Forum:Digimon Adventure Digidestined Canon Theory

As a Digimon enthusiast and OCD completist it’s intrigued me since the Original Digidestined were first teased in Adventure 01, what the forms their Digimon would take. Tri partially answered that question but the gaps in the info they have teased and frustrated even more!

I’ve also been intrigued by all the international Digidestined in 02, and also with Last Evolution Kizuna, the reveal that there were more Digidestined between the originals and the 01 kids.

Another frustrating aspect about Adventure 02 was the fact that we never got an in-Canon solo digivolution line for all the 3rd generation kids, only DNA/Jogress lines.

Now I’m well aware that Digimon need not always follow a single evolutionary path and they Digivolve in different ways based on their experiences. Also, much like their evolutions, their canon is often complicated and seemingly contradictory.

So putting all these ideas into a melting pot, I came up with a theory that fills all the evo line gaps and attempts to weave all the Adventure Canon lore into a cohesive whole. This theory rests on the established canon predominatly, with as little speculation as possible to make it all fit together, and what speculation there is supported by the canon, such as it is. Also in case it was not already clear, this theory is in regards to the original Digimon Adventure canon, not the 2020 reboot.

Here goes!

In my theory, the digivolution lines of the Original Digidestined, the first ever Digimon to be partnered with Chosen Children, were as follows;

Tapirmon-Unimon-Megadramon

Bearmon-Leomon-Loaderliomon-Baihumon

Veemon-ExVeemon-Triceramon-Azulongmon

Hawkmon-Aquilamon-Hippogriffmon-Zhuqiaomon

Armadillomon-Ankylomon-Orochimon-Ebonwumon

Wait what? That can’t be right, I hear you say. Those are the Adventure O2 Digimon filling in those gaps. Bear with me, I’ll explain all!

First off, I don’t think it needs much explanation as to why the Harmonious Ones could be natural evolutions of the rookies listed. Veemon and Azulongmon are both blue dragons, and the mask shape and blade horn are echoed in several of Veemon’s forms. Hawkmon and Zhuqiaomon are both red birds, and Armadillomon and Ebonwumon are both yellow quadrupeds with hard shell bodies.

As we discover during Tri, Megadramon was sacrificed by the other four in order for them to evolve to Mega form and defeat the Dark Masters, which prevented Tapirmon from becoming a Digi-Egg and being reborn. Knowing that the Digital World depended upon their survival, and still reeling from the death of their friend, the Harmonious Ones each used one of their Digi-Cores to create a younger version of themselves as a failsafe, so that if they were ever killed, their “children” could inherit the Harmonious Ones’ power and take their place. They are not merely copies of the originals, as they have their own distinct minds and personalities. The new Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were sealed within the Armor Digi-Eggs to sleep until they were needed. Bearmon was chosen to remain awake and monitor and protect the Digital World, and help guide future generations of Digidestined. Since we know time moves much faster and fluctuates in the Digital World, ‘ancient times’ for them could still be relatively recent past for people in the real world.

We know from Last Evolution Kizuna that there were other Digidestined called between the Originals and the Adventure 01 team, because of Menoa and Morphomon. Oikawa and Hiroki also allude to their in 02, though they were never called. However they, much like the international Digidestined of 02, were “normal” Digidestined, as in they only had access to digivices and could only evolve their partners up to champion level. These kids would have been called whilst the Harmonious Ones were still active, and perhaps they borrowed energy directly from them to evolve further.

The Dark Masters eventually returned and the Harmonious Ones were sealed away. To save the Digital World, the next generation of Digidestined were created by Gennai and his allies, along with the Crests that would allow them to evolve to Ultimate level. This is what makes the Adventure 01 Digidestined distinct from the others that came before and after them. The Harmonious Ones were eventually freed at the end of 01 by sacrificing the Crests (and the second generation’s ability to Digivolve past champion form, at least for now)

During the time between 01 and 02, Gennai created two new Digidestined at the behest of the Harmonious Ones to combat Millenniummon. These were Monodramon and Wormmon and Ryo and Ken were chosen as their partners. With the help of Ken, Wormmon the other Digidestined, Ryo and Monodramon defeated Milleniummon several times.

