Rika's Appearance in DIGIMON TAMERS (episodes 14-24)
Hypnos executes a program Shaggai that can erase all digital creatures. A crack opens in the sky as a consequence and a door to the DigiWorld is open. A DigiField appears on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Ruki meets Jian in the park and they join Takato in the DigiField. Renamon goes to the roof of the building to inspect the materialized Digimon. She digivolves to Kyubimon, which is something the Tamers' Digimon can now do anytime.
There's this weird scene in black-n-white when Takato throws Ruki the card she needs for Renamon's evolution. It could be emphasizing that Ruki's slowly leaving her role as a lone-wolf behind her and is becoming a team player, ready to help and get help from her friends.
The Digimon on the roof is something they'd never encountered before. They can't get any information about it on their D-Power but it's later revealed that it's Mihiramon, a Digimon in the Ultimate level. Kyubimon isn't a match for it and their fight ends with her falling down off the roof. Ruki comes closer to Renamon lying in the concrete and touches her (hesitantly at first, their new relationship is still quite fresh).
The fight is soon over for Gargomon too, and in the end they win with the help of the Blue Card that appears in Takato's deck and allows Growmon to evolve to MegaloGrowmon. Ruki stays with Takato and Jian until the end of the battle and even expresses worries about Takato when he faints.
The trio meet in the park and discuse the new enemy and the ones to come, they all agree that they have to fight them. Ruki's new perception of Digimon and her bad experience with IceDevimon's Digimon collection led to her disliking the idea of fighting:
To emphasize the meaning of being a team Guilmon brings out the Tamers' flag, portraying the trio and their Digimon. None of them is as enthusiastic about the new team spirit as Takato, but they start to perceive themselves as a team with a common goal.
Later on Jian and Ruki both get a phonecall from Takato, who's so thrilled about them being a team that he suggests patroling around the city. However, they both have plans. Ruki is on her way to a Noh theatre performance with her grandma. A fox on the theatre stage reminds Ruki of Renamon and she thinks about previous days and their battles. She looks satisfied and at peace.
On the way back home Ruki's D-Power warns her about Sandiramon in the subway and she stays there with Renamon to fight it, while her grandma is evacuated. Jian joins them and Ruki throws him a phone to call Takato because now they're a team!
They defeat Sandiramon together and the dying Digimon warns them this was only the beginning and that the rest of the Devas are coming to destroy them - the Digimon traitors who serve humans.
Ruki and Jian get to know Takato's other friends in the end of the episode and it's implied their team will get bigger in future.
Takato, Jian and their Digimon have to deal with another Deva, Sanduramon, during their school camping trip. Meanwhile, Ruki finds Renamon in a park to give her an energy drink because she looks tired. Renamon is grateful for it.
Jian gets a blue card from a random kid who plays Digimon cardgame. The trio goes to investigate who he got it from. While Takato and Jian talk to random kids, Ruki is looking annoyed.
A lead takes them to Akihabara, where two new Devas, Pajiramon and Vajiramon, suddenly appear and start eating random digital items. Ruki and Renamon fight with Vajiramon while Jian and Terriermon attack Pajiramon. They only win when Gargomon evolves to his Ultimate level.
However, Vajiramon survives and appears in front of Ruki and Renamon to ask Renamon to come with him. Renamon does so because she has some questions she wants answered that involve things that only Digimon can understand.
The episode explores Ruki's relationship with her mother a little deeper. Rumiko takes Ruki to work for a photoshooting. She introduces her to one of her collegues at the studio and asks her not to say anything strange.
However, she looks flattered when the collegue tells her she looks nice in the pink dress she's wearing.
Ruki goes through the photoshooting but gets anxious in the middle of it. She snaps, pushes the photographer to the ground and leaves the studio.
Rumiko is later upset about her behaviour and can't understand why Ruki gets to be the one who's angry. Renamon still hasn't come back, which probably intensifies Ruki's impatience for her mother's "intrusion" into her private life. When Jian calls her to tell her Vajiramon reappeared, she hides her conversation from Rumiko and leaves the house without telling her anything, which makes her worried again.
The trio meets on the way to the Japan National Stadium where the two Digimon appeared.
Vajiramon wants Renamon to join the Devas but she declines. The Deva doesn't want to take no for an answer ("You can only live among Digimon!") and doesn't want to fight her but has no other choice in the end.
Renamon tells him she's one of the Digimon that evolve with the help of their partners and Vajiramon condemns these kind of evolutions as wrong. Ruki takes a card from her deck to help Kyubimon fight and it's the Blue Card, making Kyubimon evolve to Taomon, her Ultimate level. Taomon thanks Vajiramon for giving her all the information she needed and is now ready to defeat it.
After defeating it Ruki stays behind with Renamon to tell her that not only she had gotten really strong, she also looks really beautiful under the moonlight.
The trio have a meeting about what to do with the Deva. Ruki doesn't like the idea of them having to fight:
When Takato asks Ruki and Jian to join the rest of the kids, Ruki goes away without saying anything. Even though she accepted to be a part of the trio, a part of the team, that has not changed her personality. She still does what she wants (when it has no consequence for others) and she continues being a sort of a lone-wolf, who doesn't want to engage into anything that's too childish for her taste. And nobody reacts to her leaving, Takato and Jian are both used and accepting to her personality by now.
