| PET CENTRAL -When I first joined Neopets, I didn't have a clue what I was supposed
to do with my Lupe other than feed him. The sister-type person who had suckered...
err... persuaded me to join Neopets told me I should buy a Petpet for my pet.
I was such a raw, green newbie it didn't even occur to me to ask why I should
do that. I just lisped, "Yeth, masthur!", adjusted my hump and shuffled off to
the Petpet Shop in Neopia Central.
When I got there and saw how expensive these guys were, I almost choked on
my Salmon Fishwich. But as fate would have it, I caught a glimpse of a Doglefox.
I decided that it was foxish-wolfish enough to be a good match for my Lupe.
It took me almost a week of playing games to afford one. Buying a Petpet was
my first major purchase and I spent every last Neopoint I had on it. Now that
I look back on that, two things occur to me. Number one: I was an idiot. Number
two: I'm glad I was an idiot.
If you're wondering why I was an idiot, it's because at the time I bought
my Doglefox it didn't do anything that could be even generally be called interesting.
To check to see if he was still as boring as ever, even after being painted
Tyrannian, I had my Lupe say the same sentence to him fifty times. The sentence
was, "Does everything you see look fuzzy and white?" This is how Stonefox
the Tyrannian Doglefox responded:
Stonefox jumps up in the air, and lands with a thud. (9 times)
Stonefox says 'Brrrflp' (5 times)
Stonefox doesn't say anything. (6 times)
Stonefox hops wildly around the room! (4 times)
Stonefox purrs softly. (2 times)
Stonefox hiccups! (2 times)
Stonefox blinks, but doesn't do anything else. (7 times)
Stonefox says 'Chrrrrpp chrrrrp' (1 time)
Stonefox squeals, 'AAIIIIIIIEEE' (3 times)
Stonefox sticks its tongue out at you. (5 times)
Stonefox makes a strange clicking noise. (2 times)
Stonefox hisses at you... HHISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (3 times)
So at least two things are obviously clear: Petpets are still pretty boring
to talk to and I can't add very well. But I'm glad I got a Petpet anyway. Although
it seemed like a dumb idea at the time, it now seems like a pretty good investment.
There have been some really cool developments in the area of Neopet companions
over the past few months. In fact, there have been some downright Neopia-shaking
events concerning them just in the past week or so.
The first really great thing to occur in the advancement of the Petpet phenomenon,
was the appearance of the Turmaculus. This huge bloated Petpet popped up in
Meridell and began giving out gifts, Neopoints, strength boosts and other goodies
to anyone who could wake him up. But there was a catch to this. It wasn't your
pet that could wake him up. It was the Petpet attached to your active pet. And
to add an element of danger to the glee of finally getting something out this
expensive Neopet groupie, was the fact that the Turmaculus could eat
your Petpet.
Other Petpet-related things began to appear fast and furious after that. The
Wintery Petpets Shop opened in December and there were even MORE Petpets that
everyone was scrambling to be the first one to have. But that was just the beginning
of the Babaa stampede of Petpet mania. The next thing that happened was the
creation of the Petpet Battledome in the Darigan Citadel in late January. I'm
not sure why it popped up there, but at least there was now something you could
DO with your Petpet other than watch him get swallowed by another Petpet or
listen to him hiccup.
But the icing on the Petpet cake came recently with the announcement of the
creation of the Petpet Protection League. Basically, this is how it works:
If you have a certain type of Petpet, like a Pink Kadoatie, for example, and
it has been attached to your pet for longer than Dr. Sloth has been green, you
could actually get a lot Neopoints for doing nothing but letting him sit there
doing nothing.
If the Petpet of the week is a pink Kadoatie you get 10 NPs for every day
he has been attached to your Neopet. If all of your Neopets have pink Kadoaties
then you get 10 NPs for every day all of them have been attached to your Neopets
and 278 Neomails asking you why you are so hung up on pink Kadoaties. If you
happen to have a Petpet that is so old that he is sprouting whiskers and walks
with a cane, you could even get on the high score table and win a trophy for
having the oldest, and most wrinkly, pink Kadoatie.
But there is a catch to this. If you happen to have a blue Kadoatie and the
Petpet of the week is the pink Kadoatie, you get zippity-do-dah. Nothing. Zilch.
Zip. Nada. Since there are over six hundred Petpets and Petpet combinations
and only 52 weeks in a year, it could take a decade for your Petpet to be chosen.
Just warning you now in case you get too excited about this.
And just when you thought you couldn't put one more drop in your overflowing
cup of cool Petpet borovan, it looks like there will now be Petpet PETS. This
little item appeared in the news recently:
Some Petpets have been found playing with these little guys. We have no idea
what they are, and they most probably have fleas, so just be careful.
It's the phrase "playing with these little guys" that makes me think
they are Petpet Pets. But the phrase "probably have fleas, so just be careful"
doesn't exactly inspire confidence. In fact, the Lenny Conundrum this week is
downright alarming on this subject. The whole Lenny Conundrum was about Mootix,
which is one of the new miniatures "creatures" that have popped up. Mrs. Bunnikins
the Snowbunny had one but she wasn't exactly thrilled about it. She had a horrible
case of Mootix which was itchy as heck and it multiplied faster than... well,
Snowbunnies. She even took a medicine called Mootox to try and get rid of the
pesky rascals. This doesn't exactly sound like a fun companion for your Petpet.
It sounds like an expensive disease.
And if this recent event isn't enough to convince you that something bizarre
is going on in the fuzzy little world of Neopian Petpets, then consider what's
been happening to almost every owner I know. Lots of people have logged onto
to their accounts to discover a blank spiky space where their Petpet used to
be and a message like this:
Reallyconfused has a Petpet!!
... but it seems to be missing :(
I don't know what has happened to these Petpets, and I'm relatively sure that
by the time this article hit the presses the mystery will have been solved.
But I do know one thing. I'm glad I have Petpets now because they seem to have
a magical ability to make Neopia a really really really interesting place. Even
if they still stick their tongue out at you if you say, "Wassup?"
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