Pom Pom

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Not to be confused with Pompon Flower.
Pom Pom
Artwork of Pom Pom from Super Mario Party
Artwork of Pom Pom from Super Mario Party
Species Boom Boom
First appearance Super Mario 3D Land (2011)
Latest appearance Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024)

Pom Pom is a boss who debuted in Super Mario 3D Land, where she appears as the boss of various airships. She appears to be both the female counterpart and partner of Boom Boom, and is often seen wielding a shuriken with a ribbon on it. Pom Pom shares her name with a loose, fluffy material used by cheerleaders and sports fans, or in crafts, the pom-pom. Her red head scales, pink body, and red spotted shell resemble the original sprite of Wendy O. Koopa from Super Mario Bros. 3.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land Screenshot - Pom Pom
Pom Pom's battle with Mario in Super Mario 3D Land

Pom Pom debuts in Super Mario 3D Land. Alongside Boom Boom, they help Bowser and the rest of his minions to take over the Mushroom Kingdom during a storm, steal the Super Leaves and kidnap Princess Peach.

After Boom Boom's defeat in the World 3 airship, Pom Pom is fought on her pink airship in World 4. Her cabin-style arena has the same design as Boom Boom's, but the middle portion is slightly raised and uses cream flooring with pink walls, alongside the lack of windows. When Mario enters the room, she jumps down and winks at him in a somewhat flirtatious manner. In the battle, Pom Pom will throw boomerangs at Mario, a maximum of two before she jumps to another section of the room, sometimes back or front flipping. When hit, she will hover in her shell and try to land on Mario. Mario can normally run around the room to avoid this, or he can step to the side and repeatedly jump on top of her shell, which will yield several 1-Up Mushrooms. After taking three stomps/tail swipes or fifteen projectiles from Mario, Pom Pom is defeated and will vanish, releasing ten coins.

Pom Pom reappears on the World 6 airship. This time, the arena consists of several separated platforms surrounded by fire pits. Her behavior is the same as before.

In World 7's airship, Pom Pom is fought alongside her partner Boom Boom, at the same time (using Boom Boom's battle theme). She fights on the elevated red portion of the arena while Boom Boom fights on the blue floor below. While she won't jump to the area where Boom Boom is, she will make up for this by throwing three Boomerangs instead of two. If she is defeated first, the elevated floor she was on lowers, but won't if Boom Boom is defeated first.

After defeating Bowser, she and Boom Boom make recurring appearances in the Special Worlds. Both are fought on Special 4-Airship, albeit separately. Pom Pom is fought after the player defeats Boom Boom, and has the same behavior as in World 4 and 6. This time, the arena takes place outside, containing three small platforms and several Donut Blocks on them. One of the small platforms contains a + Clock which allows for Pom Pom to enter the scene. When using her hover attack, she will only use it on the platforms and not the Donut Blocks.

She and Boom Boom are thought together one last time in the last level, this time using her theme. The room design and her behavior remain the same as in World 7.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Screenshot of Super Mario 3D World.
Pom Pom attacking Mario and Peach

Pom Pom returns in the sequel Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. While she looks the same, she is shrunken down in size a bit when compared to Boom Boom. She throws shurikens instead of Boomerangs, and can use transparent clones (the number of which varies depending on where fought and how many hits she took) to aid her in her boss fights, which also throw shurikens; the clones vanish if attacked. The difference between her and the clones lies mostly in her hair bow, which the clones lack, and the color of her shuriken (the clones have gray shurikens, while she has a pink one with a red bow on it). Unlike in Super Mario 3D Land, Pom Pom does not go into her shell after being damaged. Instead, she immediately makes clones again and continues throwing shurikens.

She is the first boss of World 3 in the level The Bullet Bill Express. The arena she is fought in has a stylised Japanese-style to match her new fighting strategy. She first spawns two clones and, after being hit once and twice, makes three and five more clones, respectively. Mario and the others have a rematch with her in World Bowser-Train The Bowser Express where she creates five, seven, and eight clones respectively. Her arena is also the same as in World 3, but is more purple. When she is fought for the last time in World Flower-12 Boss Blitz, she reuses her strategy from the first encounter.

In the credits, she can be seen next to Boom Boom, comforting him over their recent loss.

A cat variation known as Cat Pom Pom appears in Bowser's Fury. She is fought in the Clawswipe Colosseum after Cat Boom Boom is defeated. The encounter, entitled "Cat Pom Pom's Counterattack", is based on her battle from World 3.

Super Mario Maker 2

A Pom Pom in Super Mario Maker 2
Pom Pom in Super Mario Maker 2

Pom Pom appears as an enemy in Super Mario Maker 2, where she can be placed only in the Super Mario 3D World style. Like in Super Mario 3D World, Pom Pom creates a clone of herself and attacks by throwing shurikens; after the first hit, she spawns two clones, and after the second, she spawns three.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Pom Pom is a goalie for the Football event in the Nintendo 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The player can take control of Pom Pom in Football only, making this her first playable appearance in a game.

