital World hasn't snuck into its training data.

The dub replaces the cold narration with Tai whining.

Tai: Man, why does this have to happen now when we were just feeling good about beating Myotismon!? It's like the world is turning upside-down or something!

This line plays out over the shots of various geographic locations with the reality ribbons above them, which doesn't really connect to Tai's line but isn't entirely unrelated to it either.

Susumu: Hey, what's going on!? Jim: (on his moped) Whatever it is, it doesn't look too good for our side. Yuuko: Oh, Jim! Have you seen my children? Do you know where Tai and Kari are? Jim: No, but I have an educated guess. I'm gonna search where the monsters were fighting. I'll come back when I find them, okay?

Fucking everybody knows Joe's older brother. He's the most popular guy in town, I guess. XD

An interesting change here is that Jim doesn't say they're at the TV station. Which is a good change, I think, 'cause he shouldn't know that. They weren't going to Fuji; They were going to fight VenomVamdemon, who was so big he could be seen from Big Sight. They'll be wherever VenomVamdemon died, which could be anywhere in Odaiba.

That spot is the Fuji broadcasting center, but that's a mile away and all the landmarks have been destroyed. So it's a bit of a leap for Shin to assume that they ended up at Fuji specifically. Jim here is planning to drive in the direction of where the giant monster was and just keep his eyes peeled for children.

The narrator is done away with for the ferry shot as well, with a voice-over from Izzy replacing him.

Izzy (V.O.): This isn't making any sense! It looks like an entire upside-down continent in the sky, but it doesn't show up on radar or on any satellite pictures! In fact, no instruments of any kind can confirm that... Whatever it is, is really even there!

I could be snippy about Izzy somehow possessing all this information but actually the dub did assert in an early episode that he likes to hack into government systems for shits and giggles. So we can assume he's just breaking all kinds of laws right now to bring us this revelation.

As the ferry pulls into Odaiba, it discharges a truly terrified mother. Courtesy of the Fuji building being right on the coast, she's able to quickly reunite with her son.

Both of them.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! TAKERU!!! Takeru: (turns around, surprised) IT'S MAMA!!! Natsuko: TAKERU!!!

Natsuko sprints out into the ruins to hug her son. She hasn't noticed them yet, but Yamato and Hiroaki watch her arrive. Yamato stares in silence at his mother, while Hiroaki lights up a cigarette.

Natsuko: Thank goodness you're safe! I was so worried about you! Were you scared, Takeru? Takeru: No, Onii-chan was with me!

It's at that moment that Natsuko looks up and sees Yamato. She stands.

Natsuko: (surprised) Yamato.... Yamato: (vulnerable) ...Mom....

This is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. It's pretty clear at this point that HIroaki and Natsuko don't see very much of the sons the other took. They've basically made a clean break in their divorce, with the brothers sneaking around in secret to remain in contact with each other. This is where a lot of their trauma and separation anxiety throughout the series has come from.

But Takeru's having none of this tense, uncomfortable moment. He grabs Natsuko by the wrist and drags her over to face Yamato.

Natsuko: (smiling warmly) Yamato... You've grown taller again. Yamato: Yeah, a little. Natsuko: You look good. I'm glad. Hiroaki: Natsuko.... (Natsuko looks up from Yamato, finally noticing Hiroaki) Hiroaki: It's been a while. Natsuko: (awkward) ...yeah.... Takeru: (cheerful) Ahaha! It's been a long time since the whole family got together, hasn't it, Onii-chan? Yamato: Yeah, I guess it has....

@_@ All of the family drama in this arc is hitting me way harder than the scary Dracula monster. It's amazing how age changes context.

In the dub:

Nancy: T.K.!!! T.K.!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? T.K.: (turns around, surprised) MAMA!!! Nancy: Oh! Ohhh, T.K.! I was so afraid I'd never see you again! (Nancy runs over and hugs T.K.) Nancy: You must have been terrified, T.K. T.K.: Nuh-uh! Matt was with me the whole time! (Nancy stands up) Nancy: (surprised) Matt.... Matt: (vulnerable) ...Hey, Mom.... T.K.: C'mon! (T.K. grabs Nancy by the wrist and drags her over to Matt) T.K.: Come see Matt! And Daddy too! Nancy: Oh, Matt. I'm so proud of you! Thank you, son! Matt: (surly) Yeah, whatever. Nancy: Don't be like that. Please, Matt. Hiroaki: Nancy. (Nancy looks up from Matt, finally noticing Hiroaki) Hiroaki: It's... been a long time, hasn't it? Nancy: (awkward) Yes, it has. T.K.: (cheerful) Ahaha! It's been a really long time since all of us were together, huh, Matt? Matt: (surly) Yeah, I guess so.

I don't think the dub liked the implication that Natsuko hasn't seen Yamato in months or even years. Enough for him to physically change to a noteworthy degree.

In their version, Nancy tries to congratulate him for... I guess, for taking good care of T.K.? It's not like she knows anything else that happened after T.K. disappeared on a giant wooly monster. There's a lot of accolades he deserves but that's the only one I think she'd be able to deliver.

In any case, she gives him a thumbs up and he decides to be surly about it. The awkward discomfort of this whole situation is replaced by Matt emotionally stonewalling his mom. Which is still awkward and uncomfortable, just differently so.

While Yamato and Takeru's family are having this moment, the Americans make bad choices.

Narrator: Could the strange continents be an optical illusion? An American reconnaissance plane headed off at once to find out.

The plane crosses through the boundary between worlds, then freezes up as it crosses over and falls out of the sky.

Pilot: NOOOOOOO!!!

I'm sorry but the pilot's over-the-top scream of "No" killed me. XD About as hard as this tailspin is about to kill him!

We should probably do something about this before the Americans' next plan is to shoot missiles at it. We're about thirty minutes away from fearfully carpet-bombing the Digital World. Bombs that will probably come right back to us if what happened to that plane is anything to go by.

In the dub, Izzy pitches in for the narrator again.

Izzy: Check this out, guys. I've been monitoring the news reports. The Air Force is sending in everything they've got to figure out what this continent in the sky really is. They don't know anything so far! But they're assuming it's dangerous. (Plane crosses the boundary and freezes) Pilot: This is Hawkeye One MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY!!!

Americans have a better grasp on American military lingo. Can't imagine why. Though I admit, I'm sad to see the hilarious "NOOOOOO" go.

No mention of the plane being American. Also, apparently this one plane was everything the Air Force has. Yeah, they haven't been getting the funding they need since the election of Japanese Bill Clinton. Some costs needed to get cut.

R.I.P. to the one remaining aircraft we had left.

Mimi: I hope my Mama and Papa are okay.... Sora: I'm sure they are.

Suddenly, the kids hear the sound of a honking horn. It's Shin's moped closing in on them.

