Gabumon (Digiranger)

Gabumon (ガブモン) is the Digimon partner of Yamato Ishida in the two seasons Bouken Sentai Digiranger & Bouken Sentai Digiranger 02.

Whereas Yamato can be cool & conflicted, Gabumon is more emotional & steadfastly loyal. He gives his partner free reign to find himself but tries to reason with him anyway. Whenever Yamato falls too far, however, Gabumon is the one who brings him back. They eventually reach the point where they can communicate without words, comfortable in the silence.

Digiranger
Gabumon was created, along with the rest of the Digirangers' Digimon, as part of a project to help control the balance between good & evil in the Digital World. When he was a Digitama connected to the Crest of Friendship, the Dark Masters attack the facility where he was housed, & Gennai fleed with the eggs in hand. He was taken to File Island, where he hatched into Punimon who eventually transformed into Tunomon. During this time, he played with the other Digimon as he held the Digivice that belongs to Yamato Ishida, waiting for his partner's arrival. One day, the Digivices suddenly vanish into the sky, heralding the coming of their partners.

Tunomon discovers his partner, Yamato, after he comes to the Digital World, & they meet up with the rest of the Digirangers, who attend the same summer camp as Yamato: Taichi Kamiya & Koromon, Koushiro Izumi & Mochimon, Sora Takenouchi & Pyocomon, Mimi Tachikawa & Tanemon, Jou Kido & Pukamon, & Takeru Takaishi & Tokomon. Unfortunately, a Kuwagamon who menaced Taichi, Koromon, Koushiro, & Mochimon attacks them once more but Tunomon, alongside the other Digimon, transform to his Rookie form to protect his partner & becomes Gabumon. Though strong, Kuwagamon is still stronger, & they are thrown off a cliff.

Gomamon rescues them from drowning & begins to travel across File Island. When the group takes a rest at an abandoned trolley, they decide to take watch. When Yamato tries to sleep, he orders Gabumon to sleep next to his little brother Takeru, & the two get into a little teasing argument. Yamato has trouble sleeping though, & Gabumon wakes to Yamato's hamonica. The two bond with the sound, until a Seadramon is unintentionally angered & attacks. Gabumon dives after Yamato when he tries to return to the island Seadramon pushed out into the lake, & when Yamato is being squeezed to death by Seadramon, Gabumon transforms to Garurumon, which also causes Yamato to transform to [[Yamato Ishida#DigiBlue|DigiBlue, & together they drive him away.

Gabumon follows Yamato as they traverse File Island. After the group gets separated by Devimon, Gabumon finds Yamato shelter a cave when they become trapped in a snowstorm while he attempts to go search for Takeru. Unfortunately, Yamato is impatient & tries to look himself, but he passes out in the cold. Gabumon discovers him & returns him to the cave, where he gives up his pelt in order to provide Yamato warmth. He gets a cold from the exchange, however.

Gabumon & Yamato return to the Village of Beginnings in time to protect Takeru from Leomon as Garurumon & DigiBlue. They subsequently defeat Devimon & are told by Gennai to head to the Server Continent. Along the way, the group finds the Tags to their Crests but are attacked by Etemon on the Continent itself. The Digirangers manage to escape into a tunnel. The group travels across Server, avoiding Etemon's notice as well as getting training from Picklemon, where Yamato discovered his Crest of Friendship. When they discover Etemon's main base of operations & Nanomon kidnaps Sora, Garurumon & DigiBlue provide distraction for the rescue mission. Etemon fuses with his Dark Network, however, but Metal DigiOrange & MetalGreymon both dispatch him. His massive energy causes a dimensional rift to open, which Taichi & MetalGreymon are sucked into.

In an attempt to look for Taichi & Agumon, the group fractures until only Yamato, Gabumon, Takeru, & Tokomon are left. Yamato & Gabumon intend for a quick check across the lake. Unfortunately, they get lost & then discover Jou having been tricked into working at Digitamamon's diner for not having the right currency. Though Yamato wishes to return to find Takeru, the two stay because of veiled threats against Jou, though Yamato's irritation with Jou continues to grow. The situation reaches its boiling point when Taichi, Agumon, Takeru, & Patamon come, & Yamato finally breaks. When Jou tries to sacrifice himself to protect Takeru, Yamato understands the meaning of friendship. His knowledge allows him & Garurumon to transform to Were DigiBlue & WereGarurumon, & they defeat Digitamamon together. Gabumon & Yamato then go with Takeru & Patamon, managing to find Koushiro & Tentomon when they escape Vademon.

