Spirit of Fire - Supporting Characters - The Patch Tribe

The Patch Tribe

They are in charge of overseeing the smooth progress of the Shaman King and are in charge of various shamans. There are ten officials at a given time and they are not supposed to interfere with fights between shaman. However, some of the Patch become biased towards Hao and his followers, either for their own purposes or because they believe that his overwhelming power has already proven that he will inevitably become the next Shaman King. Fearful of his power yet feeling protected by his overwhelming strength, they do their best to lower the esteem of the other contestants in the Shaman Fight.

By day, the officiants sell Patch memorabilia and food items. Once the Shaman King has been revealed, the Patch become his protectors, guarding both the new King of Spirits and Great Spirit as they merge into one. Each priest controls a specific area known as a Plant, which embodies an area of nature (mountains, valley, desert, water etc.), on the path to the Great Spirit's shrine.

• Goldva (ゴルドバ, Gorudoba?): An elderly Patch tribe leader who is the organizer of the Shaman Fight. She is a God class shaman and remains completely neutral throughout the tournament. Her spirit is a totem bird named Big Chief, the first chief of the Patch Tribe, with its medium being Goldva herself. She is commonly mistaken for male, due to her appearance and voice. Voiced by: Reiko Suzuki (Japanese), Ted Lewis (English)

• Silva (シルバ, Shiruba?): A Native American of the Patch Tribe and a member of the Shaman Fight Selection Committee. He travels from the United States to Japan after being assigned to test Yoh Asakura. In Tokyo, he often appears as a street vendor, trying to sell traditional Native American crafts while in Japan and spends the rest of his spare time watching soap operas. After Yoh learns to form an Oversoul based on Silva's hints, Yoh succeeds in landing a hit on Silva and qualifies for the Shaman Fight. Silva watches over Yoh afterward, finding Yoh to have great potential and good will and must frequently refrain from directly interfering to aid Yoh. As an officiant, he is also responsible for Ren, after Chrom's death, and Ryu.
  Silva has five familiars, who are luminous totems that have refined themselves for over 500 years, and collectively known as the Silver Arms. Each possesses their own personality and they often converse with Silva during matches and are very analytical. Silver Horn is an American Bison spirit attached to Silva's right leg who can increase Silva's kicking power by blowing out a blast of steam like how a normal bison would do out of his nose while Silver Tail, a coyote spirit attached to Silva's left leg, enhances his running speed. Silver Rod is a snake spirit wrapped around Silva's right arm that be used to either bind opponents or to pierce them like a rod, while on Silva's left arm is Silver Shield, a turtle spirit who reflects attacks with enough strength to destroy opponent's Oversouls. Lastly Silver Wing, an eagle spirit, can grant Silva a pair of wings and shoulder armor which not only allows him to fly but also the wings act like knives that can cut through even the oversouls of his opponents. The five can combine to form a mechanical cannon used in the Totemic Soul Blast attack or the "Flesh and Blood" spear, which takes on the form of combined organic animal parts.
  Though Silva is a capable officiant, he is often told that he is too emotional to be impartial. As the descendant of Hao's second incarnation, Silva also possesses a personal desire to stop Hao in his third incarnation, which results in his attempt to discreetly aid Yoh as much as possible. However, when he attempts to steal the Patch's remaining Elemental Spirits, he is imprisoned and brainwashed into solely following the Patch Officiant's role in eventually protecting the future Shaman King. During the invasion of the Plants, he protects the glacier. In the sequel Shaman King: Flowers, Silva has a daughter whom he names after Anna. Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Dan Green (English)

• Kalim (カリム, Karimu?): One of Silva's best friends and organizers of the Shaman Fight, Kalim tested and deemed Horohoro to be qualified to take part in the Shaman Fight; he is also responsible for Team Icemen. His birthday is April 24, 1971. His spirit partner is a bull named BlackSickle, with his medium being a bull skull and spine bones allowing BlackSickle to merge with the lower half of his body. He mainly uses charging attacks like how real bulls attack, either striking with a frontal attack or to crush them with powerful stomps. His plant is the plateau that he likes to farm on; there are even real cows and a farm house. He shares an apartment with Silva during the tournament in Tokyo, where the two constantly bicker over the heat (because they cannot afford an air conditioner and the summer is so warm and humid). Like Silva, Kalim sells handcrafted Patch goods to make somewhat of a living while in Tokyo. Kalim frequently provides a voice of reason to somewhat quell Silva's desire to interfere in the Shaman Tournament. Because of his natural sense of caution, he does not suffer the same brainwashing as Silva and is able to remain one of Yoh and Horohoro's supporters, while quietly maintaining doubt towards the other officials siding with Hao. Kalim is apparently hemaphobic. Following the trend of Patch priests being named after metals, Kalim's name derives from Kari (加里 or カリ), or Kariumu (カリウム) meaning potassium in Japanese (derived from the German language Kalium). Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese), Jonathan Todd Ross (English)

