Matoran Elemental Traits

[Kavu]

Figured it would be nice to have this speculation topic running again. As you know, each type of Matoran has an limited ability related to their Element. For instance, Ta-Matoran, being affiliated with fire, have a higher resistance to hotter temperatures, or Ga-Matoran, being affiliated with water, can hold their breaths longer. Currently, there are four types of Matoran with unknown special traits, they are:Ba-Matoran, Matoran of GravityMatoran of PlasmaMatoran of Plant life Matoran of Magnetism What abilities do you think they have? Also you'll notice the latter three lack a name, what do you think would be a proper name for them (this can include Matoran of Lightning, who have a canon ability, but lack a proper name)?So, Opinions?

[darkslizer]

The Ba-Matoran could probably jump higher because of lesser gravity. The Matoran of Plasma can probably withstand higher heat than Ta-Matoran, considering that Plasma is hotter than fire. Matoran of Plant Life probably have green thumbs (assuming that they have thumbs, or the green thumb term, but you know what I mean.) Matoran of Magnetism could possibly have a more powerful clutch on metal things, like their hands would have some aspect of magnets attracting. I think that Plasma Matoran would be called Pa-Matoran. Matoran of Plant Life might be called Gre-Matoran. Matoran of Psionics, Psi-Matoran. (that one sounds a little unoriginal, but what are ya gonna do?) I'm not sure about any of the others, though.

[Takanuinuva]

I've actually made a list of matoran prefexes and powers for jungle plasma and magnitism and just powers for matoran of gravity since they have a prefix I also made a prefex for electric matoran

• Ba-Matoran, Matoran of Gravity, can tolerate intense pressure forces such as large weight being placed on top of them
• Sol-Matoran, Matoran of Plasma, can make their bodies glow with heat. Sol stands for solar which plasma comes from
• Bo- Matoran, Matoran of Jungle, are granted with enhanced reflexes- Bo stands for botany
• Co-Matoran, Matoran of Magnetism, have a excellent sense of direction and never get lost. They act like compasses. Co stands for compass which is magnetic
• El-Matoran, Matoran of Lightning, have a greater resistance to electricity than other types of Matoran. El stands for electricity

Edited June 29, 2012 by Takanuinuva

[Makuta Matata]

Plant Life Matoran can probably make things grow better, like gardening and whatnot. Plasma Matoran are probably similar to Ta-Matoran. Gravity Matoran are probably heavier or something, and Magnetism Matoran maybe have a magnetic charge? And Lightning Matoran might be able to withstand Electricity better.

[The Iron Toa]

The above posters might have forgotten that Matoran of Psionics are confirmed to be called Ce-Matoran, and Matoran of Lightning have the confirmed elemental trait of being resistant to electric shocks. Anyway, Bonesiii was saying something about starting a poll on this. I can't think of any good prefixes, but the traits I have in mind are:- Innate skill growing plants for Matoran of the Green. Though, this could just be a side thing, like how Po-Matoran are known for being carvers, but that's not their elemental trait.- Natural sense of balance for Ba-Matoran, so they are harder to knock down. This would be sort of like how Le-Matoran are agile and surefooted in treetops, except instead Ba-Matoran would be surefooted on the ground.- An internal compass-like sense for Matoran of Magnetism, so they have an excellent sense of direction and are usually good navigators. I'm quite certain that's the ability I want them to have.- Matoran of Plasma could be more energetic. I'm not sure if this is the best idea for them, but I think it's better than just copying the Ta-Matoran ability.

Edited June 29, 2012 by The Iron Toa

[Anti Nui]

Ba-Matoran: Being extremely heavy or extremely lightweight makes sense. I'm not sure what benefit they would have by being heavier, but maybe if they were lightweight they could jump really high or something. Plasma Matoran: Resistant to extremely high temperatures, but especially vulnerable to low temperatures. The Green Matoran: I always liked to imagine that plant life could grow on their armor, giving them a natural camouflage in their environment. The Green Thumb thing can also be something that they have, but this could be due to their experience around plants, and not something that is pre-programmed into them. Kinda like how the Onu-Matoran developed night-vision because of how much time they spend underground. For Magnetism Matoran, they could either 1. Have an internal compass2. Be naturally magnetic, allowing them to climb stuff3. Or be resistant to magnetism completely.

