Editing Pixl

{{distinguish|Pixels}}
{{species infobox
|image=[[File:All Pixls NO BKG.png|320px]]<br>All in-game Pixls
|first_appearance=''[[Super Paper Mario]]'' ([[List of games by date#2007|2007]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'' ([[Trophy (Super Smash Bros. series)|trophy]] cameo) ([[List of games by date#2014|2014]]) (Tippi only)
|notable=[[Barry]]<br>[[Boomer (Super Paper Mario)|Boomer]]<br>[[List of implied characters#Breadward|Breadward]]<br>[[Carrie]]<br>[[Cudge]]<br>[[Dashell]]<br>[[Dottie]]<br>[[Fleep]]<br>[[List of implied characters#Legendary Pixl|Legendary Pixl]]<br>[[Piccolo]]<br>[[List of implied characters#Pixl Queen|Pixl Queen]]<br>[[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]]<br>[[Thoreau]]<br>[[Thudley]]<br>[[Tippi]]<br>[[Tiptron]]
|collapsed=true
}}
'''Pixls''' are an ally [[list of species|species]] of [[Mario]] and company. Their first, and currently only, appearance is in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', where they serve as a replacement for the [[partner]] system of the previous [[Paper Mario (series)|''Paper Mario'' titles]]. In ''Super Paper Mario'', the Pixls help [[Mario]], [[Princess Peach]], [[Bowser]] and [[Luigi]] by giving them special moves, like picking up [[list of items|items]] or [[list of enemies|enemies]] and throwing them, serving as explosives, or even acting as a floating platform for Mario and the others to ride on. The name "Pixl" comes from the word "{{wp|pixel}}", the smallest possible portion of an image, and may also be a reference to "pixie", another name for a {{wp|fairy}}, which gives the Pixls their name in Japan, ''Fairin''. When ''Super Paper Mario'' was still [[list of Super Paper Mario pre-release and unused content|in production]] and no official English name for the Pixls was known, game journalism websites called them "Fairens", based on their Japanese name.<ref>(January 5, 2007). [http://web.archive.org/web/20091209140126/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=153491&site=ngm Wii Preview: Super Paper Mario]. ''NGamer''. Retrieved December 9, 2021.</ref><ref>Root, F. (May 17, 2006). [https://www.nsidr.com/archive/e3-preview-super-paper-mario E3 Preview: Super Paper Mario]. ''nsidr''. Retrieved December 9, 2021.</ref>

The playable Pixls are [[Tippi]], [[Thoreau]], [[Boomer (Super Paper Mario)|Boomer]], [[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]], [[Thudley]], [[Carrie]], [[Fleep]], [[Cudge]], [[Dottie]], [[Barry]], [[Dashell]] and [[Piccolo]], as well as the robot Pixl, [[Tiptron]]. Unlike the other Pixls, Tippi was not created by the [[Tribe of Ancients]], but started out life as a human named Timpani, and was turned into a Pixl by [[Merlon]] as a desperate attempt to save her life when he found her close to death. While the player can only have one of the other Pixls out at a time, Tippi is always in play, except for when she was captured by [[Francis]] and when the heroes were briefly sent to [[The Underwhere]] by [[Dimentio]]. At the end of the game she marries her lost love [[Count Bleck]] (formerly known as Blumiere) and disappears, regaining her human form in another world. After that, the player can retrieve Tiptron from her creator, [[Francis]]. Tiptron will remain with the player from that point onward, performing the same [[Tattle|tattling]] function as Tippi did.

==History==
3,000 years before the time of ''Super Paper Mario'', a powerful magician among the [[Tribe of Ancients|Ancients]] created the first twelve Pixls, eleven of which are obtainable in-game (excluding Tippi, Tiptron, and an unknown member of the original 12 Pixls). He accomplished this by transferring a spirit into a vessel that he created for a specific purpose. It has been theorized that the spirits were from people, such as [[Flip-Flop Folk]] or humans, who had been given [[Game Over]]s,<ref>Carson's "The Pixl Queen" story reads: "''The spirit within the Pixl Queen was not a demon, but rather a human [...] Is it possible the other Pixls were spirits from the game-overed?''"</ref> which is supported by the fact that Merlon would one day contain Tippi's human soul within a Pixl form. After the magician's own death, his apprentices learned how to make many more Pixls based on his original twelve. They became known as "thinking tools" for the Ancients, who eventually became rather dependent on their Pixl helpers. Through the work of many Pixls, the Ancients prospered as they never had before.<ref>Carson's "Creation of the Pixls" story explains the origin of the Pixls.</ref>