Palmon: Someone's coming! Jou: Ah! That's...! (Shin pulls up) Jou: SHIN-NIISAN!!! Mimi: ONII-SAN!!! Shin: All of your families back at Big Sight are safe! Everyone's recovered! Hikari: YAY!!! Mimi: (grabs Sora's hands) Isn't that great, Sora-san? (Sora withdraws one of her hands to wipe a tear from her eye) Sora: Yeah!

Mimi calls Shin "Onii-san" because it's fairly common in Japan to use familial terms as a polite way for young people to address older people. You might call an older man "father" or "grandfather", for example, even if he's not related to you. Addressing people in Japanese is very complicated.

The dub lets Mimi start talking sooner so she can have a longer line.

Mimi: I have to admit that I'm a little jealous that Matt and T.K. found their parents, and Izzy too! I just hope my Mom and Dad are alright! Sora: I know how you feel. Me too. ...huh? (headlights approach) Sora: Someone's coming! Joe: Alright! My brother! ...hey, I didn't tell him he could ride my scooter! (Jim pulls up) Mimi: JIM!!! Joe: JIM!!! Mimi: Have you seen my Mom and Dad!? Jim: All the other families that were at the convention center are fine! They're all back to normal! Kari: AWESOME!!! Koromon: YAY!!! Mimi: (grabs Sora's hands) Sora, they're safe! (Sora withdraws one of her hands to wipe a tear from her eye) Sora: Great!

I love the way this scene plays Mimi. The longer line stays on-point and works super well, and I also like her frantic interrogation of Jim when he pulls up. This was a good one.

For a quick gag, the dub also claims that the moped belongs to Joe, actually. Which. Raises. A tremendous amount of questions given that he's fucking 12.

Shin takes out a small pocket TV, turning on the news.

Reporter: Those continents in the sky are not an illusion! They really exist! No one knows what the cause of this might be, but many are fearful that these strange continents will forever replace the blue sky of our world! Jou: W-What is happening!? Yamato: Is this part of Vamdemon's plan too!? Tsunomon: That's impossible! We killed Vamdemon for good this time! Koromon: Yeah, no doubt about that!

Koushiro disassociates from the conversation, his attention locked on something in the sky. The others talk around him while the camera fixes on his curious expression.

Taichi: Then what are they? Takeru: What's going to happen to us? Jou: Whatever the case, we need to figure out what's causing it first.

Brief cut to the target of Koushiro's attention. One particular mountain sticks out among all the others in the sky landmass. There's something about that mountain. Something he recognizes.

Koushiro: (thinking) That mountain... It looks exactly like Infinity Mountain! But that's impossible....

It does seem pretty impossible on account of that mountain being part of a continuous landmass. There's no ocean in sight. And yet.

In the dub:

Jim: Let's check the news. (Jim opens his pocket TV) Reporter: The latest report we have from the Air Force Chief of Staff confirms that the mysterious landmass in the sky is not an illusion of any kind. It is very real and, after several confrontations, apparently very dangerous. Joe: It's covering the whole sky! Matt: It has to be Myotismon's work again. Tsunomon: But that's impossible, isn't it? We defeated Myotismon for good this time! Koromon: Yeah, we kicked booty! (Closeup on Izzy disassociating) Joe: Well, you heard the news report. It's definitely dangerous. Who else could be doing it? Tai: What does it matter who's doing it!? We just have to stop it! Izzy: (thinking) There's something familiar about that mountain... It looks like Infinity Mountain!

"After several confrontations" WTF? XD We sent more planes. We just. We kept feeding planes into it one after another. Hahaha.

"It's apparently very dangerous" WELL MAYBE IT WOULDN'T BE IF WE DIDN'T KEEP CRASHING PLANES INTO IT. XD Japanamericans!

Jou and Taichi have their lines rearranged so that Tai can be the one trying to take charge instead of Joe. Their leadership styles are wildly different.

Having found a point of interest, Koushiro decides to confirm his suspicions.

Koushiro: Taichi-san! (points) Can you use your mini telescope to take a closer look at that? Taichi: (takes out his telescope) Where? Koushiro: Look, that mountain over there. Taichi: Which one? There are too many mountains. I can't tell which one you're pointing at. Koushiro: That one! Look! Taichi: Saying 'that one' isn't much help. Where is it--AH!!! Koushiro: What is it? Taichi: A plane. There's an airplane up there!

Koushiro looks up and can just barely make out the blinking of three lights, signifying a plane passing overhead.

In the dub:

Izzy: Hey, Tai! (points) Grab your telescope and get us a closer look at that peak right there! Tai: Huh? (takes out his telescope) Which one? Izzy: There! The big one I'm pointing to. Tai: Oh, like that helps me. Alright, I'm looking. Man, there are dozens of mountains up there! Which one? Izzy: The big one! Tai: The big o--WHAAA!!! Izzy: Did you find it? Tai: What I found is a jetliner! Izzy: Wha!?

Pretty faithful, little difference of note.

Up in the air, the pilot tries desperately to reach someone over the radio, but there's no response.

Pilot: Control Tower, please respond, over. Control Tower! Shit, what's going on.... Copilot: Sir, we're going to have to make an emergency landing. There's no fuel left in the tank. Pilot: I know that! If we only had someone to guide us down the runway.... Copilot: Our prospects aren't looking good! An American military base could--AHHHH!!!

Instruments on the plane begin to flash.

Pilot: What's happening!? Copilot: The fuel gauge is at empty! We can't control the plane anymore! We're going to crash! Pilot: That's impossible!

The plane tilts out of the sky, beginning its long descent.

Taichi: Ah! The plane's falling! It's going to crash! Sora: Piyomon! (Cut back to the cockpit) Pilot: We have to... make it somewhere.... Copilot: AHHHHHHH!!!

In the dub:

Pilot: Ground Control, this is Flight 224. We have lost our vector. Over. ...Strange. Why don't they answer? (tries again) This is 224 to Ground Control. Control, do you copy? Repeat, we have lost our landing vector. Come in, Ground control. Copilot: We can't land here now and we can't turn back with the fuel we have left onboard. (Lights start flashing suddenly) Copilot: What!? Pilot: The alarm! All systems failure! We've got about two seconds to figure out what's wrong here! Copilot: No use! Nothing's responding! We're going down! (Cut to the kids below) Tai: Oh no! The airplane reached the edge of that thing in the sky and just headed straight down! Sora: Biyomon! (Back to the cockpit) Pilot: Got to... pull out... We'll break up at this speed! Copilot: AHHHHHHH!!!

In the original, the plane ran out of fuel. They've been flying well below the reality ribbons so they didn't run afoul of what happened to the recon plane. But they haven't been able to land because telecommunications down in Tokyo have been going haywire since this all began, something we've been shown repeatedly.

The dub makes this about the reality ribbons. They briefly mention that they're low on fuel, but what kills the plane is that they accidentally flew into the boundary between worlds despite it being shown to be well above them, and despite the plane not freezing up like the recon plane did.

