Digimon Evolution: Response to “Redrawing the Scale”

By Crazyeight

I’ll have to take some disagreement with you on this particular bone.

The levels that digimon evolve to are supposed to denote a stage in life that naturally occurs (with humans serving as an accelerator of sorts when one is involved), and at the same time is a metamorphosis evolution where a digimon adapts to their surroundings depending on various key factors (emotional state, environment, etc…) just like in nature in the real world. Digimon of any species are not shown to be just merely clones of each other but will gain various attributes as well as changes in size (such as in first season when Greymon fought a separate Greymon, which was noticeably darker around the skull area and had variations such as extra stripes), just like any individual in any living species in the real world. A larger Agumon does not mean a difference in level (Prime Rookie versus Rookie) but more of an individual’s difference in its data code (like genetics) or could even represent an entirely different subspecies. An example of this would be the difference between a BlackWarGreymon and a black colored WarGreymon, which as noted by the DMA digidex is a variant of the WarGreymon species and not a “BlackWarGreymon” per se. The same could be said for a WarGreymon of the X-Antibody variety as it’s a regular WarGreymon that has gained an alteration in its code as well as its appearance, granting it stronger capabilities than the original counterpart.

Power of a digimon also plays a key role in defining a digimon. Digimon that are above the par for what their level should be tend to be referred to as “high class” or “strong (insert level)”, with the inverse being true for the “weak” version of the same level (one example can be the Parasimon from the sixth movie, which are known to be Mega level, but are easily defeated by Champion level digimon like Guardromon. Another could be Lucemon, whose Rookie form is known to frighten even Mega’s such as the Royal Knights, and that’s no small task). Experience I would have to say plays the biggest role in determining a level’s strength. Ultimate’s are seen as being superior to Champions in every way, yet in first season two Champions (a Snimon and a Tuskmon), one of whom (the Tuskmon) was at a type disadvantage, held three Ultimates (WereGarurumon, Zudomon, and Garudamon) at a standstill. Myotismon also stood off multiple Ultimate level attacks (most of which were fired by digimon who had type advantage over him), and this was done so by his use of his fog barrier and magic which more than made up for his deficiencies (preciously he had withdrawn from combat against Garudamon upon her first appearance as well as a two on one fight with WereGarurumon and Angemon though he has shown himself capable of fighting one on one quite admirably against a single Vaccine type Ultimate). When combined with the fog and his magic Myotismon was almost on par with a Mega.

Armor evolution is a bit trickier to define. In 02 it was cited as being a separate evolution type that existed when the digital world was new and digivolution almost impossible to achieve without assistance, so one could say that Armor Evolution was, as shown, just a digital artifact that donated additional data to trigger an evolution like effect. Armor’s are shown to have varying power levels ranging from Rookie to Mega depending on the digi-egg used and the digimon using it, but more often than not they’re portrayed as being along the lines of strong Rookie / weak Champion. However the matter of it being a separate evolution becomes murky when in Savers a digimon (a Drimogemon I believe) slide evolves into a Digmon and is classified as a Champion. It’s quite possible that any Armor form can be reached through natural evolution in order to classify them as a Champion, but achievement of the Armor form using a digi-egg is what classifies it as an Armor, though it is a bit strange to do so. Concerning Gatomon lack of using Armor Evolution after recovering her tail ring, I’ve heard that because of her tail ring, as well as her classification as a Champion with that ring, Gatomon is unable to Armor digivolve (given that she’s stronger than her Armor form when she has her tail right and can evolve to Angewomon as well there doesn’t seem to be much reason for her to utilize Armor evolution at all.

The levels involved in spirit evolution are different because they were, in essence, spirits whose powers had been separated; hence they no longer adequately fit into the normal evolution classification that were seen. Their power levels fluctuated quite a lot over the course of their debut. Agunimon easily defeated Cerberumon, an Ultimate level digimon (the Human spirit form is seen as the spirit’s answer to the Champion level) while Duskmon proved to be more than capable of beating the tar out of not only every Human spirit put against him, but also the Beasts and could be almost even with Fusion forms. It can easily be said though that Spirit digimon have an affinity for elements that are in their own nature as dukmon fought the digidestined on the “continent of darkness” and was fighting in his element (Cerberumon also fought with flame based attacks). The only problem with this is that Kumamon defeated an Ultimate level Asuramon on his own and in an environment that was detrimental to the element of ice.

