Los Noches Library

[iiLunar Wolf]

Basic Knowledge
Arrancar (破面 (アランカル), arankaru) is a Hollow that has removed its mask and has gained Shinigami-like powers. The name "Arrancar" is a Spanish verb meaning "to remove" or "to rip off" (the kanji used means "ripped mask"), a reference to an Arrancar's removal of its Hollow mask.

Humanoid Form: Arrancar assume a humanoid form, as opposed to the animal-like or monstrous forms seen with Hollows. Upon becoming an Arrancar, the chances of a Hollow gaining a humanoid form increase with their intelligence; only Vasto Lorde-class Menos will definitely assume a humanoid form. This new form will retain remnants of their past selves, like fragments of their removed masks and a Hollow hole. While some Arrancar prefer to conceal these remnants, others choose to hide their faces completely to escape unwanted attention. Most also have a colored marking of some sort on their face, though some only gain these markings upon the release of their Zanpakutō.

Zanpakutō/Soul Separation: Arrancar can gain a Zanpakutō although some Arrancar's Zanpakutō don't take the shape of a sword. Unlike with Shinigami, this Zanpakutō is not sentient, but is simply their "true" Hollow form sealed into a sword. Therefore, an Arrancar's release of their Zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration to their former selves, granting them any powers their Hollow form possesses. The act of release is called Resurrección (Spanish for "Resurrection"), which is activated with a command phrase followed by the name of the sword. The Resurrección of an Espada-level Arrancar releases enough power to be comparable to a Shinigami's Bankai. Few Arrancar do not have a Zanpakutō, being too weak to seal their excess power into a blade, while others prefer to have it constantly released.

Ranks
Espada>Privaron Espada>Números>Fracción>Exequias  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Espada
Espada (十刃, (エスパーダ), Esupāda; Spanish for "Sword", Japanese for "Ten Blades") are the top-ranked Arrancar.The Espada are regarded as the most powerful Arrancar in existence. At any given time, the Espada has a nominal composition of ten members, all hand-picked and ranked by [the guild leader?]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 biggest mystery of the espada is do there numbers not going from 1-10 but 0-9.

Privaron Espada
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 Tres Cifras, which translates literally from Spanish as "Three Digits".

Numeros
The Números (数字持ち（ヌメロス）, numerosu; Spanish for "Numbers", Japanese for "Number Holders") Are the combat specialists.The Números are assigned a two digit number from 11 to 99.The fighting ability of the Números is thought to be superior to all other arrancar.The strngest Números are chosen by the Espada to become their Fracción.

Fracción
The Fracción (従属官 (フラシオン), Furashion; Spanish for "Fraction", Japanese for "Subordinate Officers") are a subsection of the Números that directly serve a specific Espada. The number of fracción for any given Espada varies.There are a few Espada that apparently prefer to fight alone.The fracción are all fiercely loyal to their respective Espada masters (due the the latter's impressive amount of power).

Exequias
The Exequias (葬討部隊 (エクセキアス), Ekusekiasu; Spanish for "Funeral Rites", Japanese for "Funerary Attacking Force") are Arrancar that form an execution division.They are responsible for dealing with rebels and intruders in Las Noches, usually terminating both hence their name. They appear to be the Arrancar equivalent of Soul Society's Onmitsukidō.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Zanpakuto
Zanpakuto-An Arrancar's Zanpakutō may vary in shape more than a Shinigami's. They also have a released form, with the difference being that an Arrancar's Zanpakutō is his or her hollow form and power sealed into a sword, and his or her release, or Resurrección, returns this power to him or her. They use primarily Spanish names and terms.


Resurreccion
Resurrección (帰刃（レスレクシオン), resurekushion; Spanish for "Resurrection", Japanese for "Returning Blade"). Arrancar possess Zanpakutō and can perform a technique similar to a Shinigami's release called Resurreccion.Unlike a Shinigami's Zanpakutō however, an Arrancar's Zanpakutō is simply the Arrancar's Hollow powers sealed into the shape of a weapon. By releasing their Zanpakutō in the same manner as a Shinigami, an Arrancar can release his or her Hollow powers. Most known Resurrección give the Arrancar user an animal-like appearance. While most unreleased Shinigami Zanpakutō take the form of a katana or wakizashi, there is a significantly broader range for Arrancar.

