Boochi: Friend or Fiend?

If you owned a plain blue Gelert, wouldn’t it make your day if Boochi zapped him into a baby? Perhaps not if you hate baby pets, but it would not be too expensive to paint him back to his original color. Also, if you did not want to spend the NP, a lot of other Neopians would gladly adopt him. It would be a very different story if your Gelert was Maraquan or some other expensive color. You could be minding your own business, doing some weekend shopping, and *BAM*, all your NP spent painting him would be wasted.

When a depressed baby Peophin heard that I was writing this article, she neomailed me her story:

I once used to be a glorious faerie Peophin, who looked sophisticated and beautiful. I had many mature friends, and they all looked up to me. One day, when I was grooming myself in preparation for the Beauty Contest, I heard what sounded like a snickering baby. I turned around, but I could not see the creator of the noise, so I just continued to put on eye shadow. Then I felt a sting throughout my whole body, and when I looked in the mirror, I was hideous! My owner was upset, but not as upset as me. I had waited for months to be painted a beautiful color, and now I had no self-confidence. The beauty contest was obviously not an option now. Even though a plethora of baby Peophins had won it before, there was no way I could carry myself the way I needed to in order to win. I tried to get sympathy from my friends, but they were too embarrassed to be seen with a “crybaby.” My owner tried to cheer me up but I could see in her eyes that she thought I was unattractive. I wish that she could paint me back into my original color, but building a neohome has taken up all the extra NP. Now I just play in sandboxes all day long, hoping that I will get an occasional ice cream cone. What have I become? :(

So what can you do to prevent this from happening to your pet? Currently, the only thing that can stop Boochi is choosing an active pet that cannot be turned baby, as he can only zap active pets. Unfortunately in this case, most pets can be turned baby. You can check at the Rainbow Pool to see if your pets have that color option. If they can all be turned baby, try not to fret. If you have three or less pets, you can adopt what I call a “Boochi buffer.” This is a pet that has an inexpensive or basic paint job that would not cause any harm if turned baby. All you have to do is keep them as your active pet, and you never have to worry about Boochi again! If this seems a little extreme to you, or if you have four pets already, just choose one of the pets that you have already to be active. This may be the one with the least expensive color, or one that has the most appealing baby version. Getting a random event with Boochi is quite rare. Even if he shows up, he may miss when he tries to zap your pet. This is why you should not worry about it all the time, but I think that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

If you think having a “Boochi buffer” is cruel for the pet adopted for this purpose, this interview may help you feel a little better about it. I’ve asked a Scorchio to explain what it’s like to be one.

Q: Do you prefer being a “buffer” or being in the pound?

A: Being a “buffer,” of course. The pound is somewhere I never want to be again. My cage happened to be right next to a Pteri, and it would never stop singing! I swear, I could not even get through a night without hearing the tune from the Usukiland Advert!

Q: I see... do your new owners treat you alright?

A: Yes, I feel just like a normal part of the family. We have a lot of fun things that we do together, like a game night. (Did I mention how awesome I am at Volcano Run II?) We also have weekly cookouts, and I am the designated grill-starter. Of course, when you breathe fire, it’s kind of part of the job description. ;)

Q: So the food is much better than the food in the pound?

A: Are you kidding? All we got in the pound was a tiny bit of gross soup every day. I know the Soup Faerie means well, but she really is a bad cook! There are always bits of who-knows-what in it. I hope she does not read this...

Q: Don’t you feel used by your new family?

A: Sometimes I do, but having this job makes me feel rather important. I’m serving a purpose, and I have never really done that before. Besides, if Boochi ever does show up, I would be thrilled to be turned baby. This red paint is really not my style.

Q: Is there anything negative about being the active pet?

A: Yes, there are quite a few inconveniences. For one, I’m always the first target of the Snowager. Also, whenever my owner spins something like the Wheel of Misfortune, I have to hope that I won’t get sick. However, there are also many perks. I get to go to the Shrine every day, am the first to get my hands on the free omelettes, and the Tooth Faerie mistakenly always gives me the NP from her random events. Hehe.

Well, I think that’s everything you need to know about Boochi. I hope that this information will help you sleep easier at night. Then again, it may keep you up if this is the first time you’ve heard of him. :o Sorry about that.