By now, Vamdemon has emerged as the next great threat, & he is in search of the eighth Digiranger. The Digirangers pursue him to the Real World through Vamdemon's special gate. While Yamato & Takeru travel home, they meet up with Pumpmon & Gottsumon, who, though initially Vamdemon's servants, befriend them & protect them from Vamdemon. WereGarurumon & Were DigiBlue attempt to avenge their punishment, though they only manage to drive Vamdemon off. When Tailmon is captured & Vamdemon stages an all out attack to round up all the children to force Tailmon to find her partner, discovered to be Taichi's sister Hikari Yagami, Yamato & Gabumon are woken by Yamato's father Hiroaki Ishida & whisked into hiding, as he had an encounter with Gizamon. Taichi entrusts Hikari's safety to Yamato & Gabumon, who eventually meets up with Sora & Birdramon. Unfortunately, Fantomon follows Sora to their hidden location, & Garurumon & DigiBlue both desperately try to protect Hikari. Fantomon's forces have them at their mercy when Hikari opts instead to give herself up to prevent their deaths.

After Vamdemon is first defeated due to Wizarmon's sacrifice, Vamdemon instead transforms to VenomVamdemon. The Digirangers believe that the key to defeating VenomVamdemon is to have Angemon & Angewomon shoot Taichi & Yamato with arrows of hope & light. Both of them agree, & they, along with Agumon & Gabumon, warp transform into War DigiOrange, WarGreymon, Metal DigiBlue, & MetalGarurumon, Ultimate Digimon & Digirangers who, with help, manage to defeat VenomVamdemon. Thinking that it is finally over, the group is shocked to see the Digital World appear in the sky. The Digirangers & their partners decide to go back to protect both worlds they love. All of them open another warp & go back to the Digital World to restore the balance.

The Dark Masters emerge as the major enemy, & it is revealed that they were the ones who warped & rebuilt the Digital World. Upon their return, Gabumon & Yamato are both handily defeated even as MetalGarurumon & Metal DigiBlue, & it is only through the agency of Picklemon, who tells the group that they must become strong, that they are able to escape the immediate situation. It is through his sacrifice that they are able to flee entirely. Taichi takes this to mean that they must become physically strong, & he orders the group to defeat a Shellmon, whom they previously needed to transform to beat. After Whamon sacrifices himself to protect the Digirangers, WarGreymon & War DigiOrange are able to defeat the area's Dark Master, MetalSeadramon.

In the Dark Master Pinochimon's forest, Gabumon is rendered nearly useless by Pinochimon's manipulations, but Takeru manages to free them from Pinochimon's control. Yamato, however, feels alienated from the group & falls prey to Jyureimon's manipulations. Though Gabumon tries to convince Yamato to return to the group & believe in them, he eventually quiets & decides to follow Yamato in whatever decision he chooses, even if that means fighting the other Digirangers. As MetalGarurumon & Metal DigiBlue, they save the others from the attacking Gerbemon. MetalGarurumon demands a duel with WarGreymon, & the two clash in the skies as their partners do on the ground. Their battle ultimately causes a rift in the friends. Yamato leaves to reevaluate his place in the group, while Mimi can't deal with the drama & the fighting & strikes off on her own, while Jou goes with her to make sure she is safe. After his defeat at the hands of the other Digirangers, Pinochimon finds Yamato & MetalGarurumon in the forest & thinks he can control them. MetalGarurumon & Metal DigiBlue both prove otherwise, destroying the Dark Master once & for all before leaving.

In the meantime, Yamato & Gabumon wander. Yamato is seduced by the Digital World's darkness & falls into depression as he names his faults. Gabumon won't stand for this, however, resorting to even biting Yamato in order to snap him out of it. Gabumon argues that Yamato does matter, & their friendship saves Yamato. They promise to be friends forever. They save Sora from a similar situation & return to where Taichi has been holding the line against Piemon. Unfortunately, Piemon proves to be too strong & captures him, WarGreymon, & their partners by turning them into keychains. Holy DigiYellow & HolyAngemon, Takeru & Patamon's Perfect forms, save them, & they manage to defeat Piemon, only for Apocalymon to appear.

Apocalymon turns out to be a formidable foe, destroying their Crests & managing to turn them into free-floating data. Gabumon declares that he'll fight & bonds silently with Yamato about their friendship. Yamato discovers that the Crest of Friendship lies within him, & uses that power to transform Gabumon & himself to MetalGarurumon & Metal DigiBlue & return to normal. All together, the group defeats Apocalymon, with MetalGarurumon & Metal DigiBlue each launching a Giga Missile directly into his main body.

Unfortunately, the solar eclipse marks the rebirth of the Digital World; if the Digirangers stay, the Digital World might see them as foreign elements as it tries to recover & might delete them. Either way, the Digirangers must leave their partners. Gabumon asks Yamato to play the harmonica for him, & with the music as their backdrop, they sit without words.

