Plasm Wraith

Plasm Wraith
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Unknown
Family	Unknown
Areas	Formidable Oak
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! levels	None
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! levels	None
Side Story levels	None
Bingo Battle levels	None
Attacks	Burn, drown, electrocute, crush or eat Pikmin

Warning: the following article or section contains major spoilers about the final boss of Pikmin 3.

This article is about the creature itself. For information on the form it assumes when chasing Captain Olimar, see Mysterious Life-Form.

The Plasm Wraith (アメニュウドウ^?, lit.: "Rain Bald Head Yōkai") is the final boss in Pikmin 3 and is responsible for capturing Captain Olimar. It is a virtually featureless, vaguely-humanoid Waterwraith-like being made entirely out of a cellular protoplasmic mass, which allows it to split different parts of its body off to create other semi-independent entities or even change shapes.

The Plasm Wraith is encountered at the Formidable Oak, having taken Olimar captive with what appears to be curiosity rather than maliciousness. Efforts to rescue Olimar cause the being to become the Mysterious Life-Form and slowly ooze towards the explorers, attempting to retake him, until it reaches the outside of the oak. Once this occurs, the Plasm Wraith assumes it original form, detains Olimar in its core, and begins to attack, starting the final boss fight. Defeating the Plasm Wraith immediately activates the game's ending.

As with all final bosses thus far, the path leading up to it, and/or the boss fight itself, requires the knowledge and use of every single Pikmin type.

Stats[edit]

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	320

Background[edit]

When Olimar first arrived at the Formidable Oak, he saw a shiny golden substance at the top of the tower, and decided to investigate. Louie expressed discomfort and chose to stay behind, letting Olimar go on ahead without him.

At first, the creature was curious and playful towards Olimar and did no harm to him. However, when Olimar tried to leave, the creature became hostile, triggering his suit's auto-sleep function and dragging him back to its cave. It became protective of Olimar to the point that it would attack anything that showed interest in him. The exact reason for this bizarre behavior remains unknown.

Notes

Alph's comments

US version

“Structural flaw: varies
Weight: unknown

What a marvel this creature is! Constantly adapting to new threats, it can manipulate fire, water, electricity, and its own body to form wings or an armored carapace. It takes several squads of Pikmin on frequently rotating duty to keep up with its shifting nature. How I wish I could construct anything so effortlessly flexible! Ahem... Its attacks leave behind little pieces of itself, so if you can eliminate those before it reforms, you can wear it down little by little.”

European version

“Structural flaw: varies
Weight: unknown

What a marvel this creature is! Constantly adapting to new threats, it can manipulate fire, water, electricity, and its own body to form wings or an armoured carapace. It takes several squads of Pikmin on frequently rotating duty to keep up with its shifting nature. How I wish I could construct anything so effortlessly flexible! Ahem...its attacks leave behind little pieces of itself, so if you can eliminate those before it reforms, you can wear it down little by little.”

Brittany's comments

“Wow, it really did not want to let go of Captain Olimar. Is that budding inter-species romance I smell? Anyway, I bet that gunk would make for some good lotion. I should've bottled some up so I could sell it back on Koppai.”

Charlie's comments

US version

“This thing doesn't know what it wants! One minute it's soft, one minute it's hard. First it's big, then it's small. It hunts Olimar but doesn't want to hurt him. We're practically doing it a favor by taking it out! Anyway... That Olimar guy must ooze charisma to get such an alien creature to follow him anywhere. He's a ship captain and I'm just a squad captain, but that still gives us something in common! I oughtta be taking notes!”

European version

“This thing doesn't know what it wants! One minute it's soft, one minute it's hard. First it's big, then it's small. It hunts Olimar, but doesn't want to hurt him. We're practically doing it a favour by taking it out! Anyway... That Olimar guy must ooze charisma to get such an alien creature to follow it anywhere. He's a ship captain and I'm just a squad captain, but that still gives us something in common! I ought to be taking notes!”

Louie's comments

US version

“Despite its refreshing citrus scent, the flavor of this beast is decidedly... dangerous.”

European version

“Despite its refreshing citrus scent, the flavour of this beast is decidedly... dangerous.”

