Essential Episode Guide – Daiken 💙💚 Miracles

"Digital Gate Open," #2

English Title: "The DigiTeam Complete"

This is the episode where Daisuke and Ken meet face-to-face for the first time in the Digital World when the Digimon Kaiser kidnaps Daisuke and chains him to the side of a cliff, threatening to put a Evil Ring on V-mon before they get rescued by their friends’ new Digimon partners.

TLDR: Daisuke gets bondaged by the Digimon Kaiser. What a memorable first meeting.

"Loneliness of the Digimon Kaiser," #8

English Title: "Ken's Secret"

This is the episode where Daisuke and Ken meet face-to-face for the first time in the real world when Daisuke plays against him in a soccer match. He only knows him as the famous genius and star athlete Ichijouji Ken, and has no idea that he is also secretly the Digimon Kaiser who he has been fighting against all along.

Ken at first doesn’t show up, much to Daisuke’s dismay, but Daisuke throws himself into the game anyway and his team is doing great until Ken arrives and immediately turns the tide, using his organizational skills to lead his team like a general.

During his last play, Daisuke goes straight for Ken and accidentally scrapes his leg in a sliding tackle. Ken appears impressed, praising Daisuke’s bold move and shaking his hand like an equal, which Daisuke is very flustered and proud about.

Later in the Digital World, the Kaiser punishes Daisuke for what he did, forcing him to bow and beg to him before letting him choose which one of his teammates he will save from being fed to a Deltamon. He can’t decide and instead offers his own life for his friends, who are then revealed to be Bakemon in disguise when his real friends arrive just in time to save him. The group notices that the Kaiser commands the Bakemon just like Ken did in the soccer game.

Daisuke decides to go straight for the leader like he had then, knocking the Kaiser off the hill he was standing on and riding him down. When he confronts him on the ground, he notices that the Kaiser’s shin is bleeding and finally realizes his worst fear: the Digimon Kaiser is the very same Ichijouji Ken he so admired. Kneeling on the ground, he cries dramatically into the sky: “Why!?”

TLDR: Daisuke is super gay for Ken at the soccer match, and Ken, as the Kaiser, wants to humiliate him in retaliation. Daisuke is heartbroken when he learns his crush is evil.

"Transcendent Evolution! Gold Magnamon," #20

English Title: "The Darkness Before Dawn"

Since the incident with the soccer game, Ken has been living in the Digital World full-time as the Digimon Kaiser and appearing less and less, busy working on creating his own “original” Digimon, Chimeramon, as his sanity slips away.

In this episode, Daisuke‘s group infiltrates the Kaiser’s floating base to fight Chimairamon head-on. Their Digimon are all wiped out by the monster, sending them back to their Child forms. The Kaiser witnesses this and for the first time questions if Digimon are actually real creatures. He calls off the attack.

The group decides they should leave before things get worse, but Daisuke refuses, insisting they have to end this now. With Wormmon‘s help, Daisuke makes it to the engine room and finds Ken’s Crest of Kindness embedded in a Golden Digimental, which presents itself to Daisuke to use. This Digimental of Miracles allows V-mon to evolve into Magnamon, a powerful warrior suitable for fighting Chimairamon.

TLDR: The Kaiser is going fucking cray-cray, and Daisuke uses the power of gay to tap into the Digimental of Miracles to evolve V-mon to Magnamon.

"Goodbye, Ken-chan...," #21

English Title: "The Crest of Kindness"

Magnamon begins to fight Chimairamon, giving the children one last chance to confront the Kaiser. They try to stress to him that Digimon are living creatures and that Wormmon is his partner, but he refuses to believe them, insisting that Chimeramon is the only partner suitable for him.

Chimairamon, however, does not feel the same. It stops listening to the Kaiser’s orders altogether and starts to destroy his base. The children make it safely outside, but Magnamon is losing the battle.

