Japanese Title: The Inheritor of Courage
Three years after an unforgettable summer, in 2002, the Chosen Children have since moved on with their lives, all but two having gone on to middle school. Some of the kids have taken up other hobbies: Yamato formed a band, while Sora's taken up tennis and Hikari has started to get into photography.
Unfortunately, things have started to take a dark turn in the Digital World: the rise of a human villain, a Digimon Kaiser, is once again throwing the Digital World into darkness. The Kaiser uses mysterious black rings in order to enslave Digimon to his will, and a fleeing Tailmon only narrowly escapes this fate through the power of the ring on her tail only to be faced by a Unimon...
Having just moved to Odaiba, an older Takeru Takaishi prepares for his first day of fifth grade. On the way down, he meets his new neighbors, sixth-grader Miyako Inoue and third-grader Iori Hida. Since they all attend the same school, they walk to school together, and on the way Takeru catches sight of a boy playing soccer and wearing goggles. He initially mistakes it to be Taichi, but upon second look sees it to be a different boy wearing different goggles. Takeru tells the boy, Daisuke Motomiya, that his goggles are cool before leaving for class, remembering that Taichi is, after all, in middle school.
Daisuke goes to class and is happy to see that Hikari is in his class. He tells her about the weird kid who told him that his goggles were cool, which also perplexes her.
In the Digital World, Agumon falls down on the ground, calling for Taichi. At middle school, Taichi finds his Digivice beeping...
The teacher of Daisuke and Hikari's class introduces the new student as Takeru, whom Daisuke recognizes as the kid from before. Takeru is assigned to sit next to Hikari and the two immediately recognize each other and begin conversation, to which Daisuke expresses jealous shock at how they know each other already.
The Chosen Children's partnered Digimon continue to flee and Taichi, having (inexplicably) managed to find his way into the Digital World, comes to get him. Taichi tries to get Agumon to evolve, but finds himself unable to, and in the Digimon Kaiser's lair the Kaiser laughs that it's impossible to evolve in areas under his control. Tailmon helps lead them to a nearby cave, while Taichi sends out a desperate email with a nifty portable electronic device called a D-Terminal to everyone he knows who can help.
Miyako receives the email, intended for Koushirou and, seeing the name "Yagami", remembers that she's heard of a Yagami in fifth grade. While Daisuke is confronting Takeru and Hikari on how they know each other, Miyako runs in and presents a copy of the email to Hikari, who recognizes that her brother is in trouble. While the four of them run to the computer lab, they run into Koushirou himself, and Miyako is happy to see her upperclassman hanging around even after he's graduated while Takeru recognizes Koushirou.
Koushirou reveals that he’d gotten Taichi's email on his own D-Terminal, but was unable to respond as his batteries had run out and it was faster to return to his old middle school than go home. Taichi receives a response from Koushirou telling him that Hikari and Takeru are with him, while Agumon tells Taichi to come look at something.
Miyako, having read the email, and Daisuke, who had heard Taichi mention something similar once or twice, question what's the whole business with the Digital World and Digimon, while Hikari explains to Takeru that Taichi is Daisuke's upperclassman from the soccer club. Iori comes in and pulls Miyako aside because of her promise earlier to fix Iori's mother’s computer, while Koushirou finds the Digital Gate to be open.
Taichi and the Digimon with him find what looks like a small red item that bears the Crest of Courage. Even though Taichi is linked to the Crest of Courage, he finds himself unable to lift the object up, but when he touches it three lights emerge from the item and rise to the sky. While Koushirou, Takeru, and Hikari tell Daisuke, who wants to go in and help his upperclassman, that not just anyone can enter the Digital World, three lights emerge from the computer, one going to Daisuke and one going to a very flustered Miyako and Iori outside. The lights reveal them to be Digivices, one that look somewhat different from the ones belonging to the Chosen Children of 1999.
Since the Gate is open, Hikari and Takeru use it to enter the Digital World, with Daisuke following with his new Digivice. Koushirou is about to follow them before he's interrupted by Miyako and Iori, demanding to know what those lights they just got are.
