5 Neopian Villains That Aren't Actually That Bad

But then there are some in the Gallery that I personally think really shouldn’t be there at all. Instead, they are merely in this gallery due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding them, or are just simply misunderstood beings of Neopia. I mean really, I can easily name five of them right now in no particular order and explain why I think they shouldn’t be called “Villains” of Neopia. In fact, I might just do that.

1. The Ghost Lupe

Ah, the dreaded Ghost Lupe. According to the Gallery of Evil, this ghostly ghoul will attack if you disturb him in any way, meaning you should stand clear of him. But what do we REALLY know about this lost soul?

Well, according to both Neopedia and the Gallery, we all know of the story of how a Lupe Knight called Sylva was caught in a shipwreck just off the shores of Mystery Island about 200 years ago, and was the only officer on his ship to survive. Nothing villainous so far, except maybe having a name that almost looks like "Sylvia" at first glance.

Then the story continues to explain how he and his remaining crew members tried to escape from the utterly dangerous island natives, the dense jungle and one case of a 'fiery spirit" lurking through the jungle. This is starting to sound more like some strange upcoming plot line made by the TNT Staff.

Then comes the famous final journal entry of how his wife (who I assume is named Sylvia) was kidnapped by the Mystery Island natives, and how Sylva was going to save her. This actually sound quite heroic if you ask me. BUT then we find out that Sylva actually loses his life trying to save his beloved, vowing revenge upon the kidnappers that he would haunt them forever. And that is how he becomes what we know as the Ghost Lupe.

This leads many to ask, myself included, is there anything really evil about this guy? Besides maybe being a bit cranky whenever someone ruins his slumber, or sometimes getting bored and doing that whole "oooooh, I'm a ghost" joke that comes with being a ghost (seriously, what ghost neopet doesn't do that?), he's actually quite an awesome Lupe. I mean, if anything, he should be in the Gallery of Heroes.

On top of this epic heroic story, the Gallery of Evil itself mentions the fact that the Ghost Lupe at times actually helps wandering neopets by healing them. In fact, in all the Ghost Lupe-related random events I've gotten, there's been none that caused any of my pets any harm. And what do we do to repay for his kindness? We challenge him at the Battledome and give him a good beating.

Now that hardly seems fair, now does it? Maybe next time you see the Ghost Lupe, you should ask for his autograph or help him in his cause of haunting the natives that caused him to be this way. Because that's another thing; the Ghost Lupe isn't actually after us normal Neopets at all! He's only sworn revenge on the evil natives deep in the jungles of Mystery Island, not you. Sure, he eats the odd Chia or two, but just as much as any other Lupe would.

Oh, and speaking of eating Chias...

2. The Jelly Chia

Now I had a really hard time trying to find enough information about this blobby neopet, but apart from that I don't really see what exactly makes him the notorious villain that the Gallery makes him out to be. I mean really, all I see in the accounts is a rightly paranoid and lonely neopet, suffering through what most food-related neopets have to endure every day.

His story starts with a nutcase confectionery scientist appropriately named Wizzle who (for some reason) wanted to make what the Gallery of Evil calls an "edible friend"; why this guy wants to eat his friends, I will gladly never know. But anyway, that's how the Jelly Chia was made.

The Gallery goes on to say that they became good friends until one day, Wizzle got 'peckish'. PECKISH!?! You discovered how to create life and your excuse for destroying it is that you were peckish??? Naturally, our friend J-Chia doesn't want to be mauled to death, so he reacts in self defense and eats Wizzle.

I know what you're all thinking at this point. "Um, Isn't eating another neopet and slowly dissolving him slightly evil?" But I think you're slightly missing the point. You see, the Jelly Chia was created so that he could be eaten, and naturally no one wants to be eaten. So if anything, Wizzle is the main villain here. I mean, I still can't get over why he would want to eat his friends!

On top of all this, I don't actually think Wizzle was killed when he was eaten. I mean, hear me out here before you throw tomatoes and Meepits at me. According to the Gallery, you can still hear Wizzle's screams from the abandoned chocolate factory the Jelly Chia resides. Well, I'd probably be screaming too at the thought that I had just been eaten and digested by another living being too, so he's probably learnt from his 'peckish' ways.

So maybe next time you meet the Jelly Chia, maybe you should make him aware that you're not going to eat him and he'll probably treat you like a normal neopet. Who knows, maybe you'll become best friends.

Speaking of being friendly...

