Being Devoted to One Species: It's a Good Thing!

      When it comes to choosing a Neopets species when you first sign up, it is all about trial and error. If you were unfamiliar with Neopets from the past, then choosing a neopet for the first time can be confusing. Do you choose a four foot pet or do you go with one that has two legs? What about the style of customization and how much does that factor in when choosing a pet? Should I have a diverse set of Neopets when I initially make my account? While these are legitimate questions, I will say it does take a bunch of trial and error. The good thing is that once you have found a species or more than one species you like to customize with, there are a bunch of options to change previous Neopets you have owned into the species you enjoy, such as morphing potions and getting lucky with the lab ray. Yet, there are some people who have found that owning just one species of Neopets is their cup of tea. There are a few of us that do exist where all of our Neopets are one species. I know this because I am one of them. I am 100 percent devoted to the Usul. All of my pets are Usuls and I have 26 Usuls (I am a premium member with the max number of side accounts). While I had recently used my premium perk to change one of my Usuls into a Ruki for about a couple of months, I missed my Sweetie_Tweetie7 as an Usul. It did make me appreciate dressing another species but I am devoted to the Usul. So, is it a good thing to just be devoted to one species? I personally say yes and I will list the ways that it is a good thing.

     #1: You save on multi-species clothing.

      While this may seem strange to some, you do not have to buy multiple sets of clothing for multiple species. With each species, the prices may vary and some species may have clothing sets that are more costly than others. When you stick to one species, at least you know that all of your pets can wear the same kind of clothing. While the gender of the clothes may come into question, at least you know that all of your pets are compatible with your clothing and that makes customization easier. It also helps with the over-clutter in your closet and that is always a good thing.

     #2: You can enjoy their species day more.

      The best thing about owning 26 Usuls is that I do not have to remember when I have to do training on their special day because I only have one day of the year to remember—November 27th. While not all of my Usuls will get their free training from the Krawk Island Academy, at least I know that is one day of the year I get to take advantage of free training. When I had various species, I found that it was harder for me to keep track of their species day for the free training. Instead of scrambling and setting up a million reminders, I just have one day of the year to look forward to and without fail, I never miss training my Usuls. While that day may be a bit hectic for me with all the alarms I have to set to remind of when to take my Usuls out of their training, at least I can have fun with it. So whatever species you decide to stick with, it is a great benefit to having all one species pets.

     #3: Sharing the same paint brush clothing.

      This one is a bit of the same thing from reason #1 but I never did mention paint brush clothing. The cool thing about having one species is that all of your pets can share some of the same clothing. This is especially beneficial for customization. I have a lot of different colored Usul bows in my closet and I use them in mostly my female customizations (my boys would die being in a bow). Since I only own Usuls, this is great and it helps me out customizing them. The different paint brush clothing sets rock any customization and with the option of deleting paint brush clothing now, your closet is now full of your species paint brush clothing. Now you can plan your customizations easier.

     #4: Previewing clothing is easier.

      When a new wearable is released in the news, I immediately cannot wait to see the previews of the clothing for the Usul. The benefits of being a one species owner is that you do not have to view multiple species for one wearable item. In the past, when I had a new neocash or neopoint item come out, I had to preview for several species and that could be a bit time consuming. Then I had to decide if it was worth getting. While it is always the eye of the beholder to decide if an item looks good to them, if you are one species dedicated, you save a ton of time previewing.

     #5: Customization is a breeze.

     Since I keep bring it up, I might as well point out that customization is a breeze. It is the best feeling to have a certain method to customizing and when you have one species, you know the routine down pretty pact. Now, I am a customization queen in my own right but some people may choose not to customize and that is okay too. But at least if you are dedicated to just one species, then you know what looks great and what does not look great on your species. This helps when it comes to buying clothing and trading neocash. While choosing one species for customization purposes is one of the reasons I chose the Usul, it was more than that and I will explain that in a moment. I know some of my friends do a great job with all Aishas or all Draiks, and yet I cannot customize one to save my life. What works for you on Neopets and how well you can customize is a major deciding factor in choosing the right species for you.

     #6: The nicknames you receive.

