Okay, I don't know whether this will really become a series or not, or if it will ever achieve the fame of some of the other article series, but I thought it would be a good start anyway. The basic theme of this article (or series) is for me to pick a random topic about Earthbound that might only be noticed in passing, and expand upon it using what little knowledge I possess. With some luck, it will possess some sense and even appeal to someone who has nothing better to do with their time (the great author guruzeth/CPTCrunch/The Artist Formerly Known as CPTCrunch seemed to indicate he read any article that managed to get posted). Thus, it is with great pleasure that I bring the very first (and hopefully not the very last) installment of Earthboundology: Paula's Frying Pans.

The metal frying pan (and various counterparts) functions chiefly as a cooking implement, though it could also serve as an effective defense in a situation such as a burglary. It typically weighs a few pounds, and can be swung with one or two hands as a short bludgeoning weapon. The most effective place to target the swing is somewhere that would sustain great pain and/or damage; on a human target, this would likely be the head or stomach. The damage it would cause would mostly be internal: broken bones and interior damage.

Paula is posited to be a thirteen year old girl who helps her mother at the town preschool. As such, she would likely be of average strength for a person that age. Thus, on this basis alone, she would have difficulty doing much damage at all with the frying pan; most enemies would be able to probably shake off the blow. This is clearly seen when Paula first joins Ness: her attacks do single digit amounts of damage, sometimes only one point. Indeed, even if, during downtime on the adventure, she were to lift weights and to try to develop as much upper body strength as possible, it would be difficult to see her capable of inflicting sufficient amounts of real damage to destroy Mad Taxis, Starmen, and whatnot.

However, Paula does possess something most thirteen year-olds do not: psychic powers that grow with experience. It is possible that these powers do not manifest themselves in just Freeze, Fire, and Shield, but also in an ability to strike physically with much more force that normally possible. Based on this theory, it then become quite realistic that she could defeat some of the enemies of Lumine Hall or the Lost Underworld on her own.

Another issue regarding the Frying Pan is its durability. This is a point to be made with Ness's baseball bats and the Sword of Kings as well: how well does the weapon hold up with repetitive use and against certain types of enemies? For example, consider the Fire Springs. There would be little difficulty (relatively) in bashing a Psychic Psycho. However, what happens when you run up against a Soul Consuming Flame? That puddle of fire could probably severely burn one if touched, and yet Paula is attacking with a weapon made of heat-conducting metal. Again, psychic powers could be invoked for protecting Paula, but what of the Frying Pan? Similar discussions could be made for the various "electric" enemies, and I will just ignore the difficulties in pounding away at the Kraken.