Roxy's Reports 12: Reidrith, Jeanne Azaria, and Go Onizuka and Stregone (updated)
At Café Matsuo, in the backroom, a few hours after the events of Chapter 20...
"It is good to be home." Yuhiro said, stretching his fingers as he turned on the monitors. After a few keystrokes, he pulled up the profiles for Go Onizuka and Stregone before setting them to the side. He then pulled up the duel videos from today on the main browser.
"That I can agree on, Yuhiro." Roxy commented, walking in and sitting down in the seat beside in. "We've got a lot to discuss, too."
"Right. Which is why I prepared everything on the monitor." Yuhiro said, showing Roxy what he did.
"Perfect! In that case, I say we talk about Go's opponent, Reidrith." Roxy moved the mouse to the duel video showing the duel between Go and Reidrith. "Many good things we have information on, right boys?"
"Indeed." Herald confirmed, looking at the monitor. "For once, we have a bounty of information."
"Then let's get started on Reidrith." Yuhiro opened a blank document on the monitor. "Right off the bat, we know his real life identity. Kiko Tanaka."
"Not only is he known by his VRAINS ID, Reidrith," Roxy added, her hands behind the back of her head, "but he's also known as the 'Paladin' of LINK VRAINS, as well as the Courageous Crusader. If you ask me, they're pretty fitting titles for someone who acts like a paladin."
"But let's get to the better stuff." Herald interrupted. "I thought the whole point of these profiles was to analyze their duel strategies and decks so we could be prepared to face them."
Roxy gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyebrows in response to that comment. "WE ARE GETTING TO THAT PART, YOU DINGUS!" she shouted at Herald, and unfortunately, at Yuhiro as well.
"Oh crap!" Herald said, going into Yuhiro's Duel Disk as Roxy tried to reach for it, but Yuhiro ended up stopping her.
"Calm down, Roxy." Yuhiro advised her. "It's not worth getting angry over."
"Ugh. Fine." Roxy replied, going back and sitting down. "These profiles are works of art, you know. We gotta take our time in making them."
"Is it safe to come out now?" Herald asked, slowly coming out of Yuhiro's Duel Disk.
"For now." Yuhiro told him. "Although I'd advise you Herald not to do what you just did."
"Duly noted." Herald conceded. He then looked at the monitor. "Okay, where were we?"
"We were looking at Reidrith's deck and how it works." Yuhiro answered. "Reidrith uses the 'Crusadia' deck, which focuses on a simple, yet powerful strategy: Boost Crusadia Equimax with as much attack points and effects as possible so he can win the duel with a single strike."
"That's not all, Yuhiro." Roxy said, typing on the monitor. Since they were both on the same document, they can make edits at the same time. "Each monster that Reidrith has in his deck has the same effect: They can all be Special Summoned to a zone a Link Monster points to in defense position, which not only gives those Link Monsters additional attack points, but also activates their own effects as well."
"So he's basically buffing up his Link Monsters through a Link climbing strategy and Special Summoning." Herald guessed.
"Exactly!" Roxy agreed with Herald. "Plus, Reidrith has ways to counter the effects of monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, as well as ensure his weaker monsters are safe." She typed this down immediately.
"You know how we briefly talked about Reidrith's ace monster, Crusadia Equimax?" Yuhiro said, turning to Roxy and Herald. "Well, I'm just going to say for a Link 3 monster, it's very powerful."
"I know!" Roxy agreed with him, putting her hands on her face. "Like how did he even obtain that Cyberse monster? Did it choose him or something? Honestly, if that were the case, then it'll be like Pokémon all over again. And don't get me started on that." She groaned upon picturing the scenario.
"While we know that he won it in a fundraiser raffle," Herald said, thinking it over, "I do have another theory."
Both humans immediately turned to Herald.
"I believe that SOL Technologies may have created a few Cyberse cards of their own back when the Cyberse World was under their management. After all, they had lots of data material to use for those cards."
"That... actually makes sense when you think about it." Yuhiro stated. "SOL will do anything for profits."
"Especially the higher-ups." Roxy added, typing what Herald told them into Reidrith's profile. "But back to Reidrith. His Skill is pretty useful for a deck that relies on Link Climbing."
"You mean Courageous Crusade, correct?" Herald asked, to which Roxy nodded. "The fact he can bring out a strong monster from anywhere except the Banished Zone and Extra Deck to a zone a Link Monster points to can really help him with his strategies."
