Predictions and Observations:
Rise of the Sacred Beasts II

So how do the spirit gates *really* work, huh? I mean, Kagemaru said earlier, essentially, that the spirit gates need duel energy, duel spirit, to open, and the keykeepers expended that energy protecting the keys. Therefore, it was the perfect plan: Kagemaru locked the Sacred Beast cards away under a lock that could only be broken by what he was looking for, a duelist with enough spirit to defeat all seven shadow riders. Therefore, when said duelist came along, Kagemaru would know and then have found said duelist, then challenges him with the cards the duelist just unwittingly unlocked, defeats him, and gets what he’s looking for: a powerful soul with which to control the Sacred Beasts and thus the world. He just didn’t reckon on anyone being able to beat them! But however, how will Sheppard protect the Sacred Beast cards? What was he talking about? For one thing, as far as we know Sheppard can’t duel worth beans, otherwise why isn’t he teaching and otherwise (I had thought before but now I get it) why wouldn’t he have guarded a spirit key himself? So how will he protect the cards? Will he just keep them in his desk, unguarded and away from duels, because it’s really duel action that unlocks their power? That would be my guess.

Are you kidding me? Jaden could have been a Ra Yellow in Making the Grade, in his first exam, if he had wanted to be! He slept through the written, but he kicked the butt of an Obelisk Blue (namely Chazz), and Sheppard offered him a promotion. *Now* Jaden’s an even stronger duelist; he could probably take on just about anyone in the school and quite a few major league duelists we know. He just saved the world by winning a duel against the three most powerful monsters on campus, okay? I’m not worried about him in Finals.

And speaking of major league duelists, in the scene with the little kids in the card shop, I think we’d all know those overalls anywhere; it’s Yugi’s grandpa, Solomon Moto!

Leave it to Jaden to pep-talk a shadow rider, again- you go, dude!

The Sacred Beasts’ stats; a rundown:
Uria, Lord of Searing Flame- (X000/X000) and X = number of traps in the player’s graveyard; summoned by sacrificing three traps to the graveyard. Can be resurrected from the graveyard by discarding one trap to the graveyard. To my way of thinking, Uria is in a way the most vulnerable in that a card like the one Jaden played to remove five traps from Kagemaru’s graveyard can easily dispatch it, but it’s also very powerful in that its attack points are virtually limitless if you play it right. Like Slifer, it can be either very powerful or very weak, depending on how the duelist plays it.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder- (4000/4000); summoned by discarding three spell cards to the grave. Inflicts an extra 1000 points of damage when it destroys a monster. It just occurred to me that thunder doesn’t strike. That makes this guy sound extra nasty, I guess. Hamon reminds me most of Obelisk the Tormentor in that its attack points are for the most part a constant, unlike Uria’s.
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms- (4000/ ? ); was summoned by sacrificing three Phantasmal Martyr tokens, but it’s possible that it could be summoned by sacrificing any three monsters. Its special ability allows it to summon a Sacred Beast token whenever the opponent makes any kind of summoning, even de-fusion. These Sacred Beast tokens can be sacrificed to power up Raviel’s attack points with their own (which are 1000/1000). Raviel reminds me of Obelisk also, but even more so because if memory serves, Obelisk also has the ability to absorb other monsters for points.

Now for the weird part: the red one’s really both the strongest and the weakest; the yellow is sorta middle-road, and the blue is both foolproof and powerful. I think I perhaps feel a metaphor coming on. Maybe they should rename the Dorms?
Man, but those Sacred Beasts pack a wallop- I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a duelist fly through the air like that after an attack, poor guy.

I particularly noticed Jaden’s view of duel spirits. Few know they exist; fewer have come to call them friends, and Jaden is one such. For one there’s Winged Kuriboh and all of his Elemental Heroes who he heard talking and making noise late at night as a child. But he also said, “there’s no way that I’m lettin’ you do that to my friends!” referring to every duel spirit. With Jaden’s love of duel monsters, it’s unsurprising but uplifting to think that he considers every card on earth his friend, and it’s probably true. No matter what, he feels at home in a duel. This amazing affinity with the cards, as I’ve already said on many occasions, I know I’m repeating myself, will take Jaden very far indeed, and with him and his friends, the future of dueling is in good hands. Moreover, I have a feeling that GX’s centering around, for one, Duel Spirits is no coincidence, especially after Jaden’s championing them all.

Phantasm, noun. Illusion, ghost, a product of fantasy, a mental representation of a real object.

Sebatiel, the Philosopher’s Stone- I attempted to search for some kind of spelling on it, but no luck. It’s pronounced “seh-buh-tee-ELL” and if I had to guess, I would go with the spellings, “Sebatiel,” “Sebatiell”, “Sebutiel”, “Sebutiell”, “Sebetiel”, or “Sebetiell”. By the way, in looking for that, I found this interesting passage on Wikipedia (not known for reliability but it might have had the spelling), “The ultimate goal is to reach a mental place of pure power called the philosopher's stone, which is the key to turning thoughts into things in a controlled way. The philosopher's stone is the crossroads, the journey to the subquantum level of existence. To some, the philosopher's stone is not a real stone like you find in the ground, it is a mental key, a way of knowing how to think that makes things happen, literally turning thoughts into things.”

Banner’s spirit came back! So I guess it’s still boppin’ around (in Pharaoh’s stomach…) and might show up from time to time when they need a word of advice or encouragement.

Jaden refuses to believe that Banner was Kagemaru’s pawn. I noticed how strongly Jaden sorta reacted to this. He was really attached to Professor Banner, and he’ll probably miss him for a long time.

Awww, Chazz *does* care about his little, annoying, yellow pal! That’s so sweet!

Why did they show us what Slade and Jagger were up to of all people? Are they putting in another appearance soon?

Man, we haven’t seen Shining Flare Wingman since Jaden v. Camula!

I note that Jaden never said “That’s game” at the end of this duel.

Atticus mentions how Kagemaru’s heart is healed. Atticus seems to pay attention to people’s hearts. Come to think of it, like sister, like brother- we’ve seen Alexis do that on occasion also. Remember The Maiden in Love? Alexis knew exactly what was going on, and also gave Blair that great advice.

Never underestimate the power of inner strength! Oh yeah!

That’s about all for now, everyone, sorry it’s so late. I’m workin’ overtime still (or rather trying desperately to *find* time) on the post for Name of the Game, and believe me, it’ll be worth the wait! Tomorrow’s GX is entitled “Magna Chum Laude”. I never figured Chumley for one with wonderful grades, but you never know. Or maybe it’s that these eight chums (Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, Alexis, Zane, and Atticus) have all really kicked butt this past semester or so, and let’s all give ‘em a hand! We find out, less than 24 hours from now. In the meantime, it’s half-past midnight and I still have homework to do. Night, everyone, and sorry for all these delays! -Clio