History Main / SignatureMon

* ''Anime/FateGrandCarnival:'' As mentioned below in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrer'', Fujimaru Ritsuka is contracted with multiple Servants, and throughout the anime, it is shown that she comments hundreds of them, likely over 300. While Mash serves as her sidekick like in the games, the one Servant Fujimaru has devoted her love and investment is none other than the 3* Rider Red Hare, whom she has raised to Lv. 100, and she refuses to have him purged like all her other low-rarity Servants.

* ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'': Within the Nasuverse, most Masters only can summon one Servant, but are able to make contracts with another Servant that has already been summoned. Shirou Kotomine manages to gain the contract of five additional Servants from the Red Faction, and thus has six Servants under his command. The one he himself summoned, Assassin of Red, serves as his Signature Mon and LoveInterest.
* ''LightNovel/FateZero'': As mentioned above, it's possible for Masters to gain the contract of other Servants, with only Kotomine Kirei having managed to do so during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Interestingly, the second Servant he obtains during the war, Archer (Gilgamesh) would serve as his Signature Mon for this war and the next one.

** Chaldea's summoning system allows Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Master, to summon multiple Servants that serve and fight for them. Fujimaru is almost always accompanied with Demi-Servant Mash Kyrielight, the Shielder, who is also Fujimaru's first Servant and the game's SeriesMascot. In Singularities, Lostbelts and a couple of events and Interludes (especially the early ones), she's usually the only Servant (aside from the Servant whose Interlude you're playing) to stand beside her Master (except for most of Epic of Remnant where she's demoted to MissionControl as a consequence of the finale of Observer on Timeless Temple). Guest Servants aren't Servants you own, so they don't count as your Mons. Mash is unique in that her Ascensions, Rank-Ups, Bond Level and Noble Phantasm Level [[NonStandardSkillLearning are story-locked, she is the only Servant who changes her rarity throughout the game]], and she cannot be consumed by other Servants or be burned, so you can never get rid of her. She cannot even be put into the Second Archive. Mash also serves as Fujimaru's main LoveInterest and compared to other Servants, she has the largest character arc. And unlike other Servants, you cannot obtain multiple Saint Graphs of her, you cannot increase her Bond Level beyond 5 nor can you enhance her via Palingenesis.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight:'' As mentioned with ''LightNovel/FateZero'' and ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'' above, Masters are technically able to make new contracts with already summoned Servants that have their original contracts severed, and in within the three routes of the visual novel, several Masters obtain another Servants due to circumstances. Similarly, because of those bizarre situations within the Fifth Holy Grail War, the trope can also be inverted and certain Servants have a Signature Master instead.

** Caster is interesting due to having killed her original Master Atrum Galliasta and making a new contract with Kuzuki Souichirou, who would become her Signature Master within the franchise. Caster herself summons Assassin, and, in ''Unlimited Blade Works, she steals the contracts of Saber and Archer. Assassin still serves as Caster's Signature Mon.
** Speaking of Assassin, in Heaven's Feel, when True Assassin is summoned by Matou Zouken from Assassin's body, True Asssassin is still bound to a contract with Caster, thus he forces her to cancel their contract. Zouken would then later become True Assassin's Master and Signature Master.
** Kotomine Kirei still works with his previous partner Gilgamesh as a pseudo-pair of Master and Servant, but due to Gilgamesh's incarnation and Independent Action, he doesn't act like a real Servant towards Kotomine. Kotomine steals Lancer's contract from Bazett Fraga [McRemitz] and serves as Lancer's Signature Master within the franchise, but it's Gilgamesh who acts as Kotomine's Signature Mon. Gilgamesh, who has five different Masters within the franchise, has two Signatur Masters: Kotomine Kirei and Kishinami Hakuno (particularly the female version).

*** Pikachu is Ash's StarterMon and he has been in his party all the time except for one battle (his Silver Conference match against Gary). The bond between the two of them often gets a lot of focus and is frequently mentioned. Pikachu is usually the only Pokémon to stay in Ash's party and travels with him to other regions, while everyone else is PutOnABus.

*** Paul also has two. His Elekid/Electebuzz/Electivire who represents Paul's character the most and it also has a rivalry with Ash's Chimchar/Monferno/Infernape. The other is his Torterra, his Starter.

