Shion

Shion (Hánzi: ; Pinyin: Zǐyuàn) is a character who first appeared as the sub boss in the penultimate stage of Arcade Mode in The King of Fighters XI.

He is voiced by Tokiyo Ogawa.

Development
He was conceptually designed to be one of Ron's daughters though developers decided to change his gender to startle and appeal to fans with his androgynous appearance. His gender was revealed to fans in his official back story, which states (and corrects itself) on his masculinity.

Story
Shion is an enigmatic character about which little is known. He works as an underling of Magaki and seems knowledgeable about the workings of Orochi. His true motives and his reason for following Magaki are unknown.

After his defeat during the tournament finals, he is dragged in an extra-dimensional gate by Magaki. At the tournament's conclusion, the Crimson Spear hurled through the gate and kills Magaki. In The King of Fighters XIII, Shion appears at the end of Story Mode, retaining his Crimson Spear from within the dimensional rift. He is accompanied by two other members, Shroom being one of them.

Personality
Shion shares Mukai's ideology that humans should not be underestimated and they have tremendous potential. Magaki and Shion share an uneasy relationship; Magaki is arrogant and proud of his own strength, seeing most humans as trash.

Powers

 * Weapon Mastery - Shion is an expert in multiple weapons including the Meteor Hammer and archery.
 * Weapon Summon - Shion can summon his weapons to him at anytime.
 * Featherless Arrow （无羽箭）- Shion can throw the featherless arrow with enough power that can strike the opponent down.
 * Multiple Attacks - Shion can deliver several punches at almost the same time.

Fighting Style
Shion uses traditional Wushu. As a result, he is able to make use of multiple stances, though akin to many boss characters he lacks a standard crouching animation.

Normally, Shion starts out with his spear, though it'll always disappear in a flash of lightning should he get hit while wielding it, forcing him to fight unarmed until he draws it out again.

Music

 * Koubai (Anti-Song) - The King of Fighters XI

Games

 * The King of Fighters XI - sub boss, unlockable in PlayStation 2 version

Mobile

 * Days of Memories (sixth title) - NPC
 * Kimi wa Hero
 * The King of Fighters All Star

Cameos

 * The King of Fighters XIII - Console version intro and in story mode chapter 30

Trivia

 * As most of the Chinese names in SNK games, his name is formatted via Japanese on'yomi; 紫苑 pronounced in Mandarin Chinese is Zǐyuàn.

Gallery
Shion