Bulky Bob-omb

Not to be confused with Bob-ulk.

Bulky Bob-omb
Sprite from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Variant of	Bob-omb

Bulky Bob-ombs (also formatted as Bulky Bob-Ombs) are massive pink Bob-ombs in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Unlike their smaller variants, Bulky Bob-ombs do attack directly, but instead passively prepare an explosive attack over several turns. This explosion hits both Mario and his partner, as well as other enemies, and sets off other Bulky Bob-ombs immediately after.

In order to execute this attack, Bulky Bob-ombs, over four turns, boost their attack and defense power in a specific order:

1. Fuse ignition
2. Defense boost by 3
3. Attack boost by 3
4. Charge attack by 3

On their fifth turn, they will automatically explode. If hit by a fire, lightning or explosive attack (excluding Clock Out), Bulky Bob-ombs prematurely detonate, dealing less damage if attack boosts have not been applied. In the Nintendo Switch remake, however, Bulky Bob-ombs will not grant Star Points if they explode. Status effects such as Immobilized and Sleep will allow its boosts to wear off without attacking. The Frozen status effect will additionally force it to spend a turn reigniting its fuse.

Bulky Bob-ombs also appear as audience members that take up two seats and blast other audience members away. A stronger variant, known as the Bob-ulk, appears exclusively in the Pit of 100 Trials.

Profiles and statistics

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

GameCube

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Bulky Bob-omb
	Max HP	6	Attack	2	Defense	1
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto, Pit of 100 Trials (Levels 41-43, 46-48)	Role	Common	Level	22
	Sleep?	90%	Dizzy?	70%	Confuse?	70%
	Tiny?	80%	Stop?	75%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	100%	Fright?	80%
	Gale Force?	20%	KO?	95%	Moves	Light Fuse (no effect), Defense Up (Defense Boost +3), Power Up (Attack Boost +3), Charge Up (ATK+3), Explosion (2, 5, or 8)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	0 - 4	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 87	Log	A big pink Bob-omb that explodes after 4 turns. That explosion is big, so take it out before then.
	Tattle	That's a Bulky Bob-omb. I think it's like other Bob-ombs... but it's huge! Max HP is 6, Attack is 2, Defense is 1. It's weird... It never attacks, but once its fuse is lit, it'll blow up on its own eventually. I don't mind it taking itself out of the battle, but that explosion hurts us, too! Oh, and when it powers up, that Attack power is 8, so watch out! Fire and explosions light its fuse, so I guess setting it off early is one strategy... You can run, too, but if you're gonna fight, beat it before it goes off!

Nintendo Switch

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Bulky Bob-omb
	Max HP	6	Attack	2	Defense	1
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto, Pit of 100 Trials (Levels 41-43, 46-48)	Role	Common	Level	22
	Sleep?	90%	Dizzy?	70%	Confuse?	70%
	Tiny?	80%	Stop?	75%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	100%	Fright?	80%
	Gale Force?	20%	KO?	95%	Moves	Light Fuse (no effect), Defense Up (Defense Boost +3), Power Up (Attack Boost +3), Charge Up (ATK+3), Explosion (2, 5, or 8)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	0 - 4	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 90	Log	A big pink Bob-omb that explodes after four turns. That explosion is big, so take it out before then.
	Tattle	That's a Bulky Bob-omb. I think it's like other Bob-ombs... but it's huge! Max HP is 6, Attack is 2, Defense is 1. It's weird... It never attacks, but once its fuse is lit, it'll blow up on its own eventually. I don't mind it taking itself out of the battle, but that explosion hurts us too! Oh, and when it powers up, that Attack power is 8, so watch out! Fire and explosions will make them blow up immediately, so I guess setting it off early is one strategy... You can run too, but if you're gonna fight, beat it before it goes off!

Notable Bulky Bob-ombs

• Lucky – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• Scarlette – Super Mario-kun

Gallery

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  Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ヘビーボム[?] Hebī Bomu	Heavy Bomb
French	Big Bob-omb[?]	-
German	Grob-omb[?]	Rough-omb
Italian	Gran Bob-omba[?]	Big Bob-omb
Spanish	Gordbomb[?]	From gordo ("fat") and bomb

Trivia

• Several posters in the Glitz Pit lobby depict Bulky Bob-ombs. However, no Bulky Bob-ombs are fought in it. Additionally, a Bulky Bob-omb appears in the Glitz Pit section of the parade.
• Bulky Bob-ombs and Bob-ulks are the only non-boss enemies with an attack Mario and his allies cannot guard or superguard against.
• A Bulky Bob-omb had a minor cameo in Super Mario Run (ver. 3.2.0) on promotional artwork in the game during its celebration of the release of the remake, though its presence on the in-game alert for the event was its only appearance in the game.