** Chaldea's summoning system allows Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Master, to summon multiple Servants that serve and fight for them. Fujimaru is almost always accompanied with Demi-Servant Mash Kyrielight, the Shielder, who is also Fujimaru's first Servant and the game's SeriesMascot. In Singularities, Lostbelts and a couple of events and Interludes (especially the early ones), she's usually the only Servant (aside from the Servant whose Interlude you're playing) to stand beside her Master (except for most of Epic of Remnant where she's demoted to MissionControl as a consequence of the finale of Observer on Timeless Temple). Guest Servants aren't Servants you own, so they don't count as your Mons. Mash is unique in that her Ascensions, Rank-Ups, Bond Level and Noble Phantasm Level [[NonStadardSkillLearning are story-locked, she is the only Servant who changes her rarity throughout the game]], and she cannot be consumed by other Servants or be burned, so you can never get rid of her. She cannot even be put into the Second Archive. Mash also serves as Fujimaru's main LoveInterest and compared to other Servants, she has the largest character arc. And unlike other Servants, you cannot obtain multiple Saint Graphs of her, you cannot increase her Bond Level beyond 5 nor can you enhance her via Palingenesis.

** Chaldea's summoning system allows Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Master, to summon multiple Servants that serve and fight for them. Fujimaru is almost always accompanied with Demi-Servant Mash Kyrielight, the Shielder, who is also Fujimaru's first Servant and the game's SeriesMascot. In Singularities, Lostbelts and a couple of events and Interludes (especially the early ones), she's usually the only Servant (aside from the Servant whose Interlude you're playing) to stand beside her Master (except for most of Epic of Remnant where she's demoted to MissionControl as a consequence of the finale of Observer on Timeless Temple). Guest Servants aren't Servants you own, so they don't count as your Mons. Mash is unique in that her Ascensions, Rank-Ups, Bond Level and Noble Phantasm Level are story-locked, she is the only Servant who changes her rarity throughout the game, and she cannot be consumed by other Servants or be burned, so you can never get rid of her. She cannot even be put into the Second Archive. Mash also serves as Fujimaru's main LoveInterest and compared to other Servants, she has the largest character arc. And unlike other Servants, you cannot obtain multiple Saint Graphs of her, you cannot increase her Bond Level beyond 5 nor can you enhance her via Palingenesis.

*** Goh's Scorbunny is his starter and companion, though once it fully evolves, it stops being a walking Pokémon and is now kept in its Poke Ball. Sobble now acts as his companion mon, while Cinderace is his powerhouse. Note that Cinderace stil appears more frequently than Sobble.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has many examples across the franchise:
** The anime tend to have two types of signatures; tiny companions that do cute/comical things and often seen with their trainers outside their Pokéballs, and badass powerhouses. Sometimes the tiny companions do participate in battles as well.

*** Ash often has another Signature Mon who is acting as TheAce and is a SpotlightStealingSquad. In the original series, it's Charizard, which is especially seen during the battle against Gary in the Johto League, where Pikachu is absent from the battle. In ''Advanced Generation'', Sceptile becomes this more or less after his final evolution, but he doesn't get overexposed with this trope. In ''Diamond & Pearl'', Infernape is this, especially due to its relationship with its previous trainer Paul who is Ash's rival and therefore pushed him to the frontlines in helping Ash defeat his toughest opponent yet. In ''XY&Z'', Greninja became this after his final evolution and then when his bond with Ash gave him access to a unique and exclusive SuperMode called Ash-Greninja. During ''Sun & Moon'', Incineroar and Lycanroc seem to split this role when Pikachu (who is Ash's undisputed true Ace in Alola) isn't on the spotlight. In ''Journeys'', this role is also shared between Dragonite and Lucario again when Pikachu isn't in the spotlight.

*** May starts out with her Starter Pokémon, Torchic. However, it gets overshadowed by Beautifly who receives favoritism from May due her being a Coordinator. However, once Torchic evolves into Combusken, it gets enough attention and screentime to become her Signature Mon again as well as her powerhouse. Its status is still retained as a Blaziken.

*** Paul's is Torterra, which was his starter and is arguably his strongest Pokémon implied to have been his main mon in his journeys throughout Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. During the Sinnoh journey the role goes to Electivire as it proves to be his strongest Pokémon barring Torterra itself who isn't as used as it, and also as Ash's [[TheAce Infernape]]'s rival, who in turn used to also count as Paul's signature before it was released.
*** Iris's Axew is basically her Pikachu/Togepi/Piplup. Although, her initial signature powerhouse is Excadrill who is then overshadowed by Dragonite. When Iris returns in ''Pokémon Journeys'', Axew has already fully evolved into Haxorus and became Iris's new ace, just like in the games (but male in the anime).

