Legendary Spirits
The Legendary Spirits (伝説のスピリット Densetsu no Supiritto), or Spirits (スピリット/魂 Supiritto) for short, are a set of twenty ancient artifacts that are used to evolve into Hybrid Digimon. Each contains the sealed power of a member of the Warrior Ten, a group of ten Ultimate Digimon who saved the Digital World in its distant past. The Spirits grant their respective Warrior's power to their users.[1]
Overview[edit]
Origin[edit]
The Legendary Spirits are remnants of the Warrior Ten, created in the aftermath of their victory over Lucemon. Although all ten of them died in the battle, they left behind the Spirits—artifacts which embody both their souls[2] and their power[1]— in various places around the Digital World, to someday be inherited and used[3] in the event that the Digital World comes under threat from another menace.[2]
Properties[edit]
When a human fuses with a Spirit, they form a "new species":[3] Hybrid Digimon. Both humans and Digimon are capable of using the Spirits.[1]
Each Spirit is associated with one of ten elemental powers corresponding to the element of its member of the Warrior Ten. There are two Spirits for each element:[1]
- a Human Spirit 「ヒューマンスピリット」, or Spirit H 「スピリットＨ」, which creates Human Form Hybrid Digimon; and
- a Beast Spirit 「ビーストスピリット」, or Spirit B 「スピリットＢ」, which creates Beast Form Hybrid Digimon.
In certain circumstances, multiple Spirits can be combined to create more powerful Hybrid Digimon: using both Spirits of the same element creates Fusion Form Hybrid Digimon such as Raihimon, and using ten Spirits in specific combinations creates Transcendent Form Hybrid Digimon such as Kaiser Greymon. The union of all twenty Spirits creates the Ultimate Digimon Susanoomon.
It is possible for Spirits to be corrupted into alternate, sinister forms that produce different Hybrid Digimon. The only current corrupted Spirits are the Corrupted Human Spirit of Darkness and the Corrupted Beast Spirit of Darkness.
Design & Analysis[edit]
The Spirit items themselves resemble the Hybrid Digimon that they create in some way, such as being stored arrangements of their armor or body. Every Spirit sits on a hexagonal base, which has the word "SPIRIT" (
) inscribed on it in Digimoji repeating six times in a pattern around its edge.
The elemental attributes of the Spirits are each represented by a symbol that is a stylized/simplified version of the respective kanji for that element. Both the Spirits and their respective Hybrid Digimon often have the respective element's symbol inscribed somewhere on them. In addition, two Digimon created using multiple Spirits have other symbols:
- A symbol based on the kanji 「炎 honō」 ("flame"), instead of the usual 「火 hi」 ("fire" or "flame") symbol, is inscribed on Kaiser Greymon's breastplate
- A symbol based on the kanji 「天 ten」 ("heaven") is inscribed on Susanoomon's headgear
The concept of the ten elements embodied by the Spirits and their related Digimon follows the common trope of elemental powers widely seen in modern fiction, as well as historical philosophical concepts of elements which comprise or underpin reality, such as the Japanese godai, the European and Indian classical elements, and the Chinese Wuxing. In Digimon Frontier, the groupings of Spirits that were originally held by members of the Three Archangels, as noted in "Endless Death Match! The Prelude of Lucemon's Revival", may be interpreted as references to particular elemental schemes or cultural perceptions:
- Four of the five elements whose Spirits Cherubimon inherited—Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, and Darkness—match the phases of the Wuxing, differing only in that Cherubimon had the Spirits of Darkness instead of the Spirits of Fire.
- The three elements whose Spirits Ofanimon inherited—Fire, Ice, and Thunder—match a common combination of elemental powers or magic in modern Japanese popular media, such as Final Fantasy.
