Valon (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Valon ヴァロン is one of Dartz's three most trusted henchmen. He frequently clashes with Alister, as seen in their only direct conversation, which quickly turns into an argument due to their differing motives for pursuing their targets. In contrast, he gets along well with Rafael. Valon is responsible for leading Mai Valentine to Dartz.
| Names | Valon (ヴァロン) |
| Gender | Male ♂ |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | Duelist, Doma Swordsman |
| Origin | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Episode 145: A New Evil - Part 1 (新たなる闇の鼓動, Aratanaru Yami no Kodō. lit, The Throb of a New Darkness) February 18, 2003 |
| Alignment | Anti-Hero |
| Age | Teens |
| Created By | Studio Gallop, Nihon Ad Systems |
| Personality Type | ESTP, 7w8 (Enneagram) |
| Voice Actors |  Japanese: Takeshi Maeda
|
Appearance
Valon's usual attire reflects his biker persona, consisting of goggles, gloves, and protective padding on his shoulders and elbows. He has thick, chocolate-brown hair that flares out in all directions, striking crystal-blue eyes, and a tanned complexion. He wears his Orichalcos Stone as a ring on the middle finger of his right hand and carries a Chaos Duel Disk on his left wrist.
Personality
Valon is brash, headstrong, and fiercely independent. He thrives on competition and confrontation, often rushing headfirst into battles without hesitation. His love for fighting has been a core part of his personality since childhood, and he carries that same aggressive energy into his dueling style. Unlike Alister, who is more calculated, or Rafael, who is calm and disciplined, Valon is fiery and impulsive, often letting his emotions dictate his actions.
Despite his cocky and rebellious nature, Valon has a strong sense of loyalty, particularly toward Mai. He genuinely cares for her and wants to help her move on from her past, though his approach is often misguided. His feelings for Mai push him into reckless decisions, such as challenging Joey Wheeler to a Duel in an attempt to sever Mai’s ties to her past, believing it to be for her own good. While he deeply respects Joey’s strength and resolve, his jealousy clouds his judgment, leading him to fight harder in their battle.
Though he enjoys conflict, Valon is not needlessly cruel. Unlike many other Orichalcos duelists, he doesn’t revel in taking souls or causing suffering. He fights because it's what he knows best, and deep down, he seeks purpose beyond just winning battles. His relationship with Dartz is built more on opportunity than devotion—he follows Dartz because it gives him a reason to fight, but he isn’t blindly obedient.
Valon’s softer side is rarely seen, but it emerges in moments of introspection, particularly after his defeat to Joey. His willingness to acknowledge his loss and entrust Mai’s fate to Joey shows that, beneath his brash exterior, he values honor and fairness. His last moments before the Seal takes his soul are filled with acceptance rather than fear, further highlighting his resilience.
By the end of the arc, freed from Dartz’s influence, Valon’s fate is left open-ended. His final scene—riding his motorcycle and looking up at the sky—suggests a man searching for a new path, no longer driven by vengeance or blind loyalty, but by the hope of finding his own purpose.
Biography
As a child, Valon had a natural inclination for fighting and often got into brawls. He appeared to be an orphan but was cared for by a kindhearted nun who disapproved of his violent tendencies. One day, while she was tending to Valon's wounds inside a church, a group of thugs arrived, claiming their boss had purchased the property and demanding they leave. Valon was ready to fight, but the nun gently stopped him, smiling as she shook her head.
That night, the church was set on fire. To Valon's horror, he spotted the same thugs laughing nearby and assumed they were responsible. Enraged, he later confronted them in an alley, wielding a metal pipe. The scene cuts to the thugs lying unconscious around him, leaving it unclear whether he killed them or simply incapacitated them. (This sequence was included in the Japanese version but entirely omitted from the English dub.)
Valon was arrested and sent to either prison or a juvenile detention center, where he continued getting into fights with other inmates. Eventually, he was brought before the warden, who, secretly working for Dartz, offered him freedom—on the condition that he defeat every prisoner on an island using The Seal of Orichalcos. Valon succeeded and was then approached by Dartz, who recruited him into his organization. Unbeknownst to Valon, Dartz had orchestrated the burning of the church. In their first conversation, Valon jokingly warned Dartz to be careful, as he might one day challenge him, to which Dartz simply smiled. In the English dub, however, Dartz had instead framed Valon for his first crime.
