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Popple, also called the Shadow Thief, is a supporting villain from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, its remake, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He's a thief who attempts to steal several treasures, and his exploits often put him at conflict with Mario and Luigi.
Description
Personality
Popple has an unstable temper which makes those who he believes are obstacles in his plans targets for a verbal assault from him. His grudges from previous fights tend to haunt him, often making things difficult for those who were his opponent in said fights; an example had him use the Mario brothers as his personal weapons against a so-called "security guard" in Dream Team. If his plans go awry, his minions often take the blame for his loss, even if it wasn't their fault. Despite his flaws, he is still looked up to by his minions (except Birdo who calls him out for his cruelty and sends him to his fate after his fourth loss).
Popple has a very large ego, claiming that only he should have the luck of having the world's treasures land at his feet. His ego has also led him to give himself titles such as "The Shadow Thief" or "The Baron of Burgle", with the former being his most used title. He is also manipulative, as shown in the aforementioned incident where he forced the Mario brothers to fight Wiggly the Wiggler. He is also cowardly, running off when his partner goes down.
Appearance
Since he is a Beanish person, Popple has green skin and a bean-shaped head. However, Popple has a wide grin in his mouth, which typically shows most of his teeth if not his entire dentition, and also makes him resemble Fawful slightly, and his eyes are a blank yellow and fill the holes in his mask, à la Elec Man from the RockMan games. His outfit consists of a grey beret, a purple mask, a purple long-sleeved shirt with grey stripes, long grey trousers that appear to be oversized at the waist, and grey shoes. His original appearance made the grey parts of his outfit light grey, but those were changed to dark grey in future games that he appeared in.
Appearances
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Popple first appears in Chateau de Chucklehuck, alongside his partner "Rookie" who is actually an amnesiac Bowser. He and Rookie attempt to steal the secret of Chuckola Cola. They are defeated by the Mario brothers, but still press on in search of the Chuckola Cola, and after Popple offends Bubbles with his rashness, the duo get trapped in barrels, then blasted into the sky by the Chuckolator.
Mario and Luigi later encounter Popple and Rookie in Woohoo University, where they try to steal the Beanstar. After they battle with each other, the Beanstar bursts into the sky, splits in four, and Popple, Rookie, Mario, and Luigi are all tossed off.
Popple appears once more in the Chucklehuck Woods, this time without Rookie, where he tries to get a part of the Beanstar from a statue. He is defeated once more.
Popple appears one more time in the game. He and his new Rookie, Birdo (who has fallen in love with him), take Luigi hostage, and attack Mario as soon as he frees his brother. However, he and Birdo still lose nonetheless. After the battle, Birdo knocks Popple through a wall. Popple is later sentenced to community service in Little Fungitown.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Popple serves the same role in the games remake as he did the original game, but he also serves a role in the Bowser's Minions story. In the story, he finds an amnesiac Bowser in Hoohoo Village, and makes him his partner. He later gets in a scuffle with Captain Goomba and his fellow minions, which he loses. Bowser does not recognize his army however, and scares them away.
Popple appears later, after Bowser regained his memory. He tries to find a new Rookie, considering a Fighter Fly, a Beanie, a Paratroopea, and a Tanoomba. He gets into another scuffle with Captain Goomba and his minion squad, which he once again loses. With no other options, he lets Birdo become his new Rookie.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Popple makes an appearance in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He first appears after a failed robbery, and he doesn't recognize the Bros at first (although he does remember encountering them; this may indicate that Popple still hasn't fully recovered from his amnesia, which had been inflicted on him long before this game). Later in the game, in Wakeport, he mistakenly believes that a Wiggler (who wants to build a garden) is a security guard, and he insults the Wiggler enough to get him to attack the Mario Bros. After the battle, he fights the Bros himself, but loses and is rendered dazed. Upon recovering from his daze, Popple then realizes much to his ire that the Wiggler is not a security guard after all; Popple's ire at this drives him to insult the Wiggler, who promptly retaliates by chasing him away.
Battle Patterns
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
In this game, Popple is fought four times. He has a partner (which he calls a "Rookie") by his side in his first two and fourth battles; the first two have him paired with an amnesiac Bowser, and Birdo accompanies him for the last one. His third battle has him fight the Bros. on his own; in the other three battles, only his partner has to be defeated. After he loses whichever partner he brought into the battle, Popple flees the scene.
Moveset
Popple has two attacks that he gets to use all the time.
Stealing and Tackling
For his first two, Popple might try to steal something from his target or ram them. The former can be blocked by hammering him and the latter by jumping on him; in the 3DS port of the game, Popple will turn around more quickly to run back to his spot if his ram attack misses, and thus can be avoided entirely without consequences other than missing out on depleting his health bar for that counter.