Birdramon rises into the air to try and catch the plane, but she spots something. A stray Kuwagamon is in their airspace. It buzzes past the plane, freezing one of the plane's wings as it passes, just like what passing through the boundary does. The plain goes into a spin.

Birdramon flies up underneath the plain to stabilize it, but can't deal with its weight. They're still going down.

Jou: BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon: Hrrrrrrrgh! Sora: GANBATTE, BIRDRAMON!!!

Ahhh, ganbaru. Overcoming tremendous hardship through hard work and perseverance.

Sora's Crest shines, Super-Evolving Birdramon into Garudamon to give her the strength she needs.

The dub gives Birdramon some silence-breakers here, since this scene doesn't have a lot of dialogue but Birdramon doesn't need lip flaps either.

Birdramon: If I can just get there in time! (Kuwagamon flies in) Birdramon: It's Kuwagamon! Where did he come from!? (Kuwagamon buzzes the plane, freezing the wing. Birdramon moves in to catch the plane) Birdramon: (screeching) Joe: DO IT, BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon: (more screeching) Sora: BIRDRAMON, DIGIVOLVE!!!

The original treats the mystery of Kuwagamon's appearance as self-evidently mysterious while Dub Birdramon calls it out and demands to know WTF. Nothing wrong with either approach in my opinion.

Seeing Garudamon struggling, Kabuterimon flies up to lend a hand.

Kabuterimon: I'll help y--WAUGH!!!

Kabuterimon has to swerve, narrowly missing the Kuwagamon he didn't realize was up here too. Without missing a beat, he fires up his Mega Blaster.

Kabuterimon: TAKE THIS!!!

His shot passes straight through Kuwagamon as if it wasn't there.

Kabuterimon: What the hell!? Garudamon: Pull back, Kabuterimon! DON'T TOUCH IT!!!

Kabuterimon jerks aside as Kuwagamon comes back around for another pass. Heeding Garudamon's warning, he lets this strange phantom Kuwagamon fly off. The creature heads across the bay into Tokyo proper. I'm sure that's fine.

From there, they guide the plane down into the bay, setting it down in the water so the people inside can escape in life rafts. I think they set the plane down just outside Shibaura, across what used to be the Rainbow Bridge from Odaiba. It looks like the Shibaura harbor to me.

This act of heroism leaves them so exhausted that they stop being animated, and the people below watch them levitate off into the distance as still frames.

Though AtlurKabuterimon's still-frame reveals he had to Super-Evolve for this too between scenes.

In the dub:

Kabuterimon: I'll help too! (Kuwagamon flies by) Kabuterimon: Huh!? Kuwagamon!? ELECTRO SHOCKER!!! (The shot passes through Kuwagamon) Kabuterimon: HUH!?!? IT WENT RIGHT THROUGH!!! Garudamon: Kabuterimon, get away! Don't touch him! (They let Kuwagamon go and set the plane down.) Tai: Nice going, Birdramon. You brought the plane down safely.

Tai's silence-breaker at the end there doesn't seem to make much sense at all. Somehow he's talking to Garudamon from Odaiba while addressing the wrong evolutionary form and completely snubbing AtlurKabuterimon's contribution. Why do you have to use your psychic powers for evil, Tai?

Once Garudamon and AtlurKabuterimon degenerate into Pyokomon and Mochimon respectively, the kids debrief them on what happened.

Taichi: Hey, was that Kuwagamon? Pyokomon: He flew here from those continents! Koushiro: I knew it. Group: Huh/Eh!? Taichi: What do you mean? Koushiro: That place up there is the Digimon World. Jou: EHHH!?!? Taichi: What did you say!? Yamato: That's the Digimon World!? Mimi: Now that you mention it, it does look kind of familiar.... Shin: Hey! Take a look at this!

In today's linguistic adventure, the other world is "Digimon World" in English.

The kids don't get a chance to process what Koushiro said, because Shin pulls their attention to his little TV.

Reporter: Please watch this. These images are not special effects!

The report shows various places around the globe under attack by Digimon. Gorillamon, Airdramon, Tyranomon, and Kuwagamon are all seen attacking various cities and places around the globe. Everywhere they go, things around them freeze over like the planes.

Pyokomon: We can't touch those Digimon! If we do, we'll freeze up like that plane wing! Mochimon: My Mega Blaster went right through them, too. Taichi: Damn it, what the hell is going on!? Hikari: Is that where you live, Plotmon? Plotmon: No. That is no longer the Digimon World that I knew. Koushiro: Oh, that's right. It's been several days since we came here, which means several years would have passed in the Digimon World. Koromon: We came here without fixing the distortions in the Digimon World, so it must be in pretty bad shape now. Sora: Which would then started to affect our world too.

Realizing the grim truth of what they're seeing now, the kids stare up in horror at these reality strips crossing the sky.

In the dub:

Tai: You guys, how'd Kuwagamon get here? Yokomon: He came out of that land in the sky! Izzy: I was right all along! Group: Huh!? Izzy: That giant continent... is actually the Digital World! Joe: WHAAAAT!?!? Matt: That's why you recognized that mountain! Mimi: Yeah! You know, it does look sort of familiar. Sora: What's it doing here? Jim: Guys, you'd better have a look at this! Reporter: We bring you now new footage of some truly bizarre scenes. (Digimon attacks around the world) Reporter: No official explanation has yet been given for what you are seeing here. Yokomon: Kuwagamon again! And if we touch these Digimon, we'll freeze, just like the airplane's wing! Motimon: And when I fired my Electro Shocker, it passed right through. Tai: Man! What's going on here! Kari: Salamon, is that your world up there? Salamon: I think so, but the last time I was there, it was definitely right-side up. Izzy: Just a minute. We've been back in the real world for only a few days, but up there, time is much faster. Years and years have passed by. Koromon: And since we left the Digi-World when it was such a mess, it had years and years to just get worse! I can only imagine what the place looks like now! Sora: And all the problems in the Digital World have become our problem here in the real world!

The dub usually struggles with expository scenes but here, they actually do a pretty good job of it. They're held back by the fact that they've always talked around the kids needing to "correct distortions", so they have to compensate by saying they "left the Digi-World when it was such a mess".

It's a little awkward but it still gets the point across: The Chosen Children were called to fix the Digital World before the growing instability became apocalyptic for both worlds. But because Vamdemon's side-quest back to the human world made them fuck off for years, time has run out and the worst-case scenario has begun.

Taichi: Let's go! Back to the Digimon World. Mimi: But how? Jou: When we first went to the Digimon World, our Digivices led us there. That should work again! Koushiro: It's worth a try. Taichi: Yes! Gather your Digivices, everyone.

The team puts their Digivices together in a ring.

Taichi: Please! Take us back to the Digimon World!