Because their powers are sealed in their Zanpakutō, an Arrancar's release will usually transform their body into a Hollow-like form, allowing them to use their abilities freely. This form usually reflects what the Arrancar looked like as a Hollow, although to highly varying degrees. A Resurrección restores an Arrancar to its "true" form, resulting in significantly various increases in speed, strength, stamina, durability and spiritual power, as well as allowing access to both more powerful variations of previous techniques and completely new abilities. Arrancar normally only return to their human form when they reseal their Hollow powers; doing so without resealing, though possible, is a permanent change comparable to amputating a limb. There are two reasons Arrancar go through such trouble to seal their power: it allows them to maintain human form and to conserve their power in times of inactivity.

In most cases, Arrancar "lose" their Zanpakutō after performing their Resurrección. By which, they no longer carry any kind of one or two handed weapon - the sword is replaced by other natural weapons such as claws, pincers, tendrils,or just plain fists. However, there are some exceptions - nine to be exact; seven out of these nine have been Espada.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Bala
Bala (虚弾（バラ）, bara; Spanish for "Bullet", Japanese for "Hollow Bullet") is an Arrancar technique that hardens the user's reiatsu, and releases it from their hand like a powerful bullet. This technique is not as powerful as a Cero, but is about 20 times faster. Its power also varies with the Arrancar and Espada.

Hierro
Hierro (鋼皮 (イエロ), iero; Spanish for "Iron", Japanese for "Steel Skin") is an Arrancar technique in which the user's reiryoku condenses, creating a steel-hard skin strong enough to block a zanpakutō. This also allows them to fight some of the sword-wielding Shinigami barehanded.The strength of an Arrancar's Hierro depends on their spiritual powerThe technique is exclusive to Arrancar, and it has yet to be seen if the Vizard are capable of using Hierro during their Hollowfication.

Garganta
Garganta (黒腔, ガルガンタ, Garuganta; Spanish for "Throat", Japanese for "Black Cavity") is how Arrancars and Hollows 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.

Sonído
Sonído(響転 (ソニード), Sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound", Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") is a technique used by Arrancar which allows them to move at extreme speeds, making it highly similar to the Hoho that Shinigami use.

Gemelos Sonído
Gemelos Sonído (双児響転 (ヘメロス・ソニード), Hemerosu Sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound Twins", Japanese for "Sweeping Sound Ceremony")Only advance sonido users can use this technique and it allows them to create clones of himself. Up to five clones can be created using this technique.

Gonzui
Gonzui A supplementary technique used by Arrancar to devour as many souls as possible within a large radius to significantly increase their size, power, force, and spiritual energy, while being content from the devouring of souls

Pesquisa
Pesquisa(探査回路 (ペスキス), Pesukisa; Spanish for "Inquiry", Japanese for "Probe Circuit") is the Arrancar equivalent of the Shinigami ability to sense Reiatsu. It functions similarly to sonar.

Caja Negación
Caja Negación (反膜の匪 (カハ・ネガシオン), kaha negashion; Spanish for "Negation Box," Japanese for "Anti-Membrane of Negation") meant to simulate Negación fields, which are used to punish their Fracción, 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.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Cero
Cero (虚閃 (セロ), sero; Spanish for "Zero", Japanese for "Hollow Flash", 'Doom Blast' in the Viz translation) is a form of attack.Basically an energy blast, it consists of firing a blast of concentrated spirit energy at the target.The power, force, speed, and blast area of the Cero is dependent on the strength of the user (i.e., the stronger the user, the stronger the attack), and there are some Arrancar and Vizard who have come up with their own variation.

FORMS OF CERO
Cero Doble
Cero Doble(重奏虚閃 (セロ・ドーブル), sero doburu; Spanish for "Double Zero", Japanese for "Heavy Performance Hollow Flash") The user swallows there opponent's Cero and returning it back to the user along with there own Cero.

Cero Sincrético
Cero Sincrético (融合虚閃 (セロ・シンクレティコ), sero shinkuretiko; Spanish for "Synchronized Zero", Japanese for "United Hollow Flash")The user gathers several separate Cero and fusing them into a swirling ball and firing it at the opponent causing massive damage.The user is however exhausted.