3. Balthazar the Bounty Hunter

I know what you're thinking (seriously, I must have mind-reading powers!). "WHAT!?! You mean faerie stealing, petpet eating, all-round meanie Balthazar!?! " And yes, I do mean that Balthazar. Now before you start readying your Meepits again, I agree that what he does with faeries isn't all that amiable.

However, you can't deny the fact that despite his cruelty to faeries, without him we wouldn't have bottled faeries to buy from Kauvara's shop and bless our neopets with in the first place. My Kougra Maureen wouldn't be able to heal her wounds during a fight in the Battledome or breathe underwater if it weren't for a few Bottled Water Faeries purchased from Kauvara.

And besides, has he really ever harmed a faerie? Well, not really. All he does is shrink them so they can fit inside the bottle, and when they're released, the faeries can go about their daily business as before. It was actually the faeries' fault in the first place, as according to Neopedia, when Balthazar was young, he was picked on by faeries. He was merely seeking shelter in the Haunted Woods after his family had abandoned him.

So Balthazar isn't really a Villain, just merely misunderstood. Besides, what Skeith or Lupe or Grarrl hasn't eaten a petpet or two? So next time you're in the Haunted Woods and you stumble upon Balthazar chasing some random Dark Faerie, say thank-you, and maybe give him a cookie or two. Maybe he just needs someone to be grateful for what he does.

Speaking of being grateful...

4. Vira the Vain

Ah, now we come to poor, poor Vira. All she ever wanted was to be beautiful. I mean, what female neopet or Uni hasn't wished this to themselves at some point in their life? Vira, though, was merely a victim of circumstance, as according to the Gallery of Evil, her wish was heard by what is described as a shadowy figure (presumably a random dark faerie or the likes of which) who decided to play a trick on the little Acara.

According to various sources, Vira was told to look into a magic mirror that would grant her wish, but instead made her become what she is today. Since that day, a mirror has become her symbol of vanity as she preys on other vain neopets of Neopia.

When I reread her story, I realized that not only was she a victim of some curse upon her, but it also seems that she now uses the same tactics that the unnamed shadowy figure uses. This tells me that she is now a slave to this strange figure, meaning that she is still the victim of what I reckon is the real Villain of this story: the Shadowy Figure. Vira is merely the figurehead of this attack against vanity that the Figure has created. I mean, where else does Vira get these magic mirrors from anyway?

And is fighting against vanity a bad thing? I mean, think about it, Neopia, a world where people didn't judge others on looks alone. Where it didn't matter that your neopet was wearing a potato sack. And besides, have you seen Vira? She actually looks pretty awesome, as well as scoring herself some wings for free! If there was a paintbrush color that meant looking like Vira, I would buy it in a flash!

Although I must say that Vira and the Shadowy Figure aren't really the most successful in their fight against vanity. I mean, the only random event I've seen of Vira is when she kindly asks for a fight in the Battledome. No mention of making my pet ugly, or giving me free magic mirrors that make my neopets look cool, nothing. Really, she doesn't do much at all except behave like a normal neopet would.

Speaking of doing nothing at all...

5. Eliv Thade

Now here's a villainous neopet sprite that I'm really confused about why in Neopia he is in the Gallery of Evil. I mean seriously, WHY!?!

His story goes that when he was alive, Eliv Thade was just a Kacheek that was really proud of the fact that he was really good at creating and solving puzzles. As in really good. He probably became as rich as he was after going to the puzzle section of the games area every day for like a month. Then one day, a servant of his gave him a puzzle he just couldn't crack. If you ever go try doing a Lenny Conundrum, you would know how he felt.

So instead of giving up like we sore losers would, Thadey-boy here decided to spend the rest of his life solving this puzzle, somehow severely disfiguring himself from all those paper-cuts he got from all book he was researching. Then in his spectral form, Thade swore that anyone who would enter his house must challenge him by solving his puzzling anagrams or suffer the consequences.

But hang on. What exactly is wrong with that? All he's doing is inviting people of to his place to play games with him. Puzzle games!!! His "evildoing" is the equivalent to a neopet family game night of Tuesdays.

And what are these "consequences" that you are apparently meant to face anyway? I mean, it seems that the little Usul girl you help in the game gets out alive and well, even when she gets something wrong. I mean, seriously, if this is all you have to do to become a villain in Neopia, my neopets and I must become Neopian Villains every Tuesday night!

What am I trying to say?

I'm not saying whether or not the neopets in this list have done things to deserve "villain" status. All I'm saying is just because someone is labelled a "villain", doesn't necessarily mean they are one. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go out shopping for the new puzzle board game to torture my with neopets this Tuesday night.

This is my first submission to the NT ever! YAY!!! I hope there's plenty more where that came from...