Ussal

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"The Ussal Crabs are strong and loyal. They help us with many things here, from mining to transportation, but mostly racing."
Midak, Mata Nui Online Game

Ussal
Ussal
Mutant


Rahi
Conservation status Common
Known locations Widespread across Matoran Universe (formerly)
Spherus Magna[1]
Pronunciation uss-SUL[2]
Set 10023 BIONICLE Master Builder Set (instructions)
8595 Takua & Pewku (instructions)
Mutant Ussal
Ussal
Mutant



The claw of the Mutant Ussal stored in the Archives
Ussal
Status Deceased[3]
Location Archives
Pronunciation uss-SUL[2]

The Ussal are herbivorous crab-like Rahi domesticated by the Matoran.

History

The Ussal species was created by the Makuta using Viruses and Liquid Protodermis to be one of the Rahi to inhabit the Matoran Universe.[4]

On Metru Nui, Ussal Crabs were found in the wild near the shores of Ga-Metru. They were used by the Le-Matoran Ussal riders in Le-Metru, where they hauled transport carts around the city and competed in racing tournaments.[5] Tame Ussal were kept in pens scattered across Le-Metru and were put to work chiefly when a bulky or delicate item deemed unfit for Chute travel needed to be transported.[6] Ussal carts were also used on occasion to carry passengers, although the transportation of bulky cargo was their main application[7] and Ussal drivers were often too busy to pick up other Matoran who flagged them down.[citation needed] Ussal were well-liked by the Onu-Matoran of Metru Nui, who employed the crabs to move heavy objects, including Stasis Tubes.[5]

Pewku, a famous Ussal Crab, in a further developed form

After the Great Cataclysm, many Ussal migrated through the Great Barrier to the island of Mata Nui, where they and the Matoran lived for 1,000 years. Ussal were found all over the island, but were primarily used by the Onu-Matoran. Some worked in mining tunnels like the Le-Koro Highway; others worked in the great Ussalry, led by Onepu, or worked in the Great Mine.[8] In addition, some were still used in sports, such as the Great Ussal Race[9] and kolhii.[10] Some wild Ussal were infected by Makuta Teridax during his invasion.[9]

Shortly after the coming of the Toa Mata, Takanuva defeated Teridax and rediscovered Metru Nui. The Matoran constructed many boats for their return, and the Ussal migrated with them.[11]

After the Great Spirit Robot was critically damaged in the Battle of Bara Magna, the surviving Ussal left the Matoran Universe and immigrated to Spherus Magna.[1]

Mutated Ussal

A rare mutated Ussal, many times the size of a normal one, resided in Metru Nui. It is thought to be a hybrid with another larger species. It possessed inferior sight, and developed greater hearing to hunt.[12] It was kept in a sub-level of the Onu-Metru Archives, as it was resistant to the effects of stasis.[13]

1,001 years ago, while searching for the Onu-Metru Great Disk, Toa Metru Nuju and Whenua looked within the beast's cell, provoking it. The Ussal attacked the two Toa viciously. Whenua generated a deafening hum from his Earthshock Drills, using the creature's sensitive hearing against it. The mutant Ussal released the two Toa and retreated deeper into its cell, while Nuju slammed the door upon it and locked it with thick ice.[12][14][15] After the Great Spirit Robot was critically damaged, it is unlikely that the Mutated Ussal survived as it was trapped in its cell.[3]

Rock Ussal

A Rock Ussal in the Voya Nui Online Game

Rock Ussal are specialized Ussal crabs, considerably more aggressive than the average Ussal.[16]

Rock Ussal are native to the Southern Continent. When the Great Cataclysm tore Voya Nui out of the continent and up to the surface of to Aqua Magna, many Rock Ussal survived the journey and adapted to life on the barren island. They could be found near inland lakes throughout the Green Belt.[16]

When the Toa Mahri destroyed the Cord and returned Voya Nui to its former position on the Southern Continent, the Rock Ussal may not have survived the descent.[17]

After the Great Spirit Robot was critically damaged in the Battle of Bara Magna, the surviving Rock Ussal left the Matoran Universe and immigrated to Spherus Magna.[1]

Abilities and Traits

Onepu's purple Ussal, as seen in the Mata Nui Online Game

Ussal are very common and come in a wide variety of colors, including tan,[18] black, purple and black, blue and yellow,[19] red and orange,[16] orange and blue, red-yellow and green,[9] or orange and dark gray.[20] Ussals are known to make a chirping sound,[19][21] though they may whine or shriek when upset.[22] They have an unpleasant odor that makes their dwellings easy to identify from a distance.[6] While they are easily tamed, some wild Ussal will attack Matoran if provoked. Ussal are also amphibious - while they are usually found on land, they can live underwater as well.[9]

