Bleach Fantasy II Round 1 (Opening Night): Yoruichi Shihoin vs. Prishe

MechG here, filling in for Stillmattic. The wait is over guys. The most anticipated rematch, one year in the making, is here. Bleach Fantasy II has arrived, once again pitting the characters of Bleach against the characters of Final Fantasy! Last Bleach Fantasy, each characters from both franchises fought tooth and nail, but in the end Bleach managed to rally and win by two matchups. Now Final Fantasy is at it again, hoping for redemption and hoping to finally snap the fight night undefeated streak of Bleach. Stillmattic and I have extended this to 25 total matchups (50 characters) compared to the first Bleach Fantasy last year when it lasted only for 16 matchups (32 characters) and this will now be a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday thing. As usual, I draw first blood, so our first matchup here to kick off BF II are two girls that can kick your @$$ if you try to pick a fight with them. Tonight, it's Bleach's Yoruichi Shihoin vs. Final Fantasy XI's Prishe. If you guys don't remember since the last true fight night post, Backstory/Role in Story and Powers/Abilities play key roles to decide who is  the victor. So, as the great boxing announcer Michael Buffer would say: "for the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world, ladies and gentlemen, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEE!"

Backstory/Role in Story (Yoruichi)

Yoruichi was born as a princess of the Shihoin Noble family and is childhood friends with Kisuke Urahara & Tessai, where they played at the Sokyoku Hill Training Space (which was built by Kisuke Urahara). It would be later where took up the responsibility as Captain of the 2nd Division (Stealth Force) and took on her role as the 22nd Princess - becoming the first Princess of the Shihoin Household. When Kisuke was promoted to be 12th Division Captain & was solely responsible for the Visored's birth. Yoruichi alone was the one who helped aid Kisuke & Tessai from receiving punishment. Together, the three were banished to the Living world where they hid in secrecy as to escape persecution while trying to conceal the whereabouts of the Hogyoku. During her tenor as Captain of the 2nd division, she often joked about with a much younger and childish Byakuya Kuchiki, offering to play wit him for her amusement much to Byakuya's annoyance. From her tenor as Captain & Princess to present day, she has a playful, rebellious, & witty side to her. 

Yoruichi first appeared in her cat form to Kisuke Urahara. She assists Team Ichigo in rescuing Rukia, where she informs Ichigo's group on the dangers of the Gotei 13 as well as train them to the best of their abilities. She eventually reveals herself to Ichigo as to who he is and who Kisuke Urahara is and steps in, later, to save Ichigo from acting irrationally against Byakuya Kuchiki. She is seen later fighting against the new 2nd Division Captain and her former bodyguard, Sui-Feng Yoruichi won and showcased her usage and imperfect form of Shunko. Convincing Sui-Feng otherwise, the two 2nd Division Stealth Force Captains of the New & Old tried to thwart Aizen's defection plan only later to see that it was too late to save Aizen. Later on, Yoruichi & Kisuke aid in stopping Yammy's rampage and way later is seen alongside Kisuke & Isshin in stopping Aizen, only later to lose to him with Ichigo being the key to victory. During the Fullbringer Arc, Ichigo notices that part of Yoruichi's Reiatsu in imbedded within him in reassurance of Ichigo's retrieval of Shinigami powers. So in the current storyline, Yoruichi is, alongside the various allies, trying to do away with Yhwach & the Wandenreich

Backstory/Role in Story (Prishe)
Prishe was born in an unknown timeframe in the world of Vana’diel’s past and was raised all her life in the Tavnazia Cathedral. As a child, she was believed to have a special destiny and was baptized by the Eye of Altana, cleansing her from all darkness and leaving it crystallized, forming a solid crystal on her chest. Since then, she has not aged, becoming immune to injuries that would kill most people and monsters that have encountered her stayed away from her. From this, she would earn the title: “that detestable child” or “the abhorrent one” and she grew to be hated by many and was since locked away inside the Cathedral so that she would never see the outside again. However, Cardinal Mildauron saw Prishe in a different light. She gave Prishe an amulet so that she could control Prishe’s thoughts through the artifact. Under Mildauron, Prishe was trained to be a Tavnazia theologian and was let out of the Cathedral confines for short periods of time. From then, Prishe’s life turned around for the best during the Crystal Wars, helping countless people escape to the Tavnazian Safehold and protecting it with her life for the next twenty years.

