Renamon (Tamers)

Renamon is a fictional character from the Digimon franchise, the Digimon partner of Rika in the Digimon Tamers season. Unlike the other Rookie Digimon, Renamon is a mature Digimon with experience and a jaded view on life. As she shows it, there are two things she lives for: to battle her foes and to protect Rika. Renamon's Digivolution was inspired from the Kitsune and other fox spirits of Asian myth. Her name is derived from Renard, the French word for Fox, though she was originally to be named Lunamon, implying some connection to the Moon (which is an element of almost all her Digivolution sequences).

At first, Renamon's view on humans was that they were used for aiding Digimon in Digivolution. Rika thought that Digimon were just fighting machines. The two had a distant relationship. But as time passed, the two saved each other on many occasions and their friendship grew stronger. It reached its zenith when it enabled the final Bio-mergance that sparked Sakuyamon's birth.

Abilities
Renamon can warp light around her, making her able to turn invisible and even teleport. Combined with her agility and strength, she fights like a fictional ninja in some respects. Her strength is in her speed and agility, although none of her forms should be considered physically weak.

Attacks

 * Diamond Storm (Fox Leaf Arrowhead): Renamon leaps into the air from where a circle of emerald green light appears on her chest. When this happens, millions upon millions of silver crystalline shards are fired which pierce her enemy's flesh, cutting them to shreds.


 * Power Paw (Wisteria Punch): Renamon's fists and feet glow in a ghostly blue light which quickly become engulfed in a raging inferno of blue flames. When her limbs are in this state, Renamon leaps into the air, kicking and slicing her foes.

Attack exclusive to Digimon Rumble Arena are:


 * Kohenkyo (Fox Change Void) - Renamon summons a whirlwind of petals and autumnal leaves around herself and an enemy which cause them to switch places, thus confusing her foe.

Digimon Tamers
Renamon became Rika's partner after she received her D-Power, which she got after she won her Digimon Card tournament. When she won, four lights were opened up and Digimon appeared from them. Rika says she wants the strongest and she cannot tame all of them, so the others leave and Renamon comes, but Renamon leaves a little while after. When Rika's Digivice-3 appeared, she wished she was the tamer of Renamon, and that wish came true. During her time with Rika, she battled Lynxmon, Fugamon, and Allomon before digivolving to Kyubimon to defeat Dokugumon. Renamon was Rika's companion throughout the Tamers season.

Gender issue
In one episode of Digimon, Renamon stated that Digimon have no gender; however, most fans decree this is not true, and go to great lengths to prove this, based upon instances in the show that they feel clearly depicts Digimon as having gender. For instnace, they point ot the example of the female appearance of such Digimon as Sakuyamon, Renamon's Mega stage form. Toei, however, does not seem willing to detract or even comment on this statement.

One view seen would be the concept that gender has no real importance among Digimon. Most regions treat Renamon as female, with a female voice actor. However, in the German version of Digimon Tamers produced for the channel RTLII, Renamon was voiced by a male voice actor (and Sakuyamon by a female voice actor). This is sometimes considered awkward due to the issue of the Biomerge sequence, where Rika (a young girl) fuses with Renamon.

Video games
Renamon has appeared in 8 video games: Digimon World 3 (PSX), Digimon Rumble Arena (PSX), Digimon Story (DS) and five WonderSwan Color games based on Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit (also on GBA), Battle Spirit 1.5, Brave Tamers, Digimon Meddly, and Digimon Action. In almost all games where Renamon appears, she is available at the outset of the game; she is in Digimon Story, but is not a starter digimon.

Trivia

 * According to some cards in the trading card game, Renamon is a Nightmare Soldier, a class of digimon that usually refers Digimon of the dark element. Why this is so is never explained in the series. (Outsides the series, Nightmare Soldiers are classified as Digimon with Dark Powers. Most of Myotismon & Piedmon's Servants were of that type.) There are also many good nightmare soldiers such as Garurumon.