Scott D. Rio/Abilities and Powers

Physical Abilities
While Rio’s weakness may lie in intelligence and planning ahead, when it comes to brute strength and total destruction there isn’t another person on the seas that he can’t overpower. Rio’s strength has been shown to be ludicrous to the point where he can smash boulders, buildings, and even the ground itself to smithereens. Even without the aid of his devil fruit, Rio’s physical capabilities are still way above the average human and it still seems to be even getting stronger. People are always baffled and surprised when such monstrous strength is shown to be in the hands of someone so lean and small (compared to other muscled humans).

Coming from the Mahora Tribe, Ranmaru stated that even though Rio needed to train his body to become a strong man, he always had the potential to become one of the strongest fighters in the world. His blood and genes permitted him to perform feats and learn things that normal humans had no capacity to learn.

Ever since Rio was a child, his mindset had always been about becoming the strongest there is. He was taught from a very young age that strength is a factor that decides if you’re a true man and Rio took these words to heart. His father, Keith inspired Rio to become as strong as he is when he exhibited his own monstrous strength in front of the young boy. Training his body to the absolute limit, it was thanks to the help of some of the local animals in his hometown that helped Rio get the point that he is at today. Continuously throwing himself in the heat of danger, Rio’s battle instincts where sharpened tremendously, even before receiving his devil fruit. Adding boulders to his squats and even tying himself to a tree and repeatedly evading rocks being thrown at him where some of the training exercises he went through to attain a strength that surpasses normal human limitations.

Without Haki or even Regulus Eradica (which both maximized Rio’s destructive capability), Rio only had his raw strength and devil fruit to work with and he motivated himself to make the best out of its abilities. When Rio had first eaten his devil fruit, he just thought it was some disgusting piece of crap that looked weird, but when he first discovered that it had the ability to copy the powers of animals, Rio exploited the fruit for all it was worth and it was by some blind luck that his best friends just happened to be animals. Not just any animals too, it seemed that the animals Rio befriended when he was young were of a rare breed of kingdoms that had exponential power, such as the Ox who could destroy houses and trees with its brute strength, the eagle who’s flying capabilities were a force to be reckoned with, and the shell tortoise who’s shell was practically unbreakable. Thanks to them, Rio gained their three respective abilities that made the training he went through possible.

Durability is another aspect of Rio that has been trained and intensified to monstrous levels. A good example of this was highlighted during his legendary battle with Vice Admiral Luis Von Delter where after taking a repeated beat down time and time again, he was able to grin and stand up to face the undefeated man. For those who are not aware, Luis Von Delter has incredible physical strength that could easily shatter a normal human’s bones to dust. The fact that Rio was able to survive not only one but several of these attacks and still come out brawling is admirable to say the least. It was all thanks to the endurance training he went through that he became resilient to huge amounts of damage and Rio has gotten so used to getting smacked around and hit that he actually enjoys it, stating that a true man’s punch expresses their entire being.

Along with having godlike strength and incredible endurance, Rio’s speed and agility even while not using his fastest technique is nothing to laugh about. Rio spent a vast amount of time getting his speed up and making sure that it didn’t get left behind with his inhuman strength. A training exercise that worked for Rio was putting rocks that weighed tons on his legs and practiced kicking a tree repeatedly (he even stated that he did a minimum of a thousand kicks a day). Thanks to the training, the amount of muscle Rio built up in his quadriceps and hamstrings was unparallel and he noticed immediately that he could run and jump faster and higher than he thought possible. One of the best notable examples of Rio’s speed and agility (without using Monkey Mode) was during his invasion of Riruk Island with Riku when he dodged the collapsing buildings and jumped from stone to stone with such grace and precision that it left everyone presently watching in a gaze. Just knowing that he could do such things even without the aid of his devil fruit was enough for Riku to ever reconsider fighting him again (even though he was most likely joking). It is unknown when it started showing but Rio fearlessness has also helped him in the midst of battle several times. Regardless of the circumstance or danger, Rio has never shown to be afraid of anything (though he does get startled at things that are massively bigger than him) and appears to have lost the ability to flinch when faced with surprise attacks or intimidating enemies. A great example that was shown was during his early journeys on Antitlos Island when Captain Saser walked up to him (and all of the marines present were amazed that Rio didn’t budge or look scared the tiniest bit) he stood his ground and glared him down. Rio’s ability of not getting scared and intimidated comes from his early childhood where he was constantly challenging things bigger than himself and he needed a way of stop getting frightened. Well his theory worked and now he has become a man who is immune to flinching.

