Evolution

Evolution is the ability of a Digimon to develop into a more powerful creature. While it can occur naturally, Contracted Digimon are able to access it much faster, and have more versatility since they are connected to a Human through a Digivice.

If a Digimon suffers sufficient damage levels, even a Naturally-Evolved Digimon will devolve to a lower form. Depending on the amount of damage taken, they may even revert to a Digitama. Devolution can be forced through the Digivice.

Types

Natural

The Natural Evolutionary Line a Digimon would follow if not Contracted. All Digimon have the potential to reach Ultimate Level, but it takes a long time and a great amount of LoE to reach each new Evolutionary Plateau. Those who do are usually referred to as "Naturally-Evolved", such as Yamainumon being a "Naturally-Evolved Adult".

Levels
Digitama	(Digi-Egg)	Digitama is the state all Digimon start their Evolution in. It is an egg in which their code and core are kept protected. If a Digimon's Signal is scanned while they are in this form, the Digitama is destroyed and does not return to Primary Village.
Baby-I	(Fresh)	Once a Digimon has enough energy to emerge from its Digitama, this is the first form it will take. Very much a newborn/baby-like form, it usually has limited if any speech and generally only one, weak attack to defend itself.
Baby-II	(In-Training)	The second form of a Digimon, it remains extremely childish in intellect and capability. The equivalent of Digimon "children", Baby-IIs are not usually allowed outside their home villages; some do not even depart Primary Village until they reach Child Level.
Child	(Rookie)	This is the Level at which the most Digimon are found, and the level at which most Digimon remain the longest; Contract Digimon often use Child as a default evolutionary form, as it lacks the disadvantages of Baby-II, but also lacks the LoE demands of Adult Level. Despite its name, Child Digimon are generally considered late adolescent-to-full adult in Digimon society.
Adult	(Champion)	The second most common level, Adult is the level at which most Evolutionary Lines tend to diverge and show the most variation, even in Non-Contracted Digimon. It's considered the "workhorse" Evolutionary Level; it's when a Digimon truly starts to process Light of Evolution and emit it from within their Core. Adults are universally considered just that in Digimon society, and generally are when a Digimon becomes capable of holding their own in battle.
Perfect	(Ultimate)	Somewhat of a transitionary level between the simple combat readiness of Adult and the absolute power of an Ultimate, Perfect Digimon are somewhat rarer, especially when compared to Adult or Child-Levels, and use a large amount of LoE in order to evolve and to maintain their forms. They are all somewhat unique existences, but they lack the sheer power and singular nature of an Ultimate.
Ultimate	(Mega)	The highest natural level of evolution, they are the epitome of their evolutionary lines, often modeled after great exemplars, heroes, and legends. Groups that are all Ultimate Levels are: the Zone Masters, the Royal Knights, the Seven Great Demon Lords, and the (now-extinct) Olympus Twelve. Ultimate Digimon use and emit massive amounts of LoE, and in some cases are "singularity points", Digimon of which there can only exist one individual at a time (the best-known examples being found in the Royal Knights or the Zone Masters).

Alternative

These are Evolutions usually found only in Contracted Digimon.

Evolutions
Armor Evolution	A form of Evolution that is reliant on a Digimental, an Armor Digimon is slightly weaker than a true Adult, and their Charge Ups and Final Charges are only 60% as powerful as regular ones. However, these forms lie outside of the normal Evolutionary Line and do not have an Evolution Timer to limit their use. They are additionally empowered by certain virtues or qualities that a Digimental and its Spirit embody, making them situationally quite powerful.
DigiXros	A lower-grade form of DNA-type Evolution, DigiXros allows for a pair or group of Digimon to fuse their bodies with one another for a limited amount of time, gaining the combined qualities and powers of both, though not on the same level as Jogress. DigiXros usually auto-selects one partner as the subordinate partner, transforming them into weaponry or gear to be used by the primary Digimon involved in the DigiXros.
Jogress	The higher grade of DNA-type Evolution, it is extremely dangerous and requires the Digicore of both Digimon involved to resonate on the same wavelength, as well as for their LoE and the LoE of their Tamers to match that resonance--without these factors, the Jogress is likely to malfunction and potentially lead to the death of the Digimon involved. Jogress Evolution is a true fusion of both Digimon into one body, and unlike DigiXros, jumps a rung on the Evolutionary ladder--due to their being a combination of two Digimon, it's not impossible that Jogress-type Perfect might defeat a natural Ultimate. Jogress is life-threatening. It requires a large amount of LoE to sustain, and may be fatal to the Tamer or Tamers involved if this LoE cannot be supplied. For those with two partners; figuring it can be done by their lonesome; the balance for not having a partner is drawing directly from life force. However, some lack the trust in others or even themselves to seek one out. Dual Drive is a Jogress Digimon's ability to fully utilize the power of both DigiCores or Core Drives fused within it. It's akin to unlocking full potential.
Blast Mode	In this state the Digimon enters Blast Mode, where their power is magnified for a short time, but while in Blast Mode the damage the Digimon takes increases. Alternatively, Blast Mode can be used to make a Digimon Evolve one stage up to any Digimon in their species for a short time, but afterward they are under a cool down period where they cannot attack and their stats drop, so use this option wisely.
Hacked	Through use of a 'Hacking Signal', the Crowns are able to evolve their partners to any form in their evolutionary line, up to Perfect Level. However, these forms are almost universally weaker than the true evolutions, roughly matching an Armor Digimon's power levels.

Dark Sciences

Corrupted forms of Evolution developed by the Fallen One during that his descent into madness, they now utilize his particular wavelength of Dark LoE and are inherently destructive to normal Digimon, replacing what was once a sapient being with a mindless collection of processes devoted only to the will of their master. Dark Sciences are not utilized by any of the Tamer Factions, save for Sentinel.

Evolutions
Death-X Evolution	A twisted form of Evolution derived from attempts by the Fallen One to create the ideal Digimon, it infects the Digimon with the X-Virus, a corruptive virus program that floods the Digimon's systems with an unstable energy wavelength known as Death-X Energy. This forcibly rewrites any organic components along cybernetic or mechanical lines if possible, and erases/locks down the Digimon's core data and personality, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell carrying out instructions and programming.
Dark Evolution	An extremely dangerous and unstable form of Evolution that exists to "hijack" normal Evolutionary lines; a Dark Evolution is created when either a Tamer or a Digimon succumbs to absolute despair, or during a moment of vulnerability allow themselves to be exposed to extremely high levels of Dark LoE. Dark Evolutions are generally mindless killing machines, and often contain a pocket dimensional area, called an Inner World , that expresses the psychological trauma of the Tamer or Digimon affected in physical form. Dark Evolution replaces the normal LoE of a Digimon with Dark LoE, corrupting their form and making it impossible for them to return to their previous form once the Dark Evolution has reached a certain point.

Tools

These are items or objects that are required for evolution of some sort.

Digivice

The Digivice is required for basically all types of Evolution.

Digimentals

An active Digimental will grant an Adult-Equivalent Evolution.
A DigimentalPlus/Digimental+ will grant a Perfect-Equivalent Evolution.
A DigimentalFinal has the capability of creating an Ultimate-Equivalent Evolution.

Circuits

Circuits are required for Perfect Evolution.

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References