Von Bolt (Japanese: ヘルボルト, Hell-Bolt) is a Black Hole CO. He began as an elderly CO from the countryside who somehow managed to escape from the nursing home. After Sturm's defeat in Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising he became the leader of Black Hole. He is the creator and leader of the Bolt Guard, whom he favours over the other Black Hole COs. His first, and only appearance to date, is in Advance Wars: Dual Strike, where he is the main villain. Just like his predecessor Sturm, he is defeated by the Allied Nations. Unlike Sturm however, his goal was immortality. Above all he feared his own death and sought to prevent it at any cost.
His goal was to use his Black Crystals to steal the lifeforce of the earth itself, and use it to keep himself alive. His chair contains technology designed to prolong his life indefinitely, though it requires a power supply. He also created the Oozium 238 as a means of defeating those who opposed him.
He profoundly hates young people (that should cover all of the Allied Nation's COs!), which is apparent after he complains about Jake's "hipster slang".
He was defeated by the Allied Nations who, along with Hawke and Lash, fought a long campaign against him. At the end of it all Hawke shot his chair and used its remaining stored energy to heal the land. Faced with his own mortality and without his chair to sustain him, he presumably died shortly afterwards. However, you can choose to have Jake shoot the chair instead, after which, Von Bolt is forced to pay for his crimes, even if it's just "sweeping the streets", to quote Jake.
CO powers
Von Bolt's units receive a constant 10% boost in firepower and 10% boost in defense.
Normal CO power
None.
Super CO power
Ex Machina - Deals three damage and immobilizes all units (for one turn) within a 5X5 area. Where the lightning bolt strikes is determined by an algorithm that is based on where it would likely cause the most harm.
Tactics
Von Bolt lacks a CO Power and his Super CO Power is a bit pricy (at 10 power meter stars) for what you get out of it. However, his superior day to day abilities alone make him a viable CO and they cannot be underestimated.
Stats of 110/110 for all units is significant. That's an overall net +20% boost with no downsides. Most CO's receive an overall weaker net boost (i.e. Hawke), receive a net 20% boost only in specialized areas (i.e. Eagle/Jess/Drake), have a downside that comes attached to their boosts (i.e. Grimm, Kanbei) or don't even have a daily boost at all (i.e. Adder, Andy).
Ex Machina varies on its usefulness. If it's used within attacking range of your units, it means that enemy units are vulnerable to being destroyed and cannot escape. But even if it's used far away from your units, it still causes financial damage to the opponent and hurts their mobility.
Tags
ALL Allied Nations COs: 90%
Quotes
Switch
"Hehh hh hhh! I'll chew 'em up...hhh... and spit 'em out!"
"You're useless."
Power
"The sweet...hhh...scent of destruction. It makes me...hhh...feel young!"
"No matter how powerful...hhh...you are, you're still...hhh...a worm on a hook!"
"Well...hhh...let me have a taste...hhh..of your soul."
"Heh...hhh...hhh... Stop panicking, it's almost...hhh...over."
"Hehh hh hhh... The darkness rises!"
Victory
"Hehh hhh hhh... Pathetic."
"Predator...prey...hhh... I hunt them all..."
"Even death...hhh...fears me..."
Tactics
Von Bolt's strength lies within all his units having an overall 110/110 attack and defense.
His CO power deals area damage of 3 HP per unit to a 13-square area, targeting the greatest concentration of enemy funds. This area attack damages enemy and friendly units alike; however, enemy units are paralyzed for one turn.
Trivia
Von Bolt is one out of two Commanding Officers who are seen sitting in a chair, the other one being Olaf.
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| Black Hole | |
| COs: | Adder | Clone Andy | Flak | Hawke | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Lash | Sturm | Von Bolt |
| Bolt Guard: | Jugger | Kindle | Koal | Von Bolt |
| Black Hole Technology: | Oozium 238 |