Ancient Sirehound
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Appears in | Pikmin 4 | ||
| Scientific name | Deicanis perditum | ||
| Family | Unknown | ||
| Areas | None | ||
| Caves | Cavern for a King | ||
| Night expeditions | None | ||
| Dandori Challenge stages | None | ||
| Dandori Battle stages | None | ||
| Attacks | Eat, crush, ram, cause stalactites to fall, freeze Pikmin, launch snowy furballs, breath ice, electrocute Pikmin, create electric furballs, create electric arcs, burn Pikmin, create burning furballs, create rings of fire, create Gloom, cause panic | ||
The Ancient Sirehound (ヤタノワスレイヌ?, lit.: "Large Forgotten Dog") is the final boss in Pikmin 4. It is a giant space dog very similar to Oatchi and Moss, speculated by Yonny and Olimar to be the ancestor of all space dogs. They theorize that its descendants evolved to become smaller and were somehow dispersed across the universe, eventually becoming modern space dogs.
While it is said to be rather gentle in most cases, Louie makes it his mount and drives it into a rampage, complicating the Rescue Corps' attempts to get the cell sample they need to reverse the leaf growth on Oatchi's tail.
On the 20th sublevel of the Cavern for a King, the Rescue Corps confront Louie, who tells them to go home before mounting the Ancient Sirehound and starting the boss battle. When defeated, the Ancient Sirehound loses consciousness and drops the Gift of Friendship and Louie, but quickly wakes up and runs away.
Just like the other final bosses in the Pikmin series, the path up to and the fight with the Ancient Sirehound requires the knowledge and use of multiple Pikmin types
Stats[edit]
| Weight | Max. carriers |
Seeds | Value | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9000 per phase (45000 in total) |
Behavior[edit]
Before the fight[edit]
Before the fight even begins with the Ancient Sirehound, it can be found slouching towards the opposite end of the sublevel, with Louie standing between it and the player. It will be facing the opposite direction from the player, and when the player gets close enough to Louie, a cutscene will begin. During this cutscene, he will run underneath the Sirehound's fur after he's done speaking, then the Sirehound will stand up, turn around, and roar, brightening the sublevel.
General[edit]
Unlike other enemies and bosses in the Pikmin series, the Ancient Sirehound's fight has multiple phases, each with their own health bar. Whilst they all have additional behaviors depending on the phase, this subsection will describe shared behaviors between all of them.
The Ancient Sirehound rarely walks to manoeuvre around the arena, instead opting to either charge ahead, similar to Oatchi and Moss' Rush skill, or leaping from one spot to another. Alternatively, it will remain in one spot and use ranged attacks instead, such as in its second and fourth phase. It is able to walk however, which can be seen in its third phase.
When charging ahead, a sound cue can be heard, alerting the player that the Sirehound is about to run forward. This sound cue is a deepened version of the cue played when Oatchi or Moss charge up their Rush skill. Once fully charged, which takes about 3 seconds, it will run forward until it either reaches the edge of the arena, or if it hits a stalactite (during its first phase). If any Pikmin are caught in its path, it will quickly eat them up – if Pikmin are caught in its mouth, it will near-immediately stop running to eat them, taking a few seconds.
When leaping across the arena, it will take a couple of seconds to charge up before jumping a long distance towards its target. After it lands, if the player is behind the Sirehound, it will do a small hop and turn to face the player directly (which is also does after its finished running).
The first step in making the Sirehound vulnerable involves throwing at least 15 Pikmin onto its tail (it has a weight of 15 units, so at least 2 Purple Pikmin could be used). When enough Pikmin are latched onto its tail, it will turn it towards the right-side of its body before looking at it, then the Sirehound will briefly chase its tail. It will then tire out and fall onto its back, revealing its weak spot — its belly. Once enough time or damage has passed or been dealt, it will knock off all Pikmin before jumping back onto its two feet. Once all of its health has been defeated, sans the final phase, it will also jump back onto its feet before switching phases, which takes a second or so.
First phase[edit]
The first phase is the only phase where no elemental hazards are used. Its main method of attack involves either rushing forward or attempting to jump and crush the player. Unique to this phase however, every time it does a jump, upon its landing multiple large, rocky stalactite will fall to the ground. These obstacles, unlike the smaller, white ones found in icy caves cannot be destroyed by Pikmin. Instead, they can only be destroyed by the Sirehound either by running into them or crushing them when landing. If it runs into a stalactite, it will bang its head, making it woozy for a few seconds. A "bonk" sound can be heard when its head is hit.