One day, however, a catastrophe occurred. 1,000 years after the invention of the Pixls, a huge Pixl, calling herself the [[Pixl Queen]], suddenly appeared. Most Pixls were well-contained spirits, but she was believed to be a demonic spirit contained in a Pixl vessel, although it was later revealed that she was not only a human, but possibly the magician's own daughter, who grew ill and perished while he was conducting his research. While her exact motivation is unknown, one theory is that the Pixl Queen was horrified by how the Pixls were used by the Ancients and she used her powers to command the other Pixls to rebel against their masters. Devastated by the loss of the Pixls they had become so dependent on, the Ancients found themselves unable to build and rule their empire, and were easily enslaved by the Pixl Queen.<ref>Carson's "The Pixl Uprising" story outlines the early stages of the rebellion.</ref>

In the midst of the ruin, the descendents of the magician's apprentices and inheritors of the twelve original Pixls appeared, defeated wave after wave of Pixl soldiers, and freed the enslaved Ancients. They used [[Catch Card]]s to trap the mind-controlled Pixl soldiers and then healed them. They saw their friends fall in battle one by one, yet persevered anyway. The last survivor managed to make it to the castle of the Pixl Queen, however she used her powers of illusion to hide and bombard him with horrific images. Fortunately, one of the Pixls at the fighter's side had the ability to see the truth (paralleled by Tippi's [[Tattle]]-like ability 2,000 years later), and together they fought and defeated the Pixl Queen at the cost of the Pixl's life.<ref>Carson's "More Pixl Uprising" story outlines the fall of the Pixl Queen.</ref>

The vanquisher of the Pixl Queen then discovered the truth: she had been the first Pixl created, even predating the "original" 12 Pixls used to defeat her. She had been created from a human soul by the magician with knowledge he took from the [[Dark Prognosticus]], so to prevent another catastrophe from ever happening, the survivor of the fight with the Pixl Queen took the book from her and disappeared.<ref name=end>Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" story details the aftermath of the Pixl uprising.</ref> He then founded the [[Tribe of Darkness]], which would come to be known as the thieves of the Dark Prognosticus, long suspected of using the dark knowledge contained within the book for their own ends, while in reality, they were also protecting the tome from truly evil uses.<ref>Carson's "Final Tribe of Darkness" story read: "''I hear they stole the Dark Prognosticus from the Ancients and hid it. [...] Some say they did it to use the book's power to enhance their dark magic... Some say they hid it from others who would use it for evil...''"</ref>

Despite the hiding of the Dark Prognosticus, the Ancients had grown fearful of the Pixls. Their elders decided to limit the power of all Pixls and outlawed their creation. However, as a result of the Pixl uprising and the unavailability of their Pixl tools, the Ancients declined and disappeared and their technology was, for the most part, lost.<ref name=end/> Only surviving members of the original twelve Pixls were believed to still be in existence, scattered around the worlds.<ref>Carson's "Creation of the Pixls" reads: "''There are no more Pixls now, I understand... Well, except for some of the original Pixls, who were scattered far and wide... They lie in wait for a new master to arrive.''"</ref> The eleven remaining Pixls were eventually brought together by Mario and the other heroes during the course of ''Super Paper Mario''. They were joined by a twelfth, newly created Pixl, Tippi, who was eventually replaced by the robot Pixl, Tiptron, after she disappears to another world and reverts back into a human.

==The Pixls==
*Each Pixl's name and appearance serves as a nod to the abilities they grant.
**[[Tippi]] gives the heroes tips and makes most invisible objects appear. She resembles a butterfly, and her wings and antennae split apart to function as a pointer. [[Tiptron]] shares her functions and appearance, albeit with metallic wings and more robotic antennae. Tippi joins the player at the start of their adventure, in [[Flipside]], while Tiptron can only be purchased at [[Fort Francis]] after beating the game as Tippi can no longer be useable following her disappearance to another world and regaining her human form.
**[[Thoreau]] allows the heroes to pick up and throw things. He resembles a square-shaped hand with five fingers. He is found beneath a house in [[Yold Town]].
**[[Boomer (Super Paper Mario)|Boomer]] resembles and acts as a bomb. He is found in [[Gloam Valley]].
**[[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]] allows Mario and co. to turn sideways. He resembles a segmented, inverted triangle and is found inside [[Merlee's Mansion]].
**[[Thudley]] allows Mario and co. to ground pound with a thud. He resembles a 10-ton weight and is found at the bottom of [[the Tile Pool]].
**[[Carrie]] turns into a platform to carry people over obstacles. Her appearance is a net of the rectangular prism she can form, and she was found imprisoned inside [[Fort Francis]].
**[[Fleep]] can be used to flip objects from one dimension into another. He resembles a window shade, and apparently waited 100 years in an outhouse on [[Planet Blobule]] for the hero to arrive.
**[[Cudge]] allows Mario and co. to use a [[hammer]], which he resembles. He was sealed near a shrine high above the ground in the [[Gap of Crag]].
**[[Dottie]] has the ability to shrink Mario and co. to the size of a dot. She resembles a tiny circle surrounded by many twisting lines. She is found in the [[Floro Caverns]], assisting the [[Cragnon]] [[Gabbro]].
**[[Barry]] creates a barrier around the heroes. He resembles a spiky ring. He is an optional Pixl, and can be found by returning to [[The Bitlands]] and speaking to him after rescuing Tippi.
**[[Dashell]] allows the heroes to run much more quickly and resembles a missile. He is found after defeating [[Wracktail]] on the 100th floor of the [[Flipside Pit of 100 Trials]].
**[[Piccolo]] plays music that can cure status ailments caused by [[Cursya]]s. She resembles a music note, and can be gained by completing a prolonged trading sequence that eventually yields the player the key to the house in [[Flopside]] where she is kept.
<gallery>
SPM_Tippi.png|[[Tippi]]
SPM_Thoreau.png|[[Thoreau]]
BoomerPixl.png|[[Boomer (Super Paper Mario)|Boomer]]
Slim.png|[[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]]
Thudley.png|[[Thudley]]
Carrie.png|[[Carrie]]
Fleep.png|[[Fleep]]
Cudge SPM artwork.png|[[Cudge]]
Dottie.png|[[Dottie]]
Barry.png|[[Barry]] (optional)
SPM Dashell.png|[[Dashell]] (optional)
Piccolo.png|[[Piccolo]] (optional)
SPM Tiptron.png|[[Tiptron]] (optional)
</gallery>

