Digimental

Digimentals (デジメンタル Dejimentaru; Dub: Digi-Egg) are a type of item which, when used, confer power upon Digimon.

The term "Digimental" usually refers to a particular set of eleven Digimentals which induce Digimon to Armor Evolve into Armor Digimon. A minority of Digimon media features other, less prominent types of Digimental which perform other functions, such as the mononymous Digimental from Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01.

The concept of Digimentals, both as a whole and the Armor Evolution variety in particular, was introduced in 2000 in Digimon Adventure 02 and Starter Ver. 3 of the Digital Monster Card Game.

=Overview=

Design
The eleven Digimentals used for Armor Evolution are bulky, egg-like objects. Aside from the Digimental of Kindness, these Digimentals each resemble the armor or body of the "primary" Armor Digimon created using it, i.e. the one who is featured in Digimon Adventure 02 and most frequently seen in other media. Each of these Digimentals is also marked with the matching Crest.

Only two other Digimentals&mdash;the V-Tamer 01 Digimental, and the Digimental of Darkness&mdash;have ever been depicted with visual designs. The V-Tamer Digimental resembles a large pendant, while the Digimental of Darkness resembles an orb held by an organic pedestal.

Origin
The technology of Digimentals of the Armor Evolution variety was developed in the ancient Digital World. As a way to compensate for their limited evolution options and limited likelihood of ever evolving otherwise, Ancient Species Digimon signficantly powered up their own abilities by borrowing the power of the Digimentals, fusing with them in a process known as Digimental Up. The result is the "pseudo-evolutionary" process of Armor Evolution into an Armor Digimon.

Apparently, the Armor Evolution Digimentals were based on data that was accidentally left behind upon the death of a Digimon who strongly exhibited the trait of the Crest represented on the Digimental. For instance, the Digimental of Courage was based on the data of a highly courageous Digimon.

As time has passed, the technology of Digimentals has become lost to history, and the remaining Digimentals are few in number. These Digimentals have been sealed away, together with surviving Ancient Species Digimon, in preparation for a crisis in the Digital World.

Usage
Using the power of Digimentals, instead of relying on one's own innate power, enables a Digimon to easily draw upon formidable power. For this reason, Armor Evolution was viewed as dangerous in the ancient Digital World.

Nine of the eleven Armor Evolution Digimentals are confirmed to be associated with an elemental attribute; when a Digimon borrows a Digimental's power, it is these elemental powers that it is drawing upon. The resulting Armor Digimon is generally granted both the ability to wield that element, and other enhancement effects that in some manner tie in to the element.

There are affinities between individual Digimon and Digimentals, and matching in compatibility is important for evolution outcomes. If a Digimon is forced to use a Digimental against its will, the Digimental's power will have an adverse reaction and run wild; for example, Shadramon is the result of an adverse reaction to the Digimental of Courage which has turned it into a malevolent Digimon. Good affinity between a Digimon and Digimental results in an Armor Digimon with higher power, and it is said that if they have perfect compatibility with each other, then the resulting Digimon will even be able to express Ultimate-class power.

Few species are able to proficiently use Digimentals. This ability generally remains tied to Ancient Species Digimon. Non-Ancient Species Digimon may have a chance of awakening to this ability if there are any traces of ancient data left in the program that comprises their body; for example, Patamon has inherited the genes of ancient Digimon and is capable of using Digimentals. A notable exception is Tailmon, who is not of Ancient Species descent, but became able to Armor Evolve into Nefertimon by awakening special abilities which had lain dormant in its compositional data.

Digimentals are not the only means by which a Digimon may evolve into an Armor Digimon species.

Video Game-only Digimentals
=Appearances=

Qinglongmon describes the Digimentals, and their power of Armor Evolution, as a lost, ancient form of evolution. The Four Holy Beasts chose to resort to the Digimentals in response to the appearance of the Digimon Kaiser and his ability to block natural evolutions from occurring, and arranged for five Digimentals&mdash;Courage, Love, Knowledge, Hope and Light&mdash; to be made available to a new group of Chosen Children. They put V-mon, Hawkmon and Armadimon to sleep, to be unsealed and awoken after their Digimentals are claimed by the right Chosen Child, and created the D-3s to be sent to the Chosen Children at the same time.

Yagami Taichi is the first to encounter a Digimental, when he finds the Digimental of Courage in a cave while taking shelter from the Kaiser's forces in early 2002. He inadvertently sets the Holy Beasts' plan into motion by touching the Digimental, releasing the D-3s to be sent to their destined owners. Shortly after, one of these owners, Motomiya Daisuke, arrives and lifts the Digimental to release V-mon. The next day, the other two&mdash;Inoue Miyako and Hida Iori&mdash;also lift the Digimentals of Love and Knowledge to release Hawkmon and Armadimon.