Second phase[edit]
The second phase has the Sirehound use ice attacks. Specifically, it gains 2 new attacks; the first attack lets it create and shoot out 5 large snowball-boulders, and the second attack has it shoot out a powerful icy-breath, similar to Snowy Blowhogs and Blizzarding Blowhogs.
For the snowball attack, it first charges up before doing a spin. Near the end of this spin, 5 snowballs will be created close to its body in random locations, before being shot forwards. These snowballs will bounce off the edges of the arena, and they will be destroyed after hitting the edges multiple times, or they will instantly shatter when then hit the Sirehound.
For the icy-breath attack, it will shoot out a beam of ice, which is capable of reaching the edge of the arena, before slowly turning in one direction. Any snowballs caught in this beam will be knocked around, causing some to rapidly increase in speed. Once the Ancient Sirehound is finished with its icy-breath attack, it may use its running attack against any leaders or Pikmin that are still frozen.
Third phase[edit]
The third phase turns the Sirehound electrical. It loses the 2 newly-gained ice attacks, but it gains 3 electrical ones instead. The first new attack lets it generate 3 electrical furballs, which it shoots off towards a random spot in the arena. These fur-balls shoot out 4 straight lines of electricity, in a cross shape, which will slowly rotate. Unlike the snowballs from the previous phase, these fur-balls can be destroyed – though they are electrically-charged, so any Pikmin not resistant to electricity will be damaged. The more damaged the Sirehound is, the more fur-balls it will create. Specially, it can make up to 5 fur-balls when low enough.
The second attack is similar to its running attack, but it is notably much faster and can electrocute leaders and Pikmin, although it won’t eat them. The Ancient Sirehound may use this attack if the player does not get hit by the fur-balls and is a distance away from it.
The third attack it has lets it create 3 electrical fields around itself. The locations of the fields will be briefly marked out on the floor before actually becoming electrical. During this attack, the Sirehound will be stuck in one place. Aside from that, the Sirehound will walk around the area, as well as running and jumping.
The Ancient Sirehound will use its running attack on any leaders or Pikmin that are electrocuted.
Fourth phase[edit]
The fourth phase is the Sirehound's fiery phase, where it uses fiery attacks. The first attack it gains access to are a fiery version of the fur-balls. However, these will remain idle after being launched, only becoming dangerous if damaged by the next attack the Sirehound gains: fiery shockwaves.
These fiery shockwaves travel along the floor, and form a near complete circle – a part of the shockwave will have a gap in it, allowing the player to pass through without needing to jump over them with Oatchi. If these shockwaves hit one of the stationary fur-balls, they will explode and produce another shockwave, though they lack the gap the ones produced by the Sirehound directly have. In order to create these shockwaves, the Sirehound will stay in place and stomp its foot on the floor. It will remain still until the attack is complete. Due to the fact that its tail will be close to the floor when generating these shockwaves, the gap in the shockwave will always be at its back.
The final attack it gains access to are fireballs, which can travel long, straight distances. They are also capable of igniting the fiery furballs.
The Ancient Sirehound will use its running attack on any leaders or Pikmin that are caught on fire.
Final phase[edit]
The fifth and final phase has the Sirehound wield the gloom hazard, as well as being able to fly and cause the panic effect. It is able to shoot out gloom-based projectiles, which when landing on the floor, create puddles of the deadly hazard. It also gain the ability to quickly shoot out a gloom-based breath directly in front of it; the ground will be marked green, and it is in a rectangular-shape. This specific attack causes the tail to be lowered, allowing Pikmin to reach it, otherwise it will be held too high to reach normally.
As it is able to fly, it will constantly stay air bound. It is quite quick as well, able to zip around the arena at fast speeds. Once its tail is weighed down, it will still try to look at its tail (which is a bit more difficult due to its more vertical position) before falling down to the floor on its back. When it recovers, it will shoot back up to the air before roaring, panicking all nearby Pikmin.
