Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!
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Shadow

Shadow KHIII.png

Shadow KHCOM.png

Shadow (Purple) KHD.png

Shadow

Shadow KHX.png

Japanese シャドウ
Rōmaji Shadō

Type Pureblood Heartless
Games Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts coded
Kingdom Hearts χ
Kingdom Hearts III
Variations
Mega-Shadow
Gigas Shadow
Flower Rider
Gift Shadow
Lion Dancer
Rodeo Rider
Candy Apple
Poison Apple
Shadow Witch
Shadow Magician
Flappy Rider
Shadow

Kingdom Hearts
Heartless that emerge from various places. They sneak up to their enemies and strike them with sharp claws. They are extremely tenacious, often chasing their prey to the end.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
A Heartless that pops up in all kinds of places.
The Shadow ambles around and attacks without warning. It is completely untouchable while hiding within the darkness.
Kingdom Hearts II
It sinks into the ground while moving, so timing is the key to defeating it.
The moment it surfaces, attack away!
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
A Pureblood Heartless that flows across the ground as a shadow, completely immune to attack.
Watch for the moment it emerges, then strike!
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Heartless which lurk here, there, and everywhere. They hide themselves beneath their own shadows as they draw close to their prey, then lash out with sharpened claws. Don't want to get caught shadowboxing? Then wait till they surface to strike.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
A Heartless whose heart has been lost within the darkness.
It appeared with the darkness that encroached the world, and is searching for a heart to prey on.
Kingdom Hearts Union χ
Enemy
This Heartless often travels in a group. Finish off a swarm quickly with an all-encompassing attack or special attack!

Medal
KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
A common Heartless that sneaks up to its enemies and strikes them with sharp claws.
Kingdom Hearts III
These shifty shades skulk around, then strike out of the blue. Stay locked on to make sure they don't give you the slip.

They're immune to normal attacks when they dive beneath the surface, but a splash of Water magic will yank them out of hiding in a hurry!
HP STR DEF MP rec EXP
Before rescue
After rescue
Weapon Fire Blizzard Thunder
Percentage Stop Stun Other
Seed(s)

Phil Cup

Seed 4 (Hard Hitters): 4 Shadow

Pegasus Cup

Seed 8 (Marauders): 4 Shadow

Hercules Cup

Seed 9 (Dusk Vanguard): 3 Shadow

Hades Cup

Seed 49 (Shadow Brothers): 7 Shadow
Seed 47 (Terrible Feet): 2 Shadow
Seed 32 (Shadow Summoners): 6 Shadow
Seed 26 (Shadow Storm): ? Shadow
Seed 9 (Night Rave): 5 Shadow
Seed 5 (Black Storm): ? Shadow

Floor HP AP EXP
Sora Riku

1F B12F 33 3 3
2F B11F 36 3 7
3F B10F 39 4 12
4F B9F 42 5 16
5F B8F 45 5 21
6F B7F 49 6 25
7F B6F 52 7 30
8F B5F 55 8 32
9F B4F 58 9 36
10F B3F 62 10 41
11F B2F 98 9 75
12F B1F 105 10 80
13F 111 11 91
Physical Fire Ice Lightning Neutral
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0
Stun Percentage Stop
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0
Warp Bind Confuse Terror
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0
World(s)
Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah, Halloween Town, Monstro, Neverland, Hollow Bastion, Twilight Town, Destiny Islands, Castle Oblivion, Bottomless Darkness
Enemy Card
Shadow (card).png
Ability Duration Cost
Incrementor 2 reloads 25 CP
Description
Increase the value of all cards by 1.
Location HP Strength Defense EXP
Twilight Town 15 2
Hollow Bastion 16 3
The Land of Dragons 17 0
Beast's Castle 20 0
Hollow Bastion 22 0
Olympus Coliseum Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Disney Castle Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Timeless River Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Port Royal Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Agrabah Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Halloween Town Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Pride Lands Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Hollow Bastion Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Space Paranoids Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Hollow Bastion Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Space Paranoids Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
The World That Never Was Expression error: Unexpected * operator. 0
Physical Fire Blizzard
x1.0 x1.0
Thunder Dark Neutral
x1.0 x1.0

Rewards
(1) HP Ball x1
(1) Munny x1
Dark Shard (4%)
World(s)
Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, The Land of Dragons, Beast's Castle, Olympus Coliseum, Disney Castle, Timeless River, Port Royal, Agrabah, Halloween Town, Pride Lands, Space Paranoids, The World That Never Was
Cup HP Strength Defense
Pain and Panic Cup