List of Spirits[edit]
| Warrior Ten | Element | Human Form | Beast Form | Fusion Form | Transcendent Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit | Evolution | Spirit | Evolution | ||||
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 Fire / Flame 「炎」 / 「火」[4] |
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 Light 「光」 |
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 Ice 「氷」 |
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N/A |
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 Wind 「風」 |
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N/A |
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 Thunder 「雷」 |
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N/A |
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 Earth 「土」 |
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N/A | |
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 Wood 「木」 |
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N/A | |
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 Water 「水」 |
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N/A | |
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 Steel 「鋼」 |
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N/A | |
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 Darkness 「闇」 |
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N/A |
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N/A | |||
Toy and Video Game-only Spirits[edit]
| Image | Spirit | Evolution | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
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Spirit of Fire A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Light A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Ice A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Wind A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Thunder A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Darkness A (TBA) |
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Spirit of Fire Z (TBA) / Spirit of Kaiser Greymon 「カイゼルグレイモンの魂」 |
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Spirit of Light Z (TBA) / Spirit of Magna Garurumon 「マグナガルルモンの魂」 |
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Spirit of Susanoomon (TBA) |
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Appearances[edit]
Anime[edit]
Digimon Frontier[edit]
The Legendary Spirits, which were born from the same data as the Digital World itself, were created in the distant past after the Warrior Ten's final battle with Lucemon. The Warrior Ten released the Spirits and entrusted them to the Three Archangels:[5]
- Seraphimon possessed the Spirits of two elements: Light and Wind
- Ofanimon possessed the Spirits of three elements: Fire, Ice, and Thunder
- Cherubimon possessed the Spirits of five elements: Darkness, Earth, Wood, Steel, and Water
After Lucemon corrupted him, Cherubimon bonded four of his five Spirits to Digimon to create the Evil Warriors,[6] and corrupted the Spirits of Darkness and bonded them to Kimura Kouichi's to create Duskmon.[7] However, the Beast Spirit of Water does not appear to have been in his possession at this point, as Ranamon only later found it in a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean.[8]
Seraphimon and Ofanimon's Spirits were all hidden to protect them from Cherubimon. When she brought the Chosen Children into the Digital World, Ofanimon instructed them to search for and collect the remaining Spirits, so that they could use them to Spirit Evolve and resist Cherubimon.[9] When not in use, the Spirits that they had collected were stored in their D-Scanners.
A Hybrid Digimon who also possessed the other Spirit of their respective element could undergo Slide Evolution to transform into that Spirit's respective Hybrid Digimon at any time. Both the Chosen Children and the Evil Warriors did this.
A recurring theme with the Beast Spirits is that, unlike the Human Spirits, they were very difficult to control. Kanbara Takuya,[10] Minamoto Kouji,[11] Ranamon[8] and Duskmon[12] were all overwhelmed by their Beast Spirits and ran wild when they first obtained them. Himi Tomoki[13] and Shibayama Junpei[14] also had some difficulty, but Orimoto Izumi[15] and Kouichi[7] did not.
By the time that they reached the Rose Morning Star,[6] the Chosen Children's collection of the Spirits was as follows:
| Chosen Child | Spirit | Method of Obtaining | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanbara Takuya | 
|
The first Spirit discovered by any of the Chosen Children. Takuya discovered it in Fire Terminal, when his D-Scanner responded to its presence and revealed it. He used it to Spirit Evolve into Agnimon and defeat Cerberumon.[16] | "The Legendary Warrior! Agnimon of Flame" |
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This Spirit was hidden in Shamamon's temple, near the fortune-teller village. When it revealed itself, Shamamon was involuntarily bonded to it and evolved into Vritramon. He an wild until Takuya (as Agnimon) subdued and purified him, and took the Beast Spirit.[10] | "Defeat Me! Legendary Warrior Vritramon Runs Wild" | |
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Takuya (as Vritramon) took this Spirit from Grottemon upon defeating him (as Gigasmon) for the first time.[17] | "Roar, Vritramon! Defeat Gigasmon!" | |
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Takuya (as Aldamon) took this Spirit from Mercuremon upon defeating him for the first time.[18]
Takuya later permanently traded this Spirit to Minamoto Kouji for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Takuya's Fusion Evolution, Aldamon's Explosive Attack!" | |
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Takuya (as Aldamon) took this Spirit when he, Tomoki, Izumi, and Junpei defeated Mercuremon (as Sephirothmon) for the final time.[20]
Takuya later permanently traded this Spirit to Kouji for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Escape! The Phantasmagoric Sephirothmon" | |
| Minamoto Kouji | 
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Kouji discovered this Spirit in the labyrinth underneath Fire Terminal, when he fell into a pit. He used it to Spirit Evolve into Wolfmon and defeat Raremon.[9] | "Wolfmon of Light, The Underground Labyrinth Battle!" |
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This Spirit was sealed underground by the guardian deities, to be unlocked by fitting all three with ruby "eyes" that fire lasers to reveal it from the ground.
