Chapter Seven: The Devoted Admirer

When a Digimon advances from the Baby stage to the Rookie stage, it undergoes a fundamental transformation. At the Rookie stage, a Digimon finally grasps its own unique special attack. Beyond acquiring this signature move, its strength and speed both increase dramatically. Even an untrained Rookie Digimon can easily overpower two or three grown men.

A trained Digimon is even more formidable in combat. Of course, Digimon at this stage are constrained by a critical factor: their stamina—specifically, the limited digital energy stored within their bodies. After unleashing a few special attacks, they are left with little fighting power.

“Why can’t I find Agumon’s evolution path?” Zhao Jie muttered. Next to him, the little round Digimon eating snacks glanced at him briefly, then immediately resumed tackling the pile of treats beside it. Its passion for food seemed only to grow stronger.

Every Digimon has its own evolutionary route; some have multiple branches, forming what could be called an ‘evolution tree.’ For instance, Salamon’s most famous line is Salamon—Gatomon—Angewomon—Magnadramon, but it also has alternate paths that lead to Digimon like YukimiBotamon and BlackGatomon.

Now, Yang Dong was trying to pinpoint the path that would let the round Digimon evolve into Agumon. Aside from the advanced knowledge in his head about Digimon evolution, he didn’t have any sort of cheat to guarantee that his partner would become Agumon.

“Ah, this is so hard,” he sighed. Waking up in a parallel world was one thing, but to be stuck here without the usual system cheat left him helpless. How could he ensure the round Digimon would take the path toward WarGreymon?

In the anime, Taichi’s Agumon followed its evolution route without a hitch—divine plan, the Crest of Courage… Could it be that courage is the key for the round Digimon to evolve into Agumon?

Watching his Digimon munch happily on snacks, Zhao Jie fell into deep thought.

“Forget it, no use worrying. School starts in a few days anyway; maybe the teachers will explain,” he decided. The information he could find publicly was all superficial—no surprise, really. Details about Digimon evolution paths must be highly confidential.

“Why is the group chat so lively?”

He opened Penguin, the chat app, and saw the Digital Class group buzzing with new messages. Out of curiosity, Zhao Jie clicked in and immediately saw that Chang Wei—wait, no, it was Peng Wei—was boasting about his Digimon.

Liu Cheng: Let me tell you something really freaky, but don’t be scared.

Yang Hua: Oh, Liu, what’s with the suspense? We’re all future Digimon Tamers here, what could scare us? *attaches a smug Flamemon emoji*

Zhou Bin: What era is it, and you’re still pulling these old jokes? *attaches a confused Thumbmon emoji*

Liu Cheng: Zhao Jie’s Botamon evolved—right in front of my eyes!

Peng Wei: Excuse me, just got off the plane from the States, PhD here… Is a Digimon evolving really that amazing?

Yang Hua: Look who’s here, Young Master Peng! Throwing confetti! By the way, has your Digimon reached the second stage of the Baby phase?

You again, you sycophant?

But this time, his comment hit the mark. Maybe I’ll unblock you, Peng Wei thought. As long as your flattery is for me alone, we’re friends.

Peng Wei: It wasn’t hard—my Digimon evolved into Nyaromon in three days.

He quickly uploaded photos he’d just taken of his Digimon.

Ren Wenhua: Wow, it’s way cuter than my BlackCoalmemon! That Nyaromon is adorable!

Mu Ziwei: Seconded!

Wei Yu: Count me in too!

Peng Wei: It’s alright, your Digimon are cute too. But mine can evolve into Terriermon; then it’ll be even more adorable.

Yang Hua: Young Master Peng, you’re impressive—my Digimon hasn’t even reached the second Baby stage, and you’re already planning future evolutions. Is this the power of money?

Yang Hua: By the way, do you know the possible evolution routes for my BlackCoalmemon? Mind sharing?

Peng Wei: We’re classmates; helping each other is only natural.

Flatterers, flatterers—flatter long enough and you’ll get everything you want.

Liu Cheng: Hey, listen! Zhao Jie’s round Digimon evolved after eating my Little Raccoon instant noodles, I swear!

Li Li: I suspect you’re just advertising for Little Raccoon.

Terriermon?

Seeing Peng Wei’s message, Zhao Jie recalled the Terriermon he’d seen at the Digimon Center—a truly adorable creature.

Zhao Jie: Cough, Liu Cheng is exaggerating. But yes, Terriermon is very cute!

After typing this, Zhao Jie hesitated. Evolving by eating snacks wasn’t exactly something to brag about; better to drop the subject.

Huh?

Has the sun risen in the west? Zhao Jie is actually chatting nicely?

But in the next moment, anyone who thought that quickly realized their mistake, because a photo of a huge beast brandishing firearms suddenly appeared on their screens.

Zhao Jie: Truly adorable—especially when Terriermon evolves into Gargomon. Now that's cool. @Peng Wei, you have real taste.

Peng Wei: ………

As expected, I was being too hopeful. His tongue is as venomous as ever, not a kind word to be found.

Many classmates: ………

How are we supposed to respond to that? Was he complimenting or…?

Looking at the photo of Gargomon, with its guns at the ready, it was hard to connect the word ‘cute’ to it.

Zhao Jie: By the way, @Peng Wei, do you know the evolution path for the round Digimon?

Seeing this, Peng Wei trembled with irritation. Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you, you poisonous-tongued witch!

They even gave Zhao Jie that nickname, a testament to their collective grudge.

Peng Wei: Ahem, I’ve got something to do, see you all later.

Yang Hua: @Peng Wei, Young Master, I’ve sent you a private message—please share, much appreciated!

Seeing Yang Hua’s message, Peng Wei reconsidered and decided to unblock him—after all, it’s rare to find such a devoted flatterer. Just as he was about to reply, another private message from Yang Hua popped up.

Yang Hua: Young Master, that Gargomon is just so cute!

Cute?

Cute?!

You must be kidding me!

What kind of eyes do you have to find Gargomon cute?

Peng Wei deleted every word he’d just typed, then opened Yang Hua’s profile again. If I’d known you were this foolish, I’d never have entertained your flattery. Goodbye!

Serves you right, sycophants never end well!

Yang Hua: Hey, Young Master? Why aren’t you replying?

In his room, Yang Hua hugged his BlackCoalmemon and scratched his head in frustration. He really wanted to be friends with the rich kid!

PS: The 2020 reboot of the Digimon anime is now online. If you’re interested, check it out!