Kion/Relationships

The relationships of Kion from The Lion Guard.
==Romance==
===Rani===
Kion and Rani initially had difficulty getting along at first due to a misunderstanding on Rani's part, who mistook him and his friends for enemies. Even though Rani is touched by how he cares for his friends, she's still quite suspicious and only allowed him entry to the Tree of Life because of Janna's insistence. Rani's opinion of Kion worsened when she found out that he and his friends have inadvertently led hostile predators into her home, furthering her belief that Kion and his friends would only bring trouble and wished they would leave once Kion was healed.
However, their relationship improved after Kion took responsibility by helping her and the Night Pride fight off Makucha and his group. From then on, both were on much friendlier term and accepted each other as friends. When Queen Janna passed away, Kion proceeded to comfort Rani, allowing her to weep into his neck, while similarly weeping himself. Kion and Rani grew closer after they realized how much they have in common, particularly their feelings for their respective deceased grandparents and having to take on a leadership role at a young age. This allowed them to understand and help one another with their respective problem, which in turn blossomed their friendship into romantic love. When Kion was healed, he hesitated to return home after Rani confessed her wish for him to be her king, and missed her greatly when he was back in Pride Lands. Their mutual feelings for each other eventually reunited them and the two are married allowing them to rule the Tree of Life side by side as King and Queen.
==Family==
===Simba===
Simba and Kion have a very loving and affectionate father-son relationship. Kion always wants to please his father and despairs at the idea of disappointing him. Simba also loves his son dearly and will do whatever he can to support him and comfort him when he feels anxious. Simba also dose his best to give Kion advice about watching over the Pride Lands when he needs it. In the Season 2 special, "The Rise of Scar", Simba and Kion sing a duet "The Path of Honor" where they both reflect on their leadership roles and doubts they used to have (Simba being king of the Pride Lands and Kion being responsible for the Pride Lands).
However, Simba can be a little too strict with his son sometimes. Most notably in "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar", where he finds that Kion asked his friends to join the Lion Guard. While Kion was confident that his friends will be able to protect the Pride Lands, Simba doubts this and (incorrectly) accuses him of treating his newfound responsibility like a game. This leaves Kion feeling distraught and insecure about whether he's even ready to lead the Lion Guard. Simba also worries about whether or not Kion is ready to handle such a responsibility because he's "still a cub". But he accepts the new Lion Guard in the end and expresses great pride in his son and his friends after witnessing them defeat Janja and his clan.
In "Battle for the Pride Lands", after the final battle against Scar's Army, Simba (as well as everyone else) was very concerned when he saw Kion with a scar across his eye and at the concept of his son going insane from Ushari's venom. Simba is present as he and his family bid farewell to the Lion Guard on the journey to the Tree of Life, the find a cure for Kion's scar and Ono's loss of eyesight. Simba and his family are elated when the Guard return to the Pride Lands at the end of the series.
===Nala===
Kion and Nala have a loving and caring mother-son relationship. He worries about her safety a lot and does everything in his power to make sure that she is safe from harm's way no matter what happens. Like with the rest of family and friends, Kion is terrified by the idea of his mother being in danger or threatened by vicious predators. This is shown in "Never Roar Again", when the sight of Nala being attacked by Janja's clan, enrages Kion so much that loses his temper and control of the Roar, nearly endangering the lives of himself and the others.
Later on in that same episode, Kion becomes so angry seeing Makuu and his float trap Nala in the water, between all of them. However, this time, Kion keeps his temper in check and catches himself before the Roar can do any damage. Nala expresses pride in her son for having faith in himself and using the Roar in a new way to defeat Makuu's float.
Unlike Simba at the beginning of "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar", after hearing the Roar for the first time, Nala always believed that Kion was ready to lead a new Lion Guard and that he had what it takes, despite the fact that he was still a cub. Unlike Simba, it can be assumed that Nala would've trusted her son new what was doing by picking members outside of his pride for the Lion Guard. She expresses great pride in her son and his Guard after witnessing them saving Kiara from a gazelle stampede and defeating Janja's clan for the first time.
In "The Trail to Udugu", Nala takes Kiara and Kion on a trail to find the titular location, Udugu, to help them learn about teamwork and cooperation. However, the two cubs do not realize that Udugu is not really a place until the very end where they work together to find Nala. Their mother explains to them that Udugu is another word for "kinship", teamwork between siblings. She lovingly expresses pride the two for learning to work together to find her.
===Kiara===
Kion has a typical sibling relationship with Kiara. They do hold affection for each other, but are occasionally prone to sibling rivalry. Over the course of the series, their sibling rivalry seems to have diminished safer Kion saved her from Janja in "Can't Wait to be Queen" and they work together a lot more after the events of "Trail to Udugu" in which they acknowledged each other's skills. Unlike his grand-uncle, Scar, Kion doesn't hold resentment or jealousy towards his older sister, and in fact seems content that she is the heir to the throne instead of him, suggesting he is happier for it. He determines to be by her side and supports her to ensure she follows the right path.
In Battle for the Pridelands after the final battle with Scar, Kiara shows great concern about the scar on Kion's face. Before the Lion Guard set off on their journey the Tree of Life, Kiara wishes Kion good luck and promises to keep Tiifu and Zuri out of trouble while their gone.
After the Lion Guard returns from the Tree of Life, Kion sees that Kiara has found true love with Kovu, just like himself and Queen Rani. That night, Kion talks with Kiara about Rani, explaining how greatly he misses her. Kiara tells Kion that their parents would understand if he decided back to the Tree of Life. In the end, Kiara happily attends her brother's wedding and coronation.
===Mufasa===
Due to Mufasa's death before Kion was born, Kion never physically interacted with his paternal grandfather. However, Simba (apparently) told him about Mufasa's legacy, as Kion automatically recognized and correctly identified Mufasa's spirit. Kion holds an intense amount of respect and love for his grandfather.
When Kion doubted his position as the new leader of the Lion Guard, Mufasa comforted him and gave him the support he needed. Throughout the series, Mufasa continues to guide Kion and show him the correct path. He understands that Scar didn't have Kion's genuine ability to love and care for others and gently reminded Kion of this fact.
When Kion is discouraged in (The Mbali Fields Migration), and needs some time alone to think in (Never Roar Again, and (The Savannah Summit) or is simply insecure and needs advice, he calls his grandfather to give him some advice, and in a couple of occasions (The Mbali Fields Migration), Mufasa appears on his own as he notices that Kion is troubled. Mufasa is never ever cross with Kion, not even when Kion confessed that it was his fault that Scar had returned.
However, in Season 3, everything changes. Now a teenager, Kion defeats Scar, but Ushari bites him on the eye, leaving him with a scar like his great-uncle, which deeply upsets him, and he stops communicating with Mufasa as a result, both because he is afraid that he would see him as Scar, who murdered him without him suspecting, and because of the fact that when his scar caused him pain, he would lose his patience and also lose control of the Roar. After several months, he decides to talk to him only after a conversation with Rani, and Mufasa was not mad at him at all, just worried that he forgot about him, like Simba did for a while. After Kion tells his grandpa that he stopped communicating with him because he was afraid to face him due to his scar, a concerned Mufasa reminds him that he could have talked to him anytime and tells him that he will always be there for him, showing that he genuinely loves his grandson regardless of his scar. In ("The Lake of Reflection"), Mufasa understands that Kion is a capable enough leader to give up the Roar and informs him of where he must go. And in ("Return to the Pride Lands"), he proudly witnesses Kion's marriage to Queen Rani alongside Janna and Askari in the clouds.
