A new generation of Royal Knights
In an interview, Kenji Watanabe commented that he's not opposed to expanding the Royal Knights beyond 13 members and had an idea that the original Knights could pass the baton to a new generation, with Jesmon serving as the bridge between the old and new Knights. This story has never been done in any official media (and honestly, it probably never will), but I like what ifs. If this story ever were told, they could make new Digimon, but I'm going to pick some existing Digimon to fill in the ranks. That means I need to find 12 Digimon that would fit as Royal Knights, since Jesmon will stay as number 13. I'm also not going to pick Digimon that belong to other groups, since they have their own duties to attend to.
The elephant in the room here is the Tian Ji. Currently, they only exist as a group in Digimon New Century, where they act as sort of a second Royal Knights team that also answers to Yggdrasil. The Royal Knights and Tian Ji do not get along at all, but it is possible that Jesmon may look to them as a way to rebuild the Royal Knights should they disband or be destroyed. I went back and fourth on wheter or not to include members in my new Royal Knights, but ultimately I decided not to. The Tian Ji probably wouldn't be interested in joining and may serve better in their original role than they would by merging the teams.
An easy choice for the new Royal Knights is BloomLordmon. Its reference book entry outright says it has power to rival the Knights and it is a protector of nature. I imagine that since Jesmon is the one assembling this new team, he may pick Digimon with similar attitudes to him. Jesmon is the Royal Knight with the closest connection to the common Digimon, while the rest of them tend to be much more aloof. BloomLordmon matches Jesmon's ideals pretty well. One of the roles of the Royal Knights is to protect the Digital World, and BloomLordmon already does that in part by protecting nature. It also absolutely has the knightly aesthetic down.
One Digimon that doesn't really have the knight aesthetic but does fit the role is Amphimon. Amphimon is permitted to judge and punish evil in the Net Ocean and its pressure suit means there's nowhere in the ocean that evildoers can go to hide from it. An explicitly aquatic member is something I think is missing from the original Royal Knights lineup. Another point that isn't really about qualifications or anything is that Amphimon (at least in the anime) presents feminine while the original Royal Knights are a total sausage fest, so adding some girls to the team would be nice.
Amphimon acts as a guardian of the seas, so a counterpart guardian of the skies would also be good. I think a natural choice is Metallicdramon. It lives at altitudes so high few others can reach them, and can fly at the speed of light, allowing it to quickly reach threats the other Knights wouldn't be able to get to. It also spreads particles that preserve the harmony of the Digital World, so it is already doing part of the Royal Knight job. Metallicdramon also only descends from the sky when something major is happening, allowing it to act as an early warning system.
Another Digimon that doesn't necessarily fit Jesmon's ideals but that would be a good pick is Ravemon. The original Knights never had a member skilled in covert operations, something Ravemon is an expert in. Stealth and assassination may not fit the image of an order of honorable knights, but sometimes you really do need somebody to do the dirty work and take out growing threats before they can really become a problem. The original Knights also have their share of less honorable members, particularly LordKnightmon/Crusadermon. Ravemon was abandoned by its god out of anger, so the chance to serve Yggdrasil, another god, may appeal to it. It also has Burst Mode to fall back on if it really needs that extra power boost.
Jesmon really likes the ideals of the knight errant, someone who roams the world and brings justice to the unfortunate. Therefore, I think Justimon would be a kindred spirit and a natural choice of Royal Knight. Justimon is all about dropping in, defeating evil, then leaving to find more foes. It also inspires others to rise up and fight for justice, a valuable skill for a Royal Knight. Justimon also has the three different arms it can equip to make it a very versatile fighter.
Responding to threats is good, but proactively preventing them is better. That's why I think Quantumon would be a good pick. Quantumon's whole thing is analyzing data to predict disasters and safeguard against them. One of the duties of the Royal Knights is to protect network security, and who better at that than someone who can predict problems before they happen. Quantumon would be an unconventional Knight as I don't really see it on the front lines taking the fight to the enemy, but it would be an excellent coordinator, directing the more active Knights to where they are needed most.
