Guilmon

Guilmon is the red, Virus-attribute Rookie partner of Takato Matsuki in Digimon Tamers (2001). Takato drew him and brought him to life. His best-known line runs Guilmon to Growlmon, WarGrowlmon and the Royal Knight Gallantmon, with the cataclysmic Megidramon as his dark Mega. Below we cover that line in the anime, the Digimon Story games and the card game, plus his attacks, appearances and the trivia fans still argue about.

Who is Guilmon

Guilmon started life as a doodle. In the first episode of Digimon Tamers, Takato Matsuki swipes a mysterious blue card through his card reader, his sketches get scanned, and the result is a D-Arc and a very real dinosaur-like Digimon who knows nothing about the world. Takato’s drawing comes with the ominous Digital Hazard symbol on Guilmon’s chest, and that mark matters later in the story. The pair hide Guilmon in a shed in a Shinjuku park, and Takato keeps him fed with bread from his parents’ bakery.

What we love about Guilmon is the contrast. He is sweet, childlike and permanently hungry, yet his line holds one of the most dangerous Megas in the franchise. Masako Nozawa voices him in Japanese and Steve Blum in the English dub. Tamers built its whole emotional core on the idea that a partner reflects its Tamer, and Guilmon is the clearest example. A calm Takato gets Gallantmon. A furious Takato gets Megidramon.

Evolution line

Guilmon’s evolutions shift depending on where you meet him. The Tamers anime has its own rules (Card Slash, Biomerge, emotion), the Digimon Story games use stat requirements, and the card game uses printed digivolve costs. For the wider picture across species, our Digimon evolution chart lays out every major line side by side.

Digimon Tamers (anime)

From	To	Level	How it happens in the anime
Guilmon	Growlmon (Growmon)	Champion	Standard digivolution with Takato’s D-Arc
Growlmon	WarGrowlmon (MegaloGrowmon)	Ultimate	Standard digivolution
WarGrowlmon	Megidramon	Mega	Takato forces it in rage after Leomon is killed
Guilmon	Gallantmon (Dukemon)	Mega	Biomerge (Matrix Evolution) with Takato
Gallantmon	Gallantmon Crimson Mode (Dukemon Crimson Mode)	Mega	Late-series power-up

Megidramon is the moment most of us remember. Takato’s anger and the Digital Hazard turn WarGrowlmon into a Virus Mega so destructive that it threatens the Digital World itself. It is the series’ sharpest lesson: a partner’s power answers to the Tamer’s state of mind.

Digimon Story games

Both Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story Time Stranger include the core Guilmon line. Cyber Sleuth checks level, stats, ABI and Camaraderie for each step, and the exact thresholds appear on the digivolution screen when you highlight a target. Time Stranger shows its requirements in the same way inside the evolution menu.

From	To	Cyber Sleuth / Hacker’s Memory	Time Stranger
Gigimon	Guilmon	Yes	Yes
Guilmon	Growlmon	Yes	Yes
Growlmon	WarGrowlmon	Yes	Yes
WarGrowlmon	Gallantmon	Yes	Yes
WarGrowlmon	Megidramon	Yes	Not confirmed
Gallantmon	Gallantmon Crimson Mode	Yes	Not confirmed

If you are building a team in Digimon Story Time Stranger, Guilmon is worth raising early, because WarGrowlmon is a strong physical Ultimate on the way to Gallantmon. Our Time Stranger Digimon list with pictures shows where the line sits in the full roster. The guide on how to evolve Agumon in Digimon Story walks through the same menu logic step by step.

Digimon Card Game

In the current Digimon Card Game (2020 onward), Guilmon’s family lives in red. Card levels map to the anime levels: Level 3 is Rookie, Level 6 is Mega. Each card prints its own digivolve cost, which varies by printing.

From	To	Card level	Colour
Red Digi-Egg	Guilmon	Lv.3	Red
Guilmon	Growlmon	Lv.4	Red
Growlmon	WarGrowlmon	Lv.5	Red
WarGrowlmon	Gallantmon	Lv.6	Red

Takato Matsuki also appears as a Tamer card, so Guilmon decks can field the full Tamers partnership on the table.

Signature attacks

These are the moves from the Tamers anime, with English dub names first and Japanese names where they differ.

Digimon	Attack	Japanese name	What it does
Guilmon	Pyro Sphere	Fireball	Spits a fireball from the mouth
Guilmon	Rock Breaker	Rock Breaker	Smashing claw strike
Growlmon	Pyro Blaster	Exhaust Flame	Large blast of fire from the mouth
Gallantmon	Lightning Joust	Royal Saber	Holy lance thrust with Gram
Gallantmon	Shield of the Just	Final Elysion	Beam fired from the shield Aegis
Megidramon	Megiddo Flame	Megiddo Flame	Hellfire breath

Appearances

Guilmon has headlined anime and movies and shown up across two decades of games.

Anime and movies

Title	Year	Role
Digimon Tamers	2001 to 2002	Main partner, all 51 episodes
Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers	2001	Main partner
Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon	2002	Main partner
Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time	2011 to 2012	Guest with Takato

Tamers is the third series after Digimon Adventure and Adventure 02, but it runs in a world where those shows exist as a cartoon and card game. If you are watching in order, our Digimon Adventure series guide covers the earlier seasons.

Games

Game	Year	Notes
Digimon Battle Spirit	2001	Playable fighter
Digimon Rumble Arena	2001	Playable fighter
Digimon Rumble Arena 2	2004	Playable fighter
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth	2015	Raisable, full line
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory	2017	Raisable, full line
Digimon Story Time Stranger	2025	Raisable, line to Gallantmon

For roster and system breakdowns, see our Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth complete game overview.

Trivia

• Guilmon is one of the few partners who began as a child’s drawing. His design comes from Takato’s notebook, though the Digital Hazard mark was not on the original Guilmon sketch; it appeared on other pages of the notebook and was added by designer Watanabe Kenji.
• The Matsuki family bakery sells Guilmon-shaped bread in the anime, and Guilmon is its biggest fan.
• Gallantmon is a member of the Royal Knights, the Digital World’s order of holy knights. That ties a Tamers partner into wider Digimon lore.
• The Digital Hazard symbol marks Guilmon as a carrier of catastrophic power, and Megidramon is what happens when it breaks loose.
• Gallantmon is a Virus Digimon, despite being a holy knight. The franchise likes that contradiction, and so do we.
• In the dub, Japanese names change at every step: Growmon, MegaloGrowmon and Dukemon become Growlmon, WarGrowlmon and Gallantmon.

FAQ

Is Guilmon a Virus Digimon?

Yes. Guilmon is Virus in the anime reference data and in the Digimon Story games. His Mega forms Gallantmon and Megidramon are also Virus.

Who is Guilmon’s Tamer?

Takato Matsuki, the lead of Digimon Tamers. Takato designed Guilmon in his sketchbook before the blue card brought him to life.

What does Guilmon digivolve into in Digimon Story Time Stranger?

Guilmon digivolves into Growlmon, then WarGrowlmon, then Gallantmon. He comes from Gigimon at the In-Training stage. The exact stat requirements for each step are listed in the game’s evolution menu.

How do I get WarGrowlmon in Cyber Sleuth?

Digivolve Growlmon once it meets the level and stat thresholds shown on the digivolution screen. You can also scan WarGrowlmon in the field.

Is Gallantmon a Royal Knight?

Yes. Gallantmon (Dukemon) belongs to the Royal Knights in Digimon lore. In Tamers he is the Biomerge form of Takato and Guilmon.