After the fight[edit]
Upon its defeat in the final phase, it attempt to jump back onto its feet, to no avail, before giving up. A cutscene will then occur with the Sirehound rolling over onto its feet, roaring one final time, before passing out. Its collar, the Gift of Friendship, and Louie will fly off, then the Sirehound will get up once more and flee off into the distance, after doing a small yelp. The last time the Sirehound will be seen is during the credits, where it walks on the surface following Moss, in a less angrier state.
Location[edit]
- Cavern for a King
- The Sirehound appears at the very last sublevel of the cave, in its 20th sublevel. It appears with both Louie and the Gift of Friendship in tow as what are usually the last possible collectibles in the main campaign. The final sublevel takes place in a circular arena, with a small alcove towards the south where the player lands, and where the S.S. Beagle will remain.
Strategy[edit]
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The following article or section contains guides. |
Unlike most previous bosses, the Ancient Sirehound has multiple phases, each with their own health wheel that must be depleted. Its attack patterns will change with each phase.
As it has access to multiple elements, the Candypop Buds on the previous floor may seem useful in order to combat them. However, each Candypop Bud only yields 5 Pikmin, and there is only one of each type, meaning you can only receive a very small amount of each type. In addition, two of the buds, blue and white, are elemental hazards not present in the fight, and all the others can be avoided or even destroyed by Oatchi.
The superior combat strength of Purple Pikmin is also valuable if the player has access to them, and with 100 Purple Pikmin and use of ultra-spicy spray it is possible to beat all 5 phases in just 3 attack swarms. If the player has Glow Seeds in their inventory they should consider the use of Glow Pikmin, which are resistant to most of the Sirehound's elemental attacks and can stun it with a glowmob.
Although the Ancient Sirehound has strict damage gates, normally not being able to get less than 3 damage cycles per phase, there is an easy way to defeat it in as little as a single cycle. This requires a Lightning Shock and a large number of Purple Pikmin. Use an ultra-spicy spray as it's about to become vulnerable, and once the Ancient Sirehound is down, utilize Oatchi's rush to latch all Pikmin onto it. Then, immediately activate your Lightning Shock in order to stun it. This will allow you to deal massive damage without it getting up and resuming its attacks. In the case where the amount of Purple Pikmin is less than sufficient (at least 60 or less), it is still easily defeated in 2 cycles instead of the usual 3.
The Ancient Sirehound has a specific yet crucial weakness that can be exploited with the right timing and method. If it charges at Pikmin in an attempt to eat them, and only if it catches at least one Pikmin, it will briefly stop at the end of its charge to devour them. In this window, its tail becomes vulnerable and open to being pulled down. In every phase other than phase 1, the only time the Ancient Sirehound will charge at Pikmin to devour them is if Pikmin are currently affected by a hazard and are panicking. In this instance, it will pause its attacks to prepare a charge. If no Pikmin are caught in its mouth, then its tail will not be vulnerable, so it is crucial to let them get snatched. If done correctly, you can skip most of its attacks with ease.
First phase[edit]
In this phase, the Ancient Sirehound mainly attacks with a jumping slam and a charge; the former crushes Pikmin and causes stalactites to drop from the ceiling, and the latter allows it to eat Pikmin that it catches in the charge. It can also swipe at Pikmin if they're too close to it.
To fight it, the player must trick it into charging at one of the fallen stalactites, which will stun it. The player must then have at least 15 Pikmin or two Purple Pikmin grab onto its tail to flip it over and expose its belly to attack. This is the basis for dealing damage in all of the phases. As the Sirehound's health decreases, it will perform more jumping slams before charging.
Second phase[edit]
The Sirehound will now begin to use a spread of five snowballs that bounce off of the walls (akin to those of an Arctic Cannon Larva) and a long-range ice breath attack; if it freezes Pikmin, it will follow up with a charge before eating the frozen Pikmin. While it will try to face the player when using the latter, it cannot turn very quickly and its tail can be pulled on as before. However, care should be taken in order to avoid being hit by stray snowballs. The Sirehound will use six, then seven, snowballs as its health decreases, and its ice breath rotation speed increases slightly. Like other ice-elemental enemies, the Ancient Sirehound is immune to being frozen by Ice Pikmin and the Ice Blast, but only during this phase.
Starting from this phase, touching any part of the Sirehound's body other than its tail will afflict Pikmin with its current element.
