The Paddler

The Paddlers (ピンポン人^?, Pinpon Hito) are blue, box-headed humanoid figures resembling the Space Dancers who first appear in Rhythm Rally.

Backstory

It is said that these strange beings live on a diet of table tennis, and if they stop playing, they grow weak and sickly. It is unknown if this to be taken literally or if it's just an exaggeration, though some have successfully weaned themselves off table tennis by substituting paddle ball. They are also described as being racing fans, appearing in Freeze Frame. A pair of Paddlers can also be spotted in the crowd in Battle of the Bands. The image of a Paddler can be seen occasionally in Cheer Readers 2.

Throughout Rhythm Heaven, the Paddlers play table tennis is a variety of locations, such as a featureless white plain, a tropical island (where their color changes to orange), and outer space on a UFO. In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, they play in a cardboard room, on a giant flower, a giant cake and a barbershop (where their color changes to red). In Cosmic Rhythm Rally, they take on the appearance of the Cosmo Dancers.

In Rhythm Tengoku Gold Comic 05, "Karera no Dansu ga Nsu ga Sugoi Riyū" (彼らのダンスがンスがすごい理由^?, Why Their Dance is so Awesome), a trio of Paddlers are show trying to do the Space Dance, but always coming up short. Suddenly, what appears to be Space Gramps in Paddler attire comes in to suggest they play table tennis to get back in the groove. They find this method to work, and continue their dancing, albiet as Space Dancers.

Appearances

Gallery

Paddler DS.png

Artwork from Rhythm Heaven
Sprite from Rhythm Heaven
Space Gramps dressed like a Paddler from Rhythm Tengoku Gold Comic
Space Paddler 3DS.png

Artwork for Rhythm Rally from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Space Paddler 2.png

Artwork for Rhythm Rally 2 from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Cosmo Dancer aka Paddler.png

Artwork for Cosmic Rhythm Rally from Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Trivia

Although the Rhythm Tengoku Gold Comic suggests that Space Dancers and Paddlers are the same beings, this is contradicted by "Character Profiles 1", which states they must either be playing table tennis or paddle ball to avoid growing weak.
- This is again contradicted by "Supporting Cast 1" which states they are fans of racing. This is likely because the Space Dancers appear in Freeze Frame, but their game was not officially localized until Rhythm Heaven Megamix.
  - It is also possible that Space Dancers and Paddlers are merely forms of each other.

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ピンポン人	Ping-pong Guy
English^NOA	The Paddler Paddler
English^NOE	The Paddler Paddlers
French	Le fou du rebond Les fous du rebond	The rebound madman The rebound madmen
Spanish	El de la paleta	The one with the paddle
Italian	Paoletto Tirosvelto Tennistavolisti	Paddle Tirosvelto Table tennis players
Korean	랠리인	Rally Guy