Poltergust 3000

"That’s the vacuum cleaner I engineered to catch ghosts.... It’s the only way to foil ’em! This is the only thing they fear!"

- Professor Elvin Gadd

The Poltergust 3000 (Japanese: オバキューム Obakyūmu) is a vacuum that was created by Professor E. Gadd and first seen in Luigi's Mansion.

Features
The Poltergust is equipped with a vacuum and flashlight to hunt down ghosts, such as Boos. The user would stun a ghost with the flashlight, and suck it up. It has the ability, with help from special Elemental Medals, to harness the elements of fire, ice, and water to fight certain ghosts.

It can link up with E. Gadd's Portrificationizer to upload captured ghosts and turn them into portraits.

Other Appearances

 * The Poltergust appears in Mario Power Tennis as a Defensive Shot.
 * It makes a cameo in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Vacuum Luigi trophy's back. Had Masahiro Sakurai known more about Luigi's Mansion 's development, the Poltergust may have had a more involved role, perhaps as a part of Luigi's moveset.
 * It appears in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where it seems that it was succeeded by a more advanced model, the Super Poltergust 3001. Luigi was also shown to still own the original Poltergust, which he used in various cutscenes in the Starbeans Café.
 * The Porta-Gust, a Gaddget from Mario Party Advance and another of Gadd's inventions, appears to be a portable version of the Poltergust 3000 with Game Boy Advance-style controls.
 * Luigi's special kart in Mario Kart DS is the Poltergust 4000, an upgraded version of the Poltergust 3000. Like the Super Poltergust 3001, it is meant to be ridden on. It was originally designed for Professor Elvin Gadd but he was later removed from the game for unknown reasons.
 * Wario and Waluigi's Coin Vacuum of Mario Party 7, which is also known to be built by Elvin Gadd, could very well be related to the Poltergust 3000.
 * The Poltergust 3000 has a trophy of its own in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * The Poltergust 3000 appears in the Audience on Luigi sometimes in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * The Poltergust 3000 appears in Luigi's Special Attacks in Mario Sports Mix.
 * An advanced model of the Poltergust 3000, the Poltergust 5000, will appear in the upcoming Nintendo 3DS game and the sequel to Luigi's Mansion, Luigi's Mansion 2.

Trivia

 * The Poltergust 3000 is named after the terms "poltergeist", meaning "a ghost who makes itself known through things such as noises", and "gust", meaning "wind". The "3000" part of the name is probably present because of the "thousand" numbers after mad scientists' inventions in typical science fiction movies.
 * In Japan, the Poltergust 3000 is called the "Obakyuumu"; this name can be taken as a portmanteau of "obake" (a type of Japanese monster) and "vacuum" or, if pronounced as "o-vacuum", a use of the Japanese title "O", meaning "important".
 * In Super Mario Sunshine, a Pianta at the Sirena Beach hotel asked Mario to "get rid of these ghosts with a vacuum or something" when the hotel was infested with Boos. This is a reference to the Poltergust.
 * The Poltergust shares some similarities to Mario's F.L.U.D.D., as Mario and Luigi use their respective weapons for the entire game and wear them on their backs. It was also made by the same person, Professor Elvin Gadd.
 * Many shows depict vacuums a way of catching ghosts, to the point of being cliché.