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Whiptongue Bulborb

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Whiptongue Bulborb In-game icon.
Icon for the Whiptongue Bulborb, from Pikmin 4's Piklopedia.
Appears in Pikmin 3Pikmin 4
Scientific name Oculus longolingua
Family Grub-dog
Areas Tropical Wilds, Distant Tundra, Serene Shores
Caves Kingdom of Beasts, Plunder Palace
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages Tropical Forest, Beastly Caverns
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages Thirsty Desert, Distant Tundra Remix, Formidable Oak Remix
Side Story days Team Monster Hunt, Channel Gone Dry, Looking for Louie, Another Part Found
Dandori Challenge stages Trial of the Sage Leaf
Dandori Battle stages None
Bingo Battle stages Stagnant Sea, Jigsaw Fortress, Blooming Terrace, Buried Pond, Sandbox Kingdom, Jigsaw Colosseum
Attacks Slurp up Pikmin

The Whiptongue Bulborb (ペロチャッピー?, lit.: "Slurping Chappy") is an enemy in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4. It is a member of the grub-dog family, but is different from the others in that it has a long tongue that it uses to slurp up Pikmin. Its tongue can catch up to 5 Pikmin at once, somewhat like the Emperor Bulblax, but quicker and much less destructive. It has a brown face, much in contrast to the paler face of the Bulborb, with a long snout at the end that the tongue comes out of, as well as a distinctive white body with black spots, and blue eyes. No dwarf mimic exists, and the creature only gains its tongue after its second molt.

Stats[edit]

Game Weight Max.
carriers
Seeds Value Health
Pikmin 3 (?) 12 25 (normally) 15 Texture used for the Poko in Pikmin 3. × 50
Icon for the soul in Battle Enemies!, taken from the game's textures. × 50
1300
Pikmin 4 10 20 12 (5 glow pellets) Icon that represents Sparklium on the wiki, based on the icon found in Pikmin 4. × 12 1300

Notes

Alph's comments

Structural flaw: eyeballs, back
Weight: 12

This model has a surprising feature! I'm very impressed at the speed with which it employs its long, flexible tongue. Though I'm also dismayed at its unnerving wakefulness and the difficulty we seem to have sneaking past it.

Brittany's comments

US version icon.png US version
Not a fan of this one's style. Too plain. Too beige. And too big. Where's the little version of this guy? It's gotta have one, right? Though maybe not. After all, I don't have a little version of myself.
European version icon.png European version
Not a fan of this one's style. Too plain. Too beige. And too big. Where's the little version of this one? It's got to have one, right? Though maybe not. After all, I don't have a little version of myself.

Charlie's comments

That long tongue isn't just a sensory organ—it's a deadly weapon. It uses that thing like a pro. I tried some exercises to see if I could get my tongue to do that, but I kept biting it by accident. Always in the same place, too. I hate that.

Louie's comments

Pat the tongue dry, then coat all sides with a spicy dry rub of your choice. Grill over high heat until the outside is perfectly crisped!

Olimar's comments

US version icon.png US version

Whiptongue Bulborb
Oculus longolingua
Grub-dog family

Instead of the gnashing jaws usually found in related species, it uses its extensible, viscous tongue to capture prey. Even before it opens its mouth, it's recognizable by its tapered snout and black spots against its white back. Some theorized that it evolved its long tongue to snatch prey drawn to high-blooming flowers, but others point out that no infant specimens have ever been seen, suggesting a radically different biological branch. It has only recently been reclassified as part of the grub-dog family.
European version icon.png European version

Whiptongue Bulborb
Oculus longolingua
Grub-dog family

Instead of the gnashing jaws usually found in related species, it uses its extensible, viscous tongue to capture prey. Even before it opens its mouth, it's recognisable by its tapered snout and black spots against its white back. Some theorised that it evolved its long tongue to snatch prey drawn to high-blooming flowers, but others point out that no infant specimens have ever been seen, suggesting a radically different biological branch. It has only recently been reclassified as part of the Grub-dog family.

Dalmo's Notes[edit]

Its narrow snout housed an amazing prehensile tongue! It sets its sights and slurps its target right up. The sweet li'l bean uses this marvel of evolution with great skill. Any creature with a dexterous tongue like that is unlikely to ever go hungry.