"So with all these different tactics in Reidrith's belt," Yuhiro said, typing on the monitor, "what Duel Grade would you guys give him?"
Roxy thought it over before responding. "I'd say an A for Apocalyptic. Although it may look like a simple strategy, Reidrith does have ways to not only recover resources, but also surprise the opponent."
"True." Yuhiro put a hand on his chin as he remembered Crusadia Draco. "Do you think there's a connection between Crusadia Draco and Imduk, the World Chalice Dragon?"
"Possibly." Herald replied. "They may both be the same creature, but perhaps it's at a different stage in it's life. Certainly worth pointing out, Yuhiro."
"Okay." Roxy put down the information on the profile. "Just put down the information. What do you guys think?" This was what the profile showed:
Name: Kiko Tanaka (very easy to find his identity, that's for sure.)
VRAINS ID: Reidrith
Other Aliases: The Paladin of LINK VRAINS, The Courageous Crusader (pretty fitting titles for someone who acts like a paladin.)
Gender: Male
Age: 18 (Why does he look like he's a few years younger?)
Job: Charisma Duelist (he's among the Top 10 Charisma Duelists, clocking in at #7. Not bad for a short-fry.)
Deck: Crusadia
Ace Monster(s): Crusadia Equimax (a very powerful Link 3 monster. More importantly, it's a Cyberse monster. Did the monster choose him? If it did, then it's going to be like Pokémon all over again. And don't you get me started on that.)
Skill: Courageous Crusade (Once per duel, Reidrith can Special Summon one 'Crusadia' monster from his hand, deck, or Graveyard to a zone a Link Monster points to. A very useful Skill, especially if you intend to Link Climb.)
LINK VRAINS' History: Although he laid low during the 'Another' incident, he re-emerged out of hiding and started using his Cyberse monster. Not so sure it's a good idea, as there is still remnants of the Hanoi out there (and not the good kind, especially when poor Yuhiro had to duel at least two of them.)
Duel Grade right now: A (Apocalyptic) (while he may have a simple strategy, Reidrith does have ways to not only recover resources, but also surprise the opponent. Ex. A Cyberse monster called Crusadia Equimax!)
Notes: Reidrith's Crusadia deck focuses on a simple, yet powerful strategy: Boost Crusadia Equimax with as much attack points and effects as possible so that the user can win the duel with a single strike. Each monster that Reidrith has in his deck has the same effect: They can all be Special Summoned to a zone a Link Monster points to in defense position, which not only gives those Link Monsters additional attack points, but also activates their own effects as well.
He also has cards that negate the effects of monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, as well as cards that keep his monsters safe from attacks (ahem. I'm talking to you, Crusadia Vanguard!).
Based on his convo with Go, Reidrith came from a family that strived to give back to the community. According to Reidrith, he won Crusadia Equimax from a fundraiser raffle. But where did it come from? Herald believes that SOL may have manufactured Cyberse cards back when Cyberse World was under their management and they had Data Material to make VRAINS grow.
"Looks good, Roxy." Yuhiro said, saving the profile before opening a second blank document. "Now let's talk about Jeanne Azaria. And I'll just say it: Is it me, or does she want to get noticed by the wrong people?"
"If you're not secure with your identity, then it's definitely an issue." Herald pointed out. "But the fact that she used her public name in LINK VRAINS makes her an easy target."
"Her identity aside," Roxy interrupted, "we should talk about her deck, which I may add, also has a Cyberse monster."
"The Mekk-Knight deck," Yuhiro recalled, "focuses on Special Summoning its members to the field by ensuring there are two or more cards in the same column. Some of her 'Mekk-Knight' monsters also have search effects that lets her add other members to her hand from the deck or Graveyard, while her Mekk-Knight Indigo Eclipse can 'move' itself to allow Jeanne to swarm the field. From there, she can go straight to Link Summoning her ace monster: Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme, and dominate the duel."
"That Cyberse monster was a surprise for me." Herald added. "The fact that a monster like that can attack directly makes it formidable-."
"But only if it fulfils two conditions." Roxy finished for him. "One: It can't point to any monsters. Two: It must be the only monster in its column."
"You know I could have said those things, right?" Herald stated, rolling his eyes.
"Cut it out, you two." Yuhiro interjected, before things got ugly for a second time. "Do we know how she got Spectrum Supreme?"
"Possibly." Roxy answered, opening up a web browser and typing something up. "There's this interview I found of Jeanne a while back." She pressed the play button, and the interview began. It showed Jeanne being asked what helped her so far in her career as a Charisma Duelist, and she responded by pulling out her Spectrum Supreme card. She said that the card brought her good luck ever since she got it on her sweet 16.
