Phineas

"My hobby is giving badges to all the good boys and girls like you. Why, I'm Phineas, the badge man!"

- Phineas

Phineas (パロンチーノ, Parochīno, Palochino) is a sea lion who appears in and, during the day in reasonable weather conditions (sunny or overcast/cloudy).

In City Folk, he can be found in the City. Phineas has white, bushy eyebrows and wears a white shirt, blue coat, orange vest, black trousers, and a tophat. He is a kind-hearted person who provides players with special hand-held items that cannot be acquired elsewhere, to spread fun and enjoyment. He has been known to appear in a player's city for days in a row, or not at all for weeks.

In New Leaf, he takes on a new role as a scout master, wearing a traditional beige scout uniform, complete with hat and neckerchief. He can be found wandering the town if the player has met certain milestones or accomplishments. To commemorate the achievements, he provides the player with badges to display on his or her TPC.

Phineas was introduced in City Folk, in which he will randomly appear in the City giving out free gifts, being a choice of either an easily poppable balloon, an indestructable Bunny Balloon, a pinwheel that spins while running, or a Bubble Wand, which can be used to blow bubbles.

The player can only receive one gift per day. The balloons, bunny balloons, and pinwheels come in a variety of colors, such as orange, blue, green, red, pink, yellow, and purple. Balloons will fly away if the player trips and falls. If a pinwheel is brought into the Town Hall when Phyllis is working, it will occasionally disappear from the player's pockets and she will be using it in the back of the room.

Phineas returns in New Leaf as a scout master. Upon speaking to Phineas for the first time, he reveals that his new hobby is giving out badges to good children, reflecting his good will.

After the first conversation, the player can speak to Phineas to receive a new badge after meeting a badge requirement, which varies from species collection to number of Spotpass encounters. Each badge has a Bronze, Silver, and Gold achievement level. For example, the Bronze level of the Insect Maniac badge is awarded to players who have captured 50% of the bugs in the Bug Encyclopedia.

Phineas will leave once night falls or if the weather changes unfavorably.

Trivia

 * Some cranky villagers believe that K.K. Slider's day job consists of being Phineas.
 * If the player gets closer to Phineas' cart, the music in the background will start to sound even cheerier, and if the player strays away from his cart, the music will go back to normal.
 * Phineas is never outside when it is raining.