If the former hits, Popple will steal something from his target. In the first two battles, Popple's prize is always a Mushroom, which he can use on a future turn to restore his own health or that of his partner, if there ever is one. Starting from the third battle, Popple can steal his target's hammer (signaled by him turning his back to his target during the tell) and use it against them, only stopping his rampage when the Bro. who has a hammer uses his own hammer to fend off Popple. Popple's victim will regain his hammer following a few turns automatically; in the meantime, he cannot use it, or the hammer-based Bros. Attack (Mario uses Chopper Bros. while Luigi has Knockback Bros.) that it was linked to. The theft also comes with consequences for both the Bros. If Luigi lost his hammer, Mario will also lose his Fire Bros. move, since Luigi needs his hammer to hit the fireballs, and Luigi's Knockback Bros. and Cyclone Bros. will also be disabled. If Mario lost his hammer, Luigi will be unable to use his Thunder Bros.'s Advanced Command, which requires Mario's hammer, and Mario's Chopper Bros. will be disabled as well. In the remake, the Bros. can dish out a lot of damage to Popple to make him lose his grip on the stolen hammer, causing a tug-of-war with Popple fighting over his victim to get the stolen hammer back; if Popple wins, he keeps it; if his target from the theft manages to overpowers him, Popple will relinquish the stolen hammer early. Popple's ramming attack only causes damage to his target.
Both attacks have the same tell: if Popple has a grin on his face (50% chance), Luigi will be Popple's target; otherwise, the Shadow Thief will direct his strike towards Mario.
Bag Contents Throw
Starting from his third battle, Popple may get his bag and throw things from it. The objects include:
- A coin, which adds one to the coin drop.
- A Mushroom, which can be used to heal.
- These two items, which must be dodged, lest the target gets hurt and consequently loses health:
- A Poison Mushroom which can poison the target.
- A bomb that deals big damage to the target.
The items will either bounce in their target's direction or slide along the floor; if the latter occurs, they must be jumped over if they are a Poison Mushroom or a bomb.
Gimmick: Popple's Rookies
Popple has his own partner in battle. Bowser takes this role in the first two fights and Birdo in the last one.
Bowser can attack by throwing a hammer at his target or launching a fireball at them. The Mario Bros. can block the former with their own hammers, and can jump over the latter. Bowser uses the former attack to counterattack if Popple takes damage. If Bowser jumps, he is targeting Mario; otherwise, he is targeting Luigi. Bowser has a 50% chance to jump. In the second battle, after the two lose half their health, two more moves are unlocked. For the first one, Bowser throws Popple into the air and then they join up. The duo then slam into the ground, creating a shockwave that must be jumped over. For the second one, Bowser will light Popple on fire with his fire breath and then throw him at a brother; Popple will kick his target to burn them unless the target fends off Popple's attack with a well-timed hammer strike.
In the fourth battle, Birdo is Popple's partner. She has the following moveset:
- Sucking the targeted brother up à la Kirby; this can be blocked with the hammer, and if she scores a hit, Birdo will suck out the target's life force, regaining some health in the process.
- Making some turns towards the indicated target, then spinning and throwing bombs in the proper order; the Bros. have to jump over them.
- Inhaling Popple, trapping him in an egg. Birdo becomes a background character until the player breaks the egg that she ended up putting Popple in. Breaking the other eggs will release bombs that must be avoided. The eggs can roll at the Bros. to attack; their assault can be fended off with hammer strikes. Popple will escape his egg if the Bros. strike that one.
Upon losing his partner in battle, Popple will be defeated automatically; however, the brothers will gain less Experience and loot if he was spared.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
The fight has two phases.
Phase 1
During this phase, the Mario Bros. will be facing Wiggly, the Wiggler who Popple thought was Pi'illoper's security guard. Wiggly has four attacks among his moveset:
- Wiggly can stomp the ground, generating shockwaves that must be jumped over. The waves can either come straight forwards or at an agle to their target; in either case, they must be jumped. In the latter case, Popple will fall onto the Bro. that Wiggly was last lined up with; unless he gets smacked away with the hammer, Popple will crush the target and damage him. At the very start of the fight, regardless the Mario Bros.' speed, Popple will climb onto the Wiggler's head and trigger the latter version, which thereafter can only be used when Popple stays at the front lines for too long. The latter version can be used outside Wiggly's enraged state but not in it.
- Wiggly can charge at the Bros., who must jump over him. Wiggly will turn around and perform his charge attack a second time afterwards to get back to his starting position; in this latter case, Popple will weigh down one of the Bros. in his cowardice. Wiggly cannot use this while he is furious.
- Wiggly will charge at the Bros. from the background, triggering a chase sequence where the Bros. must continuously jump over his body to avoid damage. Popple may also knock aside his so-called "allies' to escape; this can be avoided by stomping Popple's head. Wiggly can only use this in his enraged state.
