Bleach/Shikai Confirmed/WMG

=== These are Wild Mass Guesses for the series Bleach Shikai Edition which have been confirmed by the series or by Word of God. If a WMG on one of the open pages is confirmed, please move it here. ===

Please add new confirmed entries to the bottom of the page.

Ichigo becoming even more crazy powerful was just as planned
People are talking about how it was stupid of Ulquiorra to let Ichigo live because of his "garbage" status instead of simply killing him. But recall back in the story, after Ulquiorra returns from his survey of Ichigo, he says something along the lines of "If he doesn't self-destruct, he may prove useful to us in the future." Unless I'm incorrect, we still haven't seen what he meant by that. Perhaps Aizen is planning on using Ichigo's new form as a sort of sleeper agent power, waiting for the right moment and then either causing his Hollow side to flip out and try to destroy everyone or activating some sort of control, causing Ichigo to pull a Face Heel Turn against his will. And following in that vein...

Aizen has already Hollowfied himself
The apparent climax of the Fake Karakura Town arc will involve Aizen on the ropes, scorched half to death by Yamamoto's Bankai. While he snarls something like, "*** you, old man!", the Captain-General will say something terribly wise and get ready to finish him off. As he moves in for the kill, Aizen will smirk villainously and say, "Only joking," then proceed to don his Hollow mask and absolutely destroy Yamamoto (then fight against Shinji).
 * Well, they did say the Hogokyu 'broke down the barriers between Shinigami and Hollow', so it makes sense it could make Vizards as well as Arrancar. I'd bet good money he's probably Hollowfied Gin and Tousen too.
 * What Aizen's done with the Hogokyu up to this point makes sense from the perspective that he's testing it on others before trying it himself.
 * What Aizen's done with the Hogokyu up to this point makes sense from the perspective that he's testing it on others before trying it himself.
 * What Aizen's done with the Hogokyu up to this point makes sense from the perspective that he's testing it on others before trying it himself.

The top four Espada are Vasto Lordes
Aside from the fact that Ulquiorra's released form looks almost identical to the silhouette shown when Hitsugaya is explaining the different Menos classes to Ichigo (sans the wings), Aizen seems (or seemed; we've not seen him for a while) pretty confident that the Espada he's brough to the false Karakura town with him will be enough to beat the crap out of the captains and lieutenants who've showed up to stop him. Ulquiorra's demonstrated that he has two release stages, and in spite of what he says, there's every possibility that the three espada in front of him can do the same thing. What we know about the Vasto Lorde is that they are "stronger than an average captain". We know that Ichigo is captain strength. He got utterly curb-stomped by Ulquiorra(before Uber-Hollow form) - so he fits the bill of being more powerful than a captain(if we assume that Ichigo's Hollowification and Ulquiorra's Shinigamification essentially cancel each other out, then what we're left with is a comparison of Ichigo's Shinigami power and Ulquiorra's Hollow power). The ones above them fit the bill as well - Barragan couldn't be brute force killed by a captain AND a vizard-kido master. Hitsugaya landed, at best, a few scratches on Harribel and ice clone aside, he'd be dead. Starrk is doing pretty well against TWO captain class Vizards. Really, how powerful do they have to be for people to believe that those guys are VL? So yeah, I think there's a strong case to be made that the top four Espada are Vasto Lorde.
 * Don't forget, Four Is Death. So, it would make a lot of sense.
 * Wonderweiss Margera is also likely to be a Vasto Lorde.
 * Another point in favour - when Arrancar release their weapons, they take their original Hollow form. Of the releases we've seen, only Ulquiorra and Halibel have humanoid releases, which is a characteristic of the Vasto Lordes (Szayel was really more of a helicopter-octopus-thing).
 * Barragan and Stark are also humanoid in their release states, especially Stark. More evidence to support the theory.
 * It would also explain why the top four are so powerful than they're forbidden to release inside of Los Noches.
 * I'll repost what I said on the It Just Bugs Me page about this:
 * it's pretty much confirmed they were. According to the anime Halibel was a Vasto Lorde. So was barragan and starrk. Also the databook says they are.