*** Sawyer's is his Treecko which evolved all the way into a Sceptile that eventually Mega Evolved into Mega Sceptile and is the uncontested Ace of his team.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': The trainers in the anime tend to have two types of signatures; tiny companions that do cute/comical things and often seen with their trainers outside their Pokéballs, and badass powerhouses. Sometimes the tiny companions do participate in battles as well.
** Pikachu is Ash's StarterMon and he has been in his party all the time except for one battle (his Silver Conference match against Gary). The bond between the two of them often gets a lot of focus and is frequently mentioned. Pikachu is usually the only Pokémon to stay in Ash's party and travels with him to other regions, while everyone else is PutOnABus.
** Ash often has another Signature Mon who is acting as TheAce and is a SpotlightStealingSquad. In the original series, it's Charizard, which is especially seen during the battle against Gary in the Johto League, where Pikachu is absent from the battle. In ''Advanced Generation'', Sceptile becomes this more or less after his final evolution, but he doesn't get overexposed with this trope. In ''Diamond & Pearl'', Infernape is this, especially due to its relationship with its previous trainer Paul who is Ash's rival and therefore pushed him to the frontlines in helping Ash defeat his toughest opponent yet. In ''XY&Z'', Greninja became this after his final evolution and then when his bond with Ash gave him access to a unique and exclusive SuperMode called Ash-Greninja. During ''Sun & Moon'', Incineroar and Lycanroc seem to split this role when Pikachu (who is Ash's undisputed true Ace in Alola) isn't on the spotlight. In ''Journeys'', this role is also shared between Dragonite and Lucario again when Pikachu isn't in the spotlight.
** Misty started out with a Water-type team that was balanced in exposure, then got a SpotlightStealingSquad in Psyduck before Togepi finally settled in as her Signature Pokémon, although she rarely ever used it in battle. Togepi's introduction also marked a shift in Misty's characterization, [[{{Chickification}} in which she became less of a tomboy and more of a mother to Togepi]]. Because of this, Togepi has a [[BaseBreakingCharacter mixed reception]] from the fanbase. After Togetic's departure, Psyduck still sticks around when she returns in ''Sun & Moon'', and she gets a Gyarados as her powerhouse which she caught in ''Chronicles''.
** Brock's Signature Mon was initially Onix, but after travelling through other regions and leaving most of his Pokémon in his home, his Croagunk is his Signature Mon for two series. In ''Sun & Moon'', Brock goes back to his original Signature Mon, Steelix (Onix evolved off-screen during ''Advanced Generation'').
** May starts out with her Starter Pokémon, Torchic. However, it gets overshadowed by Beautifly who receives favoritism from May due her being a Coordinator. However, once Torchic evolves into Combusken, it gets enough attention and screentime to become her Signature Mon again as well as her powerhouse. Its status is still retained as a Blaziken.
** Dawn's is Piplup, who is basically acting as a second Pikachu. Her Mamoswine is her signature powerhouse.
** Paul's is Torterra, which was his starter and is arguably his strongest Pokémon implied to have been his main mon in his journeys throughout Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. During the Sinnoh journey the role goes to Electivire as it proves to be his strongest Pokémon barring Torterra itself who isn't as used as it, and also as Ash's [[TheAce Infernape]]'s rival, who in turn used to also count as Paul's signature before it was released.
** Iris's Axew is basically her Pikachu/Togepi/Piplup. Although, her initial signature powerhouse is Excadrill who is then overshadowed by Dragonite. When Iris returns in ''Pokémon Journeys'', Axew has already fully evolved into Haxorus and became Iris's new ace, just like in the games (but male in the anime).
** Cilan's is Pansage, just like in the games, but in later episodes of the Black and White series he's often [[OutOfFocus overshadowed]] by Crustle and Stunfisk.
** Serena's is her Starter Pokémon, Fennekin. She still continues to be her trainer's Signature Mon as Braixen.
** Clemont is first introduced with Bunnelby, but Chespin would eventually be his Signature Mon... until Luxray comes in. Prior to Bunnelby's capture, it was Heliolisk who is DemotedToExtra really hard.
** While still technically Clemont's Pokémon, Bonnie is allowed to take care of his Dedenne who is always treated as her Signature Mon. Then a Zygarde Core becomes this to her, even though it is just travelling with her.
** Alain's is his Charizard which can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X, it was his only Pokémon at first and it is very much the only one with focus outside of the Kalos League. It also is his most powerful and proves capable of overcoming foes such as Elite Four's Malva's Mega Houndoom and even Ash-Greninja (three times in fact).
** Sawyer's is his Treecko which evolved all the way into a Sceptile that eventually Mega Evolved into Mega Sceptile and is the uncontested Ace of his team.
** Lana started out with a Popplio. As it evolves into Brionne and then Primarina it became her powerhouse, and the stray Eevee that she eventually caught fills the small companion role.
** Kiawe's uncontested signature is his Turtonator, who is his Ace and main user of Z-Moves.
** Sophocles has his Togedemaru and Vikavolt competing for this spot.
** Mallow has her Bounsweet which evolved into a Steenee and then a Tsareena. Partly due to being one of her few Pokémon at hand.
** Goh's Scorbunny is his starter and companion, though once it fully evolves, it stops being a walking Pokémon and is now kept in its Poke Ball. Sobble now acts as his companion mon, while Cinderace is his powerhouse. Note that Cinderace stil appears more frequently than Sobble.
** Jessie's Signature Mon started out to be Ekans, who later evolved into Arbok. After Arbok's release, Wobbuffet has become this.
** James's Signature Mon started as Koffing, who later evolved into Weezing. Its place was taken later on by Cacnea and Carnivine, although from Unova onward he hasn't really had a Signature Pokémon.
** Gary has two. His Eevee (later Umbreon) whom he's seen the most with, and his Starter and powerhouse Blastoise.
** Most Gym Leaders keep their Signature Pokémon from their game counterparts. But there are many others who don't and have a different one.
* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' protagonists usually have their starters in this role. They also often have a second major Pokémon, such as Ruby and his Feebas or Red and his Pikachu.