===Scar===
Due to his death before Kion was born, Kion never physically interacted with his paternal grand-uncle. However, Simba apparently told him about Scar, as Kion holds his grand-uncle in low esteem. In fact, Kion's worst fear is that he'll end up being like Scar. When encountering Scar's spirit, Kion starts to despise his grand-uncle for his crimes against the Pride Landers, including attempted murder on his father. Since then, Kion starts to make it his mission to defeat Scar and stop him from taking over the Pride Lands and breaking The Circle of Life. During their final battle before Kion defeats Scar, Kion decides to forgive his grand-uncle, realizing that doing so is the only way for him not to fall to the same path as his grand-uncle. Scar then tries to break his spirit by saying the roar is a curse.
As he gets closer to the Tree of Life, Kion starts to get more aggressive which greatly worries that he'll turn out like Scar. Scar's words during their last encounter haunts him when looking in his reflection in a puddle when he hallucinates Scar in his place.
===Askari===
Askari is one of Kion's ancestors, and the leader of the first Lion Guard.
Kion first met Askari at Cikha Escarpment after Mufasa instructed him to go there to return the Roar. Kion and Askari are quick to develop respect for one another as leaders of the Lion Guard. Askari acknowledges Kion after seeing that Kion has realized not to let himself being defined by the power of the Roar and willing to let it go, which is enough proof for Askari to entrust Kion with the knowledge of mastering the Roar. Like Mufasa, Askari observes Kion and guides him in his path to master the Roar. Kion has heard of Askari's story and after his ancestor taught him how to master the Roar, Kion's respect and admiration for him grew even more, and Kion keeps everything that Askari has taught him in his heart. Askari later proudly attended Kion's wedding to Rani and coronation to become King of the Tree of Life.
===Kovu===
Kion met Kovu when he was younger as he was helping his good friend Jasiri. Upon their first meeting, both are wary of each other due to Kovu's family stole Jasiri's watering hole. The hostility between them lessened after Kovu learned of Kion's identity as Simba's son. Kovu is quick to welcome Kion, seeing this as an opportunity to return to the Pride Lands and see Kiara again. While his family doesn't think well of Kion because of his relation to Simba, Kovu doesn't share the same view and prefers for them to become friends instead of enemies. Kovu voiced his subtle disagreement with his mother's opinion when he discovered that she has trapped Kion, but didn't make any attempt to interfere out of loyalty for his pride. Kion, for his part, after falling into Zira's trap, didn't think well of Kovu for being her son and was ready to chase him away after he drive Zira and her pride away from the Outlands with his Roar. Years later, in "Return to the Pride Lands", Kion mistook Kovu as an enemy after Jasiri informed him about Zira attacking the Pride Lands. However, after learning that Kovu and his pride has joined the Pride Landers and that he even married Kiara, Kion is quick to accept Kovu as his brother-in-law and while spending the same day with the family the two them get to know each other a lot better and bond. In the end, Kovu happily attends Kion's coronation and wedding to Queen Rani and cheers for him.
===Vitani===
Kion met Vitani when she was younger. They initially are hostile against each other because of the feud between their prides. Years later, when they meet again, both no longer sees each other as enemies after Kion learned their prides have merged. However, rivalry is formed between them when Vitani revealed that she has formed her own Lion Guard in his absence and insisted that her Lion Guard should be the ones protecting the Pride Lands, which led to an argument between both sides as neither were willing to back down. This rivalry is put to an end after Kion witnessed Vitani's confidence and resolve to lead the Guard even without the Roar by bravely challenging him into a mashindano despite Kion's advantage with the Roar. Kion develops newfound respect for Vitani and entrusts her and her lionesses with the role of the Lion Guard. Both are on far better terms since then.
=== Baliyo ===
When Kion and Baliyo first met, Baliyo attacked him after assuming that he and the Lion Guard were dangerous and is accidentally blown away by Kion's Roar. When Baliyo's older sister Rani finally decides to welcome the Lion guard to the Tree of Life, he doesn't show any ill feelings toward Kion but asked him to never use the Roar on him again. In (The River of Patience) when Kion sees the Night Pride fighting Mackucha's army and that Baliyo has been bitten by Ora, Kion rushes over to help, showing that he likes the Night Pride and cares for Baliyo. Baliyo is delighted to see him and asks Kion to use the Roar on the bad guys, showing that he trusts Kion and admires his Roar. As the season goes on, Kion and Baliyo really get to know each other and this causes them to form a great relationship. In (Long Live the Queen), Baliyo and Kion have become a great deal closer to each other after the death of Baliyo's grandmother, Queen Janna. In "The Lake of Reflection", Baliyo and the Night Pride listen to Kion's instructions on how to fight Mackucha's Army, showing that they all trust Kion as a leader. In "Return to the Pride Lands", Kion and Baliyo become brothers-in-law when Kion marries Rani, much to Baliyo's great joy. He also becomes Baliyo's king.
=== Surak ===
Kion and Surak started off on hostile grounds due to a misunderstanding. It was after Kion and his friends made amends that showied their true intentions and Kion putting Ono before himself that Surak and the Night Pride began to give him a chance. Surak correctly suspected that Kion wielded the Roar of the Elders after witnessing it for the first time.
As Kion and the Lion Guard helped the Night Pride defend the Tree of Life from Mackucha's army, Surak came to respect Kion as a fierce warrior and a worthy leader, especially after how Kion mastered the Roar and used it to banish the villain's far away from the Tree of Life. Kion would soon become Surak's nephew-in-law by his marriage to Rani, as well as Surak's king.
==Friends and Allies==
===Bunga===
Bunga is Kion's childhood best friend forever. Before Kion became leader of the Lion Guard, he and Bunga would play together and have always worked well as a team. In a flashback, in the episode, "The Lake of Reflection", a much younger Kion and Bunga, alongside Fuli and Beshte, were able to work together to fight off a much younger Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu. Even before that, Baby Kion and Baby Bunga were racing each other for fun. In a flashback shown in "The Morning Report", it is revealed that when Kion and Bunga were very young kids, they would play games and go off on various adventures around the Pride Lands, like Pua's Watering-hole.
In the opening scene of "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar", Kion and Bunga are playing Baobab Ball around the Pride Lands. When Bunga was caught and held captive by Cheezi and Chungu, while trying to receive the Baobab fruit in the Outlands, Kion was very concerned over his best friend's safety and accidentally lets loose a huge, powerful Roar to save his friend. After Bunga was safe, he asked his friend how he managed to produce such a Roar, but, Kion admitted that he didn't know. However, Bunga expressed that he thought it was the best thing ever. When the friends got back to Pride Rock, after Simba taught Kion about his new role as Leader of the Lion Guard, Bunga expresses great excitement at the thought of his best friend being the leader of a rescue team. When Simba asked Kion to assemble a new Lion Guard, Bunga was the first animal he chose to be the part of the team, as the Pride Lands' Bravest. Kion trusts Bunga and his abilities, and Bunga expresses great eagerness and enthusiasm over helping his best friend patrol and defend the Pride Lands from vicious predators or natural disasters.