[Taipu1]

I imagine Matoran of Gravity can jump unusually high? Something along those lines, for Ba-Matoran. The others, I really have no idea on what the abilities could be. As for prefixes, I tend to stick with the EM ones, which are in the reference topic on the archive somewhere.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Ba-Matoran- Good balance on the ground.Matoran of Plasma-Higher resistance to heat, like Ta-Matoran.Matoran of Plant life- Able to move through trees easier than other Matoran.Matoran of Magnetism-Internal compass.

[fishers64]

Ba-matoran I would imagine would be sensitive to even the most minor of gravitational changes, Matoran of Magnetism would be aware of the type and force of magnetic fields (like an internal compass), Matoran of Plant Life would be good at growing plants - the "green thumb" theorum, and Plasmatoran would have expanded heat resistance.

[Makuta Matata]

Now that I think of it, Matoran of Magnetism having a great sense of direction sounds right. On the other hand, I still think that Matoran of Plasma should have about the same traits as Ta-Matoran, just like how Fe-Matoran (I think) have similar abilities to Po-Matoran. And Matoran of Plant Life might have enhanced gardening abilities, but they might be similar to Le-Matoran in the sense of agility. Or Maybe they're photosynthetic.

[Sohcah Toa of Trigonometry]

I think Ba-Matoran should have a resistance to gravity, allowing them to jump higher and fall slower. Matoran of Magnetism should either be able to sense magnetic fields or have a greater manipulation of their own magnetism, like being able to attract or repel things from a short distance away. I think it would cool if Matoran of Plantlife could blend in when around plants. Matoran of Plasma should be resistant to extreme heat and bright light but weak against cold and magnetism.

[The Iron Toa]

Fe-Matoran (I think) have similar abilities to Po-Matoran.

Actually, it's greater endurance for Fe-Matoran, and greater strength for Po-Matoran. Both have to do with physical ability, but they're quite different.

[Makuta Matata]

Fe-Matoran (I think) have similar abilities to Po-Matoran.

Actually, it's greater endurance for Fe-Matoran, and greater strength for Po-Matoran. Both have to do with physical ability, but they're quite different.

Well, it's still similar. Maybe it's the same for Ta-Matoran and Plasma Matoran. Ta-Matoran resist heat, so maybe Plasma Matoran can resist heat or something.

[Nuparu1995]

I imagine Matoran of Psionics would be exceptionally perceptive, or something like that. Sounds like a question for Mr. Farshtey!

[Kavu]

I imagine Matoran of Psionics would be exceptionally perceptive, or something like that. Sounds like a question for Mr. Farshtey!

Ce-Matoran already have an established and canon ability, a mental shield that protects them from mind reading/control.Matoran of Lightning also have a canon ability, strong resistance to electric shocks, but lack a canon name.

[The Iron Toa]

Right. I'm not sure if the Ba-Matoran and Ce-Matoran preferred locations are confirmed as 'none' or we just don't know them. Other than that, here's what we don't know:-- Gravity Matoran elemental trait-- Lightning prefix and preferred environment-- Magnetism prefix, Matoran elemental trait, and preferred environment-- Plasma prefix, Matoran elemental trait, and preferred environment-- The Green prefix and Matoran elemental traitI think that's all, but maybe I'm missing something.