"Huh." Yuhiro said. "Didn't expect that."
"Neither did I." Roxy stated, typing down what she just heard into Jeanne's profile. "Anyway, her Skill, Reinforced Fortification, is a defensive one compared to Reidrith's offensive one."
"That's because their dueling styles are different." Herald theorized. "While Reidrith focuses on overwhelming the opponent with a burst of power, Jeanne focuses on building a strong defense. That is why her Skill, Reinforced Fortification, focuses on protecting her 'Mekk-Knight' monster from being destroyed once, as well as letting her add a 'Mekk-Knight' monster from her Graveyard to her hand."
"Hmm. Interesting." Roxy typed the information down. "If you two had to give her a Duel Grade, what would you give her?"
"Again, an A for Apocalyptic." Yuhiro immediately answered. "She may have some strong dueling skills, but she's missing a key component: Patience. If she waited a little longer to finish her moves, she could have defeated Quinton."
"And patience is something I'm glad you're improving on, Yuhiro." Herald said, turning to face him.
"Yeah. That's definitely true." Yuhiro sheepishly agreed.
Roxy chuckled at that comment. "Alright then, boys! Behold Jeanne Azaria's profile!" The finished profile looked like this:
Name: Jeanne Azaria (known in Den City as a professional dancer.)
VRAINS ID: Jeanne Azaria (and unfortunately, she had to use her real name in LINK VRAINS as well.)
Other Aliases: The Rainbow Rider (considering how her Mekk-Knight monsters represent different colors of the rainbow, it would make sense.)
Gender: Female
Age: 30 (young and beautiful? What's her fashion secret?)
Job: Charisma Duelist (she's among the Top 10 Charisma Duelists, making it to #6. Again, not too bad.)
Deck: Mekk-Knight
Ace Monster(s): Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme (a very powerful Link 3 monster, just like Crusadia Equimax. And just like Equimax, it's a Cyberse monster. The only difference between both monsters is that, while Equimax focuses on getting a lot of buff-ups, Spectrum Supreme can attack directly if it's the only card in it's column. Also, it can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects as long as it doesn't point to any monsters.)
Skill: Reinforced Fortification (Once per duel, if a monster on Jeanne's field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, it's not destroyed. She also gets to add a 'Mekk-Knight' monster from her Graveyard to her hand.)
LINK VRAINS' History: Just like Reidrith, she laid low during the 'Another' incident. She also started using her Cyberse monster. I personally wouldn't recommend the idea right now when there's Hanoi out there.
Duel Grade right now: A (Apocalyptic) (she may have strong dueling skills, but she's missing a key component: Patience. And that's something Yuhiro's learning too, ha-ha!)
Notes: Jeanne Azaria's Mekk-Knight deck focuses on Special Summoning her 'Mekk-Knight' monsters by ensuring there are two or more cards in a column. Some of her 'Mekk-Knight' monsters also have search effects that lets her add other members to her hand from the deck or Graveyard, while her Mekk-Knight Indigo Eclipse can 'move' itself to allow Jeanne to swarm the field. From there, she can go straight to Link Summoning her ace monster: Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme, and dominate the duel.
I've done some research on her, and figured out that she's a professional dancer. In an interview, Jeanne said that the card is a good-luck charm and helped her find confidence to get this far in life. Why do I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen to this woman?
"Okay, then." Yuhiro said, saving Jeanne's profile and closing it before opening up Go Onizuka's profile. "It's time to update Go's profile."
"Allow me to say one thing." Roxy said, turning her chair to face Yuhiro and Herald. "He's really upgraded his deck the last time we saw him. Now he's got not one, but two Link 4 monsters."
"Although everything else is the same," Yuhiro added, "you got to admit, he's added in versatility to his 'Gouki' deck. For instance, that Gouki Destroy Ogre of his can spam other 'Gouki' monsters from his Graveyard equal to the number of monsters the opponent Special Summoned from the deck."
"And combined with Gouki the Master Ogre, Go has a pretty strong setup." Herald concluded. "That's because of the additional cards he gets to add to his hand, as well as The Master Ogre's ability to negate card effects equal to the number of 'Gouki' monsters returned to the hand."
"It makes me glad that Go's on our side, then." Roxy said, a smile on her face as she typed the information down. "If he wasn't, that would be bad." She finished updating Go's profile. "Alright, boys. Anything I'm missing?"