Taichi's group of Chosen Children from 1999 immediately notice that each Digimental is marked with one of their own Crests. Despite this, they are as totally unable to lift the corresponding Digimentals from their resting places as anybody else who tries, other than the member of Daisuke's group for whom the Digimental is intended. The only exceptions are Takaishi Takeru and Yagami Hikari, who are the intended users of the Digimentals of Hope and Light, and when they do so, their own Digivices are transformed into D-3s.

To activate Digimentals and perform Armor Evolution, the Chosen Children use the command "Digimental Up". V-mon, Hawkmon and Armadimon are the ones who teach them the command. As planned by the Holy Beasts, Digimentals and Armor Evolution are not affected by the Digimon Kaiser's evolution block, so they enable Daisuke's group of Chosen Children to fight back and destroy his Dark Towers to terminate the block effect in the area.

When Digimentals are not in use, their data is saved in the D-Terminals owned by the Chosen Children. The Holy Beasts had not anticipated this possibility at all, and since this function means that the Chosen Children are not limited to a single Digimental and their Digimon are able to evolve using Digimentals with other Crests, the Holy Beasts arrange for three additional Digimentals&mdash;Friendship, Purity and Sincerity&mdash;to be distributed to Daisuke, Miyako and Iori as necessary.

During the final fight against the Kaiser at his base, the Holy Beasts also temporarily transform the Crest of Kindness into a ninth Digimental, the Digimental of Miracles, so that Daisuke and V-mon could use its power to lead the Kaiser/Ken back from the darkness.

Motomiya Daisuke, Inoue Miyako and Hida Iori continue to use their Digimentals in their fights against Chocomon in the United States.

During the confrontation with Chocomon's Cherubimon (Vice) form at Summer Memory, Seraphimon and Holydramon manifest the Digimentals of Miracles and Fate for Daisuke and Wallace to use against Cherubimon.

In order to snap Motomiya Daisuke out of his "Daisuke Kaiser" persona, Ichijouji Ken's Crest of Kindness is transformed into the Digimental of Kindness by the hopes of his female allies.

When Pukumon reveals itself to the Chosen Children, Kido Jo accidentally runs into the other Chosen Children, causing them to all drop their D-Terminals. The Chosen Children hurriedly grab D-Terminals in order to save Jou from Pukumon, with no knowledge of whose is whose, and end up using D-Terminals and Digimentals other than their own:


 * Inoue Miyako uses Daisuke's Digimental of Friendship to Armor Evolve Hawkmon into Rinkmon
 * Takaishi Takeru uses Yagami Hikari's Digimental of Light to Armor Evolve Patamon into Manbomon
 * Hida Iori uses Miyako's Digimental of Love to Armor Evolve Armadimon into Pteranomon
 * Hikari uses Iori's Digimental of Knowledge to Armor Evolve Tailmon into Butterflamon
 * Daisuke uses Takeru's Digimental of Hope to Armor Evolve V-mon into Sagittarimon

In the drama CD's omake, Yagami Taichi's group of six elder Chosen Children also use the Digimentals to perform joke Armor Evolutions:


 * Izumi Kōshirō uses the Digimental of Knowledge to Armor Evolve Tentomon into Jiko Tyumon
 * Tachikawa Mimi uses the Digimental of Purity to Armor Evolve Palmon into Cheer Galmon
 * Jo uses the Digimental of Sincerity to Armor Evolve Gomamon into Urashimamon
 * Takenouchi Sora uses the Digimental of Love to Armor Evolve Piyomon into Kyukanchoumon
 * Ishida Yamato uses the Digimental of Friendship to Armor Evolve Gabumon into Kita Kitsunemon
 * Taichi attempts to use the Digimental of Courage, but Agumon just hurts his tooth

The Digimental is a fabled item which is said to be able to exponentially increase a Digimon's power. Saiba Neo schemes to obtain and use it to evolve Arkadimon into a Super Ultimate Digimon, and it unexpectedly appears in the Digital World in the possession of his sister, Saiba Rei.

During his time in the V-Tamer 01 world, Motomiya Daisuke also continues to use his Digimentals of Courage and (after it is recreated by the hopes of all of the Tamers who have been captured by Parallelmon) Miracles in the final fight with Parallelmon. V-mon also demonstrates the ability to shed his Digimental armor at will to revert to his V-mon form.

Digimentals are a category of item which are equipped on ally Digimon in the "Armor" menu. There are fourteen Digimentals in the game: this includes ten of the standard Armor Evolution Digimentals (omitting Fate), as well as four new Digimentals which only appear in this game.