Mega is indeed a difficult level to define, but perhaps not so much as evolving even further to the level of “Super Ultimate” (a level above Mega shown in V-Tamer. In various digimon sources there are supposedly only “six” confirmed Super Ultimates, though I have yet to find them all) is much more difficult than any other previous advancement due to the sheer amount of data and energy involved in even achieving that form. Armageddamon and Omnimon are both DNA evolved digimon. Digimon that evolve by DNA means tend to be stronger than the average digimon on the same level as it’s two digimon instead of one being fused together by the additional data that comes with evolution (Omnimon’s composed of two high class Mega’s and Armageddamon is made up of thousands of Fresh level digimon. On another note Armageddamon is more of an alternate evolution of the Kuramon line and not a mode change like what Imperialdramon goes through. Digimon have been noted to take on alternate lines of evolution in the past, some of which have high differences in power as well as savagery). Mode changes are further refinements and enhancements in a digimon’s present form at the time of its occurrence. Digimon that feature mode changes are probably closer to your Prime system than a larger, more aggressive Agumon. I would like to finish this review by noting that despite level, a digimon’s ultimate power as well as their appearance is defined by whatever traits and attributes their species possess at the time of their evolution, with level serving more as a reminder of a digimon’s stage in life and not a determination of their power (though one can get a fairly accurate guess as to what that power is. Ultimate’s aren’t called “Perfect” for nothing).

I rather enjoyed that topic of conversation that you posted on the digimon corner of . :P Thanks.

Sincerely,

Crazyeight

redemption2’s Rebuttal

Thank you for replying in such a thorough and convincing form, Crazyeight. Your points are all very valid, especially when it comes to type and elemental differential. However you may disagree, I see multiple points in your arguments that actually support the Prime System.

An evolution is, of course, considered an advancement into a more superior form. Tai’s Koromon digivolved into a standard Agumon, while Kari’s Koromon digivolved into BigAgumon, meaning that somehow, the Koromon had obtained enough different code to change into that state (though how catfood and liversticks would help anyone is beyond me). If Agumon was the standard Rookie level, then BigAgumon had a type of advanced evolution of the Rookie level, obtaining a more powerful attack, strength, and size. Though the size issue could also be considered a detriment, he managed to save Kari by leaping over a truck, something that the small Agumon wouldn’t have been able to do. This is my basis for Prime Rookie level, a small advancement that increases its power over its standard form. Also Prime digimon tend to have an added feature, the ability to digivolve to the next level easier than a standard level. Koromon and Agumon are easily found in the digital world, however Greymon are rare due to the amount of data used to digivolve permanently. Without using a human catalyst, BigAgumon digivolved to a red Greymon (I was incorrect about it being a RedGreymon before), taking the half step up to a Champion to fight off Parrotmon, within an hour of its digivolution to BigAgumon. If you took a horse, a unicorn, and a Pegasus and put them side by side, they’re all equestrian, however the horn and the wings could be considered a feature written into their DNA that’s advanced enough to reclassify it. That’s where the Prime System comes from, a deviation significant enough to alter the power levels.

The evolutions of BlackWarGreymon and the X-Antibody also apply. As you said, the X-Antibody is a piece of digital code that changes appearance and increases power. Though the digimon doesn’t have a name differential aside from an unstated X at the end, its power is increased, sans Dukemon being reborn as Dukemon X (If that giant shield doesn’t show the increase in power, I don’t know what does). BlackWarGreymon, through the creation of 100 Black Spires, was at the very least on par with WarGreymon, if not stronger.

You also confirmed the existence of “strong level” and “weak level” digimon, which is essentially what the Prime System is. Instead of saying that Aldemon is a “strong Ultimate” and ShadowSeraphimon was a “weak Mega”, we could just as easily say they’re Prime Ultimate level, encompassing them both in a half step system. When you discuss the power differentials in Movie 6, there are actually a lot of incontinuities. Parasimon may have been defeated by Guardromon’s Guardian Barrage, but Kazu’s Guardromon also managed to push a train fast enough to equal Locomon’s speed, when it’s seen in previous series that Guardromon didn’t really move that fast, so it could be considered that Kazu’s Guardromon was actually a Prime Champion. Speaking of Locomon, Beelzemon, a Mega level, couldn’t even put a dent in Locomon with his Double Impact at point blank range, while Locomon’s Wheel Grinder completely totaled his bike. This could be put forth that Locomon was actually a Prime Ultimate, and possibly Beelzemon was too. Another statement to the fact that Locomon was a Prime Ultimate was when he digivolved (rather pointlessly) to GrandLocomon. Though Parasimon may have forced him to do so (he reverted in the end), a parasite is supposed to feed off its host, so there’s no reason why it had to lend its power. As for the reason Parasimon was easily defeated by a Prime Champion is probably because Parasimon are Prime Ultimates (weak Megas) that are focused more on attack and stealth than defense.

Of course with every system of classification, there will be outliers, the biggest of which is Lucemon. They say that Lucemon’s child form was a Rookie level on par with a Mega, and yet all of its other evolutions had the name Lucemon: Chaos Mode, Shadow Lord Mode, and Larva. How they can get that Lucemon was not classified as a Mega, I don’t know. At weakest, I would classify Lucemon as a Prime Ultimate, Chaos Mode as Mega, Shadow Lord as Prime Mega, and Larva as Legend. I also admit that wisdom does help in battle no matter who or what you are, creating more outliers like the examples you had mentioned with Tuskmon. Both a crow and an ape can use tools to get food, but it doesn’t mean they’re on the same evolutionary scale. It’s experience and smarts that define the victory. Myotismon was a strategist, and the person that left the digidestined the message on how to defeat him was also a strategist (I still think it was Jinnai, but that’s just me).