Following Gottsumon's instructions, Kouji fit the final "eye" to reveal the Spirit, and used it to Spirit Evolve into Garummon and fight Gigasmon.[11] |
"An Uncontrollable Beast Spirit!? Garmmon's Evolution" | |
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Kouji (as Wolfmon) took this Spirit from Arbormon when he, Takuya, Tomoki, Izumi, and Junpei defeated him (as Petaldramon) for the final time.[21]
Kouji later permanently traded this Spirit to Takuya for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Mysterious Warrior Lurking in the Darkness, Duskmon!" | |
 |
Kouji (as Beowolfmon) took this Spirit when he defeated Kimura Kouichi (as Velgrmon).[22]
He later lost custody of this Spirit when Kouichi received his D-Scanner and the Spirit was purified into the true Human Spirit of Darkness.[7] |
"The Past is Revealed! Duskmon's Secret" | |
 |
Kouji (as Beowolfmon) took this Spirit when he defeated Kouichi (as Velgrmon).[22]
He later lost custody of this Spirit when Kouichi received his D-Scanner and the Spirit was purified into the true Beast Spirit of Darkness.[7] |
"The Past is Revealed! Duskmon's Secret" | |
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Kouji (as Beowolfmon) took this Spirit from Kouichi/Velgrmon upon defeating him.[22][N 1] He had previously attempted to take it after defeating Arbormon in the Forest of the Dark Sun, but Kouichi (as Duskmon) had intervened and killed Arbormon to take the Spirit for himself.[21]
Kouji later permanently traded this Spirit to Takuya for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"The Past is Revealed! Duskmon's Secret" | |
| Himi Tomoki | 
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This Spirit was hidden in a frozen cave near the Candmon Village. When Tomoki tried to defend Agnimon against the Candmon, the Spirit responded to him and revealed itself. He used it to Spirit Evolve into Chackmon and fight Wizarmon and the Candmon.[23]
Grottemon (as Gigasmon) later briefly stole this Spirit from Tomoki when he defeated him near the fortune-teller village,[10] but Takuya (as Vritramon) soon returned it to him when he defeated Gigasmon.[17] |
"Bullying is Unforgivable! Evolve, Chackmon of Ice" |
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This Spirit was hidden in a Space Invaders-like arcade game machine belonging to Nanomon at the Akiba Market. When Tomoki beat the game, Nanomon received the Spirit on a cartridge, and transferred its data onto Tomoki's stolen D-Scanner as an experiment. He returned the D-Scanner to Tomoki when he became convinced of his honesty, and Tomoki used the new Spirit to Spirit Evolve into Blizzarmon and fight Petaldramon.[13] | "Blizzarmon, Blow the Snow, Call the Glaciers!" | |
| Orimoto Izumi | 
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This Spirit was hidden in a giant tree in Soft Breeze Village. It emerged from the tree in response to Izumi's concern for Shibayama Junpei, and she used it to Spirit Evolve into Fairimon and fight Woodmon.[24]
Grottemon (as Gigasmon) later stole this Spirit from Izumi when he defeated her near the Gottsumon Village.[11] She got it back after Junpei (as Bolgmon) defeated Grottemon for the final time.[14] |
"My Painful Kick! Female Warrior Fairymon" |
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This Spirit was hidden in a clamshell at the bottom of the ocean near Goma Island, due to the effects of Cherubimon's magic. There, it created powerful whirlpools and generated breathable atmosphere around itself, even underwater.
