In an episode that surely traumatized many kid viewers, the ancient slab Monol relates the sordid backstory of the Monster Rancher world.
On the ancient continent of Pangaea, technology was highly advanced. Humanity once had an extremely advanced civilization that eventually created Monsters, stored in CD-ROMs/Mystery Disks. The Monsters were first household pets, then anything that would make life easier, then warriors to fight what became known as the Last War which lasted centuries.
Eventually they created Moo in an attempt to end the Last War, which ended up nearly destroying the entire planet until they created the Phoenix to stop him—and what it took to defeat Moo involved destroying virtually everything. Enough humans were left to rebuild civilization, but far less advanced than it had been before...
And Moo's soul survived the ancient battle, with Monol theorizing that he may have taken on a host. Genki comments that things about that story remind him of his world, and, sobered, the group continues forth... Unaware that Moo himself was told of Holly and her Magic Stone.
Moo soon sets out to claim both.
This episode contains examples of:
- A God Am I: Unlike the games, which hold that monsters were created by God, here the monsters were made by the ancient civilization of Pangea, and Monol states that the people were like gods.
- After the End: The current monster world was built on the remnants of the ancient Pangean civilization.
- Backstory Horror: This episode is this trope, as the entire thing is a Flashback of how the Monster Rancher world got screwed up. The ancient people of Pangea brought about their own downfall by creating Moo.
- But Now I Must Go: At the end of the episode, Monol sets off on his own to tell the story of the Monster World's lore to all who will listen.
- Conflict Killer: Moo. After turning against his creators and seizing control of every monster there was, the surviving humans of his rampage banded together to create the Phoenix and Final Gate to stop him.
- Foreshadowing: Monol theorizes that Moo's soul attached itself to a new body, and Hare wonders if the Phoenix did the same thing.
- Forever War/Hopeless War/War Is Hell: The Last War, the devastating conflict that brought the Pangean civilization to an end. Its unknown what started the war but after a few decades, it didn't matter anymore - nobody even remembered the reasons why they were fighting and entire generations were born and died during this long, bloody period, without knowing anything else.
- Framing Device: The Searchers finding and unlocking Monol's mystery disc gives him the opportunity to pass on his story.
- Gone Horribly Right: Moo was created as an ultimate weapon to help end the war. So was the Phoenix. It ended, all right.
- Heavy Sleeper: Monol keeps randomly falling asleep during his explanation.
- Internal Reveal: A Weed witnesses Holly using the Magic Stone to locate Monol's mystery disc, and relays this information to Moo, spurring him to target the Searchers personally.
- Scenery Gorn: We are shown horrifying pictures of how the Monster Rancher world was destroyed. Fittingly, the last shot of the flashback is of a completely red planet.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Fleshing out the backstory of the Monster Rancher world.
