Yuya Sakaki's powers and abilities
As an Action Duelist, Yuya is very acrobatic and fit, having participated in physical training regimes at You Show Duel School.
Like his dimensional counterparts, Yuya is able to Awaken, an involuntary ability that activates when he is sufficiently angered, catalyzed by either the influence of the Four Dimension Dragons or his Dimensional counterparts. This causes him to enter a state of rage that drives him to win the duel no matter what it takes, and heightens his concentration to the point that he blocks out all sounds except for his opponent's voice.[16] When in this state his own voice becomes deeper and noticeably more menacing.[17] He loses this ability after Riley removed Z-ARC's soul from him.[18]
Yuya possessed by the unknown darkness.
After absorbing Yuto's soul and merging with him, Yuto's memories begin to spill over, allowing him to see fragments of his counterpart's past. When triggered, the shock and trauma that comes with them can cause him to awaken and become influenced by Yuto's own hatred, which makes him vulnerable to the control of an unknown darkness that slowly tries to consume both of their souls.[19] After becoming aware of this, Yuya eventually gained a degree of control over his anger and thus Awakening, becoming capable of snapping out of it by force of will.[20][16][21] While under the control of the Darkness, Yuya is able to unleash powerful shockwaves via "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" that is beyond normal for someone hailing from the Standard Dimension.
Yuya in sync with Yugo
Yuya has the ability to synchronize with his dimensional counterparts, though the exact circumstances are unknown. Unlike the apparent synchronization that Yuto and Yugo previously displayed, he has complete sync with his counterpart(s), capable of seeing and experiencing everything that they experience. In this state, Yuya and his counterpart(s) act as if they were one person, speaking, moving, and responding in the exact same manner. When the duel ends, both of them were unable to understand what had happened in that brief period of time, though both retain the memory of the duel occurring. Yuya is capable of retaining his own thoughts while in sync though he gradually loses the ability to distinguish between himself and Yugo, as seen when he worried that his victory would send Sylvio to the underground facility when it would have been Yugo's victory that would do the deed.[22] After Yugo's duel with Celina, Yuya has become aware of this ability.[23] During his duel with Crow, he synchronizes with Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri after Roget uses the chip he planted in Yuya's helmet at maximum, which also caused all four of them to awaken.[24]
Yuya being possessed by Yuto.
After absorbing Yuto into his body, Yuya can be possessed by him while not Awakened, causing Yuya to feel a rush of pain, followed by his eyes briefly glowing purple before fading to the same color as Yuto's.[25] Eventually Yuya and Yuto became able to fully switch control of the body.[26]
Yuya is also immune to The Doktor's Parasite Monsters. When they attempt to attach to his brain they are quickly destroyed, apparently by the Darkness that possesses him when Awakened.[27]
Being Z-ARC's reincarnation, Yuya seems to have also inherited his ability to communicate with his monsters, especially his ace monster "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon", to a certain degree, though not as strong as Z-ARC. This is demonstrated whenever Yuya saw a glimpse of his monsters before summoning them, which mostly resulted with Yuya summoning and gaining new special summoned monsters.[28][29][30][31][32][27] After Z-ARC's defeat, he is still fused with his counterparts and as such is considered "whole". With this Yuya has gained the full use of Z-ARC's ability to communicate with Duel Monsters and understand them as seen when he summoned the Four Dimension Dragons.[33]
Etymology
Like the protagonists of the other series, Yugi Muto, Yami Yugi, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo, and Yuma Tsukumo, his name contains the character「遊」(Yu). He is the first protagonist whose surname only contains one character.
Yuya was also the name of a Pharaoh, which could possibly allude to the fictional events in Ancient Egypt that heavily influenced the plot of the second series anime.
His given name contains the characters for "game" and "arrow". His surname「榊さかき」(sakaki) refers to the Cleyera japonica, an evergreen tree that has relevance in Shinto ceremonies, where it acts as a conduit for kami. It is also part of the Shinto creation myth, during the section in which Amaterasu retreats into a cave after Susano'o torments her, where it is strung with jewelry and mirrors as part of a successful plot to draw Amaterasu from the cave and restore light to the world.
Yuya Sakaki's weaknesses
Normal human weaknesses. Can get negative very easily and usually has to rely on his friends to encourage him, although this weakness becomes irrelevant when he gets completely focused on the duel (as shown from when he had a serious duel with Gong Strong/Noboru Gogenzaka), seems to be easily surprised (was surprised when Declan Akaba/Akaba Reiji and Sylvio Sawatari Pendulum Summoned). He seems to rely a lot on Action Cards during his (Action) Duels. | The 4 En Spell Cards that were created from “natural energy” by Akaba Leo. | None Notable
