Ceroba Ketsukane

Ceroba Ketsukane (穴金 セロバ) is a primary antagonist (along with Flowey) in Undertale Yellow. She is the widow of Chujin and the mother of Kanako. Her main Intent is taking Clover's SOUL to save the underground and advance Chujin's legacy, and she serves as the final boss of the True Pacifist route, and penultimate boss of the Flawed Pacifist route. During the Genocide route, she replaces Starloas the boss of the Wild East after Clover kills the latter in a duel.

Appearance Ceroba is a fox-like monster with beige fur and long, wavy ginger hair. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail by a red ribbon with a small gold bell in the centre. She has a long, white kimono with red trimmings; a red obi sash tied around her waist and white boots. During her battle phases, she carries a long red staff with a bright yellow bell at the end two little red ribbons tied around the ends of the bell. In the Pacifist Route battle, she wears the Kitsune mask made by Kanako, consisting of two dark eye sockets that receive bright red dots in the final phase, with pink dyes. Her hair becomes more voluminous, resembling tails with pink shine. Additionally, she wears a cloak that is shown in concept art to be yellowish-white with pink edges. Her attacks in the overworld are represented as white and pink flashes of light.

Personality Brilliant, supportive and skeptical, Ceroba is a powerful ally when it comes to wanting to help those closest to her. She is shown to care a lot for her loved ones. However, she is highly stubborn, even going so far as to question the true meaning of Asgore's words when confronted with the truth of her husband's employment. Because of this, she is firm on her husband's legacy as a scientist and a hero of the underground, and she spends the days after her husband's passing trying to complete the work that he had passed down to her. However, when she finally tests it on Kanako and has it result in her falling down, Ceroba's beliefs strengthen to the point that she is fully willing to kill Clover to save the rest of the underground.

Relationships _ Chujin Ketsukane Chujin was Ceroba’s husband. It is shown throughout the game, (mainly in the Pacifist Route,) that Ceroba loved him very dearly. In the Steamworks, it is clear that Ceroba shows somewhat strong resentment towards Asgore because of his disregard of the eventual creation of Axis, (Chujin’s creation). Despite this, Ceroba and Chujin were somewhat distant when it came to Chujin’s work. Until going into the Steamworks, Ceroba was unaware that Chujin had finished creating Axis. She also remarked that she does not see Chujin very often, as he is usually in his lab[citation needed]. Most of all, she was not aware that Chujin had been fired from this job, claiming that he had retired. Regardless, it is Ceroba’s strong love towards Chujin, possibly to the point of unhealthy obsession, that influences her motivations throughout the game, (specifically in the Pacifist Route.) She is willing to obtain Clover’s soul by ending their life, and deceive Starlo in order to progress his plans.

Kanako Ketsukane Kanako was Ceroba’s daughter. Ceroba is shown to deeply care about Kanako through dialogue and flashbacks. At some point, after Chujin's death, Kanako discovered the tapes in the basement. Upon finding out that Kanako discovered these tapes, Ceroba told her that she wasn't going to make Kanako a part of Chujin's plans. Despite this, Kanako eventually convinces Ceroba to use her soul, injecting the Integrity SOUL extract into her to extract the serum from. Kanako fell down soon after Ceroba gave her the extract which caused Ceroba to fall into depression. Ceroba's pragmatism, however, lets her get over Kanako's death, and she is willing to use what's left of her SOUL to continue with Chujin's plan.

Clover Ceroba's relationship with Clover depends on the player's choices. In the Wild East, she generally has a patient and polite interaction with the child, unless in a Genocide Route. She will only follow Clover to the Steamworks on a Pacifist Route, because in this case, their soul would be "pure". If any of the robots are killed, Ceroba will leave Clover, and if Axis is killed, she will be furious with Clover for destroying Chujin's work and will leave them. In the Genocide Route, she will have a deep hatred towards Clover due to Starlo's death and will try to avenge her late friend. Even when dying, she makes a point of standing firm and showing her resentment by judging Clover and telling them to "go to hell". If Clover follows pacifism to the end, Ceroba will gradually open up and trust Clover, seeing them as someone brave and respectable. Even after fighting them, she confesses that everything she said at Steamworks was not lies, and actually respected Clover, even though she previously called them "naive". If she is killed, she will thank Clover. If she is spared, Clover will hug her and the two will become permanent friends. She also respects Clover's decision to renounce their SOUL and hand it over to Asgore, even though she does not agree with the latter's plans.

Starlo It is shown throughout the game that Starlo and Ceroba are close friends. Presumably ever since childhood. Despite that, during the Pacifist route she still refuses to tell Starlo about her plans to finish Chujin's work using Clover's soul, and attacks him right before the final boss-battle of the Pacifist route. She does still deeply care about him though as shown during the Genocide route, when she snaps upon his demise at the hands of Clover. This is what initiates her Genocide route battle. When talking to her in the Steamworks, Ceroba mentions that she considered dating Starlo when she was "a naive kid", suggesting their relationship was a lot closer in the past. She also states her reason for moving on was because she wanted to grow up, and Starlo didn't follow.[1]

