Chouchou

Chouchou is a dog from Orange Town, famed for his unceasing vigil over the pet-food shop founded by his deceased owner. He is classified as a Type B creature, "Small Friendly".

He is an ally of the Straw Hat Pirates during the Orange Town Arc.

Appearance
Chouchou is a small white dog with thin ears, beady black eyes, and a short, brush-like tail. During the Buggy Pirates' occupation of Orange Town, he bore several wounds.

After the town—and particularly his master's shop—was revitalized, he donned a black bow-tie to celebrate.

Personality
Above all, Chouchou is undyingly loyal to the memory of his late master Hocker, having dedicated the rest of his life to guarding Hocker's pet-food shop. Though generally stoic and unmoving, he will not hesitate to attack anyone who mistreats him or threatens the shop.

In rare cases, he can extend his loyalty to newcomers—as he did for the Straw Hat Pirates, helping them escape a misguided mob of townsfolk after Monkey D. Luffy avenged his shop's destruction.

Abilities and Powers
An ordinary dog for the most part, Chouchou's main—if not only—mode of attack is biting. Despite his small size, his physical toughness nearly equals his sheer tenacity, surviving multiple attacks from the Buggy Pirates and even the several-times-larger Richie.

Past
Roughly thirty years after Orange Town was founded, Hocker—with Chouchou at his side—opened its first shop dedicated solely to pet food. Though business was often slow, the pair lived happily and inseparably for a decade, and became well-loved by the other townspeople.

Eventually, Hocker developed an illness, and while seeking medical attention left Chouchou to watch over the shop; this would be their final interaction, as Hocker soon succumbed to the illness and died. Regardless, Chouchou kept to his assignment, spending day and night beside the shop and surviving mostly on feedings from the town mayor Boodle (who came to believe that Chouchou understood his master's fate, and treasured the shop purely as a memento).

Several months after Hocker's death, the Buggy Pirates invaded Orange Town. While all its human inhabitants fled to the outskirts, Chouchou still refused to leave the shop, even enduring multiple wounds from the pirates. During lulls in their activity, Boodle would occasionally sneak back to continue feeding Chouchou, as well as (unsuccessfully) pleading with him to join the evacuation.

Orange Town Arc


Following their first battle with the Buggy Pirates, Nami, Roronoa Zoro and Monkey D. Luffy—the latter trapped in a cage—encountered Chouchou and his shop. When prodded by the curious young pirate, Chouchou bit Luffy, then spitefully ate the cage's only key. Fortunately, Boodle intervened in time to prevent any serious damage, and fed Chouchou while explaining his story to the Straw Hats.

Chouchou proved no friendlier to the Buggy Pirates' First Mate Mohji, immediately answering his supposed "beast-taming" skills with another bite. Enraged by this, as well as Luffy's general defiance, Mohji and his lion Richie attacked. Though Chouchou fought with all his effort, he was easily defeated, and could only watch as the shop was raided, then burned to the ground.



At the same time, the attack unwittingly freed Luffy, who quickly empathized with Chouchou's grief and avenged it by beating Richie and Mohji senseless. Afterward, Luffy brought Chouchou a single pack of dog-food—all that could be salvaged from the shop's ruins. Chouchou accepted this gesture of friendship, and left to join the evacuees.

Later in the day, concerned over Boodle (who had in fact resolved to fight the Buggy Pirates), Chouchou and the other evacuees returned to Orange Town. On finding both the Buggy Pirates and Boodle knocked unconscious, the townspeople mistook the Straw Hats for rival invaders, and attacked as a mob—only for Chouchou to block their way, allowing his new friends a clear escape.

Buggy's Crew Adventure Chronicles
Shortly after the Straw Hats' departure, Orange Town drove out the remaining Buggy Pirates; Chouchou joined in most keenly of all, biting a fleeing Mohji on the rear.

From the Decks of the World
Two years later, with Orange Town largely recovered, Chouchou became guardian—and namesake—to a rebuilt and considerably expanded pet-food shop. In further recognition, the town also erected a statue in his likeness atop a nearby fountain.

Translation and Dub Issues
"Chouchou" is a French term translating roughly to "pet", though it is more often used as a term of endearment (or mockery) for humans rather than animals.

Due to the fickleness of romanizing katakana, some early fan translations render his name as "Shushu". However, the proper spelling was confirmed in Volume 9's SBS and on the cover page of Chapter 619, and is used in all professional English translations. Contrary to this, his named is spelled "Shushu" in his entry in the Vivre Card databook, as well as on Shueisha's English edition of the 7th popularity poll.

Playable Characters

 * Birth of Luffy's Dream Pirate Crew!
 * Grand Line Dream Adventure Log
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Become the Pirate King!
 * Set Sail Pirate Crew!
 * Aim! The King of Berry
 * Dragon Dream!
 * One Piece (Game Boy Advance)
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise

Trivia

 * Chouchou's unwavering devotion parallels many mythical and real-life accounts of dogs' faithfulness to long-dead masters, most famously Hachikō and Greyfriars Bobby.
 * Chouchou's age of 14 would be remarkably old for a real-life dog, even those from the longest-lived breeds. However, given that the world of One Piece features humans (e.g. Kureha) able to surpass 140 years without issue, it is possible that dog lifespans are also significantly longer.
 * Chouchou's favorite food is dog food.
 * Chouchou was ranked 100 out of the top 100 characters in the 7th One Piece Poll.

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