• Nichrom (ニクロム, Nikuromu?): The 10th priest of the Patch tribe, Nichrom became the 10th priest after his brother, Chrom, the previous 10th priest, was killed by Tao Ren. In order to avenge his brother, he indirectly sides with Hao in order to let Hao's followers kill Ren as he oversees the ambush on Ren's team. As an official, he is responsible for Faust VIII (following Chrom's death), Team "Niles", and Team "Tsuki-gumi". His Plant is the 7th Plant of the Cave, which was previously his brother's Plant and where Nichrom retains Chrom's spirit ally, a locust called Purple Kick, close by. Nichrom's own spirit is a scorpion, Yellow Whip, whose is medium a scorpion's tail and forms an Oversoul of a scorpion with no legs fused into Nichrom's right arm. The stinger's length can change to attack opponents from a distance, though Yellow Whip's primary tactic is to use its scorpion pincers to immobilize opponents while its stinger strikes with "Dreaming Needle", which delivers a deadly poison that won't disappear unless the one who created the oversoul dies. Purple Kick, who takes the form of a pair of insect designed armored leggings, is said to be the fastest of all ten officiant spirit allies and can allow the user to move at speeds that even powerful experienced opponents can barely keep track of. It attacks with a powerful leg technique called "Dancing Insect". Voiced by: Kentarou Itou (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English)

• Magna (マグナ, Makuna?): An official of the Patch who takes Nichrome under his wing when the young boy becomes an official. He is the official responsible for Hao and the members of Team "Hana-Gumi". He openly supports Hao, and like other officials who do so, takes pleasure in intimidating some of the remaining contestants in the tournament. His spirit is a great horned owl named Magnescope, with his medium being placed on his arms and legs to generate owl wings and owl claws. His plant is the volcano. When the invaders reached his plant, he faces off against Tao Ren and tried to use the volanic gasses to attack unseen like and owl. He was eventually killed by a gigantic lightning strike created by Ren.

• Radim (ラジム, Rajimu?): The official who is selected to the moderator of the tournament; because of the intensity of the fights, he constantly wears sunglasses capable of resisting extremely bright glares to maintain his sight. Unlike most of the other officials, he tries his best to remain neutral, but at times has openly agreed that he doesn't approve of Hao Asakura's shaman only kingdom (going so far as to get Hao's furyoku rating during the fight with X-III). As a protector of the Shaman King, Radim's plant is the lake; while he does not care about who becomes Shaman King, he is nevertheless a proud member of the Patch. His spirit is an Australian pelican named Platinum Sword, with his medium being his microphone. His oversoul looks like a laser blade with which he apparently puts all his mana into, allowing him to crush almost any opponent's oversoul with one strike. The blade can split in two, acting like a pair of scissors representing how a pelican opens his beak. Though he tends to be outrageous with his commentary during the Shaman Fights, his martial arts skills and powerful Oversoul are the reasons why he was chosen to be the tournament's moderator, given the danger associated from being in close proximity to the participants. He is strong enough to take on all five Elemental Warriors and Faust VIII and is defeated only when Yoh uses his furyoku nullification technique on Radim.

• Namari (ナマリ?) ("Lead" in the English manga): The official in charge of the three Gandhara teams, first appearing when Yoh's friends attempt to stop Hao's followers from killing Lady Sati. He apparently had some sort of discontent or rivalry with Ryu, though he also seems to respect him. He openly supports Hao, intimidating some of the remaining contestants in the tournament. Namari's spirit is a cobra named Red Rope (レッドロープ?), with his medium (probably) having been snake skin; the spirit's Oversoul forms a cobra head over Namari's hand and around his shoulders. Namari is able to move with great speed following the cobra head, which has poisonous fangs that can instantly kill opponents, while the tail can also strike at enemies. Red Rope also has a defensive "boa form" that wraps around Namari to soften the blows of his opponent. On their journey to get to the Star Sanctuary, Ryu fights with him first one-on-one in his area, the desert. After killing Ryu, he is in turn killed by Ren and Horo Horo. Before he dies, he smiles from knowing he'd won by having his boastful opponents use a part of their furyoku to defeat him. His name derives from the Japanese name for the element of lead.

