Inkling

This article is about the prominent species of squid in Splatoon. For the language by the same name, see Inkling (language).

Squid redirects here. For other uses, see Squid (disambiguation).

Inklings as seen in Splatoon 2, showing off various Gear.

Inklings are a sapient race of humanoid cephalopods who are the main protagonists and playable characters in the Splatoon series.

Background

File:Splatoon Sunken Scroll 10.png

The evolution of the Inkling.

Inklings are evolved species of squid that came to be after rising sea levels destroyed humanity, with the first of the Inklings being recorded to have lived around 5,000 years after the destruction of the human settlement of Alterna. Alterna inhabitants unintentionally accelerated the evolution of squids and other species of marine life, after psycho-reactive liquid crystals infused with lingering human thoughts and feelings were accidentally released into the ocean surrounding the settlement.

At least 2,000 years before the events of Splatoon, Turf Wars were established. The original Turf Wars were overseen by Judd, a cat that was cryogenically frozen by his human owner before the Earth was flooded. 100 years before the events of Splatoon, the Inklings and the Octarians engaged in a Great Turf War after otherwise having good relations, when rising sea levels caused disputes over the remaining territory. The young Cap'n Cuttlefish and his Inkling comrades were victorious, forcing the Octarians to retreat to desolate areas such as Octo Valley, Octo Canyon, and take up residence underground.

Appearance

For a visual overview of character customization options, see Player Settings.

The development of an Inkling from infancy to maturity. From left to right: newborn, at least 1 year old, at least 4 or 5 years old, at least 8 years old, at least 14 years old.

Inklings are best described as humanoid cephalopods. Young Inklings begin life resembling squid paralarvae, but grow into an increasingly human-like form as they age. By at least the age of 14, Inklings gain complete control over both these forms and can change between humanoid and squid at will.

The humanoid form is similar to that of a young child, but with notable differences. Instead of hair, an Inkling has tentacle appendages that cover their head. These tentacles are colored on the outside, and white on the inside. The outer layer changes to match an Inkling's ink color, and usually features a spotted gradient to a secondary color at the ends of their longest tentacles. An Inkling's eyes are are surrounded by a black 'eye mask', and they have pointed ears that are homologous to a squid's fins. Their mouths contain two ridges similar in shape to human teeth, with three larger sharp points--two on the top and one on the bottom--that resemble a squid's beak. The inside of an Inkling's mouth matches their ink color.

The humble squid.

The squid form resembles a small, cartoon-ish, monochromatic squid. They have several small arms in the middle of their bodies, with two large tentacles on either side. The squid have short mantle with relatively large fins, and two upward-facing, human-like eyes over the characteristic eye mask. The undersides of their tentacles are always white, regardless of ink color, and have a single large sucker near the end of each one.

There are slight differences between male and female Inklings. In general, male Inklings style their tentacles shorter, have thicker eyebrows, and deeper voices. Female Inklings wear more of but are not limited to longer tentacle styles. Female Inklings are also slightly curvier. In Splatoon and Splatoon 2, the player must pick between male and female and can only use the tentacle styles available for each gender. In Splatoon 3, hairstyles and clothing items that were previously gender-locked can be worn by any Inkling.

Some Inklings (namely Callie, Marie, Pearl, and Frye) have special features not seen on the regular Inkling, perhaps due to their celebrity status. All four idols have plus-shaped pupils that are either brown or white, as opposed to the standard Inkling's black circular pupil. Callie, Marie, and Pearl have tentacles in colors not used by the regular Inkling, being black and white respectively. All idols have different ears: Callie and Marie (along with some Inklings shown in Splatoon official art) have longer pointed ears, with a slight curve. Pearl's ears are unusually small, and Frye's ears are unusually long and pointed. Frye in particular has the most unique appearance of any Inkling model found in game, with her exaggerated features and large eye mask.

Outside of Splatoon game models, Inklings can additionally have unnatural skin colors (as seen with KAGI on an album cover for Wet Floor) and multiple different tentacles colors at once (as seen with Yōko on an album cover for Ink Theory).

Characteristics

The Inkling transformation between kid and squid

Both the Inklings' squid and kid form have particular abilities associated with them. In humanoid form, Inklings can splatter a special type of colored ink by using various weapons, including guns, rollers, buckets, paintbrushes, etc. This ink can be quickly spread over most surfaces, except for inflatable barriers, black pavement, and glass surfaces. This ink inhibits the movement of Inklings that do not have a matching color. When used as a projectile, ink can damage opposing Inklings, eventually 'splatting' them and forcing them to respawn.