Beautiful Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's Final Holy Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamourous Cero
Beautiful Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's Final Holy Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamourous Cero This variation is performed by Charlotte Cuuhlhourne. Despite having a very long name and the shape of a heart,it does however have a rather wide blast radius.

Gran Rey Cero
Gran Rey Cero (王虚の閃光 (グラン・レイ・セロ), guran rei sero; Spanish for "Grand King Zero", Japanese for "Royal Hollow Flash") is a Cero that only Espada are allowed to use. It is performed by mixing an Arrancar's own blood with the Cero. The result is a Cero with a much greater attack power and speed as well as a change of color unique to the Espada. It is also many times more powerful than a normal Cero, capable of disturbing the fabric of space, it also seems to spin like a razor upon release as compress and decompress due to the sheer speed and raw power.

Cero Oscuras
Cero Oscuras (黒虚閃 (セロ・オスキュラス), sero osukyurasu; Spanish for "Dark Zero", Japanese for "Black Hollow Flash") or, more grammatically correct Cero Oscuro, is a black Cero that covers any exposed light into pitch dark.The range is vast, and its attack power is unknown, though it is powerful enough to shatter Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow mask.

Instantaneous Cero Oscuras
Instantaneous Cero Oscuras -which is fired at much-greater speed and with the proportional strength of the Cero Oscuras.

Cero Metralleta
Cero Metralleta (無限装弾虚閃 (セロ・メトラジェッタ), sero metorajietta; Spanish for "Sub-Machine Gun Zero", Japanese for "Infinite Ammunition Hollow Flash")The user is able to fire a barrage of Cero at his opponent like a sub machine gun.

Other -Cero range in all kinds of colors and effects.They can be fired from the mouth,hand,finger,and even a slash of there zanpakuto.

Lunars Special Cero
Cero Metralleta Doble-A move Lunar has attempted to perfect by combining to ceros move.By taking the opponents cero and firing it back 2x the damage but not as one but as many at an incredible speed.

Lolek's Special Cero
Cero de fuego-This is Lolek's Cero That he uses the most often. This is fired from the diamond in his mask, so it his fired form his mouth.This cero is the cero of fire which may leave an burn effect on his opponents.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Most Helpful Methods
Hierro
Hierro (鋼皮 (イエロ), iero; Spanish for "Iron", Japanese for "Steel Skin") is an Arrancar technique in which the user's reiryoku condenses, creating a steel-hard skin strong enough to block a zanpakutō. This also allows them to fight some of the sword-wielding Shinigami barehanded.The strength of an Arrancar's Hierro depends on their spiritual powerThe technique is exclusive to Arrancar, and it has yet to be seen if the Vizard are capable of using Hierro during their Hollowfication.

High-Speed Regeneration
High-Speed Regeneration-In addition to Hierro,arrancar have the advance ability to regenerate lost body part.(They are however un able to regenerate vitale organs.)Most Arrancar gave up Regeneration for far greater strength.

Sonido
Sonido-Sonído(響転 (ソニード), Sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound", Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") is a technique used by Arrancar which allows them to move at extreme speeds, making it highly similar to the Hoho that Shinigami use.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Hollow Classification
Menos
Menos (メノス, menosu; Spanish for "Minus" or "Less"),a sub-group of hollows. 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.

Gillian
Gillian (最下大虚 (ギリアン), girian; Spanish for "Countless Creatures", Japanese for "Lowest Great Hollow"), also called Menos Grande (大虚(メノスグランデ), menosu gurande; Spanish for "Less Big" or "Big Minus", Japanese for "Great Hollow") are the weakest class of Menos and the first stage of Menos evolution. They are giant in comparison to other Hollows, dwarfing even the largest standard Hollows by at least the size of a two-story building, but lack agility and intelligence. They also have long tongues capable of breaking a fellow hollow's mask. While a Gillian-class Menos is quite powerful, they are still much weaker than a Shinigami lieutenant.they are comparable to "foot-soldiers", reflected in their uniform appearance.Though Gillians usually have no personality to speak of, which makes them dangerous since they have no mind of their own, one of the many Hollows that comprise it might gain control over the new entity, reflected in the unique mask it wears in comparison to a normal Gillian. Only these Gillian variants have the potential to evolve into Adjuchas-class Menos. The evolution is facilitated by the continued cannibalization of fellow Hollows, even other Gillians