As the series progresses, Kion takes his new responsibility very seriously and works very hard to protect the Pride Lands from harm and keep the peace. However, he will still play games with Bunga during downtime, as seen at the beginning of "Lions of the Outlands, where they're playing Baobab Ball again, like they were doing in the pilot episode. In the episode "The Lost Gorillas", Kion, Bunga, the rest of the Lion Guard and Hafifu and Majinuni, are all playing in the snow together, briefly. In the opening scene of "The Savannah Summit", Kion, Bunga, this time accompanied by the rest of the Lion Guard and Mtoto are playing Baobab Ball in the Pride Lands. However, Bunga, like Kion, also takes his newfound responsibility very seriously and works hard to defend the Pride Lands. Bunga is a very supportive friend to Kion and is never one to question his leadership. Bunga may not always think things through, but, he has proven time and time again to be a valuable member of the Lion Guard and is intelligent in his own way. For example, in "The Search for Utamu", he teaches, Kion, Beshte and Ono how to locate "the rarest, most delicious grubs" in the Pride Lands, by following the dung beetles. Kion remarks that it's pretty cool that his best friend knew that grubs are dung beetle larvae. In "Lion of the Outlands", after Zira tricks Kion into thinking he can't use the Roar against other lions, Bunga reminds his best friend of the real reason Scar lost the Roar, which leads to Kion being able to banish Zira and her family to another part of the Outlands. In "Never Roar Again", Bunga listens to Kion's concerns regarding the Roar of the Elders and its power, and actually gives his friend solid life advice, as a result. For a lot of the series, Kion is one of the only animals who doesn't lose his patience when Bunga takes things too far.
In Season 3, as teenagers, Kion and Bunga continue to be best friends. In the Season 3 premiere "Battle for the Pride Lands", Kion, Bunga and everyone else in the Pride Lands and the Lion Guard, want to finally put an end to Scar's reign of terror. Bunga continues to be very supportive over Kion in this very stressful time. During the final battle, after the Lion Guard make their way up to Scar, at the top of the Volcano, Ushari (as instructed by Scar) pounces on Kion and bites him, inflicting him with mind-altering venom, giving him an identical scar to that of his tyrannical great uncle. Bunga, however, in defence of his best friend, pounces and tackles Ushari to push him away from Kion. Bunga encourages Kion to use the Roar to destroy Scar (which is what everyone thought would be able to defeat him), but, when Kion makes it rain on Scar instead (which led to his defeat), Bunga, like the rest of the Lion Guard, is in amazement. After the battle, Kion, as a result of Ushari's venom altering his thought process, accidentally uses the Roar on Bunga, sending him flying across the Pride Lands. When the Lion Guard find the honey badger, Kion apologizes to him, but, Bunga assures him that he's fine, even saying he rather enjoyed it. But, Kion is left fearing whether or not is going to turn evil, just like Scar did. However, throughout Season 3, whenever Kion's scar flares up (because of Ushari's venom), the lion becomes increasingly impatient and intolerable towards Bunga's antics, even lashing out at him on at least two occasions, most notably in "The Race to Tuliza" and "Friends to the End". In the former, Kion growls and yells at Bunga to stop joking around in the desert, to the point where it takes Bunga completely off-guard. 
In the latter episode, Kion and Bunga seem to have strained relationship for a brief period. As a result of Kion's scar making him act more mean-spirited and aggressive to the animals the Lion Guard meets on their way to the Tree of Life, Bunga believes his best friend is indeed turning evil. Despite the frustration of the rest of the Lion Guard, Bunga keeps accidentally provoking Kion, growing more wary of him by the minute. Eventually, Bunga calls Kion out for his malicious and aggressive behaviour and stops Kion and Fuli from getting into a fight. Kion feels very hurt and remorseful when he finally snaps out of the venom's effects and isolates himself from his friends. However, by the end, through singing the titular song with the rest of the Lion Guard and, after realising Kion is in danger of falling from a really high branch, Bunga realises that Kion will never turn evil, but, assures him that even if he does, they will still always be best friends forever, like they always were. Kion and Bunga's relationship become closer than ever before as the Season progresses. 
In the series finale, Bunga is shown, accompanied by Binga, as a guest at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani, at the Tree of Life. He excitedly expresses happiness at the thought of his best friend being the new King of the Tree of Life.
===Fuli===
Fuli is one of Kion's childhood friends. Like Bunga and Beshte, she always worked well with him and would have his back when it counted, even before he became Leader of the Lion Guard. This was shown in a flashback scene in "The Lake of Reflection", as a little cub, she runs to find her friends to inform them that there's a hyena in the Pride Lands, stealing an egg, which turned out to be a younger Janja, Cheezi and Chungu. Kion and Fuli, alongside Bunga and Beshte, team up to fight off and defeat the hyenas to protect the egg (which turned out to be Baby Ono). As shown in a flashback scene in "The Morning Report", Fuli would often play games and run around the Pride Lands with her friends when they were little kids. She is shown playing with young Kion and Bunga for a brief moment. As the years went by, Kion and Fuli remained good childhood friends. According to Ford Riley, the creator of The Lion Guard, Fuli views Kion as a brother figure. 
When Kion became Leader of the Lion Guard, he appointed Fuli to be the Fastest because, as a cheetah, nobody else in the Pride Lands can outrun her. However, despite being one of Kion closest friends growing up, Fuli was not that thrilled at the idea of being under his leadership. On the contrary, she was quite resentful of the fact that lions "lord over the Pride Lands" and were agreed upon Fiercest creatures around. When she was first informed of the Roar of the Elders, she was very sceptical of its powers and even accused Kion of thinking he is superior just because he's a lion, much to his annoyance. When Kion tries and fails to demonstrate the Roar's powers in the front of his friends, Fuli openly teases and mocks him for producing a squeak. However, despite this, when it came to helping Kion and the others protect the gazelles from Janja's clan, Fuli did accept her role on the Lion Guard and willingly agreed to follow Kion's orders and she even made sure Kion's sister, Kiara was safe from the stampede. Fuli was very impressed when she finally saw Kion using the Roar to drive Janja's clan all the way back to the Outlands. 
As the series progresses, she continues to aid Kion on his missions to protect the Pride Lands and the Circle of Life, and she's always loyal to him. However, despite this, she doesn't always agree with her leader and they sometimes argue with each other, usually over what the best course of action in any given situation. An example of them not always agreeing is in the episode "The Search for Utamu", where Fuli starts to push herself too hard and not take a breather. When Kion insists that she takes a break to conserve energy for her own safety and wellbeing, she reluctantly agrees to follow his orders. In "The Mbali Fields Migration", while the Guard is trying to figure out how protect the zebras and gazelles in the Outlands, Kion instructs Fuli, along with Beshte and Ono, to escort the rest of the herds to their new grazing ground, so as to keep as many of them away from the hyenas as possible. Fuli argues that he and Bunga will need their help if there's an attack, but, Kion insists that this is the best course of action and Fuli reluctantly agrees to go ahead with the plan. However, despite the fact that these two don't always see eye to eye on everything and occasionally argue, they still work well together as a team and Fuli still remains a loyal friend to Kion and trusts his judgement. Starting with the episode, "Bunga the Wise", Kion and Fuli are shown to think similarly, with Kion often saying to her, "I know what you're thinking," cementing their close bond with each other. Kion also says to her, "Wouldn't expect you to," indicating that they often have very similar ideas. Fuli often reassures Kion when he's doubting himself or when he's worried about something, for example in "The Rise of Scar", she reassures him that Kiara will be okay, bringing a bit of relief to her friend. 
