Flipper-Flopper

Flipper-Flopper

Species	Salmonid
Height
Hair color
Eye color
Age
Gender
Relations
Location	Salmon Run Next Wave
Shop
Members

Not to be confused with the Flipper Floppers.

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, it completely inks the ground it covers and the Flipper-Flopper will hover directly above it; after a short delay, it will dive into the circled area, instantly splatting any player that cannot escape in time.

Players can attack a Flipper-Flopper at any time while it is not submerged, though it has a large amount of health - comparable to that of a Big Shot. However, if they paint over a Flipper-Flopper's ring before it can perform its usual dive attack, it will crash into the ground. (As with Splat Zones, players' ink will immediately fill the ring's area after covering enough of it.) This leaves it flopping helplessly on the ground for a while as well as breaking its armor, which greatly reduces its health. Flipper-Floppers can dive back into their ink if not defeated while helpless, but they retain any damage dealt to them, making them easily splatted by follow-up attacks.

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^[1]

The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.^[2]

Basic 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.

Attack Behavior

It will ink the ground within the thrown ring, then attack anyone inside the ring as it dives in.

Elimination

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.

Supporting Information

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

Main article: Badge#Salmon Run

Splatting Flipper-Floppers a specific number of times in Salmon Run: Next Wave will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Flipper-Flopper Badges
	Flipper-Flopper Splats x 100
	Flipper-Flopper Splats x 1,000
	Flipper-Flopper Splats x 10,000

Gallery

The Salmonid Field Guide illustration of the Flipper-Flopper.
The Flipper-Flopper's design.
The Flipper-Flopper in game.
The Flipper-Flopper attacking.
The Flipper-Flopper without its mask, making it vulnerable to attacks.
The icon of the Flipper-Flopper.
The Tableturf card icon of the Flipper-Flopper.

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.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ダイバー Daibā	Diver
Dutch	Dompelaar	From dompelen (“to immerse in a liquid”) and the suffix -aar.
French	Ploufion	From "Plouf" (onomatopoeia of "splash")
German	Sturmreifer	Stormhooper. From Sturm (Storm) and Reif (hoop).
Italian	Tuffone	From "Tuffo" (to dive)
Russian	Хулахлюп Hulahlyup	Hula Squish. From хулахуп hulahup (hula hoop) and хлюп hlyup (squishing sound)
Spanish	Chapotero	From "Chapotear" (to paddle)
Chinese (Simplified)	潜水鱼 qiánshuǐ yú (Mandarin)	Divingfish
Chinese (Traditional)	潛水魚 qiánshuǐ yú (Mandarin)	Divingfish
Korean	다이버 daibeo	Diver