The History of Battledome Challengers, Part 2

     In the last edition of "The History of Battledome Challengers", we dove head first into the background stories of five different challengers. This is a series all about getting to know those that we come up against either every day in the Battledome, or those we rarely ever challenge because we don't have the strength or their rewards aren't great enough. Every week, for five weeks, I'll be here breaking down a selection of Battledome challengers for you to learn about. Maybe you will end up more inspired to take down some of the worst foes imaginable, as an extra slap in the face to them for trying to destroy Neopia. Or you will just want to practice with them to get stronger for the next mini-plot!

     Let's recap who we talked about last week:

     We learned about Jetsam Ace and how he was recruited by the Space Faerie to help inspire young Neopians to get battling to build their strength in case Dr. Sloth returns. Or if he returns to return to return to return to return again. I think that is how many times he has returned by now...

     We also learned about the Space Faerie and how she is keeping strong Neopians sharp for battle. She is a difficult opponent and will reward only the strongest pets with an avatar.

     We went through a few tissues to get Meuka out of the way, a Snot Meerca that just likes to cause trouble and destroy while trying to feast.

     Greedy Kadoatie, one of the most ANNOYING challengers, had to be bribed to leave us alone.

     And finally we gave Sidney the spotlight to show how much of a joke his scratchcards actually are!

     Up this week we have:

     Boochi

     Difficulty HP: 15, 20, 24

     Unlocks: If he tries to blast your pet during a random event, you can get your revenge.

     Boochi used to be one of the most nefarious of all random events. The fact that he is in the Battledome is a great reward to all who had to come across him years ago. This Baby Bruce seems cute and all from a distance, and if you are newer to the website you may wonder why he is a challenger. To the I say: lucky you for never having to deal with him.

     Years ago, Boochi had much better aim with his ray gun. If he stumbled upon you during a random event he would fire his ray gun at your active pet and change its paint color to Baby. Because of this many Neopians were afraid to keep their most beautiful pets as their active, hiding them away and being forced to show off their lesser-styled pets on the Neoboards. It was a shame, really. These days he can't seem to shoot his way out of a paper bag so we are safe from his baby blaster. Those who remember still want their revenge though, and so he has stayed as an active opponent.

     Evil Sloth Clone

     Difficulty HP: 85, 170, 340

     Unlocks: Take a trip to Kreludor and you may stumble across him.

     Dr. Sloth always has a terrible scheme up his sleeve and at one point he tried to take over the moon of Kreludor. He tried to enslave the Grundos and turn the purple and orange colors against each other. In doing so he released a seemingly infinite number of Evil Sloth Clones on the planet. They are mostly taken care of but occasionally one will pop up and need to be defeated. When you are exploring Kreludor you may receive one as a Battledome challenger and it will be your duty to defeat him. These are kind of strong but make great punching bags to practice in case Sloth returns. We can only assume he'll use a similar technology in his next attack.

     Slug Monster

     Difficulty HP: 500, 750, 1250

     Unlocks: He seems to be in the Maraquan Ruins somewhere and he hates Slug Flakes.

     The Slug Monster lives in the depths of Old Maraqua, inhabiting one of the ruined buildings under the sea. He is a gigantic Slugawoo that protects a pile of treasure. During Defenders of Neopia, two Neopets went to get the treasure but they were attacked by the Slug Monster. He was eventually defeated by Judge Hog and entered the Battledome to fight back against all Neopians. He has been known to occasionally leave Maraqua for unknown reasons, once being stuck in a magical portal in Faerieland during Operation: Petpet Park. He appears to be well educated, since a lot of the items he will give for defeating him are Maraquan books.

     Tekkitu the Witch Doctor

     Difficulty HP: 120, 360, 600

     Unlocks: He occasionally ambushes guests on a Tiki Tour of Mystery Island.

     Tekkitu is a Techo Witch Doctor who resides on Mystery Island and is more evil than good. There are some witch doctors that exist to cure your Neopets, or give them sage advice, but Tekkitu has other ideas. He has a spell that is able to control minds and force his victims to carry out his evil plots. His power is strongly contained in his wand, so that is a good thing to destroy first. If you hear him shouting "Keecha Boko!" it might be a better idea to turn and run instead of fighting. Rumor has it that defeating him may reward you with a book containing his magic secrets.

     Tiki Tack Man

     Difficulty HP: 63, 82, 101

     Unlocks: Buy a nice souvenir from his shop!

     This week we have discussed a lot of evil foes so I wanted to break it up a little bit and end on a more positive note. The Tiki Tack Man is best known for selling Mystery Island souvenirs and running the luck game known as Tombola. He likes to break routine a little bit and so he heads to the Battledome for some fun and to let off some steam. There is no reason he deserves to be beaten, he's there for the same reason most of us are: to enjoy the fight and test our strength. He battles well and uses some really interesting Island weaponry and if you beat him you will get rewarded with a large assortment of Mystery Island items. He could give out codestones, books, fruits, petpets, even some medications! Just be a good sport, this fight is all about having fun.

         Come back next week, I'll have a list of five more challengers that you can learn more about! It will be a special edition featuring all Blumaroo challengers!