Mario Sports Superstars

Pom Pom is a playable character in Mario Sports Superstars. In baseball, she is classified as a Power type character. In soccer, she is one of the two selectable goalies, with the other being Boom Boom. Players can have two Pom Poms in the same field at once.

Mario Party series

Super Mario Party

“Hiya! I'm Pom Pom! I hate losing, so let's make sure we win!”
Pom Pom, Super Mario Party
Super Mario Party
Pom Pom in Super Mario Party

Pom Pom makes her Mario Party debut as a playable character in Super Mario Party. She has to first be unlocked by completing the fifth world of Challenge Road, Salty Sea. This is the first game in which Pom Pom has spoken dialogue, as well as the first game where Pom Pom is physically present while Boom Boom is not (or second if the Nintendo 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is counted separately from the Wii U version), as the latter only makes a small cameo as artwork of one of the possible characters in the minigame Absent Minded.

Pom Pom's special Dice Block in this game contains four faces with a "3", one face with a "0", and one face with an "8".

Super Mario Party Jamboree

Pom Pom is not playable in Super Mario Party Jamboree but returns as a host of the Survival mode in Minigame Bay.[1]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Pom Pom appears alongside Boom Boom as an Ace-class Attack-type primary spirit with one support slot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is the enhanced form of the Boom Boom spirit once it has reached level 99. The image used to represent the spirit is Boom Boom and Pom Pom's group artwork from Super Mario 3D Land.

Dr. Mario World

Pom Pom appears as an assistant in Dr. Mario World. In stage mode, she grants a chance that one virus is eliminated when starting a stage, but won't completely eliminate a virus that requires multiple hits to be eliminate such as floatie viruses or bubbles containing viruses. In versus mode, she grants a chance that one virus is eliminated if the player is about to lose, which only happens once per match.

Minecraft

In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft versions 1.16.0 and later (Nintendo Switch only), Zombified Piglins gain a texture resembling Pom Pom, which replaces Zombie Pigmen's texture (Rex) from before version 1.16.0.

General information

Physical appearance

Pom Pom's model from Super Mario 3D Land.
Game model of Pom Pom from Super Mario 3D Land

Pom Pom appears to be the female counterpart of Boom Boom. She has red eyes and a red-colored head, with blonde hair containing a small, orange fade; the hair is styled into a short ponytail and adorned with a pair of light green beads. Pom Pom's skin is colored magenta, her foot pads are pink, and her arms are more normally proportioned in comparison to Boom Boom's; her red shell is smoother and smaller with pastel red dots, making it closer to those of Buzzy Beetles as opposed to the standard Koopa shells with plates and grooves. Pom Pom has a high cream snout, and her mouth has two prominent fangs; her head shape is very similar to the Koopalings, particularly Wendy O. Koopa. Since Super Mario 3D World, Pom Pom also has clawed hands similar to Boom Boom.

Identity

There has been inconsistent wording on whether there is more than one Pom Pom. Both Pom Pom and Boom Boom are referred to in the plural sense on the European and Australian websites of Super Mario 3D Land,[2] rather than individuals in the overall Boom Boom species. Therefore, it is possible that the player is fighting different Pom Poms and Boom Booms on the various ships; however, the North American website refers to them singularly,[3] the Prima guide also refers to them singularly and as siblings,[4] and even the Japanese website implies Pom Pom is a unique individual by describing her as 「クッパぐん紅一点こういってん。」, meaning "The Koopa army's lone female."[5] In Super Mario Maker 2, one of the official courses is named Target: A Single Pom Pom, and both its English and Japanese description contradicts the above, implying that Pom Pom is a species.

Abilities

In Super Mario 3D Land, Pom Pom's way of fighting is similar to that of a Boomerang Bro. She throws at least two to three boomerangs at Mario, and then jumps away. She also spins in her shell to attack Mario anytime she gets hurt, though in a different manner from Boom Boom and the Koopalings: She hovers in her hard shell and tries to smash on her opponent overhead. Pom Pom can shake her airship just by impacting the floor with her spinning shell. Pom Pom is highly acrobatic as she can perform high jumps and elegant flips after she attacks.

In Super Mario 3D World, she uses the art of ninjutsu to battle. She performs a hand gesture to disappear into pink smoke, which splits and teleport across the arena. She reappears from the split smoke with a large horde of clones equipped with large shurikens to attack with the real Pom Pom, who can be identified by her hair tie and pink shuriken with a bow, traits the clones do not share.

Personality and traits

Similarly to Boom Boom, Pom Pom is a faithful servant to Bowser and is one of the higher-ranking Koopas in his army. According to the commentary in Super Mario 3D World Original Soundtrack, Pom Pom wants to be refined and elegant, but is actually prone to losing her temper.[6] This aspect of her personality is supported by her actions in Super Mario Party: Pom Pom generally makes ladylike poses in most of her animations, but whenever she loses a minigame, she jumps up and down in an angry fit before pouting.