===Other Pixls===
[[File:Ladder Pixl SPM unused.png|thumb|The unused Pixl, who resembles a ladder.]]
[[File:Ladder Pixl SPM unused alt.png|frame|left|The ladder Pixl, as seen from a pre-release variant of the title screen.]]
In a [[list of Super Paper Mario pre-release and unused content|pre-release version of ''Super Paper Mario'']], a ladder-like Pixl that did not make it into the final game can be found. This Pixl would have been used to flip Mario to 3D, as revealed by unused Pixl data within the game's files.

An unseen and unnamed Pixl is mentioned by [[Heronicus]]. Speaking to him after the game is beaten will reveal that he spent much of his life seeking a [[List of implied characters#Legendary Pixl|legendary Pixl]], only for a rockslide to occur the moment he found it. Forced to choose between his comrade and the Pixl, Heronicus chose to save his friend, and the Pixl was lost.

When [[Mimi]] impersonates [[Merlee]] and tries to trick [[Mario]] into accepting an offer, she mentions "[[List of implied characters#Breadward|Breadward]], a Pixl made of oats and lard." Given [[Mimi]]'s habit of lying to [[Mario]], it is doubtful that this is an actual Pixl.

After the player buys Tiptron from [[Francis]], he mentions that he will soon start making [[List of implied characters#Tiptron Mk. II|Tiptron Mk. II]]. However, whether he ever actually makes Tiptron Mk. II remains unknown as he provides no further dialogue on its update afterwards.

The Pixl Queen, as told by bartender [[Carson]], is a Pixl who arose long ago. She had the powers to control other Pixls and started revolting against the Tribe of Ancients.

Carson's story speaks of "twelve original Pixls", one of which defeated the Pixl Queen but died.

One of Carson's theories for Mimi's origin explains that she may be a failed Pixl.
{{br}}

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=フェアリン
|JapR=Fearin
|JapM=Portmanteau of "fairy" and the Japanese endearing diminutive「~りん」(''-rin'')
|Fre=Pixel
|Ita=Pixl
|Spa=Pixelito
|SpaM=From "pixel" with diminutive suffix "-ito"
|Kor=페어린
|KorR=Peeorin
|KorM=Transliteration of the Japanese name
|Rus=Пикси
|RusR=Piksi
|RusM=From "пиксель" (''piksel'', pixel) with name suffix "-и" (''-i''), or a transliteration of "pixie"
|Ger=Pixl
}}

==Trivia==
*While ''Super Paper Mario'' was on the [[Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]], Pixls would be activated with the GameCube's {{button|gcn|X}} button rather than the Wii Remote's {{button|wii|1}} button (although it is unknown how Tippi would be activated).
*In the Japanese version, each Pixl's name is written in {{wp|katakana}}, but with one random character in {{wp|hiragana}}. The only exceptions are Tippi and Tiptron.
*If a Pixl which would be collected as part of the main storyline is [[List of Super Paper Mario glitches#Pixl skips|skipped using glitches]], the game automatically adds it to the party at the end of the chapter with a message like "''This Pixl heard all about your adventures while waiting in a basement in Yold Town. Thoreau the throwing Pixl is now your friend!''"

==References==
<references/>

{{SPM}}
[[Category:Pixls|*]]
[[Category:Super Paper Mario allies]]
[[Category:Super Paper Mario species]]
[[de:Pixl]]
[[it:Pixl]]