Rios willpower is also something that shouldn’t be taken lightly along with his endless determination that comes along with it. Whatever objective, goal, and assignment that needs to be fulfilled and has been entrusted with him to carry it out, will be done. Rio has no room for error and he was taught from a young age that a true man completes his objective no matter the danger and no matter the risk. Through this code he has stuck by on, he has accomplished things that have been deemed nearly impossible of doing, such as defeating Luis Von Delter whose physical strength was on par and might have even surpassed Rio’s. He defeated him with the mindset that he knew that no one in his crew or the Kosaka Clan had the strength to do it and so he couldn’t let him fight any of them.

His sheer willpower alone has allowed him to survive a deadly poison that was said to have the capacity of killing a Sea King in almost an instant. Angela even asked him herself how he could have survived such an immense dose of that poison, to which he bluntly stated that he didn’t feel like dying yet so wasn’t going to let some poison beat him. His willpower has also allowed him to defy the odds of winning a battle clearly not in his favor such as his fight with Prince Alruit who was a genius when it came to planning out everything accordingly.

Flexibility has also been something that Rio has been practicing ever since he was a little boy and it has surprisingly come in handy in his recent battles. Being a combat specialist, one’s awareness of what is going on around him is crucial and their ability to dodge, escape, and react to situations also plays a vital role. With Rio, his senses and athleticism have been heightened (even without using Beast Mode: Monkey) and a given him advantages in battle that pay out in the end. A great example was during his bout with Riku when they were still enemies; Riku threw several hundred spears and stars at him. Using what he had learned when he was a child, Rio was able to swiftly evade each one with flips and rolls that avoided each attack by the skin of his body. Even Riku was generally impressed that someone could move to such lengths and had begun to take Rio more seriously.

Fighting Style
Unlike his swordsman Ike or his combat specialist Bryan who both use a set style of fighting passed down in their family blood lines, Rio uses no such thing in his improvised and creative fighting style. Other than the Yajuu Yajuu no Mi, Rio has never bothered to learn a particular fighting style and just uses his raw strength, speed, and durability to match his opponents which have surprisingly paid off in battle as thanks to his unpredictable move set and techniques, he’s been able to throw his opponents off and catch them by surprise. A great example of this was during his fight against Riku who after getting used to Rio using his Ox mode to maximize his strength, was completely surprised and enamored when Rio switched to using his Monkey mode that drastically changed his fighting style. The advantages of using his devil fruit powers along with an improvised fighting style has benefited him to a high degree.

Though he does have experience in using the Ichi Kenpo style, he rarely uses it and prefers to fight with nothing more than instict and battle intuition.

Instinct is a word that comes to mind whenever you watch Rio fighting someone. He punches, kicks, and dodges with no plan of a follow up and follows whatever his heart tells him. He’s too busy enjoying his fights to actually think ahead of what to attack with next and usually ends up using a new and creative move he’ll think of on the spot to surprise his enemy with which has earned him his reputation the unstoppable idiot who is so stupid in battle that he’s nearly unbeatable. Although, the title itself is somewhat of a contradiction as people have constantly stated that Rio is a fighting genius and has a level of instinct when it comes to fighting that defies the laws of common sense.