In squid form, Inklings on dry land are only able to slither slowly. This changes when an Inkling submerges into ink of its own color, allowing it to swim at high speeds and jump over large distances. Inklings also use their squid forms to perform maneuvers such as the squid surge and squid roll, scale painted walls, and slip through wire fences and grates into areas that are not typically reachable. As revealed in Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show, Inklings are indeed more flexible in squid form. However, squids cannot travel past striped barriers or over ledges, preventing them from swimming into inaccessible areas.

While submerged in ink, Inklings only create small ripples while swimming and become undetectable when still. In ink of their color, they quickly replenish their ink ammunition. In ink of a different color, Inklings become unable to remain in squid form and quickly revert back to humanoid form. Inkling ink disappears rather quickly after a battle due to being consumed by microorganisms that have evolved to feed on the ink.

File:Dissolving in water.png

An Inkling after dissolving in water.

Inklings are unable to swim in water. When submerged, their body dissolves, leaving their clothes behind. The official American Splatoon Tumblr has mused that this may be because their bodies are made of liquid. Another fact to support this is that squid form Inklings can go through grates, which is also cited by the Tumblr account to be related to them possibly being made of liquid. Interviews with producer of Splatoon and Splatoon 2 Hisashi Nogami revealed that Inklings have a very thin and permeable outer membrane, which causes their ink to bleed out when in contact with water. They evolved this way to be able to transform freely between their squid and humanoid form, but lost the ability to be in water as a consequence. A piece of trivia from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also states that the Inklings' ink from their bodies will diffuse when submerged in water and which causes them to dissolve.

File:Bioluminescence Inkling Girl.jpeg

Glowing dots as seen in the Super Smash Bros. 2018 trailer.

Inklings are capable of producing a sort of bio-luminescence, an ability shared with certain real-life squid such as the firefly squid. In the dark, either during a Splatfest or certain Octo Valley missions, the player's Inkling will glow brightly in humanoid form, lighting up the area immediately around them and helping to differentiate the player from other Inklings. This glow disappears entirely upon assuming squid form. All Inklings (as well as jellyfish) in Inkopolis Plaza will give off a very faint glow during a Splatfest, visible only by looking at the ground around them. This bio-luminescence can also be spotted when viewing Inkling tentacles at low angle, with many tiny rainbow dots that glimmer faintly in the sunlight and brightly in pitch darkness.

Inklings take on a unique appearance when they have a special weapon ready; they give off sparks, the tentacles on their head become very brightly colored and glow, bubbles form at the top of their head as if from boiling water, and they appear to be caught in a strong wind even when completely still. Their appearance returns to normal once their special weapon has been used.

In the Splatoon manga, Vintage and his teammate Omega have the ability to sense opponents moving behind them. Bobble Hat, also from the manga, has similar abilities. It is unknown if any other Inklings have these abilities.

Splatting

Main article: Splat (occurrence)

While in battle, Inklings can use their weapons to 'splat' each other with ink. Standing in enemy ink will damage and slow down an Inkling's movement, but only enemy fire can splat an Inkling. When splatted by an enemy, Inklings explode into enemy ink, with their gear and weapons dropping before dissolving shortly thereafter, and a ghost-like squid figure will rise into the air over where they were splatted. This ghost-like squid figure then travels to the spawn point where the Inkling respawns. Inklings can also be splatted from diving into water and dissolving, or falling off a ledge and exploding into a cloud colored of their ink. Inklings can respawn at checkpoints after being splatted in Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, though only working for a limited number of respawns. The online battle modes allows for an infinite amount of respawns at the spawn points. The special gauge decreases when splatted, even if full, unless the player is wearing 3 mains and 9 subs of Special Saver and the opponent is not wearing Respawn Punisher.

However, in the Octo Expansion campaign, developers revealed that during the escape phases, Agent 8, an Octoling, does die if they get splatted as they are not connected to a spawn point, only checkpoints without respawning capabilities. This suggests that Inklings and Octolings do indeed die when splatted and need a means for them to respawn, possibly true due to the visual effects (i.e the 'ghost') when splatted.

