Daroach

"Returned for more advice? I'm always glad to share info..."

- Daroach

Daroach (Dorotche in Japan, Dopang in Korea) is the greedy and tactical leader of the Squeaks. He is the main antagonist of Kirby: Squeak Squad. Daroach also appears as a collectible sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, using his artwork from Kirby: Squeak Squad. It can be used on any character to strengthen his or her electrical attacks. He also later helps Kirby in Kirby Mass Attack.

Physical Appearance
He is a grey mouse with simplified paws, three long yellow claws on each fore paw, and no visible arms or legs. He is shown wearing a red hat and jagged cloak and often carries around a magic wand, or the Triple Star. His ears are abnormally large. The scleroses of his eyes are yellow, and his irises pointed and orange. He appears to float in many scenes.

Personality
He is responsible for his gang's quest for the treasure that would grant them endless power. By his own ambition, he ultimately became the victim of Dark Nebula and became Dark Daroach. As with King Dedede, Daroach is shown as not being inherently evil and is instead rather more of a mischievous bandit, whose goals involve stealing valuable treasures that unintentionally bring him into conflict with Kirby when his Strawberry Shortcake is stolen by Daroach's band of thieves; this is further proven when Daroach and the rest of the Squeaks return Kirby's cake after he frees them from the controlling grasp of Dark Nebula. It is not known what happens after this, except that the Squeaks return Kirby's cake and "decide to look elsewhere for treasure," which brought him to the Popopo Islands and their hidden medals in Kirby Mass Attack.

Kirby: Squeak Squad
Daroach is revered as the leader of the Squeaks, a gang of thieves who search for treasure. Daroach's motives for forming the gang are never entirely revealed; however, in Kirby: Squeak Squad, Daroach is searching for a treasure chest which he believes to contain ultimate power. He acquires this from King Dedede. Throughout the course of the story, Kirby mistakenly comes to believe that this chest contains his shortcake. However, both characters are wrong and severely misguided.

Daroach and the rest of the Squeaks make their grand first appearance when Kirby is on his way to King Dedede's castle to find the whereabouts of his missing cake. Kirby narrowly escapes the gang, but little does he know that they were responsible for stealing his cake all along.

Daroach and the gang return to the scene of the crime where they stole Dedede's treasure just as King Dedede tells Kirby about the treasure they stole from him. Just as the Squeaks escape, King Dedede gets his revenge by flinging Kirby at them, knocking them off balance and down into Nature Notch. Kirby has many more run-ins with the Squeaks from that point forward, including two run-ins with their leader, but he doesn't get a chance to fight Daroach until he makes it all the way to their frosty hideaway much later in the game. The hideaway is shaped like Daroach's hat, sprinkled with snow.

Daroach is the boss of level six, Ice Island. He attacks by accurately throwing small bombs (which can be inhaled for the Bomb ability), shooting beams of ice across the screen using his scepter, and blasting three ricocheting stars with the Triple Star that evaporate after a few seconds. He also teleports around the room, making it hard to attack him. The floor of his room is coated in ice, making it somewhat hard to dodge the well-aimed bombs and bouncing stars. By the same token, Kirby can use this floor to his advantage by using it to imbue his upgraded Tornado or Wheel abilities with the element of ice and use it in either of their attacks. Soon after Kirby bests him, Meta Knight appears and makes off with the treasure chest. However, Kirby is quick to follow and defeat him, once again reclaiming the chest. Just as Kirby is about to open it, however, Daroach comes out of nowhere and, in a power-hungry attempt to gain enough power to defeat Kirby once and for all, opens it. However, instead of being granted unfathomable power, the ambitious Daroach is possessed by Dark Nebula, turning him into the corrupt Dark Daroach, who Kirby must fight in Gamble Galaxy as the penultimate boss in the game.