Wormmon makes a final sacrifice to save Ken, giving all his remaining power to Magnamon so he can defeat Chimeramon and bring back the real, kind Ken-chan Wormmon once knew. Chimeramon is defeated, and the Kaiser breaks down, mumbling about how he’s going to just go home and reset the Digital World like it’s a game in his computer. Once again the children tell him that the Digital World is not a game and cannot be reset.

It is then he finally understands that the Digital World and everything within it is real and finally sheds his Kaiser persona, screaming in agony. He recovers his Crest of Kindness from Daisuke and picks up Wormmon just in time for the Digimon to die in his arms, dissolving into data. Ken is devastated by the loss and stumbles away into the desert. Daisuke yells after him to go home to his family.

TLDR: Wormmon sacrifices himself to defeat Chimeramon, and the Kaiser finally has a mental breakdown and becomes sweet, gentle Ken-chan again.

"When a Digivice is Tainted by Darkness," #23

English Title: "Genesis of Evil"

Upon shedding his Kaiser persona and finally returning to the real world, Ken falls into a deep slumber. While asleep, he reminisces on the troubled past that led him to this point. As a child, he always felt overshadowed by his older brother, Osamu, a genius who was loved and praised by his parents and strangers alike. Ken always felt like an afterthought and believed he wasn’t special. One day, when Ken was eight years old, a Digivice came out of Osamu’s computer and Osamu insisted it was his and that Ken shouldn’t touch it.

Ken did anyway and was transported to the Digital World, where he had an adventure with his own Digimon partner, Wormmon, and a boy named Ryou. When he returned, Osamu was furious and took the Digivice away, insisting it didn’t belong to him despite what Wormmon had told him. Ken was so angry he wished his brother would just disappear. Shortly afterwards, Osamu died after being struck by a car. Ken blamed himself and his dark wish for his brother’s death.

One day, while using Osamu’s old computer, Ken received an email from a mysterious person addressed to him. It told him that his brother was now free from the struggles of daily life, but that Ken would now suffer under the expectations left on him. It told him about a different world more suited for him and told him to pick up the Digivice again. When he did, he was transported to Dagomon’s Ocean in the World of Darkness, where the waves turned his Digivice into the Dark D-3. This was the birth of his Digimon Kaiser persona.

When Ken wakes up from his deep sleep, he cannot recognize his own parents, or their importance to him. They apologize for pressuring him to be like Osamu, and insist that he has plenty of good qualities that are all his own. They tell him to just be himself, but Ken doesn’t know who he is, believing he still needs to find his heart/soul.

This search leads him to the Digital World, where he finds the Village of Beginnings. The baby Digimon berate him for his crimes as the Kaiser and scold him for wanting to find Wormmon as a way to absolve himself of his guilt. He breaks down, apologizing to his brother and to Wormmon and resolving to live accepting all the things he has done, the good and the bad. His Crest of Kindness starts to glow inside his chest pocket, and a tiny voice leads him to a glowing Digitama with pink hearts on it, which hatches into Leafmon, Wormmon’s smallest form. Leafmon tells Ken he knew he’d find him, and Ken thanks him for being born as they both cry tears of happiness.

Upon returning home with his reborn partner, Ken thanks his mother for giving birth to him.

TLDR: Ken goes into a depression coma to try to recover all the pieces of his brain and heart/soul, and Wormmon comes back.

Related Pages:
Transcript: Ken’s backstory

"Knight of the Skies, Aquilamon," #25

English Title: "Spirit Needle"

This episode begins with Daisuke championing for Ken to join the team. When everyone disagrees with him, he travels to Tamachi to talk to Ken himself, offering him a chance to apologize and team up. Ken declines, needing more time to think about it and still not feeling worthy of partnership.

Meanwhile, Miyako is conflicted about Ken joining the team, and almost works up the nerve to email him and talk to him, but can’t reconcile the fact that he recently destroyed a ThunderBallmon in the previous episode.

The next day, a relentless Golemon attempts over and over to destroy a dam and flood a city of innocent Digimon, and she is forced to consider that Ken might have done the right thing, and when they realize that the Digimon he destroyed was actually a Dark Tower transformed by Archnemon and not a real Digimon, Miyako forgives Ken and accepts his help, unlocking Hawkmon’s evolution into Aquilamon.