Hardened and made ready by their experiences, this time the eight Chosen Children make the choice for themselves to re-enter the Digital World. They're ready to complete the work they were once drafted against their will to do.

In the dub:

Tai: That's that! We've all got to go back! Mimi: But how? How are we supposed to get there? Joe: The first time we went to the Digital World, our Digivices led us. You guys try it again. Izzy: You're coming too, Joe. We're all in this together. Tai: Alright, everybody! Hold out your Digivices! We're going back! (The team puts their Digivices together) Tai: Next stop: The Digital World! Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times!

In a break from tradition, Tai calls it the Digital World in the dub, rather than the usual phrasing of Digi-World.

Joe's dub-induced cowardice makes me want to throw things. Trying to chicken out and let the others go without him is one of those gags that isn't just annoying but goes all the way to the "He would not fucking say that" extreme.

Kido Jou-senpai would not fucking say that.

The eight Digivices glow brightly, sending a rainbow of light up into the sky and creating the way forward.

Jou: This path of light will transport us to the Digimon World! Taichi: Yeah. I'm sure we'll make it safely. Sora: Our Digivices will guide us.

The dub picks the moment before the Digivices start to glow as a good time for a commercial break. That's fair. Upon return, Tai brings us back up to speed with a quick line.

Tai: Here we go, everybody! (The Digivices create a different kind of Rainbow Bridge) Izzy: i think it's working, Tai. This light must be here to guide us. Joe: Now all we have to do is follow it. T.K.: Back to the Digital World! Hahaha!

They change who's talking and it's a lot drier but nothing objectionable.

Unfortunately, before they can go, some people have concerns with what the kids are doing right now.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! Takeru: I'm sorry we have to leave just when all of us were together again, Mama. But we'll be back soo-- Natsuko: You can't! Hiroaki: Let him go. We made a few selfish decisions of our own too, remember?

Flashback to the separation of the boys in the divorce. Natsuko's eyes fill with tears.

Yamato: If we don't do something, the Earth will be doomed. That's Why I... We're going to protect you and everyone else, Mom! Natsuko: (quietly, crying) ...Yamato....

Hiroaki's logic here doesn't really track. We selfishly broke the kids up therefore we should let them go to an alien world and fight monsters. I don't think fairness is really the concern here. But to be fair to Hiroaki, he's spent more time with the Chosen Children than anyone and knows firsthand how fucky all this shit is and how unique they are.

He isn't happy about sending the children into danger but he kinda gets it. Natsuko, meanwhile, was trapped outside the fog barrier this whole time and has seen none of it. So her Reasonable Parent Opinions are very Reasonable Parent Opinions, and it's heartbreaking that she has to let this happen to her babies anyway.

In the dub:

Nancy: T.K. T.K.: Huh? Mom! Oh, I'm sorry we have to leave now that we're finally back together again. Nancy: You can't! Hiroaki: Let him go. We've made some selfish decisions of our own, remember? (Flashback) Hiroaki: We have to let them do this. This could be more important than we realize. Matt: The whole world is doomed if we don't do something, Mom! You know we have to go back! We're doing this to protect you! Nancy: (quietly, crying) ...Matt....

Mostly the same, but Hiroaki's given a silence-breaker to let him make a more salient argument than "We have to let the boys be child soldiers because we divorced."

Though Nancy's first line is pretty funny. Natsuko calls out to Takeru in a panic. Nancy just... sternly says his voice, like she caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Not exactly the right tone here, but not necessarily wrong either. XD

But moooooom, you don't understaaaaaand!

Shin chimes in to support the children's decision.

Shin: We're counting on you. We've always taken for granted that morning comes after nightfall, but now we can't be sure we'll ever see the sun again.

Poetic, but Koushiro's mom takes issue with that, looking affronted about halfway through when she realizes where he's going with that.

Kae: DON'T BE SO MORBID!!! I believe in these children. Shin: No no, I do too! Jou: It will be fine, Nii-san. (sudden burst of confidence) We'll make certain that the sun does come up again!

A powerful moment for Jou! That the girls promptly bully him for.

Sora: Ooooh, Jou-senpai is so cool! Mimi: It's so unlike you!

The kids all laugh at Jou's expense while he hangs his head in defeat - Accidentally backing into the portal in the process and getting picked up by the ass.

Mimi: Wha--!? Sora: Jou-senpai! Jou: AAAAAUGH!!!

Well, the nakama must be back together because we're back to tormenting our poor, put-upon senpai. XD

The kids quickly join Jou in the rainbow portal, rising towards the Digimon World together.

Taichi: Ittekimasu! Natsuko: Takeru! Yamato!

Right now's a good time to talk about that word Taichi just said. Ittekimasu is a customary Japanese phrase for when you are leaving a place with intent to return. It's a kind of ritualistic phrase, said almost automatically when leaving the home, for example. Like saying Itadakimasu before eating. I am stepping out for a bit but I will be back later and will see you then.

There's a lot of ways it can be translated. I'm heading out! See you later. Back in a bit! Etc. etc. But I've opted to leave it untranslated here and instead explain the intent because this is a highly emotional moment, and the mundane yet heartwarming domesticity of the phrase's usage in this scene doesn't really come through with its more cavalier-sounding translations.

Takeru and Yamato wave farewell to their mother, but Yamato feels self-conscious after a moment and stops waving.

In the dub:

Jim: You guys better get crankin'! Although it's hard to believe the fate of the world's in the hands of a bunch of kids like you. I guess if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow, we'll know you messed up! Kae: Stop it! You've got to have faith in your brother and his friends! What they're doing is incredibly brave! Jim: Whoa! Sorry, Lady. I didn't mean anything. Joe: It's okay. He was only kidding. And besides... (sudden burst of confidence) I'm gonna make darn sure the sun does come up! Sora: Joe! I didn't know you had it in you! Mimi: Ahahaha, what a man! (All the kids laugh at Joe; he hangs his head and backs into the portal) Sora & Mimi: What's happening? Joe: AAAAUGH!!! (Everyone jumps in the portal) Tai: Alright, here we go! Nancy: Matt! T.K.! Take care of each other!

Sora and Mimi are still making fun of Joe in this version, they're just subtler about it.

Finally met someone in this city that Jim doesn't know.

While Yamato and Takeru get to say goodbye to their loved ones, we pan over to Sora who looks disappointed that they have to leave so quickly. Suddenly:

Toshiko: SORA!!!

The adults from Big Sight have all arrived, at the last possible second, to the sight of their children rising into the sky in a column of rainbow light.

Sora: Mom... MOM!!! Mimi: PAPA!!! MAMA!!! Taichi: DAD!!! Hikari: MOM!!! Yuuko: TAICHI!!! HIKARI!!!

The column rises, taking the children further from their parents.

Hikari: DON'T WORRY ABOUT US!!! WE'LL COME BACK SOON!!!

