WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 32 of Digimon Adventure 2020, "Soaring Hope," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Despite bordering on the formulaic, the Digimon reboot still continues to find ways to surprise its audience every so often. Episode 32, "Soaring Hope," is one of those times. As the title suggests, it's a TK and Patamon-centric story -- what with the pair's crest being 'Hope' -- but fans expecting the re-return of Angemon in all his double-winged glory are in for a welcome shock.
The hope that sours in the latest installment of Digimon Adventure 2020 isn't Angemon, but Pegasusmon, an alternate and pretty special evolution for Patamon to reach. But for those more familiar with preexisting Digimon lore, Pegasusmon represents more than just an interesting left-turn. The Digimon is also another example of the reboot series playing fast and loose with the franchise's old canon.
Pegasusmon appears when TK, Tai, Sora and their Digital partners' journey is derailed by a pack of wild Fangmon. After giving chase, these Big Bad Wolves open fire on the group's Komondomon, which they're using currently using to fast-track their travel. Even the combined efforts of MetalGreymon and Garudamon aren't quite enough to get the hungry dogs off their scent, with things only worsening when the "Watchdog of Hell" Cerberumon shows up for the party. With Sora taking a hit from the dogs boarding Komondomon, Patamon desperately tries to digivolve into Angemon so he can help but, still exhausted after his last encounter with Darkknightmon, he just doesn't have it in him.
Finding strength in TK's hopeful resilience, though, Patamon musters enough energy to instead transform into Pegasusmon. Pegasusmon isn't a Slide Evolution as MetalGreymon's Alterous Mode and WereGarurumon's Saggitarious Mode are, it's an Armor Evolution. In Digimon Adventure 02, TK helped Patamon achieve the form after finding the Digi-Egg of Hope, and unique items such as these are supposed to be essential for this particular evolutionary process, along with the shout, "Digi-Armor, Energize!" (or, "Golden-Armor, Energize!" in the English dub).
But in "Soaring Hope," Patamon becomes Pegasusmon without either of these things, completely rewriting the rules of its evolutionary line -- and possibly every other Armor Evolution ahead in this reboot.
It makes sense for Pegasusmon, who can "exhibit absolute strength against evildoers" to make an appearance for this particular fight, in which the group is fighting Digimon's own hounds of hell. We also get a glimpse into Patamon's mind as he searches for the means to strengthen himself via his bond with TK, hinting at the future arrival of Patamon's Ultimate form, MagnaAngemon.
It's not clear in the episode whether or not this more easily accessible version of Pegasusmon is less powerful than prior iterations as a result. It certainly makes short work of Cerberumon, but this could just be a type advantage thing -- a Holy Digimon smiting a more devilish seems like a slam dunk -- but only more uses of this Armor Evolution against a wider variety of foes will let us know for sure.
