Hailing from a long lost tribe of vastaya, 
Neeko can blend into any crowd by borrowing the appearances of others, even absorbing something of their emotional state to tell friend from foe in an instant. No one is ever sure where—or who—Neeko might be, but those who intend to do her harm will soon witness her true colors revealed, and feel the full power of her primordial spirit magic unleashed upon them.
 | "The Oovi-Kat are gone. Neeko must build her own tribe, now." — Neeko |
 |
Background[]
Early Life[]
Neeko is a vastaya born in the Oovi-Kat tribe, who lived on a remote island far to the east of Valoran. The Oovi-Kat retained most of their ancient heritage, tracing their lineage back to the vastayashai'rei—the ancestors of all vastaya. The Oovi-Kat lived in a peaceful and harmonious paradise that blended into the spirit realm. Because of this, the Oovi-Kat had a talent in sensing the Sho'ma, or 'soul' of living beings, creating a society free of secrets. Neeko grew up in this tribe with a fondness for games and trinkets, growing a sense of innocence and curiosity for all things.
Cataclysm[]
When an undisclosed cataclysm devastated the Oovi-Kat, the elders of the tribe sacrificed themselves to allow some of the remaining vastaya to escape with their lives. Neeko, being among them, took the form of a bird and fled the smoldering destruction as her home faded into the border between realms.
Days later, Neeko became exhausted and clung to a plank of driftwood in the ocean. She eventually came across a mercantile vessel travelling for Harelport and crept aboard, resting where she could and calling into the spirit realm for her tribe. The only response she could get were scattered echoes and images of dead trees laying over the horizon.
Arrival In Harelport[]
When the vessel arrived in the city, Neeko emerged in an unfamiliar world bustling with unique personalities and shapes that were completely alien to her. Neeko became entranced with curiosity and wandered with awe, eventually being spotted by a vastayan sailor named Krete. He demanded to know what tribe she was a member of and, in response, Neeko reached into his Sho'ma and mimicked his appearance; an expression of friendliness and peace in Oovi-Kat culture. Krete became offended and frightened by Neeko's shapeshifting and, overwhelmed by his thoughts, Neeko fled into the crowd.
Encounter with Nidalee[]
Neeko eventually traveled out of Harelport and into the lush jungles of 
Ixtal. Seeking solace, she spotted a pack of pakaa from the trees; fierce and majestic jungle cats native to the forests. By taking their form, Neeko ran with them across the jungles. While enjoying this cougar-like form she took, the leader of this pack unexpectedly shapeshifted into a seemingly human woman named 
Nidalee. After a tense standoff, Nidalee reluctantly accepted Neeko into her pack.
Living within the pack, Neeko and Nidalee became inseparable as some sort of relationship blossomed between them, feeling a deep sense of kinship for Nidalee. For months, Nidalee enjoyed mentoring Neeko in the art of survival within the jungles and the two enjoyed wandering the wilds together.[1] Though Neeko began to feel intense romantic feelings for her new friend, these feelings went mostly unrequited, though still blossoming with lots of potential.
Though Nidalee despised the towns and cities of the civilized people, Neeko constantly felt an urge to curiously explore them and she longed to explore more of the world outside of the jungles. One night, Neeko's Oovi-Kat ancestors came to her in a dream, showing her the pale branches of dead trees and acting as an omen of warning to Neeko of the danger her people are in. With this, Neeko vowed to recreate the Oovi-Kat as an entirely new tribe of her own, wishing to venture out to pursue this personal journey. Though she urged Nidalee to join her, she could not be persuaded and the two parted ways to follow their own quests.
Modern History[]
Neeko continued her journey to rebuild the Oovi-Kat in her own way, welcoming all beings whether they be like-hearted vastaya, yordles, humans and other creatures. Those that join her tribe are easily befriended by Neeko, who in turn vows to defend their sho'ma with her own life.
While travelling, Neeko found herself at a 
Noxian Outpost at Kalduga. Curious to see if the Noxians were friendly, she snuck into the outpost and took the form of Ewaii, one of the patrolling soldiers at the outpost. While disguised, Ewaii's commander Yubbers began to yell commands at Neeko under the impression that she was in fact Ewaii.
Neeko then took a mote of Yubber's sho'ma, shifting her shape into his and confusing the soldiers even more. Eventually, Neeko got caught by the actual Yubbers and disappeared into a crowd of people while changing her shape. Mayhem ensued as the guards began to accuse one another and kill each other out of fear as Neeko snuck away. The soldiers abandoned the outpost completely, each going their separate ways and uncertainty of who was secretly Neeko all along.[2]
Recent Events[]
At some point, Neeko got captured by a band of 
Piltovan poachers led by 
7 Captain Rowain. These poachers sought to catch and eventually sell exotic creatures of the jungles in hopes of making a large profit. A scientist who had been hired by the poachers named 3 Anura, alongside her pet frog Froop, felt sympathy for the captured vastaya and devised a massive escape plan to free her.[3]
Successfully freed from her capture by the poachers, Neeko found herself back in the jungles and reunited with her old friend Nidalee. Neeko warned Nidalee of the poachers and the two planned to drive them out of the jungle. Under the cover of night, Nidalee and Neeko ambushed the poachers' encampment alongside the rest of the pakaa pack and some 6 other wildlife, driving them out of the forests.[4]
Appearance[]
Neeko is a female vastaya that has a teen-like appearance and some characteristics of a chameleon, like scales and reptile eyes. She has very colorful hair with glands sprouting out of her head which she uses to capture others' Sho'ma. She wears tribal clothes and walks barefoot.
