Pocoloco
Pocoloco (ポコロコ, Pokoroko) is a secondary character featured in the seventh part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run.
Pocoloco joins the Steel Ball Run race inspired by a fortune-teller who gives him news of his peaking luck. Through that luck, he becomes one of the fiercest competitors of the race. Pocoloco also happens to be a Stand user, whose Hey Ya! exists to cheer him up.
Appearance
Pocoloco is a black man of average to above-average height and slim or medium build. He sports a thin horseshoe mustache.
He wears light clothes and a headpiece resembling a classic leather aviator helmet covered with distinctive elliptical pieces.
Color Schemes
Personality
Pocoloco is cheerful and carefree. He is introduced in repose, counting clouds, before expressing his elation at the recent news of his peaking fortune, as told by a local fortune teller. His elderly co-worker perceives him as idle and naive.
Pocoloco develops incredible faith in his luck, realizing it where acts that would have otherwise been unfortunate end up saving him and lending him improbable advantages during the race. Thus, he often makes expressions of amazement and joy, including variations of the exclamation "UH OH!".
Abilities
Stand
Hey Ya! cheers Pocoloco on, taking full advantage of its user's absurd amount of luck.
Horseback Riding
Pocoloco is a competent horse rider who, thanks to his luck, becomes a serious competitor in the Steel Ball Run race. During his first appearance, Pocoloco shows an affinity with horses when he is able to guess that a mare is pregnant and at which stage her pregnancy is just by looking at her droppings.[6] While he doesn't have the raw talent or the special skills of other top competitors, Pocoloco has tremendous luck and an absolute confidence, in no small part thanks to Hey Ya!. This gives him the possibility to boldly overcome obstacles in his way and stay a serious competitor throughout the entirety of the race. For instance, he was able to cross a forest by sheer luck and with his eyes closed (which incidentally allowed his horse to navigate through the forest by itself) whereas several other competitors crashed against the branches and fell.[7]
History
Background
Pocoloco was born in Georgia in 1869. About one month prior to the Steel Ball Run race, he went down to the city to gamble. After losing, he met a fortune teller who told him that he would be at the highest point in his life for two months. Happy, Pocoloco decided to slack off at work, and his fellow black worker scolded him for this, mentioning that they were given a month to plow a new field in a forest and that he managed to negotiate a pay raise from $1,000 to $1,200. Pocoloco then suddenly remembers reading on a newspaper about the Steel Ball Run and its entry fee. It is implied that Pocoloco completed the job and used his pay to enter the race.
Steel Ball Run
The 1st Stage
Excited, Pocoloco cannot sleep the night before the start of the race and sleeps in on the fateful morning. When he wakes up, he nervously looks around the empty camp before learning the truth from a nearby SBR worker. Luckily, the passage of the thousands of horses have smoothed the ground, making his ride extremely comfortable in the first minutes. For a moment, Pocoloco still doubts about his luck. Manure is kicked up onto his face, making Pocoloco think that his luck had ran out, but he then finds a golden coin inside the manure. Seconds later, a female racer wipes manure off her clothes in disgust, exposing her cleavage, and not long after, a wanted criminal wipes the manure off his face, unintentionally creating an impromptu beard that matches the wanted poster nearby and supposedly allowing Pocoloco to denounce him and take the bounty. Pocoloco then follows a group of racers who were misled by Sandman to the edge of a ravine, but, believing in his luck, is undeterred and leaps across the ravine and onto the rock that Sandman was grabbing onto. Just as he is about to slip, Sandman advises him to use the rope at his waist to carry himself and his horse out of danger and Pocoloco is saved again.
This shortcut enables Pocoloco to easily reach the head of the group, where he rides neck to neck with Johnny Joestar, taking time to call his riding "lazy". When Gyro Zeppeli decides to head into the forest to cut down on his riding distance, Pocoloco follows suit, confidently shutting his eyes and riding straight into the forest, believing that his luck will carry him all the way.[5] Soon after Johnny passes him, however, Pocoloco is grazed by a tree branch, which forces him to open his eyes, gasp in fear at a large incoming branch and be slammed off his horse. Still, his luck remains strong, as Pocoloco is instead dragged by his horse, his left boot having been caught in its stirrup, and completely escapes the harm that the higher branches could have caused him. He is then bounced back onto the saddle by the trees that Gyro moved with his steel balls to clear a path and soon catches up to Gyro. Pocoloco then challenges the Napolitan racer.[7]
Around the downhill dash segment of the first stage of the race, Pocoloco means to endure the slope and build up his energy. However, his Stand, Hey Ya!, appears and criticizes his idealistic strategy, telling him to "remember the cow", have faith in his luck, and charge forward. Seeing the hand of his Stand sink into his own gives him confidence, and Pocoloco begins by taunting Gyro and charging forward in the downhill dash. However, soon after the downhill dash, he and his horse trip and tumble, though it is revealed that both had landed directly onto a dead cow's hide. Pocoloco then uses it to slide downhill.[8]
Pocoloco abandons the hide and resumes riding his horse with the advantage of having his horse rested somewhat. During the final stretch, Hey Ya! tells Pocoloco to swerve to the left and inadvertently uses a hidden branch as a springboard, seemingly taking the advantage. However, it is Gyro who crosses the finish line first. Then, Gyro is demoted to 21st place for interfering with Sandman's run and Pocoloco is happy to be placed better than Gyro.
