Board Thread:Antaeus' Arena: Audience Chamber/@comment-1515612-20160527042231/@comment-28544807-20160601184228

Erick.baez.773 wrote:

TheFallOutLlama wrote:

Erick.baez.773 wrote:

8th Hero of Olympus wrote: ^^It doesn't matter if it takes a lot of energy out of Nico, as he can shadow-travel hundreds of miles away if he needs to, making Leo unable to exploit this temporary weakness. You guys keep mentioning Nico's Shadow Travel as an advantage. I know Shadow Travel is great, but I've wondered, can Nico Shadow Travel short distances? Throughout the series, he has only been shadow Traveling long distances- several to hundreds to thousands of miles. I know that just because it has never happened, doesn't mean Nico can't do it. But, if find it rather weird. If Nico can Shadow Travel short distances, like in battle, why hasn't he done it yet? Has it not occurred to him yet? Or is Shadow Travel only meant, for well, traveling long distances? Can Nico disappear and reappear in the shadows like Hazel does with her Mist Travel Powers? If Nico can, then it is certainly an advantage over Leo. But if he can't Shadow Travel very short distances (Appearing and Disappearing instantly Like Hazel), while it can't be consider as an advantage, since it would be useless in battle. So, can Nico, Shadow Travel very short distances? Nico can travel anywhere he wants to with shadow travel. He mainly uses it for long distances though because if you're going a short distance, then it wouldn't be worth wasting the energy to shadow travel when you could just walk/run there by yourself. Which basically confirms of what I was saying. Shadow Travel cannot be considered as an advantage for Nico over Leo in battle, because, he can't use it. Plus, just because you can walk/run into battle without the use of Shadow Travel, doesn't mean Shadow Travel isn't useful or a waste of energy. Look at Hazel. She used Mist Travel in The Final Battle,and was extremely useful. Why didn't she run into battle without it? Cause it's better to be hidden/invisible from your enemies, and appear at a moment they might not expect; And yes, I know Hazel was fighting against the giants, but let's not underestimate Leo either, who is an extremely powerful demigod in his own right, so if Nico could use Shadow Travel in battle, or the idea occurred to him that he can use it for very short distances, he would definitely use it.

Plus, it's worth being invisible and defeating the opponent by surprise (Like Annabeth with her Cap and Hazel with Her Mist Travel), then being visible and wasting time and energy (Summoning Bones, Skeletons, which takes more energy than Shadow Travel, since Nico would have to bring multiple skeletons and not a few, and would be using his powers for a much longer time), AND being an easier target. (For Example, if Nico isn't using Shadow Travel, the he is already an easier target, and it's more likely that he would get hit by Leo's Flames).

Anyway, if Nico could use Shadow Travel in battle, that would be great, but sadly, I don't think that's possible. I agree that Nico probably wouldn't use shadow travel in battle because it wastes too much energy, but it was never said that summoning skeletons takes more energy than shadow travel. In the Second Titan War, he summoned a skeleton army to help the Campers defeat the Titans. And even after that he was still fighting with his sword. In no world ever would he use that large of an army against Leo, so he would still have plenty of energy after summoning an army. He would have enough strength to shadow travel, but it wouldn'0t be very efficient because by the time he had shadow traveled, he would be in about the same state as when they returned from Greece; fading out of existence. Shadow traveling a few yards, and shadow traveling across the world don't take the same amount of energy, but with him summoning skeletons, fighting with his sword,  and shadow traveling it would take a lot off him. He would be an easier target, but I don't think he would use shadow travel since he already knows the risks and possible consequences.