| “ | Pocoloco is the lucky guy after all! | ” |
—Pocoloco | ||
Pocoloco (ポコロコ Pokoroko) is a secondary character appearing in Steel Ball Run. He remains a neutral party throughout the part, being solely focused the race itself and never becoming aware of its true purpose to gather the Saint's Corpse.
Pocoloco joined as a participant in the Steel Ball Run race after being inspired by the news given him by a fortune-teller, warning of his upcoming lifetime peak of good luck. Through his sheer luck, Pocoloco becomes one of the fiercest competitors in the race. During the first stage of the race, Pocoloco happens to manifest his own Stand, Hey Ya!, which seemingly has no significant abilities other than to give him moral support and advice.
Quick Answers
What inspired Pocoloco to join the Steel Ball Run race?
What is the true purpose of the Steel Ball Run race that Pocoloco is unaware of?
How does Pocoloco's good luck influence his journey in the Steel Ball Run race?
What is the significance of the 'Hey Ya' phrase in relation to Pocoloco?
How does Pocoloco remain a neutral party throughout the Steel Ball Run race?
Appearance
Pocoloco is a black man of average to above-average height and slim or medium build. He sports a thin horseshoe mustache.
He wears light clothes and a headpiece resembling a classic leather aviator helmet covered with distinctive elliptical pieces.
Personality
Pocoloco is cheerful and carefree. He is introduced in repose, counting clouds, before expressing his elation at the recent news of his peaking fortune, as told by a local fortune teller. His elderly co-worker perceives him as idle and naive.
Pocoloco develops incredible faith in his luck, realizing it where acts that would have otherwise been unfortunate end up saving him and lending him improbable advantages during the race. Thus, he often makes expressions of amazement and joy, including variations of the exclamation "UH OH!".
Abilities
Stand
- Main article: Hey Ya!
At first glance, Pocoloco's Stand, Hey Ya!, appears to be relatively useless. The Stand itself has no other abilities other than to cheer and encourage its User by talking. It is implied that the Stand may actually have a form of some kind of prophetic vision, as some of its advice seems far too accurate to be just plain luck. However, due to Pocoloco being known for his good luck, the extent of the Stand's abilities remain unclear, and the line between luck and the Stand's actual ability is left purposefully unclear.
History
Background
Pocoloco was born in Georgia in 1869. At some point his father passed away. Pocoloco was eventually put to work as a farmer alongside an elderly coworker who knew his father.
Three days prior to the starting day of the Steel Ball Run race, he went down to the city to gamble. After losing, he met a fortune teller (who greatly resembled Enya the Hag). This fortune-teller proceeded to tell him that he would be at the highest point of luck in his life for the following two months. Upon seeing a newspaper article advertising the Steel Ball Run race and its massive cash prize coming up, Pocoloco decided to take advantage of his upcoming luck and enter, believing it to be the perfect test to see if the fortune-teller was right.
Steel Ball Run
Although he slept in on the morning of the race, he managed to catch up within a matter of minutes, due to the ground already having been pounded by the other racers. Manure was kicked up onto his face, making Pocoloco think that his luck had ran out, but a golden coin was inside the manure. Seconds later, a female racer wipes manure off her clothes in disgust, exposing her cleavage, and not long after, a wanted criminal wipes the manure off his face, unintentionally creating an impromptu beard that matches the wanted poster nearby. Pocoloco then follows a group of racers who were misled by Sandman to the edge of a ravine, but, believing in his luck, is undeterred and leaps across the ravine and onto the rock that Sandman was grabbing onto. Just as he is about to slip, Sandman advises him to use the rope at his waist to carry himself and his horse out of danger and Pocoloco is saved again.