During the battle with Dark Daroach, his attacks are improved; he throws bombs more often; these bombs being bigger red ones that can only be super inhaled, and they create massive fire pillars when detonated; his ice beam attack is upgraded, having more damage and range than the regular blast, and is much bigger, and when he uses it, he backs up, preventing Kirby from attacking him from behind while he is blasting; and the stars he shoots out of his wand do more damage and are larger than before. Dark Daroach's field is not covered in ice, making it somewhat easier to dodge his attacks, but makes it impossible for Kirby to power up his Tornado or Wheel powers like he could during their last encounter. After defeating him, he will fall down, releasing Dark Nebula, who flies away. Daroach then drops the Triple Star, which Kirby can grab and use in the battle against Dark Nebula.

After Dark Nebula is defeated, Daroach and the rest of the Squeaks return Kirby's cake as an apology for the wrong that they caused him during the course of the game.

Kirby Mass Attack
"Welcome, my little friend! Or should I say...friends? I am Daroach, the captain of the treasure-hunting Squeaks. I have sniffed out a stash of riches that I must possess. Medals, on this island!"

- Daroach's introduction

Daroach appears in both the main game and as an opponent in Kirby Quest. In the main game, he has come to the Popopo Islands to search for the medals there, and he requests the Kirbys to find them. His airship appears after the Kirbys make it through several stages in Green Grounds, and it is accessible from the stage select screen. After completing each island, another member of the Squeak Squad joins Daroach on his airship (except after clearing Volcano Valley and Necro Nebula).

When he is visited, he tells the Kirbys a small fact about something relating to the islands or otherwise, and then gives out hints for the Kirbys so that they can find the medals scattered across the four main islands.

Some of Daroach's hints relate to his own opinion on things, as well as his personality and experiences. For example, he reveals that his crew is like family to him, and that he entered Stage 4 of Green Grounds when he was young. He says that he dislikes cemeteries and slimy things, and even mentions that he's had a history of romance. He also feels that a Nintendo 3DS is "worth its weight in gold." Daroach even tells the player to charge his/her Nintendo DS when the light glows red. If Daroach says the same message twice, he'll mention that he's said it before or even accuse the Kirbys of just standing around for "small talk."

Once the Kirbys get all 186 medals, Daroach gives them the final unlockable sub-game, Survival Rush, in exchange for all the medals the Kirbys have collected. When playing or selecting a stage, all medals on the top screen are replaced with a gold pin that looks like Daroach's face. Daroach says his final goodbyes before piloting his airship away from the Popopo Islands. He is never seen in the Story Mode again.

In the sub-game Kirby Quest, Daroach appears as the first opponent in Chapter 4, but does not attack. If the player fails a round against Daroach, he will simply flee from the battle. Successfully defeating him without providing him a chance to flee yields a very large sum of EXP.

Trivia

 * Daroach is one of the few bosses to help Kirby. The others are Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee, Dyna Blade, Landia, and the Lor Starcutter. This does not include the anime.
 * Daroach (and Dark Daroach) is one of the few characters in the Kirby series to have toes. Others include Gao Gao, Sir Slippy, Bonkers, Storo, Box Boxer, Gaw Gaw, Moonja, and Acchi.
 * Daroach is the second antagonist in the Kirby series (the first being King Dedede) to be possessed by Dark Matter.
 * In all artwork and sprites, Daroach's feet are disconnected from his body.
 * Unlike the rest of the Squeaks, Daroach does not seem to have any certain weakness to the elements.
 * Daroach Reunion, the music played when Kirby visits Daroach in his airship, is a rearranged version of the Squeak Squad Theme.

Related Quotes
"I wish I could get my hands on one of those Nintendo 3DS systems. Seems like they're worth their weight in gold."

- Daroach

"As the captain of an airship with all sorts of buttons and blinky lights... I know the value of a good manual."

- Daroach

"If the power light on your Nintendo DS turns red, it's time to recharge the battery. Seems like a good thing to know."

- Daroach

"Saving the world from darkness can be exhausting work. Don't forget to take a break now and then."

- Daroach

"They say to always play games in moderation. That makes perfect sense to me. It leaves some time to scout out treasure!"

- Daroach