As shown in numerous episodes, Kion trusts Fuli enough to be his second-in-command whenever he's absent or when he is not the rest of the Guard at any moment. He trusts enough because she always knows exactly how to assess any given situation the Guard find themselves in. The first time this is shown in the series, is in "Never Judge a Hyena By Its Spots", when Kion gets separated from the group, Fuli leads the Lion Guard the rest of the way to Flat Ridge Rock to meet him. In "Never Roar Again", Fuli leads Bunga and Beshte to the Floodplains to confront Makuu and his float. She also leads them into battle against Makuu's float, while Ono goes off to fetch Kion and Nala. In "The Trail to Udugu", after seeing Simba's failed attempt to rescue Swala and her gazelles, Fuli takes charge again and instructs Beshte and Bunga to free Simba from the rockslide, while, herself and Ono calm the ostriches and stop the gazelles from stampeding, respectively. In the TV Special, "The Rise of Scar", while Kion tries to lure the hyenas away from Kiara, Fuli instructs Ono to scout out another way into the steam vents so the hyenas won't see them coming, and later, she leads Bunga, Beshte and Ono into battle to rescue Kiara from the vents. There are a number of other examples throughout the series where Fuli displays excellent leadership skills. As a result, Kion has tremendous respect for her and is fully aware that she will always be able to make the right decision when the situation presents itself. As a result, Kion tends to lean on Fuli for a second opinion whenever the Lion Guard is dealing with a difficult decision. 
This becomes a recurring theme throughout Season 3 as a result of Kion's scar flaring up due to the venom from Ushari's bite. Whenever his scar flares up, Kion finds it difficult to think straight and make decisions. His leadership skills start to deteriorate because of it. So, when this happens, he's forced to give Fuli the command because he knows she will make the right decision in any given situation, until he feels well enough to lead again. However, Fuli is also not afraid to be upfront and call Kion out whenever he's made a huge mistake or whenever he throws a fit, as a result of the venom flaring up. One example is in "The Accidental Avalanche", when she attempts to talk Kion out of using the Roar, seeing that the snow monkey's home on the other side will be destroyed. However, Kion (under the influence of Ushari's venom) doesn't listen to her and accidentally destroys the snow monkey's home. When Kion realises his mistake, he wants to repair the damage he's caused by finding a new home for the monkeys. However, through yet another mistake, Kion finally realises he can't trust himself and leans on Fuli to think of a plan to get Bunga and the snow monkeys out of the hole, and to put everything back to normal. At the end of the episode, Kion and Fuli have a heart-to-heart, with Kion confiding in her that no matter how bad his scar, she'll always be there for him when he needs it, to which she agrees wholeheartedly. Another example of Fuli acting as Kion's conscience and second-in-command, is in the episode "Dragon Island", where, after yet another flare-up from the venom causes him to act rashly, Kion accidentally uses the Roar in anger, which destroys everything in sight and causes a tidal wave to chase after them, and beaches Lumba-Lumba, their dolphin friend. Seeing the damaged he's caused as a result, Kion puts Fuli in charge again in order to fix everything, such as getting Lumba-Lumba back into the ocean, getting him enough Tuliza blossoms and fighting off Ora and his Komodo Dragons. There are many other examples of Fuli taking charge of the Lion Guard when Kion is unable to do so because of Ushari's venom 
But, Fuli is also not afraid to call Kion out for lashing out at other animals they ran into on their to the Tree of Life. In the episode, "Friends to the End", Kion's scar starts to affect him even more than it ever had before and his leadership skills start to deteriorate even further, and he starts to lose control of his temper more frequently. As a result of this, Kion starts behave more violently and aggressively towards every animal they meet on their way to the Tree of Life. He acts very dismissive of the rest of the Lion Guard and the animals they meet along the way, for example, the way he calls his friends out for attempting to save the baby geese (who were not actually in danger). At one point, Kion even acts very hostile towards his friends and snaps at them for "slowing him down". Fuli calls Kion out for how rude he's been behaving all day and tries to reason with him, but, he's in too much pain to listen to her at that point. Fuli offers to take charge until Kion feels better, but, Kion, under the venom's influence, doesn't listen and continues to lash out at his friends, and nearly fights Fuli. However, despite this, she still trusts Kion and remains certain that he will never turn evil and chastises Bunga for constantly bringing up the idea of it, demonstrating her undying loyalty for Kion. Fuli, like everyone else, was very concerned when she learned that Kion was in danger, hanging from a really high branch. After Kion is saved, he apologises to everyone and Fuli convinces him to relax, stating that he's been through a lot that day and should rest up, further showing how much she looks out for him. 
In "The Lake of Reflection", Fuli, like everyone else, is very concerned when Kion's self-confidence as a leader was lacking because of his scar and worries that he doesn't appear to be getting better, demonstrating her concern for Kion's mental health and wellbeing. She, along with the rest of the Lion Guard, goes to remind Kion of the day when they all much younger and took on Janja, Cheezi and Chungu together. She reminded that he's always been a great leader and how, that day, he showed all of them how to work as a team. 
In "Return to the Pride Lands", Fuli was present, alongside her boyfriend Azaad, at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani. She was overjoyed to see one of her closest childhood friends become the new King of the Tree of Life. 
===Beshte===
thumb|right|240pxBeshte is one of Kion's childhood friends. As seen in the flashback scene in "The Lake of Reflection", Beshte and Kion (along with all the others) would play together regularly as kids. Like Bunga and Fuli, they both always worked well together. Kion and Beshte have much in common, one thing is that they despair at the idea of disappointing their fathers, Simba and Basi, respectively. And another thing is that they're laid-back and cheerful, yet assertive and confident in battle, and unafraid to be forceful.
When Kion became Leader of the Lion Guard, he appointed Beshte to be on his team because he's "The Strongest" in the Pride Lands. When Janja's clan started to attack the gazelles, Beshte (along with everyone else) was more than ready to help defeat them.
Throughout the rest of the series, Beshte has continued to aid Kion in protecting the Pride Lands on multiple occasions. He has shown immense loyalty to his friend and, like Bunga, is never one to question him or his decisions. Beshte is by far the most down-to-earth member of the Lion Guard, which is noted by Kion in the episode "The Imaginary Okapi", where he notes how much Beshte doesn't make up lies and chastises Bunga and Ono when they accuse him of having an imaginary friends. Out of everyone on the Guard, Kion believes in Beshte's honesty and defended him in that situation.
In the episode "Swept Away", after accidentally getting Beshte swept into the Outlands by a flash flood (that the Roar created in the middle of the Dry Season), Kion becomes very worried about where Beshte could be and will stop at nothing to look for him. He feels guilty about the hippo's disappearance. At the end of the episode, after they save him, Kion apologizes for his mistake, but Beshte just says that he was only trying to save the zebras after all and forgives him.
Beshte, in return, is always kind-hearted, and the one most likely to comfort or reassure Kion. An example of this in "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar", after Simba accuses Kion of treating his new responsibility as a chance to hang out with his friends, Beshte understands that Kion is devastated and encourages Bunga to allow the young leader to have time to himself. In the episode "The Scorpion's Sting", while the Lion Guard are getting the volcanic ash to save Simba, Beshte comforts a worried Kion, and assures him that "his Dad's going to be okay", bringing a slight bit of relief to the cub.
In Season 3, Kion and Beshte remain close friends. In the Season 3 premiere, after the defeat of Scar, Beshte is really worried when his friend gets a scar over the eye and at the idea of Kion turning out like Scar. Throughout Season 3, when the venom from Kion's scar starts to flare up and make him lash out at his friends unexpectedly, Beshte becomes increasingly worried about him, but understanding of the fact that he doesn't mean any harm. In the episode "Friends to the End", when Kion's scar gets so bad, he starts lose his temper more than ever and overreacts with his friends more frequently. At one point he yelled at Beshte for conversing with a clouded leopard, named Yun Mibu. However, Beshte understands how much Kion is not feeling like himself and easily forgives him for yelling. They remain close friends from then on.