[High Voltage]

Ba-matoran and Ce-matoran are confirmed for no specific environment. Anyway, to me Ba-matoran could have better jumping ability or greater balance. I like the jumping one myself, but both make sense. plantoran would most likely be good gardeners, either because of natural skill or because plants grow better around them. Plasmatoran would probably have higher heat resistance than Ta-matoran, though I heard a theory that they could have a resistance to bright light. It's better for diversity but it doesn't make as much sense as the heat one. Magnetoran having an internal compass is probably the best idea for magnetism and one of the ones that don't give them too much control over magnetism. I didn't mean to say the exact same thing everyone else said either :/. Maybe no one has new ideas?Anyway for proper sounding names:-For plantoran maybe Bo-matoran or Vi-matoran? like from botany or viridian? Bit of a stretch with viridian, but it sounds better to me and doesn't clash with ba-matoran. You'll notice that none of the officially named elements have the same starting letter.-For magnetoran uh... umm... maybe Jo-matoran? I know it's just the front half of Jovans name, but that's how the main 6 were named and there just aren't a lot of magnetic themed words that sound good as a prefix. Tesla, the unit of measurement for a kind of magnetic field, could make Tes-matoran or something but that clashes and just doesn't sound as good as Jo to me.-Electrotoran have a lot of possibilities. Am (amperes), Wa (watts), and Vo (volts) stand out to me as good prefixes derived from electrically relevant words. I like Ni-matoran though. It has a nice ring to it and was the name of Nikila, a toa of lightning and my favourite minor character.-For plasmatoran, I think that should stay that way forever, much more enjoyable than __-matoran . If it needs a prefix (and it does, oh well) then Plas would do just fine. What, I ain't lettin' no prefixes ruin my dreams .

Edited June 30, 2012 by High Voltage

[The Iron Toa]

Te-Matoran for Matoran of Magnetism actually sounds pretty good (except we already have Le-, De-, Ce- and Fe). I think having Matoran of Plasma be heat resistant is too much like Ta-Matoran, though.

Edited June 30, 2012 by The Iron Toa

[fishers64]

There was the idea of giving Plasmatoran a protective eye power to counter the negative effects of looking at plasma. Also, I like the idea of Xe-matoran for plasma. Not sure why, exactly - maybe I just like the X, and no other Matoran has it, so why not?

[bonesiii]

Dude. Plas-Matoran. Love. Gonna use that. :PAnywho, I really think the prefixes we used for the Multiverse are good:Vi -- PlantsIo -- PlasmaNeh -- MagnetismReasons for the first two are obvious. I forget exactly what the third was but it was based on something sensible that we looked up.As for the traits, I think these are my preferences, although I have none on Gravity:Magnetism: Internal compasses (along with the idea that various machines in Mata Nui's systems create recognizeable magnetic fields they could sense).Plasma: Eye protection against glare (since heat resistance is already taken, and plasma -could- be blindingly bright). Less sure on this though.Plants: Some version of Green Thumb, but exactly what the rules would be, not sure.Yeah, I do plan to run the polls but since we have several members active now that weren't when the Story Squad topic was originally posted, I was actually thinking there should be a topic like this for a while to hear other suggestions. A little redundant, but hey. And just to be clear, the polls would be just out of curiousity of what are actually the most popular choices and by what margins etc. Apparently the chance of the winners getting canonized is now zero so yeah.

Edited July 3, 2012 by bonesiii

[Takanuinuva]

With all these suggestions. I've come up with new prefixes and power changes for some of the matoran

• Ba-Matoran, Matoran of Gravity, Have an excellent sense of balance
• Plas-Matoran, Matoran of Plasma, greater resistance to bright light, but cannot stand cold weather.
• Bo- Matoran, Matoran of Jungle, Have a greater connection to plants that other matoran. Kinda like a green thumb or being able to communicate with plants.
• Tes-Matoran, Matoran of Magnetism, have a excellent sense of direction and never get lost. They act like compasses.
• Vol-Matoran, Matoran of Lightning, have a greater resistance to electricity than other types of Matoran.

Edited July 3, 2012 by Takanuinuva

[Geardirector]

Interesting topic, here's what I think the matoran attributes could be:Magnetism: I like the "Internal compass" idea, it makes sense.Plasma: I imagine them as living solar batteries, sunlight strengthens them, while lack of said resource weakens them. Barring that, I could go for something akin to conscious control over their own body temperature, able to raise or lower it at their whim.Gravity: I find that I prefer the idea of enhanced sense of balance.Plantlife: I actually imagined them as having enhanced senses, playing with the whole "in-tune with nature" aspect that comes with the element.

