Palom

Palom is a playable character in Final Fantasy IV. He is a Black Mage from Mysidia, and he trains together with his twin sister, Porom. He is described as a show-off, and is very casual, even to adults. He even describes himself as "The Mysidian Genius." This, combined with his inflated ego, causes him to get a little out of hand, leading to Porom having to settle him down, either using words, slapping him in the face, or yanking him by his ponytail. His precocious nature, along with his basic youth, would set the stage for several young boys to succeed his role (namely, the characters of Gau, Vivi, and Hope).

Final Fantasy IV
Palom and Porom first meet Cecil Harvey when he visits Mysidia after being attacked by Leviathan. Their Elder asks if they would accompany Cecil and help him on his quest to become a Paladin. However, the Elder also ordered them to spy on Cecil to make sure he would not do anything stupid, and to make sure his intentions are pure. They accompanied him to Mount Ordeals. There, they met Tellah the sage, who had been searching for the legendary magic Meteor, which would help him defeat Golbez. Tellah agreed to help them as well. When they reached the top of the mountain, however, they met Scarmiglione of Earth, one of Golbez's Elemental Archfiends. Scarmiglione attacked them, but they were able to defeat him twice. After this, they arrived at a room full of mirrors. A mysterious light, who referred to Cecil as "my son," commanded him to take a sword, which transformed him into a Paladin. However, Cecil had to overcome his former feelings of hatred by battling himself. He succeeded, and became a full fledged Paladin. Tellah also learned Meteor at this time.

Cecil, Tellah, Palom, and Porom returned to Mysidia, where the Elder congratulated them. He also spoke of the Mysidian Legend of the sword Cecil now wielded, and how only a Chosen One could wield it. Cecil then agreed to defeat Golbez. He then asked the Elder to open the Devil's Road that leads to Baron, and the Elder obliged. Palom and Porom, who were finished with their mission, wished to help Cecil as well, and the elder, although reluctant at first, agreed to let them do so.

In Baron, Cecil and his friends learned that Cid Pollendina had created a new airship, but was arrested when he refused to let the king see it. Cecil tried to enter the castle, however, the guards would not let him enter. He overheard that a Karate Man was invited to be an officer in Baron, and that he was hanging out at the inn. Cecil went there, and found out that it was, in fact, Yang Fang Leiden. Yang ordered the guards to attack Cecil, and then attacked him himself. However, Cecil was able to snap Yang back to reality, and Yang realized that he was under the control of the king of Baron the whole time. Yang then rejoined the party, and found the Key of Baron in his pocket, which the party then used to enter Baron Castle via the Ancient Waterway.

Cecil's party reached the castle, and met up with Baigan there. Baigan tells Cecil that he is not under Golbez's control, and that he is loyal only to the King of Baron. He offers to help Cecil, and Cecil accepts the help. However, Palom and Porom smell a monster in the area, and point Baigan out as the monster. Cecil's party then fights Baigan, and Palom and Porom warn Cecil to tread lightly around Baron. Cecil then proceeds to meet the king, who is upset that Cecil became a Paladin. However, when Cecil mentions the king of Baron's true name, the king lets out that he killed the real king, and Cecil then demands that the king reveal himself. It turned out that the king was in fact Cagnazzo, the Archfiend of Water. Cecil's party then fought Cagnazzo and won. Cid escaped prison after this, and greeted Cecil enthusiastically. Cid then joined Cecil's party. However, Cagnazzo had one last trick up his sleeve. When Cecil tried to escape, the walls began to cave in. Palom and Porom had to save Cecil's party by petrifying themselves. Tellah tried to heal them, but to no avail.

Palom and Porom are later healed by the elder, who takes them to the battle with the Giant of Babil. After the battle, they pray in the Tower of Wishes in Mysidia for Cecil. In the ending, Palom cuts his magic classes to flirt with a girl about his role in the story. Porom finds him and yells at him. When she brings him before the elder, the elder scolds him and gives him extra homework.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years


Since Tellah's passing, Palom aspired to follow in Tellah's footsteps. However, he is fed up with Mysidian elders treating him like a child in spite of being almost an adult, causing a rift between him and Porom as he intends to leave the rigid Mysidia in order to travel abroad and become a Great Sage himself. He takes Leonora in as his apprentice at the Tower of Knowledge. Then they were attacked by the Mysterious Maiden where she steals one of the dark crystals. However, neither Palom or Leonora are aware that Izayoi, one of the Elblan Four, has disguised herself as one of the priestesses, witnessing the whole chaos. Palom and Leonora were later rescued by Rydia's party after Troia was defrosted and consequently joined them to put an end to the Maiden's madness. During the ending, he is last seen in Mysidia with Porom, where the Elder grants them joint position as new leaders.

