"Watch out!"
Standing right next to her, Tai threw himself at Sora and tackled her to the ground.
The lunging Snimon hadn't even had time to turn around when a huge fireball flew in from behind and smashed into the Dark Ring on its body. It was the Nova Blast that the newly evolved Greymon had just fired which shattered Snimon's Dark Ring.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Agumon, who had suddenly digivolved into Greymon, and no one noticed the ground quietly cracking open beneath Davis's feet.
"You thought the game was already over? Go, Drimogemon!"
Davis and Veemon dropped into the huge pit that had opened up. At the bottom of the hole was Drimogemon, controlled by a Dark Ring.
Drimogemon lives deep underground. It's a Champion-level, Beast-type Digimon that usually uses the drill on its head to move forward at high speed through the earth. Its signature moves are Drill Spin and Crusher Bone.
Drill Spin (Drill Spin) — Attacks the enemy using the drill on its head.
Crusher Bone (Crusher Bone) — Digs up fossils and hurls them at the enemy.
Strength of Earth (Strength of Earth) — Gathers energy from the ground to increase its own attack power.
Stoneevenshoot (Stoneevenshoot) — Summons stone bullets and fires them in continuous volleys at the enemy.
Piercing Drill (Piercing Drill) — Throws its entire body forward and uses the drill to bore straight through the enemy.
"Ah!"
Just as everyone turned back, Davis had already vanished into the hole. On solid ground, Greymon could easily beat Drimogemon into the dirt, but when it came to tunneling, well… Greymon had nothing on it.
When Davis opened his eyes, the first thing that filled his vision was a bottomless abyss.
"Whoa!"
His sharp scream sent countless birds fluttering into the air. Davis looked left and right, then could only helplessly accept the fact that he was tied to the side of a cliff.
"Wh–what is this…?" Davis honestly had no idea what was going on.
"So you finally woke up."
A voice suddenly came from above his head.
"Who are you?" Davis strained to crane his neck, trying to see who it was, but it was a completely pointless effort.
"Heh-heh-heh, I caught you way too easily. I thought you'd be much tougher than that. You really disappointed me."
Standing at the edge of the cliff was the Digimon Emperor.
"So you're the Digimon Emperor."
Hearing that, Davis instantly realized it was the Digimon Emperor who had captured him.
"That's right," the other boy admitted cheerfully.
"Aren't you a kid, just like me?"
"Ha ha ha!"
Hearing Davis say that, the Digimon Emperor threw his head back and laughed.
"Same as you? Don't be ridiculous. You're way below me. Take a look at the proof for yourself."
As he spoke, a crack suddenly opened in the smooth cliff wall directly across from Davis. Veemon was pushed out and lay there, still strapped to a stone slab.
"Darn it, there's no way we can Armor Digivolve like this."
"Of course not. Without these, you two can't do anything, right?"
The Digimon Emperor was holding Davis's D-3 Digivice and the DT Digivice in his hand.
"Hey! Give me back my D-3 Digivice, and let Veemon go!"
Davis struggled with everything he had, but he was still firmly bound in place.
"No can do. If you barge into someone else's backyard, you have to accept your punishment. I'm going to make your Digimon my servant. Just sit there and watch."
As he spoke, the Digimon Emperor snapped his fingers. A spinning Dark Ring shot toward Veemon.
"No!"
Davis shouted at the top of his lungs. Hearing him yell only made the Digimon Emperor happier.
"If you think you can, then go ahead and try. But I absolutely refuse to become your servant!" Veemon said firmly.
"What did you say?"
The Digimon Emperor snapped, angered by Veemon talking back to him. The Dark Ring was already very close, about to clamp down onto Veemon's body.
Meanwhile, the group of seven on the surface was still strolling unhurriedly through the forest, chatting as they went about how Agumon was still able to digivolve into Greymon.
"Tai, why can Agumon digivolve when Biyomon and the others can't?"
Sora finally voiced the question that everyone had been wondering about. All their ears immediately perked up, ready to listen.
"Actually, Gatomon is the one who should be answering that," Tai said, sounding completely relaxed.
"Me?"
Gatomon stopped walking and pointed at herself, her face full of disbelief.
"Tai, what does Gatomon have to do with this?"
Kari was just as confused.
"Gatomon's been staying at Champion the whole time, hasn't she?" Tai kept that slightly smug tone as he continued to tease them.
"But what does that have to do with Agumon digivolving?" T.K. still didn't get it.
"Ah!"
Gatomon suddenly cried out, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"I've been able to stay in my Champion form because I once gathered enough data to digivolve naturally, without using a Digivice. So Agumon being able to digivolve into Greymon probably doesn't rely on the Digivice either—he's doing it on his own."
Gatomon finished speaking and gave Kari a look that basically screamed, See? I'm smart.
Kari smiled, stroking Gatomon's head.
