Japanese Title: The Seal of BlackWarGreymon
While Gabumon and the other elder Chosen’s Digimon minus Agumon guard the Digital Gate that leads to Hikarigaoka in order to stop any Digimon from wandering into there, the governments in the Real World release a statement that they will be considering the attacking monsters as unidentified organisms and are considering mobilizing the Self-Defense Forces.
Armadimon’s cover is blown when Iori’s grandfather hears his stomach growling, and the fact that Armadimon isn't a stuffed animal is exposed. Iori apologizes for having kept the truth from his grandfather, and his grandfather reveals that Iori’s father Hiroki had always talked about wanting to go to a place called the Digital World. In childhood, Hiroki had always been interested in video games and had somehow come to believe that there was a world where the “video game characters” lived. When Iori’s mother Fumiko approaches Iori and tells him not to go outside due to the incidents happening recently, Iori’s grandfather, now aware that the Digital World Hiroki had found is actually real, bails him out by claiming that they’re going out to practice kendo together.
Oikawa learns from Archnemon that one of the Dark Seeds is about to sprout. As one of the Dark Seed-infected girls, Noriko, studies at home, she begins to believe that her “old self” isn’t her true self and that she’s reaching her full potential, and as she brushes off her mother coldly, she decides that she’s going to become “more of a perfect human”.
Iori relieves Miyako of her guard duty on watching over Noriko, who’s throwing a frustrated tantrum in her house at her parents. Oikawa appears and taunts Iori, saying that the Dark Seeds are growing well. Oikawa reiterates that all of the children accepted the Dark Seeds of their own will, since they wanted to become “great humans envied by everyone”, but Iori retorts that becoming a great human has nothing to do with being envied and instead is indicated by one’s contribution to others.
Oikawa finds Iori’s facial expression strangely familiar and looks at Iori’s bag, seeing Iori’s full name “Iori Hida”. He’s taken aback, recognizing Iori as Hiroki’s son, while Iori is startled and asks why Oikawa knows his father’s name. Miyako arrives to back up Iori and Archnemon and Mummymon to back up Oikawa, but Oikawa suddenly stops Archnemon and Mummymon and departs with them.
While walking by some train tracks, Oikawa brings up memories of Hiroki Hida: he had been childhood friends with him, and as they grew up together, they had done research into the whereabouts of the Digital World. Yelling that he’s not that weak of a person, Oikawa runs to Hiroki’s grave, saying that Hiroki had died before he was able to show him what he had found of the Digital World, and pulls up the data that he used to create Archnemon and Mummymon. Images of Archnemon and Mummymon appear to Oikawa, telling him that they are a part of him and that Oikawa is refusing to accept his weak, hideous “true self”.
Mummymon talks with Archnemon about what BlackWarGreymon had said about the two of them being neither Digimon nor human, but Archnemon tells him not to worry too much about it.
The next morning, Iori tells his grandfather about how Oikawa knew his father Hiroki, and his grandfather recognizes the name. Meanwhile, Ken tries to approach Noriko, who won’t give him the time of day since Ken is now an “ordinary person” that she looks down upon. Ken tries to tell her that he’s happier now than he was when he was called a genius, but she refuses to listen and tells him to stop following her. As Daisuke and Iori arrive to the scene, the back of Noriko’s neck glows red, and she begins to scream in pain. A flower, visible only to the Digimon present, grows out of the back of Noriko’s head.
Oikawa arrives to harvest the flower, and Daisuke and Ken have their Digimon Jogress evolve to Paildramon to fight him, Archnemon, and Mummymon off. Oikawa makes his escape with Noriko in tow, and Iori has Armadimon armor evolve to Digmon in order to chase her, but is thrown off by Archnemon and Mummymon. Noriko, now under the complete control of Oikawa, allows him to harvest the flower on her head, and when Iori yells that he can’t forgive Oikawa for what he’s doing and runs toward him, Oikawa smacks him away and says that the children have wished for this. Oikawa completes harvesting the flower, Noriko collapses, and Oikawa tosses her back to Iori, no longer having a use for her.
Iori runs at Oikawa, demanding to know why he’s using Digimon for evil when he was his father’s friend. Oikawa initially hesitates but then declares that Hiroki isn’t there anymore and begins to accumulate the energy from the flower that he’d harvested from Noriko. Before Oikawa can do anything, however, BlackWarGreymon arrives on the scene and attacks him. WarGreymon arrives following him, and Paildramon informs him that the dark energy radiated by BlackWarGreymon and the Dark Seed flower’s darkness in Oikawa are fighting with each other.
BlackWarGreymon accuses Oikawa of having made Archnemon and Mummymon out of loneliness, but Oikawa denies this and claims that he’s not that weak of a person. Iori’s grandfather arrives and approaches Oikawa, and Oikawa recognizes him as Hiroki’s father.
Iori’s grandfather tells him about how Hiroki and Oikawa had talked about going to the Digital World through their video games while they were children and how he himself, having believed it to be nonsense, had banned Hiroki from talking about it but had not been able to stifle Hiroki and Oikawa’s belief in the Digital World. Iori’s grandfather goes on to say that when Hiroki had died, Oikawa’s depression was more than normal due to having lost the only true friend he had. Iori’s grandfather offers to be friends with Oikawa, saying that he wants someone to talk about Hiroki’s childhood with.
Oikawa initially looks somewhat eager to take on the proposition, but suddenly a strange force stops him, he clutches his head in pain, and his eyes turn red. Oikawa attacks Iori’s grandfather, but BlackWarGreymon takes the attack, seeing an entity inside Oikawa and remarks that “so it was you”. Oikawa declares that he has to be alone like he always has, and must collect all of the Dark Seeds in order to grant his wish to go to the Digital World, while BlackWarGreymon tells Oikawa not to let “him” control him.
Oikawa runs off and BlackWarGreymon doubles over, the attack intended for Iori’s grandfather having been fatal. BlackWarGreymon, knowing that he won’t last long, decides to use his body as a seal to block off the Digital Gate in Hikarigaoka with his dying breath. As BlackWarGreymon dissolves and a rainbow appears in the sky, Takeru and Iori wonder if BlackWarGreymon found what he was looking for, while WarGreymon yells in sadness over him. On the Digital World side of the gate, Gabumon and the Digimon accompanying him see the seal appear, taking BlackWarGreymon’s shape.
Tropes
- All There in the Manual: This is the first main series episode that this trope is averted for Takeru’s mother, despite her having been present through a handful of episodes in both Adventure and Adventure 02: Yamato’s father sends her an email and refers to her by name, Natsuko.
