Ten-year-old Takato Matsuda enjoys playing the Digimon card game with his friends and losing himself in its imaginative world. One morning, he discovers an unfamiliar blue card in his collection and runs it through his card reader. Unbeknownst to him, this action causes it to transform into a D-Ark Digivice. When the mysterious device scans his designs for an original Digimon named Guilmon, it produces a Digi-Egg that eventually hatches into a living version of his own creation! Although Takato is thrilled to have a real Digimon, his idealized fantasy shatters when he realizes that his rambunctious new companion requires constant supervision. Adding to his troubles, Guilmon is targeted by Ruki Makino, a rival tamer who commands her partner, Renamon, to gain power by defeating other Digimon and absorbing their data. Luckily, Takato finds allies in his schoolmate Li Jianliang and his sassy Digimon partner Terriermon to help him on his journey as a real-life tamer. With sinister foes appearing at an alarming rate, Takato must strengthen his bond with Guilmon to protect both the human world and the Digital World.