Throughout the fight, Popple will sometimes jump to the front lines and will launch one of his own moves, which are very ineffective; Wiggly will only enter a rage state following this. If Popple pulls on the flower that Wiggly has on his head, the full shockwave attack from the start will be used. If Popple jumps into Wiggly's face, the charge attack will be used. Popple can be attacked by the Bros. to prevent his turn from coming; this forces Wiggly to use the calmer two moves, including the incomplete shockwave attack which doesn't have him throw Popple.
After the Bros. defeat Wiggly, Popple will state his intentions to get his hands on Pi'illoper's treasure, commencing the next phase.
Phase 2
During this phase, Popple retains his stealing and bag moves, but with modifications.
For his stealing attack, Popple will now swing his arm when his eyes are on his target's hammer will just commence with the attack if his targeted item is a Mushroom. If his prize is a hammer, Popple will bash the Bros. with his new weapon, starting with the original target and switching between each strike; the Bro. who still has a hammer has to use his to stop the attack, and the victim automatically gets it back afterwards. If his prize is a Mushroom, Popple will just use the Mushroom to heal on the spot immediately afterwards. The tell is also changed: Popple now performs a straight run towards either Bro., and then quickly jumps in front of his real target, who has a one-second window to smack Popple away.
Popple now has the projectiles in his bag drop between him and the Bros. with his bag move and kicks the objects one by one at his targets. The Poison Mushrooms have been replaced with soccer balls, which cause tripping, and the bombs are replaced with Brick Blocks which will shatter (The shrapnel is harmless.) and reveal either a soccer ball, a coin, or a Mushroom. The defense is also changed from jumping to hammers. Popple will also have his body turned towards his target prior to the kick.
Stats
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Popple has the following stats across the different times he is fought:
- In his first battle, which sees him at level 11, Popple has 100 hit points, 34 attack power, 30 defense, 100 speed, and takes normal damage from all weapons. Status effects have a 30% chance to work on him, and his defeat nets 50 experience, 30 coins, and a Green Pepper. The battle takes place in the Chasteau de Chucklehuck.
- Popple is of level 15 during his second battle, where he has the same defense and speed stats, and he still takes normal damage from all weapons and has a 30% chance to contract status effects from moves that give them to victims. In this fight, he has 150 hit points, an attack power of 48-70, and gives 120 experience and drops 33 coins and a Red Pepper when knocked down. This time, Popple is fought at the Woohoo Hooniversity.
- Popple has 520 hit points, an attack power of 82-92, a defense of 155, and a speed of 120, and takes normal damage from all weapons and has a 30% chance to contract each status effect from moves that involve them in his third battle, which is in the Winkle Area of Chucklehuck Woods and sees him at level 27. His defeat nets 600 Experience, 120 coins, and a single Super Mushroom.
- Popple is at level 34 in his last battle, which sees 500 hit points on his health bar, 95-110 for his attack power, a defense of 180, and a speed of 120 just like in his third battle. He still takes normal damage regardless the attack and has a 30% chance to contract each Status Effect appropriate to whatever attack he gets hit by. Popple nets 500 Experience, 99 coins, and a Green Pepper with a Golden Mushroom appearing in 6129 out of 10000 drops. This time, Popple is fought in his lair in Teehee Valley.
His Rookies
Bowser has the following stats:
- In Popple's first battle, Bowser has 120 hit points, an attack power of 32-42, a defense of 40, and a speed of 30, healing from fire-based weapons, taking critical damage from electric-based weapons, and taking normal damage otherwise. His defeat nets 110 Experience, 34 coins, and a single 1-UP Mushroom. This happens during Popple's encounter in the Chasteau de Chucklehuck.
- Popple's second battle sees Bowser with 250 hit points, an attack power of 48-70, a defense of 60, and a speed of 60, again taking normal damage from jumps and hammers, healing through fire, and taking critical damage from electric-type weapons. Defeating Bowser in this fight nets the Bros. 180 Experience, 33 coins, and a single 1-UP Mushroom.
In Popple's last battle, Birdo has 450 hit points, 105-140 attack power, a defense of 150, and a speed of 37. She nets the Bros. 900 Experience, 99 coins, and a single Ultrasyrup jar with a Red Pepper present in 6129 in 10000 drops.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Popple himself is a level 25 monster who has 999 hit points, 195 power, 167 defense, 125 speed, and is fought in real Wakeport. He gives 500 experience and always drops 100 coins and the Coin Bros. Gloves DX when defeated. Due to his nature as a boss, Popple lacks a No-hitter.
Trivia
- Despite his scarce appearances in the series, only appearing in two games, Popple is the second most-fought character, being fought four times in Superstar Saga and a single time in Dream Team for a total of five times and losing to King Bowser, who is fought 11 times (12 if the final battle of Superstar Saga is counted, but Bowser was acting against his will at that time).
- Popple's character makes him similar to the crocodile bandit Croco from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.