Olimar's Notes (Pikmin 4)[edit]

Instead of the gnashing jaws usually found in related species, it uses its extensible, viscous tongue to capture prey. Even before it opens its mouth, it's recognisable by its tapered snout and black spots against its white back. Some theorised that it evolved its long tongue to snatch prey drawn to high-blooming flowers, but a recent finding confirmed that until its second molt, this creature feeds with its teeth much like other Grub-Dog species. It will begin to use its tongue once it reaches adulthood.

Pikmin 3 website[edit]

Part of the Bulborb family, it has an extra long tongue, giving it more range to grab its prey.

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide[edit]

As its name implies, the Whiptongue Bulborb uses its long tongue to snatch up any Pikmin unfortunate enough to be caught in the attack. When you encounter a Whiptongue Bulborb, flank the creature and send your Pikmin charging in to attack.

Behavior[edit]

This Bulborb species attacks with its long, flexible tongue, which allows it to quickly devour Pikmin from much greater distances than other members of the grub-dog family. It doesn't sleep when unaware of the presence of Pikmin. Instead, it will rummage through the ground and sniff around the surrounding area much like a Dwarf Bulborb.

When a leader and/or a Pikmin is nearby, it will quickly shuffle towards them. If the Pikmin are standing within attack range, it will launch its tongue outward as a means of consuming them. Up to five Pikmin can be snagged at a time by this move. However, if Pikmin are standing beside it, or are attacking its feet, it will lap up individual Pikmin one at a time at a slightly slower pace than normal Bulborbs. Just like all other grub-dogs in Pikmin 3, it can be temporarily incapacitated by throwing Pikmin directly at its eyes.

Strategy[edit]

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies shown are just suggestions.

The Whiptongue Bulborb can be quite a dangerous foe because not only does it constantly roam around, leaving no part of its body exposed for long, but its long tongue allows it to ensnare batches of Pikmin from a distance. There are several ways to deal with this enemy.

The first method is attacking from the rear, much like combating a Red Bulborb. Use a 30+ Pikmin squad comprised of Red and Rock Pikmin and simply keep chucking them from behind. Wait until it has begun sniffing the ground before throwing any Pikmin so that it doesn't spontaneously turn around and proceed to lash out its tongue. If you can keep throwing Pikmin on its back as it shakes them off, it'll be taken out without getting the chance to use its tongue.

A surprisingly effective strategy is charging it from the front with 35+ Rock Pikmin. Just like other Bulborbs, the Whiptongue Bulborb will flinch when its eyes are hit. Take your squad and let it catch sight of you from a distance. As it approaches and gets ready to use its tongue, start throwing your Rock Pikmin at its face. Throwing them at the face is bound to lead to some hitting the eyes, which will make it flinch. Attacking it from the front without aiming for the face however is lethal and will result in you losing a lot of Rock Pikmin to this. If you keep throwing Rock Pikmin at the face in rapid succession like this, it'll have all its hit points drained without even getting a chance to use its tongue, because it will constantly be flinching.

Another rather risky method is to get a group of around 30-50 Pikmin, preferably Reds and Rocks, attract the attention of the Whiptongue Bulborb and lead it to the edge of its territory; then, when it's walking away, order your Pikmin to rush it. If done correctly, the Whiptongue Bulborb will quickly succumb to the blitzkrieg, with little to no deaths. Note that this will not be the preferred choice of action if you are attempting a zero-death run unless around 50 Red Pikmin and 30-50 Rock Pikmin are present.

Another fact to note is that even though it eats with a tongue, just like with other Bulborbs, if hit in the eye, it'll release any Pikmin it has caught in its mouth and is about to eat. This can be taken advantage of if you are in a pinch and a Whiptongue Bulborb is about to eat quite a few of your Pikmin. You can also take cover in clover patches in order to hide from it.

There is another method, which needs only one single Pikmin: using a bomb rock. Luckily, these bombs can be found on a dirt mound near the Whiptongue Bulborb. When a Pikmin is carrying a bomb rock, it can be thrown directly on the Bulborb, or you can leave this Pikmin in front of the creature; it will try to eat the Pikmin, but it'll eat the bomb instead. Afterwards, the Whiptongue Bulborb will explode and die.

