And so it begins...

Seven kids at summer camp are sucked into a strange "Digital World", where strange creatures called Digimon greet them.

thumb|250px|left|Episode recap for And so it begins... TOC

Synopsis
Tai recounts how the world's climate has been going haywire—Asia is in a drought, the Middle East is being hit by flash floods, and America is wracked with freezing cold temperatures. Meanwhile, he's in summer camp, having a perfectly normal summer until it begins snowing, and a sudden blizzard appears.

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi, Yamato "Matt" Ishida, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Takeru "T.K." Takaishi, and Joe Kido are all amazed when it begins snowing. They then observe lights like auroras in the sky, from which emerges a portal that shoots out strange electronic devices. When they reach out and grab the objects, a huge wave of water erupts from the ground and sucks them into the portal, which sends them to a new world.

Tai is awoken by a strange creature which calls itself Koromon, and soon Izzy shows up with his own creature, Motimon. The creatures claim to know Tai and Izzy, and to have been waiting a long time for them.

The kids try to figure out where they are, and Tai climbs a tree to take a look through his telescope. He's startled to find that they are near the ocean, and then spots a huge red beetle which Koromon tells him is Kuwagamon. It attacks Tai and Izzy, but they hide within a "hiding tree", which is partially a hologram. After Kuwagamon passes, Sora tells them to come out, and the group is reunited and introduced to each child's new creature. Sora has Yokomon. T.K. has Tokomon whom he instantly hits it off with. Matt has Tsunomon. Joe has Bukamon whom he is afraid of. The creatures then explain that they are "Digimon: Digital Monsters!".

As the group wonders where Mimi is, they hear her screaming and she and her Tanemon show up being chased by Kuwagamon. It chases the gang to the edge of a cliff, and the Digimon decide to fight. However, as In-Training Digimon, they can only blow bubbles, and are knocked out by the Champion-level Kuwagamon. The children try to stop them from fighting, and just as everything seems lost, the devices glow and the Digimon suddenly digivolve to Rookie level! Koromon becomes Agumon, Yokomon becomes Biyomon, Motimon becomes Tentomon, Tsunomon becomes Gabumon, Tokomon becomes Patamon, Bukamon becomes Gomamon, and Tanemon becomes Palmon. Together, all seven Rookies attack Kuwagamon, but their combined attacks are only enough to daze it. It crashes into the cliff, breaking off the chunk the kids and Digimon are on and letting it fall into the river.

Digivolutions
(Number indicates order of occurrence.)

Quotes
"That's home. Planet Earth. But I'm not sure that's where I am right now."
 * —Tai begins the story with these fateful words.

"Oh, by the way, my name's Tai. This is Sora. She's okay... for a girl. And Matt - Matt's too cool. Just look at that haircut. And this little kid is Izzy. He should have gone to computer camp. That's Mimi. I'll bet you can guess her favorite color on the first try! T.K. is Matt's dopey little brother. Oh, and this is Joe. But don't ever scare him; he'd probably wet his pants."
 * —Tai introduces himself, then gives his personal opinion of the other DigiDestined.

"Needless to say, the canoe races were canceled."
 * —Tai on the unexpected snowstorm.

"The sky is, like, short circuiting."
 * —Matt ' s description of the strange lights in the sky.

Koromon: "Tai... Yoo hoo! Tai!" Tai: "Yeah, I'm okay. Huh? ... Aaah!! That is the last time I eat camp food!"
 * —Tai freaks out upon seeing his first Digimon.

"And I've got this little pink thing following me everywhere."
 * —Izzy ' s best description of Motimon.

"You're pretty brave, for a little guy."
 * —Tai, after Koromon tries to defend him from Kuwagamon.

"For having two long legs, you boys are awfully slow."
 * —Motimon, leading Tai and Izzy to the hiding tree.

Joe: "What are they?" Bukamon: "We're..." Digimon: "Digimon! Digital Monsters!"
 * —The Digimon introduce themselves to their human partners.

Tai: "And the self proclaimed 'cool one' over there is Matt." Matt: "No autographs, please."
 * —Tai introduces Matt to their new friends.

Izzy: "Well, perhaps she's off picking flowers, or going on a nature hike, or-" Mimi: "Aah!! Somebody help me!!" Tai: "Come on!" Izzy: "Okay, so she's not picking flowers."
 * —No more than five minutes in the Digital World and Mimi ' s already in trouble.