Divergence I: Welcome! To the New Season!

is the seventeenth episode of Kamen Rider Geats. It features the debut of Kamen Riders Nadge-Sparrow and Lopo, as well as the TV debut of the Powered Builder Buckle (having previously appeared in Movie Battle Royale) along with the only appearance of Geats Powered BuilderBoost Form.
==Synopsis==
A new edition of the Desire Grand Prix has begun! Ace, Keiwa, and Neon are joined by two new participants in the most spectacular way. 
The first round begins with Tsumuri's navigation. The five of them all transform into Kamen Riders and confront the Jyamato, but new rules have since then been implemented. What are those shocking rules that could shatter Geats' undefeated streak?!
==Plot==
The episode opens with a narrator hyping up the DGP’s new season with a promotional ad followed by a sports style commentary on each of the participating players, who enter the temple in an over the top fashion. Neon waves to the cameras as the announcer reveals two players who are from previous seasons: Daichi Isuzu and Sae Gahana, a super genius and a sports athlete, who are Kamen Riders Nadge-Sparrow and Lopo. Sae greets Ace, who is surprised to see the two of them again and says that they were tough competition last time in the finals of their last DGP game. Daichi believes that he will be the victor of the game but Ace doubts that and says he will win again.
Neon tries to be friendly with Daichi and Sae, saying it’s nice to meet them and they respond with a polite likewise response. Tsumuri says that the five players should get ready, which confuses Neon as she only sees four with Keiwa being sadly ignored. Tsumuri announces that the new season of the DGP shall now begin, with the fanfare of the audience erupting and fireworks going off.
The first round starts, the “Academy Game”, where Tsumuri explains that the rules are to defend the city from the delinquent Jyamato and find and destroy the Principal Jyamato hidden in a school to clear the round. Keiwa is thinking about the Jyamato Rider he first encountered that spoke to him, believing that he must win this time to make his ideal world come true.
Despite the two competing, Sae and Neon still show respect for each other and all the Riders transform to battle the delinquents and rescue civilians. Sae and Daichi have the Zombie and Monster Buckles while their competitors retain the buckles they had last time, Beat and Ninja, while Ace has acquired Boost once more.
Sae proves to be swift and aggressive on the field of battle and even gets in Keiwa’s way while fighting, while Daichi outsmarts his targets by luring them into a sandbox and burying them with a shockwave from a Rider Punch, but unintentionally buries Neon too by accident. He pulls her out of the sand and asks that she not mention this slip up to anyone.
After a long day of fighting, the Riders head back to the lounge, only to learn from Tsumuri that they will all be living there from now on as part of the “reality show” aspect of the game. 
The new Game Master enters the room and says that they cannot refuse the boarding requirements after the players object to the condition. He takes off his mask and gets out of his itchy robe, revealing his true identity as Chirami, a loud hyperactive man who behaves more like a game show host than his predecessor. Chirami makes a joke and asks the camera if they got that on film. Neon is confused and shocked, he then tells the Riders that every aspect of their lives will be broadcast to the viewers watching the game as part of the reality show, not just the fights. 
Chirami later told them there is a “Dezastar”, a pre-selected player assigned to mess with other Riders. If the Dezastar manage to survive long enough without being exposed, the individual will have their wish granted automatically upon entering the final round. The reason for the game to start with a low player count and for them to live together is to build drama and tension for the viewers, as well as build mistrust and conflict between them to build even more interest in the game. 
In the garden, Michinaga wakes up, saw pre-mature Jyamato and meets Archimedel. When he asked him if he is the Jyamato's creator, he is ignored and told that if he still wishes for the power to crush every Kamen Rider, he will help him. 
In the DGP lounge, Keiwa calls his sister, lying that he is staying at a friend's place for a while as he can't reveal secret of DGP while Tsumrui is watching him. Keiwa asks her where people watch the DGP, but he doesn’t fully get his answer because Sae tosses him across the lounge for being in the girls section of the room and has his belongings thrown too. Keiwa then finds out that the lounge has been divided up by the players, leaving him nowhere to sleep. 
Ace is out, doing something about talking to the management, so Keiwa can’t ask to bunk with him. Daichi suspects Ace is the Dezastar, given his reputation as a manipulator and even suspects he knew that the DGP was a game all along. 
Ace goes into a neon room and sees a young man who is excited to meet him in person, stating he was extremely entertained about the previous DGP and how Ace stood up to the Game Master. He introduces himself as Zinn, revealing he is Ace’s supporter and convinced Niramu to send the Jet Buckle. The two shake hands and Zinn pulls Ace towards him, quietly saying that he wishes him luck that he can find the answers to his identity and why he exists. 
Meanwhile, during a game of cards, Keiwa suggests that everyone reveals their wishes to get an idea of who the Dezastar could actually be. Daichi figures out Keiwa’s and Neon’s wishes immediately after making careful observations based on what they said or did during his time with them. He then figures out Sae’s wish is to maintain her athleticism into old age, having been familiar with her from the previous time that they competed. Daichi then revealed his wish is to obtain all of humanity’s memories to become even smarter, as knowledge is the most desirable asset in existence. 
Ace enters the room and reveals his wish is to become Game Master of the DGP, which makes everyone else except Keiwa even more suspicious of him being the Dezastar. Keiwa believes that Ace being the Dezastar would be too obvious and it has to be someone else. Neon feels uneasy about living with the other players, especially since one of them would betray her. Sae thinks that statement is her admission that she is pretending to be friendly, suspecting her. Ace on the other hand suspects that Daichi is the Dezastar. 
