Kingdom Hearts II Axel's Exhaustion

Why is it that when you battle Axel as Roxas and Axel fights alongside Sora, he always becomes exhausted after every attack? On occasion, after every two attacks.

 

It's because he needs more cardio in his work out plan. +coolguywithshades

On a serious note, I've never noticed that about him. Perhaps Axel's attacks are so powerful that he just exhausts himself? Like how in DragonBall Z whenever people use a powerful move, they always look so exhausted. Maybe it has to some meaning behind it, like a flame flicker with intensity, but then when it lacks the fuel or whatever it starts to die out, waning in power. Fire is plasma, which is basically the release of energy; if I remember correctly.

So maybe Axel is literally feeling, burnt out. Haha...

 

For reference:

 

Oooh!!! Axel already starts off exhausted!!!

Idk then. Tired guy is just tired. Alparently in the novel and manga, Saix and Axel end up fighting each other behind the scenes, and Axel gets his butt whooped. So this is Axel after that said beat down.

I just googled for the answer, and it was on the first link. Haha

 

I agree that Axel exhaustion is most likely a combination of the events in the game and the amount of energy he is using in his attacks, as it does seem that the more energy he uses the greater an effect it has on him. I think this could be the case as in Chain of memories his attacks never seemed to exhaust him, which I'm guessing is because maybe Axel wasn't fighting seriously back then as he wasn't to interested in helping with their plan, unlike kingdom hearts 2 where he would of been more concerned with the events going on.

 

Well I mean, Axel is in grieving. He was fighting against his best friend, and then Sora, who reminds him and touches his heart as much as Roxas does. Fighting against Roxas must have been really hard for him, considering everything they went through together. The second time, he's fighting by Sora's side. It's like he's fighting along side his best friend again, like they were in Days. That has to bring something out of him. Axel says himself that Roxas made him feel like he had a heart, and Sora made him feel the same way. I see that it could be possible Axel's so exhausted, because it is physically hurting him to have to, 1st, fight against Roxas, and then second, fight along side Sora. It brings so many memories to the surface, and it makes him feel something, and feeling things aren't something that Nobodies are used to. It would be something his body wouldn't be used to either, and it could be doing stuff to him.

 

Again, @Calxiyn gets it right. ALL THE TIME.

Axel tried his hardest to get Roxas to remember. The first two times he saw Roxas, he didn't get exhausted. When talking didn't work, he tried sparring with Roxas to get him to recall the days they spent together. Axel was really disappointed and upset afterwards, and even says "Fine, I see how it is", or something to that effect. When Axel comes back for a third time, he plans on dragging Roxas back, willing or not. He gets so excited when Roxas asks if they're friends, before realizing that the memory isn't complete.
Roxas only recalls after he kicks the sh*t out of Axel in the basement of the mansion. They agree to meet each other in another life and say goodbye. I always took this part to mean that Axel had disappeared, but I realized that it was Axel saying goodbye to Roxas, instead of vice versa.

Afterwards, Axel disappears for a bit, only to return when he kidnaps Kairi. He was quite a gentleman about it too. And then after his plans to try and reunite with Roxas through Sora don't work, he helps Sora out, up until the famous scene at the end. Through all of this Axel has been going through some extreme turmoil on an emotional level. He's sad, guilty, angry, and lonely. Even one of those emotions is hard to deal with, but all of them lead to the victim suffering from anxiety and depression nearly every time.

Anyone who has dealt with depression knows how exhausting it can be even on a physical level. I also believe that when he was fighting in the Betwixt and Between, he was using the battle as an outlet for all his pain and anger. Getting your strength from emotion is also tiring on a physical and psychological level, and between the anger, pain, and depression, he really didn't have much more to give during the fight.

To summarize, I believe that throughout the majority of Kingdom Hearts II he was fighting depression, and when things culminated in the Betwixt and Between, he decided to do one last thing to make up for all he felt he was guilty of; not being able to save Roxas, kidnapping Kairi and handing her to Xemnas, which hurt Sora, thus hurting Roxas. When he used his last special ability to get rid of all the enemies and save Sora (thus saving Roxas), he felt like he had made up for all the bad he had done, and he could go in peace.

 

I should have clarified this earlier, but when battling against Roxas, he only continuously becomes exhausted on his own in the first battle. The battle inside the old mansion, he only seems to become exhausted when you use the reaction commands.