• Bron (ブロン, Buron?): The Patch Official responsible of Lyserg Diethel, amongst others, throughout the Shaman Fight, and was sent to London to test him after the sighting of the Destiny Star. When Silva tries to steal the remaining four Elemental Spirits and is captured, Goldva orders Renim and Bron to reeducate him in the ways of the Patch, something Kalim seems shocked to hear. Eventually Hao is crowned the Shaman King by forfeit of the remaining three teams and his own two teammates. When the remaining teams invade the Plants and face off against Silva, Bron shows up alongside Renim and orders Silva to return to his Plant. Both he and Renim introduce themselves to the invaders and show off their oversouls, possibly to intimidate them. Upon arriving at Bron's "Plant of the Valley," he easily defeats them all, until Lyserg Diethel calms his mind and burns him to death. His spirit is a spider called Bluenet and his mediums are wrist and ankle cuffs made out of spiderhair, forming an spider Oversoul that appears fused to Bron's arm or extending over his entire body to resemble a giant spider with Bron's head. His oversoul allowed him to attach near invisible spider threads throughout the cliffs of the valley, allowing him to create the illusion of flying while standing on the threads and detect the movements of opponents. The spider threads can also be used to create nets and used to pierce into opponents' bodies.

• Renim (レニム, Renimu?): Together with Bron, Renim is responsible for reeducating those who stray from the way of the Patch. Goldva orders Renim and Bron to re-educate Silva after his failed attempt to steal the remaining four Elemental Spirits and was captured, which they do so by singing the Patch Song to him over and over again. After Hao Asakura is be crowned the Shaman King by forfeit of the remaining three teams and his own two teammates, Renim and Bron appear briefly to order Silva back to his Plant and reveal their Oversouls as they greet Yoh and the invaders. Renim's spirit is a chameleon named Clear Coat and his plant is the jungle. His oversoul specializes in stealth removing any of his scent sound and presences allowing him to hide perfectly even in plain sight.

• Talim (タリム, Tarimu?): A Patch member first seen working in the Patch Cafe, but little else is known about him. He is responsible for the Kabbahalers amongst other teams. It is possible that due to name association he is Kalim's brother. He is encountered at the eighth plant, the ocean. Though he easily defeats the majority of the invaders using his versatile spirit, Green Seeds, which has access to the different properties and abilities of every kind of plant on the planet, he is eventually overcome and defeated by Joco McDonnell.

• Rutherford (ラザホー, Razahoo?): A Patch Priest who is only seen at the very end of the manga series, escorting Hao to the King's Shrine. The guardian of the Universe Plant who has enormous black eyes on a naked head, Rutherford seems more like an alien rather than human. The official's true form is revealed when Yoh's group arrives at the Universe Plant and fights the official, who is revealed to be a girl. Her spirit is Gray Saucer, the spirit of an alien which visited the Patch Village more than a thousand years ago and contributed its technology to the tribe, such as the Oracle Bell. The oversoul allows Rutherford to manipulate the gravity in the plant of the universe for her attacks.

• Chrom (クロム, Kuromu?): The first and only official to die in the preliminary rounds of the Shaman Fight and a close friend of Silva, regarded as one of the Patch's finest dancers. He was killed when he tested Tao Ren. Officially, Ren passed with one hit but when Chrom commented that Ren should train a little bit more, Ren went insane and killed him. His death drives Nichrom to seek revenge against Ren, who secretly feels deep regret for killing Chrom. Chrom's spirit is a locust, Purple Kick. His medium was probably the armour-like plates on his vest. Seeing that his brother's Plant was the 7th Plant of the Cave, it was most likely Chrom's Plant to protect if he had survived.

• Zinc (anime only): Zinc is a shaman of the Patch tribe who, along with Nichrom, fights Kalim and Silva when they attempt to help Yoh Asakura. Due to the fact he is in the anime, he doesn't have a plant. Like Nichrome he is given a power boost by Hao, while still possessing nine guardian ghosts to form a suit of spiritual armor. Like Silva, the spirits can also be combined into Totem Pole Cannon like the Silver Arms. His guardian ghost (most likely the first one he oversouled) is a vulture or buzzard with his medium being the feather plates he wore.

• Lip & Rap (リップ & ラップ, Rippo and Rappo?): Twin sisters who Silva looks after; they both enjoy singing. Despite being five, they still wear diapers. The girls are both priestesses who have been tasked to teach future Officials of the Shaman Fight how to organize the tournament to decide the next Shaman King. They also prepare the Shaman King before he goes on to sleep and merge with the Great Spirit. When Hao awakens from his slumber, the girls are killed instantly when they gaze upon him. However, they are the only Patch members related to the priests to be revived afterward and they communicate with the Patch Priests to deliver their messages from the Great Spirit.