After destroying Golemon, Ken apologizes to the entire group for his actions as the Digimon Kaiser, but still refuses to join up with them, believing this is his fault and he should take care of it.

TLDR: Daisuke has decided they’re besties already. Ken has intimacy issues.

"Jogress Evolution Now, Two Hearts Become One," #26

English Title: "United We Stand"

This is the episode where Daiken becomes canon.

It begins with Daisuke‘s group repairing a bridge in the Digital World, which is immediately destroyed by one of Archnemon‘s Dark Tower Digimon, a Minotaurmon they defeat. Daisuke suggests they ask for Ken‘s help rebuilding it, and when the others disagree, he tells them about his experience touching the Crest of Kindness and how it asked him to trust Ken. They still doubt him. They are then contacted by Koushirou asking them to check out an anomaly nearby.

Meanwhile, Ken and Stingmon have finished up a long day of destroying Dark Towers on their own and head home for a snack. Daisuke and the others arrive at the Digimon Kaiser’s old base, where a powerful explosion is about to happen. Daisuke realizes it must be because the Crest of Kindness is missing and tries contacting Ken, but he is busy talking to Archnemon, who has appeared on his computer screen at home to distract him. He asks her why he had to become the Digimon Kaiser, but is unable to get any satisfactory answers from her. His phone starts ringing, and Wormmon answers the call for help from Koushirou. He is able to get Ken’s attention, and they head back to the Digital World.

Archnemon tries to stop the children from preventing the explosion, sending a Perfect-level Okuwamon made from ten Dark Towers to fight them. The Digimon all evolve to fight it, but are unable to defeat it, and all but XV-mon end up back at their Child levels. That’s when Ken shows up with Stingmon, who jumps into the fight. Daisuke asks Ken for the Crest of Kindness so they can put it back, but Ken refuses to hand it over, insisting he has to do this by himself. Daisuke argues with him while XV-mon argues with Stingmon above, but Ken is insistent that his death is the only way to atone for his sins. Daisuke slaps him and calls him an idiot, saying that if he lets Ken go and he never comes back, he’ll regret it forever. He reminds him of the people who care about him and the things he has yet to do, urging him to live. His words are able to reach him, and Ken admits he doesn’t want to die or make his family sad anymore. Just then, their Digivices and Digimon begin to glow with a bright light. Their hearts beat in each other’s chests as XV-mon and Stingmon evolve together as one.

TLDR: Daisuke and Ken are so gay for each other their Digimon merge into one and they can hear each other’s heartbeats. Also, Ken has some serious suicidal ideations and needs therapy.

"The Unparalleled Union! Paildramon," #27

English Title: "Fusion Confusion"

XV-mon and Stingmon Jogress-evolve into a single Perfect-level Digimon, Paildramon, when their partners’ feelings sync. They begin to fight Okuwamon while the group enters the base to stop the explosion. Daisuke and Ken lead the way, moving in perfect unison. They manage to replace the Crest of Kindness, but it has no effect. Ken notices the pipes on the ground and leads the group through a deep tunnel to the base’s true power source: a portal to the World of Darkness. Paildramon defeats Okuwamon just in time to burst in and destroy the portal before it explodes.

Once everyone is safely outside, Paildramon finishes destroying the rest of the old base, and then splits back into Leafmon and Chicomon, V-mon’s Baby I form. They return to their partners, and Daisuke congratulates them and then Ken, who recoils from his outstretched hand. He doesn’t understand why the Digimon evolved together, but Daisuke is certain it’s because they are partners. He recalls the amazing feeling of unity he experienced during their Jogress, but Ken says he doesn’t believe he is “qualified” to be Daisuke’s partner…yet. He leaves Daisuke confused and sad, and the girls console him, telling him he needs to give Ken time. That night, both of them contemplate their experience.