The Hogyoku continued to have effects even while sealed in Rukia
Ichigo first became a shinigami by absorbing Rukia's powers - his Hollow side might be the result of him accidentally absorbing some of the Hogyoku's energy as well. Also note that Chad's Hollow powers awakened when he was with Rukia.
 * But IIRC Rukia didn't have the hougyoku when she gave her power to Ichigo. And Ichigo's hollow side is likely the result of Urahara cutting his soul chain or whatever it's called. Urahara said Ichigo would either become a hollow or a shinigami. He first emerged with a mask, then tore it off - but apparently it stuck.

Yammy and Ulquiorra are more powerful than their ranks suggest.
Ulquiorra claims that he's never let anyone else, even Aizen, see his second release form, which is not only much stronger than his initial release, but also inflicts crushing despair on his enemies (Necron pariah anyone?). Yammy, despite losing an arm to Ichigo in their first encounter, doesn't seem the least bit afraid of him after he took several levels of Badass. Ulquiorra even said that Yammy's biggest weakness is his brutish nature, implying that his low rank is due more to his low intelligence than his lack of strength. Well, I sincerely doubt yammy is the strongest espada now that we've seen him in action. kenpachi has cut off his leg and his fingers without much effort. Yammys attacks haven't done jack shit to kenpachi either. Next chapter I can see yammy getting his arm cut off or killed.
 * While I certainly suspect this is true for good ol' emocar, I don't think it's true for Yammy. The brutish, ridiculously overconfident bad guy who gets owned in 2 seconds is almost mandatory in Shonen. And I had thought that the "crushing despair" was Ulquiorra shooting a big ol' hole in Ichigo's chest.
 * Actually, this could be true to Yammy as well. Otherwise, how else would anyone explain him shoving off Hitsugaya's shikai without even using his sword? And no, any arguments about 'Hitsugaya is a weakling who should just die' will not be accepted to the argument. Likewise, when snapping Lolly and Menoly, he wasn't even trying. And IIRC, during his fight against Urahara, he didn't receive any serious wounds, unlike that one incident when Ichigo suddenly released his Hollow form. Ulquiorra was right, though, Yammy was ranked the lowest because of his idiocy, had he been a Genius Bruiser instead, he might be the '0 Espada' as all those fans hyped or theorized jokingly.
 * Wow.
 * No kidding. This has been confirmed.
 * Kubo could very well be a troper, and be writing some of the theories for people to be bemused and surprised it actually happened, as proposed below. Not completely impossible, he does write rather well in English, as chapter titles with Engrish in it are rather rare.
 * For those who don't believe (or don't want to believe), here's a link. Obviously, MASSIVE SPOILERS on Chapter 354.
 * This (spoiler warning)
 * This troper thinks that this was planned all along, for the simple reason that,
 * And Aaroniero, Número 9, was the only Gillian among the Espadas.
 * AND (a thing that bugged this troper, but he put it down to Fridge Logic):
 * Note that just because Ulquiorra thought Aizen was unaware of his 2nd release form doesn't mean it's true. I doubt there's very much at all that Aizen is unaware of.
 * We're talking about Zaraki here. He'd probably be able to slice up the soutaichou himself if not for that pesky burning of all creation to ashes bit.

Isshin knew Ichigo was going to get involved sooner or later
Note his constant attacking his son. The morning after the first episode, what did Issin say? "I have nothing left to teach you", indicating that his "eccentricity" was obfuscation to hide preparing his son so he'd survive the upcoming battles. This is also why he is so much more protective of his daughters- any training they've picked up is unintentional.
 * This one has essentially bee confirmed since Isshin's conversation with Ishida Ryuuken in chapter 241. In fact, canon's gone one step beyond the guess by suggesting that Ryuuken's aware of this as well (and takes a very different stance on Uryuu's involvement).
 * More supporting evidence: Ichigo's name. I know that you can read it as "Firstborn Guardian", and it is possible that Isshin thought that was a good name for his eldest son. But it's more likely that Isshin took his cues from Johnny Cash songs and named his son "Strawberry" on purpose...so that he'd become a good fighter by kicking the rear of anyone who points out that he's got a girl's name. Hey, if it worked for Sue...
 * Didn't work really well for Ichigo, though. Seems like he's so used to it that he practically shrugs it off.

