Cowardly Creature - WiKirby: it's a wiki, about Kirby!
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Cowardly Creature is the 94th episode (96th in the 4Kids broadcast) of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode, the monster Phan Phan escapes from Night Mare Enterprises and causes trouble in Dream Land, but it turns out to be a timid creature afraid of fighting once the mask it was wearing is removed. Kirby then manages to become friends with Phan Phan, but King Dedede sends the monster Whippy to take control of it and make it hostile. Kirby is set upon by his former friend and is at first hesitant to fight, but with some encouragement from Meta Knight, Kirby gains the Throw Copy Ability and uses it to toss Whippy off of the planet and restore Phan Phan to normal. From there, the Dream Landers agree to let Phan Phan stay in the kingdom.
This episode marks the only appearance of the Throw Copy Ability in the anime series.
Characters[edit]
The following characters appear in this episode:
| Cast of "Cowardly Creature" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Selected quote | Notes |
| Primary characters | ||
| "Poya!" | ||
| "That poor thing's afraid! We have to do something!" | ||
| "Whoa! That monster must be huge!" | ||
| "I'm me, alrighty! I think it's about time to extra-cise my kingly duties and protect my subjects!" | ||
| "In fact, I can assure you that the King is totally irresponsible!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| Secondary characters | ||
| (no dialogue) | Appears only in the Japanese version. | |
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Yeah! Get 'im, Dedede!" "Atta' boy, Sire!" |
||
| "Well at least when I don't have any customers I don't have any complaints." | ||
| "Some kind of monster tore through here and leveled half of Cappy Town!" | ||
| "Looks like a plush toy with way too much plush!" | ||
| "It destroyed my gas station! There's nothin' left!" | ||
| "I like him!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "But where did it come from?" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "The cards do not lie." | ||
| "It's a catastrophe, Tiff!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "What's going on?!" | Melman has dialogue only in the Japanese version, so this line is translated from that version. | |
| "Kirby! Use the weapon against them! Quickly!" | ||
| "I can assure you we're not responsible, Triple-D! The escapee was part of our "Young Monsters of the Future" program! The training facility is secure, but it looks like somebody found a way to break into our computer system and sent one of our horrible hopefuls free!" | ||
| "It left these footprints all over town!" | ||
| "Is it bad news, Mabel?" | ||
| "Look out below!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "That thing's already torn up half the town!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
Locations[edit]
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode begins with King Dedede having a nightmare about a giant creature resembling a clown that stomps him flat. He wakes in a cold sweat and rushes through the Castle Dedede halls to wake his assistant Escargoon with his hammer. The two then hear the Monster Delivery System activating down in the throne room and run to see what is coming through, but when they get there, they see nothing at all. King Dedede and Escargoon attempt to brush the incident off as their imagination, but they are soon flattened when a monster resembling the one in Dedede's nightmare runs past. The monster shortly escapes into the countryside and starts wreaking havoc in Cappy Town, revealing itself to be an elephant-like creature wearing clown make-up. Tokkori warns Tiff and Tuff what is happening, and they rush off to town to see what they can do, while being joined by Kirby along the way. Back at the castle, King Dedede and Escargoon receive word from Night Mare Enterprises that one of their as yet untrained monsters was sent free prematurely against their designs, identifying the monster as Phan Phan. He explains that Phan Phan is very skittish and would not hurt anyone intentionally, and asks King Dedede and Escargoon to keep an eye out for it.
Kirby and the kids soon join up with several of the Cappies in the central plaza to assess the situation. They suspect that King Dedede may be responsible, but Dedede soon rides in on his Royal Racecar and tells the Cappies he will hunt down the monster himself to try and prove his goodwill. At that moment, however, Phan Phan returns, crashing through another building. Kirby rushes in to try and deal with the monster, but King Dedede pushes him aside, insisting on handling it himself. After using Escargoon as a shield, King Dedede swipes at the monster with his hammer and knocks its clown mask off, revealing it to be a large round elephant that some of the observers find adorable. With its mask removed, Phan Phan becomes hesitant to fight, and runs away as King Dedede antagonizes it with his hammer. To help King Dedede subdue the monster, the Cappies run in front to trap its escape while King Dedede whacks Phan Phan repeatedly on the foot. Seeing that Phan Phan is not fighting back, Kirby steps in to stop the fight by inhaling King Dedede's hammer and spitting it back at him and Escargoon to knock them away.