The next morning, Daisuke’s group meets at Koushirou‘s house so he can share his findings about Jogress evolution. He theorizes that the name is a combination of the two words “joint” and “progress,” and tells them it happened once before, when MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon combined into Omegamon during Our War Game. He also explains the original eight Chosen Children gave up the power of their crests to protect the Digital World, preventing them from reaching the Perfect level normally. Jogress will provide a way to reach that level and help them defend the Digital World.

TLDR: Daisuke is so confused that Ken isn’t ready to commit to being his boyfriend yet.

"Bug Charmer's Trap!!" & "Archnemon, the Spider Woman's Mistake," #28-29

English Titles: "The Insect Master's Trap" & "Arukenimon's Tangled Web"

This two-parter begins with Daisuke and Chibimon excitedly telling the rest of the team what Jogress was like after they get back from a successful day of destroying Dark Towers. They all speculate on which Digimon might combine next. Meanwhile, Ken is also speculating about Jogress while destroying Dark Towers on his own, trying to make up excuses for Wormmon not to do it again so he doesn’t have to join the team. Archnemon then invites them all to meet her at the Giga House, a giant empty house in the Digital World.

There, Ken meets up with Daisuke’s group, and they split into two groups to enter what they know is a trap. Ken goes with Daisuke and Iori, and initially is reluctant to Jogress with Daisuke when Archnemon attacks them with the various insect Digimon under her control, undergoing peril after peril before they finally meet her face-to-face. Only once she mocks and insults him does Ken ask Daisuke to Jogress, but Archnemon takes control of Stingmon before they can. XV-mon has to fight him and Digmon while Ken, Daisuke, and Iori get trapped in a Dokugumon‘s web.

Here, we get to see Ken working with Daisuke’s group as a complete team for the first time. Ken and Daisuke, whose hands are stuck, are able to free themselves from the web using a soccer pass and kick to turn on a fan that Iori noticed. While hiding from their own Digimon, they figure out how to foil Archnemon’s hold over the insect Digimon, and Daisuke forms a plan for the group to implement. Once the insect Digimon are free, Daisuke and Ken are finally able to Jogress-evolve and defeat Archnemon with everyone working together. Unfortunately, her accomplice Mummymon comes to her aid at the last minute, and they escape. Iori, who has remained tense about Ken’s involvement, vows to repay Ken for the multiple times he saved him, even though Ken thinks the score is already settled.

TLDR: TEAMWORK!

"Assault! BlackWarGreymon," #35

English Title: "Cody Takes a Stand"

This otherwise unrelated episode includes a very important milestone for Daisuke and Ken: their first sleepover!

After losing another Holy Stone to their newest enemy, the Archnemon-created menace BlackWarGreymon, Ken is forced to exit the Digital World through the same television as the rest of the team. This means he ends up in Odaiba instead of Tamachi and has to take the train home. Daisuke stops him before he can leave, inviting him to come over for dinner. He poses it as a team meetup at his house, where they can plan to defeat BlackWarGreymon.

Ken agrees, and Miyako and Hikari tell him they’ll come by too. Daisuke is thrilled and waits for Ken to call his mom, who cries tears of joy learning he has made a friend, before taking him home with him. He introduces him to his parents in his living room, and they are honored to meet the famous genius they know Ken as, asking him to tutor their “stupid son,” much to Daisuke’s embarrassment. He takes Ken to his room, where they have their meeting with the girls, and Leafmon remarks on how great it is to have friends, to which Ken wholeheartedly agrees.

Ken ends up borrowing Daisuke’s yellow pajamas and staying the night at his house, sleeping on a futon on the floor beside his bed. Overnight, Leafmon and Chicomon evolve to Minomon and Chibimon, and in the morning, Minomon jumps onto Daisuke’s bed to wrestle with Chibimon, waking up Daisuke, who complains while Ken looks fondly upon his partners until the idyllic scene is interrupted by an urgent call to the Digital World.

TLDR: Literally all that matters is the cute sleepover.