Culture

File:Splatoon Sunken Scroll 4.png

Inklings are diverse, expressive, and obsessed with looking as 'fresh' as possible.

Inkling culture has been heavily influenced by the ancient human cultures that came before them; as a result, Inkling architecture, fashion, art, and even the Inkling written language shows influence from Japanese, American, and other ancient human societies. It was implied that Inklings adapted much of their own culture and mannerisms from the cities and towns they have taken as their own, and the fossils of human civilizations they have unearthed.

A pair of Inklings wearing various pieces of gear

Though much of their culture has been appropriated from humans, the Inklings have a modern rendering on certain subjects, as well as cultural ideas of their own. Turf Wars as a sport are cultural high-point to many Inklings, with many youngsters participating in Turf War events as a means of entertainment and relaxation. Turf wars also can be seen as a means of recreation and celebration, since the Inkling victory of the Great Turf War. The Art of Splatoon states that many young Inklings come from rural areas and seek a more trendy and up-to-date life in Inkopolis.

Inklings seem to vandalize walls and other surfaces commonly, as their creations are seen a lot, stating that they are proud of pictures, messages and advice they have put up. This graffiti can be seen on walls and other structures across Inkopolis and in battle stages. Some name-tag resembling stickers can also be found, with words written and typed, possibly printed, in Inkling. The art book from the first Splatoon clarifies that the idea of it stemmed from the Turf War concept of spraying and drawing ink to claim territory, implying that some Inkling graffiti is drawn in ink.

Fashion is a major part of Inkling societies, to the point of coining the term "fresh" to signify how recent and cool an Inkling's attire and general style is. Freshness can be applied to many other aspects of Inkling life, such as weaponary and linguistics. Heavy focus on Inkling gear is commonplace, as Inklings spend lots of their time and Cash shopping for new and interesting headgear, clothes, and shoes. Inklings can be seen gathered both inside and outside of local shops, socializing and buying themselves new gear.

Inkling music can be heard throughout Inkopolis, from the rock band Squid Squad to the worldwide pop idols, the Squid Sisters. Many bands have members from completely different species, such as the anemone and crab members of Chirpy Chips, but the music industry seems to be largely comprised of Inklings.

Every so often, a Splatfest is held, a special event that brings Inklings together for a large concert and celebration of two opposing ideas, and can be seen as a merging of music and turf wars. Two teams are formed around two opposing topics (such as Callie versus Marie) and compete in turf wars against each other. The more popular and/or the higher-scoring team wins. For the entire duration of the Splatfests, the Squid Sisters or Off the Hook perform. Messages and drawings by participating Inklings are highlighted during the event, showing up on billboards in the concert area and around the selected stages for that event.

In Splatoon, Inklings who compete in Turf Wars hang out in Inkopolis Plaza, which is also the location of Booyah Base, a strip mall containing different stores. This plaza is the hub for Splatfests and is where Inkopolis Tower, holding the Great Zapfish that powers all of Inkopolis and also allows access to Turf Wars and Ranked Battles, is located. Two years later, in Splatoon 2, Inkopolis Plaza has been replaced by Inkopolis Square as the new hotspot, being a location that can be accessed from Inkopolis Plaza through the use of the subway, and more stores have been opened there.

Inklings have been described as easy-going, inattentive and living for fun; they did not take further concern when the Great Zapfish went missing and didn't seem too worried that Octolings were coming to Inkopolis. They easily forget about old trends and shift their interest on what is new, which is evidenced by the focus on being "fresh". Their work ethic seems to mirror their carefree and pleasure-seeking nature as The Art of Splatoon 2 mentions that many Inklings take on part-time jobs at Starfish Mainstage but they stop working while on the job when a live show starts. The Sunken Scrolls have even described the Inkling mind as being simple and hedonistic, though this could be written as Octarian propaganda.

It was confirmed that Inkopolis resides in Japan, where Splatoon was created, so Inklings' clothing and architecture has some of Japan's customs, namely kimono wearing as shown by Squid Sister Marie, rice as a popular food (as seen in the Rice vs. Bread Splatfest), and the summer dress yukata, as shown in a promotional art of Squid Sister Callie. Gear based on Japanese sushi shop employee uniforms were also released, hinting at Inklings eating sushi. This was hinted at again when Inklings were seen to eat 'hot dogfish' and 'fried catfish'. Splatoon developers say that some Inklings may eat early squids.^{[Citation needed]} This is further pointed at when Callie says she is not good with seafood. The type of seafood is unknown, however.

