Hollow Faction

[Tsumuro]

Hollows

Hollow are a race of creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers that devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans. Hollows are the principal antagonists at the beginning of the story and remain a primary threat beyond that point. Hollows settle in Hueco Mundo, but can cross over to the Human World and Soul Society.

Classification

Gillian- Also called Menos Grande. Though most Hollows are simply transformed Human souls, a sub-group of Hollows known as Menos (Also known as Gillian ) Menos are conglomerations of hundreds of normal Hollows, resulting in a single composite entity of far greater strength than any normal Hollow.

Menos are created when the void within an ordinary Hollow's heart becomes so substantial that Human souls are incapable of sustaining it, at which point it begins devouring fellow Hollows. These cannibal Hollows are attracted to one another, and a mass inter-devouring follows, resulting in a Gillian.Following this transformation, the Gillian can evolve twice more, first into an Adjuchas and finally into a Vasto Lorde, provided certain conditions are met. Menos evolution is not only contingent upon the Menos eating other Hollows, but also upon the Menos' ability to avoid being eaten. If another Hollow succeeds in devouring even a part of their body, evolution becomes impossible for the one which was wounded this way. Menos-class Hollows are considered so dangerous that Soul Society sends only highly trained Shinigami teams to handle them. These incursions seem to be rare, however, as Menos rarely leave Hueco Mundo unless attracted by large sources of spiritual power or encouraged to by other forces.

Adjuchas- The middle class of Menos in terms of power, and the second stage of Menos evolution. Adjuchas can vary radically in appearance; anywhere from bulky humanoids to the jaguar-like form of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The are typically much smaller than Gillians, but significantly-larger than a Human. They are also-much smarter than the Gillian-class, and have the power to challenge a captain. It is also likely they could fight evenly with at least a Shinigami lieutenant. They watch over the many Gillian-class Menos and in the anime are also capable of controlling them, or at the very-least, those put in charge by Sōsuke Aizen.

Adjuchas-class Menos are much smaller in population compared to the Gillian class, due to the rarity of any one Hollow being capable of overwhelming the many other Hollows that comprise the body of a Gillian. Furthermore, the Adjuchas must continue to devour Hollows, or its mind will be absorbed by the other Hollows comprising its form and it will revert back into a Gillian. The subsequent lack of an individual will also preclude the reverted Gillian from becoming an Adjuchas again.

Vasto Lorde- They are the most powerful class of Menos, and the final stage in the Menos evolutionary line. The silhouette of one shown seemed to be very small and humanoid. They are said to surpass an average Captain-Class Shinigami in battle abilities.

Vasto Lorde are the least common form of Menos, but the exact population is unknown. Tōshirō stated that only a few are known to exist, and are believed to reside within the very deepest parts of Hueco Mundo. Apart from the need to cannibalize even more Hollows, any special requirements for the creation of a Vasto Lorde are unknown.

It is said that at least ten of them together would be enough to defeat all of Soul Society.  

[Tsumuro]

Arrancar Overview

Arrancar and ordinary hollows differ in two ways: the location of their holes and the near-total disappearance of their masks. When hollows become arrancar, the chances of them retaining a humanoid form increase with their intelligence; only vasto lorde-class arrancar will definitely assume a humanoid form. If powerful enough, an arrancar can seal his or her excess power into the form of a zanpakutō. Unlike with shinigami, this zanpakutō is by no means sentient. It is simply the hollow's true form sealed into a sword. Therefore, an arrancar's release of their zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration of their former selves. An arrancar release is called resurrección (Spanish for "resurrection").

The Espada usually consists of nine males and one female. Each Espada member is chosen for their superior combat ability, and then assigned a number from 1 to 10 (1 presumably being the strongest) that indicates their rank and relative power level, which is tattooed somewhere on their body.

The Espada are given free control over the Números and may choose as many of them as they like to become their Fracción. Similar to the power gap between captains and lieutenants in the Gotei 13, the strength of the Espada far surpasses that of the average Número.

The Privaron Espada are former Espada who have officially lost their rank and are assigned a three-digit number. Being former Espada, they are far stronger than the normal Números. They reside in the part of Las Noches called Tres Cifras, which translates literally from Spanish as "three digits". As mentioned by Dordonii, these former "naturally created" Aizen's Espada were rendered obsolete after Ganga began using Te'thiala de Templos for creating Arrancar to meet his own standards.

The Números are assigned a two digit number at birth from 11 to 99 to indicate their age (Número 11 is the oldest, Número 99 is the youngest). The basic Número uniform consists of a white-collared jacket and robes held with a black sash. However, the uniform is customizable, giving each Número a sense of individuality. The fighting ability of the Números is thought to be superior to all other arrancar, except for the Espada (current and former). The strongest Números are chosen by the Espada to become their Fracción.  