"Holy Night, the Digimon Big Gathering!," #38

English Title: "A Very Digi-Christmas"

This episode marks another milestone for Daisuke and Ken: Daisuke’s first visit to Ken’s house! While celebrating after clearing most of the Dark Towers, Daisuke notices Ken standing far away from the group and runs over to see what’s up. Shy and blushing, Ken nervously digs out a stack of invitations from his pocket, explaining that his mom told him to invite all his friends to a Christmas party at their house. Daisuke is excited about finally visiting Ken’s house, and the others clamor over and happily accept their invitations, much to Ken’s relief, even Iori.

At the party, they see Ken’s picture of his brother Osamu, which Miyako mistakes for a picture of him. Later, they play games and enjoy themselves, resulting in Ken bursting into laughter in front of the group. Daisuke is surprised when the others point out this is the first time they’ve seen him smiling and laughing, causing Ken to blush furiously.

The party is interrupted by the appearance of a Dark Tower in the real world and an attack by several confused Digimon. Daisuke and the others rush to the aid of the older Chosen Children back in Odaiba, with Ken and Wormmon riding on Lighdramon’s back with him. Once the tower is destroyed, the older kids are able to evolve and help, and Daisuke and Ken Jogress-evolve. The group manages to send all the Digimon safely back to the Digital World.

Everyone accompanies Ken to the train station as a group, apologizing for cutting his Christmas party short. Daisuke promises they’ll get to play again soon. Once Ken leaves, Sora remarks to Hikari that he’s changed. She agrees, but Daisuke is confused, saying he hasn’t noticed anything different about him. Everyone laughs at Daisuke, but clearly they just don’t know Ken as well as he does.

TLDR: Ken is cute and shy. Daisuke’s confused that no one else has heard Ken laugh before.

"All Sally Out! Imperialdramon!," #39

English Title: "Dramon Power"

At the beginning of this episode, Dark Towers start appearing all over the real world, including Tamachi, where Ken lives. The Chosen Children call an emergency meeting at Koushirou‘s house, but on the way there with Taichi and Hikari, Daisuke suddenly stops in his tracks, insisting he has to help Ken, his important friend. Everyone else meets up while he rides Lighdramon to Tamachi to find Ken and Wormmon being attacked by a Triceramon, unable to evolve and fight it because of the Dark Tower nearby.

Lighdramon takes down the Dark Tower, and synchronized before they even Jogress, together they evolve their Digimon to their Adult forms, and then Jogress-evolve to Paildramon. Just then, Mummymon intervenes and attacks Paildramon and the children, causing debris to fall from the nearby buildings toward Daisuke and Ken. A burst of Qinglongmon’s power released by Gennai in Odaiba hits Paildramon, and they evolve a level further to Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode for the first time, saving their partners.

Imperialdramon is able to restrain the Triceramon, and Daisuke and Ken send it back to the Digital World as a team, during which Ken finally calls Daisuke by his given name in the heat of the moment. Imperialdramon then beams them up into a force field on their back, destroys all the Dark Towers in Japan at once, and ferries them to each location to round up the wayward Digimon. After they’ve cleared Japan of the monsters, they land in Daiba Park to pick up the rest of the Chosen Children and begin the World Tour.

TLDR: Ken is Daisuke’s precious partner, and he’d do anything to protect him. Also, this is the one and only time Ken calls Daisuke by his first name in the show.

"Attack of the Demon Army," #43

English Title: "Invasion of the Daemon Corps"

Upon returning home from the World Tour, Ken senses someone watching him while out on the balcony of his bedroom. Thinking it might be Archnemon, he goes to sleep and dreams about the time, two years ago, when he defeated Millenniumon with Ryou and was struck in the neck by a strange seed. Wormmon confirms this memory, telling him that this seed had made him very sick and he went home. When he returned to the Digital World next, he was the Digimon Kaiser. Outside, the onlookers report back to Demon.

