In Bleach, Soul Reapers are tasked with fighting monstrous Hollows and purifying them in combat, but there is a rival tribe of Hollow hunters out there: the Quincy. Only a few Quincy remain in the modern era, with Uryu Ishida and his father Ryuken being among the last of them. Therefore, Uryu must be creative and resourceful to survive.
Uryu quickly established himself as Ichigo's rival, but before long both boys teamed up against powerful Hollows. They were close teammates during the Soul Society incursion and the mission to Hueco Mundo as well. During all these story arcs, Uryu proved to be a brilliant and sharp tactical thinker, allowing him to achieve impressive victories.
When Uryu Synthesized A Hollow-Slaying Move
This plan didn't come to full fruition, but it did show how resourceful and clever Uryu can be in battle -- and helped cement him and Ichigo as teammates in the battle against evil. During a Hollow-hunting contest, a massive Menos Grande appeared and Uryu needed more firepower to take it down. He tied Ichigo's nameless zanpakuto to his head to channel its power and augment his spirit bow.
This would have worked well in theory, but Ichigo had poor control of his powers. Before Uryu could fire, Ichigo took back his zanpakuto and fought the Menos himself, using only raw strength. This helped establish Uryu's and Ichigo's respective battle strategies, and Uryu only got smarter as Bleach went on.
When Uryu Swapped Opponents With Chad In Hueco Mundo
Early in the Hueco Mundo arc, Uryu and Chad took the lead and fought a pair of low-level Arrancars while Ichigo watched, but the battle started awkwardly. Chad struggled to hit his opponent, and Uryu couldn't even manifest his bow while fighting a huge Arrancar named Dremora. Uryu realized the problem: he and Chad were fighting the wrong opponents. Uryu's foe could gather spirit energy and focus it on his hands, which meant Uryu couldn't use that spirit energy for himself.
Meanwhile, Chad's enemy was too nimble and quick for his slow but powerful strikes, so Uryu told Chad to switch opponents with him. It worked -- Uryu defeated his foe, Iceringer, in a long-range duel while Chad overwhelmed Dremora in a contest of strength. This made the battle much easier, and the three-man team achieved victory before long.
When Uryu Used Special Quincy Gear Against Cirucci Sanderwicci
The battle against Dremora was hardly even a warmup for Uryu. Soon enough he, Ichigo and Chad went up against the three Privaron (fallen) Espadas, and Uryu's opponent was a ranged fighter. Cirucci Sanderwicci had a zanpakuto like a yo-yo, striking Uryu with a sharp, spinning disk on a string and taunting him while standing atop a pillar. Even with the aid of Pesche, a friendly Arrancar, Uryu struggled to take Cirucci down. Then she released her zanpakuto, which morphed her into a giant moth that could fling sharp feathers every which way.
Uryu used a special item to break up Cirucci's spirit energy: the Seele Schneider, which vibrated faster than Cirucci's feathers thanks to Uryu even calculating the exact frequency. He stole all of Cirucci's energy and forced her to user a lance instead, his powerful arrow easily outranging her attack. To wrap things up, he struck Cirucci's energy source to destroy her power without killing her, allowing him to win on his own terms.
When Uryu Helped Renji Blow Szayelaporro Sky-High
After defeating Cirucci, Uryu headed deeper into the fortress of Las Noches to reinforce Renji Abarai, who was fighting for his life against the 8th Espada Szayelaporro Grantz. Renji's bankai was sealed -- meaning he lacked the strength to win -- and even Uryu's spirit bows were being nullified by Szayelaporro's wicked science. So Uryu came up with a plan and executed it with Renji's help.
First, Renji used his shikai to wrap himself up with Szayelaporro and keep them both in place, while Uryu drew a star on the ground to prepare some arcane Quincy power. Renji even performed a sloppy but powerful kido spell to keep Szayelaporro busy, then got clear just as Uryu set off a powerful explosion to deal serious damage. Uryu wouldn't have been able to set all that up by himself, but having Renji around changed everything.
When Uryu Slowed Down Yammy & Helped Ichigo Fight Ulquiorra
Near the end of Bleach's Hueco Mundo arc, Uryu was ready to help Ichigo once again -- especially since Orihime's life was now in danger. Both Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo were threatening her, so Ichigo and Uryu leaped into action. To help tilt the odds in his team's favor, Uryu borrowed some specialized anti-Arrancar mines from Captain Kurotsuchi and placed them strategically on some ceilings and staircases.
Yammy arrived exactly where Uryu predicted, and once the mines went off, Yammy plunged to the lowest level of Las Noches, allowing Ichigo and Uryu to fight Ulquiorra without interference. Yammy would later get his chance to fight against Ichigo's team before Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki defeated him.