(Note - I’m aware of plot holes/inconsistencies between the games and the anime canon, especially regarding Veemon as Ryo’s original partner. However, seeing as the Anime shows Veemon is sealed in the Egg of Courage at the start and never references him being released earlier or Ryo ever being his partner, I think it’s safe to assume that Ryo’s partner would have been Monodramon from the beginning if all the respective creators had had their stories straight, which is why I switched Veemon for Monodramon as his partner from the start.)

By the end of their battles Ryo and Monodramon were lost in time with Millenniummon and presumed dead, (eventually finding their way to the Tamers universe) and Ken was infected by a Dark Spore and slowly transformed into the Digimon Emperor. Sometime after Ryo was lost but before Ken was revealed to be corrupted, Gennai created the Crest of Kindness for Ken and Wormmon, even though they never used the Crest to digivolve, as Ken used it to power his base instead.

More “normal” Digidestined were called after the events of 01 as well. Again they only have digivices and the ability to evolve their partners to champion level. Wormmon is distinct to them due to his link to the Crest of Kindness, and Monodramon is due to his connection to Millenniummon.

With the rise of the Digimon Emperor and the second disappearances of the Harmonious Ones, the current Digidestined completely lost the ability to Digivolve, due to the Control Spires. In this time of crisis the sleeping Digidestined were finally awoken, choosing their own partners, and they used the Digi-Eggs to armor digivolve. Patamon and Gatomon, out of all of the 01 generation, were also chosen to wield the Digi-Eggs possibly due to them having the potential within themselves to become holy beings, similar to the sealed Digimon. We have seen other Digimon use the Eggs to Armor digivolve after the Spires were destroyed, so we can assume that normally any Digimon can use Armor digvolve, but under the Spires’ influence, only those chosen few had the power.

However, once the Control Spires were destroyed, the Digidestined can still only naturally digivolve their partners to champion level. As such, they discover a new evolutionary path for themselves through DNA/Jogress digivolution. We found out in the 02 finale that it was Gatomon’s Holy Ring that held back the darkness from them and allowed for Jogress to occur, which explains why only the main 02 kids could Jogress during this time.

In Jogress evolution, according to popular theory, one Digimon acts as the primary, being the Digimon that evolves, and the other as the secondary, being used mostly as an energy source for the evolution, so the new form becomes the main evolutionary line for the primary. Because this is the first time these specific Digimon have evolved to Ultimate, their primary ultimate form is influenced by both Digimon components. This is why, in other media such as the games, ExVeemon still becomes Paildramon even by himself, likewise Aquilamon still becomes Silphymon and Anklyomon still becomes Shakkoumon. If Angemon or Gatomon are the primary during Jogress, they still evolve into MagnaAngemon and Angewomon respectively, as these are their already established primary evolution path. In Wormmon’s case, since he never used his Crest of Kindness to digivolve to ultimate, his standard evolutionary line is Stingmon-Dinobeemon-GranKuwagamon, because his first ultimate digivolution was also impacted by his connection to Veemon.

(Note - Since Vikemon has now been confirmed as Gomamon's Mega form, and I think all the main Digidestined should have complete distinct lines, I propose that Shakkoumon would digivolve into ClavisAngemon. He is an armored Angel like Shakkoumon, with similar design nods with their round armor, wavy gold details and small rounded wings.)

Because the Harmonious Ones still exist, though sealed away, their ‘children’ cannot take that evolutionary path, which is why they didn’t become the ultimate forms of the Harmonious Ones when they first Jogressed. It also shows that while yes, each of these four have the potential to evolve in a different path than either their Jogress or potential Harmonious One paths, their experiences have shaped their forms, and these specific four Digimon will always digivolve into their Jogress forms as standard, so long as they have enough energy to power the digivolution.