This shortcut enables Pocoloco to easily reach the head of the group, where he rides neck to neck with Johnny Joestar, taking time to call his riding "lazy". When Gyro Zeppeli decides to head into the forest to cut down on his riding distance, Pocoloco follows suit, confidently shutting his eyes and riding straight into the forest, believing that his luck will carry him all the way.[4] Soon after Johnny passes him, however, Pocoloco is grazed by a tree branch, which forces him to open his eyes, gasp in fear at a large incoming branch and be slammed off his horse. Still, his luck remains strong, as Pocoloco is instead dragged by his horse, his left boot having been caught in its stirrup, and completely escapes the harm that the higher branches could have caused him. He is then bounced back onto the saddle by the trees that Gyro moved with his steel balls to clear a path and soon catches up to Gyro.[5]
Around the downhill dash segment of the first stage of the race, Pocoloco means to endure the slope and build up his energy. However, his Stand appears and criticizes his idealistic strategy, telling him to "remember the cow", have faith in his luck, and charge forward. Seeing the hand of his Stand sink into his own gives him confidence, and Pocoloco begins by taunting Gyro and charging forward in the downhill dash. However, soon after the downhill dash, he and his horse trip and tumble, though it is revealed that both had landed directly onto a dead cow's body and used it to slide downhill.[6]
Pocoloco leaves behind the cow and resumes his horseback journey, taking advantage of his well-rested horse. As he approaches the final stretch, Hey Ya! advises Pocoloco to veer left, unintentionally utilizing a concealed branch as a launchpad, seemingly gaining an edge. However, it's Gyro who ultimately crosses the finish line first. Nevertheless, Gyro's placement is later lowered to 21st due to interference with Sandman's run. This outcome brings contentment to Pocoloco as he secures a superior position compared to Gyro. Pocoloco continues in the Steel Ball Run, remaining among the leading contenders and consistently maintaining a position in the top ten during each stage. Notably, he secures the first position during the Fifth Stage. As the Sixth Stage nears its end, Pocoloco reenters the scene to challenge Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli. He continues to be motivated by Hey Ya! and his fortunate streak seems unbroken as Johnny and Gyro realize they're heading toward a hidden snow-covered crevice. However, Johnny and Gyro employ their unique abilities to navigate the stage, clinching 1st and 2nd positions and leaving a surprised Pocoloco behind in 3rd place. Regardless, Pocoloco completes the race without harm. During the concluding stage, he secures the second spot in both the stage and the overall race. Meanwhile, the alternate reality Diego Brando vanishes mysteriously. It's mentioned that Pocoloco is declared the winner of the Steel Ball Run following the demise of the the parallel world Diego Brando.[7]
JORGE JOESTAR
In another universe, Pocoloco is an astronaut sent alongside Funnier Valentine, Goyathlay Soundman and Enrico Pucci to Mars to deal with Kars and his artificial moon known as The Eyed Balloon. In the end, Pocoloco Tripleseven is betrayed by Valentine and is killed.
Race Stats
| Steel Ball Run Race Statistics | ||
| Stage | Placement | Points |
|---|---|---|
| First | 3rd | 40 |
| Second | 9th | 13 |
| Third | 5th | 30 |
| Fourth | 2nd | 50 |
| Fifth | 1st | 100 |
| Sixth | 3rd | 40 |
| Seventh | 3rd | 40 |
| Eighth | 4th | 35 |
| Ninth | 2nd | 50 |
Pocoloco finishes the race with a total of 398 points.
Chapters
| Manga Appearances |
|---|
Chapters in order of appearance
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Video Games
All Star Battle (PS3)
Pocoloco appears as a random support character in Campaign Mode. He has an extremely low chance to appear after the player completes a fight; should he appear, he'll use his Stand, Hey Ya!, to share some of his luck with the player, restoring their energy gauge completely.
Trivia
- Pocoloco's racing number is A-777. This reflects his complete reliance on and victory through sheer luck throughout the race.
- In addition to his musical namesakes, Pocoloco's name translates from Spanish to "little crazy," which nods to his usage of risky tactics during the Steel Ball Run race that still manage to work out for him.
- Pocoloco's name may relate to Poco, a character from Phantom Blood, given Steel Ball Run's tendency to reference characters from the earlier arcs.
- Whenever Pocoloco says UH OH! it may be a reference to the song his stand gets its name from in which the singer Andre 3000W repeats the words Uh Oh.
Gallery
References
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