I do think we're going see at least one update for September since we do still have a backlog of Digimon besides Negamon that still need to be added.
Yeah, there are like 30-35 Digimon which are quite the low-hanging fruit, with portrayals in more than one form of (recent) media (a combination of TCG, anime and/or videogames). These Digimon should really be added sooner rather than later, we've waited long enough
- Sunmon and Moonmon;
- Dokunemon and Modoki Betamon;
- The rest of the Arkadimon-line;
- The Sistermon Awaken forms;
- Black Galgomon, Black Rapidmon, Red V-dramon, Kyubimon (Silver) and Taomon (Silver);
- Pile Volcamon;
- Raijinmon and Raidenmon;
- The rest of the Olympus XII, their left-over forms and affiliated Digimon: Bacchusmon, Ceresmon (+Medium), Junomon (+Hysteric Mode), Jupitermon Wrath Mode and Plutomon;
- Omegamon Zwart (Defeat);
- Some left-over Shoutmon variants.
It will get interesting afterwards; Will they add obscure Digimon like Blikmon, or King Whamon? Or are such Digimon doomed in semi-canonicity and/or obscureness? Or obtainable Digimon exclusive to some of the videogames, like the Chronomon-line? I will personally be overjoyed if that particular family gets added.
This year quite a few very interesting and unexpected profiles got added: Yoxto!Yoxto!mon, Atamadekachimon, Minidekachimon, Kodugumon, Trailmon, Great King Scumon, Burgamon (Adult) and Burpmon, so I have good hopes for the rest. The question is; How long will it take, and how much space will the upcoming anime take in the form of new entries? Ghost Game might use a lot of older Digimon in its episodes, or be the second Xros Wars with lots and lots of new designs. We've already seen Baby I and Baby II forms of Gammamon, so the series might be a bit more 'traditional' on the Digivolution part (I hope this is the case). But will this leave space for these legacy-Digimon I mentioned earlier? The low-hanging fruit, and the more obscure ones? It will be interesting to see.
With the newest update I noticed something which might be a pattern (or just wrong deduction).
Looking at 2021 thus far, we know updates follow after new V-pet-/gamedesigns, or after a new episode featuring a returning/brand new Digimon. Basically every newly featured Digimon quickly gets added. Together, they're basically one category. Then there are the bimonthly Profile-reports usually featuring a group of Digimon sharing some trait(s) or an organisation. If some of those don't have a profile, they get added the week the new Profile-report launches. That's the second category of entries. The third category consists of the obscure Digimon which featured in the Reference Book contest, the results decided in which order they'd obtain a profile and official artwork. The last and fourth category basically consists of X-antibody updates, of which there were two this year, finishing the X-antibody list.
So, in quick order:
1) Digimon revealed/featured in a V-pet, Anime-episode or videogame.
2) Digimon tied to a Profile-report.
3) Digimon added because of the Contest.
4) Digimon carrying the X-antibody.
If we divide all of the 2021 Reference Book updates over these categories, we're left with the following:
- May 17, which added Culumon.
- June 25, which added Tekkamon, Assaultmon, Vermillimon, Kyukimon and Brachiomon.
- July 14, which added Bomber Nanimon, Mori Shellmon, Yanmamon, Sand Yanmamon, Pidmon, Burgamon (Adult) and Guardromon (Gold).
- September 1, which added Modoki Betamon, Dokunemon, Raijinmon, Raidenmon and Pile Volcamon.
Culumon is obviously an outlier, added on the anniversary of Digimon Tamers: Pocket Culumon. The others? They basically share one thing:
All of them debuted in the 1999-2002 era, with the exception of Guardromon (Gold) (which is a recoloured version of Guardromon, which debuted in 1999). This selection basically consists of a huge amount of the old Digimon which were still in need of an official Reference Book entry.
But are these the only
1999-2002 Digimon which were still in need of an entry? Nope, obviously not. There are some left-overs, still. But based on those left-overs, I've made a prediction in which order they might appear whenever a Reference Book update
isn't tied to category 1 or 2 (as the other two categories are basically obsolete now), nor a very important outlier tied to an anniversary (like Culumon):
- Red V-Dramon (2000)
- Black Galgomon (2001)
- Black Rapidmon (2001)
- Kyubimon (Silver) (2001)
- Taomon (Silver) (2001)
Basically recoloured versions of some protagonist Digimon. All of them
featured in more than just 1 piece of media; Usually a combination of an inclusion in the old TCG and an appearance in a relatively recent videogame. This makes their addition to the Reference Book basically inevitable.
- Arkadimon (Baby) (2000)
- Arkadimon (Adult) (2001)
- Arkadimon (Perfect) (2001)
- Arkadimon (Ultimate) (2001)
The (in)famous Arkadimon-line, of which
its Child-form currently has an entry in the Reference Book. The family got featured in more recent forms of media, so its inclusion is probably inevitable, too.
This leaves more obscure Digimon which have a very slim of appearing in an update, if at all:
- XV-mon (Black) (2001)
- Stingmon (Black) (2001)
- V-Dramon (Black) (2001)
- Imperialdramon (Fighter Mode) (Black) (2001)
- Parallelmon (2001)
- Metamormon (2002)
- Blikmon (1999)
The first four featured in just one old Hyper Colosseum card (with the latter also appearing in a very old videogame). Parallelmon and Metamormon only featured in the old manga and had a Hyper Colosseum card, too. Blikmon featured in more than one videogame, also appearing in a V-pet, but hasn't been seen since (apart from a cameo in card's background). Even though I hope he eventually gets added. Are there more old Digimon I have left out? Definitely. The Bemmon-family, for example, which is riddled in even more obscurity. Or the Super Ultimates and others from V-tamer (like Dominimon). I honestly just don't know if they have a chance.
If we leave the 1999-2002 era, the first entry-less Digimon we encounter are those introduced during the DS-era: the Chronomon-family and Sunmon/Moonmon. I think they definitely have a very good chance, but maybe after the two selections I mentioned earlier, or maybe even as a part of a Profile-update.
/tinfoilhat
TL;DR: If a Reference Book update isn't tied to the following: 1) Digimon revealed/featured in a V-pet, Anime-episode or videogame or 2) Digimon tied to a Profile-report, then I predict the following Digimon will appear, spread across 2 updates:
- Red V-Dramon
- Black Galgomon
- Black Rapidmon
- Kyubimon (Silver)
- Taomon (Silver)
- Arkadimon (Baby)
- Arkadimon (Adult)
- Arkadimon (Perfect)
- Arkadimon (Ultimate)