Olimar's comments

“Plasm Wraith
Unknown species
Unknown family

This unusual life-form consists of an amorphous body around a hard, cubic core. The body can shift not only into different shapes but into different substances. It reminds me very much of the waterwraith, and at first I wondered if it was also an ectoplasmic incarnation. However, enough others have seen and encountered it to dispel this theory. The creatures living near the plasm wraith must be formed from its gelatinous substance, since they all liquefy upon its death. It's not clear what purpose they serve for the wraith. It's currently unknown what caused the hole in its torso—some sort of manifested psychic wound?—but the search for this cause may lead us down the path to unraveling the history of evolution on this planet.”

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide[edit]

“The Plasm Wraith is located in the Formidable Oak. This resilient creature uses spiked appendages to skewer its victims, and is capable of summoning hazardous Elemental Plasms. All Pikmin types are useful against this enemy, so assemble a well-balanced squad before you enter this battle.

When you encounter the Plasm Wraith, use Rock Pikmin to attack the creature from a distance. When the Plasm Wraith begins to fall apart, destroy the puddles of loose plasm before the creature is able to reclaim them.

Rock Pikmin are immune to the Plasm Wraith's direct attacks, so they're your best option for the bulk of the encounter. Once the creature begins summoning Elemental Plasms, however, use the corresponding Pikmin to destroy each hazard. Use Winged Pikmin to attack the Plasm Wraith each time it flies into the air.

Attack the Plasm Wraith to weaken the creature, then destroy the loose plasm to prevent the creature from regaining its strength.”

Defeat Bosses![edit]

The Plasm Wraith is also the final opponent in Defeat Bosses!. Players are given 12 minutes to take it out. The path that leads to where the Onion is in story mode is blocked off by a "keep out" sign. The cave exit is not blocked off, but it cannot be entered at all, unless glitches are used. There are 20 of each Pikmin type, 10 of each type in the ground to be plucked, and 10 of each type already in the squad. Players can control Alph (player 1's starting leader), Brittany (player 2's starting leader), and Charlie. Their order in Pikmin 3 is Alph, Brittany, Charlie, and in Pikmin 3 Deluxe the order is Brittany, Charlie, Alph.

The following table lists what medal the player gets according to the time they take:^[1]

Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum
10:00 - 8:01	8:00 - 6:01	6:00 - 5:01	5:00 - 0:00

In Pikmin 3, these are the world records for the challenge, as obtained from the in-game global rankings feature. The following scores were retrieved on December 9^th, 2015.

Solo: 1:30
Co-op: 1:38

In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, these are the world records for the challenge, as obtained from the in-game global rankings feature. The following scores were retrieved on May 29^th, 2021.

Solo: 1:10
Co-op: 1:10

Strategy[edit]

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies presented may not be the only ones or the best ones.

After the Plasm Wraith assumes its original form and recaptures Olimar, proceed to throw Pikmin at its stomach. This will cause small bits of its plasmic exterior to fall off, making its health go down. However, Pikmin must then attack the puddles of plasm on the floor to destroy them, or the Wraith will simply reabsorb the puddles and regenerate health. Although it is not necessary, you may take 20 of each Pikmin for the battle. Send the other two leaders out of its reach, as this fight only requires one leader.

Be prepared to lose a lot of Pikmin during this phase of the battle. It will actively attack Pikmin, but mainly prefers to target the leaders and attack when they are close, by skewering them with a rapid "needle-arm" attack. If any Pikmin aside from Rock Pikmin are in range of this attack, they will be skewered and eaten. You can use one leader as a distraction, and have another handle all the Pikmin, but this may be difficult to manage. While it is doing this attack, it is unwise to attack it head-on, as it will not be fazed by attacks, and can easily kill the Pikmin. Instead, throw just a few Pikmin at it, preferably its backside, until it tries to shake Pikmin off by twisting its body. This will cause additional plasm to fly off of its body. As it loses more and more plasm, it decreases in size; this is the key to winning the fight.

It can also become temporarily airborne, during which it can be reached by Winged Pikmin, or, with some effort, Yellow Pikmin. If it is hit with enough Pikmin while flying, it will fall down, losing even more plasm as it hits the ground.