At a ramen cart somewhere in Tokyo near train tracks, Samas asks Niramu why he didn’t veto Ace’s wish. Niramu explains that Ace will slip up eventually and it is best to leave him be for now. As he roams freely, they will investigate why he claims Mitsume is his mother. Samas thinks Ace is lying again to manipulate the game, but Niramu is concerned that if it is true then that information could shake the very foundations of the DGP. 
The next morning, Tsumuri assembles the Riders as the Jyamato occupied school and the game begins. Daichi and Sae figure out that to win the game they need to get to the principal’s office. Sae uses her speed to quickly sprint through the school, taking down delinquent Jyamato as she goes, searching for the office. The others trail behind her and she reunites with them to say that the school has no principal’s office. Zinn is watching, hoping Ace can clear the secret mission to clear the round. 
During their fight with the delinquents, Daichi notices one of the Pawns is studying instead of attacking them and figures out what that means, Ace boots into the classroom and destroys it before anyone else does, clearing the secret mission. His reward is the Powered Builder Buckle, which he is surprised to see again, revolving and equipping it to become PoweredBoost and arming himself with the Gigant Blaster. 
Daichi wonders if Ace figured out the secret to the puzzle, to which he says that the principal’s office has to be created for the Principal to appear. Ace uses the Gigant Blaster to make cement walls, which causes the Principal to enter into his office and then Sae pounces and throws the Principal out of the school before the others can even react. Everyone races outside and fights more delinquents protecting the Principal. 
Ace equips the Gigant Hammer and sends the enemies flying, then slams the Principal with it to weaken him. Ace then equips the Gigant Sword and crushes the Principal under his blade with the Gigant Strike Rider Slash. The Boost Buckle flies away again after being used up, Keiwa tries to dodge it by jumping but gets hit in the face as the buckle changes direction to target him. 
The round is cleared with Ace once again the victor, but he learns from Tsumuri that the rules have changed for this game and the players are now ranked on approval ratings. Daichi got first place with 40%, Sae is second with 30%, Ace is third with 20%, Neon is fourth with 9% and Keiwa is dead last with only 1%. The way to keep the ratings up is to keep the audience engaged with their actions during each round. Neon rightfully compares it to a political election as Tsumuri continues explaining that the way to win is to have the highest ratings at the final round. 
Since Daichi figured out the objective of the secret mission before anyone else, he got top ranking while Sae got to the Principal first before Ace, hence why she is in second place. So their performance is just as important as the results, Daichi boasts that Ace could finally lose. 
Back at the Jyamar Garden, Michinaga asks Archimedel what he is after, which he responds that he wants the Jyamato to create their ideal world. He notices his Rook Jyamato has “ripened” and Michinaga looks in horror as he sees it transform into Takeshi Goutokuji…. 
==Cast==
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*Narration: 
===Guest Cast===
*: 
===Suit Actors===
*Kamen Rider Geats: 
*Kamen Rider Tycoon: 
*Kamen Rider Na-Go: 
*Kamen Rider Nadge-Sparrow: 
*Kamen Rider Lopo: 
==Forms and Collectibles Used==
===Raise Buckles===
*Buckle Used: 
**Geats
***Boost, Powered Builder, Gigant Blaster, Gigant Hammer, Gigant Sword
**Tycoon
***Ninja
**Na-Go
***Beat
**Nadge-Sparrow
***Monster
**Lopo
***Zombie
*Form Used:
**Geats
***Boost Form (Upper half), Powered BuilderBoost Form
**Tycoon
***Ninja Form (Upper half)
**Na-Go
***Beat Form (Upper half)
**Nadge-Sparrow
***Monster Form (Upper half)
**Lopo
***Zombie Form (Upper half)
==Errors==
*to be added
==Notes==
*As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside episode 43, .
*Closing Screen DGP Rule: 
*Count at episode end
**Raise Buckles in Geats' possession: Powered Builder, Gigant Container, Gigant Blaster, Gigant Hammer, Gigant Sword
**Raise Buckles in Tycoon's possession: Ninja
**Raise Buckles in Na-Go's possession: Beat
**Raise Buckles in Nadge-Sparrow's possession: Monster
**Raise Buckles in Lopo's possession: Zombie
*Eliminations: N/A
*Riders Remaining: 5/5 (Geats, Tycoon, Na-Go, Nadge-Sparrow, Lopo)
*The opening is updated with the following changes:
**The background regarding the unnamed DGP participants is updated to pan forward to accommodate the opening song's tempo since this DGP game has its initial five players introduced rather than the thirty-narrowed-down-to-seven introduced.
**Kamen Riders Nadge-Sparrow and Lopo are included in the roster, replacing Keilow, Letter, and PunkJack.
**Geats Boost and Zombie Forms are replaced with his Command Form (Jet and Cannon Modes respectively).
**The scene showing the individual participants of the DGP with their scenes in the episode is followed by a new section featuring Michinaga glitching in front of a blue background with Jyamato vines.
**In the scene where the participants are shown together, the version of them in their Entry Forms is omitted and they are only shown in their civilian forms. It is instead followed by a new shot of Michinaga alone in front of the same background with vines, this time holding his Desire Driver.
**The card reading "Who's the one to achieve the desire?" is replaced with "Who is a back stabber".https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/geats/20/
*This episode features the debut of Nadge-Sparrow Monster Form and Lopo Zombie Form.
*This episode acknowledges the events of Kamen Rider Geats × Revice: Movie Battle Royale, as Ace is surprised to see the Powered Builder Buckle "again".
==External links==
*TV Asahi's official episode guide for 乖離Ⅰ：ようこそ！ 新シーズンへ！
*KR Official's official episode guide for 乖離Ⅰ：ようこそ！ 新シーズンへ！
*JAE's official episode guide for 乖離Ⅰ：ようこそ！ 新シーズンへ！
Category:New Year Episode
Category:New Kamen Rider Episode
Category:New Form Episode