Bristle
- Not to be confused with Bristles.
| Bristle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 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) | ||
| |||
- “Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo! You're gonna be coleslaw, kid! And that ain't good!”
- —Bristle, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Bristles are spiked monsters made of rock and are found in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and its Nintendo Switch remake. Similar to Clefts, Bristles have spiked tops, high defense, an immunity to fire attacks, and can be flipped over by an earthquake or an explosion. Unlike Clefts, Bristles do not lose their top-spiked defense when flipped and are also immune to close-range attacks like Gulp and Mario's Hammer, as their large spears pop out to protect against approachers. Bristles will not pop out their spears if paralyzed (i.e. asleep, frozen, or immobilized), but they are still immune to direct contact moves such as Ms. Mowz's Kiss Thief like with Pokeys.
Despite their copious defenses, Bristles have very low HP and are easily taken out with items (e.g. POW Block, Earth Quake, Ice Storm), Superguards, or Special Moves (e.g. Earth Tremor). Mario is also capable of simply hammering them should he have the Spike Shield badge equipped, though without attack-increasing badges, Piercing Blow, or the Ultra Hammer, it will do no damage.
Although Bristles have made no appearances outside of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, they are mentioned in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Before the Mario Bros. learn the Bros. Ball move, Toadsworth the Younger tells his older self that he "looks like he has a Bristle in his britches".
Profiles and statistics
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
GameCube
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristle | ||||||||
|
Max HP | 2 | Attack | 1 | Defense | 4 | ||
| Location(s) | Shhwonk Fortress, Glitz Pit | Role | Boss, common | Level | 16 | |||
| Sleep? | 40% | Dizzy? | 40% | Confuse? | 40% | |||
| Tiny? | 60% | Stop? | 100% | Soft? | 100% | |||
| Burn? | 0% | Freeze? | 60% | Fright? | 50% | |||
| Gale Force? | 40% | KO? | 95% | Moves | Destruction (1) | |||
| Exp. points | 0 | Coins | 5 | Items | None | |||
| Tattle Log #: 84 |
Log | A petrified, spine-covered monster that attacks by charging at you and is impervious to fire. If you approach, its spikes will pop out and poke you. | ||||||
| Tattle | That's a Bristle. ...Totally covered in spikes. They're so prickly! Max HP is 2, Attack is 1, and Defense is 4. AND they're impervious to fire. Even trying to get close enough to whack it with a hammer is dangerous! Seriously, its spikes will totally pop out! So, since you can't jump on it or use your hammer... you'd better use an item! | |||||||
Nintendo Switch
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristle | ||||||||
|
Max HP | 2 | Attack | 1 | Defense | 4 | ||
| Location(s) | Shhwonk Fortress, Glitz Pit | Role | Common | Level | 16 | |||
| Sleep? | 40% | Dizzy? | 40% | Confuse? | 40% | |||
| Tiny? | 60% | Stop? | 100% | Soft? | 100% | |||
| Burn? | 0% | Freeze? | 60% | Fright? | 50% | |||
| Gale Force? | 40% | KO? | 95% | Moves | Destruction (1) | |||
| Exp. points | 0 | Coins | 5 | Items | None | |||
| Tattle Log #: 87 |
Log | A petrified, spine-covered monster that attacks by charging at you and is impervious to fire. If you approach, its spikes will pop out and poke you. | ||||||
| Tattle | That's a Bristle. Totally covered in spikes. They're so prickly! Max HP is 2, Attack is 1, and Defense is 4. AND they're impervious to fire. Even trying to get close enough to whack it with a hammer is dangerous! Seriously, its spikes will totally pop out! So, since you can't jump on it or use your hammer... you'd better use an item! | |||||||
Notable Bristles
- The Poker Faces - Two Bristles that compete in the Major League division at the Glitz Pit.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | トゲダルマー[?] Togedarumā |
Combination of「刺」(toge, "spike") and「達磨」(daruma, a type of doll) | |
| Chinese | 尖刺球[?] Jiāncì Qiú |
Spiked Ball | |
| French | Bouldepic[?] | Contraction of boule de pics (lit. "ball of spikes") | |
| German | Dornhart[?] | Hard Thorn | |
| Italian | Palla Spina[?] | Spike Ball | |
| Korean | 가시뚜기[?] Gasittugi |
? | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Bolapicos[1] | Ball with pointy ends | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Bolapincho[?] | Spikeball |