* Hareta from ''Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure'' has his starter, Piplup, who eventually goes on to evolve into Empoleon.
* The story of ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'' focuses on Red's journey with his Starter Pokémon Charmander, which evolves all the way to Mega Charizard X. Red's other Pokémon are relegated to having cameo appearances.
* Red from ''Manga/PocketMonsters'' has two, his Clefairy and his Pikachu. They're his two Pokémon that stick with him throughout the regions.

* ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'': This Digimon series actually uses this trope since the humans have multiple partner Digimon that form their armies, with their main partner being the core of [[FusionDance DigiXros]] or the Digimon that can evolve.

*** Akari wasn't truly partnered with Cutemon since hse lacked a Xros Loader, but she was still very close to him.

** Protagonists don't officially have canon starters, and in fact Red was given [[TakeTheThirdOption all three]] Kanto starters specifically to avoid canonizing one, however official artwork often depicts a protagonist with one starter more than the others. In the first generation, Red was associated with Bulbasaur, but come the third generation remakes and he is now associated with Charmander. Green and Leaf are associated with Squirtle, Ethan with Cyndaquil or Totodile, Lyra with Chikorita, Brendan with any of the three Hoenn starters (Treecko, Torchic, or Mudkip), May with Torchic (and sometimes Mudkip), Lucas and Dawn with Piplup (sometimes the latter has Turtwig or Chimchar), Hilda with Tepig, Nate with Tepig, Rosa with Snivy, Calem with Froakie, Serena with Fennekin, and Selene with Rowlet. Red is also associated with Pikachu due to the fact he is his highest leveled Pokémon.

** Ash often has another Signature Mon who is acting as TheAce and is a SpotlightStealingSquad. In the original series, it's Charizard, which is especially seen during the battle against Gary in the Johto League, where Pikachu is absent from the battle. In ''Advanced Generation'', Sceptile becomes this more or less after his final evolution, but he doesn't get overexposed with this trope. In ''Diamond & Pearl'', Infernape is this, especially due to its relationship with its previous trainer Paul who is Ash's rival. In ''XY&Z'', Greninja has become this after his final evolution; his bond with Ash has given him access to a unique and exclusive SuperMode, to the point that their relationship even overshadows Ash's with Pikachu. During ''Sun & Moon'', Incineroar and Lycanroc seem to split this role. In ''Journeys'', this role is also shared between Dragonite and Lucario.

*** Yugi's and especially Atem's Signature Card is Dark Magician. Unlike other protagonists, Yugi/Atem doesn't spam his favorite monster in most duels and his deck is not exclusively based around Dark Magician. Dark Magician's evolutions are usually only one-time-transformations and don't appear again. Dark Magician even gets an origin story in the final arc.

*** Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon appears in all of Kaiba's duels, and he even has three copies of her. The only duel where she doesn't appear is in one duel of the non-canon NonSerialMovie. In Battle City, Blue-Eyes is often overshadowed by Obelisk the Giant God Soldier, although Kaiba tends to fall back to Blue-Eyes when Obelisk is out of question. Like her fated rival Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes is also given an origin story in the final arc.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': The trainers in the anime tend to have two types of signatures; tiny companions that do cute/comical things and often seen with their trainers outside their Pokeballs, and badass powerhouses. Sometimes the tiny companions do participate in battles as well.

*** The legacy characters have different Signature Cards from their original counterparts. ''ARC-V''' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon Scarlight is the retrained counterpart of ''5D's'' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon and Scarlight is the closest to resemble the Signature Card of its owner's original counterpart, but the rest are far more different. ''ARC-V'' Crow lacks a dragon, similarly like his original ''5D's'' counterpart did, but ''ARC-V'' Crow Signature Monster Assault Blackfeather -- Raikiri the Rain Shower differs heavily from Blackfeather -- Armored Wing and seems more like a much more better version of Blackfeather -- Silverwind the Ascendence. ''ARC-V'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon looks visually very similar to ''ZEXAL'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, but Cipher Dragon is an Xyz Monster instead of an Effect Monster, works in a different second archetype and has a completely different effect. ''ARC-V'' Edo's Destiny HERO Dystopia Guy is the first Destiny HERO Fusion Monster and his visual appearance doesn't match the dark and edgy theme of the archetype and has no resemblance to ''GX'' Edo's Destiny HERO Bloo-D in terms of stats, appearance and effects and notably lacks the game-breaking power and dread Bloo-D has.

*** Jounouchi starts out with Flame Swordsman, but he later would get Red-Eyes Black Dragon as his Signature Card. Red-Eyes would later symbolize the bond between Yugi and Jounouchi.
*** Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon appears in all of Kaiba's duels, and he even has three copies of her. The only duel where she doesn't appear is in one duel of the non-canon NonSerialMovie. In Battle City, Blue-Eyes is often overshadowed by Obelisk the Tormentor, although Kaiba tends to fall back to Blue-Eyes when Obelisk is out of question. Like her fated rival Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes is also given an origin story in the final arc.

*** Yuma has Number 39: Utopia. While he gets more and more Numbers, he is always relying on Utopia who gets a lots of evolutions and even a de-evolution. This is justified, since Utopia is his creation and symbolizes his [[{{Pun}} hope]]. However, once Astral takes all Numbers in his possession, Yuma creates Number F0: Utopic Future as a replacement for Utopia.
*** Shark keeps switching Signature Cards all the time. First, it's Black Ray Lancer, then Number 32: Shark Drake, then Number 101: Silent Honor ARK, and finally Barian Hope.

** ''Anime/DigimonUniverseApplimonsters'' has the humans collect other mons like ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' and follows the same formula as ''Xros Wars'' with their main partner being the core of the fusion, but without the evolution part they had in the second half. The partners are as follows:

* Although ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is not a {{Mons}} game per se, the Commander format is still based around something similar to this trope. The main gimmick of this format is that each deck has a "commander" card, that starts in a special "command zone" instead of the deck (so it can be cast immediately when the player has the {{mana}} for it, without needing to be drawn from the deck). If the commander would be destroyed or otherwise removed from play, the player can choose to place it back into the command zone to be replayed later (though every cast requires more mana). This makes a commander very difficult to remove permanently and most decks are built to revolve tightly around it. In the early days of the format, the commander was always a Legendary creature, later on, some planeswalkers that can be commanders were also introduced. With the release of ''Strixhaven'''s double-sided cards, you can even have a '''sorcery''' as your commander, making it more of a SignatureMove than a SignatureMon.

*** The legacy characters have different Signature Cards from their original counterparts. ''ARC-V''' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon Scarlight is the retrained counterpart of ''5D's'' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon and Scarlight is the closest to resemble the Signature Card of its owner's original counterpart, but the rest are far more different. ''ARC-V'' Crow lacks a dragon, similarly like his original ''5D's'' counterpart did, but ''ARC-V'' Crow Signature Monster Assault Blackfeather -- Raikiri the Rain Shower differs heavily from Blackfeather -- Armored Wing and seems more like a much more better version of Blackfeather -- Silverwind the Ascendence. ''ARC-V'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon looks visually very similar to ''ZEXAL'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, but Cipher Dragon is an Xyz Monster instead of an Effect Monster, works in a different second archetype and has a completely different effect. ''ARC-V'' Edo's Destiny HERO Dystopia Guy is the first Destiny HERO Fusion Monster and whose visual appearance doesn't match the dark and edgy theme of the archetype and has no resemblance to ''GX'' Edo's Destiny HERO Bloo-D in terms of stats, appearance and effects and notably lacks the game-breaking power and dread Bloo-D has.

