Geek Tech 101: Digivice

Every Digimon fan fantasized at least once about having a digivice as a kid (and maybe still as an adult). Especially with the release of The Beginning in 2023, the history and lore of the digivices has evolved since that day that seven digivices fell to the Digi-Destined at summer camp.

The original digivices were designed to assist in the bond and digivolution of the partner Digimon. They also assisted the Digi-Destined in reaching the Digital World through various portals. The digivice enabled the Digi-Destined partners to reach as far as champion level. In conjunction with the child's crest power, the Digimon could reach ultimate and sometimes even mega. But even from the beginning, it was explicitly stated that the digivices were only a tool to assist in digivolution, not the means itself.

Compared to some later digivices, the original was very basic in function. Their power was nullified by the Control Spires and were unable to open a Digi-Port on their own. And without the crest power, the children's partners could only reach so far. Though limited in range in the real world, the digivices were able to track each other, which was especially important when tracking down the eighth digivice.

In the digivices history, we know they existed as far back as Daigo and Hime's team in the 1980s. Though we never saw their crests, we know their Digimon partners were able to reach ultimate and mega levels. The tricky thing (as far as the timeline) is that by all accounts these digivices predated Lui's bond with Ukkomon (who claimed he was the first digi-destined).

After these flashback events, the digivices were seen with our first season team of Digi-Destined, paired with their eight crests. Even without the physical crests, the children were able to use their digivices to reach ultimate and mega levels against Apocalymon. Though, in the interim between seasons, the kids gave up that crest power to strengthen the Digital World’s defenses. 

As I mentioned earlier, the digivices had their limitations in season two, forcing the evolution of the D3 (which I’ll spotlight another time) but that was only for six of the kids. The regular digivice still became the standard digivice for all children worldwide (until Oikawa’s children received their D3s). 

Year later the digivices were paired with smart phones that were able to tap into that power of digivolution. Presumably this was the work of Izzy (who else would come up with that?). The digivices and their associated smart phones eventually displayed the ring of light that served as the indicator or countdown to the Digimon’s disappearance. At the time that their bonds supposedly ended and the partner disappeared, the digivices cracked and presumably lost their power. 

A couple years later their purpose and history was called into question by Lui. Through the reconciliation of Lui and Ukkomon, the digivices and D3s disappeared. Their purpose fulfilled I suppose. But the bonds still existed.

I’d wager the digivolution was still possible (just like Tai and Kari with the original Koromon). And I’m still holding out for more of the Digimon Adventure story, connecting to the season two epilogue (which takes place next year). Here’s hoping. *fingers crossed*