Arrancar Information

Arrancar are the result of Hollows removing their masks and thus gaining Shinigami-like powers. However, an average Hollow removing their mask would not be a problem for the Gotei 13: to hold their own against the Gotei 13, the ones removing their masks would need to be Menos or stronger. The generic term for an Arrancar is Shinigami-Hollow Hybrid.

The number that the Arrancar (with numbers 11 and above) have are not the order of their strength, but rather the order of their birth.

Arrancar and ordinary Hollows differ in several ways:

• Humanoid Form: A Menos usually takes on a Human shape when it becomes an Arrancar. The only ones that will definitely get a 100% Humanoid form are Vasto Lorde-class Menos. For the remaining two levels, there are many who don't get a completely Humanoid form, despite becoming Arrancar. Therefore, the closer one looks to a Hollow, the lower its power of reasoning. All Arrancar retain a hole in them somewhere as well as fragments of their Hollow form (in the shape of protrusions and partial masks). Some Arrancar have claimed that they gave up their Human forms in order to obtain enormous power. While some Arrancar (e.g. Nnoitra Gilga and Tier Harribel) prefer to conceal the remnants of their past, others choose to hide their faces completely to escape unwanted attention. Most also have a colored marking of some sort on their face, although some only gain these markings upon the release of their Zanpakutō (Ex: Nnoitra, Szayelaporro, and Harribel). A few cases that include visible markings without the release of a Zanpakutō include Ulquiorra's tear marks, Sun-Sun's pink dots, the dashes under Grimmjow's eyes, the marking which runs across Nelliel's cheekbones and nose, and the marks on Yammy's cheek bones.

• Physiology: Uryū Ishida theorized Arrancar share not only the powers of Shinigami, but also their anatomy. During his battle with Cirucci Sanderwicci he aimed for the area where the Chain of Fate would be located, and upon striking it Cirucci immediately lost not only her release form and mask fragment, but seemingly all traces of her former power.

• Zanpakutō: The Arrancar seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword. It is entirely different from what Shinigami use. When they release their Zanpakutōs' seals, they unleash their true power and their true form. The combat efficiency of an Arrancar with a released Zanpakutō is increased several times over. 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, which is activated with a command phrase followed by the name of the sword. An Espada's Resurrección is claimed to be different from that of a normal Arrancar.

Like Shinigami, Arrancar have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, some of which are similar to those of the former, and some of which are variations on ordinary Hollow powers.

• Bala: While similar in function to a Cero, the technique is not nearly as powerful, though thanks to its composition its speed is 20 times faster and allows for it to be fired in quick succession. In addition, it possesses more concussive force than a typical Cero does. A Bala's ultimate speed and power varies dependent upon the Arrancar using it.

• Cero: A form of attack used by Menos, Arrancar and Visored. As a standard energy blast, it consists of firing a powerful blast of concentrated spiritual energy at the target. While in most cases it is fired from the mouth, some Arrancar and Visored are capable of firing Cero from their hands, fingers and other parts of their bodies. This often requires the user to under take a specific pose. The power, force, speed, and blast area of the Cero is dependent on the strength, spiritual power, and sometimes skill of the user (i.e., the stronger the user, the stronger the attack), and there are some Arrancar who have even come up with their own variation of Cero. The charging and firing time for Cero also varies greatly, from relatively charging fast to firing it to instantaneously fire one without much charging. Despite the damage it can cause at long range distances, it is stated that the damage Cero cause as an explosion is more dangerous when used at close range.

• Descorrer: A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar and sometimes others, to open a Garganta between the living world and Hueco Mundo.

• Gran Rey Cero: A Cero that only Espada are capable of using. It is performed by mixing an Espada'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 it compresses and decompresses due to the sheer speed and raw power.

• Hierro: A defensive Arrancar technique in which the user's reiryoku condenses, creating a steel-hard skin strong enough to block even a Zanpakutō. This allows users to confront some of the sword-wielding Shinigami barehanded. While this technique is exhibited by all Arrancar to some degree, the strength of an individual's Hierro is entirely proportional to the potency of their reiryoku.

• Pesquisa: An advanced Arrancar perception technique that is used to both detect and gauge sources of reiatsu within the vicinity of the user. Pesquisa functions similarly to sonar, through a radiating pulse sent outwards from the user that reacts to sources of reiatsu within a certain proximity, allowing them to determine the location of any sensed individuals and granting them an indication of how powerful they actually are.

• Resurrección: Arrancar usually seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword, which is entirely different from what the Shinigami use. When they release their weapons' seals, they unleash their true power and their true form. The only time they can return to Human form is when they reseal their powers in sword form. Changing their form without resealing their powers in a sword is the same as burning off an arm, and if they were to discard part of their released form, while in it, they can never return to normal again.
  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 (such as a sai, axe, a more distinguished weapon like Nnoitra's Zanpakutō, or a body, whole or otherwise, like Aaroniero Arruruerie's Zanpakutō, or Lilynette Gingerbuck).
  
  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 all of their abilities freely. This form usually reflects what the Arrancar looked like before becoming Arrancar, 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. Some Arrancar even gain new weapons as a part of their released form.
  

• Sonído: An Arrancar's high-speed movement technique. Essentially, it is equivalent to the Shinigami's Shunpo, which is roughly equal in terms of speed, and the Quincy's Hirenkyaku. While somewhat similar to Hohō in regards to function and speed, Sonído appears to be more instinctual, seemingly requiring no previous knowledge to perform. It also produces a different sound; rather than the swishing or sometimes silent Shunpo of the Shinigami, Sonído makes a booming or static noise. Though the technique is exhibited by most Arrancar, the proficiency with which it can be performed is limited only by the individual

Arrancar Equipment:

Caja Negación: Caja Negación is a special cube-shaped device held by Espada 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.