Flint

Flint (, Flint) is a character in Mother 3. He is the husband, later widower, of Hinawa, the son in-law of Alec, and the father of Lucas and Claus. Flint is the lead protagonist of the game's first chapter, and appears several times later in the story as a supporting character.
==Biography==
Flint lives in Tazmily Village with his family, where he makes a living as a sheep farmer. He wears a distinct cowboy outfit, and is never seen without his hat until the climax of Mother 3. He is described by the residents of Tazmily as both manly and reckless. He is shown to become violent under certain saddening circumstances; this is shown when he lashes out at his surroundings and other people (Tessie, Abott, Ollie, and Bronson) when informed of his wife's death. However, he is also shown to be compassionate and caring, evident in Chapter 4 - he spends most, if not all, of his days searching for Claus in the mountains and visiting Hinawa's grave.
In the final chapter, Flint accompanies all the player characters in New Pork City once the mecha-porkies are defeated. After a trap elevator becomes active and violently sends everyone downward to the deepest, cavernous depths of the city where the last needle is, Flint rushes ahead. Soon after, Flint is seen exhausted, sadly confirming that the Masked Man is indeed Claus.
During the final battle between Lucas and the Masked Man/Claus, the Masked Man uses PK Love Ω against Lucas, although Flint jumps out in front, tries to explain to the Masked Man that he's really Claus, and takes the hit for Lucas. The damage Flint takes is near-fatal. The Masked Man uses the PSI move again, with Flint once again taking a hit for Lucas. The damage is so severe that Flint can no longer stand up.
At this point in the fight, Lucas can now attack the Masked Man, though this is futile as the Masked Man has infinite health, so only guarding can make progress in the fight. At the end of the battle, Hinawa finally convinces Claus who he really is, which causes Claus to intentionally fire a beam at Lucas with the intent of the shot being reflected from the Franklin Badge and ending Claus' life. Lucas then held a dying Claus in his arms, with Flint and everyone else nearby, overwhelmed with sadness.
==Special Attacks as a Playable Character==
Flint's special attacks are known as Brute Force. Its four abilities are obtained in Chapter 1.
*Swing -- This attack deals moderate to high damage to all enemies. However, it is less accurate than Flint's standard attack. This works best against 2 or more enemies.
*Strengthen Up -- This special ability makes Flint gather all of his strength to boost his offensive stats at a low to moderate rate. This allows Flint to make short work of tough enemies. It is somewhat like Offense up α, except it cannot be stacked.
*Toughen Up -- Like 'Strengthen Up', it makes Flint stiffen his body to boost his defensive stats at a low to moderate rate. It increases the chance of survival against foes with a terribly high offense. It is somewhat like Defense Up α, except it cannot be stacked.
*Power Smash -- The strongest attack that Flint obtains. This special skill may miss very often, but it deals significant to high damage to one opponent. Its power rivals that of the Super Bomb, and possibly PK Love γ. This ability is generally advisable against Bosses due to their large amounts of HP.
==In Super Smash Bros. Brawl==
Flint appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a sticker. Attaching this sticker to the bottom of Ness or Lucas's trophies in The Subspace Emissary increases the power of their indirect attacks by 4.
== In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ==
Flint appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an attack spirit. He can hold up to only one supporting spirit. His Spirit Battle represents him as Snake accompanied by a Claus-colored Lucas on a lava-floored battlefield stage representing the forest fire in Chapter 1.
==Trivia==
* Flint was intended to have been present with the party in later chapters in the game. Footage from EarthBound 64 and unused data in Mother 3 confirm this.
*Flint can equip some of Lucas' better weapons in the game. The strongest he can equip is the Mystical Stick. This may hint that Flint was once intended to be in the party during the game's later chapters. This theory is further supported by Flint's appearance in an unused Chapter 2 cinematic of Mother 3 and a Chapter 5 cinematic in a trailer for the cancelled EarthBound 64. There is also an unused sprite of Flint supposedly dodging a train.
* Itoi revealed in an interview that if Lucas and co. repeatedly talk to Flint after he tries to stop Porky under New Pork City, Flint will eventually say a different line about his baldness.
* Flint is more involved in the story than the past fathers of the Mother series, and is the first to not only be seen, but also appear as a playable character. However he is still largely absent from Lucas' life during the time skip due to him constantly searching for Claus.
*Flint wore a blue trench coat and green cowboy hat in EarthBound 64.Flint originally had PSI or "Magic", as called in EarthBound 64. These were, but probably not limited to, Blow Away (No info about it is known as it was exclusive to EB64), Sleep (Most likely Hypnosis), Tornado (No info about it is known as it was exclusive to EB64), Thunder, Absorb (Most likely Magnet), Feint (No info about it is known as it was exclusive to EB64).
*Flint's baldness in Mother 3 is present throughout the entire game, but in EarthBound 64, Flint seems to only have gone completely bald after the time-skip.
* Flint's name comes from a flintlock rifle, given that Hinawa's name is derived from the Japanese name for a matchlock gun.
** His name could also be a reference to the actor Clint Eastwood, who was well known for playing cowboys in his early acting years.
== Gallery ==
File:FlintBridgeGif.gif|Flint walks through Tazmily Village.
File:64flintforestfall.gif|Flint falling in the Sunshine Forest.
File:Flint-97.png|Flint's earlier model from 1997.
File:Flint-in-the-Rain.jpg|A side profile of Flint. You can see lots of hair on the back of his head.
File:FlintHead.png|Flint's face.
File:Flint s-Hat.png|Flint seen in the thought of Richie and an unknown old man.
File:Flint s-Rage.jpg|Flint swinging some wood in a rage. Most likely from the campfire scene of Chapter 1.
File:Flint-Shopping.jpg|A shot of Flint's back as he asks Lisa for some Firewood.
File:Mayor s-Manor.jpg|Flint inside of Mayor P.K. Pirkle's manor.
File:Flint-Toilette-Falls.jpg|Flint at Toilette Falls.
File:Porkship-1.jpg|Flint, Lucas, Duster, and Boney latch onto a Pigmask ship. Flint is now fully bald and holes are visible on the bottom of his coat.
File:Master-Thieves.jpg|A shot of Flint's entire backside as he, Duster, Wess, and Boney meet-up.
File:Boney-Howling.jpg|A rare angle of Flint's model.
File:Porkbean-and-Pig-Z-3.jpg|Flint drives a Pork Bean.
File:Flint-and-Lucas-2-Alt.png|Flint and Lucas explore the Sunshine Forest.
File:FlintSprite2002.png|Early sprite of Flint from 2002.
==References==
* https://mother4ever.net/release-brownies-interview/ (Early sprite of Flint)
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ru:Флинт
Category:Playable party members in Mother 3
Category:Mother 3 Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Characters
Category:Tazmily Village Residents
Category:Characters with unused sprites
Category:Fathers
Category:Temporary party members in Mother 3
Category:Temporary party members
Category:Spirits in Super Smash Bros Ultimate