Japanese Title: What it Means to be a Partner! Renamon Evolves!
When Ruki’s mother, a model, shows up to school, she ends up causing quite a bit of fuss around her before suddenly leaving. When Ruki returns home, her mother notices her playing with Digimon cards and says that it’s nice to see her enthusiastic about something, urging her to find what she wants to do in life.
The next day, Ruki is pleased by the sight of a Digital Field and runs home quickly to change out of her school clothes, get her Digivice, and call Renamon. As Ruki leaves the house, her grandmother notes that she acts like a boy before telling her not to come back too late.
At Guilmon’s hideout, Takato, Guilmon, Jian, and Terriermon have a very intense game of rock-paper-scissors before Guilmon and Terriermon notice the presence of a Digimon nearby. Ruki arrives at the Digital Field to find that the emerging Digimon is an Allomon and commands Renamon to attack, adding a YukiAgumonnote ’s snow attack to Renamon via Card Slash. The Allomon manages to hold back the attack and slam Renamon into a pole, and Ruki expresses frustration that Renamon can’t evolve.
Guilmon and Terriermon intervene in the battle, and Ruki yells at the arriving Takato and Jian not to interfere, still sticking to her belief that Digimon exist only to fight and using a power-up card on Renamon. Renamon defeats Allomon and loads his data, and the two of them take off with Ruki saying that they could have defeated him without Guilmon and Terriermon’s help.
From behind a pole, a mysterious Digimon watches over Guilmon and Terriermon, calling them pathetic for sticking around humans...
At home, Ruki continues to berate Renamon for not evolving, and at night Ruki thinks about the day Renamon became her partner: after overwhelmingly winning a Digimon card battle tournament, she’d returned home and sat there in boredom until her card scanner had begun to glow and images of Digimon around her appeared, begging for the great Digimon Queen to become their Tamer. Ruki yelled that she only wanted a strong Digimon and one of her cards turned into a blue card, and Renamon appeared out of the masses. Ruki slashed the blue card through her scanner, turning it into a Digivice, and Renamon declared herself the “strong Digimon” that Ruki wanted.
Back in the present time, Renamon wanders around, saying that she will definitely evolve for Ruki and that she’ll defeat and load the data of many more Digimon so that she can. She runs into the Digimon who had spied on Guilmon and Terriermon earlier, who tells her that hanging out with Ruki means that she can’t do anything on her own.
Ruki’s Digivice glows and Ruki calls for Renamon, but Renamon doesn’t arrive. Ruki’s Digivice analyzes the Digimon as Impmon, and meanwhile Impmon declares to Renamon that he’s capable of doing things without being ordered around by humans. Impmon tries to convince Renamon that she should live like him, saying that Digimon who live with humans are pathetic, but Renamon shrugs him off and walks off. Impmon lands a small attack on her before taunting her and vanishing.
Another Digital Field appears, which also fails to avoid the notice of the mysterious Government Agency of Fiction. Ruki approaches the field and Renamon pulls her out of the way of a Dokugumon before going to attack him herself. Renamon becomes paralyzed and caught in Dokugumon’s web, and Ruki runs forward to help her despite Renamon’s protests for her to stay away. Ruki ends up getting caught in the web herself and finds herself mentally pleading for Renamon to save her, only to be startled when Renamon actually does so. Renamon tells Ruki to run and Ruki, unwilling to do that, uses a Card Slash to give Renamon Snimon’s blades to cut the web down.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t prevent Dokugumon from biting harshly down on Renamon’s body, and Renamon manages to pull herself together in order to use her body to shield Ruki from another attack. Ruki is still shocked from seeing Renamon risk herself to protect her, and Renamon insists that Ruki run away, saying that she’s protecting her because she’s her partner. Culumon appears, worrying over them, and Ruki, fearing with genuine concern that Renamon could die, calls for her. This causes Ruki’s Digivice to light up, triggering Renamon’s evolution to Kyuubimonnote . Culumon looks at Kyuubimon happily while she makes short work of Dokugumon, defeating him and loading his data. Ruki is impressed with Kyuubimon, and both of them are satisfied with Renamon’s evolution, but Impmon, watching from afar, declares it as disgusting and departs.
Kyuubimon tells Ruki that she protected her because they’re partners and asks Ruki if she knows what that means, to which Ruki replies that she does...a little.
Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode is entirely focused on Ruki, Renamon and their relationship. The Hero Takato barely has five lines.
- Absurdly Youthful Mother: Ruki’s mother had her when she was young, which suprises Ruki’s classmates and is the reason for Rumiko’s Woman Child personality.
- Bait-and-Switch: Takato, Jian, Guilmon and Terriermon are all looking at each other menacingly, but they where just going to play Rock–Paper–Scissors.
- Badass Boast: Renamon gives one to Ruki when it summons itself as her partner.Renamon:A really strong Digimon…that would be me.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Renamon is losing to Allomon, Guilmon and Terriermon bail it out with a Fireball and Petit Twister, respectively.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: When Ruki Slashes the Snimon Iron Blades, Renamon gains two twin praying mantis claws and the ability to use Shadow Sickle.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Renamon vs Allomon is mostly one-sided on the latter’s part until Renamon gets the Devil Card Slashed.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: The dub has Rika's mother answer the phone as "Makino", despite the fact that Rika's family name was changed to Nonaka.
- Famed In-Story: The fact that Ruki’s mother is a model is no secret to her classmates.
- Flashback: In the middle of the episode, we see how Ruki became a Tamer. After winning a tournament, Ruki comes home and she is harassed by various creepy Digimon asks for her to be their Tamer. She demands that she onlu wants a strong one and Renamon steps up to the plate.Ruki: I only want one really strong Digimon to be with me!
- Heroic Second Wind: And how! Renamon vs Allomon Round 2 is a complete reversal of Round 1. After Ruki Slashes a Devil Card, Renamon freezes Allomon solid even while it’s breathing fire and smashes it to data with a Koyousetu.
- Leitmotif: Impmon’s theme
plays when it first talks to Renamon.- Renamon’s plays when it engages Dokugumon
- Renamon’s
- Letting Her Hair Down: Ruki lets hers down when she in bed thinking.
- Next Tier Power-Up: After all their hard work, Renamon is able to evolve into Kyubimon at long last and use the attacks Onibidama and Koenryuu.
- On the Next: Guilmon and the other Digimon begin to mysteriously fade away.Takato: You, too, should aim to be a Tamer!
- Shout-Out: The dub title is a reference to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Spiders Are Scary: Invoked with Dokugumon, who looks rather eerie and is very dangerous.
- Taking the Bullet: Renamon puts herself between Ruki and Dokugumon's poison attack at just the last minute, absorbing it rather then letting Ruki be harmed.
- The Power of Friendship: The lesson Ruki starts to learn as she cares for Renamon and will continue to do so throughout her Character Arc.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Ruki is only mad that Renamon was saved when Jian and Takato arrive.Ruki: This Digimon is mine! Don’t interfere!
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Subverted. In contrast to Galgomon in Episode 3, Kyubimon completely retains its intelligence when it evolves.