[Kazei Hitari]

Arrancar Kaishou Techniques

Like shinigami, hollows have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, most of which are usually unique to specific hollows. The more powerful hollows, however, have access to a range of similar techniques of greater power or use their own unique skills.

• Cero (Atk) (虚閃, lit. "hollow flash"; the pronunciation is Spanish for "zero") are high-powered energy blasts that can be fired from either the mouth or hand. Only menos, arrancar, and vizard have so far been shown to use cero attacks, and it appears that stronger entites can use it more efficiently.

• Bala (Atk) (虚弾, lit. "hollow bullet;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "bullet") is a weaker but quicker alternative to regular cero blasts. The technique hardens the user's spiritual pressure and fires it at around twenty times the speed of a cero. Can only be learned and used after leaning and mastering Cero.

• Gran rey cero (Atk) (王虚の閃光, lit. "royal hollow flash;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "great king zero"). Only Espada are capable of using this version cero technique. In Hueco Mundo, the power of the technique is such that it warps the space around the point it was fired from. Can only be learned and used after leaning and mastering Cero and Bala.

• Danketsu Cero - This attack is a combination skill between two arrancar. Both parties must be on the same wave pattern when the initial attack is being charged. In turn when performed successfully the damage stacks on one another causing the enemy a twice the damage. Still there is a massive draw back, if performed incorrectly the ratios could cause an imbalance and explode causing the damage to both arrancar. The returned damage is very critical and limbs maybe lost at minimal. Damage of the attack from both parties and the success rate is based upon the users skill of cero. Can only be learned and used after leaning and matering Grande Rey Cero and Bala.

• Cero Oscuras (Atk)- Or more gramatically correct Cero Oscuro a black Cero, used only by an Espada in their released form. It covers any exposed light into pitch darkness. Though the only Espada shown to utilize this technique so far, Ulquiorra told Ichigo "This is an Espada's fully powered Black Cero." This likely means that, similar to Gran Ray Cero, Cero Oscuras is an Espada specific attack. The Cero Oscuras's range is vast, and its attack power is unknown, though it is powerful enough to shatter Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow mask, critically injuring him in the process, and strong enough to destroy 1/2 of the dome over Las Noches. The superior Cero Oscuras is far greater than a average Cero. There is also the Instantaneous Cero Oscuras, which is fired at a much greater speed with the proportional strength of the Cero Oscuras. Only Espada 4-1 may use this technique in their released forms.

Arrancar Base Techniques

• Garganta (Mov) (黒腔, lit. "black cavity;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "throat") is how arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway. 1000 benimitsu to use a two way trip gate, the return point will always be Hueco Mundo.

• Hierro (鋼皮, lit. "steel skin;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "iron") refers to the ultra tough skin of the arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power. While their skin is strong enough to block even released zanpakutō bare-handed, it is by no means impenetrable. Stronger arrancar have proportionally stronger skin. 60% and below would have no chance of breaking through however, 70% -110% would allow the arrancar to still defend a few turns bare skinned, and anything beyond 110% would cause medium to high damage depending on the attack.

• Negación (反膜, lit. "counter membrane;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "negation") fields are used to rescue fellow hollows. Only the gillian-class menos have shown the ability to use it. Negación fields surround a target in a square beam of light that isolates the target from the dimension they are currently in, making it impossible to harm them. The field then pulls the target towards the menos that created the field.

• Caja Negacion- Espada have a special cube-shaped device called Caja Negación (Spanish for "Negation Box") meant to simulate negación fields, which are used to punish their subordinates if necessary. The cube, when used on a subject, traps them in an alternate dimension from which there is no escape; however, this assumes it's being used as intended. More powerful arrancar, namely the Espada themselves, can escape given enough time.

• Pesquisa (探査回路, lit. "inquiry circuit;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "inquiry") is the arrancar equivalent of the shinigami ability to sense spiritual pressure. It functions similar to sonar detecting those even invisible to the naked eye and annoying reiatsu hiding techniques.

• Sonido (響転, lit. "resounding revolution;" the pronunciation is Spanish for "sound") is the arrancar equivalent of the shinigami flash steps; it allows the user to travel at incredibly high speeds for short distances. Use of sonido is punctuated by a brief static sound, in contrast to the "swish" sound used for flash steps.

• Resurreccion- Most arrancar have the ability to seal their power within a Zanpakutō. Upon releasing their Zanpakutō they gain all of their former unique hollow abilities back, similar to resurrecting their old selves. When using the ability, it is a combination of their human form and their hollow form, increasing their power roughly thirtyfold.