Lakitu's Cloud

Lakitu's Clouds, occasionally formatted as Lakitu's clouds, are a type of cloud with a smiley face, usually inhabited and maneuvered through the air by Lakitus. In some of the Super Mario titles, Mario can ride around in one.

Appearance
Most Lakitu's Clouds are white. However, in Paper Mario, Lakilulu has a pink-colored cloud; additionally, Dark Lakitus from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door have gray clouds. Lakithunder from New Super Mario Bros. also has a dark gray cloud with glaring, yellow eyes, capable of firing lightning bolts. King Lakitu from Super Mario Galaxy 2, another lightning-firing Lakitu, has a purple cloud. Lakipeas, the Beanbean Kingdom equivalent of Lakitus, have vines covering their clouds.

Many Lakitu's Clouds also have faces. In the Paper Mario series, the clouds share the expressions of their owners; additionally, some Lakitu's Clouds in the Paper Mario series wear sunglasses. The clouds of Fishing Boos and Calm Fishing Boos do not have faces, however. In Super Mario 64, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, all Lakitus are portrayed without faces on their clouds. In the latter, Lakitu and Mario are able to control rain, thunder, sun, typhoons, and snow with levers on the cloud.

Similar cloud characters and items have appeared throughout the Mario franchise. In Super Mario World, when Yoshi eats two pink berries in the same stage, a cloud resembling Lakitu's Cloud appears and drops ten striped smiley-faced coins, giving a 1-Up Mushroom if all of them are collected. The Thunder Cloud item in Mario Kart Wii looks like a Lakitu's Cloud, but a bluish-gray color with a Lightning on its head. Ruff Puff's Tattle in Super Paper Mario openly speculates on the relationship between it and the similar Lakitu's Cloud.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Lakitu's Cloud (originally named Jugem's Cloud,   with "Jugem" being the romanization of Lakitu's Japanese name, or Cloud Jewel ) can be used by Mario or Luigi on the world map to skip a level and move to the next available space. However, this does not update, so if they lose a life right after using it, they will be transported back to their map position before using it. (This can be avoided by updating the player's saved location as usual, by using a Warp Pipe on the map or clearing a level without losing a life.)

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, after taking out the Lakitu riding a Lakitu's Cloud, the player can jump on it to temporarily float around and reach places that they could normally not get to. Although Lakitus typically only travel across a horizontal axis, the player's control of the Lakitu's clouds allows for travel in any direction for as long as the cloud lasts. If the player jumps from a Lakitu's Cloud while moving in it, the resulting momentum causes the cloud to float indefinitely in the direction the player was heading. To access a Lakitu's Cloud, the player first has to defeat the Lakitu with a fireball, a cape attack, a sand cloud, a throwing object (such as a shell or a Grab Block), or with invincibility power from a Super Star; stomping on the Lakitu will disintegrate the cloud, rendering it unusable.

A glitch exists in Super Mario World that causes the cloud to last indefinitely if the Lakitu on top is defeated with fire power.

New Super Mario Bros.
Lakitus and their clouds return in New Super Mario Bros., behaving largely the same as in Super Mario World. In order to steal a Lakitu's Cloud, the player has to hit the Lakitu with a fireball or a shell; attacking the Lakitu in any other way will destroy the cloud.

When unoccupied, Lakitu's Clouds can be hit with Shell Mario or Luigi's shell dash ability for 1000 points. The clouds themselves are not affected in any way in the process, meaning that points will continuously accrue from them for as long as they are in collision with the character's shell. Like in Super Mario World, Lakitu's Clouds will acquire momentum if the player jumps out of one while moving in it; shell dashing into one can stop it from advancing further.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Lakitus reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 riding their clouds, but these clouds cannot be ridden by Mario or Luigi. If a Lakitu's Cloud is eaten by Yoshi, the Lakitu will fall to the ground on its shell and struggle for a few seconds until the cloud reappears, unless defeated.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, Lakitu's Clouds swell up for a split second when the music makes the "bah" sound. When the player touches a Gold Ring, Lakitus become Gold Lakitus, and their clouds also become golden; when the player moves in such golden cloud, it generates a trail of coins.

New Super Mario Bros. U
In New Super Mario Bros. U, Lakitu's Clouds now mouth to the "bah"s in the music. Aside from appearing in the main game, one Lakitu's Cloud also appears in the Challenge Mode level Lakitu's Cloud Heist, where it has to be used to collect the coins located high in the air.

Super Mario Maker
In Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, players can shake Lakitus to remove them from their clouds, leaving them for Mario to use or to put other enemies, objects, and power-ups such as Hammer Bros, Cannons, and Super Mushrooms in them. If an enemy is placed in a Lakitu's Cloud, it will move horizontally across the screen. If given Wings, the enemy will move from side to side in a wave-like pattern.

Super Mario Maker 2
Lakitu's Clouds reappear as placeable objects in Super Mario Maker 2, acting the same as in Super Mario Maker. They are present in all game styles except the Super Mario 3D World style. A Lakitu's Cloud is used as a part of Peach's Castle during its reconstruction after completing a certain mission.

Mario Kart series
In Mario Kart games, Lakitu's Cloud is frequently seen alongside the recurring Lakitu assistant. In Mario Kart 7, the cloud wears goggles in water-themed courses. A kart based on it, Cloud 9, is also introduced in that game. In Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Lakitu's Cloud appears on several flags around the course Dragon Driftway.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Lakitu's Clouds retain their function from Super Mario World, enabling the playable character to float around a level freely upon defeating the Lakitus in them. In these games, contrary to Super Mario World, the only way to hijack a Lakitu's Cloud is to jump on the Lakitu, whereas any other attack destroys the cloud. The clouds will start blinking repeatedly a while after use to signal their disappearance, a trait seen in future 2D platform games in the Super Mario series.

Super Mario Bros. 3

 * Wii Virtual Console manual: "Use this item to pass Mario over an uncompleted level on the map screen."
 * 3DS Virtual Console manual bio: "Allows Mario to clear a level not yet cleared."

Super Mario Maker

 * Play Nintendo: Catch a cloud Sure, you could bounce up to that extra high platform on a trampoline, but why not travel in style by knocking off Lakitu and stealing his cloud?