Later on, Kirby and the kids attempt to befriend Phan Phan and take it to see Kirby's House. However, Phan Phan is still frightened of its small companions, and runs away from Kirby in particular. After a little trial and error, Kirby manages to earn Phan Phan's trust by feeding it apples. While doing so, Phan Phan nearly eats all of Kirby's food, making him sad, but seeing this, Phan Phan gives the last apple to Kirby, returning the favor and turning the two into friends. Back at the castle, however, King Dedede decides to contact N.M.E. again to get them to take care of Phan Phan. They send the clown monster Whippy who is said will be able to whip Phan Phan back into shape. While Phan Phan is playing with Kirby and the kids in a pond, King Dedede shows up and sends Whippy at Phan Phan, using its electric whip to dominate the elephant and turn it hostile. Phan Phan is then sent after Kirby as Whippy rides on top. Kirby is chased into Cappy Town, where Phan Phan proceeds to attack the pink puffball by tossing spiked balls at him provided by Whippy. Kirby is hesitant to fight his new friend, and gets beaten up pretty badly, but Meta Knight shows up and snaps Kirby back to his senses. Kirby proceeds to swallow one of the spike balls and gain the Throw Copy Ability.
From here, Whippy attempts to use his whip to grab Kirby, but is not able to keep a hold of him for long. Kirby retaliates by inhaling Whippy and forcing him off of Phan Phan. Kirby then catches Whippy and tosses him around before finishing by throwing Whippy so hard he flies off into space, straight into a black hole. Seeing Phan Phan return to normal, King Dedede and Escargoon attempt to make a break for it, but Phan Phan tosses one of the spike balls at their car to destroy it before they get away. As the Dream Landers realize Phan Phan is not like the other monsters, they decide to let the elephant stay in Dream Land rather than go back to Night Mare Enterprises. The episode ends as Phan Phan and Kirby play some more.
Differences between versions[edit]
- In the Japanese version, there is an extra scene where Biblio is tossed out of his bathroom while on the toilet by Phan Phan.
- In the Japanese version, Whippy juggles daggers in addition to his other implements.
Dialogue differences[edit]
- In the Japanese version, when King Dedede is hammering Phan Phan, he repeats the line (translated) "Defense only!" This is a reference to Japan's policy of keeping an army only for defense purposes.
- In the Japanese version, Tiff wonders if Phan Phan was treated harshly before coming to Dream Land, and is traumatized from it.
Gallery[edit]
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King Dedede has a nightmare about being crushed by a giant monster.
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King Dedede is crushed by a giant monster that runs off.
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Chef Kawasaki encounters the monster.
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The monster runs through Cappy Town, destroying buildings in its wake.
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The N.M.E. Sales Guy shows off the members of the "Young Monsters of the Future" program.
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King Dedede drives into town and boasts about driving the monster out.
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King Dedede holds up Escargoon as a shield and engages with the monster.
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King Dedede knocks the monster's mask off.
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King Dedede proceeds to hammer the now helpless Phan Phan.
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Kirby dispatches King Dedede and Escargoon using Dedede's hammer.
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Kirby and the kids show Phan Phan where Kirby lives.
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Phan Phan is frightened by a passing squirrel.
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Phan Phan gives Kirby the last apple on the plate.
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Whippy shows off his talent by roping up Escargoon.
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Phan Phan and its new friends play by a pond.
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Whippy appears and captures Phan Phan.
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Phan Phan is dominated by Whippy and made hostile.
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Kirby is forced to run from his friend as Whippy commands Phan Phan.
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Kirby runs through Cappy Town as Phan Phan and Whippy chase.
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Kirby gains the Throw ability.
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Whippy catches Kirby by the foot with his whip.
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Kirby uses his ability to capture Whippy.
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Phan Phan returns to its normal docile self.
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Phan Phan punishes King Dedede and Escargoon for their intervention.
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The final shot of the episode
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 脱走魔獣ファンファン Dassō Majū Fan Fan |
Escaped Monster Phan Phan |
| Italian | Un insolito mostro | An unusual monster |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Criatura Covarde | Cowardly Creature |