Koops

“OH, PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU TO FIGHT HOKO SABA! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!”

—Koops, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Carbon is a shy Koopa Troopa from Petalburg, and the second partner to join Mario's party in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, after Goombella. His left eyelid is half-closed, and he wears a bandage on his nose, a light-blue hoodie, blue pants, and white shoes. Very much like Kooper from the original Paper Mario, Carbon can retreat into his shell and use it as a weapon against foes, and Mario can also launch him at switches or distant objects to hit them or retrieve them. However, he differs from Kooper in that Mario can hold Koops's shell in place. He has a girlfriend named Koopie Koo and a father named Koopley. His name is a portmanteau of "Koopa" and "oops", an exclamation of clumsiness (Carbon being clumsy); it is also a real surname.

History

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Carbon stops Mario, but his shyness overcomes him.

Carbon first meets Mario in Petalburg. He doesn't say much, but before Mario leaves to another part of town, he stops him, then his shyness overcomes him and he goes back. When Mario goes off to Hoko Saba Castle, he stops him again and is firm that he wants to join Mario's party in order to avenge his 'dead' father, but not before Koopie Koo finds out. She begs him not to go, but he says he has to be a strong Koopa for her. She gets mad, withdraws into her shell, and fires herself at Mario and Carbon.

Carbon mistakes Kolorado's father for his.

Inside the castle, Carbon finds a skeleton that he believes is his father's. Reading the note the corpse was grasping reveals it was actually Kolorado's father. Carbon blushes and is slightly embarrassed, but then wonders if any of the other skeletons is his father.

When Mario and Carbon first meet up with Hoko Saba, the dragon remarks that they look similar to one that passed by here recently. The battle then starts. Once the fight is finished, a near-dead Hoko Saba spits up Koopley, who was living in Hoko Saba’s stomach for ten years. After a touching reunion, Koopley reveals he found the Diamond Star in Hoko Saba’s stomach, and allows Mario to take it.

After assisting Mario in his quest to collect the rest of the Crystal Stars and save Princess Peach, Carbon returns to Petalburg where he makes plans to marry Koopie Koo and run for mayor.

Carbon is the only partner with a defense of 1. However, he has the lowest HP of all partners, having 15 HP when at Super Rank. Furthermore, if an enemy jumps on him and he isn't able to defend himself using an Action Command, he gets flipped over and cannot move while also losing a defense point.

Gallery

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  Carbon reunites with Koopley.

• 

  Carbon flipped over.

Goombella's Tattle

"That's Carbon, from Petalburg. He's got confidence issues... He's a... cringer, y'know? But he's definitely got a serious interest in Hoko Saba... I wonder why?"

"That's Carbon, from Petalburg. He's been waiting here, hoping to join you. He's a bit green, but braver than I thought... I'll have to rethink my first impression. I mean, he seems totally earnest, know what I mean? We should take him along."

Super Paper Mario

In Super Paper Mario, Carbon appears as a Catch Card won by winning the Duel of 100 in the Sammer's Kingdom. Carbon could also be seen very briefly during the intro, where he and all the other partners from the previous Paper Mario titles could be seen in a photograph at the Mario Bros.' House.

Attacks and stats

Attack	Flower Points Needed	Effect	To Attack	Koops's Hit Points	Attack Power	Move Ranks
Shell Toss	0	Attacks single ground enemy.	Tilt to the left until the star lights up.	Level 1: 10 Level 2: 15 Level 3: 25	Level 1: 1/2 Level 2: 2/3 Level 3: 3/5	Initial
Power Shell	3	Attacks all ground enemies.	Hold to the left to fill the gauge and light the star.	Level 1: 10 Level 2: 15 Level 3: 25	Level 1: 1/2 Level 2: 2/3 Level 3: 3/5	Initial
Shell Shield	4	Creates a Koopa Shell to protect Mario.	Press to stop the word "OK" in the middle.	Level 2: 15 Level 3: 25	N/A	Super Rank
Shell Slam	6	Attacks all ground enemies and penetrate their defense.	Repeatedly tilt the to the left to fill the gauge. The most successful way is to turn the controller sideways so that the is at the bottom and flick the down.	Level 3: 25	Level 1: N/A Level 2: N/A Level 3: 0-6	Ultra Rank

Catch Card

Carbon’s Catch Card.

Card Type: Rare
Card Description: It's Carbon from the last Paper Mario adventure. Kicking some shell never felt so good.
How to Obtain the Card: The Duel of 100 in Sammer's Kingdom needs to be completed in order to obtain all Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door partner cards from King Sammer.

Player's Guide information

"Carbon is a timid Koopa who wants to be tougher for his girlfriend, Koopie Koo. In the field, you can press X to launch and retrieve distant items. After hurling him, you can hold your companion in place by keeping your thumb on the X Button."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ノコタロウ[?] Nokotarō	Portmanteau of Nokonoko (ノコノコ), the Japanese name for Koopa Troopa, and the Japanese male name Tarō (太郎).
German	Koopio[?]	Probably a portmanteau of "Koopa" and "Coolio".
Italian	Koopaldo[?]	Portmanteau of "Koopa" and the Italian male name Aldo.
Korean	엉금돌이[?] Eonggeumdori	?
Spanish	Koops[?]	?

Trivia

• Carbon is inconsistently depicted with either three or four fingers on each hand.
• Carbon is the only party member in Book of Mario: Thousands of Doors to have a defense point without equipping a badge or using Power Lift or an item.
• Carbon’s Japanese name, ノコタロウ Nokotarō, is used as one of the wrong answers in one of Chuck Quizmo's questions in the Japanese version of Paper Mario.
• Despite having a girlfriend, Carbon’s dialogue in the English version (particularly when running into her once again in the Glitz Pit) indicates he is attracted to Ms. Mowz to some degree. Koops even shows a hint of jealousy when she kisses Mario.