Ussal are prized by Matoran for their friendliness, strength, and swiftness.[8] They are known for their ability to tunnel, making them useful for Onu-Matoran miners.[20]

Ussal are some of few Rahi that grow as they age. Ussal generally start out very small (several inches long)[23] and then grow to a rideable size.[8] They age for a while after this and then develop rapidly into a larger stage;[21][24] they may sometimes change color during development as well, as observed with Pewku changing from blue and yellow[8] to brown and gray.[21]

Known Ussal

Set Information

The Ussal in the Master Builder Set

Parts and instructions to build an orange Ussal were included with the 10023 BIONICLE Master Builder Set. Pressing levers on either side of its back caused it to pinch anything lying between its two claws. The larger Ussal Pewku was released in the larger boxed set 8595 Takua & Pewku in 2003. This Ussal featured a crawling feature when one rolled it across the floor on its non-canon wheels.

Trivia

  • Ussal were the first species of Rahi to be seen in the Comics.[18]
  • Whenua believed that the Ussal and the Manas were somehow related, but Matau strongly disagreed with that theory.[25]
  • While Ussal do not appear in any known builds of BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui, an unused Ussal model can be found in the files of the alpha v0.006 build.[26]
  • In Mata Nui Online Game, Ussal such as Pewku are used for a "taxi crab" service providing transport between Onu-Koro and Po-Wahi.[8] Although Pewku's role in the game is still considered canonical,[27] Greg Farshtey has repeatedly asserted that the concept of "taxi crabs" is non-canonical.[28][29][30][31]
  • In Legends of Metru Nui, the giant Mutated Ussal's claw is represented by a reussed asset of one of Nidhiki's pincers. In the movie, the Ussal's pincer is barely large enough to hold Whenua and it attacks the Toa after he retrieved the Great Disk of Onu-Metru from its cell. In Lunchables 1, "Disks of Danger", and Trial by Fire, one of its claws alone was large enough to hold both Nuju and Whenua, it released the Toa and backed deeper into its cell after Whenua activated his Earthshock Drills,[12] and the Great Disk was not located in its cell, but further down in the Archives.[32]

Appearances

Books Comics Online Multimedia

Novels

Guides

Activity

BIONICLE

Promotional

Chronicle

Story Serials

Animations

Movies

Online Games

Video Games

Card Games

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Official Greg Dialogue", post 11964. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Ussal." Encyclopedia Updated, p. 146.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Chat with Greg Farshtey", post 10805479. LEGO Message Boards. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  4. Makuta's Guide to the Universe, p. 63.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Rahi Beasts, p. 89.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Mystery of Metru Nui. BIONICLE Adventures 1, p. 93.
  7. Metru Nui - City of Legends, p. 63.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Chapter 5: The Undercity of Onu-Koro • A Strange Discovery." Mata Nui Online Game.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa.
  10. Encyclopedia Updated, p. 61.
  11. "Official Greg Dialogue", post 1357. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Chapter 2." Trial by Fire. BIONICLE Adventures 2, pp. 21-23.
  13. Metru Nui - City of Legends, p. 73.
  14. Lunchables 1.
  15. "Disks of Danger". BIONICLE 17.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 Voya Nui Online Game.
  17. "Chat with Greg Farshtey", post 10805479. LEGO Message Boards. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  18. 18.0 18.1 "The Coming of the Toa". BIONICLE 1.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Mata Nui Online Game.
  20. 20.0 20.1 BIONICLE: Onu-Koro Creatures
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 BIONICLE: Mask of Light.
  22. Mask of Light, p. 49-50.
  23. BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows.
  24. "Official Greg Discussion", post 150. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  25. Rahi Beasts, p. 58.
  26. Rahi: Legends of Mata Nui by Clyce - Thingiverse, 7 March 2018
  27. "Pewku." Encyclopedia Updated, p. 111.
  28. "Official Greg Discussion", post 5708. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  29. "Official Greg Discussion", post 5737. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  30. "Official Greg Discussion", post 8077. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  31. "Official Greg Dialogue", post 11801. BZPower Forums. (archived on greg.thegreatarchives.com)
  32. "Chapter 5." Trial by Fire. BIONICLE Adventures 2, p. 52.

See also