Yuhiro shook his head, but Herald nodded his.
"I think we should update Go's Duel Grade." he said. "And before you ask, Roxy, I think he gets a B for Badass with a plus. This is because he included versatility in his deck to bring out his 'Gouki' Link Monsters. However, in my opinion, Go has to do a bit more in order to get a bump in his Duel Grade."
"That's not how my grading system works!" Roxy stated, shocked that Herald did that.
"Well, maybe you should update it." Herald replied. "After all, you can't just define everyone with B's and A's."
"Okay, for the third time, settle down!" Yuhiro interrupted. "Seriously, if you two are going to be like this, then I'll just have to shut the profiles down."
Both Roxy and Herald's faces paled at that comment.
"Okay, fine," they soon said in agreement.
"Anyways, I've updated Go's profile. What do you think?" Roxy asked Yuhiro and Herald. This was what the profile showed:
Name: Go Onizuka
VRAINS ID: Go Onizuka (he used his real name as his VRAINS' ID so that he'd be recognized. After all, it's what all celebrities would do.)
Other Aliases: King of LINK VRAINS (even though he lost against Playmaker and Raguel, the people still believe he's #1.)
Gender: Male.
Age: 19 years old.
Residence: Warehouse in the Shipping District (even though Go's a celebrity, he lives humbly. He is definitely a good role-model, especially for the children in the orphanage he was raised at.)
Job: Charisma Duelist
Deck: Gouki
Ace Monster(s): Gouki the Great Ogre (a rather impressive Link 3 monster. The fact that it can reduce the opponent's monsters attack points by their defense points makes it easier for Go to 'blow away' the competition.), Gouki the Master Ogre (definitely a powerful monster. All Go has to do is return all 'Gouki' monsters The Master Ogre is pointing to, and he can negate an equivalent amount of cards the opponent controls. In addition, it can attack all monsters once each, but at the cost of attacking the monster with the highest attack points first. However, it fits with Go's duel style. Way to take something bad and turn it into something good, Go!)
Skill: Pain and Gain (Once per duel, Go can Special Summon all 'Gouki' monsters that were destroyed in battle. By activating this Skill on his opponent's turn, Go can not only save himself from defeat, but also make a strong comeback.)
LINK VRAINS' History: Rose to become the #1 Charisma Duelist in LINK VRAINS before getting defeated by both Playmaker and Raguel (even with those losses, he's still running!).
Duel Grade right now: B+ (Badass with a +. Herald suggested it, as he thinks that my Duel Grades need to be updated for some reason.) (Go's skills as a duelist are really good, way better than that grunt Yuhiro fought. He's recently updated his deck to focus on versatility with his Link 4 monsters: Gouki Destroy Ogre and Gouki the Master Ogre. By doing this, Go can continue swarming his field with 'Gouki' monsters for more Link Summons, and eventually overpower his opponent.)
Notes: Go's Gouki deck uses a straightforward aggressive beatdown strategy, focused on either increasing their attack points or decreasing the opponent's monsters attack points. The deck also have two other functions as well.
One: Swarm the field through consecutive summons so Go can bring out his Gouki Link Monsters and dish out the pain.
Two: After he Link Summons, Go can acquire new resources from his deck, as long as the Gouki cards he adds have different names than the ones sent to the Graveyard.
Did you know that the Gouki deck is based off of wrestling moves and famous wrestlers? Makes me want to watch professional wrestling again (ha-ha!).
Based on our research, Go grew up in an orphanage, and ever since becoming the #1 Charisma Duelist, he donated a portion of his winnings to that orphanage. He's a good guy not just in my book, but in Yuhiro's as well.
"And now onto Stregone's profile." Yuhiro said, excitement clearly evident in his voice.
"I have to say, Stregone greatly intrigues me." Herald admitted. "He wields four out of the six summoning methods, with proficiency I might add."
"There isn't much to talk about, other than his new ace monster: Supreme Arcanite Magician." Roxy commented. "Even though it's effect is restricted to once per turn, it does wield an impressive 3400 attack points." She typed this information down.
"But that's only with two Spell counters," Yuhiro pointed out, also typing the information down. "Who knows what else he can do, Roxy? Also, would you consider bumping up Stregone's Duel Grade to an S for Savage?"
Roxy thought it over for a moment. "No. It's still an A for Apocalyptic, but with a plus. I want to see how he deals with one of the senior members of the Hanoi. Depending on how he does against them, I might bump it up."