"Mm-hmm, Gatomon really is smart."
"Gatomon's right," Tai said, looking at Gatomon nestled in Kari's arms. "Agumon was able to digivolve to Champion on his own even before we fought the Dark Masters. By the time we defeated Millenniummon, he could even digivolve all the way to WarGreymon. But after what happened back then, Agumon's been limited to only digivolving to Champion Greymon."
At that point, everyone's expressions turned a bit gloomy. Yolei and Cody, however, had no idea what they were talking about. The two of them just stared at the five older kids and their five partner Digimon, all looking somewhat depressed.
"What are you all talking about? Who are the Dark Masters? Who's Millenniummon? And what's WarGreymon? Will somebody please explain it to me?"
Yolei complained, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Wait a second… WarGreymon… I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. Where was it…?"
Muttering to herself, she sank into her memories.
"Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep."
Yolei's and Cody's D-3 Digivices suddenly started beeping, snapping everyone out of their daze.
"Huh? What's going on? Why did my D-3 Digivice suddenly start making noise?" Cody looked up and asked.
"But our Digivices aren't reacting at all," T.K. said, glancing down at his own Digivice.
"It really is because of that," Biyomon said, turning back to Tentomon with a firm nod.
"No doubt about it," Tentomon agreed.
"Hm?"
Sora looked at Biyomon curiously.
"Everyone, follow me," Biyomon said, then started forward with Tentomon at her side, leading the way.
Following Biyomon and Tentomon for a while, they finally arrived in front of a structure that looked just like a Mayan pyramid. After they went inside, what appeared at the end of the passageway was a tall stone altar.
"Sora, look over there," Biyomon said, lifting her wings to point.
Everyone followed the direction Biyomon was indicating.
"Ah, those are Armor Digi-Eggs!"
Resting on two stone stands were Armor Digi-Eggs set with the symbols of the Crests of Love and Knowledge. Sora and Izzy stepped forward and tried to pick up the Armor Digi-Eggs.
"They won't budge…" Sora said, disappointed.
"They're so heavy I can't lift them at all," Izzy said, shaking his head.
"If you two can't move them, then they must belong to Cody and Yolei," Tai said from the back.
"They belong to me?" Yolei asked, unable to believe it.
"Yolei, why don't you give it a try?" Sora encouraged her.
"You too, Cody," Izzy added.
The two of them stepped up and easily picked up the two Armor Digi-Eggs. Immediately, a red beam and a purple beam rose up from the altar, and from within the light, two Digimon appeared.
Hawkmon is a polite and always-calm Bird-type Digimon. Like Veemon, it's a descendant of one of the special ancient races that prospered in the distant past. By using the power of the Digi-Eggs, it can undergo a kind of pseudo Armor-level digivolution. Its special technique is Beak Peck, where it pecks fiercely like a woodpecker. Its finishing move is Feather Slash, which fires the feathers of its head-crest like throwing blades.
Armadillomon is a Mammal-type Digimon whose body is covered in a hard shell. It has a laid-back, cute personality, though its tendency to get carried away is a bit of a flaw. Since Armadillomon, like Veemon, is a descendant of an ancient race, it can perform a special kind of Armor Digivolution. Its special technique is Scratch Beat, where it extends its long foreclaws to attack the enemy. Its finishing move is Rolling Stone, where it curls up into a ball and charges the enemy.
Scratch Beat (Scratch Beat): Extends its long foreclaws to attack the enemy.
"Whoa…"
Everyone let out a chorus of amazed gasps as they looked at the two new Digimon.
"Hello, my name is Hawkmon. I've been waiting for you to appear," Hawkmon said politely.
"That nap was great… Are you the one who woke me up? My name's Armadillomon," the other Digimon said.
"Come on, Yolei, let's fight side by side," Hawkmon said energetically.
"W–wait a second, okay? I don't know anything about fighting…"
Startled by how casually Hawkmon was acting with her, Yolei took a step back. Even though she had seen Davis fight alongside Flamedramon, being told to suddenly join the battle herself… Yolei really wasn't ready for that yet.
"Oh dear, this is a real problem," Hawkmon said, scratching his head, not sure what to do.
At that moment, Sora, the best "combat counselor" around, took Yolei's hand and began a heartfelt pep talk.
"Back then, Mimi said the same thing. She didn't want to fight because she didn't want anyone to get hurt. I don't like fighting either. But one day you'll realize that meeting your Digimon partner is actually a wonderful thing—that going on adventures together is amazing. Someday you'll feel that way too, so you've got to do your best, okay?"
Off to the side, Izzy was also giving Cody a lot of advice, helping him understand his own desire to seek out knowledge.
Once the two of them had set aside most of their worries, the Armor Digi-Eggs in their hands began to shine.
"Armor Digivolution!" Yolei and Cody shouted together.
"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to… Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to… Digmon, the Steel Drill of Knowledge!"
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