Digimon Physiology

Summary

Digimon is the name given to beings, that contains Digicores, usually created by Yggdrasil that inhabit the so-called Digital World. They are beings created with the idea of evolution in mind and so one of their main features is the need to beat an opponent, absorb their data and thereby evolve.

Due to the franchise cosmology, which is inspired by Neoplatonic Emanationism, the data that make up the Digimon are a metaphysical and primordial material from which the matter, mind, and even soul of the lower worlds are mere emanations of what exists in the Digital World. And because of the franchise's theme of equating reality with a computer system, Digimon and other digital beings have a wide range of natural powers that make them powerful.

Uses

• Higher-Dimensional Existence: Digimon are primordial souls native to a world that’s superior to the Physical World transcending conventional reality on many levels of spacetime.
• Incorporeality: The composition of the given Digimon is a metaphysical substance and its existence is actually equivalent to primordial souls being naturally untouchable by those who exist in lower worlds;
• Non-Physical Interaction: Digimon are able to interact with themselves and the minds and souls of the beings of the lower worlds. They can even interact and harm those from a higher plane of existence, like Eaters, which come from a world beyond the Digital World.
• Reality Warping, Law Manipulation, Quantum Manipulation and Pocket Reality Manipulation (With Hacking and Information Manipulation): Reality is viewed by the Digimon, and other digital beings, as a computer program, so they are able to rewrite the structure of reality changing the laws of the world to whatever form they want. Additionally, Digimon contains Inner Worlds within their Digicore. In particular, Digimon are considered as the best hacking programs in-universe. This can be used to create and reshape pocket realities. Data is considered to be the equivalent to quantum particles with Digimon being able to effect data in various ways;
  • Can disable Forcefields: Using hacking, Digimon is able to disable Firewalls, even if they are recognized as impenetrable by humans;
  • Invisibility: They are able to mask their presence as if they "sealed" themselves, making them inaccessible to others;
  • Remove seals: Analyze data that is sealed and locked and is able to remove such a seal;
  • Duplication: They are able to temporarily copy a target data and then paste it elsewhere.
  • Electricity Manipulation: Are able to turn the power of a system on or off;
  • Extrasensory Perception: Can detect the presence of traps, even if they are Dimensional Holes;
  • Purification: They are able to restore programs and devices that have been broken or corrupted
• Magic via Information Manipulation: All Digimon are able to utilize magic to varying degrees. Magic in Digimon is just high level programming knowledge.
• Mind and Soul Manipulation: Being able to interact with minds and souls, as well as being able to rewrite the data structure, Digimon is able to directly attack the opponent's mind or soul and can even rewrite their structure to control their actions through their mind/soul.
• Absorption: Digimon are able to absorb data from the surrounding environment and from other beings, allowing them to assimilate this data into itself.
• Power Mimicry: By absorbing opponents' data, the Digimon assimilates their powers for themselves. Digimon are able to learn the attacks of opponents just by observing them, although this is limited by the intelligence of the Digimon.
• Regeneration: The Wireframe of a Digimon, corresponding to its armor/skin, is covered with a texture that is the first form of defense of a Digimon. Digimon are able to quickly regenerate their Wireframes after they are damaged, at least under normal conditions. Digimon are also able to completely regenerate their wireframes even after they are destroyed, forming the Digitamas (Not applicable in combat).
• Size Manipulation: Digimon can freely change their size.
• Immortality (Types 1, 3 and 4; the last not applicable in combat): Digimon have eternal life and can live infinitely, they are also capable of regenerating their Wireframe, thus making damage to their structure not important. They can also resurrect after being killed by restoring their Digicore to its original form and creating an egg-like structure where Digicore will be protected until Digimon development is nearly complete.
• Reactive Evolution: Digimon are able to rewrite their own data structures being able to adapt to different situations.
• Self-Sustenance (Type 1): Digimon do not need to breathe.
• Existence Erasure: Digimon have the power to "Delete", i.e erasing a being from existence and sending them to the Dark Area, the graveyard of deleted data. Especially used by Virus Busters to remove evil from within a being.
• Inorganic Physiology (Type 1): Digimon are not organic entities as beings made up of data.