Cutting silently to their frightened parents, watching the children go. First Yagami Yuuko and Susumu. Then Tachikawa Satoe and Keisuke. And then finally Takenouchi Toshiko.

Children: (all together) ITTEKIMASU!!!

Vanishing into the other world, the Chosen Children leave behind only that one familiar word. I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon. I'll see you when I come home.

The dub uses all the silent panning shots of this scene to fill in dialogue.

Toshiko: SORA!!! I love you, Sora! Please come home soon! I'll be waiting here for you! Sora: Bye, Mama.... BYE, MAMA!!! Mimi: MAMA!!! PAPA!!! Tai: BYE, DAD!!! Kari: BYE, MAMA!!! Yuuko: OH, TAI!!! BE CAREFUL!!! Susumu: AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR SISTER, SON!!! Kari: I'LL BE ALRIGHT!!! DON'T WORRY, WE'LL ALL BE BACK!!! Tai (V.O.): I never thought we'd volunteer to leave our families behind. It's weird. I'm not sure if we'll ever see them again. But I'm not afraid! It's like, just knowing that they love us gives us the power that we need. Kids: (Miscellaneous farewells, such as "Bye Bye" and "We'll be alright") Narrator: What powerful new enemy waits for the DigiDestined in the Digital World? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Neither of the Kamiya parents says goodbye to Kari and I'm kinda mad about it.

Tai's voiceover there is to try and hit the same emotional chords that the team's collective Ittekimasu hit for the original. The word doesn't translate well in this particular context so they had to come up with their own emotional heartstring-tug.

The sudden ominous narrator, however, is a total mood-killer. Jerk.

Assessment: On the one hand, how quickly we go from defeating VenomVamdemon to returning to the Digital World feels a little rushed. But on the other hand, it's supposed to feel rushed. Because we're in a rush.

It sucks that we couldn't see the kids properly meet back up with their families and say real farewells to them. But it's supposed to suck. It sucks for them too. Every minute we spend out here is another, like, week where the situation in the Digital World is further destabilizing. There's no time for drawn-out goodbyes.

So we move into the final arc of Adventure 01. Shit's about to get real from here. @.@ I am not ready.

I think the dub on this one was hit-or-miss. It had some genuinely great moments, even parts where it added onto the original in good and interesting ways, and some other clunky bits. To their credit, they nailed the big Plot Exposition scene which is where they often struggle.

[digi-dest-stories]

Miraculous Destiny AU rambling

So I've been figuring out lore and stuff in my head (Still stumped on a Miraculous to give Riot but I'll figure it out). Here's what I got so far:

Some Backstory: The Admins were formerly superheroes who, along with their Digimon partners, used them to help people. However, as they got older, they stopped using the Miraculouses. Instead, they all resigned themselves to guardians, splitting them between the seven of them. All but one received three Miraculouses to look after.

Simon Reddington would be the only one who had not received three, instead holding only one - The Butterfly. He had grown somewhat bitter in age and had become obsessed with the idea of creating a 'perfect' world. But, to do that, he of course needed the Ladybug and Black Cat. And luckily for him, he knew who had them.

At least, he thought he did. Their guardians, Lucia Yi and Jordan Hedgewick, sent the Miraculouses far away and went into hiding, so that he would not find them. So, instead of searching for them himself, he decided to use the Butterfly Miraculous to create "Champions" that would retrieve them in his stead.

Lore:

So Digimon exist in a space that, like Ghost Game and Xros Hunters, allows them to affect the Human World without being seen. They rarely appear in the Human World, preferring to live in their plane of existence, but can be brought out through the use of some Miraculous... like the Butterfly.

When a Digimon is Akumatized, they materialize in the Real World. They then experience something akin to a Dark Digivolution, driving them mad and causing them to go berserk. They don't always get Akumatized though, some humans do too

If a hero bonds with a Digimon, they gain a Miracle Device, which is eventually just a Digivice that is connected to a specific Miraculous. It allows the Digimon to gain an evolutionary stage known as Miracle Digivolution, where they Digivolve using the power/energy of the Miraculous (Sort of like Armor Digivolution if that makes sense, but somewhere between Champion and Ultimate). Instead of a common Digimon name, they gain a title/superhero name of sorts. The Miracle Device also allows them to enter the other plane that most Digimon exist in.

Admins + Miraculous (Bold are the ones that they held):

RedHerring/Simon - Butterfly

Stonehedge/Jordan - Black Cat, Snake, Rabbit

Yihaw/Lucia - Ladybug, Fox, Mouse

King Maroon/Henry King - Monkey, Ox, Turtle

Spin Sylph - Pig, Bee, Dog

Dragon Abby - Dragon, Tiger, Rooster

Devil Soma - Peacock, Goat, Horse

Updated DigiDestined + Miraculous (Superhero Name)

Reiner - Black Cat

Sammi - Ladybug (Lucky/Lady Luck - Temp names)

ER - Turtle

Gary - Fox

Grayson - Dog (Keen Hound - Thank you @gorochuva)

Diogo - Goat

That's all I have for now. Gotta figure out a miraculous for Riot, some of their hero names, and the names of their Digimon's Miracle-Evolved forms

Feel free to leave suggestions if anyone has some

[tezuze]

My idea for a dark evolution of Jellymon, based on a GulusGammamon-type design!

I had a lot of fun with this one, I'd love to do Ruli and a dark SymbareAngoramon to complete the set one day if I can stop drawing these two for five seconds

Full body r o u g h reference sketch + more of my ramblings below

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

For some reason I had the idea of a villian Kiyoshiro stuck in my head about halfway through watching GG. Idk, maybe Last Kizuna taught me not to trust digimon characters with blue eyes.

Was kinda hoping we'd get to see something like that in King of Knowledge, but nah. He was just slightly more rude than normal. But ultimately I'm glad they stuck to his innocent nature the whole series, possessed or not.

Now, of course I don't think it's actually in his character to become malevolently-fueled enough for Jellymon to dark digivolve, I just never grew out of my edgy phase and I thought it'd be cool. But in reality he's much too pure of heart.

Anyway, the promised sketch:

(Also didn't draw it but she totally has shark teeth)

[legitimatesatanspawn]

It just hit me. Do Digimon even really understand how humans work?

Digimon terms are similar: baby, child, adult, then going off the chain to stuff like perfect and ultimate. Alternately its fresh, in-training, rookie, champion, ultimate, perfect, ect.

Digimon may digivolve but also can regress, Jogress/Fuse/DNA-Digivolve, and side-evolve and all that's before getting into the plot elements where the mons straight up DIE and reincarnate as new digi-eggs and new Digimon who usually have the same memories from their previous life but filtered through their newly hatched mon form's mentality.

Do Digimon understand that human children aren't as knowledgeable as a Digimon would be? That it's not a matter of humans slowly evolving from their Child forms to Adult?