Squidmas

Squidmas is an Inkling holiday that is assumed to be celebrated in the winter. Much is unknown about this holiday aside from its obvious likenesses to the human holiday of Christmas. From this, it is assumed that in the winter, a figure named Father Squidmas goes around the world giving out presents and freshness to all the good Inkling children.

According to Callie of the Squid Sisters, Father Squidmas can be found in the North Pole of the Earth, making gifts all year in preparation for Squidmas time. According to her cousin Marie, Father Squidmas isn't real and all of their interactions with him are simply their grandfather dressed up as him.

Squidmas is an additional element associated with the localization. The Japanese edition originally did not have it, as well as other regions, though official art celebrating the holidays does use the term "Squidmas" in the art.

Halloween

Halloween seems to be another holiday that Inklings celebrate as evidenced by the Trick vs. Treat Splatfest and its rematch. Just like the human holiday by the same name, Inklings and other species dress up in usually scary costumes and go out trick or treating. Locations are likewise decorated with scary decor such as ghost, skeletons and glow-in-the-dark graffiti.

The event is also known as "Splatoween", though Marina specifies that Trick vs. Treat is a Halloween Splatfest, implying that the holiday's official name is Halloween. Official art has also been made celebrating the holiday, and uses the term "Halloween". The Japanese version also uses Halloween when referring to the event. Dialogue for a previous Splatfest, Fancy Party vs. Costume Party, refers to the holiday as "Squidoween", though this could also be an element added in the localization as versions in other languages do not mention the term.

Gachi Bon Matsuri

A two-day event themed after the Bon Festival for Splatoon was held starting 29 April 2016 at Niconico Chokaigi. The name of the event can be translated as "Ranked (or competitive) Bon Festival". In an article from Nintendo, it was mentioned that while the Bon Festival is celebrated during summer in the human world, Inklings celebrate the holiday in the month of April. It included tournaments, giveaways, and Bon Odori dance sessions, as well as a viewing party for the Squid Sisters concert at the Chokaigi Music Festival. To promote the event, a video depicting a young Callie and Marie dancing to the Chorus of Calamari County was released. Attendees were encouraged to learn the video's choreography with dance lessons being given on site. Some fans, many of them in cosplay, were invited on stage to dance to the song during the Bon Odori session. If the event was supposed to reflect how Inklings celebrate the Bon Festival beyond the date is unclear.

Communication and language

An example of Inkling language.

Main article: Inkling (language)

Inklings communicate with each other in the Inkling language, which sounds like indecipherable, high-pitched gurgling. Written Inkling appears frequently in-game: on signs, Sunken Scrolls, clothing, etc. Much of music in the Splatoon series features lyrics sung in Inkling, such as that performed by the Squid Sisters. Inklings speak to teammates in Inkling when signals are used in online battles.

So far, there have been no successful attempts at decoding the language, and it is generally accepted to be gibberish.

Audio

• Female Inklings' voice clips
• Male Inklings' voice clips
• Squid Sisters' voice clips

Quotes

“	Transform into a squid to hide, climb walls, or travel at super speed in your own ink. But watch out for enemy ink—it'll hurt you!	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	The squid-like residents of Inkopolis are totes crazy for color-flinging, ink-slinging, turf-splattering battles.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	From squid…to kid…and back! Inklings can transform at will into squid form, so you've gotta master both if you want to win.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	Swim up ink-splattered walls and jump from one splat to another in squid form.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	Find shortcuts and navigate tricky areas.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	Avoid being targeted by baddies by hiding in your own ink.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	Turn into a squid to move more quickly across your ink.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

“	Hide as a squid, then quickly switch to an Inkling to take enemies out of the action with a well-aimed splat.	”
— Splatoon's official website,

Trivia

Cap'n Cuttlefish saying "all of my hearts", implying that Inklings have more than one heart.