At the end of the series, Beshte, alongside their other friends, is present at Kion's wedding and coronation at the Tree of Life. He's very happy that one of his closest friends is a king now.
===Ono===
When Kion becomes the leader of the Lion Guard, he appoints Ono the position as the keenest of sight member of the group. He valued Ono as both his friend and teammate, when Ono has no confidence in himself, Kion would give his assurance and faith in his ability and knowledge. Like Bunga, Ono rarely questions Kion's leadership.
As teenagers, Kion and Ono are still close friends, when Ono lost his sight and has his position replaced by Anga, Kion still considers him worthy to be a member of Lion Guard, creating a new position with title the smartest of the team that had never been done before in the previous generations of the Lion Guard, something that Ono was very grateful of.
===Jasiri===
At first, Kion was very distrustful of Jasiri, due to his father having taught him that all hyenas were greedy and untrustworthy. In turn, Jasiri was distrustful of Kion as well, but, she was nice enough to try and give him directions to the Pride Lands, and even helped him get out of a thorn bush. After realising Kion's leg was hurt from falling into the thorn bush, Jasiri offered to stay with him until he could find his way home. On the way back to the Pride Lands, Jasiri teaches Kion that not all hyenas are bad and that hyenas and lions really aren't that different after all and could be friends, through the song "Sisi Ni Sawa". After this, Kion now begins to like her and, in turn, starts to see hyenas in a new light. After saving Jasiri from Janja's clan, Jasiri expressed that the Roar is definitely something she's never seen before, and she was also very touched that a lion would actually help a hyena. Kion admits that "not all lions are alike", showing that he now considers her his friend, and vice versa. In the end, Kion and Jasiri bid each other farewell and hope to see each other again in the future. 
"In Lions of the Outlands", Kion agrees to go to the Outlands to get Jasiri's clan's watering hole back. Jasiri expresses some concern that she thought Kion wouldn't help her to deal with a pride of evil lions, later revealed to be Zira and her pride, due to him being a lion himself. Kion assures her that he will try and clear things up and that the lions probably don't realise there are good hyenas in the Outlands (not knowing that it is actually Zira and her family). Jasiri feels more relaxed knowing that Kion is on her side. At one point, Kion defends Jasiri from Zira's oldest son, Nuka, after the latter attacks her. Towards the end of the episode, Jasiri loses a little bit of faith in Kion, after being tricked by Zira into believing that Kion has chosen to side with lions, only. However, after the rest of the Lion Guard arrive and reassure her that Kion wouldn't want to be any part of Zira and her family, Jasiri regains confidence in him and their friendship only continues to grow stronger by the end. Throughout the rest of the series, Kion and Jasiri have continued to have each other's backs when necessary. 
In "Rescue in the Outlands", Kion learns from Jasiri's sister, Madoa that his friend, Jasiri and two hyena cubs, Wema and Tunu, are trapped in a steam vent by Janja's clan. Kion is obviously very worried about Jasiri's wellbeing and rushes off to the Outlands, with his friends, to go and save her before the vent explodes. After arriving at Jasiri's home, Kion is very angry at Janja for ambushing and trapping her in a steam vent, and leads the rest of the Guard into battle against Janja's clan. After the battle is won, Kion is relieved that Jasiri, Wema and Tunu are all safe and sound. When Jasiri expresses her concern that Janja seemed more determined to finish her off for good and how she didn't know why, Kion explains her that the troubles of the Dry Season make animals act rashly at times (not knowing that Scar was behind this attack, at this point). Jasiri thanks him and the Guard for saving her and the cubs, and they bid each other farewell again. 
In "The Hyena Resistance", after Kion informs Jasiri that Scar has returned and that the Outlands aren't safe anymore, he offers her and her clan refuge in the Pride Lands in the meantime. But, Jasiri politely declines his offers and, instead chooses to help the Lion Guard fight against Scar's Army by forming a Hyena Resistance in the Outlands in an attempt to side-line the army. After stopping yet another attack on the Pride Lands and being driven out of the Pride Lands by the Lion Guard, Kion commends Jasiri for helping them side-line Scar's Army. At one point, Jasiri shares with Kion that it's kind of fun to being constantly messing up Scar's plans, on purpose, to which the two both have a laugh together. However, when the skinks learn that Jasiri is the one who's been stalling the attacks, an angry Scar sends out his entire army to eliminate her and her clan once and for all. But, thanks to Ono, before the army could kill off Jasiri's clan, Kion and his friends arrive. Seeing one of his best friends in danger, Kion demands that the army leave Jasiri's clan alone, but to no avail, and a battle ensues. After the day is saved, a concerned Kion warns Jasiri that Scar knows that her clan are in the Outlands, and tells her that he will keep attacking them again and again, and offers her refuge in the Pride Lands again. Jasiri thanks him for his concern, but, says that she can't abandon her Outlands home and has to defend it ("Kwetu Ni Kwetu", "Home is Home"), before informing him that Scar can't attack them if he can't find them and then disappearing. Kion believes that Jasiri knows what she's doing and accepts her decision, demonstrating the level of trust he has for her and her clan. 
In "Battle for the Pride Lands", years later, Jasiri and her clan are shown to be continuously aiding the Lion Guard and the Pride Landers in the ongoing battle against Scar's Army, demonstrating her undying loyalty to the Pride Landers. Later on, the night before the final battle against Scar, while Kion and his friends are trapped inside their Lair with Janja's clan, in a fire at Pride Rock, a concerned Jasiri reluctantly decides to trust Janja and hurries off to the Pride Lands to try and help the Lion Guard. After the Guard and the Royal family are safe, Jasiri shows her true colours again by convincing Kion to give Janja a chance to have his say, while they are discussing how to defeat Scar once and for all. Kion, once again, trusts her judgement, showing how far they've come along as friends. The next day, during the final battle, Jasiri goes along with the plan to invade the Outlands and participates in the battle. She also gives Kion the all-clear to go to the top of the Volcano and confront Scar, for the last time. After the battle is over, Jasiri is overjoyed that the Pride Landers have won the battle, but, she is deeply concerned when she sees Kion with a scar across his eye, from the battle. Kion assures her that he will be fine (not yet knowing that it's more complicated than just being a battle scar). When deciding who will be in charge of the Outlands now that Scar is gone for good, Kion agrees with Janja that Jasiri would be perfect for ruling the Outlands and keeping the peace between the Pride Lands and the Outlands. 
In "Journey to the Pride Lands", Jasiri, along with Janja and Azaad, travels to the Tree of Life to inform the Lion Guard of Zira's return and her plan to attack the Pride Lands (like she did at the end of The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride), showing her deep concern for the wellbeing of the animals of the Pride Lands. Upon leaving the Tree of Life, Kion thanks Jasiri for informing them that Zira and her family were back in the Pride Lands, to which Jasiri replies that he and the Guard have helped her clan out several times in the past, and so she was just returning the favour. On the way back to the Pride Lands, Jasiri learns that Kion has learned new ways to use the Roar of the Elders and is impressed when she sees what the Roar can do. When they come to a ravine, Jasiri is happy for Kion to "roar" her and Janja across, and for him to use the Roar as a shortcut to get back to the Pride Lands quickly. As they near the end of their journey back to the Pride Lands, when Kion's Roar accidentally breaks a part of the Great Stone Wall, that's holding back a big lake, Jasiri, once again, helps the Lion Guard out by herding all the animals in the valley to safety, where they won't drown and then helps them to repair the damage that the Roar has caused by throwing rocks at the Wall to block it up. 