At that point, Gabumon, along with the other partner Digimon, wave goodbye to their partners as they take a trolley back home.

Anode/Cathode Tamer
During the December after their adventures, the Digirangers & their partners are captured by Millenniumon & held hostage. Gabumon is freed along with Tailmon, Gomamon, & their partners when Ryo Akiyama defeats Vamdemon. Gabumon aids Ryo in his journey to defeat Millenniumon.

Our War Game!
A mysterious Digimon attacks on the internet, & Gabumon joins the rest of the Digimon when Gennai contacts the Digirangers about it. Gabumon is only ready to go when Yamato, who is in Shimane visiting relatives, manages to find an internet connection. He & Gabumon manage to transform to Metal DigiBlue & MetalGarurumon, but at this point, Infermon transforms to Diablomon & lays waste to the partners. Diablomon escapes to wreak more havoc & is multiplying to mask his original body, but Metal DigiBlue, MetalGarurumon, War DigiOrange, & WarGreymon follow despite MetalGarurumon & WarGreymon being in pain. The emails from around the world still slow MetalGarurumon, & Matt, feeling for his partner's broken state, teams up with Taichi to encourage their partners. Between their power & the strength of the world's children, MetalGarurumon & WarGreymon Jogres transform into Omegamon, &, with the aid of the very same emails which slowed his Digimon, manage to defeat Diablomon in time to stop the nuclear missile from detonating.

D-1 Tamers
Shortly after Tag Tamers, Ryo is recalled to the Digital World to participate in the D-1 Tournament. Yamato is the master of Grade 2, & Gabumon as WereGarurumon stands alongside him as well as an Angemon & a Leomon.

Before Digiranger 02
After these events, Gennai calls the Digirangers to the Digital World in order to give up their Crest power to fully revitalize the Digital World with a protective barrier. As a result, Gabumon loses the ability to become WereGarurumon & MetalGarurumon.

Bouken Sentai Digiranger 02
Gabumon is captured while attempting to liberate the Digimon of Santa Geria. He is subject to RedVagimon's 100 lashes, which he only barely survives. He passes out in front of a TV, which sends an SOS that calls Yamato. There, they & the new Digirangers concoct a plan to liberate the town but are captured along the way. When V-mon baits RedVagimon into attacking the Dark Tower, it gets broken enough that Gabumon & Yamato can transform into Garurumon & DigiBlue, & they free the rest. They find out that the Dark Towers are what ultimately expand the Digimon Kaiser's control, by both prohibiting normal Transformation & powering the Evil Rings in the same area. By taking out these Dark Towers, the Digirangers & their Digimon are allowed to transform normally once more, & Gabumon & Yamato retain their Garurumon & DigiBlue forms to take out threats.

Unfortunately, the Digimon Kaiser, now revealed as the genius kid Ken Ichijouji, takes interest in Greymon when it is revealed that his Evil Rings cannot fully control Perfect Digimon. He captures Greymon with an Evil Ring & tries to force him & himself to transform with his Dark D-3, first getting SkullGreymon & Skull DigiOrange & eventually succeeding with a viral MetalGreymon & Ken Ichijouji, a dark version of DigiOrange. The Digirangers work hard to stop him & end up confronting him in front of the Digimental of Friendship, with Yamato & Garurumon among the group. Most of the Digirangers resolve to do what they must to save Agumon, even hurt him if it comes down to it, but Daisuke can't understand it. It takes seeing the pain the rest of the Digirangers are in, as well as his partner V-mon, to realize that friendship sometimes means hurting another to help them. Activating the Digimental of Friendship, they manage to destroy the Evil Spiral & free Agumon from the Kaiser's grasp.

The Digirangers eventually defeat the Digimon Kaiser & return him to being just Ken Ichijouji, who regrets his actions & tries to atone. Gabumon is among the cleanup effort that springs up in the aftermath, until Archnemon & Mummymon complicate matters by first creating artificial Digimon from Dark Towers & then launching a full-scale invasion of the Real World by causing Dark Towers to appear all around the world. Through the Harmonious One Qinglongmon's Computer Kernel, Gabumon & Yamato, along with the rest of the Digirangers & Digimon, are given the power to reach their higher forms once more. Gabumon & Yamato, along with Ken & Wormmon, go to Mexico, only for the Digimon to escape them & end up in Palenque. They manage to lure the stray Digimon out of a Mayan pyramid & return them safely to the Digital World.

The Demon Corps then make their stand in the Real World. SkullSatamon manages to neutralize most of the Digimon & Digirangers by freezing their data, but Gabumon & Yamato, along with the rest of the other Digimon & Digirangers, give up the power boosts that Qinglongmon gave them to allow Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode to overcome this & transform to his Fighter Mode.