Adjuchas
Adjuchas (中級大虚(アジューカス), ajūkasu; Spanish for "Stone Demon", Japanese for "Intermediate Great Hollow") are the middle class of Menos in terms of power, and the second stage in the Menos evolution. Adjuchas can vary radically in appearance, anywhere from bulky humanoids to the jaguar-like form of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Unlike the Gillians, they are roughly human-sized though a few could be much bigger.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.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
Vasto Lorde (最上大虚(ヴァストローデ), vasuto rōde; Spanish for "Vast/Enormous King/Lord", Japanese for "Highest Great Hollow") are the very most powerful class of Menos, and the final stage in the Menos evolutionary line. They appear almost completely humanoid, and surpass an average Captain-Class Shinigami in power, skill, and speed.Vasto Lorde are the least common form of Menos, but the exact population is unknown.They 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.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Our Prized Treasure

The Hōgyoku
The Hōgyoku (崩玉, Crumbling Orb; Viz: "Breakdown Sphere") also referred as The Orb of Distortion, is a unique substance in the form of a small orb that can dissolve the boundaries between a Shinigami and a Hollow, granting either the powers of the other. It was invented roughly 100 years before the main events of the story, by ex-leader of Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Kisuke Urahara.

History
During Urahara's time in the Research Institute, an answer was sought on how to strengthen an individual's soul, the answer being for a Shinigami to gain Hollow powers through Hollowfication. This led to the development of the Hōgyoku, though once he had created it, Urahara immediately placed a seal upon it when he understood how dangerous it was.

Urahara was forced out of necessity to first use the Hōgyoku roughly 100 years before the storyline to save the lives of Shinji Hirako and a group of other Shinigami, who were undergoing forced Hollowfication caused by Sōsuke Aizen. Though the Hōgyoku failed to stop the Hollowfication, their souls were stabilized thanks to Urahara. They were outcasted from Soul Society and fled to the world of the living with Kisuke, who brought the Hōgyoku with him and swore to find a way to reverse Hollowfication.

Powers and Properties
The Hōgyoku is a unique substance in the form of a small, spherical stone. It has the power to instantly shatter the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow in an individual, creating a new existence. Its power can turn a Shinigami into a Vizard, or a Hollow into an Arrancar.It is explained that though Hollows can naturally become Arrancar, the difference in power is small. Artificially creating Arrancar with the Hōgyoku is said to unlock a great deal more of said Arrancar's potential power. However, immediately after its creation the Hōgyoku was placed within a strong seal and rendered dormant by its creator, Kisuke Urahara. Once Aizen gained possession of it, the Hōgyoku was released of its seal, but still needed time to awaken from dormancy. Aizen later discovered through releasing it from its 'prison' and touching it directly with his hand that this dormancy could be bypassed, something he imagined not even Urahara understood. By uniting the sleeping Hōgyoku with someone of higher than Captain class reiatsu, it can briefly be used as if in its awakened state. Aizen explains to Orihime that everytime the Hōgyoku is used, it begins to deteriorate, which is why he needs her to heal it. However, this is later proven to not be his true reason for bringing her to Hueco Mundo. Whether the deterioration of the Hōgyoku is true or a fabrication remains to be seen. According to Tessai Tsukabishi when he first witnessed it, the Hōgyoku has an overbearing power which is unlike anything else in Soul Society, and completely unrelated to Reiatsu. It has a presence which, according to him, feels as if it's trying to stifle his very existence with its power.  

[iiLunar Wolf]

Arracar Number Files
1. Gemma and Riz
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11. Kiva Huecoyotl ((RedHimawari))
12. Grashion shinigen ((Neomaximum13))
13. Nicholas Laersect Darkri ((Nicholas Darkri))
15. Kai ((gozavill))
16. Leah Hiori ((Rosie1995))
17. Cirian Centouri ((Cirian Centouri))
18. Domon BlackSabre ((Raxephlon))
19. Myrder Flare ((iDark Jackal))
20.Lunar Wolf & Lunar Coyote((Lunar_Wolf96))
21. Arcoiris Kurosu ((Yuna Mitsuki-chan))
22.Iki Anchu ((Iki Anchuu))

((last update 10/13/09))