And of course this doesn't even touch the fact that the Digital World and Material World are connected in a weird way so you could have a human enter the dawn of the Digital World from when computers were first connected to one another and then show up Digital millennia later either largely unchanged or visibly older. Or the other way around where the Digital World has maybe a week pass while the human partner to a Digimon goes from like 9 years old to studying in high school.

[digi-lov]

do you know if they made any lucemon sm cards yet

Hey! We didn't get a card of Lucemon Satan Mode yet, but it is mentioned by name in the new card of Lucemon Falldown Mode (Chaos Mode in eng.) from EX-06, so it will probably be featured in a future set soon!

Lucemon: Chaos Mode EX6-054 by Minato Sashima from EX-06 Theme Booster Infernal Ascension

Card text translation under cut:

Lucemon: Chaos Mode EX6-054

Ultimate | Virus | Demon Lord / Seven Great Demon Lords [Digivolve] [Lucemon]: Cost 6 [On Play] [When Digivolving] Your opponent may delete 1 of their Digimon or Tamers. If this effect didn't delete, trash the top card of your opponent's security stack and ＜Recovery +1 (Deck)＞ (Place the top card of your deck on top of your security stack). [All Turns] When this Digimon would leave the battle area, by returning 1 [Lucemon]from this Digimon's digivolution cards or from your trash to the bottom of the deck, you may play 1 [Lucemon: Satan Mode] or level 6 Digimon card with the [Seven Great Demon Lords] trait from your trash without paying the cost.

[firedragon1321]

Okay it's time for me to rant about Digimon again because. Because. I want to talk about this-

These two clowns (affectionate) tried to fight giant monsters with their bare hands. Which is how they ended up getting strangled. Tai thought it was a good idea to poke Shellmon. With no sense of critical thinking, he decided it was the best idea. Matt was trying to save TK, with no regard to his own safety. He could die right there and who cares, right?

I'd argue these two were actually at their worst when the digivolution occurred.

Tai: Reckless idiot moron, angers monster with unga bunga tactics, could have put the rest of the group at risk if he and Agumon didn't sneak a snack earlier

Matt: Also reckless idiot moron, puts TK's safety above his own life, was perfectly ready to die for his brother, sees himself as disposable as long as TK is safe

Not only is this a perfect example of their flaws, but this behavior also leads directly into both SkullGreymon and Matt's fall to Cherrymon.

With SkullGreymon, I feel like Tai wasn't just taking known data (partner in danger, Digimon must be fed, etc.) and executing it at random. I feel like he was trying to recreate the events that led to Greymon. Other than feeding Agumon too much, what does he do? He runs up to the giant monster and yells at it.

In desperation, Tai does what he knows has worked in the past. He's willing to face certain death trying to unlock the Ultimate level. By now, he understands that digivolution helps protect the group, and he's putting all the weight on his shoulders.

But the crests rely on personal growth to work. Tai isn't growing. He's not ready. He's lost and confused and doesn't know anything except he's the only one with a crest. Result? SkullGreymon.

Matt had plenty of stupid moments similar to this (i.e.- putting all the weight on himself and throwing himself into danger, though he's more focused on TK only rather than the whole group). I think the reason most of those moments didn't result in dark digivolution is because Matt is more introspective. He's more likely to ruminate over something for a million years instead of taking action. Which leads me to Cherrymon.

Cherrymon plays with Matt's insecurities. He's already worried that TK is spending more time with Tai (and the rest of the group, though Cherrymon focuses it on just Tai). TK's recent victory in Puppetmon's gun game proves he can protect himself. Between this and his growing connections to others, Matt feels useless. He's made his entire existence about protecting TK- the very thing that created Gaurumon to start with.

I always wondered why there was never a dark digivolution after this. Because I am a fucking nerd, I did some research and BlackMetalGarurumon wasn't actually released yet. It was on a card that would come out three months after this episode aired. So let me introduce to you-

SkullMammothmon digivolves from WereGarurumon, existed when this episode aired, and is a "skull" Digimon as a nice thematic bonus. Imagine if Matt came riding back to the group on this big guy! The SkullGreymon parallels! The Tai and Matt parallels! The wasted potential!

Anyway...

I love how Tai and Matt are both idiots who would readily give up their lives to protect others. But they're also so different. Tai does stupid things for the sake of the entire group. Matt does stupid things because he sits on his personal issues too long. Tai does the first thing that comes to his head, whether or not it's actually a good idea. Matt will suffer from behind-the-scenes angst and not tell anyone ever. Unlocking Greymon/Garurumon stems from their issues, just as they unlocked the Ultimate level through their strengths.

[blood-darkened-moon]

More Digimon crossover since the last one was fun to do. This time Wesker, Birkin and Nikolai.

Arcadiamon is an artificially created Digimon based on the data of various Digimon. It evolves by absorbing its opponent’s data, but it is unclear if it possesses any sense of self. I think this fits well for Birkin since he was also purely driven by instincts after he infected himself with the G-virus.

Digivolution line of Birkin’s Digimon

Kuramon → Arcadiamon (In-Training) → Arcadiamon (Rookie) → Arcadiamon (Champion) → Arcadiamon (Ultimate) → Arcadiamon (Mega) → Arcadiamon (Ultra)

Wesker gets some spindly-leg Digimon. Since the Uroboros Virus makes the host grow worm-like appendages, I found these fitting. Also, Diaboromon absorbs all the data on the Network in order to digivolve and grow larger, and is depleting the Digital World to the brink of destruction. A Diaboromon that has absorbed a lot of data becomes convinced that it is an all-knowing and all-powerful being, and it takes pleasure in destruction and slaughter. Its ultimate goal is to hijack a military computer and try to destroy the Real World as well with a nuclear strike. Yeah, I think this works for Wesker.

Digivolution line of Wesker’s Digimon

Kuramon → Tsumemon → Keramon → Chrysalimon → Infermon → Diaboromon → Armageddemon

Mr. Silverwolf, Nikolai Zinoviev, gets a wolf Digimon for obvious reasons. Fenriloogamon even has silver armor.

Digivolution line of Nikolai’s Digimon

Fusamon → Bowmon → Loogamon → Loogarmon → Soloogarmon → Fenriloogamon

[sonicasura]

DIGIDad Kafka, ok but imagine his kids digivolve when Kafka gets his kaiju powers like they just digivolve into Champion forms because Ultimate and Megas would probably be overkill. Still like his little kids are now the size of yoju or bigger.

Kafka is already anxious about his kaiju form and now his kids can just turn into bugger monsters too, Reno meanwhile is wondering if he went crazy

I had to look up the Digivolutions real quick as Hawkmon and Bearmon never gotten fully developed lines by themselves. Plus the routes needed to be set up anyway.

Here's your pick. Loogamon: Loogarmon, Hawkmon: Birdramon, Bearmon- Grizzlymon, Dorumon- Dorugamon.

