Nintendo Character Profile | Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)

Shulk
Not related to The Hulk…

Statistics

Species: Shulk is one of the Homs race, his world’s version of humans. They reside mainly in colonies on the Bionis, a massive God-like creature that all of a sudden stopped moving in a fight with another God, the Mechonis, which was thousands of years before the start of Xenoblade Chronicles.

Location: Shulk lives in Colony 9, a village built on top of a lake at the foot of the Bionis. It is home to a big military base and to war heroes from the great Mechon war; namely Dunban and Dickson, who both serve as mentors to the young Shulk and his friends. The colony has many inhabitants, many of which are Homs with quite a few being Nopon, small egg-shaped creatures that come from further north of the Bionis. Colony 9 is a futuristic looking village compared to the real world, but at the same time has an old fashioned feel in terms of the clothing people wear, yet modern looking markets.

Birth: Not much is known about Shulk’s birth, but it is known he was part of an expedition team in Valak Mountains as a young boy along with his parents on a mission to find the Monado. Something happened inside the temple where the Monado was found and everyone died apart from Shulk. Dickson then found Shulk and took him to Colony 9 where he was raised right up until the beginning of Xenoblade Chronicles.

Main Features: Shulk is quite a handsome young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is average sized, slim and looks tiny next to his friend Reyn. When we first see him in Xenoblade Chronicles he carries a wooden sword for a little bit of protection against the wildlife found in Colony 9, but after a while he starts wielding the Monado, with him being the true heir to the weapon. The Monado gives Shulk many different abilities, including the ability to glimpse into the future at vital times both during battle and while adventuring. It also functions to create an energy shield during battle, and can speed up one’s movements as well as other things. One thing is for certain, if Shulk did not have the Monado, he definitely wouldn’t get very far on his journey.

Clothing: At first, Shulk is seen wearing a rather plain blue Colony 9 sweater, three-quarter-length trousers and shoes, but this can be changed throughout the game. With metal armour, tribal clothing and even sleek oil that almost makes him look completely naked, there are several looks for Shulk to have (with the last one mentioned clearly being something for the ladies!). There is also a range of head gear to keep with the style, including some rare finds like Ruby Tinted Glasses.

Concept

Shulk has a close bond with his friends in Colony 9, in particular Fiora and Reyn. Fiora constantly tries to show Shulk her feelings for him, but he is so dense (or naïve, whichever way you want to put it!) that he never notices, even to the point of the Monado going wild in Reyn’s hands, with it nearly hitting Fiora, only for Shulk to be more worried about the sword than her. Shulk is shown to be a great leader with many admirers later in the game, and makes even more close friends who travel with him. There might even be a love rival or two for Fiora, not that he would notice or anything.

Shulk often finds it hard to make a decision by himself, but also seems reluctant to rely on other people for help, especially keeping quiet when he sees a vision of the future that he wants to change, choosing to be the hero himself, of which Reyn confronts him on.

Appearances

• Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) (JP 2010, EU 2011, US TBC)

Best Appearance

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