"Well said, Roxy." Herald commented, as she and Yuhiro finished the profile for Stregone. Once they were finished, the profile looked like this:
Name: Quinton Monell (he's had a huge impact on Yuhiro's life. In fact, Yuhiro's going to visit the Den City Shelter tomorrow after school to help out.)
VRAINS ID: Stregone
Other Aliases: The Sorcerer of LINK VRAINS
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Residence: Den City Shelter (he practically runs the place.)
Job: Charisma Duelist (and #3 at that. Just behind Blue Angel and Go. Way to go, Stregone!), Head of the Den City Shelter
Deck: Endymion/Mystical Beast
Ace Monster(s): Arcanite Magician (it may look weak, but combined with other cards, it's deadly.), Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode (the evolution of Arcanite Magician, with a small attack boost. However, as I was saying with Arcanite Magician, it comes with a nasty effect. This guy can destroy everything the opponent controls, leaving them open for a direct attack.), Supreme Arcanite Magician (okay, this is Arcanite Magician's 'other' evolution. Oh, God. Am I going into Pokémon again? Anyhow, in exchange for the effect being used once per turn, Stregone can remove a Spell counter from anywhere on his field to target and destroy a card on the field, or draw a card. While it is restrictive, with two Spell counters, Supreme Arcanite Magician does bear an impressive 3400 attack points. Who knows what else Stregone can do?)
Skill: Pendulum Manipulation (Stregone can target cards the opponent controls up to the number of Pendulum cards on his field, and then return them to the bottom of the opponent's deck.)
LINK VRAINS' History: First appeared among the Charisma Duelists and rose to become the #3 Charisma Duelist. He's held that record for a very long time, and if he got serious, he could rise to the #2 spot
Duel Grade right now: A+ (Apocalyptic with a +) (Knowing Stregone, I'm pretty sure he has other tricks in his arsenal against his opponents. Update: He has other tricks, people. He's definitely wowed the crowd today with both a Link Summon and a Fusion Summon using a Synchro monster. This guy really has ways to amaze people, that's for sure.)
Notes: Stregone's Endymion/Mystical Beast deck focuses on three core strategies. One: Generating Spell counters to use later on as a cost for his monster's abilities. Two: Unleashing Pendulum Summons to swarm the field and summon stronger monsters from the Extra Deck. Three: Using Spell and Trap cards to not only draw cards, but to add cards from the deck to his hand.
He's in possession of the card Assault Mode Activate, which can bring out an 'Assault Mode' version of a Synchro Monster (and the evolution of Arcanite Magician can really dish out pain!). In his duel against Jeanne, Stregone can also use a 'Fusion' Spell card called Miracle Synchro Fusion, which lets him Fusion Summon a Fusion monster with 'specific' Fusion requirements by letting him banish them from his field or Graveyard. Didn't know a 'Fusion' Spell card like that existed.
As Pendulum Summoning disappeared following the appearance of Link Summoning, Stregone utilizes it to catch his opponents off guard and swarm his field for summons from the Extra Deck.
He's responsible for teaching Yuhiro how to play Duel Monsters (in other words, he saved his life).
He's really good friends with Go, who visits the Den City Shelter every now and then, and vice versa.
Stregone is definitely someone we can trust, in and out of LINK VRAINS. However, it's up to Yuhiro as to whether he'll tell him about his identity as Raguel.
"Done and done." Yuhiro commented, as he saved the profile before shutting the monitor down.
"Not so fast, buster." Roxy suddenly said, causing Yuhiro to turn to her.
"What is it?"
"You still got homework, right?"
Unfortunately for Yuhiro, his face paled. "Yup."
"THEN I SUGGEST YOU DO IT, YOU DINGUS!" Roxy shouted at him, causing him to flee upstairs in terror.
"You definitely bring fear in people, don't you?" Herald asked.
"Only when it's necessary." Roxy replied, getting up and chuckling before leaving the backroom.
"Noted." Herald then connected Yuhiro's Duel Disk to the monitor before turning it on again. He then opened the videos showing Stregone's duels. All right Stregone, Herald thought, his eyes narrowing at the screen, Yuhiro and I need your help. Show me how to catch the Hanoi off guard.
Chapter Preview:
Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Obscured Truth: Roxy's Reports 13: Playmaker and Percival
Author's Notes:
Hi, everyone! I hoped you enjoyed the profiles from Chapter 20. The next set of profiles won't come until Chapter 21 is completed. See you next time!