Digimentals have a variety of effects when equipped:


 * All Digimentals increase the equipper's resistance to one (or in the case of the Digimental of Desire, all) attack technique type.
 * Except for the Digimental of Kindness, the Armor Evolution Digimentals are used for temporary Armor Evolutions in battle. When equipped by a compatible Digimon (i.e. its primary user in Digimon Adventure 02), each Digimental teaches them one technique for the corresponding Armor Digimon the next time that a battle is won. As long as the Digimon has the right Digimental equipped, they may select that technique in battle to briefly Armor Evolve into that Armor form, which will perform the technique before reverting immediately.
 * Certain Digimon/Digitama's evolution lines diverge into two paths, depending on whether or not they have a Digimental equipped at the time that they evolve (the identity of the Digimental does not matter).

Usually, the player does not receive any Digimentals directly. Instead, they must collect Digimental Fragments, which are generally found in the treasure chests in the loft floors of certain dungeons, and take them to Centalmon in the Digimental Room to rebuild three Fragments into the corresponding Digimental for a small fee. It is possible to obtain and use multiples of the same Digimental.

The player may also trade Digimentals with other copies of Tag Tamers, D-3s, and D-Terminals.

Certain attack techniques, such as Digitamamon's and War Greymon's, destroy any Digimentals that are currently equipped by their targets.

Digimentals are a category of item which are equipped on ally Digimon in the "Digimental" menu, working in mostly the same way as in Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers. D-1 Tamers features a drastically expanded number of Digimentals, totaling 49: this includes nine of the standard Armor Evolution Digimentals (omitting Kindness and Fate), as well as 40 new Digimentals which only appear in this game. The four Digimentals which debuted in Tag Tamers do not return.

Digimentals have a variety of effects when equipped:


 * Some Digimentals increase the equipper's resistance to an attack technique type or block a status affliction type. The player is also given the option to spend one Digimental with this effect when performing a Jogress, to give its resistance effect to the newborn Digimon permanently in exchange for consuming the Digimental.
 * Some Digimentals give the equipper access to an exclusive sixth technique, which they can use as long as the Digimental remains equipped. The player is also given the option to spend one Digimental with this effect when performing a Jogress, to give its technique to the newborn Digimon permanently in exchange for consuming the Digimental.
 * The Armor Evolution Digimentals are used for temporary Armor Evolutions in battle. When equipped by a compatible Digimon (i.e. its primary user in Digimon Adventure 02), each Digimental gives them access to a corresponding sixth technique as long as it remains equipped; using this technique in battle will briefly Armor Evolve the Digimon into that Armor form, which will perform the technique before reverting immediately.
 * Certain Digimon/Digitama's evolution lines diverge into two paths, depending on whether or not they have a Digimental equipped at the time that they evolve (the identity of the Digimental does not matter).

Digimentals can be purchased from Centalmon's Digimental Room; as the player progresses through the game, new and more expensive Digimentals become available to buy. It is possible to obtain and use multiples of the same Digimental.

The player may also trade Digimentals with other copies of D-1 Tamers, D-3s, and D-Terminals.

Certain attack techniques, such as Digitamamon's, Tankmon's , and War Greymon's , destroy any Digimentals that are currently equipped by their targets. The Digimental of Armor protects against this effect.

Digimentals are non-card unlockables. During a match, when the player plays a Partner Card, they are given the option to use an equipped Digimental that the player currently owns with that Partner Card, to Armor Evolve the Partner Card into a corresponding Armor Digimon card; this is the only way to play Armor Digimon.

Aside from V-mon (who has three), each Partner Card gets two Digimentals. Only one Digimental is available to each Partner Card for use in matches at a time, and the player can toggle which of its Digimental is made available in the Partner menu.

Digimentals are unlocked separately for each Partner Card, not on the basis of the Digimental in general, i.e. obtaining the Digimental of Courage for V-mon does not make it simultaneously available for Patamon or Wormmon, who must get theirs separately. Digimentals that each Partner Card has unlocked are marked with the matching Crest icon in the Partner and Player's Room menus.

Digimentals for the three Partner Cards who the player chooses as their partners are usually awarded to the player not on the basis of individual species, but on the basis of their "slot," i.e. first partner obtained, second partner obtained, third partner obtained, all in the same place and at the same time.

For the remaining three Partner Cards who do not get chosen as partners, their Digimentals may be obtained by repeatedly defeating the corresponding Digimon Adventure 02 Chosen Child. On the nth match after repeated victories (third for Digimental #1, sixth for Digimental #2, ninth for Digimental #3), they challenge the player to defeat them using the Chosen Child's own deck; if they win, they receive the Digimental.

In addition to the player, both the Adventure 02 Chosen Children and their partner Digimon make use of Digimentals and Armor Evolution in many of their own decks when fought as opponents. The partner Digimon also use their Digimentals to appear in their Armor forms in subsequent matches against them, and often talk about doing so in pre-match and post-match dialog.

