Raiden Kobayashi

"Rank doesn't have to mean everything. Look at Jaden, he's a Slifer and already one of the best duelists here."

- Raiden Kobayashi

Raiden Kobayashi is a Ra Yellow Student of Duel Academy. He is the only son and child of Card Designer Kaito Kobayashi and Kagami Akimoto, the nephew of Dr. Kenji Kobayashi and Sophia Kobayashi, and the paternal cousin of professional duelist Akiko Kobayashi.

Physical description
Raiden has shoulder-length, silver-white hair that curls at his neck, with orange eyes with a very pale skin tone.

Raiden wears a modified version of the Ra Yellow Uniform, an open jacket over a dark gray shirt, dark pants, and sneakers. His deck case is attached to a belt around his waist. He also wears a silver dog tag under his shirt, two silver rings on his right hand and has a piercing in his left ear.

When not in uniform, he usually wears a black jacket over a short-sleeve light gray shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.

Personality
(REWORKING)

Raiden is a calm guy who often acts as the peacekeeper between friends. He cares very much for his family. He doesn't like bullies since he was once bullied. He is shy when talking to girls. When he starts developing feelings for Alexis, he ends up being quieter than he normally is and wherever he's near her, he ends up stuttering.

While under the Light's control, he develops a darker personality, which is later revealed to have been linked to his mother leaving.

Skills

 * Artistic intuition: With his father as a Card Designer, Raiden gained some of his father's talent in drawing. Raiden usually uses drawing as a way to relax and forget about everything.
 * Dueling proficiency: Raiden is a skilled duelist, able to work with anything he has on hand.
 * Multilingualism: He is able to speak and understand English and Japanese.

Equipment

 * Duel disks
 * Academy-issued: Upon arriving at Duel Academy, Raiden was given an Academy-issued one.
 * KaibaCorp: Like most of the students, Raiden used his original KaibaCorp Duel Disk during his entrance exam.

Prior to the series
Raiden was born in San Diego, California to former card designer Kaito Kobayashi and his wife, Kagami Akimoto. When he was six, for some unknown reasons, Kagami walked out on Kaito and Raiden, leaving the two. Kaito did what he could to take care of both him and Raiden, but soon bills pilled on and Kaito could no longer even send Raiden to daycare/school. Kaito's twin brother, Kenji, was quick to see how bad things were getting, and he and his wife had them move in with them, just until Kaito could get back on his feet. Two and half years later, Kaito was finally able to buy a place for him and Raiden, moving out of his brother's house. He was able to talk to his boss and work something out that allowed him to work from home, and send card designs daily. Even though his father was a Card Designer, Raiden had no real interest in Duel Monsters, and his father didn't push him to like it.

Shortly after his 10th birthday, his older cousin Akiko dragged him to a Duel Monsters Tournament, something he wasn't entirely interested in. Though, one duel was all it took to get Raiden into Duel Monsters Akiko gifted Raiden "Thunder Dragon", unknowingly, helping him decide which type to go with.

A few years later, Raiden entered three "Create A Card" contests sending in designs for "Astrape, Goddess of Lightning", "Bronte, Lady of Thunder" and "Thunderous Dragon". He consequently won both and the two cards were created.

Trials of Darkness
Raiden appears in chapter 3, where he talks to Kylie in needing a book for his own history class.

Parents
Raiden has a very strong and close bond with his father, Kaito. His father pretty much gave up everything, including his job, just to make sure Raiden was cared for following the departure of his mother, Kagami Akimoto. Kaito currently works as a card designer for Industrial Illusions and enjoys his job very much.

Raiden doesn't remember much of his mother following her walking out. He doesn't even know why she left.

Aunt and Uncle
Raiden is on equal and friendly terms with his Uncle Kenji and aunt Sophia, Kaito's younger sister. It was thanks to them that they have a good life now. Follow Kaito losing his first job, Sophia was quick to help them out before it got worse. It was also thanks to her that he got a Therapist to help him when she learned he had insomnia.

Akiko Kobayashi
Raiden has an extremely bond with his older cousin Akiko. Akiko babysat him when he and his father first moved to Japan. She helped him around and later got him into dueling. Akiko also gave Raiden his first card, "Athena". They have a strong brother-sister-like-relationship, rather than cousin bond. Akiko getting Raiden into Duel Monsters has also helped his insomnia as well. Raiden doing duels all day long made him tired and he actually got some sleep.

Kylie Reynolds
Kylie was Raiden's first friend. They met at the Library where Kylie had a book he needed for class. She ended up helping him with the class.

Bastion Misawa
As the only other Ra Yellow in the group, it's obvious that Raiden would be friends with Bastion. Though he rarely understands Bastion, Raiden's glad to have another friend.

Thunder Deck
Raiden duels with a Thunder Deck. His main plan for duels usually revolves around in Summoning either "Astarte, Goddess of Lightning" or "Bronte, Lady of Thunder" and use them to make the winning shot. He later adds some "Thunderclap" cards into his deck, courtesy of his father.

During the Shadow Rider Arc, he reveals another powerful card, "Thunder Dragon Maximus", who gains 500 ATK for every Thunder Monster in the Graveyard.

White Night-Ice Counter Deck
Strangely, upon joining the Society of Light, Raiden was automatically given his "White Night" Deck from Sartorius. He later adds Ice Counter cards into his deck, converting it into a "White Night-Ice Counter" Deck. Raiden quickly becomes protective of his cards, especially "White Veil".

Name Etymology
The name  Raiden  is of Japanese origin and meaning "thunder" and "lightning", which ties in the type of Deck he uses.

The surname  Kobayashi  is of Japanese origin meaning "small forest".

Trivia

 * Raiden can't handle riding on boats, he gets extreme seasickness.
 * Due to his father, Raiden could have potentially been placed in the Obelisk Blue Dorm, but decided to start in Ra Yellow.