The next morning, the news reports a slew of kidnappings in the area, much to Ken’s horror. Then, three of Demon’s lackeys, MarineDevimon, LadyDevimon, and SkullSatamon, begin to wreak havoc on Tokyo, and the Chosen Children run out to fight. Daisuke and Ken fight SkullSatamon with Paildramon, but they realize this Digimon is not affiliated with Archnemon and is much stronger than their usual enemies. Paildramon evolves to Imperialdramon, but they are rendered immobile by SkullSatamon’s Nail Bone attack, which damages their data. Daisuke and Ken call desperately to their partner to no avail. Only after the other Digimon give up their Qinglongmon-given power to Imperialdramon do they finally respond and mode change to Fighter Mode for the first time, just in time to destroy SkullSatamon and save the bus full of children he was threatening to kill.

Just then, Demon himself appears and asks Ken to come with him because he needs the seed inside his body, threatening more violence if he does not comply. He hardly gets a chance to react before Archnemon shows up with a van full of the missing children from the news, telling Ken to come with them instead. Fearing for the children’s lives, Ken willingly enters the van, which speeds away as Demon disappears. Daisuke chases after it on foot with Wormmon and V-mon, screaming Ken’s name.

TLDR: Ken sacrifices himself to save a bunch of kidnapped children, and Daisuke is DEVASTATED.

Related Pages:
Transcript: Daisuke’s family life

"The Deadly Battle Against the Dark Digimon," #44

English Title: "Dark Sun, Dark Spore"

When Daisuke falls behind the van on foot, Jou‘s older brother Shuu arrives to help him continue the chase in his car. As they drive after it, Daisuke promises Wormmon he will save Ken. They lose track of the van when a train crossing halts their chase, and when Demon‘s lackeys continue to wreak havoc on the city and cause traffic jams, Daisuke is forced to get out and chase after the van on Lighdramon. The other Chosen pair off to Jogress and destroy Demon’s lackeys, despite Miyako and Iori‘s reservations.

Meanwhile, in the van, Ken meets the man behind his kidnapping and Archnemon and Mummymon‘s boss, Oikawa Yukio, who is a coworker of Ken’s father. Ken doesn’t recognize him at first, but then remembers seeing him at his brother’s funeral. Oikawa reveals that he was the one who sent Ken the email inviting him to establish dominion over the Digital World, beginning his descent into madness as the Kaiser. He’s kidnapped him to scan the Dark Seed in his neck and transplant its sprouts into the missing children, who came willingly out of a desire for the intelligence and athleticism the Seed promises. While Ken is tied up with his own scarf, Oikawa grabs him by the shoulder and scans the back of his neck, causing Ken to wince and struggle despite being told it wouldn’t hurt. Ken begins to cry, calling first for Daisuke and then Wormmon before passing out.

Daisuke finally catches up to the van, which appears to be heading to Hikarigaoka, the site where the original Chosen Children witnessed their first Digimon and the known site of a gate between worlds. Lighdramon jumps on top of it with Daisuke and Wormmon clinging to his back, but before they can come up with a plan to get inside and rescue Ken, Demon appears in front of it. His lackeys have all been successfully destroyed by the other Chosen, and he is not happy.

TLDR: Ken is a damsel in distress, and Daisuke is his knight in shining armor.

"The Gate of Darkness," #45

English Title: "The Dark Gate"

Demon demands that Oikawa hand over the Dark Seed, and Oikawa tells him he can go ahead and take Ken since the transfer of the sprouts is complete and he no longer needs him. He sends Archnemon out with the restrained Ken, but before Demon can take him, V-mon jumps off the top of the truck and headbutts Archnemon while Daisuke runs in and pushes Ken away from his captor. Wormmon yanks off the scarf that ties his hands and the two Digimon evolve to their Adult forms, ready to fight, but they’re no match for Demon.

XV-mon and Stingmon Jogress and face him with the help of Siphymon and Shakkoumon, but even after Paildramon evolves into Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode, they still cannot defeat Demon, only hold him back. Losing hope quickly, the children wonder if they should try to send him back to the Digital World, but Demon demonstrates that would be useless by opening a Digital Gate himself, tearing a hole in the sky and proving he could come back anytime. Hikari then wonders if they could try to send him to the World of Darkness instead, which might be a harder place for him to escape, but no one knows how to open a gate to it — except Ken, who’s done so once before with his Dark D-3.

