The Piximon Cometh

As Tai and Agumon continue to recover from recent events, the legendary Piximon shows up to lend a hand, putting them and the rest of the group through one of his tough training regimes.

Synopsis
After more walking through the desert and pondering the power of the newfound Crests, the group run into, who they recognize from before, hiding underground. Kuwagamon gets a hold of Tai, and all seems lost when hesitates to digivolve due to lingering trauma from the incident with. Tai rescues Agumon from the attacking Kuwagamon, and they quickly find themselves in a tight situation—that is, until rescues them in the knick of time. Piximon is known for his tough training of other Digimon, and explains he has heard much about the children and their Digimon, but is not impressed. He insists on training with them and informs Tai and Agumon that they will receive special training, because they need it the most.

The group decides to trust the strange Digimon, and he leads them to his hidden home through at secret doorway in the desert. They find themselves in a forest and see behind them. Piximon informs the worried children that all Etemon can see is the desert, so they are safe. They begin their long ascent up a huge hill to Piximon's home, partly driven by the desire for food, and arrive to find that first they will be mopping the floors. While everyone else keeps busy, Piximon leads Tai and Agumon to a mysterious cave, where they are told their task is to find a way back. That night they awake to find themselves on a small boat floating down a river and while wondering how they got there, Tai falls into the water and pulls Agumon in after him.

When everybody is sleeping, Matt and Izzy's tags begin to glow. They head down the hill into the forest and Piximon spots them, informing the others of their departure the next morning. The girls joke around and claim that Joe will be the next one to disappear, causing him to accuse Piximon of their friends' mysterious disappearances. Meanwhile, Matt and Izzy continue searching for their Crests. Izzy wants to find his Crest so can digivolve, but Matt is hoping that he'll learn something about himself, and grow as a person when he finds his Crest. They are led to a well that is slightly outside Piximon's hidden home. They find the Crests of Friendship and Knowledge inside the well walls, but because they're outside of the protected area, Etemon detects the two of them and sends Tyrannomon to attack. They escape back into Piximon's forest, but Tyrannomon breaks open the invisible shield hiding it. With the other Digimon's power drained by Etemon's attack, their hope rests on Tai and Agumon.

Meanwhile, Tai and Agumon are still in the boat spinning down the strange river. They stop and appear on a bridge, where Tai sees a younger version of himself trying to ride a bike. They help the young Tai ride his bike, and he fades away into the distance. Tai and Agumon realize that the fear of Agumon digivolving into SkullGreymon was keeping them from trying, similarly to the younger Tai not wanting to ride his bike because he was afraid he would fall. They understand that the task was all about overcoming their fears and escape the "prison". Agumon digivolves just in time to save the group and destroys Tyrannomon and Etemon's Dark Network surrounding them. The kids thank Piximon for his help and return to their search for the remaining Crests.

Quotes
"This guy reminds me of a gym teacher I once had."

- Matt, apparently reminded of bad memories by Piximon.

"I have a question. Do we trust a ping-pong ball with wings?"

- Joe, suspicious as usual.

"Is this really training, or is this just Piximon's maid's day off and he doesn't like to vacuum?"

- Matt, suspicious of Piximon's training methods.

"Hope my hand doesn't melt."

- Izzy, reaching out through Piximon's invisible portal.

Other notes
Schule des Lebens