Over time, Valon developed feelings for Mai Valentine, though she did not seem to reciprocate them as deeply as he had hoped. He interrupted her first Duel with Joey Wheeler just as she was about to lose, much to her frustration, as she believed she had the Duel under control. He later attempted to impress her by showcasing his dueling skills against Rebecca Hawkins and Duke Devlin, which momentarily caught her interest, though she ultimately rejected his offer to work together.
Partly out of jealousy and partly out of a desire to free Mai from her past while also protecting her from losing her soul, Valon challenged Joey to a Duel. Throughout their battle, they developed a deep respect for each other, recognizing their mutual determination to protect Mai. Although Mai was initially furious that Valon had taken the Duel upon himself, he refused to let her intervene. As the Duel reached its climax, Valon’s drive to win was met with the exhilaration of facing a worthy opponent in Joey. However, his focus faltered when an explosion from their clashing attacks knocked Mai off her feet, and she instinctively called out Joey’s name.
Once defeated, Valon acknowledges his loss, drops to one knee in exhaustion, and remains conscious just long enough to entrust Joey with the task of saving Mai from her own fears. He then collapses as The Seal of Orichalcos claims his soul. His image appears on a tablet in Dartz's temple, frozen in the same kneeling position with a solemn expression. Notably, despite his history of combativeness and defiance, Valon—along with Joey—is one of the few whose soul carving does not depict panic at their imprisonment.
Mai rushes to him, showing genuine concern, but under the Orichalcos' influence, she quickly dismisses him as weak. This final betrayal pushes Joey over the edge, prompting him to challenge her to a rematch in an effort to free her heart from the Seal's control.
Valon's soulless body, along with Mai's, is later rescued by a redeemed Rafael. When Dartz is ultimately defeated, their souls are restored. Valon briefly encounters Mai’s spirit, as well as the friends responsible for freeing them, before returning to his body. Upon waking in a seaside house, he realizes that Mai had also been there when he discovers she left behind one of her Cyber Harpie cards.
He is last seen at the end of the Dawn of the Duel arc, riding his motorcycle while gazing up at the sky.
He also makes a brief appearance at the end of the Grand Championship arc, seen during a montage following Yugi Muto’s victory, with the Sagrada Família visible in the background.
Powers and Statistics
Tier: 9-B physically. 2-C via The Seal of Orichalcos
Powers and Abilities: Peak Human Strength and Durability, Soul Manipulation, Sealing (The Seal of Orichalcos steals souls), Magic, Summoning, (The monsters summoned through the seal are real), Empathic Manipulation (Shadow Games reveal a person's true nature), Darkness Manipulation (the Seal amplifies the Darkness is ones heart), Vehicular Mastery
Attack Potency: Street level physically. Low Multiverse level via powers (Can summon monsters with various degrees of power and amplify their power with his spirit energy up to the strongest monster he has in his deck)
Speed: Street level
Lifting Strength: Street level
Striking Strength: Street level (By himself), Low Multiverse level with summons
Durability: Street level
Stamina: Superhuman
Range: Standard Melee Range physically; Tens of Kilometers with several monsters, spells, and traps; Planetary with the Seal of Orichalcos
Intelligence: At least Gifted. A tactical fighter and leader.
Weaknesses: Is vulnerable to the power of the light of the souls
Standard Equipment: Duel Monsters cards, Duel Disk.
Deck
Valon wields an Armor Deck, a unique strategy where the monsters he Summons are equipped to his own body as a futuristic power suit. His Armor cards have no ATK but compensate with powerful effects, including Spell and Trap negation, monster destruction, and effect damage. He quickly assembles his armor using Armor Gravitation to Special Summon multiple pieces at once, activating all their abilities simultaneously.
The Seal of Orichalcos is crucial to Valon’s strategy, enhancing his Armor cards' strength and allowing him to Summon more of them, increasing his suit’s power and unlocking additional effects. His dueling style is direct and aggressive, relying on raw combat prowess with minimal use of Spell and Trap Cards.
Unlike typical Duels, facing Valon is far more brutal—rather than simply experiencing a stinging sensation from a holographic attack, his opponents endure actual physical blows as he punches and beats them relentlessly, leaving them severely injured.
Trivia
- In the English dub, Valon speaks with a heavily stylized Cockney accent, which was frequently mistaken for an Australian one.
- The name Valon is of Albanian origin, meaning "seething."
Theme