 Even though it does not come up often, Rio actually has the ability to use a staff to a novice degree but never actually does so since he prefers to use his fists and legs. It was shown several times that he is in possession of a weapon that is called the Scott Staff that is passed down in his family and given to the next head of the family. His father and grandfather were both in possession of this weapon but as the Scott Family tradition dictates, the same weapon cannot be used by future generations and so they both created their own respective versions of the staff (with Ranmaru creating a sword and Keith creating brass knuckles). Though he does not use it frequently, there have been moments where Rio has been seen using the staff to help him fly through the air when he uses his devil fruit’s aerial technique.

His devil fruit, the Yajuu Yajuu no Mi seems to be a perfect fit for Rio and his natural fighting ability. As such, Rio has used the basics of his fruit to create techniques that amplify his already present abilities to superhuman degrees (such as the Ox mode that doubles his physical strength or his sonic duck that boosts his speed to unfathomable heights). Ichi Kenpo Even though he does not use it often, Rio does have some experience in using the famous fighting style known as Ichi Kenpo. When Rio was young and still in training with his mentors, Hawke taught him how to utilize a specific sub style of Ichi Kenpo, known as Fu Kenpo (literally meaning Wind Style). It is unknown how long Rio trained in using the style but he has enough knowledge of it to perform the basic techniques that the style provides.

Fu Kenpo
One of the two Ichi Kenpo sub styles that Rio learned during his childhood. Even though he hasn't shown using it very often, it has proven to be useful in situations where it calls for it. The Fu Kenpo uses wind as it's primary function and allows the user to move, grab, and force the wind and gives them free usage of this obtained air pressure. This style of Ichi Kenpo fits Rio's unpredictable style of battle and allows him to combine it with his devil fruit powers to create various techniques that allow for a wider range of devestation.
 * Eagle Fury (ワシフューリー Fu~yūrī) is a variation of the Eagle Shot that is one of the principle moves of the Ichi Kenpo style. Instead of throwing a punch that creates a "shot" of air pressure, Rio uses his legs and combined with the tremendous power he has within them, he kicks the air continously in front of him, creating a stream of wind shots that attack the enemy relentlessly. Rio was first seen using this technique against the Royal Guard of Riruk Kingdom.

Chi Kenpo
One of the two Ichi Kenpo sub styles that Rio learned during his chilhood. Even though he hasn't shown using it very often, it has proven to be useful in situations that calls for it. The Chi Kenpo uses the users feet as a way of communicating with the soil, minerals, and dirt that they are standing on. By doing this, Rio is able to become one with the earth and use his feet to bend the earth to his will. The style is usually only used when Rio needs defensive capabilities to block incoming damage or when he needs to clear a path.
 * Ground Block (フューリ Gorondoo Burokko) is a variation of the True Upheavel that is one of the principal moves of the Ichi Kenpo Style. Instead of using his feet, Rio uses his fist and punches the ground to lift a wide piece of stone into the air to protect him. This technique has ben shown to be useful when covering for damage that Rio's Tortoise mode cannot inflict, along with providing Rio (and anyone behind ihm) as a good means of catching the opponent off guard.

Miscellaneous Skills and Weaknesses
<p class="MsoNormal">Lack of basic intelligence is a great weakness of Rio that has constantly shown up to deter from his main objective. The thing is with Rio is that while he may be considered a genius when it comes to fighting and anything involving physical attributes, his “mental” aptitude is severely lacking. He’s about as clueless as they come, not even knowing how to get himself into the Grand Line before he invited his navigator Kenichi to join the crew. Even though he wants to be a pirate and do whatever the hell he wants by being one, he is lacking the basic knowledge it takes to even be considered a pirate and just goes on about his life without caring the slightest bit. While his crew might get irritated at their captain’s stupidity and his reckless nature, they have all resolved themselves to go along with whatever decision he comes too and somehow beat the odds against them.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rio has the strange ability of subconsciously knowing what’s going on around him even when he’s asleep. This was shown during his travels in Anaphe Desert when he collapsed from heat exhaustion and was somehow keeping up with the conversation, even though he was surely snoozing at the time. There’s a theory that Rio awakened Kenbushoku Haki around this time which allowed him to “sense” what was going on though to a much higher degree since he wasn’t even conscious.

