Shiva (Shin Megami Tensei)

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==Summary==
:In the Hindu religion, Shiva the Destroyer is one of the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad) along with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver. He originally evolved from the early Vedic god, Rudra, and is now the supreme deity within Shaivism, a branch of Hinduism that focuses on the worship of Shiva. While he is is known as the destroyer, he is also considered to be a benevolent and beneficial force, as without destruction, new creation couldn't take place. He also act against premature destruction, going far enough to withstand great suffering. He is depicted with up to four arms, a third eye, a blue throat, matted hair, carrying a trident and a drum, is often accompanied by a serpent and rides on the back of the sacred bull Nandi.
:The first of Shiva's best known attributes is his third eye, which he once used to burn the god of love, Kamadeva, to ashes. The effulgence from this act was so hot not even the god of fire Agni could handle it and it was used to create the war god Kartikeya. Shiva also has a blue throat that was caused when he swallowed the most deadly poison in the world, Halahala, the poison of the primordial snake Vasuki, earning him the name Vishakantha (one who held poison in his throat). This act is further proof of his benevolent and self-sacrificing nature.
:He is the husband of the goddess Parvati, or Shakti depending on what you believe, in all her incarnations and has two sons, Ganesha and Skanda. He also has many incarnations that would go on to become sacred figures in their own right such as Shankara and Hanuman. Shiva is also worshipped in forms born from the fusion of himself and other gods, such as Harihara when fused with Vishnu or Ardhanarishvara when he's fused Parvati or Shakti. Followers of a religion called Shaktism believe the Shiva is an aspect or reflection of The Divine Mother, or Shakti.
:–Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE Compendium
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: | 
Key: Base | Magatsuhi Amplified
Name: Shiva, Nataraja, The Destroyer of All, The Lord of Dance, Vishakantha ("He Who Held The Poison In His Throat"), Mahakala ("The Great Darkness"), Mahadeva ("The Great God") and many other names and titles, with the ones listed previously being allegedly seven out of 1116.
Origin: Megami Tensei
Gender: Genderfluid. Manifests in masculine forms and is usually referred to by male pronouns, but can assume forms of the opposite sex as well.
Age: Irrelevant. Exists beyond the concept of time.
Classification: Demon, Hindu God of Destruction, Supreme God.
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Additional Arms, Absorption (Can absorb all physical, electrical and mental attacks with Drain Phys, Absorb Elec and Absorb Psy), Air Manipulation, Attack Reflection (Can reflect all physical attacks with Repel Phys, as well as do the same against electrical strikes), Avatar Creation, Cognitive Physiology (Archetype), Cosmic Awareness, Curse Manipulation, Damage Boost and Reduction (Passively strenghtens all almighty attacks with High Almighty Pleroma, and boosts physical ones by 50% with High Phys Pleroma. Gains immunity to poison, bind, sick and daze with Null Nerve, and raises the potency of all electrical attacks with Elec Amp), Danmaku, Darkness Manipulation, Death Manipulation, Elemental Manipulation (Air Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, Ice Manipulation and Radiation Manipulation), Empathic Manipulation, Energy Manipulation, Existence Erasure, Fire Manipulation, Healing, Magic, Power Modification (Can shift his own affinities and vulnerabilities at will, adopting a weakness to two specific elements while making it so all others are repelled), Resistance Negation (Pierces through all resistances to physical attacks, be them drain, repel or null-based, with Akasha Arts, and can deal a physical strike imbued with the Almighty property using Ragnarok), Resurrection (Revives a selected target with their vitality fully restored using Samarecarm), Statistics Amplification and Reduction, Summoning
Attack Potency: Outerverse level (Comparable to Brahma and Vishnu, the creative and preservative aspects of the Trimurti, and is superior to his wife Parvati in most of their incarnations) | Outerverse level (Absorbed immense amounts of Magatsuhi over the course of the entire game, gathering so much Magatsuhi that Aogami believes it exceeds any demon Nahobino has fought up to this moment, in order to enact Rudra Astra, a technique that would destroy the universe and every Demon within it)
Speed: Omnipresent
Lifting Strength: Immeasurable
Striking Strength: Outerverse level
Durability: Outerverse level
Stamina: Infinite
Range: Outerversal
Standard Equipment: His trident, Trishula, as well his spear Pasupata and his sword, Pinaka.
Intelligence: Nigh-Omniscient
Weaknesses: None notable
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
More detailed information on this character's skill list can be found in the Megami Tensei wiki
Buffs and Debuffs: A set of skills that, as the name implies, allows the caster to greatly amplify their own physical attributes and reduce that of their foes, thus allowing one to stand up to much stronger opponents by closing or even reversing the gap in power between them. Outside of gameplay limitations, they can be stacked indefinitely, and sufficient usages of buffs allow the caster to survive attacks that would otherwise obliterate them with only minor injuries and amplify their speed to the point of completely outspeeding opponents that could previously predict all of their movements, while debuffs have a directly proportional effect on the enemy's statistics.
* Tarukaja: Increases both his own attack power and that of allies by one rank.
* Charge: Shiva holds back his own power, greatly multiplying the power of his next physical attack.
* Makakajaon: Raises his own magical power by one rank.
* Debilitate: Decreases all statistics of an entire party (Strength, speed, durability and magical power) by one rank.
* Dekaja: Removes all buffs from all foes.
* Dekunda: Removes all debuffs from himself and all allies.
Almighty Attacks: The highest class of spells in the Megami Tensei franchise, consisting largely of powerful non-elemental attacks that have the special property of completely bypassing any resistances or immunities that a target may possess, be them innate or magically enforced, the latter of which including anything from reflective barriers to items that distort the very laws of the universe in order to protect the user from all forms of damage, and they are likewise unable to blocked, drained or generally defended against.
* Megidolaon: Unleashes a wave of destructive energy which deals heavy damage to all foes, tapping into the pale light of divinity that reigns over destruction itself and engulfing them in "the complete annihilation beyond death."
* Third Eye: Shiva unleashes the power of his third eye with which he destroys all of creation at the end of each Kalpa, dealing severe damage to all foes and putting them under the "Stun" status effect.
* Ragnarok: Deals heavy physical-almighty damage to a single foe while reducing their defenses by one rank.
* Antichthon: Deals heavy almighty damage to all foes while simultaneously reducing all of their statistics by one rank.
* Tandava: Shiva opens his third eye, dealing severe almighty damage to all foes while simultaneously reducing their defenses by three ranks.
* Pralaya: Deals severe almighty damage while simultaneously having a medium chance of inflicting instant death.
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
Category:Characters
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Category:Hindu Gods
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Category:Statistics Amplification Users
Category:Male Characters
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Category:Acausal Characters