Lip

Flower Fairy Lip (, Flower Fairy Lip), often simply referred to as Lip (, Lip), is the main character of Panel de Pon.

Lip makes her Smash debut in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Ace-class support spirit. However, she and her series have been referenced several times in the Smash series from Super Smash Bros. Melee onward.

Origin
Lip debuted as the protagonist of the 1995 Japanese puzzle game, appearing as the main playable character in the game's single-player story mode. In the story, Lip uses her flower wand and puzzle skills to free the fairies of her world from a curse set by the demon king Thanatos. The true ending reveals that Lip's mother, the goddess Cordelia, was testing Lip's ability to succeed her as the fairy queen. Due to a stigma relating to female-led video games in the 1990s, Panel de Pon was rebranded and released overseas as , with the characters from the first game replaced by those from the series (with earlier plans during localization for it to feature characters from Killer Instinct. ), alongside a Game Boy port which would be re-localized to Japan with Yoshi characters intact. As such, Lip remained relatively unknown outside of Japan.

Five years later, Panel de Pon was adapted into the universe as ' for the Nintendo 64 and ' for the Game Boy Color. Both games were intended to have have starred Lip and the fairy cast from the first game, but that plan was scrapped in favor of the Pokémon variants. 13 years after the original release of Puzzle Challenge, it was discovered that Lip's Stage could be secretly accessed using specific button commands.

When Nintendo released the Japan-only  in 2003 for the GameCube, the fairy aesthetic of Panel de Pon returned, but with an almost entirely new cast. Lip was replaced with a similar-looking but distinct character, Furil, who uses Lip's stage, element, and theme - the Puzzle Collection release was in fact built off of an unreleased prototype version of Pokémon Puzzle League using the fairy characters. Lip's theme can be heard in the 2005 release of Dr. Mario & Puzzle League, and while 2007's Planet Puzzle League and 2009's Puzzle League Express did not feature the fairy characters prominently even for their Japanese release, there was a Lip stage skin in the Japanese versions of the games.

Lip also plays an important role in the Japan-only 2008 release , in which she dreams of becoming a magician.

The first known international reference to Lip or her universe outside of Smash was the "Flower Fairy" costume set in the Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo update. This set, which does not otherwise reference Lip by name, can be earned by the player's Villager through clearing milestones in the  minigame. She would later make her first formal international appearance outside of Smash upon the release of her origin game on the Nintendo Switch Online service in May 2020.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Lip's signature flower wand debuts in Melee as the Lip's Stick item. The item inflicts the Flower status upon hitting an enemy, causing gradual damage for a short amount of time. The Lip's Stick trophy would be the only mention of Lip's name in the series until Ultimate.

Additionally, Lip's Garbage Block serves as one of Kirby's random Stone transformations.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Lip's Stick returns as an item in Brawl, along with Kirby's Stone transformation as Lip's Garbage Block. The PictoChat stage also features a remix of Lip's theme.

In non-Japanese versions of the game, Furil's sticker is listed under the name "Flower Fairy Lip" from Nintendo Puzzle Collection.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
The Lip's Stick item and Kirby's Stone transformation as Lip's Garbage Block both return in Smash 4. The Lip's Theme remix only returns in the Wii U version of the game, this time on the Wrecking Crew stage.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Lip finally makes her first on-screen Smash appearance in the Spirits mode of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Support spirit. She is also the basis for a costume for s, which is unlocked from the start, while her wig headgear must be unlocked. She is also available as a friend icon.

Lip's Stick returns as an item, as does Kirby's Stone transformation as Lip's Garbage Block. The Brawl remix of Lip's Theme also returns in this game, and the Flower effect was redesigned to match the title screen of Panel de Pon.

Trivia

 * When a fan asked Smash series director Masahiro Sakurai if Lip would appear in the series, Sakurai replied that, while he enjoyed Panel de Pon, he was unsure how many people would recognize Lip as a character.
 * Some internal files that refer to Lip are labeled as "Rip", most likely because of the Japanese pronunciation of her name ("Rippu"). For example, the files of Brawl and SSB4 refer to Lip's Stick as "RipStick", and the flower effect is labeled "RipStickFlower". In Captain Rainbow 's files, she is also referred to as "Rip".
 * Since Lip is the basis of a costume for s, the weapon used for the sword is her flower wand, Lip's Stick. This is one of two items to be used as a costume's weapon without carrying the properties of the item, the other being the SSB T-shirt's Beam Sword.
 * Lip's Mii Outfit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has some differences with the artwork used for Lip's Spirit, including details that are instead present in other official artwork of Lip from Panel de Pon. In particular, there is a blue belt around the waist of the skirt, and the white accents on the ends of the sleeves and skirt are missing.
 * Lip appeared alongside Birdo, Little Mac, Takamaru, the Devil from, soldiers from , and a Piranha Plant in .
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks Lip's first formal appearance outside of Japan. This does not include the unfinished Panel de Pon GB Easter egg in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, her sticker in Brawl (which is another character, Furil), or her costume appearing in Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo.
 * Her first non-Smash international appearance would be with her origin game's release on the Nintendo Switch Online service.