Japanese Title: Guilmon Evolves! The Showdown in West Shinjuku
Takato continues to design a potential Guilmon evolution, wondering what he should name it. Meanwhile, Impmon scares a human couple at the park and laughs at them. Guilmon, at his hideout, finds Impmon stealing one of his rolls of bread and demanding more. Guilmon hands his bread over without question, pointing out that it’s Takato’s, and Impmon laughs at his constant references to Takato and calls him pathetic for his closeness with a human. Guilmon says that Takato is his friend, and Impmon finds this disgusting and walks off while Guilmon naïvely moves on with his life.
At Takato’s school, Miss Asanuma informs the class of a prankster at Shinjuku’s park, which startles Takato a little. After class, a girl informs her friends about rumors of a kid scaring couples at the park at night, and while the girls suspect the boys in the class, Takato begins to worry despite Juri’s reassurances that it’s just a joke. Takato asks Jian about it afterwards, who says that the prankster is said to be a child, and Takato reasons that Guilmon doesn’t really look like a child while Terriermon is still suspicious. Jian brings up the fact that the teachers are going to start patrolling the park, and Takato realizes that they could find Guilmon.
At Hypnos, one of the Bridge Bunnies finds another Wild One and reports that it’s untraceable...
Takato visits Guilmon at the park and tells him not to come out for a while. Miss Asanuma and Mr. Mori, a teacher with a very obvious crush on her patrol the park, finding some couples with some very intense PDA along the way until Miss Asanuma gets fed up and decides to go off herself. Impmon drops by Guilmon’s hideout again, inviting to come out and have fun, and Guilmon is excited by the idea of playing even after considering Takato’s order for him to stay there.
Takato gets interrogated by an officer for being out late only to be found by Miss Asanuma, who bails him out by claiming to be in charge of him. Guilmon follows Impmon around, wondering what Impmon means by having fun, and Impmon plays a prank on a passing couple and scares them away. Guilmon doesn’t find it funny and decides to go home.
Takato walks back with Miss Asanuma, who’s sure that Takato isn’t the prankster, but Takato is too occupied thinking about what’ll happen if the officer finds Guilmon. He goes over to the hideout only to find Guilmon missing, but Guilmon appears behind him and tells him that “we were scaring people in the park”. Takato, frustrated over the thought that Guilmon was the prankster and the fact he was worried sick about Guilmon, yells at him for making him worry and claims that he hates him before running off. Guilmon sulks, knowing that he’s made Takato angry.
Impmon, bored from scaring all of the humans in the park, runs into a Devidramon about to Realize and provokes him, making him emerge. Guilmon senses the presence of the Devidramon, which flies around and terrorizes Shinjuku. Seeing the Devidramon, Takato goes to fetch Guilmon, as meanwhile Renamon alerts Ruki at her home that a Digimon has just appeared.
Guilmon goes on the hunt for Devidramon, while Yamaki notices the Devidramon flying outside his window and recognizes it as the Wild One that just Realized. Takato finds Guilmon and the Devidramon, but Guilmon is already invested in beginning the fight. Renamon stops Ruki on their way there, saying that this fight belongs to Guilmon. They’re met up by Jian and Terriermon shortly after, the latter of whom is eager to see the fight start.
Takato tries using various Option Cards to help Guilmon in the fight, but none of them do much help. Ruki comments that he’s using the cards completely wrong, and Jian decides to interfere in the fight despite his initial reluctance. Devidramon manages to knock Guilmon down and begin bashing him in, and Impmon is pleased to see the spectacle from afar. As he gloats about having released the Devidramon and scaring humans in the park, Terriermon catches sight of him and realizes that Impmon was the prankster, while Impmon wishes that he could be as “big and strong” as Devidramon.
Takato doesn’t have any usable cards left, and Jian and Terriermon arrive with Terriermon informing Takato that Impmon was the actual prankster. As Devidramon is about to strangle Guilmon, Takato urges Guilmon not to give up and to hang in there, apologizing for doubting him. As Culumon appears on the scene to check out what’s going on, Takato yells for Guilmon, triggering Guilmon’s evolution into, incidentally, Takato’s design for a Guilmon evolution. Seeing that Guilmon is evolving, Takato dubs him “Growmon”note .
Growmon’s battle with Devidramon happens to have reached the attention of Hypnos, and Yamaki orders that this be kept from the media. Meanwhile, Growmon manages to defeat Devidramon and load his data, and roars into the sky.
Tropes
- Anger Born of Worry: After Guilmon comes back to the Guilmon Home and Takato thinks he was the prankster, Takato lashes out against him for not obeying him.
- Atrocious Alias: Takato’s prototype name for Guilmon’s Adult Level was “Great Gudomon”. Luckily, he didn’t go through with it.
- Bullying a Dragon: Impmon provokes Devidramon because he was bored of pranking humans. He quite miraculously gets away with just falling inside a bush.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Devidramon vs Guilmon is a completely one sides affair that soon devolves into a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Devidramon vs Growmon is initially evenly matched, but that’s really only because the former’s wing gives in an aerial advantage. Once Growmon is dropped to the ground and Turns Red, it destroys Devidramon with a single Exhaust Flame.
- Foreshadowing: Watching Devidramon beat Guilmon into a pulp, Impmon wishes it could be larger and tougher.Impmon: I wish I was big and strong, too!
- Forgiveness: Takato realizing Guilmon was not the prankster and forgiving him is the key to Guilmon’s evolution into the Adult Level.
- Imagine Spot: Takato imagines Guilmon with a student backpack when he tells Jian he thinks Guilmon might be behind the nightly pranks. They both laugh.
- During he night he has two more. First he thinks if the officer finds Guilmon they will take him away in a truck. Second he thinks the police will shoot Guilmon and this idea sends Takato into a panic.
- Meaningful Name: As Guilmon evolves and triples in size, its new name finally hits Takato. Luckily the dub didn’t change it.Takato: Guilmon…Grow…Growmon!
- Miracle-Gro Monster Guilmon triples in size once it reaches the Adult Level.
- No-Sell: Devidramon shrugs off Guilmon’s normal Fireball and Boost Chip empowered Fireball.
- On the Next: Growmon does not automatically transform back and his big size is an equally big problem.Takato: You, too, should aim to be a Tamer!
- Tender Tears: Takato cries when he imagines the worst case scenario for Guilmon escaping.
- Terrible Artist: Takato is a kid and his drawings of Adult Level Guilmon show just that.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: After Ruki wants to engage Devidramon, Renamon refuses because it feels this is Guilmon’s fight. Terriermon agrees and happily encourages the two to fight.Renamon: That one is Guilmon’s prey.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Not friends, but Impmon leads to Guilmon leaving the Guilmon Home and being mistaken for the prankster.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Impmon provokes Devidramon to kill his boredom who ends uo going on a rampage in West Shinjiku.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Devidramon is the toughest enemy Guilmon has faced to date. Before it evolves, Guilmon is completely helpless against it.