Third phase[edit]
The Sirehound fights with electrical attacks in this phase. It starts the phase by spitting up three electrical furballs that generate a spread of lightning in a spinning plus shape until they are destroyed, performs an electrical dash attack, and then returns to the center of the arena and produces a set of electric fields around itself. The Sirehound cannot move while using the electric fields, providing an opportunity to attack its tail.
A faster, but riskier strategy is to intentionally electrocute a Pikmin to make the Sirehound do its charged attack, then when it is eating a Pikmin, go behind it to lower its tail.
Starting in this phase, the Sirehound will begin to elevate its tail out of reach when not using its "center of the arena" attack. The number of electrical furballs it spits out and dashes it performs before using its electric field attack increases as it takes more damage.
Fourth phase[edit]
Changing its element again to fire, the Sirehound will begin to spit fireballs, stomp the ground to produce flaming shockwaves (which Oatchi can jump over), and spit up burning hairballs which produce further shockwaves if they are not destroyed before being hit by a shockwave. The shockwaves have a gap in the section behind the Sirehound and therefore cannot hit anything in that location. Additionally, it cannot turn around while performing them, which can be used to get behind it and pull on its tail.
Final phase[edit]
Instead of using an element, the Sirehound starts to fly. It will lob projectiles that produce the same Gloom that the Smoky Progg uses in a circular area when they land, and will also use a beam of this Gloom to attack in a line. Despite the previous phases using hazards that Pikmin can be saved from, and the appearance of the boss being similar in color to the poison hazard, the Gloom will kill every Pikmin type and should be regarded with extreme caution.
The player must navigate between the Gloom patches, ideally by riding on Oatchi, without being hit by the beam to get underneath the Sirehound and pull on its tail once more. At low health, it will begin to panic Pikmin with its close-range roar and may quickly reposition itself to keep its distance from the player. This roar is to be treated with maximum and utmost caution, as this will cause dozens of your Pikmin to run directly into the many puddles of Gloom, insta-killing them in the process.
Despite this phase having the highest potential for danger and mass destruction of your squad, it also has the easiest weakness of all the phases. If one simply activates a Lightning Shock item while it's in the air, or utilizes a Glow Mob to stun it, the Ancient Sirehound's tail will fall down and immediately become vulnerable, allowing for a quick and harmless knockdown. If the player has enough Lightning Shocks, then it's possible for not a single attack to be performed by it.
Upon losing its last health wheel, the Ancient Sirehound will be defeated and run away, leaving behind its collar and Louie. If one defeats it in the Piklopedia, it will simply fall asleep, now docile.
Notes[edit]
Dalmo's notes[edit]
Olimar's notes[edit]
“If we harvest mesenchymal stem cells from this gigantic canine creature and cultivate them with glow sap, the generated serum should return Oatchi's leafified tail to normal once administered. These results would indicate that 99.9 percent of the canine creature's DNA matches Oatchi's, and that the only difference between Oatchi and Moss may be the natural presence or absence of a leaf tail.
If these two theories prove to be true, it would suggest the possibility that this ancient creature is a common ancestor to two canine species from vastly remote star systems. And that, perhaps, there are even more hidden secrets out there that could hint at a fascinating yet inconceivable truth the universe has yet to reveal...”Louie's notes[edit]
Other information[edit]
- Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #109
- Musical theme: Ancient Sirehound
Naming[edit]
- Common name: Ancient Sirehound. Most likely comes from the term "sire" that describes the act of a male animal creating offspring, or the male itself in that particular role, referencing the theory that all modern space dogs are descendants of it.
- Japanese nickname: ヤタノワスレイヌ?, lit.: "Large Forgotten Dog". It may be a combination of 八咫? (lit.: "large"), 忘れる? (lit.: "to forget"), and 犬? (lit.: "dog").
- Japanese name: イヌガミノツカハツメ?, lit.: "The Messenger of the Dog Deity". Most likely 犬神?, lit.: "Dog Deity", a type of youkai in Japanese mythology said to resemble a dog, and 神使?. In Shintoism, a 神使? is a specific animal that is considered to be a messenger of, or even may be an embodiment of, a deity.
- Scientific name: Deicanis perditum. Dei canis is Latin for "God's dog". Perditum comes from the singular neuter form of perditus, "to destroy" or "to lose". The full meaning of the name could be read as "God's Lost Dog".
