Today’s Child/Rookie Digimon is Palmon. As I stated yesterday, Palmon is the ur-Plant Digimon, first appearing in the fourth version of the original virtual pet and featuring prominently in Digimon Adventure. She was also part of the Pendulum series, but didn’t appear until the 4.5 revision of “Wind Guardians”, which coincidentally also introduced her Ultimate form, Rosemon.
I don’t have a funny picture of Palmon, so here she is in a go-kart.
A Plant Digimon with a tropical flower blooming on its head. Although it evolved like a reptile from Tanemon, it is an unusual Type which is classified as a Plant based on its outward appearances and special qualities. During the day it opens up the flower and spreads its leaf-like arms to perform photosynthesis. It usually buries its root-like feet under the ground, and although it is absorbing nutrients, it is also able to walk. As for the flower on its head, when it is joyful or happy it will waft about a sweet fragrance, but when it is angered or senses danger, it releases a foul stench that will drive off even large Digimon. Its Special Move is entangling the opponent in ivy laced with a powerful toxin (Poison Ivy). If you suffer this attack, your body will be completely paralyzed.
Palmon sure does have a lot of attacks about smelling bad, doesn’t she?
As I stated before, Palmon is the first Digimon to be themed around plants above the Baby level, and already, she does something unique rather than just taking a flower monster and giving it arms and feet. Palmon is also a reptile, with clawed, extendable vine fingers, sharp teeth, and a long scaly tail. On the plant side, making her feet root-like and her arms shaped like leaf fronds are a nice touch, and altogether, these normally disparate elements work together famously.
Palmon’s not being stereotypically cute was used to great effect with her relationship with her partner, Mimi, in the anime. However, I always felt like that lost something a bit by having her evolutions give way to traditionally pretty-looking Digimon made this plot lose some of its effect. However, that shouldn’t affect Palmon any, and she’s nonetheless an excellent example of character design informing characterization in Adventure.
But speaking of Palmon’s evolved forms, there’s something I’d like to discuss.
This is Lalamon. She’s one of Palmon’s thematic successors, appearing years later in Digimon Savers. She and Palmon share an Ultimate, but beyond that they only share thematic similarities. We’ll be covering Lalamon’s line later, but I wanna show you something that happens when you rearrange their evolution lines a bit and bring another Digimon into it.
No, seriously, this is absolutely UNCANNY. When you change around who evolves into and from who and add BanchoLilymon, their two lines flow remarkably well. Lalamon even has leaves on its head in the same general arrangement as Tanemon and the same face as Togemon. Sunflowmon is a sunflower lizard with a flower on its head. It is SO WEIRD.
Ahem.
Palmon is very successful at what she tries to do, and in the end, is one of the most recognizable and charming characters from any of the anime series. She sets the mold for a particular family of Digimon just like Agumon, Tentomon, Piyomon, and Gabumon before her, and is very successful at it. Palmon gets...