Two Digimentals&mdash;Knowledge and Sincerity&mdash;are key items. Instead of being used for Armor Evolution, they are used to summon, respectively, Digmon and Submarimon, to assist the player in traversing underground or underwater areas.

Six Digimentals&mdash;Courage, Friendship, Purity, Light, Kindness and Miracles&mdash;are key items which are part of the evolution requirements to evolve into Armor Digimon. Once a Digimental has been obtained, as long as the base Digimon also meets the other evolution requirements, the corresponding Armor Digimon may be evolved into at the player's discretion; Digimentals are not consumed in evolution, so there is no limit on how many times this can be done.

&
Eight Digimentals&mdash;Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity, Sincerity, Light, Kindness and Miracles&mdash;are key items which are part of the evolution requirements to perform Armor Evolution in the Special Evolution menu of the DigiLab. Once a Digimental has been obtained, as long as the base Digimon also meets the other evolution requirements, the corresponding Armor Digimon may be evolved into at the player's discretion; Digimentals are not consumed in evolution, so there is no limit on how many times this can be done.

&
Three Digimentals&mdash;Courage, Miracles and Fate&mdash;are key items which are part of the evolution requirements to evolve into their corresponding Armor Digimon (Fladramon, Magnamon, Rapidmon Armor). Once a Digimental has been obtained, as long as the base Digimon also meets the other evolution requirements, the corresponding Armor Digimon may be evolved into at the player's discretion; Digimentals are not consumed in evolution, so there is no limit on how many times this can be done.

Ten Digimentals&mdash;Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity, Knowledge, Sincerity, Hope, Light, Kindness and Miracles&mdash;are collectible items that the player uses in battle to Armor Evolve their Digimon. All six playable Digimon are able to use all of these Digimentals.

The primary method of obtaining Digimentals is by collecting Digimental Fragments, via the Search function; the available Digimental Fragments differ depending on the current Area. Once three Fragments of the same Digimental have been collected, the Digimental becomes usable.

D-3s are also able to trade Digimentals with each other and with compatible games and devices: the D-Terminal, Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers, and Digimon Adventure 02: D-1 Tamers. Trading is the only source of the Digimentals of Kindness and Miracles, which cannot be obtained within the D-3 by itself.

Part of the Reference Book function of the D-Terminal is the ability to create Digimentals by fusing together either Digimon from the Reference Book, or other Digimentals which the D-Terminal already has on hand. Each Digimental type requires particular combinations for each fusion method.

D-Terminals can then send and/or receive these created Digimentals with compatible games and devices: the D-3, Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers, and Digimon Adventure 02: D-1 Tamers. Notably, Bandai advertised the D-Terminal, and its ability to trade Digimentals with the D-3, as a way to get the Digimentals of Kindness and Miracles on the latter device.

Nine Digi-Eggs (Digimentals)&mdash;Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity (Purity), Knowledge, Reliability (Sincerity), Hope, Light and Miracles&mdash;are collectible items that the player uses in battle to Armor Digivolve (Armor Evolve) their Digimon. Unlike the Japanese D-3 toy, Digi-Eggs are not freely usable by any ally Digimon, and they are limited to Digimon Adventure 02 's on-screen Digimental combinations, i.e. ranging from none at all for Wormmon to three for Veemon (V-mon).

Digi-Eggs are obtained in "Get Digi-Eggs" events, which are randomly triggered as the player walks. The player is challenged to charge up power by mashing the C Button in order to break an egg silhouette; if they manage to fill the charge gauge and destroy the silhouette entirely, they may be rewarded with a Digi-Egg.

Unlike regular digivolution, using Digi-Eggs to become Armor Digimon does not cost any D-Power points, and is immune to any restrictions on regular digivolution that are being imposed by the current Area. In exchange, at the end of a battle, there is a random chance that the Digi-Egg used in the battle may be broken, regardless of whether the player wins or loses, and the player will be required to re-obtain the Digi-Egg to use it again.

Digimentals were introduced to the Digital Monster Card Game in Starter Ver. 3. All of the Armor Evolution Digimentals have at least one card, as does the Digimental of Darkness from Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers.

The Armor Evolution Digimentals' cards are all Option Cards of the Item Category, and are used as part of the Fusion Requirements of many (but not all) cards featuring Armor Digimon. The Appearance process for these Armors is labeled "Armor Evolution", and requires that the Digimental card be played in the player's Evolution Requirements Box to evolve the required Digimon. Once the evolution is complete, the Digimental's card is sent to the Dark Area.

Digimental cards which were released after Starter Ver. 3 also have other effects (added, in the case of Armor Evolution Digimentals) which are usually related to evolution.

=Additional Information=