Explorers
| (picture) | Name: Yuusuke Toriyama Age (at start): 15 At the start of the series, Yuusuke runs away from an abusive foster home to seek a new life in the Digital World. Once he arrives, he befriends the famous veteran explorer Ryan Cohen and becomes his apprentice for a day. In that time, Yuusuke becomes caught up in a race to find the Five Crystals. On his first night, Yuusuke finds his partner, Leomon, and the two set out to find their fortune. Along the way, they run into Joel and Natalie, and, despite meeting both originally in battle, decide to team up with them in order to get the Crystals before the Dark Lords. |
| Partner: Leomon The Lost Warrior of legend, Leomon's previous life was spent fighting against the Dark Lords. It came to an end when he and Vamdemon managed to kill each other off in what would become the final battle against any of the Dark Lords for five years. A year later, his data was recycled, and Leomon was reborn. He continued to train, even though there weren't many enemies left to fight. Despite his bravery, there are some aspects of Leomon's previous life he wishes to keep secret, and he won't even tell them to Yuusuke. Until he feels that the time is right. |
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| (picture) | Name: Natalie Doyle Age (at start): 15 Natalie arrived in the Digital World two years before Yuusuke. She left her home under similar circumstances--trying to escape an abusive father and an alcoholic mother. She happened to run into Joel during her first week, and he showed her the basics of being an explorer before having to leave. Shortly after that, she met Vamdemon and learned that he was her partner. They learned to rely on each other for help, and formed a bond greater than any partnership in history. From this, they were able to recover from the tragedy of their pasts and move on. When the quest for the Crystals began, Natalie was reunited with Joel, and later, Yuusuke. In Yuusuke, she begins to experience a feeling that goes beyond mere friendship. Love, perhaps? |
| Partner: Vamdemon (Nightmare Mode) After his death at the hands of Leomon five years ago, everyone in the Digital World thought they had seen the last of Vamdemon. Witnesses swore his data was absorbed by Leomon before the Lost Warrior died, and that was it. However, Vamdemon's data was not absorbed, and he was recycled one year later. However, he was different from before, and felt sorrow over the actions of his previous life. The "Nightmare Mode" he evolved into may have either been the cause or result of these feelings, no one knows. For a long time (and for obvious reasons), he kept his identity secret by wearing a long hooded cloak. After teaming up with Natalie, they agreed that she would call him "Partner" so as not to reveal his identity. When he was unmasked by Beelzebumon, a panic naturally ensued, but when people saw that he had switched sides, they began to slowly grow more comfortable around him. |
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| (picture) | Name: Joel Hutchinson Age (at start): 17 In order to help support his family, Joel went through a Gateway in London when he was 12. Since that time, he's become one of the better-known explorers, and also a fairly decent warrior, as he helped in the final battles with the Dark Lords. Joel will always consider a job's implications before taking it, so the fact that he chose to side with Adriana Reeves rather than Maxwell Lamarc during the quest for the Crystals may be more significant than it seems. |
| Partner: Red Leomon A variation of Leomon that was hatched just a few months before the original first died. He shares most of Leomon's personality, though he tends to be a bit more arrogant at times. That may just be Joel rubbing off on him, though. |
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| (picture) | Name: Ryan Cohen Age (at start): 24 After witnessing his parents' death in a car crash while on vacation in Tokyo, 9-year-old Ryan accidentally ran through the first Gateway in a daze of anger and confusion. He found friends among the Digimon, and having no living relatives, decided to stay, becoming one of the first explorers. Over the next fifteen years, Ryan has watched the Digital World develop with the interaction of humans. He's also made some very big discoveries, which earned him some usually-unwelcome fame in both worlds. Ryan's mostly a learner and ususally doesn't take apprentices, but if he feels someone has potential, like he did with Yuusuke, he'll give them a push in the right direction. |
| Partner: None | |
| (picture) | Name: Alex Clearwater Age (at start): 21 A salesman for Portey, Incorporated, Alex is the first partnered human Yuusuke meets on the train through the Gateway. He will be appearing again later, but for now, that's all you should remember about him. |
| Partner: Agumon Alex's partner who helps him with his job. |
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