Over the course of Problem Sleuth, Pickle Inspector and his duplicates use several battle techniques, combat operandi, and other attacks to defeat their enemies.
Battle techniques[]
Disconcerting Ogle[]
| Learned after | Defeating a beast
|
Pickle Inspector can weaponize his constant ogling to accomplish different things.
- Level 5 - PI stares at somebody who is flipping the fuck out until they calm down. Used on the Weasel Emissary.
- Level 48 - PI shoots deadly lasers from his eyes. Used by Monster Pickle Inspector against three other imaginary PI duplicates.
After defeating Monster Pickle Inspector, PI learns a new type of ogle, the Disquieting Leer. While PI never uses the leer, Fluthlu possesses the Level 77 version and uses it against Problem Sleuth. Fluthlu shoots a laser from his eye that, if deflected into an ethnic cheer mural, turns the mural's characters into hideous monsters that emerge from the artwork and attack Fluthlu's enemy.
Combat operandi[]
Pickle Replicsimile[]
If he possesses a great amount of Imagination, Pickle Inspector can create a number of imaginary duplicates of himself, allowing him to explore every possible method of defeating an enemy. He uses the Level 8 version of the operandi while fighting a beast, splitting him into eight separate bodies.
Abstracted Thought[]
| Learned after | Defeating Monster Pickle Inspector
|
Using Abstracted Thought, Pickle Inspector can divide his consciousness between his real body and one of his imaginary duplicates, giving him the ability to perform actions in reality and the imaginary realm at the same time.
Demonhead Mobster Kingpin possesses the Level 49 version of the ability and uses it during the final battle.
Temporal Replicsimile[]
| Learned after | Defeating Monster Pickle Inspector
|
This variation on Pickle Replicsimile lets Pickle Inspector split his imaginary self into two duplicates, one that travels to the past and one that travels to the future.
PI first uses the ability so that the past self could travel back in time and solve a complex puzzle in the control room. The future duplicate later shows up during the Demonhead Mobster Kingpin fight and uses the ability again in order to dodge DMK's Vexatious Glower, creating past-future and future-future duplicates.
After all four temporal copies die, they are summoned by Godhead Pickle Inspector for a special mission. Each begins to perform Temporal Replicsimile Ad Infinitum, splitting themselves into smaller copies that themselves duplicate in a never-ending chain. These "part-pickles" soon occupy every location at every point in time, becoming the elementary particles that all matter is made up of: the result of the PIs' constant duplication is the creation of the universe itself.
Comb Raves[]
Anchors Away[]
A Level 4 Comb Rave, Anchors Away involves Pickle Inspector (in his Tootsie Roll Frankenstein form) throwing the Chicago Overcoat's anchor at an enemy. He planned on using it against Demonhead Mobster Kingpin, but this is prevented when Mobster Kingpin smashes PI's suckle receptacle and replaces it with one of his own, letting DMK perform the Comb Rave Fill 'Em with Daylight. In hindsight, PI realizes that Anchors Away is actually a useless attack, since he is fully capable of throwing the anchor without performing a Comb Rave.
Temporal Replicollision[]
- For the chapter with the same name, see Problem Sleuth: Volume 5#Chapter 19.
A Level 7 Comb Rave, Temporal Replicollision is a cooperative attack involving Past-Future Pickle Inspector and Future-Future Pickle Inspector. PFPI and FFPI each take half of the available Jocuse Honey and perform a Half Rave Maneuver - PFPI's is called Large Hadron Part-Pickle Acceleration, and FFPI's is called Large Hadron Anti-Part-Pickle Acceleration, but the only actual difference between the maneuvers is their names. The porthole windows are rearranged into two closed circuits of three portholes each, and PFPI and FFPI travel through one of the circuits at near-light speed.
Once they have attained the required speed, the circuits are repositioned next to the targeted enemy and the two part-pickles are launched towards the target, colliding into each other and sacrificing their lives to generate a massive explosion. As a side effect, a Higgs Bonehead is created by the explosion and appears briefly near its location before dissipating into nothing.
Used against Demonhead Mobster Kingpin.