Now Apocalymon

The group come face to face with the true enemy, and quickly discover that defeating him will be no easy task when they're robbed of their power and converted into data.

Synopsis
The DigiDestined fall into darkness before stopping in midair. Gennai then contacts them and tells them of an ancient evil that the original DigiDestined defeated and that a similar evil has returned and created the Dark Masters. The connection is broken and Apocalymon appears. He reveals that he was created from the pain and suffering that is caused when Digimon attempt to digivolve, but ended up disappearing. He says he hates the DigiDestined for being able to be happy when he is forced to be miserable and attacks them using abilities of the enemies that they've defeated in the past. Apocalymon then uses "Reverse Digivolve" to return all the Digimon to Rookie level (with the exception of Gatomon). When the Digimon attempt to digivolve again, Apocalymon destroys the DigiDestined children's Crests.

The children begin to lose confidence and Apocalymon uses that fear against them to trap them and their Digimon in a binary prison. The children begin to lose hope, but their Digimon encourage them, reminding them of all the apparently unbeatable odds they overcame. They all realize that they've grown up and become stronger, better people and the symbols of their Crests begin to glow over their hearts. They realize that they never needed the Crests and and that they had the power inside them all along. Their Digimon all digivolve to their highest levels. They are then capable of reassembling themselves before Apocalymon and prepare for the final battle.

Digivolutions
(Number indicates order of occurrence.)

Quotes
"Uh, this may be a stupid question, but how come we're not still falling?"
 * —Izzy ' s ever present curiosity.

"Don't look now, but it's pretty dark."
 * —Joe pointing out the obvious about their bizarre surroundings.

"Just my luck. The second I start enjoying my vacation, another monster tries to destroy the world."
 * —Joe ' s pessimism returns in spades.

"I am the ultimate evil, complete with hot and cold running water."
 * —Apocalymon ' s first words to the DigiDestined.

Sora: "You're entirely made up of grief and sorrow? How sad for you." Apocalymon: "Sure, rub it in."
 * —Apocalymon doesn't take kindly to Sora ' s words.

"Answer me this! Why do all of you get the pizza while I get the crust?!"
 * —Apocalymon loves his metaphors.

"Boy, this guy really holds a grudge."
 * —Izzy comments on Apocalymon's insanity.

"Isn't this usually the time when one of us comes up with a brilliant idea?"
 * —Joe waiting for a miracle after the destruction of the crests.

Izzy: "Fascinating! Our bodies are being broken down into little bits of digital information!" Tai: "Fascinating?!"
 * —Izzy ' s thirst for knowledge still baffles Tai sometimes.

"I tried positive thinking once, and I was positive about one thing: I positively hated it!"
 * —Joe finally explains his constant pessimism.

''"So what that we're bits of data, we have no tags or crests, we can't digivolve, and we're facing the most powerful enemy of all time, I don't see what the problem is."
 * -Biyomon not seeing the severity of the situation.

"You know, Izzy, when I first met you, I thought you were just one of those computer geeks. But after I got to know you, I realized, you are one of those computer geeks."
 * —Tentomon really knows how to read people.

Gabumon: "As for you, Matt-" Matt: "You don't have to say anything. I know." Gabumon: "There was that time when-" Matt: "Yeah, that's right." Gabumon: "And then you and I-" Matt: "I know." Gabumon: "Remember when we-" Matt: "Didn't you hear me? I said you don't have to say anything."
 * —Matt ' s never been good at expressing his feelings, even to Gabumon.

Agumon: "You and I knew from the beginning that together we made an invincible team. Right, Tai?" Tai: "You got that right. Of course, I probably could've taken care of Etemon without you, but it was nice having you around. You did get me out of a few jams."
 * —Tai ' s as humble as ever, but Agumon knows exactly what he means.

"We can't give up now because if we do, what was the whole point of searching for Kari in the first place?"
 * —Gatomon raises an excellent point.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to quit yet!"
 * —Tai ' s ready to make a stand.

"You're dealing with the new and improved DigiDestined!"
 * —Tai once again leads the attack against Apocalymon.