In "Return to the Pride Lands", when the Lion Guard finally arrive back in their homeland after a long journey, Kion is pleased that Jasiri has kept the peace between the Pride Lands and the Outlands, in his absence, and thanks her for all of her help for the years, and they briefly exchange a little nuzzle before parting ways. 
In the final scene of the entire series, after peace is restored in the Pride Lands yet again, Jasiri is present, with Janja, at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani. She is overjoyed to see that one of her best friends is the new king of the Tree of Life. Kion and Jasiri have remained very close friends since the episode, "Never Judge a Hyena By Its Spots" and continue to be close throughout the series. 
===Makuu===
Intially, Kion and Makuu started out as sworn enemies. This was due to the fact that, before the series begun, Baby Kion and Baby Bunga wandered into Pua's watering hole uninvited. Then, Bunga unintionally challenged the crocodiles to a fight not realising that the crocodiles eat trespassers. However, Makuu doesn't get to eat because Zazu showed up and jumped into the crocodile's mouth the save the two kids. Pua decided to spare the three of them in the end.
Since then, Kion and Makuu continued to be enemies. In "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar", as Kion and Bunga around playing around the Pride Lands, Bunga jumps onto Makuu's head when being chased by Kion. When Makuu sees Kion approaching, he growls and snarls at him, startling the cub. When Kion became the Leader of the Lion Guard, his obedience and respect towards the circle of life clashed with Makuu's disrespect for the concept as well as his belief that crocodiles were above everyone and everything. When Makuu's antics turned the Pride Lands into chaos, Kion tries to reason with him, but all Makuu wants to do is resort to violence and openly mocks the young leader for refusing to fight. Kion does eventually demonstrate the power of Roar of the Elders to Makuu, which intimidates the crocodile enough to make him back down, but the two continue on as enemies for quite a while.
In "Never Roar Again", Kion did not like when Makuu and his float had taken over the Floodplains after himself and Nala told him that all the animals of the Pride Lands are welcome to share them, including himself. Makuu just laughs at the idea of sharing the Floodplains and refuses to backdown. Suddenly, Makuu and his float grabbed Nala and held her hostage in the watering. Knowing full well that Kion would not even try to use the Roar Makuu exploits the cub's greatest weakness against him for personal gain. Kion despises him even more for putting his mother in harm's way just so he could do whatever he wanted, However, after Kion learns a new way to use the Roar to defeat Makuu, he gets him out of the Floodplains and two despise even more at this point.
In the Season 2 episode "The Savannah Summit", Kion tells Simba that it's not a good idea to invite Makuu to the aforementioned summit since the crocodile has caused nothing but trouble to the Pride Lands. Kion is understandably concerned about how Makuu will behave around all the other animals since he's never gotten along with anyone else in the Pride Lands apart from his Float. Simba explains that Makuu is the leader of the crocodiles and therefore has a right to be at the summit. But, Kion is understandably worried about Makuu being present at the summit since the latter has never cared about the circle of life.
However, from Simba's telling off and some wise advice from his grandfather, Mufasa, about not jumping to conclusions, Kion realises that Makuu genuinely did want to change and show that he was a good leader who cared about the Pride Lands. He wanted to disprove what every animal thinks of him since Season 1. Kion also pieced together that Makuu was the one being targeted by other members of the Pride Lands, and the Lion Guard save Makuu from falling into a pit set up by Twiga and Vuruga Vuruga. Makuu feels taken aback by the Guard' saving him and thanks them for the first time. Afterwards, at the Savannah Summit, Kion tells everyone that Makuu has passed away from the fall in order to make them feel guilty and own up to what they did. Ever since then, Kion and Makuu have become allies.
Throughout the rest of Season 2, Kion trusts Makuu's judgement, and vice versa. The two have aided each other on numerous occasions, such as "The Little Guy", when The Lion Guard and Makuu's float work together to save the watering hole from Kiburi's Float. At one point when Kiburi has an injured Makuu pinned to the ground, unable to escape, Kion attempts to save Makuu, but gets sidelined by Tamka, another crocodile. In "Pride Landers Unite", Makuu begrudgingly agrees to help the Lion Guard train the Pride Landers to fight against Scar's Army. When he tries to teach them a few fighting techniques, he ends up fighting with the other leaders for not doing things his way and even threatens to eat them at one point, out of frustration for not doing things his way. He ends up leaving them to do on their own, however, he later has a big change of heart and when the Pride Landers save his watering hole from Scar's Army. He thanks them for their assistance and willingly agrees to help them defend against the Outlands for then on.
In "Battle for the Pride Lands", Makuu has come a long way in his redemption arc as he was the first one (save Jasiri) to agree to hear Janja out and give him a chance. He even convinces Simba to give Janja a chance. Kion agrees with Makuu. The next day, Makuu and his float are shown helping the Pride Landers out during the final battle.
In the series finale, Makuu is in awe at the sight of witnessing Kion use the Roar to lift Pride Rock into the air. He is shown again as a guest at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani, showing how far he's come in his relationship with the young leader.
It is heavily implied that Makuu's bullying and mistreatment of other Pride Landers, as well as him using Nala as weapon against the Roar of the Elders and attempting to kill Basi on one occasion is a big reason Kion came to hold grudge against him. However, he has let go of it since Season 2, when Makuu reformed. and two remain on good terms.
===Janja===
Since the beginning of the series, Janja was Kion's arch-nemesis before Scar had returned, this was due to the fact that Simba had taught Kion not to trust hyenas. Ever since they first met each other, the Lion Guard have faced off with and defeated Janja's clan. After having to fight Kion and his friends many more times after that, and after many encounters with the Roar of the Elders, Janja grew more fearful of the cub and has run away from him several times. However, Janja will still taunt Kion and put a fight if the odds are in his favour. He will try to outsmart the Lion Guard for his own personal glory. Kion resents Janja's clan for their constant disrespect towards the Circle of Life. Janja also holds a grudge against Kion and his friends for constantly stopping from hunting whatever and how ever many animals want in the Pride Lands. In "The Rise of Scar", Janja was more than happy to summon Scar in order to use his knowledge to beat the Lion Guard, signifying his deep hatred for the cub and his friends. When Kion found out that Janja and his clan were working for Scar, Pride Lands' greatest villain, he grew to despise him even more and was more hellbent on protecting the Pride Lands and the Circle of Life. 
Before Kion became Leader of the Lion Guard, Janja showed little fear of the lion cub. Kion knew only too well that Janja's clan were nothing but trouble. It is revealed in the flashback in "The Lake of Reflection", Kion and Janja were apparently childhood enemies and they met when a young Lion Guard saw a younger Janja, Cheezi and Chungu stealing an egg from the Pride Lands (which turned out to be Baby Ono). Kion and his friends leapt into action, stopping Janja and co. in their tracks and saving the egg in the process. Since then, Kion and Janja's hatred only continued to grow stronger. Before Kion became Leader of the Lion Guard, Janja showed little fear of him and his friends and passed him off as another lion cub. This was shown in the pilot episode when Janja scolds Cheezi and Chungu for failing to capture and deliver Kion's friend, Bunga, to them and for "being scared by the Roar of a lion cub" (not realising what he was up against at that point). During the final battle at the end, Janja tells Kion and his friends to back off and threatens to hurt them. After being stopped by Kion and his friends, Janja turns around and swears revenge against Kion, before retreating back to the Outlands. 
