Crests

The Crests (紋章) refer to two things, the symbols of traits which the DigiDestined of Digimon Adventure embodied and drew power from as well as their physical manifestations in the form of small tablets which are then inserted into Tags to wear around the neck. When the DigiDestined exhibit the trait of their crests, the Crest "glows", and its power is released to allow Digivolution from Champion to Ultimate, or in specific cases Rookie to Mega. Though they were often thought to be the catalyst of their digivolution to their higher forms, it is proved that the physical Crests are mere focus points after destroys the Tags; their power lies within the DigiDestined themselves. The powers of the Crests, however, are returned to the Digital World sometime between Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02, temporarily taking away the ability of the Adventure DigiDestined's to digivolve past Champion. The ability is later restored thanks to the gift of one of 's DigiCores, through. The original eight crest are based on the refer to the combination of two lists of virtues, the 4  of, , , and , (from ancient Greek philosophy) and the 3  of , , and  (from the letters of ); these were adopted by the Church Fathers as the seven virtues.

The physical Crests also exhibit special powers. For example, when should be knocked out by sleeping gas, her Crest shines and revives her, and when a prophecy requires  and 's partners to fire arrows, the arrows appear in beams of light from their Crests. They can also project lasso like energy binds. This power is used against.

The Crests were originally stolen by. At some point he presumably gave them to, who hid them on the continent of Server, except for the Crest of Light which was somehow in the possession of. However the Digidestined were able to find them.

Crest of Courage
The Crest of Courage (勇気の紋章) is embodied by. It is the first Crest found, appearing in a cave wall after the DigiDestined flee 's attacks and allowing them to escape the collapsing cavern. It is normally used to digivolve into, as well as to warp digivolve  into. However, when Tai first tries to force Agumon to digivolve, the Crest is temporarily corrupted, turning black and causing Greymon to dark digivolve into. It first glows properly when Tai risks his own life to save 's when she is held captive by. The crest of courage is based on the cardinal virtue hence the name of the crest.

The symbol of Courage is also used as the basis of the GeoGrey Sword's design, and its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Courage, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body. It also appears on WarGreymon and Omnimon's Brave Shields, and on KingEtemon's belt.

Crest of Friendship
The Crest of Friendship (友情の紋章) is embodied by. It is tied for the fourth Crest found, appearing in a well just out outside of 's domain alongside the Crest of Knowledge. It is normally used to digivolve into, as well as to warp digivolve  into. It first shines when Matt realizes that truly is his friend and refuses to abandon him. His Crest also helps heal and  when they are near death during the battle against. The crest of friendship is roughly based on the cardinal virtue because  desire to protect his friends is an act of justice.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Friendship, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.

Crest of Love
The Crest of Love (愛情の紋章) is embodied by. It is the seventh Crest found, though it is in 's possession, who then uses it in an attempt to create a Sora clone to strike back at. It is used to digivolve into. It first shines when Sora refuses to let fight, to keep her from getting hurt. The crest of love is based on the theological virtue because charity is a virtues aspect of love.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Love, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.

Crest of Sincerity
The Crest of Sincerity (純真の紋章) is embodied by. It is the third Crest found, appearing in the budding flower of a giant desert cactus. It is used to digivolve into. It first shines when Mimi finally committed to upholding her promise to the. It also revives Mimi from the sleep spell cast upon all the children captures. The crest of sincerity is roughly based on the cardinal virtue because  pure heart and the desire to endure many hardships is an act of temperance.

The official subs of Digimon Adventure 02 have renamed the crest the Crest of Purity.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Sincerity, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.

Crest of Knowledge
The Crest of Knowledge (知識の紋章) is embodied by. It is tied for the fourth Crest found, appearing in a well just out outside of 's domain alongside the Crest of Friendship. It is used to digivolve into. It first shines after Izzy reclaims his curiosity from. The crest of knowledge is based on the cardinal virtue because prudence is the virtue to use knowledge and wisdom in a positive way.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Knowledge, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.