Match 1: 5 Shadow
Match 4: 4 Shadow

26
Pain and Panic Paradox Cup

Match 1: 5 Shadow
Match 4: 4 Shadow

59
Hades Paradox Cup

Match 1: 3 Shadow
Match 7: 4 Shadow

91
Physical Fire Blizzard
x1.0 x1.0
Thunder Dark Neutral
x1.0 x1.0
Mission HP EXP STR/DEF
Story Mode Mission Mode
00 60 1 8
02 20 60 1 8
05 20 60 1 8
07 20 60 1 8
08 20 60 1 8
09 20 60 1 8
14 25 74 1 15
20 27 80 1 18
21 27 80 1 18
22 27 80 1 18
23 27 80 1 18
26 27 80 1 18
27 27 80 1 18
28 27 80 1 18
29 27 80 1 18
35 30 91 2 24
42 30 91 2 24
43 30 91 2 24
59 43 129 2 44
61 43 129 3 44
74 48 143 4 51
77 48 143 6 51
83 48 143 8 51
89 48 143 11 51
Fire Blizzard Thunder Aero
x2.20 x1.60 x0.60 x1.70
Ignite Freeze Jolt Air-Toss
x1.00 x1.00 x1.00 x1.00
Defense Power Adjustment Heart Points
• Full Body: ?
Flinch? Bloom-Out?
X X
Rewards

Missions 1-14
Potion (10%)
Missions 15-35
Potion (10%)
Missions 36-50
Ether (25%)
Missions 51-61
Moonstone (15%)
Missions 73-93
Blazing Gem (7%)

Story Mode
Munny x5
Mission Mode
Munny x3
World(s)
Twilight Town, Agrabah, Beast's Castle, Halloween Town, Olympus Coliseum, Neverland

World HP EXP Strength Defense
Destiny Islands 19 8 30 9
Traverse Town 19 8 30 9
Traverse Town
(Questploration)
35 48 56 17
Wonderland 28 25 45 14
Wonderland
(Questploration)
35 48 56 17
Agrabah 44 107 71 22
Hollow Bastion 46 122 74 23
Castle Oblivion 65 429 105 33
Fire Blizzard Thunder Aero
x1.00 x1.00 x1.00 x1.00
Ignite Freeze Jolt Air-Toss
O O O O
Slow Stop Confuse Stun Magnet
O O O O O
Rewards
HP Ball x1-4, Munny x8
Beginner Mode Potion (1.00%)
Standard Mode Potion (1.00%)
Proud Mode Potion (1.00%)
Critical Mode Potion (1.00%)
Worlds
Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, Wonderland, Agrabah, Hollow Bastion, Castle Oblivion

World HP EXP Strength Defense
Traverse Town 24 15 38 12
Traverse Town
(Summoned by Guard Armor)
19 8 30 9
Fire Blizzard Thunder Aero
x1.00 x1.00 x1.00 x1.00
Reward
HP Ball x1-4, Munny x8
Layer HP EXP Strength Defense
Layers 1-4 20 29 52 16
Layers 6-10 22 41 58 18
Layers 12-13 23 47 61 19
Layers 16-17 27 80 71 22
Layer 19 27 80 71 22
Layer 22 28 92 74 23
Layer 26 30 111 78 24
Fire Blizzard Thunder Aero
x1.00 x1.00 x1.00 x1.00
Rewards
HP Ball x1-2
Location HP EXP Strength Defense
Realm of Darkness 31 48 26 15
Physical Fire Blizzard Thunder Dark Other
? ? ? ? ? ?
Stun Freeze Mini Blind Ignite Confuse
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0
Bind Poison Slow Stop Sleep Death
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0 x1.0
Zero Gravity Magnet Warp
x1.0 x1.0 x1.0

Rewards

Shop LV 8
Wellspring Crystal (?%), Mega-Potion (?%), Zero Graviga (?%)

World(s)
Realm of Darkness
Location HP Strength Defense EXP
Dive to the Heart 14 16 8 0
Olympus 18 19 9 3
Olympus
(4 worlds cleared)
29 29 14 13
Olympus
(6 worlds cleared)
38 36 18 27
Olympus
(The Final World cleared)
48 44 22 47
Dark World 23 63 32 0
Twilight Town 25 25 12 8
Twilight Town
(6 worlds cleared)
31 31 15 15
Twilight Town
(The Final World cleared)
40 38 19 31
Toy Box 27 27 13 10
Toy Box
(4 worlds cleared)
31 31 15 15
Toy Box
(6 worlds cleared)
40 38 19 31
Toy Box
(The Final World cleared)
49 46 23 53
Kingdom of Corona 29 29 14 13
Kingdom of Corona
(4 worlds cleared)
34 33 16 19
Kingdom of Corona
(6 worlds cleared)
43 40 20 36
Kingdom of Corona
(The Final World cleared)
52 48 24 59
Monstropolis
(Battlegate 8)
27 73 37 0
San Fransokyo 57 52 26 73
San Fransokyo
(The Final World cleared)
61 55 28 89
Keyblade Graveyard 20 55 28 36
Keyblade Graveyard
(Battlegate 0)
70 63 32 124
The Final World 61 55 28 89
Physical Fire Blizzard Thunder Water
×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0
Aero Dark Neutral Rapid-fire
×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0
Freeze Electrify Stun Hunny
Reaction
Endurance
Revenge
Value
Attraction
Magnification
Damage
Limit
0 ×1.1

Rewards
HP prize (1) ×2, Munny (1) ×1[1]
Writhing Shard (8%), Writhing Stone (4%)

Demon Tower cast-offs:
HP prize (5) ×2
World(s)
Dive to the Heart, Olympus, Dark World, Twilight Town, Toy Box, Kingdom of Corona, Monstropolis, San Fransokyo, Keyblade Graveyard, The Final World

The Shadow is a Pureblood Heartless introduced in Kingdom Hearts. Although the Shadow is one of the weaker, more common types of Heartless, it is still a threat to those without the Keyblade. It is found in each world in every game, excluding the worlds of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance; Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II; and The World That Never Was in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, this Heartless appeared only in the Realm of Darkness during the Secret Episode of the game. Certain Heartless, such as the Darkside, the Dark Follower, or Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, can also summon Shadows.