Aizen found the Vasto Lorde after all
At the moment, Aizen's acting far too smug for a guy in his position. After planning his assault for a year, he brings only three espada, two traitor captains, and a handful of mediocre fraccion to a fight with six captains, eight lieutenants, and ultimately seven vengeful vizard? Even if Ichigo's father or Urahara and his companions don't get involved, Captain Broken's going to get his *** handed him to him, hypnosword or no. Unless, of course, he's holding something back...
 * The reason Aizen is so smug could be because the secret weapon has been staring us in the face for so long. Speculation has said that the top three Espada (and possibly Ulquiorra as well) used to be Vasto Lorde. And now they're Arrancar, which means they would logically be even stronger. If it only takes ten Vasto Lorde to walk all over Soul Society, then I'm sure three former Lorde-now-turned-Arrancar could do some serious damage. Besides, we've yet to really see the top three Espada even do anything...
 * What if the Vizard are on his side? Remember, they were supposed to be sentenced to death, so maybe they aren't with SS after all. Plus, he hasn't used his bankai yet.
 * Unless some extremely complicated mindfuck is going on, the vizard are probably no way in Aizen's side... after all, he experimented on them, wanted to kill them, got them banished from Soul Society, and basically ruined their life. I suppose the vizard are, if anything, on Urahara's side, whichever side that may be.
 * Well, this is Aizen we're talking about. At the most dramatically appropriate time, he'll emerge from the curtain of fire and reveal that he finally found and recruited the Vasto Lorde colony alluded to since the beginning of the Arrancar arcs and granted hybrid powers to one or more entities that were already above captain-class.
 * And then he'll step aside to reveal...Wonderweiss Margera.
 * ...which actually makes sense if you think about it. The shinigami have stated that he's strong enough to be an Espada and he looked human before Aizen used the Hogyoku on him, meaning he had to have been a Vasto Lorde and therefore he's at least as strong as Ulquiorra, if not stronger.
 * it's confirmed they top 4 were VL all along. Halibel was weakest because she refused to consume other hollows.
 * it's confirmed they top 4 were VL all along. Halibel was weakest because she refused to consume other hollows.

In the next filler arc, Ichigo's Hollow is gonna appear.
As stated above, the next arc is about the soul reaper's zanpakutos rebelling - but in Ichigo's case theres a catch, since his zanpakuto was already taken over by his inner hollow.
 * I doubt it. The whole "being fused with Hichigo" thing didn't stop him from showing up in Ichigo's subconscious in the first episode. Hichigo wasn't even there. I have a feeling they'll ignore him this season.
 * Both will be released, with Zzngetsu remaining on Ichigo's side rather than going rogue. It would be a fun moment when Muramasa sees the unexpected result of his actions being the release an insane captain-class level hollow.

Aizen is even stronger than we think.
Scary thought, but it could be true. Aizen claims that it takes someone with twice the reiatsu of an average captain to temporarily awaken the sleeping Hogyoku, and then proceeds to do it himself. Why couldn't Gin or Tousen whip out their bankai (which multiplies your reiatsu 5 to 10 times) and use the Hogyoku themselves in order to give Aizen a mask? Because it takes twice the reiatsu level of an average captain while in bankai and Aizen has that much power with a sealed Zanpaktou.
 * Who says Aizen couldn't just give himself a mask using the Hogyoku? Most likely, Tousen (as the most disposable of the rogue captains) was used as a prototype of sorts, to make sure the procedure had truly been perfected. Aizen might have already given himself and Gin masks, or he might have been waiting to see how it worked out for Tousen in an actual battle . Also, we don't know that Gin isn't strong enough to awaken the Hogyoku himself.
 * Vaizard don't have Hierro like arrancar do. That's the only reason the arrancar are so hard to cut. In order for a shinigami (or Vaizard) to block a blade with any part of their body, they have to be a lot stronger than the person they're blocking. The only shinigami we've ever seen do it are Kenpachi (to Ichigo's shikai) and Aizen (to pre-mask Ichigo and Komamura).
 * Confirmed to a capital T: Throughout the second to last battle of the fake Karakura Town, Aizen basically one-shots Komamura, Hitsugaya, Otoribashi, Hitsugaya, Yadomaru, Aikawa, Hirako and Kyoraku.