Trivia

• Ceroba is one of the final bosses along with Flowey and Martlet.
  • She is the final boss of The Pacifist Route.
  • She has 2 themes associated with her, with A Mother's Love as the pacifist theme, and Trial By Fury as the genocide theme.
• Ceroba's design is most likely to be inspired by the Kitsune, a creature from Japanese folklore. Kitsune are known to be tricksters, and this correlates with her attempt to trick Clover and take their SOUL.
• As shown in concept art the names for the pacifist ending phases are: Devoted, Decisive and Determined for each respective phase with the mask. This seems to lineup with the motto of her family's crest.
• Ceroba, along with Axis and Zenith Martlet, is the only enemy of the Genocide Route that cannot be spared.
  • The battle with Ceroba on the Genocide route is somewhat similar to Undyne the Undying.
• In her masked forms she doesn't actually have tails, instead it is just her hair which resembles them. (As explained in the concept art)
• As revealed in the Pacifist Route when talking to her, Ceroba is scared of heights.
• Ceroba had a gym membership, that she regrets canceling a year ago, because she misses the little water cups made of paper.
• Ceroba originally lived in the mountains with her mother.
  • Ceroba met Chujin when her mother sent her to Oasis Valley for crops. Ceroba rolled her ankle and fell into a ditch, before Chujin helped Ceroba out.
• After Chujin left, Ceroba got a part-time shift at Café Dune to help raise Kanako, leaving due to a bad boss.
• Ceroba seems to be Ambidextrous, as she sometimes uses her left hand and right hand to hold her staff in some of her overworld sprites. She also uses her right hand to hold the staff in her battle sprite, and holds the same staff in her left hand during her Kitsune fight. During that same fight, she uses the staff interchangeably when using her opening attack in the Determined phase.
• Being the final boss of the Pacifist Route, the final battle against Ceroba shares some similarities with the battle against Asriel in Undertale:
  • The battle scenario becomes more colorful.
  • Fire attacks are used (which are also used by Toriel and Asgore).
  • The boss can't be damaged during the fight.
  • Both bosses, in determined point, have their memories seen by the protagonist.
  • The song during both fights plays the Once Upon a Time motif with guitars.
  • The battle ends with the boss having emotions so intense that they cry and can no longer fight.
  • The protagonists in both fights share certain actions.
    • Both are able to recover HP and temporarily increase DF through ACTing (the second in both games being an option called "Hope").
    • Both obtain a new power (Frisk replaces ACT with SAVE, while Clover accesses the SOUL's power shots)
    • Both of their HP is reduced to below 1, but never reaches 0.
    • Both hug the boss after the boss is spared and the battle ends (although it's optional for Frisk).

Ceroba Ketsukane / In Battle _ BATTLE INFORMATION

• Some Point of No Return (Pacifist, Normal)
• A Mother's Love (Pacifist, Kitsune)
• Trial By Fury (Genocide) HP 1000 AT
• 13 (Pacifist Phase 1, Genocide)
• 14 (Pacifist Phases 2-4) DF
• 15 (Pacifist)
• 21 (Genocide) EXP ON KILL
• 1500 (Pacifist)
• 1500 (Genocide) GOLD ON WIN
• 0 (Pacifist)
• 50 (Genocide) ACTS
• Check, Negotiate, Calm, Scowl (Pacifist Phase 1)
• Check, Hope, Endure, Remember (Pacifist Phases 2-4)
• Check, Resist, Calm, Mock (Genocide)

In her Kitsune form, her attacks multiply, and her masks must be shot at to leave the screen. In the Genocide route, Ceroba can employ special red beam attacks that will decrease Clover's max HP. If Clover's HP is 3 or under, the red beam attacks will kill them instead.

Attacks

Phase 1

• Energy Spheres: Tiny balls of light would come up from the bottom of the screen in a pattern; the player should try to remember it as this is the same pattern they will fall in later. Once they hit the bottom of the screen, the balls will shatter, and little shards will fall out of them and towards the player center, where they crashed.
• Flower wall: in a random pattern, walls of flowers will come from either side of the screen with a little hole in each. Be careful, as some patterns will lead the player right towards the next one.
• Cherry Blossoms: Cherry blossom petals will start flying around the screen, with a massive pile itching towards the top of the box, forcing the player to go up with it.
• Cherry Blossom Blasters: Flowers appear randomly on either side of the screen and shoot tiny flowers at the player in a pattern. Paralyzing white diamonds are formed right where the player last stood, and if hit, they are forced to stay still for a few seconds.
• Spherical Flower Bombs: Flowers will start to form a circle-like pattern around the player while closing in. Once completely closed, it will create an explosion that will damage the player if they are too close to it.
• Bell Bombs: Giant bells will come onto the screen and bounce onto the left side. Once out, they will explode into blue or orange rays that the player must dodge accordingly.
• Black Hole: A mini black hole is in the center of the screen and will cause the player to be pulled towards it. While trying to move away from it, the player must also dodge mini flower petals slowly itching toward it.
• Temple Ruins: Blasts of energy, similar to those in the first attack, go to the top of the screen in a pattern with two temples on the ends. Once they collide with the mini temples, they will explode into mini shards that the player must dodge.
• Staff Attack: Two versions of her staff will go across the screen in a diagonal pattern. They will then turn orange and spin in a circle in opposite directions of one another. After they return to a standard white, a cherry blossom blaster from the third attack will return to shoot at the left side
• Final Attack: The energy spheres form at all four sides of the screen and start to spin around it; once they close in, they create an explosion with little shards at the top falling. As they fall, a white diamond will form near the player in hopes of capturing them. The box becomes smaller, and Ceroba starts to hit the player, though Clover's health bar keeps expanding with each hit that they take. Ceroba then tries to hit them with one final blast, though the player shoots it back at her, causing Ceroba to fall back and transform into her next phase.