Character Sheet: Popple

 POPPLE

Today, we begin our newcomers. I did say going into this that the RPGs would likely be the last shot for many of the frequent enemies you wouldn't expect to see on a Smash roster, but what I didn't expect was that the RPGs would actually come through for a lot of them. At least one I thought was never going to happen in a million, billion years. But here we are. The first ten are all Mario regulars who finally took the step up to playable. The other sixteen are originals to the Mario & Luigi games (or Origami King) specifically.

1. Toadsworth

2. Captain Toad

3. Buzzy Beetle

4. King Bob-Omb

5. Pokey

6. Ninji

7. Thwomp

8. Whomp

9. Mechakoopa

10. Nabbit

11. Mario & Luigi

12. Prince Peasley

13. Prince Dreambert

14. Olivia

15. King Olly

16. Broque Monsieur

17. Massif Bros.

18. Cackletta

19. Fawful

20. Princess Shroob

21. The Dark Star

22. Antasma

23. Midbus

24. Shroob

25. Popple

26. Durmite/Wisdurm

Today, let's cover Popple, the recurring thief from Superstar Saga and Dream Team. Popple wasn't initially going to make it into the roster, as most of his fights involve him letting someone else do the fighting for him and then running away as soon as they are defeated. However, on a second go-over, he had just enough to convince me otherwise.

Among the various moves he uses when he's not running away are sneakily stealing the weapons of his opponents and using them against them, charging at an opponent and forcefully stealing a healing item from them, and pulling out a bag and tossing items from it. He can also use "Bros. Attacks" with his partners, the most famous of which is Rookie, an amnesiac Bowser, who will grab him and throw him into the air for a piledrive maneuver.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Steal

This move is pretty simple. He will basically reach out and steal any item a character might be holding so that he might use it himself. Probably would have a timing element so as not to be broken, I imagine.

Side B: Charge

He will hop, pump his legs really fast, and charge headfirst into an opponent. Rather than take a healing item though, he will simply steal health, recovering as much damage as he dealt with the attack.

Up B: Bros. Attack

Rookie (with the distinctive headband so you don't confuse him for regular Bowser) will appear and throw Popple into the air, then jump up and chuck him toward the ground in the direction indicated by the player.

Down B: Loot Toss

He will pull out his bag of loot and toss out an item. These items can be hammers, soccer balls, or random items from the game.

Final Smash: Run Away

Now, a different possibility would be for him to simply piss something off (like the Wiggler from Dream Team) and then peace out as it rampages around the stage, but the best candidates I can think of are already playable here (Bowser, Birdo, and Wiggler). Another possibility that falls a bit into the experimental stage, but would be entirely on brand for the character, is that he simply decides to run away from battle, hopping off the stage but without his stocks and damage counter going away, effectively making him immune to losing lives and taking damage for a short time until he decides to get back into the action.

Entrance: It would be funny if his cover is blown and he just plays it off like he was always supposed to be there.

Taunts: Up would be his little hopping fit he does when he's really angry. Side, he would crouch and look back and forth with shifty eyes. Down, he might dig around in his bag like Nabbit does.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will finish the newcomers with Durmite, or Wisdurm, the fairy-caterpillar creature from Bowser's Inside Story.