Gabumon & Yamato appear again during the final stand against BelialVamdemon, representing the will to stand against his darkness.===Diablomon's Counterattack=== When Diablomon makes his reappearance, Yamato & Gabumon, along with Taichi & Agumon, return to the internet to fight him once more as Omegamon. Though they manage to defeat him with the aid of Takeru, Angemon, Hikari, & Angewomon, Diablomon manages to escape into the Real World as a swarm of Kuramon, who reform into Armagemon. Omegamon is defeated by this new Digimon, along with Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode, but he gives his strength up to allow Imperialdramon to transform to his Paladin Mode & defeat Armagemon.

Future
By the year 2027, Gabumon joins Yamato as the first astronaut with a Digimon partner & land on Mars though they were really supposed to land on the Moon.

Personality
Gabumon is at times shy & obedient, not willing to openly help unless those precious to him are harmed. He is utterly devoted to Yamato, aiding him on his journey of self discovery, even if it brings him against the rest of the Digirangers. He exemplifies friendship in the utter lengths he goes to help Yamato but not let him go down the spiral of self destruction.

Gabumon is fiercely protective of his appearance without his pelt, not wanting to be seen without it, which causes Yamato to speak up in his defense more than once. He does give up his pelt once, however, when Yamato is unconscious & need of warmth.

 Attacks 
 * Petit Fire: Shoots a blast of blue fire from his mouth.
 * Little Horn: Stabs upward with his horn.
 * Tsuno Kougeki (ツノ攻撃 lit. "Horn Attack"): Attacks with his horn.

Punimon's Digitama
Punimon's Digitama is held by the Agents alongside Yamato's Digivice & Tag, the Crest of Friendship, & the other Digitama, Digivices, Tags, & Crests. When Piemon attacked their base & stole the Tags & Crests, Gennai took the Digitama & Digivices & escaped in a Mechanorimon. He deposited the Digitama on File Island, where it eventually hatched into Punimon.

Punimon
After his Digitama was rescued from the Dark Masters before the start of Bouken Sentai Digiranger, Gabumon hatched into Punimon (プニモン) on File Island. He eventually transformed to Tunomon while waiting for his partner to come.

 Attacks 
 * San no Awa (酸の泡 lit. "Acid Bubbles"): Fires harmless pink bubbles from his mouth.

Tunomon
Tunomon (ツノモン Tsunomon) is Gabumon's Baby II form.

He is a bodyless white head with orange fur, red eyes, & a gray horn.

While waiting for his partner before the start of Bouken Sentai Digiranger, Punimon transformed to this form on File Island. With the rest of the Digirangers' Digimon, he played with the Digivices until they disappear one day, heralding the arrival of their partners. Tunomon finally meets his partner Yamato Ishida, & they meet up with the rest of the Digirangers. He transforms to his main form Gabumon when Kuwagamon corners him on the cliff face.

From then on, Tunomon only appears when Gabumon uses too much energy by transforming to his Perfect or Ultimate forms, such as after defeating Digitamamon as WereGarurumon, & warp transforming to MetalGarurumon to beat VenomVamdemon.

 Attacks 
 * Bubble Blow (泡 Awa, lit. "Bubbles"): Fires harmless pink bubbles from his mouth.
 * San no Awa (酸の泡? lit. "Acid Bubbles"): Fires harmless pink bubbles from his mouth.

Garurumon
Garurumon (ガルルモン) is Gabumon's Adult form, which also allows Yamato to transform into DigiBlue.

Gabumon first transforms to Garurumon to protect Yamato from a rampaging Seadramon. Garurumon then becomes, for the most part, Gabumon's default battle form as it provides a significant amount of strength without delving too deeply into his energy reserves. He uses it to take on Devimon & all threats up until Digitamamon, where he & Yamato digivolve to WereGarurumon & Were DigiBlue. Garurumon still comes into use when they can't afford to spend too much energy, like while infiltrating Vamdemon's castle to reach the gate.

Gabumon & Yamato once again assume their Garurumon & DigiBlue forms in the sequel while liberating Santa Geria. They discover it is the Dark Towers which allow the Digimon Kaiser's influence to spread, & so Garurumon stays behind to defend the freed areas. Garurumon & DigiBlue are among the Digimon & Digirangers who take part in Agumon's rescue mission. Garurumon & DigiBlue save Patamon from an Evil Spiral then team with Ligh DigiBlue to destroy the one on MetalGreymon.

 Attacks 
 * Fox Fire: Spews high-temperature blue flames from his mouth.

WereGarurumon
WereGarurumon (ワーガルルモン WāGarurumon) is Gabumon's Perfect form, which is also the result of Were DigiBlue.