Elemental Plasms[edit]

After a quarter of its health is depleted, the Plasm Wraith will attack by spewing large masses of plasm onto the arena, then spitting out a small patterned cube. The plasmic mass will form around this solid cube and transform into an Elemental Plasm. Each Elemental Plasm has a specific hazard associated with it. If the Wraith spits out a cube, quickly call all Pikmin away from it. The less plasm in the Elemental Plasm, the less time is needed to destroy it. It has many forms, each of which can only be destroyed with certain Pikmin types:

A bubble of water, with the cube in the middle. Blue Pikmin must be thrown in, so they can swim to the core and shatter it. Other Pikmin will gain a bubble of water on their stem if they touch the hazard, and will suffocate if not called back.
A bed of fire surrounding the cube. Red Pikmin are recommended, but Rock Pikmin can get the job done as well, provided they are whistled back before they burn to death upon touching it.
An electrical sphere. The Elemental Plasm will form a spike underneath the cube, setting it high up in the air, and will then generate an electric barrier around it, making it resemble a plasma globe. Only Yellow Pikmin can reach high enough and sustain the forcefield.
A crystal cube with the Elemental Plasm inside. The cube slowly tumbles around the stage, crushing Pikmin. Only Rock Pikmin can break it, chipping away different shards at a time.

Destroying Elemental Plasms will leave behind a large amount of plasm that must also be destroyed. If they are left there for longer than 20 seconds after being initially spat out, the Plasm Wraith will reabsorb them to heal itself. When the Wraith has been reduced to just a quarter of its health, it will create three Elemental Plasms at once.

No deaths[edit]

Despite this being a very difficult boss, it is possible to beat it without any Pikmin lost. To make things simpler, use one leader at a time, but be sure to switch leaders when the current one's suit is very damaged. Bring out as many Rock Pikmin as you have, preferably flowered, since (as stated above) they are the only Pikmin immune to the creature's needle-arm attack. This method can make the battle take two days, but one is possible. For the first phase, simply pummel it and the plasm that falls off. Once a quarter of plasm is lost, the battle gets more difficult as it shoots Elemental Plasms. The list below shows what to do for each one:

If it is a Fire Plasm, attack the core with Rock Pikmin until it breaks apart. Quickly whistle the ones that are burning. Then, attack the remaining plasm.
If it is an Electric Plasm, you are given a brief window to throw Rock Pikmin at the core before the electricity field spawns in and it floats too high for them to reach. If you miss your chance, just try to avoid it, as the electricity will paralyze your Pikmin and possibly knock them back into other hazards.
If it is a Water Plasm, Rock Pikmin have no way of attacking it at all, so ignore it completly and take extra care to whistle any Pikmin suffocating, otherwise they will die.
If it is a Crystal Plasm, break the crystal until it melts into plasm, which you should then destroy.

After its health is lowered enough, it will have been beaten. Try to keep the Rock Pikmin in your group and organized, as having Pikmin all over the arena will possibly make some perish. Whistle any that get knocked to the ground, that are burning, suffocating or paralyzed. After the cutscene ends, you will have completed the fight without deaths.

Smaller squad[edit]

If a large group of Pikmin is too difficult to keep track of, another option would be to bring around 40 Rock Pikmin instead. This should reduce the risk of casualties from any Elemental Plasm. A smaller group is a bit more manageable, but will not be quite as powerful as a full group, and thus may make the battle take slightly longer. This strategy should help reduce the amount of Rock Pikmin that are idle or affected by a hazard, as a smaller squad of Pikmin has less of a risk of being hit. Otherwise, it is recommended to follow the "No deaths" instructions above along with the "Smaller squad" strategy if you are attempting a zero death challenge.

Badges[edit]

In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, there is a badge the player can gain from the creature:

Safe and Sound: Defeating the Plasm Wraith.

Safe and Sound. The badge shows the Plasm Wraith.

Technical information[edit]

Plasm Wraith[edit]

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`metaboss2`
HP	320
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill	0
White Pikmin ingestions to kill	0
Bomb rock explosions to kill	0
Bomb rock ingestions to kill	0
Number of direct hits on top to kill	0
Damage to leaders	20
Territory radius	300
Mission Mode value	0

Elemental Plasms[edit]

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`metabuka`
HP	250
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill	10
White Pikmin ingestions to kill	0
Bomb rock explosions to kill	1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill	0
Number of direct hits on top to kill	0
Damage to leaders	10
Territory radius	0
Mission Mode value	0

Other information[edit]

Musical theme: Plasm Wraith battle

Naming[edit]

Common name: Plasm Wraith. "Plasm" means "living substance" while "Wraith" means "spirit" (such as a ghost).
Japanese nickname: アメニュウドウ^?. ニュウドウ^? translates to "Bald Head" and is particularly used to refer to bald-headed yōkai. Just like with the Waterwraith, アメ^? means "candy", though 雨^? means "rain" – it can also be noted that it always rains during the Plasm Wraith's boss battle (provided that no exploits are used). アメ^? can also be short for "amoeba" (written in katakana like "ameba"), a unicellular organism usually found in water. Finally, its name could also be an allusion to Wanyūdō, the guardian of the gates of Hell in Japanese mythology.
Japanese name: セイヨウコガネアメビト^?, lit.: "Western European Golden Rain Man".
Scientific name: Unknown.
Internal names: Internally, the creature is called metaboss2, which is a follow-up to the internal name of the Mysterious Life-Form. The cubes it spits are called metabuka, where 部下^? means "subordinate".
Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	アメニュウドウ^? Ame Nyuudou	Rain Bald Head Yōkai
Chinese	膠雨妖怪	Glue rain monster
French	Spectroplasme	Spectroplasm; combination of specter and plasm.
German	Plasmagespenst	Plasm Wraith
Korean	비황금동굴괴물	Rain gold cave monster
Spanish (NoA)	Plasmaespectro	Plasm Wraith
Spanish (NoE)	Plasmaespectro	Plasm Wraith
Portuguese (NoE)	Espetro de Plasma	Plasm Wraith	Name taken from the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

The Plasm Wraith appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a collectible trophy and as a Smash Tour trophy. When used in Smash Tour before a battle, it heals the player every time they shield an attack.

Trophy information:

	US description: “A mysterious life-form in the Formidable Oak, the final area of Pikmin 3. Formed from a gelatinous substance, it normally can't be damaged at all...but with Olimar newly rescued, maybe he holds the key. When it takes humanoid form, it unleashes some terrifying attacks! You'll need all your skills to take it down and finish the game! Appears in: Pikmin 3 (08/2013)”
	EU description: “A mysterious life form in the Formidable Oak, the final area of Pikmin 3. Formed from a gelatinous substance, it normally can't be damaged at all...but maybe the newly rescued Olimar holds the key. When it takes humanoid form, it unleashes some terrifying attacks. You'll need all your skills to take it down and finish the game! Related Games Pikmin 3 (07/2013)”
How to obtain: Random appearance.		Type: Series Related	Trophy Box: 61. Distant Planet & Indigenous Creatures

Gallery[edit]

The Plasm Wraith with Olimar; notice how it seems to take care of him.
A close-up of the creature.
The boss floating.
The Plasm Wraith in the process of reabsorbing used plasm.
Water Elemental Plasm.
Water Elemental Plasm.
Electrical Elemental Plasm.
Electrical Elemental Plasm.
Crystal Elemental Plasm.
Crystal Elemental Plasm.
Fire Elemental Plasm.
Fire Elemental Plasm.
The Wraith attacking.
The Wraith flying.
A close-up of the Wraith flying.
The beast defeated.
The Plasm Wraith after it collapses.
The creature at the end of the game.
The Wraith about to use its stabbing attack.
The Wraith using its stabbing attack.
The first data file on the Wraith.
The second data file on the Wraith.
Overview of the arena where the player fights the Wraith.
Defeat Bosses! icon.

Trivia[edit]

An odd second enemy bubble to the west of the map, when the Plasm Wraith's mission is highlighted.