Lilynette's last name is not Gingerback.
It's really Gingerbaques. And then Tite Kubo is gonna change it to Gingerbaquez.
 * It could be Lilynetter Gingerbach or Rlirlynettoh Djinjarebackah, as the pronunciation doesn't change in Japanese.
 * Confirmed. The latest databook spells it "Lilynette Gingerbuck".

The Shonen Plot is Just As Planned.
Yeah. All that train-fight-lose-fight-New Powers as the Plot Demands-win pattern? Aizen had planned that from the beginning to get Ichigo stronger in the quickest way possible.
 * If that's true... Tite Kubo, you Magnificent Bastard!
 * Confirmed.

Gin is going to die.

 * First of all, Redemption Equals Death. Second, keeping him alive is going to be a very messy endeavor. If we assume that even Yamamoto didn't know about this, then Gin's suddenly saying "I'm a good guy!" will be anything but well-recieved. The moral dilemma alone would be a bitch to write, to say nothing of the aftermath and fact that nobody saw him do the deed of 414. Worst case senario, Gin could turn into another Base Breaker via the Unpleasable Fanbase--if he hasn't, already. Third, and most importantly of all, Gin is arguably one of the last interesting characters left, to say nothing of his oddly high fanbase. In the tradition of Kubo's previous likable villans, be he actually evil or not, he must be killed. Besides, why would any sane author pass up a Died in Your Arms Tonight moment with him and Rangiku?
 * And if that happens, he will reincarnate as a game show host or a used car salesman. Because can't you see him as an evil Bob Barker? "Control the pet population, or I will."

Gin did not

 * Remember before
 * Confirmed, but he used Kido to knock her out instead of cutting her soul chain.
 * Remember before
 * Confirmed, but he used Kido to knock her out instead of cutting her soul chain.

Aizen isn't as in control of the Hougyokou as he thought.
It's just been in the back of my head, but I can't seem to get the the theory that the Hougyokou's trying to take over his body. Yes, I realize that Aizen SAID he was in control, but he's an arrogant little prick, and I find it much more likely that the Hougyokou decided to make him it's host, take over, and do who knows what. We've seen that it's at least somewhat sentient. That's why he keeps going through all those transformations, it's turning him into something it can control.
 * I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that that was the Hougyokou's plan all along. Admit it, the idea that Aizen might have been the Hougyokou's Unwitting Pawn all along is just too absolutely perfect to not be true.
 * Confirmed. It took away his powers once it got fed up with him.

Ichigo's Getting His Power Back
Duh. He has to. He can no longer see the other main-main character Rukia? His White Moon, who dries the rain? Oh, come on. I know Kubo likes to troll the fandom, but this? AND we wouldn't have a series without Ichigo fighting bad guys! Hougyouku is going to choose him or something is going to happen. (Something troll-worthy of course, that Kubo, but definitely SOMETHING). Oh, and Rukia's going to get a gigai (before his powers come rushing back, that is). No way is she going to stand for Ichigo not being able to see and/or talk to her (though I wouldn't doubt it if she decided to have fun with stalking him, at least a little bit).
 * Confirmed, but only in the sense that he regained his powers.

In the end, Aizen will suffer a major breakdown on par with Light Yagami.

 * Let's face it, Aizen has always pretty much planned for just about every contingency that can occur, just like Light and like Light, Aizen believes that nothing can happen that he cannot turn to his favor, so when something throws Aizen's plans off so completely that he cannot hope to regain control, Aizen will freak out BIG TIME, possibly creating all sorts of new memes in the process.
 * Confirmed, though it was somewhat less of a Freak-Out than light's.

The anime will get filler when it reaches the Time Skip.
What? Canon has already declared Canon Discontinuity on all filler except maybe the Bount arc (haven't seen it, is it intergratable into canon?) so a time skip will seem the perfect spot to insert another Filler Arc.
 * Confirmed. At least the first episode before "part 2" will be filler.

