Elemental Manipulation

## Summary

**Elemental Manipulation** is the ability to manipulate the natural forces of nature, which were considered to be the basis of everything in the world in ancient times.

This ability is based on fiction’s interpretation of what the elements are, with theories such as the Classical Elements as basis; and is not to be confused with elements as they are defined in modern science.

While there originally were four recurring elements across the world, being Fire, Water, Wind and Earth; it is pretty common to find 3 more in fiction: Ice (which is usually separated from Water in its liquid form in most settings), Electricity, and Plant/Wood (the latter can also be found in Ancient Chinese philosophy).

In addition to this, Light and Darkness are often considered to be two “special” elements, with the two being equally weak to one another or darkness sometimes being on the losing side.

While they may gain additional effects depending on the setting -such as being used for blessing and purification or as a form of corruption and death magic-, only the basics of each element will be found here.

As such, this page will cover all 9 elements, given how at least half of them are being featured in most fictions allowing the use of elemental powers.

## Types

**1.Fire Manipulation:** The ability to manipulate and/or create fire. It mostly allows the user to deal damage to a target by burning it, heating it up or melting it; which may require a Resistance past a certain potency.

* Users: The Human Torch (Marvel), Bowser (Mario), Andou Jurai (When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace)

**2.Air Manipulation:** The ability to manipulate and/or create air. While its most basic use is to summon strong wind currents as a way to deal damage or repel attacks, it can also be used to make a living target suffocate by depriving them of air or to fly using air currents.

* Users: Storm (Marvel), Venti (Genshin Impact), John Egbert (Homestuck)

**3.Earth Manipulation:**  The ability to manipulate and/or create earth and mineral compositions in general. Its main purpose is to use raw rock, sand, metal and suchlike as a way of attacking or defending the user, primarily relying on the sturdiness of the material. Another use would be to alter the environment around the target to trap it or throw it off balance.

* Users: Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Sandman (Marvel), Groudon (Pokemon)

**4.Water Manipulation:**  The ability to manipulate and/or create water. Not only can it be used to attack a target with large bodies of water, it can also dehydrate things, make terrestrial beings suffocate by filling their lungs with water or create a water bubble allowing one to breathe underwater. In its gaseous form, it can also be used to summon clouds or to prevent the target from seeing using mist.

* Users: Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail), Jinbe (One Piece), Domina Blowelive (Mashle)

**5.Ice Manipulation:**  The ability to manipulate and/or create ice. It can be used to create various ice constructs to harm a target or protect the user, but also to entrap them in ice, to cause frostbite or to solidify water.

* Users: Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat), Jack Frost (Shin Megami Tensei), Toshiro Hitsugaya (Bleach)

**6.Electricity Manipulation:**  The ability to manipulate and/or create electricity. At its most basic form, it allows the user to harm and shock targets using electricity, but more advanced users may be able to take advantage of the high heat produced, use it to paralyze the target  or even control electromagnetism, granting even more possible applications.

* Users: Thor (Marvel), Pikachu (Pokémon), Misaka Mikoto (A Certain Magical Index)

**7.Plant Manipulation:** The ability to manipulate and/or create vegetal lifeforms. The main purpose of this ability is to make plants grow at supernatural speeds and make them do the user’s bidding by restricting and harming a target or taking advantage of some plants’ specific abilities, such as the production of acid, pheromones or poisons. Note that while fungi are neither plant nor animal, fiction has a tendency to label them as this ability, which is what will be done on this wiki as well.

* Users: Poison Ivy (DC Comics), Hashirama Senju, Kinoko Komori (My Hero Academia)

**8.Light Manipulation:** The ability to manipulate and/or create visible light. Following light’s real-life properties, this may allow the user to light up dark areas or blind a target by emitting flashes of light; to heat up a target through the use of lasers or create visual illusions by bending light particles.
However it isn’t rare to see works of fiction which treat light differently, not always respecting its properties by making it slower or faster than its set speed, making “hard-light” -which can be used to create tangible structures, weapons and beam attacks-, or by giving it some holy nature which can translate to Healing or Purification.

* Users: Licht (Black Clover), Lux (League of Legends), Light (Hardcore Leveling Warrior)

**9.Darkness Manipulation:** The ability to manipulate and/or create darkness. While its use would normally be awfully limited -only being truly useful in hiding things from a target given its nature as the absence of visible light-; fiction has a tendency of making it a powerful element and solid substance allowing it to weaponize shadows to harm a target and often being associated with evil forces, giving it all kind of additional abilities depending of the setting.

* Users: Rumia (Touhou Project), Varete (Witch Hunter), Ansem (Kingdom Heart)

## Limitations

* Each type may be at a disadvantage against its natural weaknesses; such as plants absorbing water, water extinguishing fire, fire burning plants or light and darkness being each other’s weakness.
* The user may only be able to produce their element without control or need an already-existing source to control.
* The user rarely has access to all possible applications of their power, usually specializing in one possible form of the ability (such as some type 3 users only being able to manipulate sand, but not other minerals).