Japanese Title: Tohma's Inglorious Battle, Secret Maneuvering Togemon
One month prior, boxer Tsubasa Hayasenote dominates his opponent in a match and takes his seventh consecutive win despite popular belief that he wouldn’t. Upon being interviewed, he picks up his daughter and declares he’s going for the world championships.
At DATS, Masaru brings up an article about Hayase to Yoshino and tells her that something’s suspicious, given that his previous opponents had suspiciously dropped out of the competition and thus had allowed him to win by default; in addition, Hayase is well over his prime and yet is managing to do so well. Yoshino isn’t so sure, and Tohma tells Masaru with an unusual degree of firmness that Hayase wouldn’t do anything unjust. Satsuma enters, saying that he’d already done an investigation on Hayase, and he’d found a mysterious needle that gives off a Digimon signal. Tohma is startled, but agrees to start investigating with Masaru and Yoshino.
While on a jog, Hayase meets Tohma, who reveals himself to be a big fan and makes a bet with him: if he can keep up with Hayase’s jogging, he’ll be allowed to ask a few questions. After fulfilling the terms of the bet, Tohma asks Hayase about an incident four years prior in which an opponent had repeatedly committed foul plays against him but Hayase had refused to respond in turn with dishonest tactics. Hayase managed to win the match, but sustained an injury that forced him to retire. Hayase tells him that the injury had ripped away his dreams of going to the world championships, but his family had supported him and allowed him to make it back.
Hayase blows Tohma off coldly, saying that he wouldn’t understand, and Tohma asks if Hayase had noticed anything strange when making his comeback. Hayase is hesitant, but says that there’s nothing. Tohma walks back in worry, reflecting on how he’d idolized Hayase since he was a child.
Hayase arrives at his boxing training gym only to find Masaru, who’d beaten up all the trainees and wants a match with him; however, Hayase leaves, saying he has other things to do, and leaves Masaru to face Shiraki, Hayase’s coach. Shiraki turns out to be relentlessly devoted to Hayase, saying that he won’t allow Masaru to harm Hayase. However, he decides that Masaru seems like a decent enough guy and allows him to stay.
Yoshino pretends to be a magazine reporter on the supportive wives of various professional athletes and approaches Hayase’s family, consisting of his daughter Manaminote and his wife. Hayase’s wife says that she’s noticed the atmosphere changes every time Hayase is close to reaching another medal, and that she always hopes that he’ll come home safely.
At DATS, the suspects are rounded down to Hayase himself, his wife, and Shiraki. Masaru believes Shiraki to be suspicious, while Yoshino doesn’t think Hayase’s wife would do anything bad. Tohma believes that he needs more time to investigate, and asks Satsuma to allow him to take some time to consider.
Tohma goes to Hayase’s gym and watches him training with Shiraki for the first match in the world championships. As the news covers the next contender, Hayase watches it darkly.
After coming to an epiphany, Tohma asks the next morning to have a sparring match with Hayase. When Masaru barges in, however, Tohma withdraws, having reached his conclusion after Hayase had dodged his first punch. Yoshino continues to tail Hayase, while Masaru hangs around the gym.
At night, Gaomon asks Tohma why he seems so unusually invested in the case, and Tohma admits to how he’d admired Hayase and thought of him as a role model. Gaomon realizes that Tohma knows who the culprit is.
Masaru lingers at the gym even after it’s closed, wanting to watch over Shiraki. He finds Shiraki sneaking away...only to see him sneaking a bottle of sake. The two of them soon hear something and find Hayase ominously entering the gym...to get some last-minute training. As Yoshino rules out Hayase as a suspect, however, Hayase suddenly gets a call from his wife that there’s trouble.
Hayase’s future opponent happens to be going out for a jog when a Togemon tries to attack him, only to have the disaster averted by Gaomon and Tohma. Tohma analyzes the Togemon as having been able to cause all of Hayase’s opponents’ body disorders with its needles. However, Tohma knows that Hayase isn’t the culprit; his boxing match with Hayase confirmed his belief that he still had his belief in honest boxing. Tohma identifies the culprit as none other than Hayase’s daughter Manami, who doesn’t want anyone to hurt her father.
Manami and Togemon flee, while Yoshino and Masaru give chase. Manami continues to pursue Hayase’s opponent, only to find that Tohma had disguised himself as him and had lured them into a boxing ring. Masaru decides not to interfere, declaring a boxing match to be a one-on-one thing.
Gaomon fights with Togemon in the ring, declaring that he won’t forgive him for distorting the boxing that Tohma loves. Togemon’s response is to get much larger, and Tohma has Gaomon evolve to Gaogamon.
Gaogamon secures the victory, and Tohma tells the truth of what had happened to Hayase. Worried for Hayase’s condition, Tohma asks him to forfeit the match, but Hayase responds that even though the next match may be his last, he wants to show Manami how he fights honestly. Tohma protests that they’re going to have their memories erased by DATS anyway, but Hayase says that even if his memories are erased, he’ll still remember the things that were important.
Tohma attends the match, watching Hayase as he enters the ring.
Tropes
- Broken Pedestal: Tohma is afraid of this happening to his perception of Hayase, since Hayase had been his childhood idol.
- Cactus Person: Togemon, a walking cactus.
- Crippling the Competition: Togemon has been attacking Hayase's opponents to weaken them before each fight.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: Shiraki’s bottle of sake is changed to soda in the dub.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Hayase believes in fighting fairly.
- Make My Monster Grow: Togemon grows tall enough to nearly reach the ceiling of the arena.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Masaru understands that the match against Togemon is personal to Tohma and keeps Yoshino from interfering.
- Your Size May Vary: In prior series, Togemon was large enough to carry a human child on one of its boxing gloves. Here, it's about the same size as a child. At first, anyway.
