The tamer flicked through the various menus on the digivice, before coming across the screen showing his new partner's stats.

STATUS

[DIGIMON] Renamon

[LEVEL] Rookie

[WEIGHT] 17.34 GB

[HEALTH] 100%

[...]

"So, you said you are Renamon. That's the kind of digimon you are, right?"

"Correct."

"Ok… and do you have a name?"

The digimon tilted its head in confusion.

"...I am Renamon."

"Uh… yeah, I get that. But that's what you are, not who you are. Like, there could be more than one Renamon, right?"

"Yes. However, I understand my kind is somewhat uncommon, so it would be unusual to encounter more than one of us."

"Alright, but say theoretically if you were in a room full of Renamon. I can't just say something like 'Hey Renamon'. How do you distinguish between each other?"

"Well, it is not common, but even when two digimon appear identical, we can recognise the difference. I must admit, however, I do not understand the specifics. It is just something we know."

"Like some sort of ESP?"

"I do not know what that is."

"Uh, don't worry about it. Anyway, that's kind of cool if it is like that...but it doesn't really do the trick for us humans. We prefer having something like a name to distinguish individuals. Me calling you Renamon would sorta be like you calling me 'human'. It just… doesn't work."

The digimon pondered this explanation before giving a nod.

"I think I understand. But… I have never had a unique name. I have simply been known as Renamon."

"Um, well… I guess you could pick one for yourself, something you'd like to be called."

The digimon's expression turned pensive, bringing one handpaw to its chin as it gave the matter some thought.

"I am not sure what I would like to be called. How do humans choose a name?"

"Um, well… normally the parents pick a name for their kid when they're born. I guess they just browse through baby names until they find something they like the sound of. You could browse through some names on the internet and see if any appeal to you."

A strange thought crossed the tamer's mind. Whilst the digimon's voice had a slightly masculine tone to it, it didn't really have any other features that defined its gender.

"Is this digimon gonna want a boy's name or a girl's? Not supposed to just assume. It kinda sounds like a guy. But digimon don't have the… 'bits'. But it might choose to be non-binary anyway."

The irony of a creature supposedly made up of 1s and 0s potentially being non-binary was not lost on him.

"...uh, quick question, how do you identify? I mean, you sound kinda like a guy, but I don't want to just assume."

The digimon gave another confused look.

"I identify as Renamon."

"Yeah, but I mean like your… uh… gender. You know, pronouns."

"Digimon do not have the biology to define gender."

"Uh, yeah… I can… um… see that. But you must have some sort of idea in your mind about it, right?"

The digimon just shook its head.

"...well, that makes things a bit tricky. There's different names for boys and girls. So, that would probably influence your choice."

"I do not have a preference. I would defer to your advice about which is more suited to me."

"Uh… it's not really appropriate for me to tell you that. It's your identity… so it should be your own choice."

"You are not able to assist me in this decision?"

"Well… I mean I can help… like, if you need to talk it through, I guess. But it's really something to figure out for yourself."

"Do you have any suggestions as to how I should go about this?"

"I… uh… don't really know, Renamon. Like, I haven't actually gone through this myself. I've always been pretty comfortable with my identity."

The digimon looked away with a sigh, seemingly disappointed that the new tamer was not able to assist.

"Very well. I shall endeavour to figure it out myself. But I would still appreciate any guidance you can offer."

"Uh… I really don't know what to say."

The tamer thought it over

"...maybe… um… ok, how about this? Imagine if I was describing you to someone. If I say 'he is my partner' or 'she is my partner'... or 'they are my partner'... do any of those… uh… feel right to you?"

The digimon turned and paced, thinking it over whilst mumbling to itself.

"He is my partner… she is my partner… they..."

"Look, it's a big decision to make all of a sudden. I mean, it can take some people years to really figure it out for themselves. Why don't you think-"

The digimon suddenly interjected.

"I would prefer you refer to me as 'he'."

The tamer was caught off-guard by the sudden declaration.

"Uh… really? Just like that? Don't you want to think about it."

"I have. I am comfortable with my decision."

"Well… ok then. It seems Mister Renamon knows what he wants..."

"...even if he is a little rash about it."

"Does this assist in choosing a name?"

"I guess. If you feel like you identify as a guy, that's a good place to begin. You can start browsing through some names and see if you find one you like."

"That seems somewhat random. Is there any other way?"

"I dunno. It's not really something you do very often… or like… at all."

He gave it a bit more thought before continuing.

"...I guess the only similar thing would be a nickname. But that normally comes from other people."

"Is that different from a regular name?"

"Uh, yeah. It's like a… I guess it's a sort of informal name. People often give each other nicknames once they know each other well enough. You know, they might make up something ironic based on your appearance...or maybe something you'd done in the past. Like really tall people often get called 'Shorty'. Or sometimes they might just shorten your existing name to something a bit more snappy. Like, uh...people might call you 'Ren' rather than saying Renamon each time."

The digimon's ears perked at that last bit.

"Ren… I quite like that. It sounds fitting, somehow. Would that be a suitable name?"

"Well… I guess. But it's a bit on-the-nose, isn't it? I mean, you haven't even considered any other options."

He gave the digimon a questioning look, trying to encourage him to give it a little more thought, but it seemed 'Ren' had made up his mind.

"I do not think I need to. I like this name."

"Another quick decision… not one to beat around the bush, huh. I guess it's not a big deal if he wants to change it later. Not like we need to worry about legal names for tax and stuff."

"Ok… Ren."

Again, the digimon's ears perked at the new name. A smile also crept across his face, which had remained impassive until now. The tamer swore he also caught Ren's tail giving a wag.

"...uh, you look pretty pleased. You really like it, huh?"

"I… yes, I do. I suppose I never really considered it until you mentioned how I would distinguish myself from other Renamon. Thinking about it, sharing the same base code and appearance as every other Renamon...I was simply another copy."

"Uh… sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it."

"On the contrary, you have been very helpful. Now I have my own name, somehow it makes me feel different. It… distinguishes me. I did not realise having my own name would have such an effect."

"Well, that's good to hear… Ren."

The same reaction as before and that tail definitely wagged.

"Must have some canine in his data."