<p class="MsoNormal">A running gag in the series is Rio’s habit of calling people he has just met by a noticeable trait of theirs. There have been no exceptions to this and he has called everyone by something that stands out about them (such as Ike’s red hair or Kenichi constantly frowning). Some of his friends are annoyed by this but others don’t seem to mind and actually enjoy being called that. The name calling will only last a short while and eventually, Rio will begin to call the said person by their first name when he has gotten to know them better.

<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks to his father leaving him to fend for himself at such a young age, Rio has become independent when it comes to things like taking care of his body and cleaning dishes. His crew was quite surprised that Rio not only cleaned up his food (after eating like a slob) but also helped to wash them afterwards. It was truly a sight to behold seeing a man capable of eating his fill of food for an entire family act so gentlemanly after that. Rio stated that when he was a child, the animals he used to hang out with taught him how the fundamentals of living on your own (such as fetching water, finding food in the wilderness, and even bathing correctly).

<p class="MsoNormal">Adding on to his connection with animals, Rio has seemed to develop the ability to actually relay what an animal is saying in plain English. This was evident when he came across an exhausted and injured sonic duck and after he helped it recover back to normal, it explained to Rio that he had been attacked by Pirates during one of his deliveries. Rio hasn’t seem to realize that being able to talk to animals is a very rare and odd ability that a normal human being shouldn’t possess, though it is revealed that he isn’t normal and comes from a tribe of superhuman monsters so it’s not all that surprising. It is actually thanks to this unprecedented ability that Rio has been able to befriend pretty much every animal he comes across and as such, gain their abilities thanks to his devil fruit the Yajuu Yajuu no Mi.

<p class="MsoNormal">One of Rio’s greatest abilities that his crew has come to love about him is his power to inspire others. It’s not some trick ability that can be taught, it’s something that Rio is able to do just by stating what he wants to accomplish in life and that a man doesn’t wait to make changes, he changes things here and now. Rio’s words of encouragement that are filled with confidence and no hesitation have inspired others around him into following him and/or standing up for what they believe in. A great example occurred during the Antitlos arc where the townspeople who were originally cowards that didn’t want to anger Captain Saser stood up to him and his corrupted Marines and fought to make their island independent. They never would have been able to muster up the courage to do so if it wasn’t for Rio and his resolve to rescue Angela who was captured shortly before.

Hilariously, an ability that Tidus and even his aunt Misty stated he possess was his talent of seducing any girl that is in his presence. While this has yet to be confirmed, so far it has been shown that a good majority of the females that Rio has met during his travels have either fallen in love with him (Angela, Alidia, and Isabella) or have grown incredibly attached to him (Celia, Akira, and Mingo). While Rio himself does not care for such a thing and just states that they’re free to love who they wish to love, the girls find this aspect of him even more attractive as he is so confident and sure of himself. He has even been labeled as a “Playboy” and “Ladykiller” by his crewmates, whom he promptly berates shortly after for giving him such an annoying nickname. It’s not just his appearance either, it’s the words that he’s able to produce that are able to captivate a woman’s heart. He just knows what to say at the right time which enables him to break down any barrier that a woman has around herself and make a place in their heart. This was best exemplified with Queen Akira who was cold and distant to pretty much everyone she meet, well that is until she got to know Rio first hand. Originally treating him like nothing more than a nuisance that had no talent save for fighting, the distant queen soon found herself joining Rio’s circle of woman who can’t resist falling for him.

Devil Fruit
For more information see: Yajuu Yajuu no Mi  <p class="MsoNormal">Rio has gained the ability of using the senses, physical powers, and even combat styles of any animal he has come into contact with thanks to eating the Yajuu Yajuu no Mi (lit.Mimic Mimic Fruit, Beast Mimic Fruit in English Dub). After eating the rare and legendary Devil Fruit that is even said to be extremely rare even among Paramecia devil fruits, Rio has discovered that he has the potential of becoming any animal he chooses but only in combat ability and heightened senses. The fruit does not make him into a animal like the Zoan type devil fruit. Instead, this fruit takes all of the knowledge that an animal possess and compacts it into stored data which is sent to Rio’s brain when he touches that animal. When the data is received, Rio’s mind has access to the transferred information and can adjust his body’s structure to match that of whatever animal he chooses.

