Emperor zeppelin's grandchild, rudolph, was placed under van's care by rosso and viola, former waste gangers. although his identity as crown prince of guygalos was initially kept hidden from van and his friends, doctor d soon revealed the truth. despite being naive and preferring reasoning over fighting, rudolph is eager to learn how to pilot a zoid properly and emulate van's piloting skills. he deeply cares for the guylos empire and hates seeing others around him hurt.