The Rest of the Race
Pocoloco continues the Steel Ball Run, being one of the top competitors and always being in the top ten racers of any given stage. He notably finishes first at the Fifth STAGE. Near the end of the Sixth STAGE, Pocoloco reappears to challenge Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli. Pocoloco is still encouraged by Hey Ya! and it seems his luck continues to shine as Johnny and Gyro discover that they're heading into a crevice hidden by the snow. However, Johnny and Gyro use their abilities to cross the stage, finishing the stage at the 1st and 2nd place, leaving a shocked Pocoloco behind at the 3rd place.
Nonetheless, Pocoloco manages to finish the race unscathed. During the final stage, Pocoloco places second at this stage and overall. However, the parallel world Diego Brando disappears after his death and is disqualified. Consequently, Pocoloco is named the winner of the Steel Ball Run race and wins $50,010,000.[9]
Race Stats
Steel Ball Run Race Statistics | ||
Stage | Placement | Points |
---|---|---|
First | 3rd | 40 |
Second | 9th | 13 |
Third | 5th | 30 |
Fourth | 2nd | 50 |
Fifth | 1st | 100 |
Sixth | 3rd | 40 |
Seventh | 3rd | 40 |
Eighth | 4th | 35 |
Ninth | 2nd | 50 |
Pocoloco finishes the race with a total of 398 points.
Chapters
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 2: Gyro Zeppeli
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 6: The Dried-Up River; Diego Brando
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 7: Pocoloco and Sandman
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 8: Crossing the Forest
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 9: Long, Long Downhill
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 10: The Final Stretch: 2,000 Meters Left
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 11: The Final Stretch: 1,000 Meters Left
- Steel Ball Run Extra Chapter 1: ~How the Steel Ball Run Race Got Started~ (Cover only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 12: 1st Stage: Disqualified from Victory
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 13: The Sheriff's Request to Mountain Tim
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 24: Interlude (Cover only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 31: Scary Monsters, Part 4
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 32: 3rd Stage Goal: Cañon City
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 36: The Green Tomb, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 40: Silent Way, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 41: Silent Way, Part 2
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 45: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 51: Wrecking Ball, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 54: Wrecking Ball, Part 4 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 55: The Victor's Qualifications
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 57: Civil War, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 60: Both Sides Now, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 74: D4C, Part 7
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 90: High Voltage, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 91: High Voltage, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 93: High Voltage, Part 4
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 94: The World of Stars and Stripes
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 95: The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro (Mentioned only)
- JoJolion Chapter 11: Family Tree (Mentioned only)
Quotes
- “The lowest point in your life is called "tenchusatsu". But listen. She said I'm the opposite! The opposite of the worst! Starting next month, I'm going to be at the happiest point in my life for two months! Hee hee!”—Pocoloco, Steel Ball Run Chapter 2: Gyro Zeppeli
- “Pocoloco is on a roll! (ポコロコ絶好調ォォーーーッ!)”—Pocoloco, Steel Ball Run Chapter 6: The Dried-Up River; Diego Brando
- “I have that "1 out of 5,000,000,000 good luck"... I'll believe in that... I came to San Diego believing that... If I was wrong, it's all over right here... I'm gonna win it. I'll win it... and then I'll go back home and live a happier life!”—Pocoloco, Steel Ball Run Chapter 7: Pocoloco and Sandman
- “I'm the 1 in 5,000,000,000 lucky guy! UH! OHHH! (オレは50億分の1のラッキー・ガイだッ!UH!OHHH!)”—Pocoloco, Steel Ball Run Chapter 8: Crossing the Forest
- “Is that all you can do? I proclaim, once I pass you, you will never be able to take the lead from me, Pocoloco.”—Pocoloco to Gyro Zeppeli, Steel Ball Run Chapter 9: Long, Long Downhill
Video Games
All-Star Battle (PS3)
Pocoloco appears as a random support character in Campaign Mode. He has an extremely low chance to appear after the player completes a fight; should he appear, he'll use his Stand, Hey Ya!, to share some of his luck with the player, restoring their energy gauge completely.
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Pocoloco appears as a support in Eyes of Heaven, having one voice line performed by Yasuhiko Kawazu.
All-Star Battle R (Various)
Pocoloco is featured in All-Star Battle R with a list of Tag Lines (プレイヤーカード名言, Pureiyā Kādo Meigen). They are unlocked by completing 280 Secret Missions in All-Star Battle Mode.
- “Pocoloco's on his game! (ポコロコ絶好調ォォーーーッ)”
- “2 BAD 4 U! (
2 バッドだよなあぁ~)” - “I'm a lucky guy! A million-to-one luck-sucking leech! Oh yeah! (オレは50億分の1のラッキー・ガイだッ! UH! OHHH!)”
Gallery
Trivia
- Pocoloco's registration number in the race is A-777, which is likely alluding to his extraordinary luck. Three aligning sevens in a slot machine are famously associated with a jackpot in most casinos, and seven on its own is considered a lucky number in many cultures, with 777 being particularly auspicious in Christianity.
References
- ↑ [citation needed]
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 6: The Dried-Up River; Diego Brando, p.24
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 12: 1st Stage: Disqualified from Victory
- ↑ JOJOVELLER: STANDS, p.266
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 7: Pocoloco and Sandman
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 2: Gyro Zeppeli
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 8: Crossing the Forest
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 9: Long, Long Downhill
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 95: The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro