Montblanc

Montblanc is a recurring character in the Ivalice Alliance. He is a hard working moogle, and in all his appearances, he is in charge of a clan. He is the oldest one of six Moogle siblings, the others being Nono, Hurdy, Gurdy, Horne, and Sorbet, also known as the "moogle brothers".

Final Fantasy XII
In Final Fantasy XII, Montblanc is the leader of a clan in the city of Rabanastre, which the player can join. The clan, called Clan Centurio, is a clan devoted to hunting marks of extreme difficulty. By joining Clan Centurio, the player will gain access to the clan shop, as well as being able to find bills not found on common pubs. In the Clan's headquarters, Montblanc stands at the top of the stairs on the banister in the middle, with the clan's founding members and trusty friends Krjn and Ma'kenroh behind him.

Over time, Montblanc reveals his founding of the clan is due to his master who taught him and his five siblings the ways of world and they all looked up to him. But after Yiazmat took away the man and killed him, Montblanc started Clan Centurio, to find the strongest warrior to fight Yiazmat and avenge his master.

You could also get Montblanc's sprite for Sky Pirate's Den, by getting a monster chain of over 50. The title for this sprite is The Unrelenting.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
He is Marche Radiuju's most prominent ally in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, his first appearance. Prior to Marche's arrival he is the leader of the clan which eventually becomes Clan Nutsy. When Marche is teleported to the dream Ivalice by the Gran Grimoire, he incites the wrath of two pugnacious Bangaa. Montblanc arrives on the scene in time to guide Marche through the systems of laws and engagements and helps him win the battle with the Bangaa as a guest. After the battle and the introduction of the clan, he will become a playable character.

At the beginning of the game, he mostly introduces the elements of Ivalice, including Judge Points and clan battles. At the game, he mostly encourage and gives some advice to Marche. He doesn't have appear at cut scenes anymore when the player continues the game after the main story has ended.

Montblanc seems to have expected Marche's appearance, explaining to the Bangaa that Marche had "just come in from the country". The Moogle is then suprised to learn of Marche's story and his ignorance of the races of Ivalice, but invites the foreigner into Clan Nutsy anyway. He also said that their meeting was "no accident". Whether Montblanc decided to help Marche because he genuinely knew of his arrival in Ivalice or because he simply wanted to help a stranger in need is not clear.

After the mission "Desert Peril" is finished, he tells Marche that he believes in the "crystal theory", a theory about the existence of crystals. According to the theory that he believed, the crystals were made by magic. He wasn't really sure that it was true until the mission "Twisted Flow", where Marche had entered a portal to a crystal room, which was guarded by Famfrit.

As a storyline character, he may not be dispatched on any missions. Montblanc can be removed permanently from the game by letting him die in a Jagd, despite Montblanc's presence in the story. A short scene will occur with Marche saying goodbye to his friend. There are two different scenes, at the usual scene, Montblanc said that he's sorry to leave but it was a good life. At the first Jagd mission, Marche called Montblanc to go to Baguba port, but Montblanc became quiet. Both of the scenes have Marche calling his name two times, Montblanc disappearing and Marche facing away from him.

Before Mewt Randell reads the Grimoire so Ivalice would turn back into St. Ivalice, Montblanc says that he will tell Marche's farewell and his thanks to everyone because Marche didn't have time to do so. After that Marche says that he would never gotten that far without him and hugs him.

Mission #089 "Moogle Bride" is the only mission that made Montblanc the center of attention (which he is the only unit that cannot be removed). The petitioner was Mogumi, a townsgirl who invited him to Materiwood to explain her feelings. But when Clan Nutsy arrived at Materiwood, it ends up to be a trick created by Reaker, a Mog Knight from Clan Rose. At this battle, the song Painful Battle is played. This mission only appeared after the game has been completed. There is also a similar mission from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift named "A Bride for Montblanc", while the Japanese name is the same as the Tactics Advance one.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift


Montblanc returns as a playable character in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. His first official appearance is in the encounter "I'm Back, Kupo!" at Fluorgis. While Luso Clemens is waiting for Hurdy, he bumps into a pair of Bangaa. The two angry Bangaa begin to walk away, but then turn around and angrily accuse Luso of stealing a magick medallion from one of them. After a brief exchange, Montblanc arrives and points out that the Bangaa merely dropped his medallion on the floor, and the situation is soon diffused. Right after Montblanc leaves, Hurdy arrives very late and hears a summary of the encounter from Luso. Hearing that, Hurdy said that the moogle sounded like his brother, who would never stand by and watch a bully. The scene in which Montblanc first appears is humorously similar to the one where he first appeared in the first Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.





Montblanc also appears as a golden statue at the southeast corner of Luso's journal (along with his siblings) after completing 50 missions. His pose at the statue is like his pose at Tactics Advance, which is holding a book with his right hand.