My pick. Dracmon- Sanloupmon, Lopmon- Wendigomon, Impmon- Wizardmon, Veemon- Veedramon.

I just imagine them saying: "You digivolved too, dad?"/ "Pops can digivolve?" Poor Reno wondering if he's gone insane as Kafka didn't mention having Yoju for children. Now he really thinks the man was originally Kaiju to begin with but either forgotten or didn't know. Reno is absolutely grilling the man for answers later.

The kids already had the ability to Digivolve into their Champion forms but never really needed it at times. Considering how humans can influence Digimon, Kafka gaining his kaiju powers accidentally forced the transformation through their shared connection. Not a good thing since Birdramon is massive so the Kaiju alert went from one to two. (Veedramon done the same thing.)

The four end up hiding in Reno's phone since the combined power surge needs to die down before they can devolve back to Rookie form. Now the forced transformation is one time thing as Kafka's new powers finally settled into his soul. Meanwhile the Defense Force wonders how a massive bird Honju had vanish into thin air.

Kafka's Kaiju form is going to get smothered in compliments by Digimon. Don't be surprised if his inbox becomes flooded with love letters or flirting once the knowledge becomes known in the Digital World. Gossip travels fast especially with celebrities.

[lovelopmon]

My Adventure 02 Epilogue Evolution Lines ~ Part 1

Part 2

Ever since I saw the Epilogue as a kid, I've always wondered what adventures the next generation of Digidestined would partake in. And I never understood the backlash the Epilogue received in regards to the kids having the same baby Digimon as their parents.

Thus, the WIPs were born.

My original next generation WIP idea catered more to my personal interests and what I shipped (Taiora, Mimato, Daikari) but my second WIP idea (the one I'll be talking about here) is much more canon adjacent. This second idea originally stemmed from myself challenging myself as to how I could mould the canon into my liking without entirely rewriting it.

While many of my original digivolution ideas were practically copycats of their parents, I'm much more satisfied with the evolutions I've come up with now. Many of which were inspired by YouTuber Karn EX's video, "What Would Their Partner DIGIVOLUTUONS Be? | Digimon Adventure 02 Epilogue Kids". And while they did a great job with making that video, there were a few digivolutions that I wasn't satisfied with.

When it came to coming up with digivolutions, I wanted them to be inspired by their parents without exactly mirroring the Digimon partners of their parents. At the same time, I wanted some of the Digivolutions to call back to Adventure and Adventure 02.

So for part 1, I'll be discussing the digivolutions for my WIP, Digimon Adventure 03: Inheritance, for the kids of the Adventure cast (minus TK and Kari).

First up, the son of Tai and Meiko:

Koromon -> Agumon -> Tyrannomon -> MetalTyrannomon -> RustTyrannomom

While there are other options for Rookie Digimon for Makoto (the name I gave him) to have, 1.) Agumon is too iconic and 2.) there's a specific story reason as to why Makoto and Tai share the same Rookie. Tai being the leader of the Adventure cast, and one of the two partners of Omnimon, on top of being a decorated Special Agent in Charge for the National Data Processing Bureau after retiring from his professional soccer career has made quite a name for himself. And Makoto silently struggles with living the shadows of his father's spotlight in a world where Digimon and humans are living in harmony. Being a bit rebellious, he desperately hopes that whoever Koromon digivolves to, it won't be the same as Mr. Agumon's digivolution, and some doubt is cast in as Makoto's Koromon becomes an Agumon.

Initially, I had the Digivolution as Agumon, to GeoGreymon, to RizeGreymon, then to VictoryGreymon. And while I do love that evolution line, it felt lazy. Thanks to Karn EX, I realized Tyrannomon made a great replacement, while also subtly calling back to the battle between Tyrannomon and Greymon in Adventure, as well as the DarkTyrannomon that Togemon fought before digivolving into Lilymon for the first time. MetalTyrannomon is pretty similar to MetalGreymon without being a complete copycat. However for the mega, I decided to stick with RustTyrannomon instead of Machinedramon.

I also have a secret dark evolution line, for when the plot really gets going, but I won't spoil that just yet.

Next, are the children of Matt and Sora:

Left: Yokomon -> Pomumon -> Parasaurmon -> Toropiamon -> Ceresmon

Right: Tsunomon -> Elecmon -> Leomon -> SaberLeomon -> DinoTigermon

For Mizuki (their daughter), I initially wanted Pomumon as the Rookie as displayed above, with Ornismon being the Mega. Being a huge, blue bird calls back to her mother's partner, Biyomon with her father's partner's, Gabumon's, color scheme. I struggled with finding a champion and ultimate stage to fill in the blanks so I figured I'd lean more into the plant dinosaur aspect of Pomumon for the digivolution. Plus, Sora saved a Pomumon in Digimon Adventure 2020, so that's a nice callback as well.

The idea for Shinji's (their son, and no, I promise not all of the names follow this similar naming convention) partner's digivolution came from Karn EX, however, they had intended it for Yokomon. I felt Tsunomon into Elecmon made more sense than Yokomon into Elecmon. Elecmon somewhat resembles Gabumon with similar blue stripes, and despite being different mammals, Garurumon, WereGarurumon, and MetalGarurumon look very similar to Leomon, SaberLeomon, and DinoTigermon, but red, which is Sora's signature color.

Also, with Pomumon turning into a dinosaur while Elecmon eventually transforms into a saber tooth tiger gives the siblings a nice, fossil, extinct animal theme with their Digimon as well lmao.

Izzy and Mimi:

Left: Motimon -> Kokabuterimon -> Searchmon -> Kongoumon -> Shivamon

Right: Tanemon -> Aruraumon -> Togemon -> Ajatarmon -> BloomLordmon

So, they didn't originally end up together, and had children with other people but by the beginning of the WIP, they're happily married (it'll be explained in another post) so Umeko (Izzy's daughter) and Akihiko (Mimi's son) are siblings now, which is why they're being group together like Mizuki and Shinji lmao.

Karn EX had introduced me to Kokabuterimon from another video of theirs, so from there, I did some digging and found Searchmon and Kongoumon. Yes, they're both armor digivolutions but I think I'm allowed a few creative liberties. Searchmon being an Armor Digivolution is hardly a problem for me, no one from the Adventure 02 ever had a Searchmon, and Armor Digivolutions were seen as on par with regular Champion level Digimon. Plus, Chuumon from the 2020 remake was seen digivolving into Searchmon naturally without an Armor Digivolution, so who's to say Kokabuterimon can't as well? Kongoumon is a bit trickier, quite a few games have changed Kongoumon's level, but one game did list Kongoumon as an Ultimate, so that's good enough for me (if Digimon can change certain mon's levels to their convenience, so can I. And apparently, SaberLeomon is a Mega and was only listed as Ultimate in a specific video game...oh well, lmao.).