In "Battle for the Pride Lands", it was revealed that Janja's clan are getting tired of having to constantly fight the Lion Guard, who have now grown into teenagers, and Janja wonders if they are on the wrong side after all. However, he still chooses to go ahead with Scar's plan to keep the Lion Guard trapped in their Lair and get them killed in a fire, but, upon realising that Scar had set out to kill the Lion Guard and his clan, Janja works out that they've been betrayed and decides to change sides. As a result, Janja ends up assisting Kion, and the rest of the Pride Landers fight against Scar's Army in the final battle. After the battle is over, Janja becomes really worried when Kion gets a scar on his face. Ever since then, Kion and Janja have being on good terms with each other. Janja no longer holds a grudge against Kion and the Lion Guard, and vice versa. 
In the series finale, it's presumed that Kion and Janja became good friends since the hyena is shown, accompanied by Jasiri, as a guest at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani. Janja does appear to happy that Kion is the new king of the Tree of Life. 
===Makini===
Kion was initially baffled and somewhat embarrassed by Makini, due to her apparent knowledge of Rafiki and the Royal Family's ability to communicate with the Great Lions of the Past, and her overly hyperactive and cheery disposition. He aggravatedly tells her not to talk out loud about Rafiki being able to hear the Lions of the Past, since it's top secret between him and the lions in Simba's family. However, after getting to know Makini, Kion thinks of her as a good friend. Makini, in return, has tried her best to aid and assist the Lion Guard when they need her help, despite her lack of experience and confidence in herself. In "The Bite of Kenge", Makin offers to make a remedy to try to heal the Lion Guard's paralysis, despite not knowing enough about remedies. She also agrees to help Bunga retrieve the elephants' melons from Kenge and the hyenas and tries to defend him from the monitor lizard, despite not knowing how to fight. 
Kion is often one to reassure Makini and to think about her wellbeing more than anything. In "Cave of Secrets", Kions feels that the cave would be too dangerous for Makini and instructs her to stay behind in the Lair to keep her safe. When Makini does eventually venture into the cave with the Guard, Kion instructs her to stay close to them so they can keep her safe. In "The Ukumbusho Tradition", Kion is quick to stand up for Makini when Zito is being overly harsh on her, just because she accidentally ran out of yellow paint for the sunbursts on the elephants. In "The Scorpion's Sting", Kion, along with the rest of the Lion Guard, agrees to keep Makini safe while they go into the Outlands to find the volcanic ash to heal Simba from the poison. 
In Season 3, on their way to the Tree of Life, Makini agrees to give Kion Tuliza blossoms whenever his scar starts to irritate him, showing how much she deeply cares for him and his wellbeing, in return for all the times he's helped her out in the past. However, in "Journey of Memories", due to his scar affecting him really badly, Kion does start to lose his temper with Makini for a brief moment, when she's talking about her first trip to the Tree of Life. However, Makini understands Kion's condition and doesn't get mad at him. Kion does come to his senses and apologises for yelling at her and the two remain on good terms. In "Friends to the End", Makini is one of his friends who points out how mean he's been acting towards all the other animals they've encountered, including herself and Beshte, but she still, like everyone else, trusts that Kion will never turn evil. 
Throughout Season 3, Makini continues to assist Kion whenever he needs it, and vice versa. In "Triumph of the Roar", Kion rescues Makini and the Night Pride from Mackucha's Army and helps to free them from being trapped in the Tree of Life. In "Journey to the Pride Lands", Kion expresses happiness that Makini has decided to become Queen Rani's Royal Mjuzi, and tells her that he thinks she'll be great at it. 
In "Return to the Pride Lands", as the new Royal Mjuzi for the Tree of Life, Makini officiates Kion and Rani's Wedding and presents Kion as the new King of the Tree of Life. She's happy to see that one of her closest friends is a king. 
===Anga===
Despite their awkward introduction, Kion and Anga had become great allies by fighting off Mzingo and his vultures, with help from the Pride Land birds. Over the course of the series, Kion and Anga have become great friends and teammates. Kion thanks her for helping them fight off Mzingo's vultures. In Season 3, even before the final battle, Anga is shown to be an ally of the Lion Guard and continues to help fight off Scar's Army. During the battle, Anga is shown willingly teaming up with the Lion Guard, and the rest of the Pride Landers. Under Kion's command, Anga decides to plan Ono rescue Kion's family from the fire at Pride Rock. After the battle is over, Kion trusts her more than ever and appoints her as the new Keenest of Sight after Ono's eyesight gets damaged in the battle. Anga is honoured and accepts her new position without hesitation. 
As a result of becoming a Member of the Lion Guard, she becomes a loyal friend and follower to Kion. While she rarely shows any emotion at all, Anga does have a great deal of respect for Kion as her leader and obeys his every order without question, and she constantly looks out for him. In "Friends to the End", Anga, along with everyone else, did call him out for being mean to other animals, but also remained certain that Kion would never turn evil. Throughout the rest of Season 3, Anga has remained loyal to Kion and has aided him whenever he needed her. In "The Lake of Reflection", when Kion's self-confidence as a leader is down, Anga, like the rest of the Guard, reminds him that he's always been a great leader even before he had known about the Lion Guard or the Roar. She informs him that she had seen him and his friends around the Pride Lands when they were all little kids, even without knowing them at that point, and helped remind him of the very first time he led Bunga, Beshte and Fuli into action against Janja's clan. 
In the series finale, Anga is present at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani and is very happy that her new leader and friend is the new king of the Tree of Life. 
===Zazu===
When Kion was a little cub, Zazu served as his babysitter, like he once did for his father and his sister when they were cubs. As the king's majordomo, Zazu takes his job very seriously and also makes it his mission to keep Kion and his friends out of danger. In a flashback scene in "The Morning Report", Zazu scolds a young Kion and Bunga for disobeying him and Simba's wishes to stay put. When Kion and Bunga ignore him, like what Simba and Nala did as cubs, they accidentally wander into crocodile territory and get threatened by Pua's Float. When Zazu flies in to save them, he informs Pua that Kion's wellbeing is his responsibility and offers himself up instead of Kion. Impressed by the hornbill's bravery, and seeing him jump into Makuu's mouth, Kion goes on to respect Zazu deeply and treats him with great care from then, unlike how his own father treated Zazu, as a cub. 
Years later, in the same episode, after Kion formulates a plan to get Bupu, the antelope leader's horn unstuck from a tree branch, Zazu, witnessing this, commends the cub for his original solution, Kion thanks him and they part ways at that moment. Afterwards, Kion reminisces of the day Zazu saved him from the crocodiles, indicating he never forgot the hornbill's courage that day and still holds a lot of respect for him, as he retells it to Beshte, Fuli and Ono. Late that day, when Zazu is taken into the Outlands by Janja's clan, Kion, especially, is deeply concerned about his wellbeing and the Guard hurry into to save him. During the fight, Zazu is accidentally almost knocked towards the volcano, but, is saved by Kion's Roar. At one point during the battle, in response to Janja mocking him about wanting to rescue the king's royal advisor, Kion retorts, "No, I came to rescue my friend," indicating his closeness with Zazu. Back at Pride Rock after the day is saved, Zazu commends the Lion Guard for saving him and says he owes all of them one. But, Kion reminds Zazu of the time which he saved him from the crocodiles and declares them as even. Kion and Zazu continue to be one good terms for the rest of the series. 
===Timon and Pumbaa===
Kion is on good terms with Timon and Pumbaa who are surrogate uncles of his best friend, Bunga, and also the ones who raised his father when he was a cub. While Kion sometimes can be baffled by Timon and Pumbaa's overreaction and antics, Kion knows that both of them have no bad intentions and often times joins them in their activities or asking for their help that Kion believes they are capable of. Timon and Pumbaa also treats Kion the same, being Simba's son and their adopted nephew's best friend.