Orihime has gotten stronger combat wise
The look in here eyes when talking to a character who she thinks injured Ishisda says it all.
 * Actually, I'd say this is pretty much confirmed. Over the time-skip, she's developed new combat techniques, and she's lost most of her timid, pacifist attitude.

Gin will betray Aizen.
Think about it: The chapters lately are called Deicide (Which means "The killing of a god"), Gin has a bankai that's called God-killing spear, and Aizen lately is slowly turning into a true god with the Hougyoku. Plus, Gin never really seemed to care about helping Aizen, so that might also be a hint that Gin's working for a as-of-now unknown third side.
 * That would explain the Hannibal Lecture that he, of all people, just tossed at Ichigo. However... (see next)
 * KON-firmed as of 414, but Aizen was revived by the Hogyoku and killed Gin in turn.

Soul Society will save the day, sort of
Well, Urahara and Isshin have to be doing something important, right? They've probably noticed Tsukishima and requested help from the Soul Society. Obviously, they'll end up sending Rukia and Renji, since they're Ichigo's Shinigami BF Fs. Probably a couple of other fan favourites will be thrown in as well. Urahara,(probably) Isshin and (hopefully) Yoruichi will help them to save Ichigo from Tsukishima. As for if they'll arrive before Ichigo gets brainwashed by Tsukishima is an entirely different WMG altogether...
 * Confirmed: the Shinigami restored Ichigo's powers, and Ginjo's getting his ass kicked.

Ginjou really is the Big Bad of this story arc
Because after Lampshade Hanging it that strongly, how could he not be?
 * Confirmed, but he shares it with Tsukishima.

The day will be saved by Kisuke Urahara
Does anyone else find it rather odd that not one, but TWO very powerful shinigami (Urahara and Yoruichi) are inexplicably missing from the major battle going on to protect the town THAT THEY LIVE IN!!! It seems as if Yoruichi, who we already saw pretty much own Soifon and beat the crap out of Yammy (Ulquiorra even ordered a retreat, apparently fully aware of her level of badass) has completely dropped off the face of the Earth. And Urahara hasn't been seen since sending Ichigo and Co. to Hueco Mundo, although he has been mentioned, mostly for building the pillars supporting the Fake Karakura Town.I find it hard to believe that he did all that and decided to sit out of the battle. Besides I'm sure he has some words for Aizen. At first I thought Shinji would surely beat him for betraying him but it seems that will not happen. So who else has a major grudge against Aizen? Urahara, who actually invented the Hogyoku and was researching hollow powers even before Aizen. Also, he was framed for his crimes. Also, Aizen may be completely aware of his coming opponent, and perhaps Gin too. It would explain what the hell he's doing standing on a building playing with himself. Maybe Yoruichi vs. Gin?
 * Well, It's not like the remaining group at Fake Karakura Town can possibly beat Aizen unaided. Some form of Big Damn Heroes will need to be pulled off. The problem with said hero being Urahara is that he has probably seen Aizens Shikai.
 * I just assume Yoruchi, Urahara and Tessai are off trying to find the two people with Captain Class Ability and who have yet to see Aizen's Shikai, Isshin Kurosaki and Ryuuken Ishida.
 * Indeed I also thought of that, and it was meant to be included in this, but I somehow forgot to type it by the time I finished. I'm almost completely positive that Isshin has SOMETHING to do with this...
 * Supporting the Isshin Solution (as I called it) is that Aizen was obviously unable or didn't bother keeping track of him. If he had he would have known about Ichigo a lot sooner, and its even more unlikely that he knows about Ryuuken.
 * Only problem is Ryuuken clearly has no interest in fighting anyone or helping the shinigami.
 * Which is why Kisuke will need to do a lot of persuading.
 * So this is like a full blown WMG now? Awesome. ^_^
 * Confirmed. He sealed Aizen, but he gave Ichigo credit for holding Aizen off.