Ken holds up his Digivice and attempts to open the Dark Gate, but immediately starts screaming in horror as he faces his worst fears. One by one, his teammates grab onto his arm to lend him their strength, each offering words of encouragement, but Ken continues to struggle. Then, Daisuke grabs onto Ken and speaks directly to him, telling him how much he believes in him and that he has nothing to fear. Ken finally reacts to Daisuke’s words, opening his eyes and ceasing his cries. Hikari begins to smile, feeling the warmth of Daisuke’s heart as Ken’s fear dissipates. He is able to open the gate and the Digimon send Demon to the World of Darkness with a combination of their most powerful attacks.

Ken tries to run after Oikawa, but he gets away, leaving the missing children behind for the police to take care of. Jou‘s brother Shuu drives Ken home, where he finds his parents distraught and about to call the police over his absence. They are relieved to see him, but his father asks him what he’s gotten himself into and Ken decides to tell them everything, finally introducing them to Wormmon.

TLDR: Ken faces his darkest fears, and it’s Daisuke’s voice that helps him find the light.

"The Terror of BelialVamdemon," #48

English Title: "Oikawa's Shame"

When Oikawa meets up again with the Dark Seed children at Hikarigaoka, the Chosen Children are there too. Thanks to BlackWarGreymon‘s sacrifice, he is unable to open a gate to the Digital World, but ends up in the World of Dreams instead. Daisuke‘s team runs in after them and get trapped there along with the Dark Seed children and Oikawa, who is revealed to have been possessed by BelialVamdemon all along. BelialVamdemon violently murders Archnemon and Mummymon before the children’s eyes, terrifying them.

Paralyzed by fear of their enemy, Ken, Hikari, Takeru, Miyako, and Iori believe there’s no hope of winning. Daisuke, however, is not convinced. He’s certain they’ll be able to win if they just believe in their power. Just as he and XV-mon rush in to fight, Ken runs forward and grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks. He tries to reason with Daisuke, asking if they should Jogress to better their chances. Daisuke gently points out that Ken’s hands are shaking, reminding him that they won’t be able to Jogress if Ken can’t keep his nerve. He tells him not to say another word or he’ll just mess him up, admitting that Ken is the only one who could possibly shake his resolve. He rushes into battle and seems to be winning until BelialVamdemon uses his Mind Illusion attack to trap all the Chosen Children but Daisuke in dreams.

TLDR: Daisuke admits that Ken’s fear is his only fear.

Related Pages:
Transcript: Ken’s shaking hands

"The Last Armor Evolution," #49

English Title: "The Last Temptation of the DigiDestined"

BelialVamdemon‘s Mind Illusion attack traps each of the Chosen Children inside a dream of their deepest desire. Their Digimon partners help them realize the truth, and then Daisuke and each of the various evolutions of V-mon appear to rescue them. Ken is the last to be saved, trapped inside a vision of himself being tortured as the Digimon Kaiser. After watching his former self being attacked over and over by angry Digimon he’d hurt, he disappears like he’s been killed, and Ken’s dead brother Osamu stands in his place.

Osamu tells Ken that his sins have now been paid for. Ken collapses in relief, but Wormmon appears and reminds him that there are things he still has to do now. Daisuke and Takeru then arrive, followed by Miyako, Hikari, and Iori, each accompanied by a different one of V-mon’s evolutions. They show their support for Ken and return to the World of Dreams together as a team. Daisuke explains that he was able to split XV-mon into his various forms by wishing for him to be stronger, and the other Chosen each split their Digimon into their multiple forms as well. The many Digimon fight BelialVamdemon, and due to the weak boundaries between worlds, a double Positron Laser from both modes of Imperialdramon knocks him right out of the World of Dreams and into the Digital World. There, unfortunately, he is even more powerful, and the extra copies of the Digimon disappear, leaving them as only Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode, Silphymon, and Shikkoumon. It will take the belief of all the Chosen Children around the world to defeat him there.

TLDR: Ken has suicidal ideations but is able to kick himself back to reality. Daisuke’s so proud.