Crest of Reliability
The Crest of Reliability (誠実の紋章) is embodied by. It is the second Crest found, appearing on the ground in a cage where traps the DigiDestined. Its obtainment also served as an escape route. It is used to digivolve into. It first shines when Joe rescues from drowning despite not knowing how to swim and almost drowning as a result. His Crest's light also cuts an opening in 's fog bank. The crest of reliability is based on the theological virtue because trust and believing in others are acts of faith.

The official subs of Digimon Adventure 02 have renamed the crest the Crest of Honesty.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Reliability, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.

Crest of Hope
The Crest of Hope (希望の紋章) is embodied by. It is the sixth Crest found, appearing on a wall of a cliff which then served as an entrance into 's base of operations. It is used to digivolve into. It first shines when T.K. and are reunited by Tai and Agumon after  had seperated them with his lies about Matt not wanting to see T.K. ever again. It also provides the arrow that Angemon uses to help warp digivolve into. The crest of hope is based on the theological virtue hence the name of the crest.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Hope, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body. It is also found on MagnaAngemon's forehead, Seraphimon's plackart, and on Knightmon and G-Cutemon's shields, and Knightmon, Knightmon Wise Sword Mode, and Shoutmon X4K's capes.

Crest of Light
The Crest of Light (光の紋章) is embodied by. It is the eighth Crest found, though it and its associated Tag are already in 's possession by the time the DigiDestined realize its existence. Under Myotismon's command, copies are distributed among his followers and used to detect the, as of that time unknown, Eighth Child. With Kari, however, it is used to digivolve into. It first shines when Kari offers herself up to keep from hurting her friends. Her Crest also produces the arrow of light needed to help warp digivolve into  and acts as a conduit to help the disembodied spirit in the  possess Kari. The crest of light is also based on the theological virtue because  love, generosity, and understanding towards others are acts of charity and charity is considered to be the brightest and the most brilliant of the seven virtues hence the nature of  and her crest.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Light, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body. It is also the basis of the emblem, which appears on Sakkakumon, Rosemon, Rosemon Burst Mode, and Babamon. KingEtemon also bears the Crest of Light on its belt.

Crest of Kindness
The Crest of Kindness (優しさの紋章) is embodied by. It is the ninth Crest found, initially corrupted into being the energy source for the Digimon Emperor's base. The use it as the base of the Digi-Egg of Miracles, and it is found in its true form after the battle with. Though it is never used to digivolve and its Tag is never found, it is used by Ken in an attempt to shut down the Digimon Emperor's base.

Strangely, this Crest (in both the English and Japanese versions) shows a form of sentience. In two episodes, Darkness Before the Dawn and The Crest of Kindness, the Crest speaks to Davis Motomiya, telling him that it believes in Ken and wants Davis to believe in him too, according to what Davis reveals to others later. Davis even sumized by that point the crest was a manifestation of the goodness that was trapped in Ken, and as a result trusted it and Ken. In the Japanese version of The Crest of Kindness, the Crest speaks again after the defeat of the Emperor and only Davis can hear its voice, and he says that he heard a voice saying that it wished to return to where it truly belonged. The Crest then flies over to Ken, who is now free from the evil of the Emperor.

An amnesiac Ken takes the crest with him in to the when he goes looking for Wormmon and his heart. Arriving in Primary Village, a Poyomon explains to him that this is the place where all Digimon are reborn and Wormmon would be there. Initially excited, Ken is unable to find Wormmon as he can not remember what his partner's looks like and then is verbally and physically attacked by the baby forms of his former victims.

Realizing the cruelty he caused and the fact he can not remember any good memories, he forces himself to remember the first time he came to the Digital World and met Wormmon. Pushing past the residual influence of the Dark Spore, he is able to remember the person he used to be and the promise he made to Wormmon to always be that person. Sad that he broke the promise, he vows to himself that he will try to be the kind and gentle person that Wormmon and his brother wanted him to be. This sparks a reaction from the crest, which glows and causes a nearby Digi-Egg to glow—the Digi-Egg containing his partner, reuniting the pair. Unlike the original eight crest the crest of kindness is based on the virtue one of the  to directly counteract the  hence the name of the crest.

Its image is emblazoned on the Digi-Egg of Kindness, whose digivolutions may have the Crest somewhere on its body.