Prishe would play a key role in FFXI’s Chains of Promathia expansion pack. During that scenario, she’s spending most of her time being on the run from the Sin Hunters who are hunting her down to claim her Magicite and because of her ties with the Cardinal, who was viewed as a controversial figure in the present day setting. She is usually one step ahead of the Adventurer, the main hero and/or heroine in the FFXI universe. While she was venturing in San d’Oria, she was attacked and her amulet was stolen from her. Lying unconscious from her attack, Prishe received a vision. In her vision, she transported to the realm of Diabolos, encountering a mysterious boy in Selh’teus. Through Selh’teus, she learned about the Keeper of the Apocalypse, the one who will pave the way for the twilight god, Promathia into Vana’diel so that he could destroy the world. Throughout the scenario, Prishe is believed to be the Keeper and accepts her role as one; though she was said that she was not the one in her encounter with Bahamut. Simultaneously, Prishe set off to look for the Star of Tavnazia, a magicite that has been placed inside the Cathedral, but has been lost during the Crystal Wars. Prishe would later play a prominent role in the final battle against Promathia with the help of the Adventurer, Selh’teus, and a united front of all the races of Vana’diel. Prishe would shatter Promathia’s defenses using her Nullifying Dropkick ability and throws the Star of Tavnazia in front of the god’s face, hoping it will transfer some of his power to the Mothercrystals and weaken him. After the supposed defeat of Promathia, Prishe regained her mortality as the crystal on her chest faded away and she was groomed to be the next Cardinal of the Tavnazia Cathedral.

Powers/Abilities (Yoruichi)
Yoruichi, being the former 2nd Division Captain, is highly proficient in Shunpo, Infiltration, & Hand-to-Hand combat. In the earlier part of the series, she is also seen transforming from her cat-like form to her usual self. As a Shinigami, she is also capable of using Kido, but it's unaware of her Zanpaktou's abilities. Not much about her is clear, but we do know is that she is a master at Hand-to-Hand & Shunpo - two quality traits needed for the 2nd Division Captain. The source of her power comes from Shunko, exerting and amplifying everything - Hand-to-Hand Combating & Kido.


Powers/Abilities (Prishe)
Most of Prishe’s powers/abilities are emphasized on her expertise in hand-to-hand combat and her knowledge of high tier-divine white magic. As mentioned before, one of Prishe’s abilities is the Nullifying Dropkick. The ability was able to penetrate Promathia’s shields and shatter them and keep in mind that Promathia is a god. Other physical abilities that are implemented in Prishe’s arsenal include Auroral Uppercut and Hundred Fists, a skill that can also penetrate through enemy defenses and that are quicker than expected from the naked eye’s perspective. In terms of white magic, Prishe is able to cast Benediction that removes all status ailments. She is able to cast the highest levels of Cure in Cure IV and Cure V. On the offense of the white magic, Prishe can cast Holy and can cast Banish III and Banishga III (the highest tier of Banish) that fires away Light-based elemental projectile attacks and deals damage; it especially deals significant damage on a foe of undead status.

Verdict (MechG)
And the winner is...

Sup guys, MechG here and it’s been a long time coming since my last collaboration with Stillmattic. I might have a few rusts here and there when doing this verdict, so bear with me. Add into the fact that I’m currently covering the NBA Finals right now on the True Raider Laker blog. So without further ado, both these characters prefer to fight with their fists and they will kick your @$$ without any hesitation. But if you ask me to pick one winner, I’d pick Prishe. There’s one thing in common that both Yoruichi and Prishe share and that’s they’ve been persecuted in their backstories and they spent most of their time, hiding in secrecy, but as the story goes on, I think Prishe for an NPC (non-playable character) did some significant parts to advance the Chains of Promathia expansion from her vantage point while Yoruichi is already on the arc in the battle against Yhwach and based on my perception, she’s still isn’t doing anything significant other than the fact that her arm broke. For me, I thought Prishe had to go through a lot, being chased around by people who want to kill her, trying to find a way to stop Promathia from destroying the world, and trying to restore her mortality. In terms of powers/abilities, there’s still no word on how powerful Yoruichi’s bankai is, so that gives Prishe an edge as well as her powers/abilities are fleshed out with an emphasis on high-tier white mage powers/abilities. And may I remind you that with her Nullifying Dropkick ability, she shattered Promathia’s defenses. Yes, ladies and gentleman, she dropkicked a god! She dropkicked an omnipotent god who is twice her size, maybe four times her size (I can’t do math), capable of crushing a planet with his bare hands and completely shattered both his barriers that nullify both physical and magical attacks separately! For an NPC such as Prishe, that is pretty damn bad@$$ and one of the reasons I think Prishe draws first blood for the FF series in this rematch one year in the making.

So who do you think won? Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach or Prishe from Final Fantasy XI? Comment below and let us know. Look for BF II to kick it into high gear for its first full week next week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Next battle will be decided by MechG again. As always, you all stay classy now.

Final Fantasy leads 1-0 (~ As of June 12)