Transformation (Digiranger)

In the Digiranger series, the Transformation (変身 Henshin) process used by Digimon, monsters that inhabit a parallel universe called the Digital World that spawned from Earth's telecommunications network. Through Transformation, a Digimon can develop into a more powerful being. When a Digimon is in the assistance of a human partner, the Digimon transfer its data to the partner, allowing him/her to transform into a Digiranger.

Concept
Digimon reside in the Earth's various electronic networks as well as in the Digital World. As they are essentially computer data they can download additional data to themselves, which makes them stronger. If they download enough data, Transformation is triggered. When a Digimon & human become partners, they form a connection, allowing the human to become a Digiranger. During Transformation the Digimon's appearance & attributes change while the human assumes a Digiranger form whose design are based on their Digimon partner, & they become significantly stronger than they were before. The resultant form of the Digimon almost always has a different name than the previous, while the Digiranger shares part of their Digimon partner's name when in Perfect or Ultimate form. However, the Digiranger & Digimon's consciousness remain unchanged. If a Digiranger or Digimon do not absorb enough data needed to maintain the forms, it will not be able to retain that form for long & the Digiranger will de-transform & the Digimon will revert to a lower level in a matter of time.

Transformation is divided into multiple levels, made up of an egg-form Digitama (デジタマ Digitama) & six main transformation steps. NOTE: Humans can only become Digirangers when the Digimon's in Perfect form.

If left to its own devices, Digimon will naturally age &, over time, may transform to higher levels using data from the environment. Transforming from the initial Baby I stage usually progresses, but each subsequent level takes progressively more time. Because of this, only a sparse number of Digimon naturally reach their final forms. Anger &/or the necessity to survive in a great battle can often spur transformation. When Digimon are deleted, they either regress completely into Digitamas or break apart into innumerable bits of errant data that can be easily acquisitioned or "loaded" by other Digimon.

However, when a Digimon forms a bond with a human, a Digimon may transform much more quickly, & the same thing for humans/Digirangers as well. Using a Digivice, humans can allow a Digimon to instantaneously transform to a higher level & turn themselves into a Digiranger by sharing each other's energy. This takes a large amount of energy & cannot happen if either the Digiranger or Digimon is weak, injured, or hungry. Digirangers & Digimon who transform using a digivice will degenerate, or "De-transform", to a lower form (back to normal for a Digiranger) after a certain amount of time or if sufficiently injured in a battle. Usually, a partner Digimon's default stage is Rookie; Tailmon from Bouken Sentai Digiranger being a notable exception, as she naturally transformed to Adult before meeting her human partner, Hikari. However, sufficient injury or energy loss can cause a Digimon to revert an even lower form after naturally transforming.

On top of the regular stages, special forms exist that can only obtained through special methods:
 * Armor Form (アーマー体 Āmā-tai), an ancient form of transformation which only a handful of Digirangers & Digimon are capable of. To gain this form, both the Digiranger & Digimon need to absorb the energy from one of the special Digimentals (デジメンタル Dejimentaru). If a Digiranger & Digimon both have multiple Digimentals, their transformed forms become progressively more powerful.

Effects of Transformation
When a Digimon reaches its next level of transformation, its appearance may resemble its previous form or it can have no relationship to it at all, such as Tailmon, who resembles a cat, transforming to Angewomon, an Angel Digimon. When a Digiranger transforms into the Perfect or Ultimate form, they retain their suit but gain upgraded parts to match their Digimon partner's power. Usually, with the case of transformation to the Adult level, the resultant Digimon is larger than the previous form, but transformation to the Perfect level can often cause the Digimon to refine its strength & decrease its size at the same time, such as (e.g. Togemon to Lilimon & DigiGreen to Lili DigiGreen). The same circumstances can arrive with Ultimate Transformation, such as MetalGreymon to WarGreymon & Metal DigiOrange to War DigiOrange.

Transformation
Transformation (変身 Henshin) is one of a Digiranger & Digimon's special abilities. Transformation is part of a Digimon's natural life cycle, with Digimon transforming to stronger forms as a result of age & experience. Not all Digimon may undergo it, but it can happen naturally. As they gain data, skills or effect of a Digivice they will be transported into a Transformation zone where they slowly Transform into Adults. They may gain armor &/or clothes & when Digimon transform they will become a lot stronger than all of the Child Digimon. When a Digimon & human make a partnership, a connection forms between the two, allowing the human to transform into a Digiranger. Digimon can only stay in their Adult Transformation until their energy or data drops to zero.

Super Transformation
Super Transformation (超変身 Chō Henshin) is when a Digiranger & Digimon transforms from their Adult stage (Digimon) to their Perfect form.