The DigiDestined are safe, at least for now. After Ogremon sacrificed himself so that the kids could escape, they have taken refuge in a nearby forest. However Metaltyranomon is still (slowly) chasing after them, using some scout Digimon like a radar system. Unfortunately Agumon has been left so drained from his battle with Ogremon and Metaltyranomon that he’s unconscious.

So it’s suffice to say that everyone’s a little on edge. They’re being hunted, one of their Digimon is very weak, and they’re not sure how they’re going to escape without being seen by the Soundbirdmon. (I know I’m old because now as an adult I look at some of these names and I’m facepalming over how unoriginal some of them are.  ^^;;)  Plus Matt Yamato and Taichi are butting heads a little, something I remember also happening in the original Digimon series. Yamato is the cool, logical loner, while Taichi likes to do things as a group and is not the best planner.

Agumon finally wakes up, and some of the DigiDestined return with food for their group. As they eat they try to think of a way to escape the cave they’re hiding in. Koshiro takes this break as an opportunity to share with his friends the information he was able to gather from the fortress before they encountered Ogremon.

Presently the group is on the Cloud Continent, and Koshiro is able to determine that the fortress was communicating with several other points on the continent. Koshiro factors in the information Ogremon gave them (“Go straight”) and uses that to pick the communication point they should head towards. Koshiro also gives Taichi some information on Metaltyranomon’s build, since it’s been decided that he will be the diversion so the rest of the group can escape.

I’m a little embarrassed to mention that, as weird as this sounds, the shot of Metaltyranomon’s blue eyes gleaming in the darkness of the forest scares the bejesus out of me. Seriously. You know what it reminds me of? This scary bastard. (Speaking of which, I kinda feel like Metaltyranomon was inspired by Godzilla. But who knows.)

While Taichi and Agumon are fighting Metaltyranomon, Sora and the others have fun on ahead. However they are forced to stop when they encounter some kind of nasty-smelling, smoggy swamp. Mimi tests what happens when something falls into the swamp and yep, it’s acidic. RIP Joe’s exam book. xD

While Koshiro’s group tries to figure out what to do next, Taichi and Greymon are still fighting Metaltyranomon. Taichi’s struggling to use the information Koshiro gave him but it doesn’t appear to be working. Every time Greymond gets close, Metaltyranomon has another defense option to keep Taichi from landing a good blow.

Taichi and Greymon are blasted towards where the other DigiDestined are when they try to destroy one of Metaltyranomon’s missle bays but end up riding a missle instead! Metaltyranomon is hot on Taichi’s heels and he continues to beat on Greymon, which helps Greymon Super Evolve up to Metalgreymon!  Now Taichi has his own Ultimate Digimon, and one equal in power to Metaltyranomon to boot. Metaltyranomon is launched into the dissolving swamp and appears to not take damage, thanks to the black haze falling from its mouth. However when the tubes supplying this smog stop working, Metaltyranomon is able to be defeated by attacks. (I think this is because the smog coming from Metaltyranomon and the swamp were one and the same. Having it coming out of his body made Metaltyranomon immune to it, at least until his tubes stopped working.)

Another side note, I would bet half a paycheque that the shot of Metaltyranomon firing freaking lazer breams from its back at Metalgreymon is a Godzilla reference. Hell yes Digimon. ^_^v  (Brownie points to anyone else who gets the reference I made in the first sentence of this paragraph.)

As an adult, I see that Digimon is right in there with Dragonball Z and Pokemon in following the same standard formula: the main character(s) are powerful, but then they meet a new enemy and are too weak to defeat it. Something happens and the main character(s) suddenly level up and become magically able to defeat this new enemy. As a kid, I didn’t really pick up on the formula nearly as easily. I realize there aren’t many ways to address defeating a new enemy, it’s just that sometimes I feel like I’m watching the same show over and over. But it is what it is I guess. Hard to show progression when a season of anime is nowadays only about 12 or 13 episodes long.

Anyways, with Metaltyranomon gone, what next? The DigiDestined decide to split up into two groups to go around this seemingly massive swamp. This way if something happens to one group, the other group can step in to rescue them or continue on if necessary. The episode ends before we see how the group will be divided; I’m curious to see who will be paired with whom. But I’ll call it now – Yamato will head one group and Taichi will head the other. ;D

I must say, I’m enjoying this reboot a lot more than I thought I would! It helps that the Digimon franchise one of the oldest anime I’m familiar with so there’s always a hefty dose of nostalgia when I’m watching. I also like seeing what’s changed and what’s similar to what I can remember of the original series.