Free De La Hoya

is a character appearing in the anime/manga series, Beyblade Burst Evolution. He was initially the leader of Spanish team BC Sol until he left and became a member of the American team, the Raging Bulls. He eventually returned to Spain and rejoined BC Sol as its leader. Currently, he is a member of the Big Five. His Beyblade is Fafnir F3 8 Nothing. He was the world's Number 1 Blader until he had his first loss to Lui Shirasagi. However in Episode 47, he defeats Lui Shirasagi in the God Blader's Cup to regain his title.

Appearance
Free has a fair complexion, and spiked and messy orange hair with a red streak running through it. His eyes are dark and his pupils aren't visible. Free dresses casually with a loose yellow tank-top and light brown jeans, showing how he doesn't care much about what he wears. On his left arm, he wears a long, dark teal finger-less glove that is fastened with a brown belt and golden buckle. Attached to the belt of his pants is a small brown satchel, as well as his white and black launcher.

Personality
Free is very lazy and carefree. Because of this, he doesn't do much of anything in Beybattles. Free also doesn't use his launcher against the other members of BC Sol very often, preferring to use his hand; although he uses his launcher when facing skilled bladers.

As the strongest blader in the world, he has the knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of beyblade. This is shown when he points out what Roktavor R3 is capable of doing, and suggests ways to improve Rantaro Kiyama's skills. Free is often seen with a bored expression and his head tilted to the left slightly, and is uninterested in most things since he is the most powerful blader and doesn't see them as challenging. He is very popular among other bladers due to his skills.

In his spare time, Free often sits around throwing his beyblade up and catching it, or visiting an old bey stadium in the forest with a deer nearby. He has a noticeable fondness for animals, as he smiles more often when he spots the deer curiously watching him. He also noticeably smiles more later on in the series.

Free is noticeably more fit and athletic than the other members of BC Sol, and is able to do 100 sprints without breaking into a sweat.

It is noted by Rantaro Kiyama and Valt Aoi that Free can be sarcastic or rude occasionally, ignoring what his teammates are saying or throwing slight insults towards his opponents. He also doesn't care about being late to important events. When he doesn't find anyone worthy of his time, Free is not afraid of simply leaving, even if he is team captain.

Free is shown to have never shaken hands with anyone until his battle with Shasa Guten, showing how his attitude about blading is slowly changing. This may be because his loss to Lui Shirasagi made him realize the importance of treating bladers with respect.

In the manga, Free is shown to make himself angry to fight more fiercely. In his battle with Valt he bites himself to get enough anger to battle at 100% strength. However, he uses too much energy, and ends up injuring himself.

Plot
Free appears in episode 2, watching over Valt, Rantaro, and the rest of BC Sol for their recruitment and practice selection for the upcoming World League. In episode 3, he battles Valt and Rantaro, easily defeating them with Drain Spin, his special move that absorbs their attacks. He later defeats the rest of BC Sol.

In episode 34, he battles Silas in the third round. At first, he's stunned when Silas nullifies Drain Spin, but relaxes once Fafnir's layers are slowly damaging Satomb and wins with a Burst Finish. Lui shows up, exciting his battle aura from the stands. He offers to battle for the Raging Bulls again after Valt defeats Joshua in the fourth match. Joshua's attempts to be in the fifth round slowly enrages him and he randomly tries to pick himself before Joshua pushes him to the side. In episode 35, he's considerable angry with Joshua for losing the match and leaves.

In episode 37, he battles Lui again. The two tie seventy times. In the seventy first match, Lui's Metal Dragon Crush eventually overwhelms Fafnir, causing him to lose and suffer his first ever defeat in the series.

In episode 38, he returns to BC Sol after losing to Lui after Trad conventialy shows the group the battle footage of his seventy battles against him. However, an angry Shasa calls him out for leaving the team after he lost with the Raging Bulls. The rest of BC Sol's antics end up causing him to exit before he can get involved. At his training spot, he catches Valt practicing and offers to be his partner. Naturally Valt accepts but Free easily wins. However, the training helped shape Genesis Valtyrek's tip, and Valt thanks Free, who is genuinely flabbergasted by Valt's actions. The next day, Shasa demands a battle with him. He accepts and continuously wins against her as well. Inspired by her dedication, Free advises her to improve her launch skill. It works, and her Gaianon G2 is able to last longer against his Drain Fafnir before she loses again. This time, she thanks him and offers a handshake. Valt steps him to guide him, but Free's inability to understand has the rest of his teammates facefaulting and then laughing. Happy, he places a earnest smile. Afterwards, he hides in Kris's office as the rest of BC Sol search for him.

In episode 41, he enters to God Bladers Cup. Offscreen, he defeat Ruway Sun 2-0 and in episode 43 he faces off against Joshua, his former teammate. Joshua uses a new special move to counter Free's Drain Spin, shocking him as his bey runs out of stamina. However, Joshua's overconfidence spikes in the next match, but an uninterested Free watches as Fafnir survives Joshua's Cyclone Counter and causes a Burst instead.

Trivia

 * Free is a variant of Freyr (which was later modernized to Frey) who was a vanir from Norse mythology and the god of agrarian culture in some communities and also the god of fertility like most vanir. Free is also a shortening of the old English name Freeman.
 * His name is named after Oscar De La Hoya, a professional boxer that nicknamed "The Golden Boy", fitting Free's nickname.
 * Free, like Kai, is often depicted as a bored, yet skilled Beyblader with a strong sense of leadership, a high regard for honor, and an appreciation for nature. Unlike Kai however, Free doesn't take Beyblading as seriously until later on in the series.
 * Free's habit of launching his bey with his hand may be a reference to Ryuga from the Metal Saga, who also tended to launch his Meteo L-Drago LW105LF with his hand as well, especially in Metal Masters.
 * Coincidentally, both Free's and Ryuga's beys are dragon beys that use reverse rotation and the spin-stealing technique.