One part of your citation of the Armor Evolutions doesn’t make sense to me. You said that when the digital world was new, the Armor Digi-eggs were the catalyst to begin evolution where there basically was none. However when the digidestined obtained the digi-eggs, they still required the Digivices and D-terminal to activate the evolution. Could this mean that the Armor Digivolve has lost its strength overtime? If so that could also mean that an Armor Digivolve is actually weaker than a Champion, making it a Prime Rookie. Though I admit I’ve not seen Savers (I gave up on Jetix), from what you’ve said, Drimogemon didn’t use an armor or spirit to slide evolve. This could mean that that specific Digmon really was a Champion because it didn’t use the weaker catalyst that Armadillomon did. At the very least, I have to say that the Armor digimon in Adventure 2 were Prime Rookie, save for the miracle provided by the Golden Digi-eggs.

I admit that the lines do blur in Frontier with the spirits, however the spirit evolutions are not removed from the mainstream classifications. The proof of this is Mercurymon, whose human spirit was taken, and yet there was a purified Mercurymon in the Village of the Beginnings. We’ve seen in past shows, even beyond the Digimon universe, that humans can increase their strength rapidly through sheer force of will, combining their hearts and souls to give them a sort of overboost. There’s even documented video evidence that an adrenaline rush can give a man the power to lift a helicopter to rescue someone. When the digidestined spirit evolved, that trait was never lost. It’s something most Digimon don’t have on their own, even with humans beside them. The only example of a human overboosting a digimon without becoming one was Takato and Guilmon, where their hearts bonded when WarGrowlmon appeared for the first time, or in Movie Five, when the three Ultimate digimon used Trinity Burst (which I found to be a very cheesy and unlikely way to defeat a Prime Mega).

V-Tamer is also something I’m not informed about. If that’s a manga, I haven’t applied those universes, just the animated ones as sometimes manga tends to change a universe drastically (example: the ends of Fullmetal Alchemist). However, this “Super Ultimate” level seems like my defined Legend level, only with fewer occupants. You described DNA digivolving as a step up from the standard digivolution because it combines two digimons’ abilities. That would mean Paildramon would be a Prime Ultimate, and Omnimon would be a Prime Legend (a Mega digivolves to a Legend, then two Megas digivolve to a Prime Legend). That doesn’t make sense to me. I think the Mega level is easier to describe in Primes because the sheer amount of data needed to digivolve to Legend/Super Ultimate would be too much to obtain in one jump. The original creation of Omnimon wasn’t a DNA Digivolve, but a DNA Fusion, which brought them the half step to Prime Mega. As for Armageddamon, you misread my statement. I did not say that it was a mode change from Diaboromon, but a half step evolution, once again, using a DNA Fusion of the Baby/Fresh Kuromon to create a Prime Mega with intense firepower. When Imperialdramon made its second mode change to Paladin mode, all of Stingmon’s identity disappeared, also recoloring the parts that were taken from him. I classified it as an evolution from a Prime Mega to a Legend because the change was significant enough and powerful enough to completely wipe out Armageddamon in one hit.

Thank you for sending me your thoughts. Though it may have not been your intention, it has reinforced my belief in the practicality of the Prime System. You have shown me where most of the outliers can come from, and given me a bit of history about Armor that I didn’t know. However the differences in evolutions thanks to changes in code practically beg for the creation of the Prime system, because of the advancements and detriments that the changes in code can create. We have the basis already, but as the world has expanded, sticking just to those base classifications makes us create more complex statistics like “weak ultimate” or “strong champion” when both could be better defined into the Prime System, bringing them closer together. Especially for the Mega levels and Mode Changes, there are far too many Mega level Digimon out there with ranging powers that are far superior to the others. It’s been over eight years since the start of the Digimon series, and we’ve been using the same system with no changes ever since. These are computer life forms we are talking about here, and computers have advanced while the Digimon scale has not. We’ve gone through Windows 2000, ME, NT, XP, and Vista, and yet our Digimon system has stayed the same. It’s time to update and reboot.

By no means is this debate over with. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that have their own opinions and are just begging to share them. Feel free to send any and all questions or reactions to the topic to my e-mail address (its linked in my profile) and I’ll be happy to answer them. And I’m sure Crazyeight would too.

(Author’s Note: I would like to take this opportunity to mention that in a secondary e-mail Crazyeight pointed out that my recollection of the fight between Beelzemon and Megidramon was indeed incorrect. Therefore I rescind the statements I made that Megidramon was a Prime Ultimate.)