Pearl

"Boo-YAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

- Pearl's battle cry from the Octo Expansion

Pearl is one of the two members of Off the Hook, a band featured in Splatoon 2, along with Marina, that hosts Inkopolis News, replacing the Squid Sisters from the first game. Her signature color is pink.

Appearance
Pearl resembles a "pop princess" stereotype. She appears shorter and smaller in height than most Inklings. Her tentacles are shoulder length and creamy white with pink tips, and a small bang. She has light golden eyes with pale yellow pupils in the shape of a plus, and a beauty mark at the bottom left of her lips. Like Marina, and unlike other Inklings, she has one sharp tooth in the middle at the top and bottom of her teeth, instead of the usual two. Her outfit consists of a pearly white sleeveless dress with a high collar, a slanted diamond-like pattern at the bottom left, and a large golden zipper on the front with a plus-shaped hole zipped all the way, white shorts, pink tights, white, slightly platformed boots with big golden zippers that have plus shaped holes zipped up, and black soles at the bottom, black fingerless gloves, and a white crown with pink tips on her head that resembles a squid ring tooth. Her pink color will change depending on the Splatfest team she chooses, except for her crown.

In the Octo Expansion, she wears a more hip hop attire than her pop stage outfit. She wears a golden, jeweled crown on her head, a long, golden chain necklace with a plus symbol pendant (similar to her zippers on her stage outfit) around her neck, multiple golden rings on her fingers on both of her hands, a pastel pink, baggy hoodie with cream sleeves, and rainbow metallic platform shoes. This outfit is noted as being reminiscent of the rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

Personality and Traits
Pearl speaks rather bluntly and uses various slang, in line with her characterization as a rapper (despite her "pop princess" appearance). Compared to her partner, Marina, Pearl is a lot more expressive, quick to jump onto a topic with a bit of a short temper, and has a knack for composing new songs as they come to her. Often times, her comments can be playfully sarcastic, playing off her co-host. Her lively attitude is most obvious if the player looks at her through the window, as she looks at them quizzically before striking a pose. When she wins a Splatfest, she often boasts how her team was better in the form of a rap, which she insists she makes up on the spot. She has been described snarkily by Marina as "starved for attention, yet full of herself".

Her Splatfest choices show her to gravitate towards mostly outgoing things, such as Action, Adventure, and Film. She also has a fairly quirky side, as she has mentioned that she eats breakfast cereal with a fork and has a pool full of imported mayonnaise.

The Octo Expansion reveals more of Pearl's past. In the past, Pearl originally had little to no idea how to write music, though she insists she had her heart in the right place. She demonstrated a notably more vulgar side with her song #$@%* Dudes Be #$@%* Sleepin, which garnered some fans but never went beyond that. Upon meeting Marina by accident while practicing her voice, Pearl taught Marina the ways of Inkling society and fully established herself upon the formation of Off the Hook.

Pearl's voice is capable of creating massive shockwaves. Sunken Scroll 1 shows an incident in which a young Pearl destroyed various parts of the Youth Folk-Singing contest, and Marina's Chat has a clip during a death metal concert in which glass is heard shattering. When fully warmed up and amplified by the Killer Wail, Pearl's shockwave is concentrated into a powerful laser able to counteract a mostly-charged cannon designed to destroy all sentient life. As a result of this tremendous power, Pearl chooses to practice away from civilization on Mount Nantai.

Pearl is also very protective of Marina, even after being told by Cap'n Cuttlefish of Marina's true nature as an Octoling. Upon receiving the news, she remained loyal to Marina, including threatening violence against Cap'n Cuttlefish if he ever dared to splat her bandmate. She considers meeting Marina the best gift she has ever received. Pearl is also fond of Agent 8, who she nicknames as 'Eight', happily noticing them before Marina does and striking a more flourished pose, in direct contrast to her reaction to the standard playable Inkling.

Octo Expansion
Pearl is known in Marina's chat room by the moniker MC.Princess. This name is a reference to her name in the Japanese localization, which means "princess". (Consequently, her online moniker is "MC.Princess" in the Japanese localization as well.) She, along with Marina, can help Agent 8 to skip missions and further their progress in the storyline and toward unlocking playable Octolings.