In most of her appearances, Pom Pom is partnered with Boom Boom; the two are shown to work well together. Likewise, Pom Pom usually does not get along with Mario and friends due to their interferences in Bowser's plans and their victories against her, but like the rest of Bowser's minions, she is not above being friendly with them when off the clock. For example, in both Super Mario Party and Super Mario Party Jamboree, Pom Pom is treated politely by Toad and Toadette and plays friendly party games with Mario and his friends in the former game, and is quite supportive towards them even when they lose in the latter game. Similarly to Boom Boom, Pom Pom does not speak in most games; however, she communicates through grunts, yells, and roars.

Profiles and statistics

Super Mario 3D Land

  • Website description:
    • English (American):
      Cruising for a bruising in Bowser's airships, Boom Boom and Pom Pom wait for you in the lower chambers. They may look tough, but they're both a bit of a pushover—three quick stomps to the head will take them out.[3]
    • English (British):
      Adding a dash of glamour to Bowser's army of minions, Pom Poms lead Mario a merry dance with their silky smooth moves.

Super Mario Party

  • Website description:
    • English:
      This boomerang-tossing character makes her Mario Party debut as a playable character.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Spirit
#56 Boom Boom & Pom Pom
Artwork of Pom Pom and Boom Boom from Super Mario 3D Land Series/game Super Mario Series
Type Primary
Slots 1
Class Ace
Strength / effect(s) Attack
Hyper Smash Attacks
How to obtain Enhanced from Boom Boom

Dr. Mario World

  • Stage mode: "Grants 50%/60%/70%/80%/100% chance viruses (1) will be eliminated on stage start."
  • Stage mode (Prior to version 2.3.0): "Grants 10%/20%/30%/40%/50% chance viruses (1) will be eliminated on stage start."
  • Versus mode: "If you are about to lose, grants 20%/40%/60%/80%/100% chance viruses (1) will be eliminated. (Once only.)"

List of appearances

Title Description Release date System/format
Super Mario 3D Land Boss 2011 Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario 3D World Boss 2013 Wii U
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Playable character 2016 Nintendo 3DS, Wii U
Mario Sports Superstars Playable character 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Party Unlockable playable character 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Spirit cameo 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Maker 2 Enemy 2019 Nintendo Switch
Dr. Mario World Assistant 2019 iOS, Android
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Boss 2021 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Party Jamboree Host 2024 Nintendo Switch

Gallery

Quotes

  • "I'm so inspired! You make me wanna be a Super Star too! Perhaps next time we'll meet as rivals." - Super Mario Party
  • "Wow, what a neat-looking place! Name's Pom Pom! I'm not TOO late, am I?" - Super Mario Party
  • "Where ya headed? I'll come with!" - Super Mario Party
  • "Great! I'm a winner at pretty much everything!" - Super Mario Party

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese プンプン[?]
Punpun
A Japanese term meaning "angrily"; also follows the naming style of「ブンブン」(Bunbun, Boom Boom)
Chinese 碰碰[?]
Pèng Pèng
Transliteration of the Japanese name
Dutch Pom Pom[7] -
French Poum Poum[7] Poom Poom
French (NOA) Pom Pom[8] - Super Mario 3D Land
German Pom Pom[7] -
Italian Poom Poom[7] -
Korean 푸웅푸웅[?]
Puung-puung
Transliteration of the Japanese name
Portuguese (NOA) Pom Pom[?] -
Portuguese (NOE) Pam Pam[?] -
Russian Пам-пам[?]
Pam-pam
Pam pam
Spanish Pum Pum[7] Poom Poom Also spelled "Pum pum" in the Latin American Spanish localization from 2012 to 2019, when species names were always written in lowercase.

References

  1. ^ スーパー マリオパーティ ジャンボリー:ミニゲームハーバー. Nintendo. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Boom Booms lie in wait for Mario on the battleship." and "Pom Poms lead Mario a merry dance" – Super Mario 3D Land. Nintendo of UK (British English). Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Boom Boom & Pom Pom [...] may look tough, but they're a bit of a pushover" – Official Site – Super Mario 3D Land for Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo of America (American English). Archived February 1, 2013, 21:53:30 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Pom Pom fights completely differently than her brother." – Musa, Alexander, and Geson Hatchett (November 22, 2013). Super Mario 3D World PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-804-16249-4. Page 88.
  5. ^ スーパーマリオ 3Dランド. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  6. ^ "Pom Pom adds a little ladylike elegance to Bowser's crew... or so she'd like to think, anyway. She wants to be refined and elegant, but is actually prone to having major meltdowns. She's a complex character and we wanted to get this across in the music" – Super Mario 3D World Soundtrack Booklet (JPG). Nintendo (English). Archived April 17, 2016, 08:30:36 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Spirit inventory (7 Dec. 2018). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by Nintendo, Sora Ltd., and BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. Nintendo.
  8. ^ "Boum Boum et Pom Pom attend patiemment de vous combattre sur le pont inférieur des vaisseaux aériens de Bowser." – Super Mario 3D Land. Nintendo.com (Canadian French). Archived June 9, 2015, 05:10:47 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 6, 2024.