Japanese Title: Follow the Kaiser's Base
The kids begin to scout the Digital World and while searching, Iori and Koushirou find a large amount of Dark Towers in a field. Seeing the Kaiser’s army of DarkTyrannomon and Kuwagamon subjugate the native Tuskmon, Iori and Koushirou see that the DarkTyrannomon and Kuwagamon have emerged from somewhere and that they must have come from the Kaiser’s base.
When they’re caught by a Kuwagamon, Iori, Koushirou, and Tentomon make a run for it on Digmon, but the Kaiser approaches them. Believing that the Dark Towers are far away enough, Tentomon attempts to evolve to fend him off, but is unsuccessful due to the Kaiser’s dark Digivice. Luckily, Digmon manages to get them to escape in a pit in time. Now far enough away from both the Kaiser and the Dark Towers, Tentomon evolves to Kabuterimon, but the Kaiser catches sight of Kabuterimon and says that he’s gotten some nice data from Kabuterimon now...
Koushirou and Iori return through the Digital Gate on Koushirou’s computer at his home, and Iori reports that they’ve found the Kaiser’s base. Koushirou uses the information gathered by the other Chosen Children scout groups and pieces together how the Kaiser is building his Dark Towers systematically, while Tailmon continues to ponder what Wizarmon meant by “the time is near”. Knowing this, and that they’ve possibly found the Kaiser’s base, they decide to make a plan on how to attack it.
The kids know that they’re going to need to go into the Digital World and not return until they’ve finished off the Kaiser’s base, with Hikari saying that this is the kind of determination they need to defeat the Kaiser, but this leaves the problem about how they’re going to do so when their parents are expecting them home every night. Knowing that the elder Chosen can’t evolve their Digimon with the presence of the Dark Towers, Taichi suggests another way for them to be useful: they’ll go camping and claim that they took the younger kids with them, acting as the alibi in case any of the younger kids’ parents call and ask questions.
Koushirou’s mother comes into the room and asks what they’re doing, and Koushirou tells her that they’re thinking of going camping. While she’s open to the idea, she asks them who will be their chaperone, and Yamato blurts out that his dad will be doing it - forcing him to ask his dad to do it that night.
Jun questions Daisuke about the camp, finding out from him that Yamato will be attending. On TV, Daisuke sees a report on the still-“missing” Ken Ichijouji, which features an interview with Ken’s despondent parents. At night, Miyako mentally prepares to go to the Digital World for an indeterminate amount of time, assuring herself that she has to do her best.
Miyako is in unusually high spirits the next morning, and the younger Chosen enter the Digital World to track down the Kaiser. Taichi, Yamato, and Koushirou prepare to go camping with Yamato’s dad, only to find themselves approached by Jun, who’s interested in following them to camp to be with Yamato. Yamato manages to distract Jun and has his father drive the three of them off, leaving a very upset Jun behind.
Miyako continues to recklessly pursue the Kaiser’s base as the kids find out that the Kaiser has moved it, and begins to insist that it must be in the sky and then that it must be underground. Despite Hawkmon’s protests, she lowers herself into the pit that used to contain the Kaiser’s base, only to be attacked by a Dokugumon, and Hawkmon is injured while trying to protect her, while V-mon armor evolves to Fladramon.
The kids pull Miyako out of the pit while she worries about Hawkmon, and in the meantime Fladramon destroys the Evil Spiral on Dokugumon. No longer wanting to trouble the others, Miyako decides to stay with Hawkmon while the others search for the Kaiser’s base, and Hikari and Tailmon decide to stay with Miyako in case something happens to her and Hawkmon. The others go off to search for the base, promising to keep in touch by email and to be back if they don’t find the base by sunset.
Hikari apologizes if what she had said about needing determination had hurt Miyako, but Miyako assures her it’s not her fault. Tailmon goes off to search for a herb that might help Hawkmon’s healing process.
In the Kaiser’s base, Wormmon over data of various Digimon, eventually settling on analyzed data of Garurumon and isolating the data for his legs. The Kaiser approaches him, telling him that he now knows where to find the “Dark Whirlpool”, while Wormmon tells him that they’re almost there as he isolates the analyzed data for Kabuterimon’s head. Wormmon begins to worry about Ken...
Hawkmon comes to, and while Hikari meets up with Tailmon to retrieve the antidote, Hikari tells her to wait a little. Miyako shares her moment alone with Hawkmon to apologize for her bullheadedness getting him in trouble, admitting that she had freaked out at the idea of charging straight forward to find the Kaiser’s base without going home. Hawkmon, however, tells her not to worry about it, and that he likes her the way she is.
At night, Hawkmon feels better after being administered Tailmon’s antidote, but they soon hear a strange sound over them. They check it out, and find what looks like a small portal to the Kaiser’s base...while the Kaiser proclaims that soon his “original Digimon” will be born.
Tropes
- Brick Joke: Miyako suggesting that the Kaiser’s base must be in the sky is treated as a one-off joke...until it turns out that said base was in the sky after all. Hawkmon tops it off by saying Miyako’s signature “bingo”.
- Continuity Nod: In the dub, Kari makes a very subtle reference to her offer to Myotismon to Take Me Instead in order to save Odaiba — turns out she now realizes how bad of a decision that was in reality.
- Shout-Out: The dub title is a reference to Run Lola Run.