Uryuu is as vulnerable to Tsukishima's Fullbring as the next guy. It's just that Tsukishima hasn't used it on him.
And the reason for that was because he was trying to kill him instead. It might have been a simple case of He Knows Too Much. It could be that Tsukishima knows something about the Quincy and figured "Hey, this guy can attack me without ever getting close; if something goes wrong he could be a serious threat, so I'd better take him out now." And as of right now he's realized that what he did before didn't do the trick so he's either going to try to finish the job or use his Fullbring on Uryuu.
 * Confirmed. It was apparently Ginjo who cut him that time, not Tsukishima

"Superchunky" isn't the real threat; Wonderweiss is
Size seems to be inversely proportionate to power in the Bleach universe, with larger enemies often dying easily in Curb Stomp battles (Tesla gets killed in one hit by Kenpachi, Grand Fisher gets killed in one hit by Isshin, Poww gets killed in one hit by Komamura and Allon gets killed easily by Yamamoto- albeit after defeating four lieutenants) and the Gillian being the largest and weakest kind of Menos. Additionally, the story seems to be setting up Wonderweiss as being a Not-So-Harmless Villain, especially since he seems like the least threatening Arrancar, but has been shown to have Espada-level power readings.
 * Not to mention: have you seen the size of Wonderweiss's sword? I mean, I know  said that you can't judge a Shinigami / Arrancar's power by the size of their sword, but seriously, that's like a frikkin' Zweihander.
 * The kid, so this seems more likely than ever.
 * And.
 * All the more likely now that
 * Overall, Confirmed.
 * Overall, Confirmed.

Muramasa will be a Fillergami's sword spirit.
And this fillergami will be shown to have a sword with illusion powers, and that everything he or she did was just a trick to show how vulnerable the Shinigami are, in case Aizen attacks the group.
 * It probably is a Fillergami's Zanpakuto but I doubt that the owner will make an appearance, except for flashbacks maybe. Muramasa said that he killed his owner. Unless he's lying of course.
 * He lied. His owner is named Kouga- Kuchiki Kouga, and the son-in-law of Kuchiki Ginrei AKA Byakuya's grandfather. Considering how odd Byakuya's been acting, it's very likely that a Luke, I Am Your Father moment isn't too far behind.
 * Confirmed, if only because Kouga was a filler character.

Whoever defeats Yammy will do so with considerable ease
The larger villains tend to go down fairly quickly when they're defeated; Ichigo forced the first Menos Grande to retreat with a single (very powerful) slash, Kenpachi killed Tesla in seconds, and Mashiro destroyed Fura (aka Superchunky) in one kick. This may be the result of their battles being contests of raw power as opposed to having lengthy struggles of agility in battles with smaller combatants. It's most likely that Yammy will dominate Chad, Rukia and Renji at first while they have difficulty even making a scratch on him, but then when help arrives (most likely Unohana), the reinforcements will bring Yammy down in a single extremely powerful attack that somehow instantly takes him from perfect health to death or near death.
 * Not a bad theory. It'll be incredibly anticlimatic if it turns out to be true, though.
 * Might still happen, since Unohana isn't there yet, but at the moment he is dominating everyone.
 * Confirmed; Kenpachi and Byakuya only got off with mino injuries, and Kenapchi called it a boring fight.

Inner Hollows aren't actually fused with the zanpakutou spirits, its just another part like them.
I'm under the impression that the only source of information regarding the whole "Inner Hollows are fused with Zanpakutou" thing is Ichigo's Inner Hollow. I'm sorry, but doesn't it seem like the insane, bloodthirsty Hollow might be, you know, lying. Trying to demoralize Ichigo, since that monster certainly won't hesitated to use any weapon he can, not when dominence of the entirety of their soul is at stack. Because looks like the Hollow is like Zangetsu, a seperate mind which is made from a part of Ichigo's soul.
 * Confirmed, at least for Zangetsu to Ichigo.

Tsukishima's powers don't give the same memories to everyone
His abilities let him change the past of someone, but each person has a different "new past", and, if he tries to brainwash two people who lived the same experiences, the new memories for each will be different. So Ichigo could convince Orihime and Chad/Sado, that the memories are fake if, for example, in Orihime's memories, he was fighting against Yammy the first time Yammy and Ulquiorra appeared, but Chad "remembers" him fighting Ulquiorra
 * Confirmed. Then again it was never stated his powers gave the same memories to multiple people.