Quaggled Mireclops

The Quaggled Mireclops is a boss in, and is the fifth major boss encountered in Story Mode, at the Garden of Hope. It is first seen by Louie, who tries to escape the Koppaites after they capture him. He is then swallowed by the Mireclops along with the piece of fruit he found and both get spit out when the explorers defeat it.

The creature resembles a massive chunk of land, complete with plant life growing on it such as and , that is supported by three enormous hooved legs, making it tripedal. It walks around much like creatures from the arachnorb family. When first found, the Mireclops' only vulnerable part – its plant-like bulb on top of its teapot lid-like mouth – is encased in a crystal (known as a "Mireclops crystal"), which must be destroyed by Rock Pikmin. When the creature stomps on the muddy terrain that makes up its entire arena, it leaves a hole that is filled with water, presenting the threat of drowning to any non-Blue Pikmin.

This is the first enemy in the Pikmin series whose remains become a permanent part of the environment after its defeat. If the player returns to its arena the following day after its defeat, a garden of assorted Pellet Posies will be found growing on its body. This will also become the only area in Story Mode where the player can encounter Red Spectralids. Some pellets may be seen growing in abnormal colors.

Defeat Bosses!
The Quaggled Mireclops can be refought in Defeat Bosses!, where the player is given 15 minutes to defeat it. The arena's only exit is blocked by a "keep out" sign. The player starts off with 30 Blue Pikmin and 20 Rock Pikmin, and can find additional Pikmin buried around the boss: 10 Red Pikmin, 20 Blue Pikmin, and 10 Rock Pikmin. They also have control of 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:

Attacks
The Quaggled Mireclops has very few attacks, but has many different ways of executing them: After destroying the crystal concealing its bulb, it will have a few new, more destructive attacks:
 * As stated above, it will stomp around the arena, leaving holes in the ground filled with water. This poses a threat to non-Blue Pikmin, on top of being able to crush Pikmin.
 * After being attacked, it will lash out its bizarre tongue, with which it can eat many Pikmin at a time. Be sure to avoid it. Leaders can also be swallowed, but the Mireclops will quickly spit them out.
 * If any leaders or Pikmin are on the Mireclops as it stands up, it will tilt over, knocking all of them off.
 * The Mireclops may quickly run across the arena, leaving many pools in the ground, as well as quickly crushing any Pikmin.
 * The Mireclops may suddenly fall to the ground, crushing anything underneath its body. It is the only attack that is known to easily kill a full squad in one execution, leaders included.
 * The Mireclops may drop to the ground and move forwards, flopping on the ground as it advances. This attack can be devastating should the squad be too close to the boss when it performs this attack.

Regular strategy
When it is first discovered, the monster is camouflaged and immobile. It will be oblivious to what is happening until the crystal is damaged enough to release one of its eyes; at that point, it will reveal itself and begin stomping around. At this point, its feet are its main weak point. Throw Pikmin at one of the feet and they will attack them, causing them to turn red. When one becomes bright red, the Mireclops will collapse onto the ground and become stunned. During this time, the monster's bulb will be accessible, so use your Rock Pikmin to finish breaking the crystal on top. It is recommended to swarm it with as many Rock Pikmin as possible before it has a chance to extend its tongue.

After it breaks, the Mireclops's vulnerable bulb will be exposed. Continue the process of attacking the monster's hooves and then its bulb to defeat it. Note that standing on top of the monster will cause it to retaliate by spinning its massive tongue in a circle to eat many Pikmin at once. It is recommended to use most of your Blue Pikmin combined with the ultra-spicy spray at this stage in the battle since they cannot be drowned in the water, or Winged Pikmin to attack the bulb when it rises up off the muddy terrain it is fought in. As it loses health, it will begin to charge faster and more aggressively and will also slam its body into the ground, crushing and/or drowning any Pikmin underneath it. In addition, it will perform its tongue spin twice in a row, with the second spin rotating at a higher speed.

An effective strategy is to, after waking up the Mireclops, head near the entrance of the arena and split up the leaders. Have one hold 10 Rock Pikmin and a large number of Red Pikmin, and give another a large number of Blue Pikmin. Have the leader with the Blue Pikmin work on stunning the creature, and once it's stunned, send in the leader with the Rock and Red Pikmin. Break the crystal with the Rock Pikmin and when it's stunned for the rest of the battle, use Red Pikmin on the bulb. When you see the Mireclops preparing its tongue attack, throw a few extra Pikmin on the bulb and retreat, as they will get in extra damage while it attempts to lick up your Pikmin. Once it gets back up, have the Red and Rock Pikmin leader retreat, and repeat until it dies.

Other strategy
Follow the one stated above, but when it gets back up after being stunned, throw a single Pikmin onto its head before it gets up all the way. Then, it will lift up for a while, shaking the Pikmin off. When it does this, charge at one of the feet. If done correctly, it will be stunned again before the first step. Do this until it dies.

Expert strategy
Winged Pikmin are especially useful for this boss. It is advised to bring in 50 Winged Pikmin and 30 Rock Pikmin. Once it has been awakened, use an ultra-spicy spray (if you only have one, you're better off saving it for later) and order the Pikmin to attack one of its feet as soon as it touches down. Proceed to the crystal and quickly mob it with Rock Pikmin. It should break, and then the next phase of the fight will begin.

Now have one leader go outside of the arena with the Rock Pikmin, as they are no longer needed for the fight. Again, use an ultra-spicy spray and attack a foot as soon as it touches down. Beware of the Mireclops's new attack, where it rapidly moves across the arena. Once it calms down, throw a few Winged Pikmin onto the bulb. This will cause the boss to shake them off and trigger its tongue attack. During this time, run around the boss' body, throwing a few more Winged Pikmin onto it. After the tongue has made it about halfway around its body, swarm all of your spiced-up Winged Pikmin at the bulb. Since the tongue will be preparing to go into its "retraction" animation, the boss will be unable to shake off Pikmin. If done right, the boss' health will immediately drain completely and it will be dead in a single attack. This tactic can be used to defeat the boss in under one minute. An easier way that is just as fast is to charge when its tongue is 50% through, call back when at half health, then charge again when it hiccups. This is possible with all types except Rock Pikmin, but Winged Pikmin make this way easier.

Badges
In, there is a badge the player can gain for defeating the Quaggled Mireclops:
 * Earth Mover: Defeating the Quaggled Mireclops.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
The Quaggled Mireclops appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a trophy.

Trivia

 * The Quaggled Mireclops is the largest known creature in the Pikmin series, also making it the largest boss, in contrast to the previous boss, the Scornet Maestro, which is the smallest boss.
 * The Quaggled Mireclops is one of only four creatures in the Pikmin series that have plant life growing on their bodies, the others being the Emperor Bulblax, the Flatterchuck, and the Sovereign Bulblax.
 * The Quaggled Mireclops is the first tripedal creature in the Pikmin series alongside the Skeeterskate.
 * The Quaggled Mireclops is the only known creature in the Pikmin series that has three eyes.