Trivia

 * Appearance
 * Like the Squid Sisters, she also has golden eyes with plus shaped pupils.
 * Though, unlike the Squid Sisters, Pearl's pupils are lighter than her iris.
 * Unlike Marina, the Squid Sisters, and Octolings but similar to other Inklings, she has no eyelashes.
 * Her main color is pink, however it sometimes can be shown with a purple tint, similar to Callie.
 * Her tentacles appear to change to completely one color like other Inklings, although this is never shown in-game. This is shown in most Splatfest artworks. The same likely goes for the Squid Sisters.
 * She appears to be very short in height, possibly due to the type of species she is - the Northern Pygmy Squid is one of the world's smallest squid species at only 16 millimeters in length and it falls into the bobtail group, which consists of small squids.
 * Fans of the game have noticed that her outfit in the Octo Expansion, particularly her crown, gives a resemblance to that worn by rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
 * Pearl's Japanese name, ヒメ Hime, literally means "princess", which is why her hair accessory is shaped like a crown. Her name is actually a reference to ヒメイカ (hime ika), the Japanese name for the species Idiosepius paradoxus, also known as northern pygmy squid.
 * An interview with Pearl in the Octotune album sleeve reveals her last name is ホウズキ Houzuki. This is most likely a reference to ダイオウホウズキイカ, the Japanese name of the colossal squid, the largest species of squid (in contrast with Pearl's first name being a reference to one of the smallest species of squid).


 * A fan translation of this interview gave her name as "Pearl Pigmy", but no official translation yet exists.
 * It is also theorized this could be another reference to Notorious B.I.G., who had as a nickname "Biggie Smalls".
 * The pink tips of her "crown" do not change color during a Splatfest, unlike how the Squid Sisters' main colors would completely change, even on their hair accessories.
 * The sole exception is the Fries vs. McNuggets Splatfest artwork where her crown is tinted red at the tips, rather than pink. The reason for this is unknown.
 * In the Warm Inner Wear vs. Warm Outer Wear Splatfest artwork, Pearl is shown tossing her crown while posing like a Uniqlo model. The next artwork to be released, for Sweater vs. Sock, shows that her crown is cracked, likely from falling on the ground following the previous picture. The following Splatfest artwork shows her with a new, golden crown instead. This was not reflected on her in-game model until Octo Expansion, where it's a part of her "MC Princess" outfit.


 * Personality and background
 * According to many of her dialogs with Marina, Pearl comes from a rich family, explaining some of her attitude, appearance, and personality.
 * Pearl remembers owning a ship of the same model as the Manta Maria when she was six years old.
 * She owns a go-cart.
 * She still gets an allowance despite having a job already.
 * Her family had personal shoppers that went to MakoMart.
 * Her family owns the stage Camp Triggerfish, and she designed it.
 * It is also implied that she wrote the lyrics for the official camp song for Camp Triggerfish (“♪ Triggerfish! Triggerfish! Pull that trigger, fish! ♪”❌ or “♪ Trigger trigger trigger! Trig! Trig! Trig! ♪”🇪🇺).
 * Her family owns the "Inkopolis Princess League", a professional baseball league.
 * She has a vegetable garden in front of her house. It is implied that she has to water it by her helicopter in other languages.
 * Her favorite weapon appears to be the Splat Dualies.
 * In the dialogue of Moray Tower, Marina suggest to Pearl that she should try using a charger to compensate for her "stature". This might be the reason why Pearl mentions using a charger during some stage introductions.
 * Moray Towers is one of Pearl's favorite stages because of the verticality, she mentions in one of her dialogue for the stage.
 * She often talks about high places in dialogue for other stages as well, so that makes sense.
 * When Pearl talks about this, Marina often makes fun at Pearl's height in some way or form.
 * Pearl seems to have a special connection with Snapper Canal from multiple news dialogues.
 * Pearl's dad use to take to her Snapper Canal to learn how to ride a bike. But according to Marina, she still uses training wheels.
 * Pearl mentions a boy from school took her to Snapper Canal as a kid, but she doesn't respond to Marina the circumstances of it. This also supplements the idea that Inklings have an education system that they ditch for turf war.
 * According to Marina when announcing the Warm Breakfast vs. Cold Breakfast Splatfest, Pearl has digestive issues.
 * In the announcement dialog for the Agility vs. Endurance Splatfest, it is revealed that Pearl has difficulties with sitting still. She says that she starts fidgeting, if she sits still too long, and Marina comments that Pearl always walks around during recordings.
 * Her preferred personal pronoun in Japanese is アタシ, which is an informal female form commonly used by young women and girls.
 * She also uses many slang terms on one hand and childish speech patterns (like replacing "sh" sounds with "ch" sounds) on the other, giving the air of a little girl trying to act tough.
 * She speaks almost exclusively in the informal speech (タメ語/タメ口 tame-go/tame-guchi), further emphasizing her "street" style.
 * Her text extends syllables very often (with the ー character compared to Marina's ～, mirroring the same difference between Callie and Marie), and she ends many sentences with the particles よ, ぜ and even ぞ, which not only makes her text read as energetic and curt but also as if she's rapping her lines.