Design

A normal Shadow has a vaguely humanoid body structure. It has a round, spherical head with circular, glowing yellow eyes. It also has two long, twisted antennae sprouting out of the top of its head. Each of its hands has three clawed fingers, and its feet are large and lack any discernible digits. With the exception of its eyes, this Heartless's body is completely black (with the exception of the Shadows summoned by the Dark Follower, which are dark purple).

The Shadow's name is a reference to a shadow, highlighting its status as the most basic type of Heartless. The name could also be a reference to the Shadow's ability to flatten itself into a silhouette on the ground, and become a literal shadow.

Story

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

While Aqua is traversing the Realm of Darkness, she encounters the Shadow among a few other Pureblood Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts

 
Sora is temporarily a Shadow.

The Shadows first appear within Sora's Dive to the Heart, but are summarily destroyed by Sora, along with the Darkside, and he awakes from his dream. However, when Riku opens the door to Destiny Islands's heart, the Shadows reappear to devour the children's island. Sora notices the storm caused by their arrival and races to the island, but although he attacks them with his Wooden Sword, he is unable to damage the eldritch monsters until he discovers the Keyblade. Although he is now equipped to fight back the horde, his friends have already fallen into the darkness, and the island's heart has been devoured.

Shadows continue to appear as minor Heartless throughout the worlds, but do not reappear in force until Sora completes the Door to Darkness at Hollow Bastion by releasing Kairi's heart from his body. Not only does this change him into a Shadow, but the triumphant Ansem summons a swarm of Shadows to chase Kairi, Donald Duck, and Goofy from the castle. However, at the Entrance Hall, Kairi notices the Shadow that is Sora and embraces him, sharing her light with him and returning his human form.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

This information is based on alternate scenes or materials and is not considered canon within the overall plot of the series.
Shadows appear in the Mission Mode tutorial when the player learns about collecting Mission Points.

Shadows appear when Roxas trains with Marluxia in Twilight Town, who uses them to illustrate why Organization XIII pursues Emblem Heartless but ignores Purebloods. Much later, when Roxas goes to Halloween Town on a mission in which he is to meet up with Xigbar, he is surrounded by Shadows before being rescued by his senior. Still later, Roxas fought a more powerful version of the Darkside, the Dark Follower, which summoned a swarm of Shadows in its unsuccessful attempt to repel the Nobody.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

Several Shadows spawn when Sora and company attempt to leave the card world of Monstro, when Jack Skellington mentions a "problem" in Halloween Town, and when Sora arrives in Agrabah to find Aladdin under attack by Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts II

 
Shadows are created from the destroyed Kingdom Hearts.

When Sora's and Riku's teams enter the Hall of Empty Melodies, swarms of Shadows appear and attack them separately. Riku lends Kairi a Keyblade, and they each fight back the swarm. However, it is Xigbar who finishes the Heartless off before challenging Sora to battle.

After Ansem the Wise fires the Kingdom Hearts Encoder at Xemnas's artificial Kingdom Hearts, the shower of hearts that results attracts a gigantic swarm of Shadows, who attack the castle. Maleficent and Pete offer to hold off the Shadows so that Sora and his friends can defeat Xemnas, in exchange for the castle itself. The castle and the artificial world it was built on are destroyed in Xemnas's final assault, taking the Shadows with them.

Battle

Attacks

Kingdom Hearts

  • Claw Attack

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

  • Claw Attack
  • Slide Kick

Kingdom Hearts II

  • Left Scratch (左引っかき Hidari Hikkaki?)
  • Right Scratch (右引っかき Migi Hikkaki?)
  • Jump Scratch (跳び引っかき Tobi Hikkaki?)

Kingdom Hearts III

  • Thrust (突き Tsuki?)
  • Scratch (引っかき Hikkaki?)
  • Jump Scratch (ジャンプ引っかき Janpu Hikkaki?)

Strategy

Shadows emerge from the ground to attack with a simple but powerful scratch attack. These Heartless are easy to defeat on their own, but their habit of attacking in large swarms can be quite overwhelming. When facing swarms of Shadows in Kingdom Hearts, the Thunder spell is an effective means of finishing off these foes quickly. The Keyblade is sufficient enough to take down a Shadow when it challenges Sora on its own, however.

Sora can block Shadows' scratch attacks with Guard, but he does not gain any Tech Points for doing so successfully.

In Kingdom Hearts III, Water Magic can be used to get the Shadows out of the ground.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Shadows drop Munny (1) ×3 when defeated in a Battlegate.