"Koromon?"
Yamcha blurted out the name of the creature instinctively.
The Digital World?
The Digital World was theoretically part of his long-term plan too, but just like the world of Pokémon, it wasn't time yet.
However, since he had encountered it, wouldn't it be a shame not to go?
The danger level of the Digital World isn't easy to assess. Judging solely by the original story, it's a child-friendly setting where even a group of elementary school kids can save the world—so theoretically, the threat level should be low.
But in reality, that assumption is wrong.
Just because something is made for children doesn't mean it's weak. Gag manga is also aimed at children—do you think those characters are weak?
Vegeta would be the first to object.
Regardless of how it's portrayed, if you go by the lore of the Digimon, world destruction is standard operating procedure. The Digital World has been destroyed many times. That alone puts it at a pretty high danger level.
And if you exclude the "Chosen Children"—since it's a children's series and having them die wouldn't be appropriate—then look at the actual displays of power.
A single Champion-level Digimon like Ogremon can cause havoc in a city and leave the military helpless (as seen in TRI). In Season One, a fully-evolved Digimon like Myotismon treated humans like ants, effortlessly taking over an entire city and manipulating everyone. In Season Five, there were human forces capable of fighting back, but Digimon were still dominant. Even their creation, Gizmon, was essentially just another Digimon.
So, Yamcha concluded that the Digital World carried a certain level of risk.
But since the Digital World was a piece of his overall puzzle, he had already made preparations.
Still, for the sake of caution, it wouldn't hurt to prepare a bit more.
With that, Yamcha activated the special communicator issued by the Red Ribbon Army at his waist.
"Prepare a few things for me."
A day later, Yamcha vanished from the base.
"Air, flowers, and water—it's no different from other worlds."
Yamcha strolled through an unknown forest in the Digital World.
Initially, the Digital World was conceptualized as a realm that existed within the internet, where everything was a reflection of the real world. That's why you'd occasionally see strange things—like a telephone booth by the sea or a train in the middle of a lake.
In those early settings, the entire Digital World was essentially a server, and its god-like entity, Yggdrasill, was the host machine.
Of course, that was the early lore. As the series evolved, the Digital World was reimagined as an entirely separate dimension. Digimon weren't just digital pets anymore—they had physical forms.
However, because he hadn't entered this world voluntarily, Yamcha wasn't sure which version of the Digital World he was in, or which set of rules applied.
Unlike Pokémon, the Digimon series—aside from Seasons One and Two—takes place in entirely separate parallel universes with different worldviews.
But the moment Yamcha saw the towering black spire in the center of the forest, he instantly knew which world he was in.
The Dark Spire—a structure used to disrupt the balance of the Digital World and enslave or control Digimon.
"So this is the setting of Digimon Adventure 02?"
Building a towering black spire in a lush green forest—such a flashy move could only belong to the early antagonist of Digimon 02, the Digimon Emperor (a.k.a. Ken Ichijouji).
"Not bad luck," Yamcha said with a sigh.
In terms of power scaling and lore, Digimon Adventure 02 is arguably one of the safest worlds in the entire Digimon series. The early antagonist Kimeramon was merely a transitional threat, and even the final boss, MaloMyotismon, was never portrayed as truly overwhelming. He was repelled by one Mega-level and two Ultimate-level Digimon. While his lore was impressive—being a mutated form of Myotismon powered up by consuming dark seeds—in execution, he lacked the oppressive presence of his predecessor.
Compared to final bosses like Apocalymon (Season 1), D-Reaper (Season 3), Lucemon (Season 4), Yggdrasill (Season 5), Quartzmon (Season 6), or Abbadomon (from the Adventure: Last Evolution movie), MaloMyotismon is practically easy mode.
By Season 6's final battle, both Myotismon and MaloMyotismon had been reduced to mass-produced cannon fodder—getting one-shot by the heroes. Truly a black mark in the franchise's history.
All in all, Yamcha had drawn a lucky card.
Still, even in the safest world, preparation is key.
Champion, Ultimate, Mega...
Without direct confrontation, who knows how strong these creatures really are?
Yamcha pulled out a red-and-white Poké Ball from his belt—his trump card prepared specifically for the Digital World.
With a flash of white light, a duck-like creature with red and blue segments appeared.
Porygon2.
Before entering the Digital World, Yamcha had made a trip to the Pokémon world and received the evolution data from Steven to evolve Porygon.
This brings up the classic debate. Pokémon and Digimon, being franchises from the same era, are often compared. The most heated and unavoidable topic is, of course, their relative power levels.
In theory, both in terms of lore and on-screen power, Digimon tends to come out on top, often portrayed as world-destroying forces. Pokémon generally doesn't compare.
But that's not an absolute rule.
Everything has its counter.
Some Pokémon, with particularly unique lore, could be incredibly powerful in the Digital World.
One such example is the Porygon line.
According to official Pokédex entries, Porygon is made entirely of code and can freely traverse cyberspace. In the anime, it even brought the protagonists into the internet (though that episode was banned). It can also change size and has various abilities.
Porygon is a being made of data—and the Digital World is a realm made of data.
So what happens when a Porygon enters the Digital World?
Now, Yamcha would find out with his own eyes.
Metagross was another backup option, though it hadn't been deployed yet. Once it evolved, its computing power—greater than a supercomputer—combined with the Porygon line would give Yamcha a solid foothold in the Digital World.
(End of Chapter)