Once the three kids land in the Digital World, Daisuke notices that his clothes have mysteriously changed, while the Kaiser observes them from his lair. While Hikari uses her Digivice to try and find Taichi, Daisuke runs into a vending machine and, not knowing that vending machines in the Digital World generally don't hold good things, is overrun by a bunch of Numemon. After having a good laugh at this, Hikari and Takeru explain that there are many other kinds of Digimon, some that are cuter and some that are much scarier.
Taichi and the Digimon accompanying him meet up with Hikari, Takeru, and Daisuke, and Patamon and Takeru share a reunion (in front of a shocked Daisuke). While Taichi wonders why Daisuke is there, Tailmon and Hikari also reunite, and Hikari notices that Tailmon's Holy Ring is missing, to which she explains she lost in escaping from the Unimon — and without the Holy Ring, Tailmon's power is reduced to that of a Child-level. The Digimon Kaiser has been starting his conquest of the Digital World and brainwashing Digimon, equipping a black version of Daisuke's Digivice. When Taichi hears that Daisuke’s Digivice came out of a computer, he realizes it to be one of the three lights that came out of the mysterious Crest of Courage-bearing item, and that Daisuke could be another Chosen Child.
Miyako and Iori continue to interrogate Koushirou about everything, and Koushirou remains evasive until Miyako presents him with her new Digivice...
The Digimon Kaiser’s Digivice has the ability to stop Digimon from evolving, and without her Holy Ring, Tailmon is as weak as a Child-level Digimon. Watching over them, the Digimon Kaiser declares this to be a game and sends a Monochromon after them.
Taichi directs the others to the mysterious item with the Crest of Courage, and none of the children are able to lift it. Daisuke goes up and it lifts for him with no trouble at all, and a hole from underneath it releases a light, from which emerges a Digimon named V-mon, who’s happy to have found the person who could lift the "Digimental" of Courage. They're attacked shortly after by the Monochromon, and none of the Digimon are able to defeat him without the ability to evolve. As they run, V-mon instructs Daisuke to "use his courage" and shout the phrase "Digimental Up!", which will allow V-mon to evolve. Daisuke is at first hesitant, but when the Monochromon attacks Hikari, who's collapsed due to having twisted her ankle, he throws aside his goggles, shouts the phrase and causes V-mon to armor evolve to Fladramon.
Fladramon, clad in the armor of the Digimental of Courage and having evolved in the spirit of Agumon's evolutions, takes on the Monochromon while the Digimon Kaiser watches in amusement. Fladramon destroys the black ring binding Monochromon and Monochromon becomes tame, while Fladramon reverts to V-mon and Daisuke receives a D-Terminal of his own to store the Digimental.
Hikari and Takeru express disgust at how the Kaiser could enslave a normally docile Digimon, Daisuke and V-mon shake hands and acknowledge each other as partners, and Taichi acknowledges Daisuke as a new Chosen Child who will protect the world and gives him his goggles. The Digimon Kaiser watches over them, declaring that this will be "interesting", while a green worm Digimon approaches in concern and calls his name, "Ken"...
Since the Digimon Kaiser doesn't appear at night, the group decides it's safe to go home now, and approach the gate to the human world through a TV. Back in the computer lab, Miyako continues to insist on following the others to the Digital World, but are immediately startled to see the kids in the Digital World through the computer screen, become sucked through the screen, and land all piled-up in the computer lab.
Tropes
- Hey, You!: Hikari gets irritated at Daisuke for using this on Takeru in the original Japanese version. The dub tried to make an equivalent by having Davis misspell T.K.'s name, which turned into a Running Gag for the dub (the "you" issue was never really brought up after this episode in the original).
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: While Davis is initially left standing in shock after witnessing Kari and T.K. warp themselves into the computer, he musters up the courage to take his own maiden voyage to the Digital World in response to Izzy asking if he's too scared to.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never explained how Koushirou somehow managed to get the Digital Gate (open or closed) on the school computer, nor why Tailmon doesn't have Hikari's whistle (a whistle appears on the neck of Hikari's son during the final episode, but we don't know if it's the same whistle and, if it is, why we never see Tailmon with it).
- Worthy Opponent: In both versions, after the battle's over, the Kaiser/Emperor looks at Daisuke/Davis on his screen as he happily observes he now has an opponent who can put up a serious fight against him.
