Power-Bands

Power Bands are a set of twenty-four mystical bands/bracers that are the very source of all of the Twelve Temple Guardians mystical power that gives them armored suits and greater abilities when activated. They are worn around the Guardian's arm and the Guardian must say "Empower the (animal they are the Guardian of)!" to activate it.

Each Power Band and is classified into one of Five Elements of Nature in traditional Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water (even though metal and wood are additional sub-abilities of Earth). These are represented by corresponding colors.

Wood: Green (Tiger, Rabbit)

Fire: Red (Snake, Horse)

Earth: Yellow (Ox, Ram, Dog)/Gold (Dragon)

Metal: Silver (Monkey, Rooster)

Water: Black (Rat, Pig)

Blue: All Shadow Bands

Magical Properties[]

Indestructibility: They cannot be destroyed but can have their Gem removed, which further weakens the strength and effectiveness of the abilities its wearer uses.

Animal Mimicry: The wearer can transform into a lookalike of their Zodiac Animals attributes and traits, with the exception of the Dragon Power Bands, as dragons are extinct. Else those who are not empowered retain the abilities of their Zodiac Animal; namely Xuan Chi.
Teleportation: Through great concentration, one can instantaneously transport oneself to any location they see in their mind in a flash of energy. K Ho called this ability "Band Travel."
Mental Link: Every Guardian's powerband gives him or her a telepathic/empathic link with their Zodiac Animals, with the exception of the Golden Dragon since dragons are no more. In addition to communing with their animal, the Power Bands themselves can return to their rightful wearer if separated by only sensing human consciousness, as revealed when the Monkey Power Band did not return to Xuan Chi in Episode 25.

Weakness[]

Time Limit: Using the great mystical abilities of the powerband further diminishes its strength and requires recharged at full power in their respective temple. If a temple is destroyed, one can continue to recharge their powerband within the temple the former's opposing mystical cosmic power.

Red[]

The Snake and Horse Power Bands are red because their element is Fire.

Gold[]

The Dragon, Dog, Ram and Ox Power Bands are gold because their element is Earth. However, the Dragon Band can also utilize the power of Fire.

Silver[]

The Monkey and Rooster Power Bands are silver because their element is Metal.

Blue[]

(Sometimes shown as purple) Only Shadow Bands are blue. This includes the Shadow Dragon, Shadow Rat, Shadow Wolf, Shadow Tiger, Shadow Stallion, Shadow Ape, Shadow Ox and Shadow Serpent.

Green[]

The Tiger and Rabbit powerbands are green because their element is Wood, which naturally is a sub-ability of Earth.

Black[]

The Pig and Rat Power Bands are black because their element is Water.

Gems[]

Each Power Band has a small, trapezoidal gem mounted on it that regulates its power. Should the Gem break off, The Power Band won't work properly, and The Band's powers will go haywire (as shown in the episode "Sister Sister").

Unification Ritual[]

If a Power Band and its Shadow equivalent are brought together, it is possible for their essences to be magically bound together. The Ritual results in The Yin and Yang Essence being dispersed between the two, creating balance in both. However, The Ritual will still result in one side being dominant, as determined by the one performing the ritual (either The Yang Energy will cleanse The Shadow Band or The Yin Energy will corrupt The Power Band).

In order for The Ritual to be performed, several requirements must first be met:

Both Guardians must agree to The Ritual.
Both Guardians must have been born in the same year.
The one performing The Ritual must be in possession of both Bands.

To perform The Ritual, one must recite the following incantation:

"I hold the two Bands of [Zodiac Animal]: Light and Shadow, Yin and Yang, which merge together as one. But live as two, in perfect harmony."

[This is the wording used in the version of The Ritual which cleanses The Shadow Band. It's possible the wording is different for the version of The Ritual which corrupts The Power Band.]

Upon being unified, both Guardians will retain the power of their Bands, along with the essence from the dominant side (Yang Essence or Yin Essence). This will, however, cause the converted Guardian to have diminished susceptibility to the original essence of their Band (a converted Guardian will be harder to strengthen with Yang, while a converted Shadow Guardian will be harder to corrupt with Yin). As such, the converted Guardian will no longer be able to call upon their Band's original Empowered Form. Instead, they will call upon the dominant Band's Empowered Form (For instance, if The Shadow Serpent Band was unified with The Snake Band, its Guardian would use The Snake Form, rather than The Shadow Serpent Form). They will also be able to recharge their Band in the temple corresponding to the dominant Band.

Unified Guardians share a magical link with one another. They are able to detect one another's location, as well as sense when they are in danger. Unified Guardians can also Empower their Bands together, but are still capable of Empowering them separately if need be. Using their Bands together will also amplify each Band's power, making The Bands' more demanding abilities easier to perform and enhancing their effectiveness.

The Ritual has only been performed once as far as is known, when Master Chen used it to unify The Golden Dragon Band and Shadow Dragon Band in the episode "Double Dragon". It is unknown if the effects of the ritual are reversible.

Trivia[]

The bands can recharge at their own Temple or their parallel temple (once purified or corrupted as needed).
Other people can wear and transform in another Guardian's Power Band. However, they will not be able to tap into The Band's full power.
When a Guardian is defeated in battle, their power band's power transfers to the winner.
- The "winner" who receives the band doesn't actually have to engage the wielder in combat, they simply have to be present at the sight of the battle and proclaim ownership upon the wielder's defeat.
The black power bands should be blue because their element is water and in Wu Xing water is blue. However, the only blue power bands are with Shadow Guardians and the Guardians with black power bands are not Shadow Guardians so that may have led to confusion if they had the same-colored power band.
- It's worth mentioning however, that in traditional Chinese geomancy, black DOES represent the element of Water, while blue is one of the two colors that represents the element of Earth.
There are likely other Shadow Bands such as the Shadow Hare, Shadow Ram, Shadow Rooster and Shadow Boar. However, this cannot be certain as these Bands and Guardians have never appeared on the show.
The Gem in the center of the Band always corresponds to the promotional picture of The Chinese Zodiac.
Given the order of The Chinese Zodiac and the traditional arrangement of colors in the rainbow, the colors for The Monkey Gem and The Horse Gem should be switched.
While the power rests in the Band itself, the gem mounted on it helps regulate and control the power. If the gem breaks off, the power will become unstable and have adverse effects, such as causing instability of emotions when duplicating oneself with The Rabbit Band.
The Bands give the user the ability to teleport as well as shoot energy blasts, however these are less effective when the bearer is not Empowered.