“ | DRACIEL! FORTRESS DEFENSE! | ” |
—Max commanding Draciel's special move |
Draciel is the Spirit of Water, one of the four Sacred Bit-Beasts, and the bit beast of Max Tate
Appearance and name[]
Draciel's appearance is of a giant armored black and purple colored anthropomorphic turtle, modeled after the common or alligator snapping turtle in real life. Draciel's armor reflects Max's beyblade, in that it's built for defense like a turtle shell. In keeping with the art style for the first season, Draciel was given a purplish-pink monochrome color, but reverted to the color scheme of it's bit chip appearance.
Draciel is named after and based on one of the Four Saint Beasts in Chinese mythology; Draciel is modeled after Xuan Wu the Black Tortoise of the North and the Japanese name is "Genbu".
When Draciel was added he carried on the tradition of the name the bit-beast after "dragon" and a military unit, in this case, it is from "Seal", which is a unit in the US navy.
Technique and attacks[]
Max and Draciel's technique is built around defense. Hence the beyblade also resembles a turtle shell, with ball bearings to increase defensive ability. In addition, Draciel can manipulate the water for special moves that range from offensive to defensive based on the beyblade version. Max's main strength is to withstand the special attacks of the other beybladers until their strength runs out.
Anime[]
Draciel used to belong to Max's grandmother (in the dubbed version - in the original anime it belonged to his mother). When Max was 11, his father gave him Draciel in a pendant that belonged to Max's grandmother, before his match with Kai. During the second round of Max's battle with Kai, Max's beyblade bit chip was damaged due to the impact it received from Dranzer's Spiral Survior attack, but not before it proceeded to shatter the pendant Max was wearing. Discovering Draciel, Max tried it on his beyblade and found it fit perfectly. Draciel then made his appearance in the third battle, battling Dranzer and ultimately losing, but Max was happy he finally had a bit beast of his own.
Draciel like Dranzer and Driger was taken from Max, though he lost it more than twice, first against Spencer and his Seaborg, then against Jim and his Cyber Draciel and against Zeo and his Burning Kerberous, both in the second season.
During the final battle of Tyson and Brooklyn, Max lent Draciel's power alongside Driger, Wolborg and Strata Dragoon, allowing Dragoon to evolve.
Trivia[]
1. When Max first installs Draciel on his beyblade, Tyson's Dragoon and Kai's Dranzer both glow alongside Draciel, as if they're acknowledging each other's presence.
2. Aside from the cyber version, Draciel also has a Dark version called Dark Draciel shown in the movie Beyblade the movie: Fierce Battle. Draciel is told to have broken away from it's evil counterpart as part of the deal with the humans made by the four sacred bit beasts.
3. Unlike Dranzer, Driger and Dragoon, who utilize the surroundings to draw forth their fire, wind and thunder attacks, it's never known if Draciel's manipulation of water is from the surrounding moisture or if it conjures up water.