[BioGio]

Plants: Some version of Green Thumb, but exactly what the rules would be, not sure.

Perhaps you could go more generic--something along the lines of "an affinity for plants"? It wouldn't necessarily be about gardening (since that actually seems uncommon in the MU) but could involve, say, a good sense of which plants are edible, et cetera.~ BioGio

[Click]

Well, here's my two cents. I mostly agree with Bonesii though, and the Multiverse suggestions make sense.-- Gravity: Ba-Matoran sounds good I guess, no idea why. Jo-Matoran would also work though. (or Jov-). Sensing gravitic (is that a word?) fields would be my vote.-- Lightning: I like Vo-Matoran, it sounds very electric. And maybe somewhere with lots of storms would be good for them, like somewhere near one of Mata-Nui's minor reactors (if any exist).-- Magnetism: Fer- (due to relation with iron) or Mag-Matoran sound decent, although I'm not sure. I also like the Internal compass and/or magnetic field sense. As for their environment, I think high-iron/very deep caves would be good, since Makuta tried to kill them all, and so they can be close to the natural magnetism.-- Plasma: Io-Matoran sounds pretty cool for them, and I like it, as well as the resistance to extreme light. They also like the tops of volcanoes. -- The Green: Bo-Matoran would make sense with Botany, as well as Bota Magna, the Green planet, but I can see logic behind Vi-Matoran. I think that they would have a natural connection to plant life, so they can almost talk to plants, slightly speed up growing processes in their vicinity, and/or can use plants to a small degree (ex: a vine moves closer to their hand when swinging, can hide behind leaves well, etc.)

[bonesiii]

Gravity: Ba-Matoran sounds good I guess, no idea why.

That's actually canon. From barometric pressure and its root term, which I forget lol. (Although I still would prefer Gar from the Kanohi Garai; that decision still doesn't make sense to me since the elemental Mask of Gravity was already established.)

gravitic (is that a word?)

Gravimetric is usually used. Gravitic might be an alternate though.And yeah, BioGio, that could work too. Actually a problem I'll run into doing polls will be that "Green Thumb" was used for a wide variety of different traits including that one in the original topic. It seems clear to me that most people like that term, so we could just poll the powers without that name attached to any one of them, and call Green Thumb whatever ends up winning. Thoughts?

[The Iron Toa]

(Although I still would prefer Gar from the Kanohi Garai; that decision still doesn't make sense to me since the elemental Mask of Gravity was already established.)

I guess there's more than one word for gravity in the Matoran language.

-- Gravity: Ba-Matoran sounds good I guess, no idea why. Jo-Matoran would also work though. (or Jov-). Sensing gravitic (is that a word?) fields would be my vote.

I don't think changes in gravity would come up in a Matoran's life enough for that to be useful.

[BioGio]

And yeah, BioGio, that could work too. Actually a problem I'll run into doing polls will be that "Green Thumb" was used for a wide variety of different traits including that one in the original topic. It seems clear to me that most people like that term, so we could just poll the powers without that name attached to any one of them, and call Green Thumb whatever ends up winning. Thoughts?

"Green Thumb" is actually a pretty specific term for "a skill for gardening" in specific. There's a lot of potential for confusion if the skill is unrelated to gardening (as I think it should be, given the lack of gardeners in the MU). (Plus, it's a US idiomatic term, so it may confuse non-native speakers and non-Americans.) Whatever power wins will probably have a potential name more along the lines of "heat resistance"--not necessarily a common phrase, but clear in meaning.~ BioGio

[bonesiii]

What makes you say there is a lack of gardeners in the MU? We've barely seen what things are like on the continents for example. And I can see the term applying to just about any skill with plants really. But we could poll that part of it too, separately, to be sure.

