Lakilester

"My name is Lakilester... Er, no, it's Michael... No, um... Oh yeah... Spike. Yeah yeah, I'm Spike... Well whatever. Never mind."

- Lakilester

Lakilester (self-nicknamed Michael, Spike, and Jonathan (Japanese version only)) is a Lakitu who is the eighth and last party member to join Mario's party in Paper Mario. Lakilester is a portmanteau of Lakitu and Lester, and is probably a pun on "lackluster". Lakilester joins Mario's team after he is defeated by the plumber, as well as abandoning the antagonists to do so. This trait is later carried on with Vivian from the sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. His appearance is no different than an ordinary Lakitu, besides sporting a pair of shades and having more hair than a ordinary Lakitu's 3-lined hair.

Paper Mario
In Flower Fields, after talking with the sun in his tower, Mario and his team find a Lakitu on the way to Cloudy Climb. He introduces himself by his nickname Michael, then Spike, then attacks. After he is defeated, a female Lakitu named Lakilulu comes and asks Mario not to finish Lakilester. Lakilester is annoyed and asks Lakilulu to call him Spike because it's his new name. Lakilester tells Mario that he is working for Huff N. Puff and asks him why he is trying to save the world. No matter what he answers, Lakilester thinks Mario is cool and joins the party. Lakilester wants to be stronger for his girlfriend, which is similar to Koops in the sequel. By using his field ability, Mario can hop on his cloud and move much quicker. He can also hover over certain surfaces, such as spikes and lava, without getting hurt. Though it is entirely possible to use Lakilester to travel over lava, he visibly struggles while doing so. He moves considerably slower and his cloud's expression changes to an angry frown. However, because Lakilester floats low over the ground, he cannot be used to cross gaps like Parakarry can.

Lakilester receives two letters at the Toad Town Post Office: one from Lakilulu and the other from Flight.

Super Mario-Kun
Lakilester makes an appearance also in volume 26 of Super Mario-Kun. As in the game, he initially attacks Mario. His moves include throwing a Spiny Surge while his cloud can use Hurricane. Mario and his partners eventually fight back by stacking each other and having Mario using this stack to reach Lakilester. Lakilester then joins Mario to help him on his quest.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Lakilester appears as a Catch Card found on the ninetieth floor of the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials.

Start Menu description

 * This wannabe talks like a tough guy to impress his girlfriend. Press to ride the cloud with him over spikes or lava. His specialty is throwing spiny eggs.

Super Paper Mario Catch Card

 * Card Type: Rare
 * Card Description: This is Mario's good buddy Lakilester from Paper Mario. He played it cool in shades as he flew over lava.

Trivia

 * Originally, Lakilester was going to make an appearance in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but he was removed along with most of the other partners from the original Paper Mario.
 * Lakilester also has sprite data for Super Paper Mario, even though he never appeared in that game.
 * Lakilester is the only character other than Watt who can damage Bowser after he powers himself up with the Star Rod during the first round of the final battle. However, the two can only take away 1 HP each.
 * Carrie's ability from Super Paper Mario is extremely similar to his ability.
 * If Mario is battling Lakilester as a boss and manages to put him to sleep, Lakilester holds the guarding pose as if he is using an Action Command.
 * Lakilester's pupils can be seen when he is damaged in battle and unable to attack.