Personality[]
Neeko has a very jovial and fun-going personality. She is somewhat innocent and unaware the dangers that surround her. She does not comprehend most of human society and relationships, and some of the words, so she usually creates chaotic scenarios thanks to her naivety.
Abilities[]
- Vastayan Physiology: Neeko is a Vastaya, an ancient race of demi-humans changed by magic of the Spirit Realm. This connection to the Spirit Realm has increased their longevity and granted them powerful magics, allowing them to live for centuries. Neeko is a member of the Oovi-Kat tribe of vastaya; reptilian vastaya that resemble chameleons.
Spiritual Magic: Because the Oovi-Kat retained most of their heritage directly connected to the Vastayashai'rei, Neeko has strong ties to the Spirit Realm and access to lots of magical abilities tied to it. She can utilize this is many different ways, such as firing blasts of energy at her opponent, restraining enemies with vine-like energies or creating a burst of colorful flowers to damage and blind enemies.
- Shapeshifting: By reaching into a person's Sho'ma, or their 'soul' according to Oovi-Kat culture, Neeko can instantly take the appearance of any being who has a soul. When Neeko shapeshifts into someone, she can tap into their inner feelings and memories but is unable to access their abilities.
- Spiritual Reading: Neeko can inherently see the Sho'ma of living beings, or their 'soul.' Because of this, she can sense the inner feelings of beings around her and can see the true intentions and emotions of others, granting her a strong sense of empathy.
- Illusion Creation: Neeko can create perfect duplicates of herself that last for a short amount of time before fizzling away, allowing her to deceive and confuse opponents.
Relations[]
Nidalee[]
Neeko has spent some time with Nidalee and her pack. Though Nidalee wouldn't aid her in her further quests, they parted on relatively positive terms. Neeko is in love with Nidalee, and while the romantic feelings were unreturned, their interpersonal relationship is beginning to blossom.[5][6] The two care for each other deeply and Neeko is perhaps the only person outside of her family whom Nidalee would risk her life for.
Ezreal[]
Neeko mimicked Ezreal in the jungle during his search for The Elixir of Uloa.
Read More
Biography
Starring Champion
Mentioned Champion
Alternate Universes
Trivia[]
- Neeko is a few hundred years old, but her maturity is at the level of someone in their late teens or early twenties.[7]
- She may be about 180 years old.[8]
- Neeko is NOT a Vastayashai'rei.
- Neeko is not a pure Vastayashai’rei, but she is closer to it than most of the other vastaya. The Oovi-Kat tribe splintered off from the vastaya tribes very early and have largely lived in isolation, so their magic is more pure and ancient than other vastaya. There is very, very little human blood in Neeko’s lineage.[9]
- It is revealed that Neeko being a Vastayashai'rei was a mistake in the script.[10]
- The Oovi-Kat looked at the shedding tails as milestones in maturity, like birthdays. This does not occur annually, but is linked to growth in the spiritual realm.[11] Neeko is currently on her fourth tail.
- The flowers on her head are actually beautiful glands, like the pineal gland, which allow Neeko to sense and interact with people's Sho'Ma.[12]
- Her favorite food is cheese bread.[13]
- This is a reference to pão de queijo, Brazilian cheese bread, because her voice actress is Brazilian.
- Neeko is better, faster at shapeshifting than other Vastaya types thanks to her more powerful connection to magic and being attracted to an animal spirit that is good at changing. Neeko could change her appearance dramatically in 2 seconds and hold it for several days.[14][15] Neeko's size when shape shifting is only limited by the immensity of her shoma. She could become an exact replica of Galio but wouldn't be able to hold it for long.[16]
- Neeko has lines showing romantic interest in female champions and was confirmed by her writer, Matt "FauxSchizzle" Dunn, to be the first known lesbian champion.[17]
Change log[]
| Character blurb | |
|---|---|
| Added. | |
References[]
- ↑ The Bestial Huntress
- ↑ The Monster of Kalduga Outpost
- ↑ Flavour Text for "Anura & Froop (Legends of Runeterra)"
- ↑ Flavour Text for "Nidalee (Legends of Runeterra)"
- ↑ Neeko and Nidalee
- ↑ Heart of the Huntress: Nidalee Deep Dive
- ↑ Neeko's age
- ↑ Vastaya's age
- ↑ Oovi-Kat are Vastaya
- ↑ Retconned lineage
- ↑ Oovi-Kat and their tails
- ↑ Neeko's head flowers
- ↑ Ask Riot: Neeko Edition
- ↑ Vastaya Humans vs Vastaya Inhumans
- ↑ Vastaya's furry appearance
- ↑ Neeko's size limit
- ↑ Neeko homosexual confirmation