- Internal names:
BOSSINU. Inu is a romanization of いぬ? (lit.: "dog"), so it refers to how the Ancient Sirehound is the only boss that is also a dog. - Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages[edit]
|
The following article or section needs help from someone who can translate Chinese text. |
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ヤタノワスレイヌ? Yata no Wasure Inu |
Large Forgotten Dog | |
 Chinese(traditional) |
咫遺忘犬 | ||
 Chinese(simplified) |
八咫遗忘犬 | ||
 Dutch |
Oerwolfshond | Primal Wolfhound | |
 French |
Canirex primordial | Primordial Dog King | Portmanteau of canin (canine), or caniche (poodle), and the suffix -rex (ruler, or king) |
 German |
Urwolfshund | Ancient Wolf Dog | |
 Italian |
Segugio Atavico | Atavistic Hound | |
 Korean |
잊혀진 고대견 Ijhyeojin Godae-Gyeon |
Forgotten Ancient Dog | |
 Portuguese |
Cancestral | Ancestral Dog | Combination of cão (dog) and ancestral. |
 Spanish |
Pérrido Ancestral | Ancient Doggid | "Pérrido" comes from "perro" (dog) and the suffix "-ido" (equivalent to "-id") |
Gallery[edit]
- See more: Ancient Sirehound images category.
The Ancient Sirehound's face revealed in its introduction.
The Ancient Sirehound roaring in its introduction.
The Ancient Sirehound as it appears in the Piklopedia.
A stalactite crushing several Pikmin.
The Ancient Sirehound chasing its tail after 15 or more Pikmin have been thrown onto it.
The Ancient Sirehound vulnerable in its first phase in Cavern for a King.
The Ancient Sirehound transitioning into its ice phase.
The Ancient Sirehound as it appears in its second phase.
The Ancient Sirehound as it appears in its third phase.
The Ancient Sirehound as it appears in its fourth phase.
The Ancient Sirehound as it appears in its final phase before it begins to fly.
The Ancient Sirehound defeated in Cavern for a King.
The Ancient Sirehound roaring from its defeat.
The Ancient Sirehound dropping the Gift of Friendship and Louie.
The Ancient Sirehound sleeping after being defeated in the Piklopedia.
Trivia[edit]
- The Ancient Sirehound bears a great resemblance to a real-life breed of tiny dog called a Shih Tzu. When compared to real-life sizing, the Sirehound would be about the size of a Shih Tzu puppy. It also may be based on a Bergamasco Shepherd.
- The Ancient Sirehound is one of the two enemies in the Pikmin series to have sequential health meters, the other being the Waterwraith. It also has 9,000 HP for each meter, meaning the Ancient Sirehound has the highest HP of any enemy in the entire Pikmin series, with a total of 45,000 health.
- Self-resurrecting enemies from Pikmin 2, such as the Spotty Bulbear and the Gatling Groink, can fill their meter from empty to full, however this is technically the same meter and not a new sequential one.
- Technically, the Titan Dweevil has sequential health wheels, but those only apply to the weapons that are required to be knocked off before the boss itself can be damaged.
- When being fought in the Piklopedia, it is possible for the Ancient Sirehound to jump on top of the walls surrounding the Piklopedia's walkable space. [source needed]
- If the Ancient Sirehound is defeated while frozen in the Piklopedia, it'll shatter like any normal enemy, leaving a Soul upon its death.
- This is not the case when fought in Cavern for a King. The Ancient Sirehound will unfreeze shortly after the health wheel reaches zero.
- If the Ancient Sirehound has not yet been fully defeated in the Cavern for a King and is fought in the Piklopedia, the phases that haven't yet been seen in the Cavern for a King will not happen, with the Ancient Sirehound cutting the battle short and falling asleep with its current elemental look before any not yet seen phases can be witnessed.
- Similarly, if the Sirehound's final phase is defeated while frozen, the final cutscene will have it with the final phase colors.[source needed]
- After the Rescue Corps cure Oatchi and leave PNF-404, the Ancient Sirehound is seen docilely following Moss and the Pikmin. One randomly determined straggler Pikmin will get spooked by the Ancient Sirehound and run off.
- The Ancient Sirehound is one of the few enemies that can be defeated, but not killed. Instead, it retreats after it is defeated and is shown to be alive and well in the epilogue. However, unlike other enemies, its Piklopedia page's defeat count will still add up after defeating it, despite it not being killed.