 * General
 * According to dialogue in the Japanese version of the game, Pearl is referred to as "senpai" by Marina. "Senpai" is an honorific used in addressing someone of an elder with the same social standing or to one of more experience in a field or trade, implying that Marina looks up to Pearl as a respectable figure who came before her; in this case, the music industry (or the Inkling world, as Marina grew up among the Octarians).
 * This is also due to the fact that Pearl is older than her by three years.
 * In Japan, Pearl's fans are known as Himeito (ヒメイト), portmanteau of Pearl's name, Hime, and the English word "mate." The English equivalent to this name may be "Pearl Scout," as seen on the Pearl Scout Lace-Ups. "Pearl Scout" is a reference to the Girl Scouts.


 * Other
 * Both Marina and Pearl subtly break the fourth wall during one of the dialogues for Blackbelly Skatepark. When Pearl says: "Hey, kids-don't spend all your time in front of the TV! Go play outside!". Marina then responds: "But how can they play video games if they're not in front of a TV?!", slightly breaking the fourth wall, since they are referring to the players rather than the Inklings in the audience.
 * This dialogue is also a reference to the Nintendo Switch, since it is a hybrid console that can be played both in front of a TV and as a handheld.
 * Another instance when they subtly break the fourth wall is during one of the dialogues for Moray Towers. When Pearl ask: "Hey! How come I always have to talk first when we announce the stages?" upon which Marina replies: "To set up the punch line, of course! How else am I supposed to poke fun at you?"
 * On Snapper Canal they broke the fourth wall with his dialogue: Pearl: "Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th" Marina: "DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!"
 * They also break the fourth wall during the dialogue for the Chicken vs. Egg Splatfest, in which Marina says: "It's funny because we're all living in a simulation and free will is a lie." referencing the fact that, of course, Splatoon is a video game, and that the Inklings are controlled by the players, and/or lines of computer code (i.e Cap'n Cuttlefish)
 * From the Off the Hook performance at NicoNico Chokaigi 2018, Pearl mentions Cap'n Cuttlefish (to which she calls him "Gramps") and Agent 8 before performing Nasty Majesty to which Marina saying that was confidential information.
 * If Agent 8 (the player's Octoling) zooms into their room in Inkopolis Square, she and Marina will show a more friendly pose than if the player would play as Agent 4, seeing as they know them from the Octo Expansion.
 * Her song, #$@%* Dudes Be #$@%* Sleepin is the first instance of censored swearing in the history of the Splatoon franchise.
 * According to concept art by Nintendo, Pearl was going to be an Octoling, but that concept was scrapped later on, in favor of her current design. It seems she was supposed to be the same age as Marina as well.

Pearl's Battle Cry
Most versions refer to Pearl's weapon instead of her cry, some using a portmanteau of Killer Wail and Pearl's name.