=== Rafiki ===
Like his family, Kion is on good terms with Rafiki. Kion respects Rafiki as the family's royal adviser for generations, and this respect grows when Rafiki gave him guidance in forming the Lion Guard. Other than his father and grandfather, Kion would come to Rafiki for advice due to his wide knowledge and wisdom. Rafiki holds immense trust and faith in Kion even more than Simba himself, always believing in the potential Kion has as the leader of the Lion Guard even if the lion's actions are differing from tradition. Rafiki never once doubted Kion, always encouraging him to be more confident of himself and at times became his voice of reason.
==Acquaintances==
===Tiifu and Zuri===
Tiifu and Zuri, like Kion are members of the Pride Lands and Simba's Pride. As the best friends of his sister, Kion is usually quite tolerable and polite towards their presence and vice versa, but is not really friends with them. There are times when Tiifu and Zuri's immaturity and lack of safety awareness does wear on Kion's patience, since a lot of the times, it is their cluelessness and lack of maturity that tend to put Kiara in danger. In "Can't Wait to Be Queen", when Janja tricks Kiara into a false peace proposal to lure her into the Outlands, Kion questions why Tiifu and Zuri let her go alone, but they just continue to shrug him off. In anger, Kion berates the duo before leaving Pride Rock to save his sister, saying, "Some advisors you two are!" Due to their overbearing devotion to Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri are very disrespectful and tend to talk down to Kion, and don't show a great deal of respect for him, especially if he voices an opinion that they don't agree with, resulting in them choosing to ignore his warnings. 
But, in the comic book "The Day of the Crocodiles", if the reader chooses Fuli's idea, Kion will decide to save Zuri from Makuu's Float first. Afterwards, Zuri will nuzzle an embarrassed Kion as appreciation for saving her, and tell him "You will grow into a big, strong lion someday," perhaps a subtle implication that she may have a bit of a crush on him, despite their seemingly frustrating relationship. However, when it comes down to it, this comic is not considered canon and doesn't take anything from the series into account. So, in this series, Kion doesn't really have a relationship with Zuri, and usually just tolerates her for Kiara's sake. However, this hasn't stopped him and his Guard from saving her and Tiifu from danger, numerous times throughout the series, such as the episode "Baboons". In "Battle for the Pride Lands", before leaving to find healing for his scar, Kion tells Kiara to keep Tiifu and Zuri out of trouble while he and the Guard are away, showing that he does care about their wellbeing, after all. 
In the episode, "The Underground Adventure", at first, Kion is annoyed that Tiifu and Zuri called the Guard to Pride Rock for a "non-emergency". However, despite their annoying behaviour towards the Lion Guard, Kion willingly chooses to go, with Bunga, to escort Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri to Mudpots at the edge of the Pride Lands, to keep them safe from Scar's Army. After Mzingo and his vultures start a fire at the Mudpots, hoping to off Kion and Kiara, Kion instructs Tiifu and Zuri to take cover in the mud, while he, Kiara and Bunga attempt to put out the fire. Later, inside Muhangas the aardvark's burrow, after Tiifu expresses to everyone that she's afraid of the dark, Kion comforts her, telling her that it's okay to be afraid and assures her that they will stick with her every step of the way until they find a way out of the cave. Later, when Tiifu doesn't want Kion and Bunga to leave to find Muhangas, fearing that something bad will happen and they won't return, Kion promises her that nothing like that will happen and they will be back. At the end of the episode, Kion commends Tiifu for her bravery and for helping Thurston out of the cave, showing that he has softened around her since Season 1, and vice versa. 
In "Return to the Pride Lands", Tiifu and Zuri are shown to be present at Kion's Coronation and Wedding to Queen Rani, showing that they were presumably on better terms with him by the end of the series. 
===Ma Tembo===
Kion and Ma Tembo are on good terms. In "The Rise of Scar" Kion wishes that he can help Ma Tembo find water that she needs.
===Shujaa===
Kion and Shujaa is good allies. Kion was grateful that King Sokwe send Shujaa to help him with the Outlanders.
===Majinuni and Hafifu===
Kion is good allies with Majinuni and Hafifu. He loves playing in the snow with them. He was also saved by the gorilla princes.
=== The Pride Animals===
Kion generally is on good terms with most of the Pride Landers. He and his Guard always protects them whenever their lives are threatened by either natural disaster or outside threat of the Outlanders. Amongst the Pride Animals, Kion mainly are on friendly terms with Ma Tembo, Laini, and Thurston, whom he occasionally meets and helps. Kion is able to relate to Ma Tembo for they're both new to the role of leadership. And Ma Tembo, on the her part, always trusts Kion. She appreciates Kion's help even if things doesn't go as they hoped and sticks up for the cub when a member of her own herd Zito and any other Pride Animals are being too harsh on him. Kion is rather appalled by Thurston's horrible sense of direction and his inability to even be aware about it himself, but is still able to tolerate his presence as opposed to Fuli and Ono who finds him annoying. Laini is quite dependent on Kion and his friends whenever trouble happens to them, usually asking them for help.
==Enemies==
===Zira===
Kion first meets Zira after learning from Jasiri that the Outsiders were not sharing the waterhole with Jasiri's clan. After learning that Kion possesses the Roar of the Elders (like Scar once did), Zira tried to get Kion to side with the Outsiders; if he didn't, he would never leave the Outlands alive. She also told him how she knew Scar and that lost his Roar because he used it on his fellow lions, making Kion reluctant to use it on the Outsiders, when they surrounded him.
After realizing that Zira was mistaken about the Roar and remembering that Scar had actually lost his Roar because he used it for evil, Kion declared that Zira was not welcome in the Pride Lands or Outlands and used the Roar to blast the Outsiders to a different part of the Outlands.
===The Outlanders===
For the majority of the series, Kion has an antagonistic relationship with the Outlanders who disrespect the Circle of Life, particularly Janja's clan, Reirei's pack, Kiburi's float, and Mzingo's parliament. Kion and his friends dutifully defeated them each time they all try to disturb the peace in the Pride Lands. Their relationship worsened after the Outlanders began to work for Scar's spirit. The normal chase out soon turned more dangerous and more life-threatening for Kion and his friends. Despite this, Kion still respect them as part of the Circle of Life and so, never deliver the finishing blow to the Outlanders, sparing the Outlanders' lives and let them retreat even with the knowledge that they may attack again. After Scar is killed, the Outlanders follow Jasiri, making the Lion Guard let them live in peace.
===Ushari===
At the beginning, Kion and Ushari have a rather civil relationship as fellow Pridelanders and only interacted in a few occasions. However, Ushari grows to dislike Kion and his friends and prefer them not to get near him as he saw them bring nothing but trouble for him. Kion attempted to protect Ushari from misfortunes, but unfortunately, these attempts still ends up with Ushari gets run over every time by accident. Gradually, Ushari's dislike turns into hate, leading Ushari's decision to turn on Kion and his friends by reviving Scar so that he and the Outlanders can take down Kion and his friends and rule the Pride Lands, showing he has no hesitation whatsoever to kill Kion.
=== Makucha ===
Kion and Makucha have been enemies since the first time they met. Like the Outlanders before, Makucha is selfish with no regards to the rules of the Circle of Life. After Kion and his friends reached the Tree of Life with Makucha following them, it became a routine for Kion to fight Makucha, with Kion always the one emerge victorious and drives Makucha away during their stay at the Tree of Life. Their fight was put to an end for good after Kion blew Makucha and his army far away from the Tree of Life, and since then both never meet again.
Category:Relationships
Category:The Lion King relationships