#beck rambles

This prompts the question: what caused Ken’s D3 to transform? There was the trauma and darkness in Ken’s own heart which I believe contributed, but clearly the Dark Ocean played an important role. Water represents change - it exists in multiple mediums: liquid, solid, gas. I’m convinced that the ocean allowed the transformation, was the catalyst for it to occur, which possibly means that the Dark Ocean is a cognizant being, one with a consciousness that exists outside of Oikawa/Vamdemon’s influence. In the English dub, when Ken places the digivice in the water, we hear echoes of the Kaiser’s voice playing in the background, but the Kaiser personna was not quite in existence yet. I believe, again, that this is the Dark Ocean at work, placing these thoughts in younger Ken’s head, preparing him for his ascension to the Digimon Kaiser. The Kaiser was the Dark Ocean's original idea.

But why? Why would the Dark Ocean want this? Well. We know that the control spires originated from the Dark Ocean, and the control spires, built using the power of Ken’s inverted and corrupted D3, prevent the typical type of digivolution that the original eight Chosen Children wielded. But the question remains: was this Oikawa/Vamdemon’s original plan or did the Dark Ocean have its own purpose to fulfill? Oikawa/Vamdemon influenced Ken to build the spires, but what if the Dark Ocean was the original influence, the mastermind behind it all in order to grow in power and ultimately consume the Digital World and human world?

I think that the Dark Ocean wanted to drain the powers of the original eight Chosen Children, specifically the two of them that would be most detrimental to its plan: hope and light. I think, from the very beginning, the Dark Ocean targeted Hikari, wanted her power for itself. Yes, the original eight “gave up” their crests to shield the Digital World, but we know that doesn’t mean the power of their crests is lost from them. The crests’ traits and strengths have always been locked inside them, and will always continue to be. But what other crest would the Dark Ocean be looking to consume and twist for its own gain than the crest of light? The crest that according to Qinglongmon “gives life to the Digital World.” The crest of light is fundamentally the soul of the Digital World, and therefore, corrupting that crest would plunge the Digital World with it. But the crest of light has a failsafe...the crest of hope, the one that “continues to shine no matter how darkness tries to hide it.” “The light inside is hope.” They are one in the same. Therefore, to possess the crest of light, the crest of hope’s power must also be diminished. 

This was the purpose of the control spires, of the entire Kaiser personna, but the Dark Ocean miscalculated. The sovereign Digimon not only gave three new Chosen Children the power of the D3, but they transformed Takeru’s and Hikari’s digivices too with the ability to counter the Dark Ocean’s D3 by allowing for armor evolution. Light and hope had regained some of their former strength, and their increase means the Dark Ocean’s decrease. 

This is where Dagomon and the “dark ones” (Scubamon) come into play, a final failed attempt at the Dark Ocean literally pulling Hikari into its world to take the power of her crest by force because it’s desperate and running out of time. After all, the new generation of Chosen Children are strong, holding their own against the Kaiser and tearing down control spires. Perhaps if the Dark Ocean can creep into Hikari’s mind, make her believe she’s all alone, she’ll succumb to the darkness. Takeru doesn’t allow this to happen! Even though the two are just not on the same page for a lot of 02 episode 13, Hikari finally reaches out to Takeru from the Dark Ocean and he’s able to find her and bring her back. And later, when the Dark Ocean tries once again to ensnare Hikari and Ken, its two desired agents, Miyako breaks through to both of them, especially Hikari, allowing the jogress evolution to happen, another instance of light’s power growing against the darkness.