Post by Vereaux on Nov 19, 2010 1:16:26 GMT -5
Arrancar - The Sealed Swords
The Arrancar are the opposites of the Vizard, Hollows who have removed their Hollow Masks to gain powers similar to a Shinigami. A normal Hollow gaining the powers of an Arrancar would be of little trouble to the Gotei 13, and when their mask is removed, they cannot evolve into the Menos stages of their evolution, forever stuck as a weak leveled Arrancar. It's because of this alone that no Hollow attempts to transform into Arrancar, seeing as what little power they gain would not be of any use to them against the stronger Shinigami, if they aren't killed before hand, that is. The Arrancar, at one point in time, made up the entire force of the Espada, but with the current recent events, there are not many left, and those still around are only of the Gillian class Menos. Arrancar, both in the Espada and not, tend to wear uniforms in their humanoid form, consisting of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, and black and white boots that are similar to a Shinigami's sandals, though not always so. Unlike the Shinigami, their uniforms vary more between each other.
Arrancar differ in many ways to other Hollows. An Arrancar takes on a humanoid shape with lingering features of who they once were, such as a fragment of their removed masks and their Hollow hole. The more human they look to be, the stronger they are and more likely they are of the Vasto Lorde class, who always have completely humanoid bodies. The physiology of an Arrancar is also the same as that of a Shinigami. Upon removing their mask, they gain the powers of a Shinigami, but also a Saketsu, the location where their Chain of Fate was located and that acts as a boost of power, and the Hakusui, where the source of their reiryoku is located. It's because of this difference that if one were to strike the Saketsu and Hakusui, an Arrancar would lose not only their Shinigami powers, but their Hollow powers as well, becoming similar to a normal soul than what was once a Hollow.
The Arrancar have a Zanpakutou, just as a Shinigami does, but this Zanpakutou acts as the source of their former powers, sealed into sword form, and the source of their Resurreccion. Released similar to a Zanpakutou, they regain all of their powers, increasing their abilities. Arrancar, unlike Hollows, do not have to feed on the souls of other beings, for they do not hunger for it, but their natural affinity for growth allows them to evolve into the later Menos stages, causing their appearance and powers to also change. Points put into their Resurreccion are used for when they release their power, so if 500 points were put into their Resurreccion, it quadruples to 2000 that can then be distributed to their stats. While in their Resurreccion state, however, they will not have access to any of their Shinigami powers.
While their Zanpakutou houses their former power, they eventually begin to function in the same fashion as a Shinigami's Zanpakutou would. A soul would form from their power, and its abilities would be similar to that of their Arrancar Resurreccion. Since these abilities come from their former powers, they can be turned into similar Shikai and Bankai forms, with the same increases as another Shinigami would (points from Shikai are doubled and points from Bankai are tripled). In this state, they have the power to release their Resurreccion, but in doing so, they are not given the power boosts of their Shikai and Bankai, instead using what they would get from their Resurreccion.
Like the power of Cero, they also have a wide range of different powers and abilities. Bala is an Arrancar exclusive technique that allows the caster to harden their reiryoku and release a blast of energy. Balas are twenty times faster than Ceros, but are generally less powerful than a Cero, depending on the one who uses it. They are also capable of Garganta, just as all Menos class Hollows are, and are capable of using Negacion, but a more specific type of it, used mostly by the Arrancar who enter the ranks of the Espada, called Caja Negacion. It simulates a Negacion field that wraps around a target, trapping them in a separate dimension, and is used as a form of punishment for their subordinates. Very useful, but it will only work as intended for weaker individuals. Powerful beings, such as a Vasto Lorde, can escape from these prisons if given enough time.
Another Arrancar exclusive technique is Hierro, where the Arrancar condenses their reiryoku into their skin, making it as hard as steel, and becomes like second nature to them. Such a technique allows one to block the power of a Zanpakutou, but it is not unbreakable, for a strong enough Zanpakutou or force can cut through their skin. This technique functions similarly to how a spiritual being's reiatsu can make them very resistant to attacks, allowing one to catch a sword with their hands or fingers, or receive no damage from a weak attack. Pesquisa is also an Arrancar technique, the equivalent ability of a Shinigami to sense the reiatsu of another, but more advance. Just as the Shinigami have Hoho and Shunpo, and the Quincy have Hirenkyaku, the Arrancar's equivalent is Sonido. Hoho and Hirenkyaku produce similar swooshing sounds when preformed, but Sonido makes a brief static sound effect, similar to that of electricity.