[BioGio]

We have yet to see any gardeners or gardens in the MU other than one in Mata Nui, where the Matoran had no option other than to grow materials for basic construction. Given the presence of greater technology in basically every other corner of the MU that we’ve seen, most Matoran weren’t making wooden dinghies. Further, the only use for plant matter (other than Mata Nui Matoran eating it in lieu of their typical “energy”) was eating a root medicine. Clearly, they weren’t growing plants in large amounts, but scavenging for them occurred.Finally, the Great Beings’ rationale for changing Jungle to Air was that there’s very little plant life in the MU. Emphasizing gardening would be rather useless; if the Great Beings deliberately decreased the presence of plants, they probably wouldn’t also include a talent that would increase it.The best way to approach this sort of a question is to assume that, if we haven’t seen it, it doesn’t exist/occur. One could easily say that we’ve never seen what life is like on the continents, so it’s too early to rule out the presence of Matoran eating a diet in line with ours. Sure, anything could happen, but we need to look at what has happened. And gardening isn’t one of those things.Also, the definition of “green thumb” is as follows:n. informal natural talent for growing plants: you don’t need a green thumb to grow them(Oxford American Dictionary, 2006).It’s all about gardening. We could redefine it, but it would just cause unnecessary confusion, especially among non-Americans and non-native speakers.

[fishers64]

For plants, maybe it's more like the ability to manipulate (crossbreed,etc) existing plants to make plants that produce healing or poisonous substances? Or other chemicals needed in the robot?

[bonesiii]

We have yet to see any gardeners or gardens in the MU other than one in Mata Nui

Ah, but not yet seeing (much of) it is not the same as there being a lack of it. Maybe semantics but I just wanna be clear, yeah? There's no reason to assume there aren't gardens in the MU. Especially of plants with medicinal value.

Finally, the Great Beings’ rationale for changing Jungle to Air was that there’s very little plant life in the MU.

Nevertheless, Plants Matoran probably live where there are plants, or cultivate their own, if their trait is some variant on green thumb, as would make sense. And we don't know that there's "very little" plants in the MU as a whole, especially the continents. Metru Nui didn't have a lot, so there it made sense to have Air Matoran instead of Plants. Xia and Zakaz don't have much plants, if any, but probably due to later problems in those cases. But Metru Nui did have some, especially in Ga-Metru, and Voya Nui had some, and plants have been described on several other islands as well.Two of the only images we have of either of the continents in fact shows widespread plants, BTW:Another shows Voya Nui going back to its old spot and I see no plants there, but then it's very sketchy and we know there were plants on Voya Nui.May be worth mentioning the vast swamp in Karda Nui; although Matoran of Plants would not live there, plants tend to spread by seeds through water flow, so those species are likely to have come from the continent above originally, through the waterfall made when Voya Nui left, but I could be wrong about that.Also, the GBs did keep the element of plants, unlike sand for example. In fact Metru Nui has a lot of sand, and that didn't warrant keeping that element around. They just "demoted" Plants from the main six elements, moving Air in instead.A quick survey of the Flora MU section on BS01 shows many plants, even some mentions for Xia and Zakaz in fact. Some of them might exist only on Mata Nui, but notice this quote from the Madu page:

Madu are small coconut-like fruit that grow on trees in jungles of the Matoran Universe, and previously all over the island of Mata Nui.

If there are plural jungles, then there's plenty of plant life for Plants Matoran to work with and cultivate into farms or gardens. And since Madu grow both in the MU and on Mata Nui, it would seem likely the other Mata Nui species do as well. The camouflage system probably generates the same types of life as those originally generated in the MU rather than random new forms. Either way, it's confirmed there are jungles, and we also know of parks (Metru Nui), forests (Voya), and others.

Mata Nui, where the Matoran had no option other than to grow materials for basic construction. Given the presence of greater technology in basically every other corner of the MU that we’ve seen, most Matoran weren’t making wooden dinghies.

Well this is less about gardening/green thumb than lumber and carpenting, but I wouldn't assume that. If Plants Matoran like woodworking as part of their trait, then there's no reason they couldn't build with that versus metal. Wood can actually be superior for boats in some ways, BTW, considering some kinds of it can float on their own whereas metal naturally wants to sink.

Further, the only use for plant matter (other than Mata Nui Matoran eating it in lieu of their typical “energy”) was eating a root medicine. Clearly, they weren’t growing plants in large amounts, but scavenging for them occurred.