Indramon materializes and Impmon wants to prove his strength to him and to himself and doesn't allow anyone else to interfere in his fight. Renamon understands his motivation and asks them to stay away. Seeing Impmon get brutally beaten hurts Ruki too. Renamon does help him in the end because he's close to being killed but the Tamers are no match for the Deva either.
Fight against Indramon continues. However, Yamaki launches another Digimon erasing program that drives the Deva away. The trio and their Digimon rest in a tunnel, while Ruki and Jian look for Impmon. Ruki is worried about him and his actions:
She's embarassed by Jian's comment and gives him an angry look. She still wants to maintain an image of being tough but doesn't refute Jian's when he points out her more sensitive nature.
Indramon appears again, the trio's Digimon digivolve to fight him on a bridge, Japan's Self-Defence Force helicopters join them. Digimon try to fight him in their Champion level without success, the Tamers' cards aren't helping either.
Hirokazu, Kenta and Juri are watching the fight behind them, cheering for them - they're becoming part of the team. Hirokazu gives Takato a blue card he made by himself and asks him to believe in it and use it for the Digivolution. Sceptical at first, Takato uses it anyway, Growmon successfully evolves to MegaloGrowmon and defeats Indramon.
Leomon materializes in the Real World to fight Kumbiramon. Juri is certain Leomon is her partner and Takato calls Ruki and Jian to ask them if they think it's possible. Ruki is annoyed Juri could even think that without having a Digivice and comes to the park to prove her wrong.
Ruki ditches her mother to meet her new friends at the park. Juri asks Hirokazu and Kenta to teach her use the Digimon cards but the two are too excited about all the cards she has and just want to convince to trade them. Ruki and Jian arrive:
They sit together and Ruki starts explaining the rules but Juri can't concentrate because she can't stop thinking about Leomon. Ruki is really supportive of her and tries to make her feel better. Juri seems to be growing on her.
Makuramon disguised in a human boy disturbs them later and they follow him to a park where Vikaralamon materializes. Yamaki is preparing to run the improved Shaggai. The huge Digimon goes walking around, destroying the city and they go fight him. The trio feels really bad seeing the city in ruins and they think of their parents. Ruki remembers how she ditched going shopping with her mother and thinks about how Rumiko and Seiko must worry about her. The trio needs their Digimon to digivolve to their Ultimates and they express their wish out loud, which makes a Blue Card appear.
Yamaki launches the updated Shaggai, the Digimon erasing program. Fight against Vikaralamon continues. MegaloGrowmon gets caught under his fireball and the other two Ultimate Digimon in his slimy looking attack. Japanese defence force tries to help. Ruki doesn't know which card to use and Jian realizes that the cards only work when they believe in them (that's why they got the blue card in the first place). The new way of thinking helps Taomon and Rapidmon and they inflict first serious damage to the Deva. However, Shaggai starts working and affects the trio's Digimon too. Taomon makes a safe spot for them.
Takato is having doubts about the Digimon evolution but Ruki and Jian comfort him:
Makuramon stops Shaggai, which empowers Vikaralamon. Ruki is worried for Taomon after Jian's father takes the trio away to safety. Takato thinks they should stay with their Digimon and help them fight. He helps MegaloGrowlmon by screaming and simulating his attacks with him and the other two join him. They successfully defeat Vikaralamon.
Makuramon suddenly appears and kidnaps Culumon to bring him in the DigiWorld, where they need him to digivolve. The episode ends with Takato announcing they need to go to the Digiworld to save their friend. The six of them are definitely a team now.
Tamers are still searching for the entrance to the DigiWorld. They're getting ready to tell their parents about the trip.
Seiko meets Renamon for the first time. She appears in front of Ruki and her unexpectedly before Renamon could hide. She reveals that she knew about Renamon's existence but always thought she was "a fox spirit that was protecting her".
Seiko understands Ruki needs to go, even though she doesn't quite understand where exactly that is. She also knows that Ruki will be safe there with Renamon:
Renamon's words leave a deep impression on Ruki. She feels bad that she has to do what she has to do to her family, especially her mother, who is not as understanding as her grandma.
Guilmon find the entrance to the DigiWorld and the Tamers (plus Hirokazu and Kenta) plan to meet early in the morning to go there. They have only one evening left to explain the trip to their parents.
Ruki wants to make Rumiko happy so she dresses the pink dress and Rumiko thanks her for it. Ruki doesn't really know what to say and she just whispers sorry to her before leaving her alone. Rumiko probably already knew about her decision by then (and tries to feel better by drinking some wine) and Ruki just tried to make her feel better. Her relationship with her mother is definitely improving. Ruki will still do what she thinks needs to be done but now she wants her mother to understand and accept that and she also wants to make it easier for her.
The group meets the next day. Takato brings the updated Tamers' flag that has the whole group on it. Yamaki surprises them before they go and gives them a communications device, becoming their ally.
Their journey to the DigiWorld begins!