God Kings (Arrancars)

Spoiler:

Arrancar

A God King or Arrancar (破面 (アランカル), arankaru; Spanish for "To Tear Off", Japanese for "Ripped Mask") is a Hollow that has removed its mask and has gained Shinigami-like powers.

Arrancar are a group of Hollows that gained similar powers to that of a Shinigami by removing their masks. The individuals that Pythia turned into Arrancars using the Hōgyoku possess powers way beyond that of previous Arrancars. Especially powerful Arrancars were assigned ten numbers by Pythia and came to be known as the Espada.

Arrancar are the result of Hollows removing their masks. 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.

Pseudo-Arrancar have not developed much in the past few decades. Pythia was the first to create a breakthrough; Pythia has tried to create a full Arrancar by using the Hōgyoku.

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. First, via the Hōgyoku, they are reborn from Hollows into Arrancar. Then, according to the order in which they are born, they were assigned a number, starting with eleven.

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 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 . A few cases that include visible markings without the release of a Zanpakutō.

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 (Spanish for "Resurrection"), 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.

Appearance
The Arrancar under Pythia's command have a standard theme for their clothing. Their uniforms consist of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, black tabi and white zōri that bear an opposing similarity to a Shinigami's zōri; in essence, the uniforms are basically inverted Shinigami uniforms. Arrancar uniforms display more variation than those worn by Shinigami however.

Personality Traits & Mindsets
While most of the Arrancar either develop or retain their own personality traits, the majority (not all) of Arrancar shown in the series appear to be similarly cold, cruel, ambitious, impatient, selfish, overconfident, ruthless, arrogant, impulsive, brutal, relentless, battle-hungry, overbearing, short-tempered, indifferent, and/or egotistical.
Not all Arrancar residing in Hueco Mundo are loyal to Pythia. They prefer not to interfere with his plans, presumably because of Pythia's immense amount of power and army of servants. It is for that reason many naturally evolved Arrancar felt it necessary to align themselves with him to obtain more power. While some Arrancar choose to follow Pythia in the hopes he will deliver them salvation, others ally with him purely out of respect.

Powers & Abilities
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 (虚弾 (バラ), Bara; Spanish for "Bullet," Japanese for "Hollow Bullet") a technique of firing his hardened spiritual pressure against his enemies. Less powerful than a Cero, but it can be successively fired at 20 times the rate.

Cero (虚閃 (セロ), Sero; Spanish for "Zero," Japanese for "Hollow Flash," "Doom Blast" in the Viz translation) a powerful spiritual light fired by Menos Grandes and Arrancars.

Descorrer (解空(デスコレール), Desukorēru; Japanese for "Loosed Void", Spanish for "Drawing Back/Opening"): A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar and sometimes others, to open a Garganta between the living world and Hueco Mundo.

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") The ultimate Cero that can only be used by Espadas. It is so powerful, it distorts the surrounding space.

Hierro (鋼皮 (イエロ), Iero; Spanish for "Iron," Japanese for "Steel Skin") An Arrancar's outer skin with high spiritual hardness that serves as armour.

Pesquisa (探査回路 (ペスキサ), Pesukisa; Spanish for "Inquiry," Japanese for "Probe Circuit") An Arrancar ability to measure and locate spiritual pressure.

Resurrección (帰刃 (レスレクシオン), Resurekushion; Spanish for "Resurrection,"

Japanese for "Returning Blade") Releasing the core of an Arrancars' ability sealed in their Zanpakutō to regain the original powers of a Hollow. They often take on a form closer to a Hollow than a Human after performing Resurrección.

Sonído (響転 (ソニード), Sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound," Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") The Arrancar equivalent to a Shinigami's Shunpo.

Arrancar Equipment
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") A tool used by Espadas to punish their subordinates. It traps its subject eternally in a closed dimension.