Well, we know there were such machines as an option on Metru Nui. Do we know if they are commmon throughout the MU? I get the impression many places are less technological/industrial (though some are as much or more, like Xia). If there are places without such things, then they would either have to absorb energy from fruit (maybe other plants too) or Rahi.BTW, we should keep in mind that Rahi often do eat the way we do, and anyone who has tame Rahi may have a need for gardens/farmed food to keep their Rahi fed. Not sure if there's much evidence of keeping Rahi as domestic pets or work animals, but it's possible anyways.

Emphasizing gardening would be rather useless; if the Great Beings deliberately decreased the presence of plants, they probably wouldn’t also include a talent that would increase it.

What do you mean by decreased? They built the MU from scratch; any plants there were added from zero plants. But since we know plants can be of medicinal value, Matoran of Plants could garden those, since they would be needed sometimes. And it's not like Matoran of Plants are especially common anyways, nor would all of them HAVE to garden just because they (hypothetically) could have a talent at it.Let's say there are poisons that could be deadly quick, but having herbs that cure it handy could save a Matoran's life (or other beings). Then it would make sense for someone to cultivate the herbs and sell them, rather than just hoping that if they were needed you could travel to the nearest jungle and quickly find one (without getting eaten by a wild Rahi lol)... etc. Just one example, but the point is the medicinal value is one justification to have gardens that we know of, so that's a positive evidence for gardening and thus the standard meaning of Green Thumb.

The best way to approach this sort of a question is to assume that, if we haven’t seen it, it doesn’t exist/occur.

Not quite. You shouldn't assume there is a lack of gardening, is what I'm trying to say, just because you don't know of it. Rather, you should not assume that there is gardening. So your cautions here are valid, but don't make too much of it. It's perfectly plausible that Plants Matoran tend to manage gardens.Besides, this is all headcanoning anyways, so if people like to imagine Green Thumb and the gardens that could go with it they can, just as people can imagine magnetic fields throughout the MU so that the inner compass trait idea works. :)Edit: I was curious so I tried searching "garden" on BS01. Admittedly I only got one MU hit. This is from the serial Dwellers in Darkness:

The trip to Artidax was long, but uneventful.... The first thing Jaller noticed when they reached the island was a set of recent tracks. A number of older ones had been partially obscured by the actions of wind and tide, but these looked like they had been just made. Nearby, various bits of wood floated in the water, apparently the wreckage of a ship or boat....“I ‘escaped,’ as you put it, out of a desire to do my bit for Mata Nui,” Takadox answered, with a cold smile. “As for my fellow former rulers, they are no doubt rotting in cells by now, where they belong. But what brings you to this garden spot of the universe?”

Emphasis mine. What exactly he means by that is unclear; Artidax was uninhabited, but it shows he knows the concept of gardens. And it would seem wood implies boats in the MU.And as for plants being rare, here's a collection of canon images showing plenty of greenery:http://biosector01.c...MN_Ga-Metru.PNGhttp://biosector01.c...cking_Vahki.pnghttp://biosector01.c...reat_Temple.PNGhttp://biosector01.c...etru_Forest.pnghttp://biosector01.c...ion_Destral.pnghttp://biosector01.c...ion_Artakha.pnghttp://biosector01.c...tion_Daxia.pngThe impression I always got, and this only fuels it, is that the default state of most of the land in the MU is covered with plants, and that the more advanced things were built by clearing away any plants that were in the way, for homes and such. Metru Nui is a big exception mainly because the skyscrapers are connected to important systems relating to the brain functions of the giant robot. Likely there are other exceptions on the other lands, but the things Matoran made for themselves probably take up more space on the islands; previously those areas were probably wild. Edited July 4, 2012 by bonesiii

[BioGio]

Woodworking, huh? Actually, that would also make a lot of sense. It implies a good understanding of plant life and how to manipulate it, although it's more of a vocation than a skill. Still, I prefer that sort of thinking--talking about manipulating plant life (to make it easier to live in a place with a lot of it).I recall another reference in a book to a "garden of death" (but maybe that was on Spherus Magna?), so there are obviously a few gardens, but the narrative seems to be more aware of them than characters are (since it uses "garden" symbolically and to refer to the East Garden of Mata Nui, which wasn't really a garden).Also, by decreased I mean from their reference of Spherus Magna, so there's less in the MU than on Spherus Magna.~ BioGio

[bonesiii]

Also, by decreased I mean from their reference of Spherus Magna, so there's less in the MU than on Spherus Magna.