But wait, what happened to the Bearmon that wasn’t sealed away? Well he stayed and guarded the Digital World as best he could. Over time he gained power and experience and evolved naturally into his champion form...Leomon! He is the Leomon who features prominently in the Adventure Canon, guiding, protecting and aiding the Digidestined as best he can. He isn’t technically a Digidestined himself as he has no human partner, and indeed he may not even be aware of his true origins. (as I note, the other sealed Digidestined were not) He is, as far as I’m aware, the only non-partnered Digimon that gained the ability to temporarily warp digivolve to Mega form by himself. (Hackmon from Tri can also do this, but his ability comes direct from Homeostasis, not from his natural experiences or energies) For the same reasons listed for the others, his Mega is different to his “parent’s”, warp digivolving into SaberLeomon, instead, and he gained this ability through exposure to Digivice energy, further strengthening the argument that he was created with Digidestined code within him.

Hope you enjoyed my theory! It was a fun challenge weaving together the multiple (and sometimes contradictory) aspects of the Adventure Canon into a cohesive narrative but I think it mostly works well together (Ryo I’m looking at you with though trickier plotholes to navigate!)

PS regarding the contradiction between the 02 finale and LE Kizuna, well there’s a lot of time between them reaching adulthood and saying goodbye to their Digimon partners, and having kids of their own. So many things could change in that time. Whilst the 02 epilogue is controversial amongst fans, I do like to think the Digidestined would find a way to reunite with their partners, even if they don’t live their full lives together anymore.Punkopop (talk) 21:40, June 18, 2020 (UTC)

I didn't remember that part about the Digimentals only being usable by those six descendants. However they have been seen to be used by many more Digimon since 02, and indeed Wormmon never used any of them during the 02 season. However, I think my theory does lend itself to being the reason why only those specific descendants of those lines could use them during that time period.

I'm totally there with you on speculating on the Harmonious Ones distinct lines that are completely different to the main cast. I do feel that my theory does hold though, Veemon-Azulongmon, Hawkmon-Zhuqiaomon and Armadillomon-Ebonwumon just fit so well stylistically.

However, if I was picking distinct lines for the Originals, completely different from the main 12, I'd choose these;

Bearmon-Grizzlymon-LoaderLiomon-Baihumon

Muchomon-Akatorimon-Hippogriffomon-Zhuqiaomon

Gizamon-Cyclomon-Orochimon-Ebonwumon

Elecmon-Tuskmon-Triceramon-Azulongmon

Tapirmon-Unimon-Megadramon

Grizzlymon for Bearmon's champion fits him well and still fits evolving into LoaderLiomon, though obviously I love Leomon for him as well. Unimon for Tapirmon I feel its a good bridge between the rookie and ultimate forms, (since Tapirmon-Megadramon aren't the best match to begin with) and Unimon is one of Tapirmon's main champion forms in the extended media. I like your Orochimon and Hippogriffomon lines, though I switched Kokatorimon for Akatorimon because the coloring is a slightly better fit. You suggested Gizamon for both Triceramon and Orochimon's rookies though, which doesn't work IMO. I'd use Elecmon for the Rookie. Its a fantastic design for a Rookie and has no champions that seem to fit for it! I personally think Tuskmon is a slightly better fit for Elecmon than Leomon, who is usually listed as his champion form, though again, neither is perfect.

Like I say though, I like the idea of the Ancient Digimon that have been sleeping until the start of 02 as being descendants of the Harmonious Ones, and their Fresh to Champion lines fit really well for them. I think it makes the whole thing come full circle in a way, and the full theory gives credible reasons why those 12 main Digimon in Adventure 01 and 02 casts are distinct and special even when compared to all the other Digidestined in the Adventure canon. Punkopop (talk) 20:11, June 18, 2020 (UTC)