Flipper-Flopper


 * Not to be confused with the gear item, the Flipper Floppers from Splatoon 2.

Flipper-Floppers are Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run Next Wave in Splatoon 3.

Description
The Flipper-Flopper is an armored Salmonid that resembles a dolphin. It attacks by throwing a ring of ink into the air, targeting a nearby player. Once the ring lands on the ground, the area it covers will be completely inked and the Flipper-Flopper will hover directly above it; after a short delay, it will dive into the circled area, splatting any player that cannot escape in time.

A Flipper-Flopper can be attacked at any time while it is not submerged, and it has a large amount of health - comparable to that of a Big Shot. However, if the Flipper-Flopper's ring is painted over before it can dive into it, it will crash into the ground instead of performing its usual dive. This will leave it flopping helplessly on the ground for a while as well as breaking its armor, which greatly reduces its health. The Flipper-Flipper is able to dive back into its ink if not splatted while it is helpless, but it will be heavily damaged and easily splatted by follow-up attacks. The ring's area will be immediately filled by the players' ink after enough of it is covered, similarly to a Splat Zone.

Quotes
"Another new creature, known as a "Flipper-Flopper," has been observed creating a ring of ink before diving magnificently into said ring. While beautiful, this is a dangerous attack! Inklings will need to cooperate to prevent Flipper-Floppers from flipping and/or flopping."

- @SplatoonNA on Twitter

The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.

Basic Information Attack Behavior Elimination Supporting Information
 * It swims deep below the ink, then launches high into the air before diving back down.
 * It'll place a ring of ink as it jumps, showing where it will dive.
 * It will ink the ground within the thrown ring, then attack anyone inside the ring as it dives in.
 * It's exposed while it's in the air getting ready to attack. That's your chance!
 * If you ink the ground within its ring, it won't be able to dive back under, letting you make quick work of it.
 * It seems to idolize an animal said to have flourished in ancient times, which may explain why it wears a mask to make itself look more like this creature.
 * It clearly attaches more importance to the beauty of its dives than its combat effectiveness.

Badges
Defeating the Flipper-Flopper a cumulative number of times in will reward the player with special badges.

Trivia

 * The "ancient animal" the Flipper-Flopper is mentioned as idolizing in the Salmonid Field Guide seems to be the dolphin. Its mask resembles a dolphin's nose, and its main mode of attack creates a ring of ink resembling the air bubble rings that real-life dolphins create seemingly for their own amusement.  The Flipper-Flopper then jumps through the ring like dolphins are sometimes trained to do with hula hoops in performances at marine animal shows.
 * Interestingly, dolphins are classified as mammals rather than fish.
 * The Flipper-Flopper can be damaged and splatted before it dives in the ink ring. By hitting it with ink, it will gradually take damage and can be splatted.

Etymology
The "Flipper" part of its namesake comes from both a part of dolphin anatomy, and could also come from the titular bottlenose dolphin of the film and TV series Flipper.