Recap / Digimon Adventure E39 "The Battle for Earth"

Japanese Title: The Great Ultimate Evolutions! Get Rid of the Darkness!

Continuing on the heels of the last episode, Agumon and Gabumon warp-evolve to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to take on VenomVamdemon, now at the same level of Ultimate. Even with the new evolution, though, it's not as easy as it looks when Vamdemon proves resilient even after WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon release all their attacks. With this seeming stalemate,the other Chosen Children's Digimon join in in the battle in the hopes of defeating VenomVamdemon and rescuing the adults.

With a combination attack from everyone, WarGreymon drills a hole straight through the pelvic area of VenomVamdemon. However, this only makes VenomVamdemon laugh, as his true form emerges from that area and starts launching darkness straight down from it. While the kids stand frozen in fear, the power of their eight Crests begins to tie VenomVamdemon in place, leaving an opening for WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. WarGreymon uses the ball from the Fuji TV complex as a soccer ball, and with the help of a combined attack, defeats VenomVamdemon by kicking it right where it is. Ouch. With that, the threat of VenomVamdemon is over (at the price of the Fuji TV complex being destroyed), the adults in the convention center begin to wake up, and the fog clears.

However, before the Chosen can celebrate, giant continents appear in the sky...

Takeru is reunited with his mother, Natsuko, and his mother has an awkward reunion with Yamato and his father. Shin arrives and informs the children that the adults at Big Sight are safe, but the celebrations are cut short as they watch news broadcasts of the continents appearing in the sky all over the world. Koushirou recognizes the continents in the sky as those of the Digital World, and as a plane flies too close to the continents, a Kuwagamon flies out, further causing the plane to take damage. Garudamon is able to land the plane, but while Kabuterimon tries to stop Kuwagamon, the attack goes straight through.

As they look at Shin's handheld TV device, they see in the news that Digimon are all over the world, and deduce that because of the Digital World running on Year Inside, Hour Outside, the Digital World had gone years without anyone to fix the distortions, and now they're spilling into the real world and the Chosen must go back to restore it. Knowing that it's their duty to fix what's going wrong there, the Chosen hold out their Digivices, hoping that it'll lead them there.

Takeru's mother tries to step in and stop them, but Yamato's father intervenes, saying that when they divorced, they made selfish decisions of their own. Shin and Koushirou's parents believe in the kids, and the kids rise into the sky with a rainbow created by their Digivices. The rest of the Chosen's parents call out to them, but Hikari screams that they'll definitely come back, and in front of the gathered adults, the children and their Digimon rise into the Digital World...

Tropes

• Alien Sky: In the wake of Myotismon's defeat, the Earth's sky is replaced by an expanse of upside-down continents and oceans that freeze anything that approaches them. Then Izzy notices Infinity Mountain in the sky-continents and realizes that this is the Digital World, somehow projected onto Earth's skies.
• Bittersweet Ending: VenomVamdemon is destroyed, and ends Vamdemon's threat^note For now. However, the Fuji TV complex is wrecked, the Digital World has appeared in the sky and is leaking into the real world, and the Chosen (along with Hikari) are forced to go back to the Digital World to see what has happened while they were gone.
• Can't Catch Up: In response to Agumon and Gabumon warp-digivolving to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.
  Tentomon: I feel there's a big gap the rest of us can't jump over now...
• Chekhov's Gun: The plane in this episode gains some significance in Digimon Adventure 02: it's a plane coming home with Iori Hida and the remains of his father Hiroki, and this event would lead to Iori becoming a Chosen.
• Happy Ending Override: The Sequel Series will reveal Myotismon was never actually defeated — he survived by possessing a brokenhearted Oikawa as he watched the Chosen return to the Digital World.
• Rewatch Bonus: When rewatched knowing what Oikawa and the Hida family are going through during the final scenes, the tone of the episode changes completely.