Tamers

A Tamer (テイマー Teimā?) is the generic term for people partnered to Digimon in the Digimon media franchise, contrasting with DigiDestined, a term for people who are chosen for a special mission.

Tamers can be created any number of ways. Some Tamers are chosen by DigiGnomes due to a strong wish, as do the Tamers in Digimon Tamers, while others simply connect with a Digimon and form a strong bond, as with Marcus Damon in Digimon Data Squad. Still others defeat Digimon and befriend them that way, as the Guard Tamers in Digimon World 2 or the Tamers in Digimon World Dawn and Dusk, or simply raise them as a game, as in Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 and Digimon Next.

Functionally, many Tamers are similar to their DigiDestined counterparts, with Digivices to call their own and, in most cases, a bond with their partner. However, there are two main differences; one is that some Tamers can have multiple Digimon, while the same can rarely be said of DigiDestined. The other is that Tamers lend their partners more energy when they fight; the ones from Digimon Tamers feel their partners' pain when they fight for too long, while the ones from Data Squad fight alongside their partners.