Technical information[edit]

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name arikui
HP 1300
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill 30
White Pikmin ingestions to kill 5
Bomb rock explosions to kill 1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill 1
Number of direct hits on top to kill 0
Damage to leaders 10
Territory radius 300
Mission Mode value 50

Naming[edit]

See more: Grub-dog family#Naming.
  • Common name: Whiptongue Bulborb. "Whiptongue" is a combination of "whip" and "tongue", referring to how this creature can lash its tongue around.
  • Japanese nickname: ペロチャッピ?, lit.: "Slurping Chappy". It is the same as all Bulborbs, but starting with the word for "slurping".
  • Japanese name: シタナガデメマダラ?, lit.: "Spotted Long-tongued Bug-eye".
  • Scientific name: Oculus longolingua. It combines "longa" and "lingua", Latin for "long" and "tongue", respectively.
  • Internal names: Its internal name is arikui, a romanization of ありくい? (lit.: "anteater").
  • Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Flag of Japan Japanese ペロチャッピ?
Pero Chappī
Slurping Chappy "Chappy" is the Japanese name for Bulborb
Flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Chinese
(traditional)
長舌恰比
Chángshé Qiàbǐ
Long-Tongued Chappy "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (traditional) name for Bulborb
Flag of China Chinese
(simplified)
长舌恰比
Chángshé Qiàbǐ
Long-Tongued Chappy "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (simplified) name for Bulborb
Flag of the Netherlands Dutch Zwieptongbulborb Swishtongue Bulborb
Flag of France French Bulborbe vermilingue Worm tongue bulborb "Bulborbe" is the French name for Bulborb
Flag of Germany German Zungen-Punktkäfer Tongue Dot Beetle "Punktkäfer" is the German name for Bulborb
Flag of Italy Italian Coleto linguoide Tongue Bulborb "Coleto" may come from "boletus" (Latin for mushroom), as a bulborb's spots resemble those found on certain mushrooms, and "coleottero", Italian for bug, insect
"Coleto" is the Italian name for both Bulborb and Bulbear
"Linguoide" means "that has a tongue"
Flag of South Korea Korean 채찍혀차피
Chaejjig-Hyeo-Chapi
Whiptongue Chappy "Chapi" is the Korean name for Bulborb
Calque of English name
Flag of Brazil Portuguese Bulbolho-tamanduá Anteater bulbeye "Bulbolho" is a portmanteau of "bulbo" (bulb) and "olho" (eye)
"Bulbolho" is the Brazilian Portuguese name for Bulborb
Flag of Spain Spanish Bulbo vermilengua Anteater bulborb "Bulbo" is the Spanish name for Bulborb

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • In the Pikmin 3 US website notes, it states that it's part of the "Bulborb Family," even though the family name is "grub-dog".[1]
  • This is the only adult Bulborb to not have a dwarf mimic in Pikmin 3.
  • This enemy is arguably one of the most advertised enemies in Pikmin 3, with others being the Armored MawdadPyroclasmic Slooch, Peckish Aristocrab, and the Medusal Slurker
  • Unlike its other grub-dog relatives, it may not be nocturnal, as it is found awake in the wild, similar to the Spotty Bulbear in Pikmin 2. However, in the Tropical Wilds, it is seen scavenging for Pikmin during sunset. This suggests that Whiptongue Bulborbs are cathemeral, meaning they are active at both day and night. This is confirmed with their night activity within Pikmin 4.
  • In the E3 2012 demo, the corpse of a Whiptongue Bulborb has required 10 Pikmin to carry, while in the final game, it requires 12 Pikmin, and then in Pikmin 4 requiring 10 Pikmin again.
  • Whiptongue Bulborbs might have been inspired by anteaters. Both creatures have extended snouts, and long and sticky tongues to capture their prey with.

References[edit]

  1. ^ WHIPTONGUE BULBORB”
    “Part of the Bulborb family, it has an extra long tongue, giving it more range to grab its prey.
    Explorer's Guide: Know Your Enemy on Pikmin 3 official site, archived through Wayback Machine, published on August 3, 2013, retrieved on September 18, 2019

See also[edit]