Neoshadow

The Neoshadow (ネオシャドウ) is a Pureblood Heartless from all Kingdom Hearts games. It first appeared in the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts, where Roxas is shown fighting off a swarm of Neoshadows in front of the Memory's Skyscraper. They cannot be fought in the first prints of Kingdom Hearts, but several of them do appear in the last room of End of the World in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. The Neoshadow later makes regular appearances in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, appearing in Castle Oblivion during Chain of Memories and nearly all worlds in Kingdom Hearts II. The Neoshadow is more human-like in its body structure. It is stronger and faster than its lesser counterpart, and it is more strategic in combat. In Final Mix, the Neoshadows are among the most difficult common enemies, working together as a team to defeat Sora. In Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, they are less rare and dangerous but are still more difficult to defeat than regular Shadows. Interestingly, Neoshadows die differently when they are killed than Shadows do. When Sora kills a regular Shadow, it vanishes into thin air. However, when Sora kills a Neoshadow, it turns into a dark liquid and disappears after a moment. They seem to be the Heartless counterpart of a Dusk Nobody.

A Neoshadow is one step up from a Shadow and one step down from a Darkball.

There have been scans showing a larger version of the Neoshadow that will be appearing in Halloween Town in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, similar to the Gigant Shadow compared to the Shadow.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A nimble Heartless that swims through the shadows.

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
An extremely agile Heartless. It dives into shadows before it pops up in front of its enemy and delivers a ''rolling attack. The Neoshadow moves in the shadows, making it a difficult'' opponent to fight.

Kingdom Hearts II
''It produces a shadow on the ground before attacking. Catch it off guard right after it attacks.''

Once it tries to jump and attack, use the reaction command Aerial Dance for a flurry of attacks!

Kingdom Hearts II

 * Hollow Bastion / Radiant Garden
 * Land of Dragons
 * Beast's Castle
 * Olympus Coliseum
 * Port Royal
 * Halloween Town
 * Agrabah
 * Pride Lands
 * Castle Oblivion
 * The World That Never Was

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

 * Castle Oblivion

Trivia

 * Although the entry in Jiminy's Journal says that their reaction command is Aerial Dance, it is incorrect, as during battle with one, the reaction command reads "Wind Dance".
 * Arguably, Neoshadows are the most powerful Heartless in Chain of Memories and its PS2 remake games because of their strength and numbers.
 * Neoshadows are more likely to attack in smaller numbers than the smaller Shadows and won't flatten themselves to the ground as often. Contrary to popular belief, Neoshadows do not jump in battles; instead, they hop close to the ground and can leap off of objects in order to attack. Their attacks can sometimes be mistaken as a jump or leap.

Crypto Ombre