During Izumi's (as Fairimon) battle with Ranamon on the surface nearby, Izumi found the clamshell and Spirit after Ranamon's Rain Stream knocked her into the ocean. She claimed the Spirit and used it to Spirit Evolve into Shutumon and defeat Ranamon.[15] |
"Strength Does not Matter! The Beautiful Warrior, Shutumon" | |
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Izumi (as Shutumon) took this Spirit from Ranamon (as Calamaramon) upon defeating her for the final time.[25]
Izumi later permanently transferred this Spirit to Kouji for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Ranamon's Tenacity! Female Digimon Personal Combat" | |
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Izumi (as Fairimon) took this Spirit from Ranamon upon defeating her for the final time.[25]
Izumi later permanently transferred this Spirit to Kouji for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Ranamon's Tenacity! Female Digimon Personal Combat" | |
| Shibayama Junpei | 
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This Spirit was hidden in the core of the Factory of Wind.
When the wreck of a crane broke the core open and revealed the Spirit, Junpei used it to Spirit Evolve into Blitzmon and fight Snimon.[26] |
"Thunder Power Shaking the Ground, Blitzmon!" |
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This Spirit was hidden in a bed of seaweed, until Whamon ate it by accident when feeding on the seaweed.
Whamon later inadvertently released the Spirit when he used his Jet Arrow during the Chosen Children's final encounter with Grottemon in the Blue Cave, and Junpei used it to Spirit Evolve into Bolgmon and defeat Grottemon.[14] |
"Thunder! Even Rock Breaks! Bolgmon's Do-or-Die Challenge" | |
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Junpei (as Bolgmon) took this Spirit from Grottemon upon defeating him for the final time.[14]
Junpei later permanently transferred this Spirit to Takuya for use in Hyper Spirit Evolution during the battle at the Rose Morning Star.[19] |
"Thunder! Even Rock Breaks! Bolgmon's Do-or-Die Challenge" | |
| Kimura Kouichi | 
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During the Chosen Children's encounter with Cherubimon's specter on the road to the Rose Morning Star, the Corrupted Human Spirit of Darkness emerged from Kouji's D-Scanner when Kouichi stood up to Cherubimon, purified itself back into its true form, and entered Kouichi's newly-created D-Scanner. Kouichi then used the Human Spirit of Darkness to Spirit Evolve into Löwemon and fight Cherubimon.[7]
After Lucemon fatally wounded Kouichi in the battle in the Dark Area, Kouichi passed this Spirit on to Kouji.[27] |
"The New Warriors of Darkness! Löwemon & Kaiser Leomon" |
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During the Chosen Children's encounter with Cherubimon's specter on the road to the Rose Morning Star, the Corrupted Beast Spirit of Darkness emerged from Kouji's D-Scanner when Kouichi stood up to Cherubimon, purified itself back into its true form, and entered Kouichi's newly-created D-Scanner. Kouichi then used the Beast Spirit of Darkness to Slide Evolve from Löwemon into Kaiser Leomon and finish his fight with Cherubimon.[7]
After Lucemon fatally wounded Kouichi in the battle in the Dark Area, Kouichi passed this Spirit on to Kouji.[27] |
"The New Warriors of Darkness! Löwemon & Kaiser Leomon" | |
| Spirits listed in bold and italics are used by the respective Chosen Child to Spirit Evolve. | |||
The ability to use more than one Spirit at a time requires the power of one of the Three Archangels. During their battles inside Sephirothmon, Seraphimon's Digitama gave power to Takuya and Kouji's D-Scanners to allow them to Double Spirit Evolve using both the Spirits of their respective elements.[28][18]
In their confrontation with Cherubimon at the Rose Morning Star, Ofanimon upgraded Takuya and Kouji's D-Scanners again to transform them into New D-Scanners, allowing them to Hyper Spirit Evolve using ten Spirits each. When they gained this ability, the group reorganized their collected Spirits to permanently give the Spirits of Earth and Wood to Takuya, and the Spirits of Water and Steel to Kouji, so that they could be used for their respective Hyper Spirit Evolutions.[19]