Holy Power

Holy Power (聖なる力, Seinaru chikara), is the control over the "Light Energy" (光のエネルギー, Hikari no enerugī), also called "Positive Power" (「正」の力, "Sei" no chikara), in the Digimon universe. "Light" is in fact an umbrella term for the "Source of All Life" and is the very essence of Evolution and Goodness that every existing Digimon has and uses.

In reality, every single Digimon in the franchise has some level of "Holy Power", the so-called Holy Digimon (聖なるデジモン, Seinaru Digimon) are simply the ones with high amounts of Holy Power that uses it to destroy darkness and it's part of their duty, but in a way every Digimon has Holy Power. In special the "Virus Buster" Digimon are known having a strong sense of justice to fight "Evil", especially among the "Virus DIgimon" and so their use their "power of justice" to remove this spirit of evil. However this is more related with the fact of most of them being Vaccine Digimon, and is more of a natural instinct for those Digimon to fight against evil viruses. In the end, every Digimon has at least some amount of Holy Power, but some are more likely to have the "Will of Justice" to use it against evil.

Uses

• Non-Physical Interaction: The Power of light can interact with Negamon;
• Light Manipulation and Holy Manipulation: Any Holy Digimon has control over Light that opposes Darkness and uses it in nearly every single one of their attacks;
• Healing, Regeneration, Resurrection and Life Manipulation: In Digimon Light is a representation of both Existence and Life, so the attacks used by Holy Digimon have the power to oppose the erasure and death of Darkness and cause the healing, regeneration and even resurrection of erased Digimon;
• Can affect Nonexistent Physiology: The Holy Power is used directly to fight against Darkness, that is non-existence within the universe;
• Purification and Empathic Manipulation: Holy Power is capable of purifying the darkness that exists in the heart and bring back gentle and positive feelings;
• Empowerment: As Light is born from good intent, the power of a Holy digimon grows along with its own positive feelings;
• Reactive Evolution: As Light is in fact the essence of Evolution, any Digimon uses the Holy Power in order to grow and evolve;
• Resistance and nullification of Darkside Power: The Holy Power is the natural opposite of the Darkside Power, strong enough Holy Power is capable not only of resisting against Darkside Power, but also negating its effects. In fact, most of the powers showed here are direct opposites of the Darkside Power.

Darkside Power

Darkside Power (ダークサイドのパワー, Dākusaido no pawā), also called as Power of Darkness (闇の力, Yami no chikara or 暗黒の力, Ankoku no chikara), is the control over Dark Energy, also called Negative Energy. The Darkness itself is the original form of the world, a void of nothingness without time and space, without meaning or existence, from where the world of Digimon was created. Some Digimon are capable of using this power to expand their own darkness, spreading nothingness and erasure over the world.

In reality, every single Digimon in the franchise has some level of Darkside Power, however it's mostly controlled by their "Lightside Power". The Dark Digimon (暗黒デジモン, Ankoku Digimon) are those who are ruled by their "Virus Instinct", and so the most common ones to use this type of power.

Uses

• Darkness Manipulation and Unholy Manipulation: Any Darkside Digimon has control over Darkness that opposes Light and uses it in nearly every single one of their attacks;
• Existence Erasure and Death Manipulation: In Digimon Darkness is a representation of both Nothingness and Death, so the attacks used by Dark Digimon have the power to kill and erase everything they touch;
• Nonexistent Physiology: Dark Digimon are in fact "Non-Entities", they have been deleted, erased and removed from the world and are now part of a void of nothingness;
• Absorption: It's part of Darkness' nature to always be absorbing the environment in order to grow bigger;
• Corruption, Empathic Manipulation and Mind Manipulation: As Darkness covers everything it touches, it corrupts any existence into a new Dark Existence corrupted with the instincts of a Virus Digimon full of ill intent and negative feelings;
• Empowerment: As darkness is born from ill intent, the power of a dark digimon grows along with its own negative feelings;
• Immortality (Types 4 and 8): Beings that uses darkness will keep revive again and again as long as concept of darkness exists.
• Poison Manipulation: The Miasma made of darkness is poisonous.
• Resistance and nullification of Holy Power: The Dark Power is the natural opposite of the Holy Power, strong enough Dark Power is capable not only of resisting Holy Power, but also negating its effects.