<p class="MsoNormal">One of the fruits greatest advantages that the fruit has given Rio an edge over normal pirates is the fact that he can stack the already present abilities of himself onto the powers given to him by the fruit. To explain, Rio already possess superhuman strength and speed but he can also double that already present statistic thanks to two of his modes he gained sometimes before his debut. This makes him a frightening enemy once you realize that his limits could virtually be limitless with the added power, speed, flexibility, and senses that the fruit offers him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Though, the fruit’s one and greatest weakness has yet to be shown but it is still up to debate whether or not Rio has been affected by it. It was said that if one’s will ever falters and that their spirit is ever weakened, then the user of this fruit is subject to lose their consciousness and begin to think that they themselves are the actual animal they’re imitating. Rio has claimed that this would never happen to him since his will is stronger than animal he has come across however, this is also one of the reasons that Rio is hesitant to touch a Zoan user as it has been confirmed that the fruit can also mimic the powers of a Zoan class as well. However, unlike natural animals that are found in the environment of whatever native land they belong too, Zoan users are humans who have been transformed into animal hybrids. This means that they’re will is leagues ahead of whatever animal they’re imitating and that Rio could lose his own consciousness and take on the consciousness of the person who ate the Zoan fruit. As frightening as it may be, Rio has not yet used any power relating to any of the Zoan class he is not in any danger

Beast Mode
<p class="MsoNormal">The main functionality of the Yajuu Yajuu no Mi and his main form of combat whenever he faces an opponent who is tougher than he originally believes. While at first he was only able of to randomly select one of the powers he has obtained, through the training Rio went through when he was a child he has become able of using whatever animal he wishes whenever the situation calls for it. Rio's swiftness of changing fruits is always followed by him shouting Beast Mode (<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family:宋体;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:宋体;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin">獣モード Shishi Modo) and then whatever animal he is about to mimic. A weakness that this presents is that anyone who knows the abilities of this fruit will know whatever animal Rio will be using when he does that, losing the essence of surprise. After the time skip, Rio has been able to shorten the speed it takes to call out each animal and has nullified that weakness as he can perform the switch without the extra time needed. <p class="MsoNormal">So far, Rio has collected a total of seven animals to use at his disposal, three he obtained during his childhood and five during his travels in the Grand Line. The modes that Rio uses on rare occassions are rarely named and have little to know practical use for Rio's fighting style and he only uses them for situational moments.

Haki
Rio's knowledge of Haki bloomed when he arrived on Saboady Archipelago and heard about it from his sister. Even though Rio was a beginner at using Haki, there were several instances where had unconsciously used it in his fights across the Grand Line. It even dates back to when he was a child, using the rare Haoshoku Haki to protecth his younger brother and adopted sister from a lion. Rio only began to unlock the true power of Haki during his training on Vellhard Island and thanks to Ranmaru, mastered the basics of it in two years.

Kenbushoku Haki
Rio's first use of Kenbushoku Haki was spotted during his travels in the Anaphe Desert. Somehow, Rio was able to keep up with the conversation his comrades were having and was even saying full sentences that seemed as if he was awake, when there was no doubt that he wasn't.

Rio unlocked the full power of this haki during his training with his grandfather and seems to be able to use it to a master degree.

Busoshoku Haki
Rio never learend how to use Busoshoku Haki until his stay on Vellhard Island where he was training with his grandfather. It can be assumed he learned how to use it during his time away.

Haoshoku Haki
Rio is a special individual who is able to use Haoshoku Haki and has used it on several occasions. Rio started to unlock Haoshoku when he was training on Vellhard Island and it can be assumed that he mastered it during his training.