Yellow Wollyhop

The Yellow Wollyhop (known as the Yellow Wollywog in depending on the game and region) is a frog-like enemy found in the Pikmin games. They are large, round, yellow creatures with large eyes and beady pupils, and short front legs with larger hind legs. Their skin is tinted green towards the top of their heads, with green spots along the sides. They can usually be found in or around large, open-air bodies of water, but also in moist, rainy areas.

They are known to leap into the air, floating temporarily, and dropping, with the intent of landing on and crushing small Pikmin below, a behavior which is most readily explained as an attempt to drive predators away from developing eggs. According to Olimar's notes, these are Wolpole eggs, revealing that the Yellow Wollyhop and the Wolpole are the same exact species.

In Pikmin 3 and ''Hey! Pikmin'', it is the only mature species of amphituber. In these games, they also have a reasoning for their floating ability: their throat inflates, presumably allowing them to float in the air temporarily. In ''Hey! Pikmin'', they seem to have slightly increased in size and move slightly faster.

Pikmin
Frequently found in or near a body of water, Yellow Wollyhops are moderately sturdy creatures. Generally passive, they will only attack by leaping into the air if a leader or Pikmin comes nearby. Once on the attack, a Yellow Wollyhop will likely not pursue if its target is on the move, rather it will return to its general starting location in short hops. Their attacks are sometimes sudden, and they can shake all attacking Pikmin from their bodies. Upon falling, a Yellow Wollyhop's attack covers a considerable radius, killing all Pikmin within it. Even if a Yellow Wollyhop is defeated as it is about to fall, any Pikmin caught beneath it will still be killed. Such an attack can be prevented if the Wollyhop is weighed down with at least 10 or so Pikmin.

Pikmin 2
Yellow Wollyhops are changed little behaviorally. They are in general slightly weaker than they are in Pikmin, with less hit points, a smaller radius on their attacks, and being easier to weigh down. Also, when one is killed mid-air, the falling body will not kill any Pikmin beneath it. In this game exclusively, the player can also approach one from behind without it noticing. The albino Wollyhop however can notice leader and Pikmin from any angle, as long as they are in range.

Pikmin 3
Yellow Wollywogs are the only type of wollywogs to appear in this game. They have experienced one notable change: as they inflate their throats to float in midair, they can now float for a small but randomly chosen amount of time, making it less predictable and more urgent to avoid. They also have a 360° field of view, meaning they can detect Pikmin and leaders from behind, unlike in the past two games. However, they cannot crush the newly-introduced Rock Pikmin with their attacks.

Hey! Pikmin
In this game, Yellow Wollywogs passively wander a set area, ignoring Olimar and his Pikmin. They are only found in Downpour Thicket. Although they ignore him, if Olimar touches one, it will cause him damage, although Pikmin can walk through unscathed. If attacked, a Yellow Wollywog will become hostile, and attempt to flatten Olimar first, or any Pikmin if Olimar isn't in range.

(Note the Yellow Wollyhop always looked before it jumps)

Pikmin
These dangerous enemies must be dealt with carefully, as one false step could mean the loss of dozens of Pikmin with a single attack. Swarm with as many Pikmin as are on-hand and they should be able to weigh the Wollyhop down to the point where it cannot jump; as their health dwindles, Wollyhops can often summon the energy to make a last-ditch leap into the air, so be prepared to call the Pikmin back when its health meter enters the red zone. Any Pikmin hanging onto the Wollyhop when it lands will be thrown off and possibly deflowered from the force of the impact, sometimes leading to death for non-blue Pikmin if they are knocked into a nearby pool. Beware, as there is no limit to the number of Pikmin that can die at once.

The alternative strategy mentioned for Pikmin 2 also works here, but it takes longer than swarming, since throwing is slower in the first game without the swarm trick.

Pikmin 2
Yellow Wollyhops are much harder to ground in Pikmin 2, even if numerous Pikmin are thrown onto its back, but swarming can still be an effective strategy, as the radius within which the Wollyhop can crush a Pikmin is substantially smaller than in the first game. Purple Pikmin will also work exceedingly well when thrown at this beast in large numbers, as each one carries the chance of stunning it, preventing it from fighting back. Even so, the safer strategy is simply to punch it with leaders, especially if the Rocket Fist upgrade is available. However, this method has its own dangers, too. The leaders can get "comboed" by the creatures, getting knocked over when it jumps and, as they are getting back up, again when it lands. Note that if its health is completely depleted while in the air, it falls to the ground earlier than usual, crushing any Pikmin below it.

Pikmin 3
Yellow Wollywogs are much easier to defeat in Pikmin 3, because of the inclusion of Rock Pikmin, which are immune to being crushed. As such, they may be encountered as early as the second day. However, as some are found in water, Blue Pikmin must be used to defeat the water-dwelling Wollywogs. They are even more dangerous as they puff up to crush Pikmin in a larger area. One strategy is to lure them from the water to the shore, then use Rock Pikmin to attack it, whistling them back when you're low on throwable Pikmin.

It can be noted that the two Yellow Wollywogs in Fortress of Festivity on Battle enemies! mode in Mission Mode are significantly weaker than the average one, and it seems like the leader or Pikmin must get closer to them than normal to make them attack.

Hey! Pikmin
Because Yellow Wollywogs ignore Olimar at first and only cause to harm to Pikmin unless attacking, taking damage and using the invincibility to walk through is a viable option. If attacked, they will jump directly above Olimar, leaving enough time to walk past. If one wishes to defeat a Yellow Wollywog, throwing Pikmin on top of it and whistling them back before they're thrown off will work, although it will take some time. If the Pikmin are thrown off, depending on the placement of Olimar, the Yellow Wollywog, and the Pikmin (e.g.: Olimar is on one side, the Pikmin on the other, and the creature in the middle), it may be beneficial to not whistle the Pikmin back, to avoid death. The Yellow Wollywog can only kill Pikmin when landing from an attack.

Glitch
In The Final Trial in Challenge Mode, there is a Yellow Wollyhop near a pipe. If the Yellow Wollyhop jumps on the hole in the pipe, it gets stuck there; it can be coerced into doing so by moving Olimar onto it. While stuck, the Wollyhop cannot be harmed; it remains in its jumping animation and cannot be brought out of it.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
The Yellow Wollywog appears as a collectible trophy and as a Smash Tour trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. When used in Smash Tour, it makes the player's character immune to traps on the board, for the current round. The trophy is called "Yellow Wollywog" in the North American version of the game.

Trivia

 * The Yellow Wollyhop is one of the few enemies to have a figurine modeled after it.
 * In a prototype version of Pikmin, Yellow Wollyhops were capable of crushing Pikmin as they fall over when slain.
 * In Pikmin 3, Yellow Wollywogs cannot jump when Winged Pikmin are flying above them.