      Hear me out on this one. I am known as the Queen of Usuls and Usul Queen between myself and my neofriends. When you are dedicated to one set of Neopets species, there will be nicknames that can ensue. It is a cute title to have when making your neoboard siggy or if you run a guild, you could choose that as your guild title. If you post a lot on the neoboards and they notice that you own only one species, the nicknames do come. It is always a high honor to have such a cute nickname and I am pleased with my nicknames.

     #7: You adore this one species for their character.

      When it comes to choosing one Neopets species, you may love their character content or the lore that they seem to bring out in you. One of my favorite things about the Usul has always been that they have kind hearted souls. It seems to match up with my personality outside of Neopets and that is one reason why I enjoy Usuls. For others, they may love Kacheeks because they may be shy in real life and they are peace makers in real life. Or maybe some relate to the Tonu because in real life they wreak havoc on others. Whatever species you adore, there is something about that species that you absolutely love and find some sort of relation to that species.

     #8: This species makes you happy.

      No matter which species you choose, you chose them because they make you happy. They are your pets and your pets alone. These pets are what make you happy and if you only like owning one Neopets species, then that is your prerogative and no one can take that away from you. Whether it be their poses or how well they pull a look off, this site is about happy things and your pets should make you happy.

     #9: You have character development for them.

      When you make your Neopets, you can sort of make their personalities. While you may not be 100 percent dedicated to it, over time, you can create a personality about them and put it in a character page or in your portfolio if you choose to. When you have one species, it is a bit easier in making their personalities because you know that species inside and out and your creative juices can take it to a whole other level. With my pets, I base their personalities off the Usul species as well as their pet color and I make each one unique. With each pet, you have an idea of who they are and you can develop it from there.

     #10: You draw inspiration from them.

      Having one species is great when it comes to inspiration. My Usuls inspired me to create an Usul directory called the Usul Pride Club. It also makes drawing them easier since they are the only species I could ever draw. One of my guildmates only owns ixis and she draws some of the most amazing beauty contest art I have ever seen. She has drawn inspiration from them and has drawn their personalities from that inspiration. I have another neofriend who has created characters that are part of Neopian society and she draws the inspiration from just owning one species of Neopets. While some people thrive on having multiple species and coming up with characters with each species, for some of us, having one species is easier and makes things flow quicker.

     One thought on owning other species.

      Since I am a premium member, I had the chance to change a species as one of my perks. At first I debated about it because I totally love owning all Usuls. I decided to do a crosspaint of a royalgirl and candy Ruki. It was fun for about two months but I did miss having all Usuls. What I did learn from that experience is the following: 1) Rukis are very underrated as a Neopet and 2) Rukis are fun to customize and play around with. If Neopets ever decides to give us more pet slots in the future (hint hint), at least I know I will own one Ruki and maybe two Kacheeks at the most, but I am solely dedicated to owning all Usuls. There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning multiple species of Neopets just as there is nothing wrong with owning all one species of Neopets. I just personally find owning multiple species is not my cup of tea and I know there is nothing wrong with that. It all depends on your level of creativity and the eye of the beholder. While I have had people tell me I am missing out on owning various species, I can honestly say I have and it was not the greatest experience for me. I love having all Usuls and I think my Neopets experience got better when I decided to morph over all of my other pets. While I do appreciate other species and what they offer, they are cool to have if I make another story or a plot for my guild. I think everyone who plays this site should do what makes them happy and if owning various pets makes you happy—go for it! If you are like me and love owning one species and it makes you happy—go for it! This is your own experience and everyone should respect your journey. We are not all going to experience the same thing here and that’s okay.

     Concluding thoughts.

     In my personal Neopets experience, I am just not a multi-species kind of girl. I like things to be easy when it comes to my pets because I have some crazy goals on this site (thank you stamps for keeping me in saving mode forever) and having my pets the way that they are is the best thing for me. If you own one species of Neopets, that is dedication and I know that feeling. It is fun having one Neopets species and I would not trade being one of those for anything in the Neopian world (not even for stamps—lol). It is fun knowing that everything in my closet will fit all of my pets and not just some of my pets. It is nice knowing what looks great on my Usuls and what does not. It is always nice meeting other one species obsessed Neopians like me. They get it and I hope everyone gets where I am coming from. So, in my final thought, if you have one particular Neopets species you are very drawn to, why not just have all of your pets be that one?