Lakilester

Lakilester as seen in Paper Mario.
Lakilester
Species	Lakitu
Hair color	Green
Weaponry	Spiny Eggs
Debut	Paper Mario

Lakilester (also known by his chosen alias of Spike) was a Lakitu who was featured as a playable partner in Paper Mario. He was the eighth and final partner to be recruited in the game, and he was also notable as being the first example of a playable Lakitu.].

Background

Lakilester was a Lakitu who had a self-conscious nature. He always wore sunglasses and hoped to be cool. To this end, he tried to rename himself "Spike" after finding his original name to be embarrassing, but most others still referred to him as Lakilester. This included his own girlfriend, Lakilulu, although Lakilester found that to be cute. When Huff N. Puff took over Flower Fields, Lakilester was among the Lakitus (some or all of whom were known as Team Lakitu) who joined Huff N. Puff's forces, as he saw this as his way of "making it big".

In Chapter 6 of Paper Mario, Lakilester was deployed to stop Mario as the plumber was progressing through the Flower Fields. The two of them battled, and Mario won. Lakilester initially asked to be finished off, but Lakilulu came to his defense and threatened Mario into sparing him. Lakilester asked Mario about his motivations for his quest, and regardless of how he answers, he found Mario to be interesting and decided to join his group. He also wanted to become stronger for Lakilulu. After helping to destroy Huff N. Puff's Puff-Puff Machine, Lakilester came to appreciate the feeling that came with doing good deeds, and so he decided to stay with Mario for the remainder of his adventure.

After Bowser was defeated and the quest came to its end, Lakilester returned to Flower Fields and was reunited with Lakilulu. The two of them were seen together when Parakarry told them about the celebration at Princess Peach's Castle, and they attended it together.

Abilities

Lakilester gives Mario a ride over a spike pit.

Outside of battle, Lakilester can give Mario a ride in his cloud. The cloud is slightly faster than Mario's normal walking speed. He cannot jump or float while riding it, but the cloud can be used to cross over obstacles such as spikes, thorns and lava.

In battle, Lakilester has the following attacks:

• Spiny Flip - Lakilester tosses a Spiny's Egg at an enemy, with his aim being adjusted by the player.
• Spiny Surge - For 4 FP, Lakilester bombards all enemies with Spiny's Eggs, with small amounts of damage.
• Cloud Nine - For 4 FP, Lakilester gives Mario a cloud of his own, which increases his chances of not being hit by an enemy.
• Hurricane - For 5 FP, Lakilester's cloud will create a gust of wind that may blow enemies out of battle.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In Super Mario-Kun, Lakilester appeared during the arc that adapted Paper Mario, with a role similar to his role in the games.

Canceled Appearances

• Unused updated sprites of the original Paper Mario partners were found for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. With two of the partners (Parakarry and Bow) making cameo appearances in the game, it is believed that the other partners were intended to appear at some point in the game's development. The nature of Lakilester's potential appearance is unknown.

Trivia

• His name is a combination of "Lakitu" and "Lester", which is known as an ordinary name. It's possible that his name is also intended to be a pun on the word "lackluster". His Japanese name is Pokopii, which is taken from the full name of Jugemu, the mythical figure who is the namesake of Lakitu's Japanese name.
• When introducing himself to Mario, he briefly referred to himself as Michael (or Jonathan in Japan) before settling on Spike.
• If Lakilester is Mario's partner when confronting Huff N. Puff, he will make a point to call him a traitor and refers to him as Spike.
• He does not seem to mind Princess Peach referring to him as Lakilester.
• He receives two letters over the course of Paper Mario: one from Lakilulu, and the other from Flight, another member of Team Lakitu. Flight was disappointed by Lakilester changing sides and by his real name, but he said that he would earn his respect back if he managed to defeat Bowser.
• Lakilester is the only partner in Paper Mario who initially appears as an enemy and must be battled (not counting Watt's presence in the Big Lantern Ghost's lantern) before joining. In the following game, Vivian fulfills this role instead.
• In Super Paper Mario, he is seen in a group picture of the Paper Mario partners seen in Mario's home, and he also has a Catch Card that was found on the ninetieth floor of the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. It can be sold for 350 coins.
  • #248 "This is Mario's good buddy Lakilester from Paper Mario. He played it cool in shades as he flew you over lava."