This creature, along with the Titan Dweevil, are the only creatures so far in the series to exhibit the ability to harness all of the main hazard elements; all other element-based enemies are only able to wield one element.
When its health is at its lowest, regardless of how much damage is caused to it, it will only die after twirling itself and shaking off attacking Pikmin. At that point, it will throw away plasm and shrink to a size too small to continue fighting.
Even though the Wraith is defeated, it is revealed to still be alive in the final cutscene. One can notice this because the small trail of plasm remains after its defeat slowly moves away from the site. It can also be briefly glimpsed as the S.S. Drake leaves the planet, already fully reformed and angrily wobbling at the leaving ship.
In the secret file reward video, "At the Oak", Olimar is seen surveying the area, while Louie is running away from something. Right as the video ends, the viewer can hear loud footsteps and the Wraith's roar, implying the capture of Olimar.
The Wraith's health wheel is actually of a beveled, gold look, and corresponds to the amount of plasm left in its body.
In the mission selection screen of Defeat Bosses!, highlighting the Wraith's mission will show the arena's radar map on the GamePad. If the player pans to the northwest, they can see a second enemy bubble out of bounds. According to the game's files, this is the Mysterious Life-Form's bubble.^[2] For some players, it may not be possible to pan the radar off-course like this, since it will be confined to the normal boundaries. It is currently unknown why.
The Wraith’s trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U erroneously depicts it in the Quaggled Mireclops' arena. Bizarrely, the trophy for the Quaggled Mireclops itself doesn't feature terrain of any kind.
The creature's cube, which is presumably its actual main body, controlling the plasm as if it were normal limbs, can also be split into 27 smaller cubes, in a 3x3x3 formation. This can be seen during its respawn animation during the chase sequence. It can further split into 216, in a 6x6x6 formation, as can be seen when it uses an elemental plasm during the boss battle against the Wraith. This is in addition to becoming completely hollow and having its six faces appear out of nowhere, as seen when Olimar gets captured during the chase sequence, as well as being able to physically overlap with Olimar, and, as can be seen when the creature slips away, spit out a false cube that can also overlap with objects and disintegrate.

References[edit]

^
The values in the Prima Guide are incorrect. These are the values used in the game's files, as per content/CMCmn/system/mission_set/miset_misBoss6.szs/misBoss6.txt:
```
# RuleData
{
	# BeatBossMission version
	20130126 
	# CID
	33554515 
	# GradeTime
	5 1 # プラチナ
	6 1 # 金
	8 1 # 銀
	10 1 # 銅
}
```
^ /content/CMCmn/generator/mapE/mis_boss.szs/1.txt, line 93 – Metaboss's (Mysterious Life-Form) coordinates are at -5650.00000000 0.00000000 6330.00000000. Same file, line 12 – Metaboss2's (Plasm Wraith) coordinates are at 4000.00000000 0.00000000 -5750.00000000. File default.txt, line 12 – UFO's (S.S. Drake) coordinates are at 4880.00000000 150.00000000 -5440.00000000.

[1] The values in the Prima Guide are incorrect. These are the values used in the game's files, as per content/CMCmn/system/mission_set/miset_misBoss6.szs/misBoss6.txt:
# RuleData { # BeatBossMission version 20130126 # CID 33554515 # GradeTime 5 1 # プラチナ 6 1 # 金 8 1 # 銀 10 1 # 銅 }

[2] /content/CMCmn/generator/mapE/mis_boss.szs/1.txt, line 93 – Metaboss's (Mysterious Life-Form) coordinates are at -5650.00000000 0.00000000 6330.00000000. Same file, line 12 – Metaboss2's (Plasm Wraith) coordinates are at 4000.00000000 0.00000000 -5750.00000000. File default.txt, line 12 – UFO's (S.S. Drake) coordinates are at 4880.00000000 150.00000000 -5440.00000000.

[1]

[2]

Plasm Wraith

Contents

Stats[edit]

Background[edit]

Notes

Alph's comments

Brittany's comments

Charlie's comments

Louie's comments

Olimar's comments

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide[edit]

Defeat Bosses![edit]

Strategy[edit]

Elemental Plasms[edit]

No deaths[edit]

Smaller squad[edit]

Badges[edit]

Technical information[edit]

Plasm Wraith[edit]

Elemental Plasms[edit]

Other information[edit]

Naming[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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