Equipment and Stats
Palom is a Black Mage, and thus his equipment is weighted toward magic. He can equip rods, bows, and arrows, as well as hats, tunics, hoods, and robes.

Final Fantasy IV
Palom can use Black Magic, and learns his spells at a faster rate than Rydia due to her focus on Summon magic. He learns every Black Magic spell in the game. In the DS release, he learns a few of his spells at different levels but stills learns his spells faster than Rydia. Palom ability Bluff boosts his Intelligence and thus the damage done by his Black Magic. In the Gameboy Advance release, the boost from Bluff stacks with several uses, increasing Intelligence each time. In the DS release, Bluff only lasts a short time, typically only a turn or two. Palom also can use the Twincast attack, which allows him to cast spells with his sister Porom. The two can cast Pyroblast, Comet, and in the Gameboy Advance release, Double Meteor if the two are equipped with the Twin Stars.

The After Years
In The After Years, Palom retrains the ability to learn Black Magic, and as in Final Fantasy IV he learns his later spells faster than Rydia. He also retains his Bluff ability. In the Depths, it is possible to teach Dualcast to Palom, Porom, or Leonora. However, only one one of the three can learn it. In a flashback both Palom and Porom retain their Twincast ability, but during normal gameplay it is treated as a Band ability and is learned from an event in the Subterrane of the True Moon in the Final Tale. Palom can use the following Band abilities:
 * A Little Black Magic: Palom (Black Magic) + Leonora (Black Magic)
 * Particle Bomb: Palom + Leonora (Event)
 * Twincast: Palom + Porom (Event)
 * Thunderstorm: Palom (Black Magic) + Rydia (Black Magic)
 * Makeshift Cannon: Palom (Black Magic) + Luca (Big Throw) + Ursula (Kick) + Ceodore (Attack) + Porom (White Magic)
 * Infinity: Palom (Black Magic) + Rydia (Black Magic) + Porom (White Magic) + Rosa (White Magic) + Leonora (White Magic)
 * Rapid Fire: Palom (Black Magic) + Ceodore (Attack) + Tsukinowa (Attack)
 * Tri-Disaster: Palom (Black Magic) + Rydia (Black Magic) + Leonora (Black Magic)
 * Break Breaker: Palom (Black Magic) + Porom (White Magic) + Cecil (Attack)
 * Palom in the Sky: Palom (Bluff) + Leonora (Black Magic) + Porom (White Magic) + Luca (Big Throw)
 * Ice Crush: Palom + Leonora + Luca (Event)

Musical Themes
Palom and Porom share a theme, which is simply called "Palom and Porom".

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
Paloms can be summoned by Mira when purchased as downloadable content. He takes on his appearance from The After Years. Any number of copies of Palom can be summoned at once. He is the most powerful magic summon. His speed is Normal, and he takes up one slot when summoned. Ability: Slow.

Virtual World
Users in Square-Enix Members Virtual World community can make their character appear as Palom, as well as his sister Porom. However his name is misspelled as "Parom."

Trivia

 * Palom and Porom make a small cameo in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a tutor from the in-game manuals.
 * In Final Fantasy IX, a vendor in Lindblum is called "Polom's Action Figures". This could be a combination of both the twins' names, or an alternate romanization of Porom, since L and R are the same in Japanese.
 * It is interesting to note that both Palom and Porom are seen wearing an identical amulet in their artwork, except that Palom's is red and Porom's is green. They still wear these in their art for The After Years.
 * In a developer's interview with Takashi Tokita about the The After Years, Tokita said that although he could not pick a favorite character, he was particularly fond of both Palom and Porom. One of the reasons being that they have aged and evolved as characters since their appearance in Final Fantasy IV.
 * Palom and Porom are the youngest playable Humans in the series.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII one of the major cities is named "Palumpolum", a reference to the twins.