Resistances

• Mind and Soul Manipulation: A Digimon's mind and soul is covered by Wireframe, which protects the Digicores (The true form and essence of a Digimon) from outside influence;
• Absorption, Information Manipulation, Quantum Manipulation, Hacking and Power Nullification: Digimon are resistant to the bugging of the Eaters, which usually absorbs and corrupts the data leaving them useless;
• Existence Erasure: Digimon resists erasure;
• Biological Manipulation: Digimon are entirely composed solely of Digicore, which is its true essence, and the Wireframe that protects it. They usually have no organs, blood or any other biological component of living things like humans or other animals;

Notes

Note 1: Digimon began as computer viruses that evolved into self-consciousness. This was the initial planning of the franchise and the first products were made based on this and consequently future products also developed this idea.

However with the production of the anime "Digimon Adventure" the director Hiroyuki Kakudou decided to modify the origin of the Digimon as primordial souls of a higher world who have manifested themselves in our world at many points throughout human history, each time looking different depending on humanity's interpretation and only in the present day are they interpreted as computer viruses.

In essence, the two Digimon explanations exist together with one including the other at a certain level, even though this creates contradictions when all the works are analyzed together.

Note 2: Although they do not have real organs or blood the Digimon composition can have equivalent elements. For example Wireframe acts like the skin of a Digimon, the flow of information from a Digimon is equivalent to their blood, etc. So it is not difficult to have references of organs in the Digimon, although they do not have a true one, but something equivalent with completely different structure.

Note 3: Regarding immortality, many Digimon products, especially Digimon World series games and Virtual Pets, continue to place the main Digimon as having mortality, yet this contradicts the explanations given in anime, manga and other games that Digimon are immortal. This is more of a remnant of the original era of Digimon as well as a gameplay mechanics. Other deaths that appear to have been by age have other explanations regarding problems in the composition of the Digimon code, especially artificially created ones.

Note 4: Due to the interaction between humans and digimon, many Digimon ended up adapting to the common sense of humans which eventually limited some of their powers, for example there are Digimon who believe they need to breathe and therefore cannot dive deep into water or things like this. However, this is merely a limitation regarding the Digimon's cognition in their world, which is controlled by thought, and not a limitation of Digimon physiology itself.

Note 5: The sources and explanations of the content on this page are in this blog.

Note 6: Digimon as abstract beings do not usually interact with physical beings as humans. If it's decided to work the Digimon the way they are usually seen in Real World scenes (With them in ReArised form) the abilities coming from their abstract bodies, as High-Dimensional Existence, should be disregard.

Note 7: Certainly some Digimon have these skills more developed than others and others are more likely to use them than others, so I would like to insert an explanation about Data, Virus, Vaccine and Free to explain this situation.

• Data: Most of the time, neutral Digimon. They do not tend to use their powers to alter the situation of the environment, preferring only to live in the situation in which they find themselves:
• Virus: Always seek to change the environment as they see fit, not bothering to cause problems in the system they are in;
• Vaccine: Seek to correct anomalies that were caused in the environment by reversing the effects caused by viruses.
• Free or Unknown: They are usually neutral, but adapt so that they match the characteristics of those they face.

Thus it is explained that Data Digimon will be considered the least likely to use these powers, Virus Digimon will use these powers whenever they can, Vaccine Digimon will use their powers to reverse what others do and Free or Unknown Digimon will use their powers if needed for the situation. This explains why many of the Digimon who used these powers in games were Virus Digimon, such as Sangloupmon, Fantomon, Growmon and Vegimon. Still, it is not impossible for a Vaccine or Data to do the same, as demonstrated by Lunamon who is a Data Type.

Note 8: For information of light and darkness in detail, read this blog.

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