• Inklings seem to have multiple hearts, as implied by Cap'n Cuttlefish at the beginning of the Octo Expansion. This could be a reference to how real-life cephalopods have three hearts.
• According to the EDGE article, Inklings get full control of their squid and human forms at age 14.
  • Despite this, Inklings might be able to control both forms at ages much younger than 14 as shown in Sunken Scroll 17 where the Squid Sisters are shown as children in their humanoid form, and in Sunken Scroll 1 in Splatoon 2 where Pearl is seen in humanoid form as a child, much younger than the age 14. However, Pearl looks like a child despite being 21 years old, so she could have been over 14 in the photo.
• An Inkling's ink color is random online unless the Ink Color Lock option has been turned on, while in Octo Valley, it depends on the mission.
• Inklings (and Octolings) can change their hair and ink color at will when out of battle, as seen in the Splatoon manga.
• The developers said when they came up with the concept, they didn't consider Bloopers from the Mario series, despite the close resemblance between Bloopers and Inklings.
• A trophy of a female Inkling appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, which becomes available after downloading the Inkling Mii Fighter costumes.
  • The trophy is shaped like the Inkling Girl amiibo.
• When switching between gear on the equipment screen, there is sometimes a small delay before the selected piece of gear appears on the player's Inkling. For that moment, they will not be wearing any gear in that slot.
  • In Splatoon, for clothing, they wear a tight, sleeveless black shirt by default. For shoes, it shows their bare feet, which are flipper-like and featureless because Inklings' feet are meant to never be seen. For headgear, they simply look like they are wearing the Fake Contacts, or no headgear. However, Inklings always wear their shorts.
  • In Splatoon 2, the gear-less Inklings can also be seen in Octo Canyon when they are in the temporary "danger" mode that occurs when their Hero Headphones, Hero Hoodie and Hero Boots break from taking fatal damage and after falling into water. For clothing, the Inkling Boy does not have any, while the Inkling Girl wears a black sports bra. For shoes, their feet are now properly rendered and have toes. They still look like they are wearing Fake Contacts or not wearing headgear. Their legwear remains the same.
• When designing the Inklings, the Splatoon development team centered around the girl at first, to the extent that they thought at first to not have a boy Inkling. They emphasized on the girl Inkling because there weren't many female leads in Nintendo games and that having a strong, active female lead would make it easier to become accepted overseas. The boy Inkling was created later.
  • The playable Inklings were originally designed as 17-year-olds since the developers wanted to give the image of a strong, rebelling character, having the attitude of being "cool". But due to the boy looking too obedient at that age they were aged down to 14-year-olds, though they were still designed as having the mood of 16 to 17-year-olds.
• The Squid Research Lab admitted that Inklings may be made entirely out of ink. This theory would explain why Inklings dissolve in water, swim through grates, and reform with ease after being splatted. This also may mean that in humanoid form, they hold themselves up with 'ink pressure', which means that they use a substance in ink to retain their ability to stand and walk upright.
• Inklings have tongues in the Splatoon manga and the Naughty vs. Nice Splatfest artwork, but they are not usually seen in the video games. In Splatoon 3, Frye's tongue can be seen.
• Inklings appear to use their weapons with their right hand, and there is no option to change that in the control settings.
• While the player is swimming in squid form, the music is muffled and bubbling sounds can be heard.
• If a player is hit by an enemy's ink and is close to being splatted, when they submerge back into their ink to heal, the Inkling can be heard quietly moaning in pain.
• There is conflicting evidence on whether Inklings have bones. Marie mentions once that squids lack bones, and an x-ray of an Inkling can be found in a Sunken Scroll, which shows no bones. The Sunken Scroll features Octarian propaganda, so the x-ray might not be truthful. In the Octo Expansion, Cap'n Cuttlefish mentions his cuttlebones, although these might apply to him specifically, as he is called "Cuttlefish."
  • It is also possible that it was simply a figure of speech, or that Inklings have other body parts that function as bones.
• During the Squid vs. Octopus Splatfest, players on Team Squid would have their avatar switched to Inklings when inside battles. In Inkopolis Square, the avatar remained unchanged. The reverse was true for Team Octopus.
• In promo art in both 2D and 3D, the Inklings' ears are shaped with a flat top that are tilted down and have a round curve on the bottom but the in-game models depict them as having ears that narrow at the end with no visible curve.
• Inklings and Octolings share many physiological similarities, despite having evolved from separate animal species. This could be a case of convergent evolution, where species of different lineages evolve similar features.
• Inklings are shown drinking liquids at The Crust Bucket; so it is theorized that Inklings can drink cold liquids only as they are made of warmer liquids and can withstand only colder liquid consumption, though they will still likely get splatted if attempting to swim in it.

Gallery

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Names in other languages

Inkling	Squid
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