During a battle with the Royal Knights at the Village of Beginnings, the Human Spirits of Earth, Wood, Water and Steel briefly bonded again with the Digitamas of their defeated Evil Warriors, recreating them as temporary allies of the Chosen Children.[29]
In the group's second battle with Lucemon in the Dark Area, Kouichi gave the Spirits of Darkness back to Kouji when he is killed by Lucemon. The reaction of Kouji's Spirits of Light and the Spirits of Darkness triggered Kouji and Takuya's Ancient Spirit Evolution into Susanoomon using all twenty Spirits.[27]
In the final battle against Lucemon, the Warrior Ten were reborn as the ten Human Form Hybrids as entities in their own right, who protected and encouraged the Chosen Children. As a side effect of the powerful bond established between the Spirits and Chosen Children from all of their time spent traveling together and Spirit Evolving, the Warrior Ten had inherited some of the traits of the Chosen Children (for instance, Fairimon now spoke Italian, like Izumi), and there was some sort of link between each Chosen Child-Warrior pair (e.g. Löwemon's time spent with Kouichi allowed him to sense that Kouichi was still alive in the Real World).[30]
Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time[edit]
Kanbara Takuya uses the Spirits of Fire to become Aldamon for the fight against Quartzmon's forces. Near the end of the battle, Himi Tomoki sends the rest of the Spirits to Takuya so that he can become Susanoomon by himself.[31]
Manga[edit]
Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01[edit]
In the "Frontier Generation" special, Kanbara Takuya and Minamoto Kouji use their Human Spirits to defeat a Megadramon, following the same Spirit Evolution mechanics as in Digimon Frontier. Takuya also uses his Beast Spirit of Fire to Slide Evolve into Vritramon when fighting Metamormon with Yagami Taichi and Zeromaru.
Video Games[edit]
Digital Monster: D-Project[edit]
Five Spirits—the Human Spirits of Fire, Light, Ice, Wind and Thunder— are equippable items which can be obtained by inputting their respective codes into the meat machine. When equipped onto a compatible Child Digimon, the next time that the Digimon enters a battle, it will evolve into the matching Hybrid Digimon for its duration.
Spirits are single-use only, and after the battle in which they are used, they disappear. The same Spirit can be freely re-acquired from the meat machine, and the player may stockpile multiples of the same Spirits.
Digimon Story: Lost Evolution[edit]
Digimon Masters[edit]
Digimon Collectors[edit]
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Hacker's Memory[edit]
The four Spirits of Fire and Light appear as items that, once obtained, allow compatible Digimon to evolve into the respective Digimon (Agnimon, Wolfmon, Vritramon, Garummon) as long as they also meet the other evolution criteria. The item is not consumed in the evolution, so the Digimon can be evolved into any number of times. Kaiser Greymon, Magna Garurumon, and Susanoomon also appear in the game, but their evolution criteria do not involve the Spirits at all aside from the former two evolving only from Vritramon and Garummon.
In compilations of both Cyber Sleuth games—the Japanese Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 versions of Hacker's Memory, and the western Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition—any of the Digimon evolved using the Spirit items can be transferred back to Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth after both games have been cleared, but the Spirits are not made available in Cyber Sleuth so these Digimon cannot be evolved into natively there.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger[edit]
The four Spirits of Fire and Light re-appear. They can be crafted by Vulcanusmon for a price of 1,0000 yen and certain items (in the present day, they can be crafted by a Guardromon (Gold) standing directly in front of Master Blimpmon). Notably, the Human Spirits of Fire and Light respectively require 4 BBQ Skewer Sets and 3 Fruit Tarts (items that are only sold in a convenience store in the Shopping District) to craft, meaning that the protagonist can be locked out of the Hybrid Digimon until they return to the human world in The Destruction of All Order.
While Ranamon appears in the game, the Human Spirit of Water and Beast Spirit of Water does not appear.