Speaking of safeguarding network security, Crossmon/Eaglemon's job is to destroy invaders who attempt to access the Digital World. Becoming a Royal Knight is not that much of a change in job description. I don't have much else to say about this one because there's not that much info about it out there. It does look like its wearing armor though.
Another Knight with a specialty could be Tactimon. While a powerful ruler, Tactimon's greatest strength is its mind. It is a master tactician who can guarantee victory with its incredible skills and ruthlessness. I imagine it would fill a similar role to Duftmon and LordKnightmon on the original team, being the leader of an army who also acts as the group's foremost strategist. I imagine Tactimon being much colder and more ruthless than Jesmon's other recruits, but highly effective in what it does. Tactimon's sword can even act as a last resort for the New Royal Knights, as drawing it unleashes the power of a collapsing star. Tactimon technically is a member of a group, but only in the Xros Wars continuity, so I'm ok with it.
That's a lot of Knights who specialize in a particular duty or particular area, so lets get some more generalists. A good one that has a similar attitude to Jesmon and Justimon is Siriusmon. It is a wanderer who descends from the skies to bring justice. Siriusmon also has a kind heart and will work to redeem evildoers it feels have a chance. It could easily become one of the most beloved of the new Royal Knights, acting more as a redeemer while still striking down threats when needed.
Rasenmon also acts like Siriusmon in that it's ultimately a kind Digimon, but it also comes with the benefit of knowing what it is like to be evil is Rasenmon. Rasenmon has the potential to become Rasenmon Fury Mode if its negative emotions overtake it. I think Rasenmon therefore could be a good addition to the New Royal Knights because it could recognize if one of its teammates was going down the wrong path and help them, or defeat them if necessary. Rasenmon would also be good at telling when it or one of the other Knights is going too far and holding them back if needed.
One of the duties of the Royal Knights is to protet the common Digimon from danger. Usually that's by killing evil Digimon, but it doesn't have to be the only method. HeavyLeomon is an expert in rescue and will prioritize saving Digimon in danger over fighting. When it does fight, it is a monster combatant with many built-in weapons. I think HeavyLeomon would help remind the other New Royal Knights that their duty is not only to fight danger, but to protect the regular Digimon as well.
My final member of the New Royal Knights will be Kazuchimon. Sometimes, there's a threat so dangerous that everything else goes out the window and it just needs to die. This is where Kazuchimon would come in. It is an obsessive combatant that lives for a fight and can take on almost anything. When the New Royal Knights face a threat that the others can't take out due to their divided duties, other priorities, or not being strong enough, the response will be to point Kazuchimon at the problem and get the hell out of the way.
With that, the final roster is Jesmon, BloomLordmon, Amphimon, Ravemon, Justimon, Quantumon, Crossmon, Tactimon, Siriusmon, Rasenmon, HeavyLeomon, and Kazuchimon. I can definitely see other options, so let me know who you'd include in your own Royal Knights team. I think the ones I would be most likely to swap out are Metallicdramon and Crossmon. If I did, I might change them for MirageGaogamon and gold Rapidmon or Sakuyamon. Maybe even LovelyAngemon.
I have some honorable mentions that I considered for the group, but ultimately didn't include. I considered Slayerdramon, but as it's half of Examon, it's kind of represented on the original team. Diarbbitmon also didn't make the cut because its role as a nature guardian overlaps with BloomLordmon. I considered Hououmon/Phoenixmon instead of Metallicdramon, but Hououmon is already a powerful holy Digimon who rules over all birds. Since those duties don't overlap with those of the Royal Knights, I figured it might be too busy to join. Valkyrimon similarly has unrelated duties. MedievalDukemon/Gallantmon, Hexeblaumon, and Zephagamon are heavily associated with Witchelny and probably stay there instead of the Digital World. I considered having both Durandamon and BryweLudramon, but ultimately decided that if the only reason I want them is to have access to RagnaLordmon, that's not a good enough reason.
