Tenderlings are enemies which appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. They are often encountered in the Flab Zone.
Profile
Physical description
Tenderlings are living pieces of meat with a pair of two eyes at the top of their body, two small, yellow feet, and a bone sticking out from their ends.
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story/Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Aside from being encountered in the Flab Zone as a regular enemy, if ever Mario and Luigi answer one of Nutsoglobin's questions incorrectly, a Tenderling falls out of a pipe nearby, and the brothers are forced to fight it. The brothers also fight two Tenderlings during the tutorial on using Badges.
During battle, a Tenderling attacks by first jumping then spinning at either Mario or Luigi. A Tenderling can also jump over either brother, indicated by them jumping higher and spinning faster before attacking, and in this case, if the targeted brother jumps, he takes damage.
Tenderlings are sometimes paired with Calorites in battle. If a Calorite eats a Tenderling, another Calorite is formed. This makes them a bigger threat with a Calorite involved; however, Calorites rarely use their Eat Tenderling technique.
Statistics
The Tenderling is a Level 9 monster with 45 hit points, an Attack Power of 2, a Defense of 27, and a Speed of 30, with no special damage or Status Effect modifiers. When slain, it gives 30 Experience, 12 Coins, and possibly a Mushroom (1 in 20 drops) or a 1-Up Mushroom (3 in 10 drops).
Behind the Scenes
Tenderlings may be named after chicken tenders.
Nomenclature
In Japanese, Tenderlings are called "Jūshī," a transliteration of English "juicy" (ジューシー). Their Spanish name, Manjário, comes from "manjar," which refers to a tasty meal; the final -io comes from a masculine name suffix. Italian calls them Carnoidrato, a pun on carboidrato ("carbohydrate") and carne ("meat"). Their French name, Gigoto, comes from gigot ("leg of lamb") and/or gigoter ("to wriggle"). In German, they are called Cholhysterin, a pun on cholesterin ("cholesterol") and hysterisch ("hysterical").