In order to recruit him, the player must obtain the Gigas Pendant, Earrings of the Dead, and the Pin of Order, and must have completed the game. The quest "Wanted: Friends, Kupo!" (仲間募集クポ Nakamaboshuu Kupo) will then appear at a pub, which the location is at Baptiste Hill, right at the Boulderfall. Montblanc was seeking these rare items, but upon seeing that Luso already has all of them he decides to give up on his treasure hunt and joins the clan for his stay in Jylland. When Hurdy asks him if it's all right for him to leave Clan Centurio unattended for his brief stay in Jylland, Montblanc claims that Bansat will take care of things. At that mission he tells Luso and Hurdy that he used to have the Gigas Pendant (similar to Marche's pendant at Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which could only been seen at his artwork) himself a long, long time ago, but as a replica. It was with him the whole time, until it was lost. He was shocked, but then recovered, deciding to go on a search to replace his replica with the real thing.

thumb|200px|left|Montblanc's Recruitment

While it is unsurprising that he interacts with Hurdy when recruited, it seems a little odd that he doesn't interact with Vaan and Penelo, given that they are extremely prominent members of Clan Centurio. It should also be noted that, while joining Clan Centurio in Final Fantasy XII is technically optional, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 seems to take it as a given that Vaan and Penelo joined it (see here for evidence in favour of this).

The soliloquy performed by Montblanc when he is knocked out is "Kupo-po. Ah, old friend. Is that you...?". While only speculation, this could be taken to be a reference to Marche, implying that Montblanc has some memory of the events of Tactics Advance, despite the fact that Tactics Advance's version of Ivalice wasn't the "real" Ivalice. Alternatively, it could be a reference to his master who was killed by Yiazmat. This makes more sense because his master had once appeared at the same Ivalice that is in Grimoire of the Rift.

A side story of "Wanted: Friends, Kupo!" is "A Bride for Montblanc". The petitioner is Cois (フランソア Furansoa lit. Francois or Francoise), Maiden of the Wood. But when Clan Gully arrives at Ruins of Delgantua; right at the Hall of Kings, it appears that Cois isn't real. It was actually a Viera named Fras, the person Montblanc had defeated at a clan tourney. She had claimed that her clan had drugged the other contestants with an elixir, but then Montblanc's clan had arrived unannounced and claimed the victor's mantle. Because of this, she wanted to kill Montblanc for vengance.

In the Side Story
In a side story to Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Chapter 4: Hurdy Heads for the Hills, Montblanc is mentioned as one who gives encouragement to his younger brother Hurdy to travel the world. He also asked Hurdy to bring back the rare and expensive vintage wine called Prudence - which is one of the wines found in Vagrant Story's Leá Monde — which Hurdy thinks is ridiculous, since Montblanc doesn't seem to drink wine. He also can't ride on chocobos according to Gurdy's Section, which probably explains why Montblanc can't turn into the Chocobo Knight class.

Sprite Appearances
Montblanc has some minor appearances as a sprite. He was never mentioned by anyone each time this easter egg occurs. Below are the times when Montblanc's sprite appears.


 * 1) The Wood Village Pub right after the first mission.
 * 2) The same location right after the second mission.
 * Pub, after completing mission "Wanted: Ugohr".
 * Pub, when Adelle and Illua first met.
 * Pub, after completing mission "Seeking the Stone".

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
In the first mission "Lizard Men!?", Montblanc gets to be a Black Mage, and after the mission he could change his job into a Thief or an Animist. He equips a Rod and a Hempen Robe.

Below are his stats during the mission "Lizard Men!?". During the battle, if Montblanc has been hit or KOed, he will regain full HP whenever he talks to Marche.

After the first mission has been completed, Montblanc's stats will slightly change. (The stats that are changed will be in bold text. Decreased stats will be in red )

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
He joins the clan as a Black Mage, equipped with a Chill Rod and Magick Robe, and the spells Fire, Fira, Firaga, Thunder, Thundara, and Thundaga already mastered. He could gain access to all jobs if following the criteria, except for the Chocobo Knight job. This is the same case with Hurdy because of their unique sprites. Montblanc could also not be a Chocobo Knight because he can't ride a chocobo, as it was explained in the sidestory.

Music
In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, his main theme is Teach Me, Mont Blanc. It was mostly used at Montblanc's appearances.

Virtual World
Montblanc has been seen in Square-Enix Members Virtual World community.

Trivia

 * He was the first moogle to have hair on his head instead of fur, with a different color. This was followed by Hurdy, Gurdy, and Sorbet.
 * At the Final Fantasy XII Pins merchandise, he is pin No. 13. He is also featured in a bonus card.
 * He was one of the few Moogles ever seen using their wings. In this case, Montblanc used his wings at mission "Wanted: Friends, Kupo!" in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.

Etymology
Mont Blanc means "white mountain" in French, and is the name of the tallest mountain in the Alps, which is located at the French-Italian border.

Montblanc is the name of a sweet chestnut pastry, which is popular among Japan. This may reference that he leads clan Nutsy in the first Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, his appearance (orange pom-pom, blond hair, and tan fur) and the nuts hanging from his staff in his artwork for Grimoire of the Rift.