*** The legacy characters have different Signature Cards from their original counterparts. ''ARC-V''' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon Scarlight is the retrained counterpart of ''5D's'' Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon and Scarlight is the closest to resemble the Signature Card of its owner's original counterpart, but the rest are far more different. ''ARC-V'' Crow lacks a dragon, similarly to his original ''5D's'' counterpart, but ''ARC-V'' Crow Signature Monster Assault Blackfeather -- Raikiri the Rain Shower differs heavily from Blackfeather -- Armored Wing and seems more like a much more better version of Blackfeather -- Silverwind the Ascendence. ''ARC-V'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon looks visually very similar to ''ZEXAL'' Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, but Cipher Dragon is an Xyz Monster instead of an Effect Monster, works in a different second archetype and has a completely different effect. ''ARC-V'' Edo's Destiny HERO Dystopia Guy is the first Destiny HERO Fusion Monster and whose visual appearance doesn't match the dark and edgy theme of the archetype and has no resemblance to ''GX'' Edo's Destiny HERO Bloo-D in terms of stats, appearance and effects and notably lacks the game-breaking power and dread Bloo-D has.

*** Judai uses an Elemental HERO deck, but his signature card throughout the series is his Winged Kuriboh, a Duel Spirit (not to be confused with the "Spirit Monster" type) who is given to him by Yugi during the first episode. He oftens acts as something of a FairyCompanion, coming out of the card to morally support him. Other signature monsters around the same level of Winged Kuriboh's significance include the [=Elemental HEROes=] Flame Wingman (his definitive favorite monster and original ace) and Neos (the definitive ace).

*** Edo Phoenix plays around with this idea by introducing Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer as an anti-hero counterpart to Judai's Shining Flare Wingman, but soon after revealing his true archetype, we are getting introduced to Destiny HERO Dreadmaster, who only serves to cover for his true Ace Monster, Destiny HERO Dogma. But later on, Edo eventually obtains Destiny HERO Plasma, who would serve as Edo's new Ace Monster and definitive Signature Card for the rest of the series.

*** The Signers have their dragons as their Signature Card. Only a few of them have a secondary one: Yusei has Junk Warrior who was basically Yusei's replacement for Stardust Dragon, but is still used often enough later on and fully returns as his Signature Card at the finale. Crow has Blackwing - Armor Master as his initial Signature Card prior to getting Black-Winged Dragon. And Lua has Power Tool Dragon, which is just the downgraded version of his Life Stream Dragon.

* ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'': This Digimon series actually uses this trope since the humans have multiple partner Digimon that form their armies with their main partner being the core of [[FusionDance DigiXros]] or the Digimon that can evolve.

*** Kiriha's is Greymon who also forms the core of its [=DigiXros=] and evolves into [=ZekeGreymon=].

** Kirschtaria Wodime has multiple Servants under his command, but the one whom he has the closest connection is Caenis, who also is TheFace of his Servants.

* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' protagonists usually have their starters in this role. They also often have a second major Pokémon, such as Ruby and his Feebas or Red and his Pikachu.

** TheProtagonist Aiba has three starter mons to choose from: Terriermon, Palmon and Hagurumon. However, the player is able to capture any Digimon they want and can evolve their Digimon into ''anything'' they want. Their starter might not even be included in the final battle. Moreover, their starter can actually be consumed by another Digimon or deleted by the player. Yet, the Master Cup features a MirrorMatch with Aiba. The opposing Aiba, however, uses straight-forward final evolutions of all three starters: [=SaintGalgomon=], Rosemon and [=HiAndromon=]. Basically, Aiba's canon Signature Mons are basically ''all three'' starters.

** Fei's Signature Mon is [=TigerVespamon=], but she also has Hououmon and Sakuyamon to back her up. Despite how she views Digimon as their mere tools, she's surprised to learn that her [=TigerVespamon=] has her own will and that Digimon assists the protagonist to help [[spoiler:Yuuko]] because of her loyalty to her master, Fei.