Shaggy Long Legs

The Shaggy Long Legs  is a miniboss in and a member of the arachnorb family. This enemy has masses of long, shaggy hair covering several parts of its body. Its color scheme depends on the habitat that it dwells in. This species of Arachnorb does not stop to rest as do the rest of the members of its family. However, it does stop to shake off Pikmin, which are able to climb the Shaggy Long Legs' legs. It is not seen in Bingo Battle or Mission Mode, instead replaced by the Baldy Long Legs, a hairless version.

There are three variants of this creature found in the game: a black and purple variant found in the Tropical Wilds, a black and white variant found in the Distant Tundra, and a golden variant found in the Formidable Oak.

While it does not reappear in, the aforementioned hairless version does, and the Shaggy Long Legs is mentioned within its notes.

Strategy
The Shaggy Long Legs will receive minimal damage on the areas of its body covered in hair. To remove the hair, the player must direct Pikmin to climb the towering beast's legs when they are on the ground. It is recommended that the player uses many Pikmin, as each step the creature takes will shake off some of the Pikmin on that leg. Once they reach the first joint, they will begin to pluck the hair. Once it is stripped of all its hair, it becomes a Baldy Long Legs. The creature will then violently roar and shake off its attackers. Quickly call the Pikmin back and have them climb up the leg again so they can attack the second joint and remove its hair. Once a leg has had both joints removed of their hair, the Pikmin will climb directly to the body and begin stripping off small strands of the longer hairs.

As the Shaggy Long Legs loses hair, it will take damage. In total, it has eight joints covered in hair, and it will lose about half of its health once all hair is removed. Once all of the joints have had their hair removed, direct your Pikmin to climb up the creature's bare legs and attack its main body. It will begin to lose hair and once all of its hair has fallen off, the creature will begin to visible shake in pain and will speed up its stomping. Using Winged Pikmin after all its hair is gone is also a viable strategy since they'll automatically charge at its main body without the need to climb the legs.

It is also important to note that the Shaggy Long Legs will periodically move between two different neighboring areas of the map. To prevent wasting time, it is recommended to have two different leaders waiting in both locations it shows up in, so you will be able to always attack it, regardless of where it retreats to. Another tactic is to do something else while waiting for it to return back to the area. The idle leader will eventually announce their panic when confronted with the returning enemy, which should alert you to resume the fight.

The best Pikmin suited for the battle are Rock and Winged Pikmin. Rock Pikmin are immune to crushing, and can still climb up the Arachnorb's legs, making them good choices to take out the hair with. A medium-sized group is best so that all Pikmin do not get shaken off. Once all hair is removed, Winged Pikmin can simply fly up to the abdomen of the creature, allowing for a quick fight. Ultra-spicy spray makes ending the battle even quicker with this strategy. To note however is that Rock Pikmin that climb up the legs will only hit the exposed core once before falling off by themselves. If you can it's best to bombard it by throwing the Rock Pikmin directly onto the exposed core from underneath dealing massive damage, quicker and more effectively. However you will need to throw them fast as not all of them will go high enough to hit it.

Golden variant


In The Ship Restored, the final stage of Olimar's Comeback, a golden Shaggy Long Legs can be found, alongside a golden Baldy Long Legs, within the large arena at the bottom of the Formidable Oak. Aside from its gold color, it behaves identically to the normal variety. Unlike them, however, is its larger feet (similar to the Raging Long Legs from ) that cover a much wider range when stomping. It contains the Nova Blaster, so defeating it is needed to complete the mission.

This version also has unique battle music, which the other bosses in Side Stories do not have. This indicates a sort of final boss nature, as the two golden arachnorbs are the last enemies one can encounter within the mode.

Trivia

 * The Wii U version of classified the Baldy Long Legs and a hairless Shaggy Long Legs as separate enemies. The Deluxe version, however, merges the enemies, as both Piklopedia entries are obtained upon defeating a Shaggy Long Legs.
 * The Shaggy Long Legs is one of the few exceptions in which Rock Pikmin can latch onto things.
 * The Shaggy Long Legs' animation changes depending on its body condition. While it has hair, it will stomp faster than without it. But if it has lost all hair on one of its legs, that leg will move slightly slower and shakes in pain.
 * By utilizing a sequence break in the cave where the player discovers the Yellow Pikmin, it is possible to fight the Shaggy Long Legs with unlimited time.
 * If one kills the Tropical Wilds Shaggy Long Legs while two feet are on the arena border and the other two feet are on the actual arena, the legs attached to the feet in the arena will bend backwards.
 * The Shaggy Long Legs is the only miniboss in Pikmin 3 that doesn't appear in Mission Mode.
 * The Shaggy Long Legs is one of the only enemies in the Pikmin series to have multiple variants with the same name. The only other enemy is the Adult Centipare.
 * Pikmin that are shaken off after a joint has been de-haired will stay on the ground stunned for a few seconds and then get up by themselves. However, Pikmin that get shaken off from an ordinary shake will not get up after staying stunned. For both cases, a Pikmin will also ignore a leader that bumps into it, but will get up if whistled.
 * If the boss is defeated in story mode and the day ends shortly after its health reaches zero, but before it drops its fruit, the creature will reappear the next day, only to begin dying the moment it spawns.
 * When charged, Winged Pikmin will fly straight to the Shaggy Long Legs's head.
 * If one removes all the hair from a Shaggy Long Legs, but doesn't kill it, a little bit of its hair will regrow the next day.