Belome

Four-eyed dog-like monster.
Belome
Species	Monster
Eye color	Blue
Debut	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Belome is a monstrous, dog-like creature who appeared as a recurring boss in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its Switch remake. He was known for his fierce appetite.

Background

Belcome resembled a four-eyed dog-like creature, that walked on two legs and had two stubby arms, as well as four horn-like protrusions atop his head. He also had a long tongue that was always hanging out. Belome has apparently been long-lived, as there is an entire temple dedicated to him beneath the Land's End desert known as the Belome Temple. One Monster List entry for him in the remake specified that Belome has resided within the temple long before the Frog Sage became known as a sage, during the time period when that frog had just grown his hind legs. It was implied that the Frog Sage may have had some run-in with Belome in the past, as he had lost his Sage Stick within Belome Temple at one point, which led to it being obtained by Belome himself, and the Frog Sage always warned Mallow to beware Belome when passing through the Kero Sewers, which was Belome's other stomping grounds. Belome was a beast who was mostly set on consuming food and other beings to satiate his hunger, but he was also known to be quite tired. There was also a golden statue of Belome within his temple that had the exact size and appearance of Belome, and it also was capable of moving around and eating.

Within Super Mario RPG, Mario and Mallow first encountered Belcome in the depths of the Kero Sewers, where he was standing atop a switch that was holding a floodgate closed. Belome, seeing them as a potential snack, engaged them in battle in front of the sewer's floodgates. Belome was defeated, but in his parting words, he taunted them about the flood of water that would be unleashed in the aftermath. Sure enough, without Belcome to hold down the switch, the floodgates opened and unleashed a wave of water upon Mario and Mallow, though they survived the experience. Belcome reappeared within the Belome Temple. Depending on the fortune Mario obtained while exploring the temple, he could arrive at either a treasure room guarded by the golden Belome statue, or the gate to Monstro Town which was guarded by the real Belome. In the former room, the golden Belome statue would block the entrance to the treasure room unless it was presented with a Temple Key from Monstro Town, which it would consume before disappearing. As for the real Belome, when confronted, he would once again feel a "snack attack", and battle Mario's group a second time. After losing again, Mario's friends were able to pass through the gate to Monstro Town.

He also appeared for a rematch in the Switch remake (unlocked in the post-game, but taking place within the main storyline). Belome made a wish to Star Hill asking to cure his scratchy throat. He reappeared at his post in Belome Temple and would battle Mario's group again as Scratchy Throat Belome. After being defeated, Belome realized that his itchy throat would be cured and proceeded to leap away, while leaving behind the Sage Stick for Mario's group. His wish on Star Hill would then change into one wishing to try eating frog. Afterwards, Belome would appear in the game's ending attending the performance at Tadpole Pond and also appeared with other characters in the curtain call.

Abilities

• First Battle - HP: 500, Attack: 30, Defense: 25, Magic Attack: 15, Magic Defense: 20
  • Thought Peek: "I just...wanna sleep." / "I'm happiest when I sleep, you know."
• Second Battle - HP: 1200, Attack: 120, Defense: 80, Magic Attack: 20, Magic Defense: 40
  • Thought Peek: "Gotta yummy in my tummy!" / "I'm also happiest when I'm eating."
• Third Battle (Switch) - HP: 4600, Attack:
  • Thought Peek: "My throat's all scratchy. Life would be better if it wasn't."

One of Belome's unique abilities was that he could swallow up one of his opponents to satisfy his "snack attack", but would eventually release them. In the first battle Belome also used the magic abilities Scarecrow Funk and Sleep Sauce to turn his enemies into scarecrows or put them to sleep. During the second battle, Belome showed off some new and expanded abilities. Most notable was that he was able to create clones of anyone he ate. The clones would aid him in battle until destroyed. Belome's other magic abilities used in the second battle were Aurora Flash, Light Beam and Lulla-Bye. For the rematch in the Switch version, his clones also put up protective barriers for him. Belome also had a weakness against electrical attacks in the first battle and in the Switch rematch, but he lacked that weakness during the original battle in Belome Temple.

Trivia

• His name is "Bero~mu" in Japanese, officially romanized as "Berom". His name appears to be a play on "bero", a Japanese word for "tongue", and it may also be referencing "musha-musha", which is Japanese onomatopoeia for eating ravenously. The tilde in his name is also part of his speech in the Japanese script. His English name of Belome simply seems to have been chosen to look similar to the original Japanese name.
• According to his Monster List entry, his name is pronounced "Bel-õm".
• He appears to be the source of the Star Hill wish, "The hunger! Oh, for some food!"
• He considers Mario to taste sour, Mallow to taste yummy, Geno to taste bitter but not bad, Bowser to taste repulsive and Peach to taste peachy (in reference to her name, which was not used in the original localization of the game).