Virtual Pets[edit]
D-Scanner Toy[edit]
D-Tector Toy[edit]
The Spirits are collectible items which the player's party of DigiDestined (Chosen Children) may use in battles to "Spirit On" into their respective Hybrid Digimon. In order to use a Spirit, the matching DigiDestined must currently be present in the party, and the player must have enough Spirits Power points to afford to use the Hybrid Digimon's attacks.
Each Spirit comes with a set of stat bonuses which are added to the respective DigiDestined's own base stats, meaning that unlike regular Digimon, Hybrid Digimon stats scale as the game progresses and the player levels up.
The Spirits available depend on the device's firmware version:
- Only the ten Human and Beast Spirits of Fire, Light, Ice, Wind and Thunder are available in firmware revision A.
- Revision B adds the true Human and Beast Spirits of Darkness.
- Revision C adds:
- the Human and Beast Spirits of Earth, Water, Wood, and Gold (Steel); unlike in Digimon Frontier or any other Digimon media, they may respectively be used by J.P. (Shibayama Junpei), Zoe (Orimoto Izumi), Tommy (Himi Tomoki) and Koichi (Kimura Kouichi) just like their usual Spirits
- the "Extra" (Z) Spirits for KaiserGreymon (KaiserGreymon) and MagnaGarurumon (Magna Garurumon)
- the ability to become "Combo" (Fusion Form) Hybrids and Susanomon (Susanoomon), albeit not represented with Spirits unlike the Japanese D-Scanners
D-Spirit[edit]
In the Quest mode, the player's goal is to collect Spirits by defeating the Hybrid bosses of each Area. They begin with one of five Human Spirits, chosen based on which Trailmon they selected to board at the beginning of the mode. Any Spirits that the player has obtained in Quest Mode may also be used for the "V.S. Spirit" multiplayer battle mode.
In the Database, a Human Form, Beast Form or Extra (Transcendent) Form Hybrid Digimon's corresponding Spirit may also be viewed by selecting the "Spirit" option in the Digimon's Digivolve (Evolution) menu.
TCG[edit]
Digital Monster Card Game[edit]
All of the Legendary Spirits, including the corrupted forms of the Spirits of Darkness, have one card each in the Digital Monster Card Game. The Human Spirits (excluding the true Human Spirit of Darkness but including the corrupted version) were all introduced in Starter Ver. 7, the Beast Spirits (again, excluding the true Beast Spirit of Darkness but including the corrupted version) were introduced in Expansion Kit S, and the true forms of the Spirits of Darkness were introduced in Booster 17.
The Spirits' cards are all Option Cards of the Item Category, and are used as part of the Appearance Requirements of many (but not all) cards featuring Human Form and Beast Form Hybrid Digimon. The Appearance process for these Hybrids is labeled "Spirit Evolution" 「スピリット進化」, and requires that the Spirit card be played in the player's Support Box to evolve a Digimon of an appropriate level (Level IV/Adult for Human Form Hybrids, and Perfect for Beast Form Hybrids). The Spirit remains in the Support Box until the resulting Digimon is removed from play. In addition to the Appearance Requirements use, each Spirit card also confers a number of additional effects onto the Digimon that used it to Spirit Evolve. Unrelated to Hybrid Digimon, some Human Spirits have an additional effect that allows them to substitute for certain Digimental cards.
Spirit cards are not used to evolve into Fusion Form or Transcendent Form Hybrid Digimon. These Digimon all have other Evolution/Fusion/Appearance Requirements instead.
In the Digital Monster Card Game, all Spirits are given formulaic, abbreviated names: Human Spirits are "Spirit of (x) H" 「(x)のスピリットＨ」 and Beast Spirits are "Spirit of (x) B" 「(x)のスピリットＢ」. Because the Corrupted Spirits of Darkness were released first, they occupy the formulaic H and B initials for Darkness, so the two true Spirits are instead called "Spirit of Darkness L" 「闇のスピリットＬ」 and "Spirit of Darkness K" 「闇のスピリットＫ」, taking their initials from the respective Digimon that they create, Löwemon and Kaiser Leomon.