I see... well, it depends on how you define "how much" considering the whole MU is far smaller than Spherus Magna. Percentagewise for area of land (versus water), I'd say it seems about the same; the plants were cleared where homes and such were needed, or plants didn't grow atop mountains or in deserts etc. And considering Spherus Magna is (as far as we know) a natural planet while the MU is the inside of a robot, I'd say it's more astounding that there's far more than zero (percent of land with greenery) by comparison.Since they bothered to include plants inside their giant robot, they must have important functions, heh.

[Toa Turing]

I'm not sure about plasma, but I like the idea of Gravity matoran being more "resistant" to gravity, thus being able to jump higher, land softer, etc. I also like the idea of matoran of magnetism having an internal compass. I think Bo- would be a good prefix for matoran of the green.

[ALVIS]

Since they bothered to include plants inside their giant robot, they must have important functions, heh.

The GBs included a heck of a lot of things in their giant robot, to the point where one wonders how they fit it all inside in time. I can think of many things that weren't strictly necessary... Tren Krom comes to mind rather prominently, as well as the Zyglak.

[fishers64]

Since they bothered to include plants inside their giant robot, they must have important functions, heh.

The GBs included a heck of a lot of things in their giant robot, to the point where one wonders how they fit it all inside in time. I can think of many things that weren't strictly necessary... Tren Krom comes to mind rather prominently, as well as the Zyglak.

The Zyglak were a mistake, and Tren Krom turned out to be useful in the end, with his sending of things to the Mask of Life and all. Tren Krom might seem useless, but he was kind of a failsafe - he knew about the true nature of the universe and could reveal in an emergency, allowing the nanotech inside the robot to respond accordingly.A lot of things that weren't necessary were mistakes, or they were for a purpose that wasn't used, should it have been necessary. But the introduction of plants wasn't expressly harmful to the robot, and it did serve a purpose, even if it was only to protect the Matoran from malfunctioning interior lamps.

[bonesiii]

Since they bothered to include plants inside their giant robot, they must have important functions, heh.

The GBs included a heck of a lot of things in their giant robot, to the point where one wonders how they fit it all inside in time. I can think of many things that weren't strictly necessary... Tren Krom comes to mind rather prominently, as well as the Zyglak.

Tren Krom served a purpose, though. Who are we to say what is strictly necessary? Even the Zyglak were a byproduct of a useful system. We have never created a planet-fusing, star-traveling giant robot out of a strange substance with powers. But Plants is included in the list of elements the GBs created so I don't see how it would be comparable to Zyglak.The point I was trying to make is that we shouldn't just rely on our personal whims as to what superficially feels unneccessary as fans, when it comes to figuring out what makes sense in-story. Keeping in mind it's fiction so admittedly it's going to deviate from real plausibility at times, still, it's more fun to think of possible uses and the like. :)Actually one use for plants I can't believe I didn't think of is the very camouflage system I was mentioning earlier. It makes sense to have plants on a camouflage island, assuming other alien planets have them. Realistically, unrelated alien planets shouldn't, but fiction tends to ignore that (and there's always the possibility they're all related; besides, there's no Earth in Bionicle and it can still have plants so yeah). So, since the camouflage island makes them, it's reasonable to have a Toa power for it, and thus Matoran of it, etc.Although by that logic there really should be Toa/Matoran of Sand too. Ah well lol. Edited July 7, 2012 by bonesiii

[Wotz]

I think EW and someone came up with plasma Matoran naturally radiating heat, and having the prefix of Pa-.

[CeeCee]

What could the po and onu matorans do?

[fishers64]

What could the po and onu matorans do?

Po-Matoran have greater strength, and Onu-Matoran can see better in dim light.