I won't lie to you, seeing BloomLordmon as a Mega for Mimi's son really inspired me to try to find other Megas just as cool for the others. And while I did, BloomLord and the digivolution associated with him is my all time favorite. I also loved Ajatarmon but I wasn't fond of Mushroom and Woodmon, so I needed to find a starting point. Then, I remember my OG Wip, which included a Mimato daughter who had a Aruraumon as a Rookie. All I needed then was a Champion. I saw a post on Reddit with Shurimon listed as the Champion. And while that fits PERFECTLY, I couldn't. 1.) Shurimon had been used by a previous Digidestined and 2.) Shurimon wasn't partnered with Mimi, which would've been the only excuse I could give myself for using it (sure Shurimon comes from Digi-egg of Sincerity, but using Shurimon with that excuse is a stretch). Incorporating Togemon into the digivolution (which is the only instance of a kid sharing a Champion with their Digidestined parent) is not only fitting but shows just how fluid digivolutions can be.

And finally, Joe's son:

Bukamon -> Syakomon -> Shellmom -> WaruSeadramon -> Gigaseadramon

Originally, I was gonna give Yuji a Gomamon. But then, I came up with this.

Hear me out, lmao. It's a little all over the place, but for starters, there aren't as many of a variety of aquatic Digimon, specifically, aquatic Digimon that can dwell on land as well. And Gomamon doesn't seem to have a variety of options other than Ikkakumon or Dolphmon.

I came across Syakomon for another post I made on assigning Digimon partners to Descendants characters, and I felt Syakomon was a great starting point. Shellmon and WaruSeadramon share a similar color palette, and given that Yuji will bear the Crest of Adaptability, WaruSeadramon to Gigaseadramon makes perfect sense. Apparently, other Digimon digivolve into WaruSeadramon in wickedness from what I've researched, but we can skip over that, right? Honestly, I might have a solution for it if I need one, considering I already have Makoto and another next gen Digidestined going through dark digivolutions for plot reasons.

Next part will include the children of T.K, Kari, Davis, Cody, and Ken and Yolei.

[yokaijuyusha]

Nimbumon Level- Baby I     Type- Slime

A small digimon formed from weather data. It appears most commonly high in the sky, condensing from stray data and floating on the breeze until they digivolve.

Breeze Blower- a soft gust that serves as more of an escape mechanism than an attack

Turbimon Level- Baby II     Type- Slime

A mechanised baby Digimon whose turbines grant it exceptional speed. However, it lacks control and often crashes into other Digimon ('𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘒𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮').

Zoom Kaboom- Flies straight towards the enemy and rams them hard with its helmet

JetHawkmon  Level- Child     Type- Chick

A small bird-type Digimon whose wings are not developed enough to fly. Instead, it uses the jetpack on its back to shoot across the sky at high speeds (𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘦𝘤𝘬).

Sonic Peck- Spins while flying at high speeds to generate a ‘drill’ of air pressureTomoHawk- Shoots rings of wind from the engines of its jetpack

Peregrimon  Level- Adult     Type- Bird

It soars through the skies at almost 600mph, groups attacking any Digimon who enter their territory with military formations.

Its main attack is 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦, a high-speed ram that pierces the enemy's armour.

Velocitackle- Flies at high enough speeds to pierce stone with its beakWarhawk- Flaps its wings to shoot blades of wind that slice through foes

HiPeregrimon  Level- Perfect     Type- Machine Bird

A Peregrimon species that has upgraded using data from military specs. It now reaches speeds of 1500mph. Its 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩 10 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘯 attack pierces the enemy with a hypersonic blitz while firing its tornado guns.

Typhoon- Fires its ‘Tornado’ shoulder-mounted machineguns while spinning with over 50 gs worth of pressureEagliser- Uses the spinning speed of its Tornado guns to create whirlwinds that slice foes with blades of air

BomberPeregrimon  Level- Ultimate     Type- Machine Bird

A Griffon-like Digimon that is the pinnacle of aerial technology. It now reaches speeds nearing Mach 10, and the 𝘎𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘳 claws on its wings rend through all in its path.

Gigant Piercer- Rips through enemy digimon with the claws on its wings

Speed Blitz- Increases speeds to Mach 10 and bombards the opponent with claws, guns and afterburner jetsPeregrine Falchion- Spins every part of its body to generate a storm of wind blades that shred through anything in their path

[pearlyetoile]

Digimon Ocs / Digifake !! Name Etherealis Lucemon Varient

Info:

Etherealis is a lucemon who has no memories of his past and spent a majority of his life not being able to digivolve past Rookie Level. In the past he was raised by a Piddomon and a Venusmon but due to losing his memories he does not remember them.

In Training 2:

Rookie: As a Rookie he is very childish, and self-centered. He hides the fact that he cares for others. Without his memories he’s not able to fight as well as he could but holds the power of a digimon who is in Champion level.

Champion: This form is known as Protector Mode. Only available to Etherealis after he gets a few of his memories back. This form holds the Crest of Humility and will go out of its way to protect others. The weapon he holds in his hand is a Spear made from Piddomons data.

Ultimate: Known as Vengeful Mode. Once Etherealis gains all of his memories he is able to reach Ultimate level. This form holds the Code Key of Pride. Since he is so Prideful, he doesn’t mind showing his opponents his weak point which is the Orb in his stomachs mouth. He doesnt mind biting though so dont try to grab it.. its a trick

[moth-thief]

ArkhaiAngemon EX6-021 R <03>

Ultimate | Vaccine | Principality

[On Play] [When Digivolving] By adding the top or bottom card of your security stack to the hand, 1 of your opponent's Digimon gets -4000 DP for the turn. Then, you may place 1 Digimon card with the [Angel], [Archangel] or [Three Great Angels] trait from your hand at the bottom of your security stack.

[(Rule) Trait: Also has [Angel].]

---

Inherited: [Opponent's Turn] All of your Digimon with the [Angel], [Archangel] or [Three Great Angels] trait gain <Blocker>.

[digimonirl]

My partner SkullGreymon is sad everyone is scared of him, especially rookie and baby Digimons. He digivolved naturally into a SkullGreymon, not through evil influence or death evolution, but everyone assumes he's a bad guy ! Do you have any advice on how to make him a little less scary to others ? We thought about painting him bright colors but it feels itchy, and decorative flowers start to dig into his bones after a while :(

Honestly, it doesn't sound like you and your partner should be doing any work here. People's prejudices aren't your fault, and while it can be tempting to change oneself to avoid confrontation or educate others; that's ultimately not your problem. If you really want a way to respond to these people, I would just save the links for one of the many, many resources detailing why undead/demon lord/virus type Digimon aren't inherently evil and send them to whoever has reservations.

Additionally, focus on celebrating your partner and lifting him up! Interactions like this can be really damaging to a person's self esteem so it would be good to remind him that you value him as a partner, regardless of what other people think. Remember, there's no bad species, only species people judge unfairly.