I think Violetta has been either seriously underestimated by pretty much all the smoke knights, or she has been actively sandbagging for years. Consider the various scrapes she has come out on the winning end of, not by luck or overwhelming talent, but through tactics and outsmarting her opponents. She is formidable, full stop.
I'm also waiting for the other shoe to drop about her "death." That squid has been on the mantlepiece for way too long, I need some closure/exposition here!
...that for the longest time, she had no faith in herself - being assigned what to her was scut-work and having to watch over a person she hated can do that.
Since she took up with Agatha, she's been valued for who and what she is, which can do wonders for self-confidence. :)
See the pagemadfilkentist linked above. French Ninjutsu is a complicated skill set. Violetta may be not quite as good as these two at snooping around, but she's clearly better at surviving deathtrap mazes. Also, being underestimated is not even a running gag, it's a hallmark. All members of their clan pretend to be less capable than they are.
She has occasionally been shown to be weaker than other smoke knights. She's also been shown to be very capable. Which allows the Professors to tweak it as necessary. Her actual skill level is "Whatever is convenient to the current plot, or makes a good joke".
Violetta has stated that she specializes in sleight of hand and misdirection. This was a well done misdirection. Attacking Madwa face-on is normally suicide. She made her turn her back. Even if Madwa realized Violetta wasn't in the light immediately, she could only cover one direction with herself now between two foes.
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I'm also waiting for the other shoe to drop about her "death." That squid has been on the mantlepiece for way too long, I need some closure/exposition here!
I think part of it may be...
Since she took up with Agatha, she's been valued for who and what she is, which can do wonders for self-confidence. :)
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French Ninjutsu is a complicated skill set. Violetta may be not quite as good as these two at snooping around, but she's clearly better at surviving deathtrap mazes.
Also, being underestimated is not even a running gag, it's a hallmark. All members of their clan pretend to be less capable than they are.
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Her actual skill level is "Whatever is convenient to the current plot, or makes a good joke".
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