Kankrelats (formerly known as Roachsters in Season 1, and also referred to as Roaches in the subtitled Code Lyoko Evolution) are the smallest and least intelligent of X.A.N.A.'s monsters on Lyoko. With only a small amount of Life Points, the Kankrelat is fairly easy to kill. It is mounted on four short legs, making it somewhat slow (although it is capable of moving very fast when needed). Its primary form of attack is a fairly unformidable laser beam that emits from the red eye below the monster's carapace, just above its legs. The Kankrelat is generally seen in groups of 5 and only rarely charge headlong into battle. They employ group tactics because of their individual weakness, chief of which being their extremely weak laser and their low HP. The greatest danger of fighting a Kankrelat lies in the fact that the monster is the smallest of all created by X.A.N.A., and is therefore difficult to locate and target. However, a Kankrelat's body is very frail, so much so that even if the Eye of X.A.N.A. symbol on their foreheads is not struck, the monster will be often destroyed. There are no cases in any episode where a Kankrelat survives a direct hit from a Lyoko Warrior.
Despite their apparent weakness, the Kankrelats are tricky opponents in battle, largely due to their trademark technique of charging lasers in unison and firing en masse at a Lyoko Warrior, producing a barrage of shots, difficult to dodge, and often dealing enough damage to devirtualize the Lyoko Warrior should every shot connect. They are also fairly fast and are able to evade the Laser Arrows and Tessen Fans shot at them by either jumping over them or moving aside. The Kankrelats are the first monsters in the show to be introduced and remain to be the most frequently encountered by the heroes throughout the first few seasons. This monster is not as difficult to defeat as some others and gets phased out more and more during the course of the show as it becomes less of a threat. However, X.A.N.A. often recycles the Kankrelat and it is used primarily in the later seasons for surgical strikes that surprise the Lyoko Warriors. Yumi paid dearly for her lack of attention in Bad Connection, in which a Kankrelat moved out of a nearby rock's cover while she was distracted and low on health, and successfully devirtualized her, something that a Kankrelat has never done outside of Seasons 1 and 2 otherwise.
From the second season onward, the Kankrelats became a form of comic relief in Code Lyoko.
- In "Attack of the Zombies", a Kankrelat tried to chase Aelita into a Tower, only to bounce off of the surface and fall on its side. It then proceeded to run in a circle without getting up.
- In "Ultimatum", three Kankrelats fall down an ice tunnel in a "Three Stooges" fashion. The first one stops in time to look down the tunnel, the second bumps into the first, and the third crashes into them, causing all three to fall into the tunnel, blasting randomly and hitting each other.
- In the episode "Double Trouble", one of XANA's clones causes bugs in Odd and Yumi's Avatars, leaving them immaterial on Lyoko. Despite the fact that their lasers passed right through Odd and Yumi, the Kankrelats continued to fire pointlessly for some time, eventually stopping and just circling their foes, passing right through them occasionally.
- Throughout the final three seasons, Kankrelats also tend to become the brunt of the warrior's physical jokes, such as being kicked around by Ulrich in "Tip-Top Shape" and Odd in "Double Trouble". On several occasions, they've been eliminated by friendly fire.
Evolution
In Jeremy's Blues, X.A.N.A. programmed a trio of Kankrelats to guard the activated tower, which immediately duplicated themselves after being destroyed. Yumi and William quickly defeated them but without knowing their new ability, their number quickly rose from three to six and efficiently pinned them down in their hiding spot, thus blocking access to the tower.
Trivia
- Kankrelats were the very first monsters seen in Code Lyoko, both in terms of production and chronology, appearing in Aelita's flashbacks.
- Kankrelats may not be nearly X.A.N.A.'s most powerful monsters, but their sneaky moves, agility, and easy cheap fabrication on XANA's part make them arguably the most versatile.
- Kankrelats are the only monster to be materialized during two different attacks:
- The first monsters to be materialized in the scanners, during False Start.
- Materialized as spectres in Hard Luck.
- According to the Code Lyoko page on TVTropes, Kankrelats have a similar appearance to that of an "Infection Form" in the Halo series.
- A Kankrelat can kill itself by hitting a barrier at a high speed the same way a Flying Manta can when it drags on the ground.
- In Hard Luck, Kankrelats are revealed to be Yumi's least favorite monster to fight.
- The name Kankrelat comes from the French word for cockroach, "Cancrelat." As tradition in Code Lyoko, many monsters with the letter C in their name have it replaced with K, in this case creating Kankrelat.
- In Code Lyoko Evolution, Krankelats appear in a more pale shade.
- Since Cruel Dilemma, they often travel in groups of five.
- The Kankrelat seems to have fairly low intelligence, eschewing cover and surprise for simple, frontal attacks that usually cost the squad of Kankrelats dearly. This is in contrast to other monsters, such as the Blok, which can and have done tactics such as encirclement, popping up from the ground, and pursuing Aelita specifically (although in a Season 1 episode, before the Scyphozoa first appeared)
- Kankrelats have the most team kills out of X.A.N.A.'s entire monster lineup.
- Ulrich has never been devirtualised by a Kankrelet.
Gallery
Prequel & Seasons 1-4
Evolution
Other
X.A.N.A.'s Monsters |
Lyoko |
Kankrelats | Hornet | Blok | Krab | Megatank | Creeper | Manta | Black Manta | Guardian | Tarantula | Scyphozoa | Kolossus |
Earth |
Spectre | Polymorphic Clone |
Digital Sea |
Kongre | Shark | Kalamar |
Video games only |
Cyberhopper | Exploding Roachsters | Scorpion | Insekt | Dark Monster | Volcanoid | Ubertank | Omegatank | Mountain Bug | Insekt Lord | Ice Spider | Desert Driller | Magma Worm |