Queen Shearwig

The Queen Shearwig is the fifth boss fought in, in the Troop Commander area. As the name of the area implies, the Queen Shearwig is the commander of a troop of Shearwigs, which aid it in battle.

Behavior
When the battle starts, the Queen Shearwig is behind a group of 30 Shearwigs, chasing Olimar and the Pikmin down the shaft. It stays at a constant distance, but occasionally shifts left or right. Periodically, one of the Shearwigs will move to the front of the pack, start spinning, and dive straight down, swaying slightly left and right as it goes. This spin is deadly, and any Pikmin thrown at a Shearwig in this state will die. If one touches Olimar, it will hurt him, kill some Pikmin, and launch some others away a bit. When a Shearwig goes past the bottom of the screen, it swoops back in from above and rejoins the group.

Pikmin can be thrown at the Shearwigs while they're providing cover for the Queen Shearwig. One throw is all it takes to take down an idle Shearwig, and any Shearwig killed this way is gone for good; it does not get replaced. Even after all 30 are gone, the Queen Shearwig will continue flying at the same distance from Olimar, and will continue to dash left and right randomly. Pikmin can also hit the boss proper at any time, if they don't hit any Shearwig in the way, since doing that makes them stop their flight and return to Olimar.

Once its health has reached two thirds, it will swoop back up, and become impossible to hit by any Pikmin. Any Shearwigs following the boss will go up as well, but are still vulnerable like always. Then, 30 Shearwigs will show up from the top, and 15 will be in the lead. These 15 are bundled in 5 groups of 3, and start moving down. Since these ones aren't spinning, they can be killed, but if they're not, they'll bite Pikmin from the group once they reach it, and will take them away to eat them. They can be killed while they are taking their prey away, which will save the captured Pikmin. After the first wave of 15, 15 others will show up and repeat the same rush attack, and the Queen Shearwig itself will also prepare an attack of its own: it will start spinning, aim towards Olimar's position, and eventually dive in a straight line in the direction of the spot he was, without ever changing course. This attack does not touch Winged Pikmin idling in the group, but will kill any Pikmin thrown at it, and will also hurt Olimar. While the boss is spinning, it will not harm Pikmin, but can also not be harmed itself.

After this, the cycle repeats, but the Shearwigs attack differently: instead of going straight down and swaying left and right, they do the exact same straight line spinning attack as the Queen Shearwig. In addition, if the idle Queen Shearwig is in the center, it will also occasionally fly up, too far to reach, and then come back down.

When its health reaches the last third, it and the Shearwigs once again retreat up. Then, 30 Shearwigs show up near the top, and 15 are ordered to rush to Olimar. They surround him, start circling while always keeping the same distance from him, and after several seconds, swoop in all at once, hurt Olimar, and take away some of the Pikmin, up to 6. Once they close in, the second group of 15 rushes in to do the same, and the Queen Shearwig does its own attack, repeating the same spinning one from before.

After that's done, the cycle repeats, and the Shearwigs use yet another attack pattern: they move to the exact spot Olimar is at that moment, but a small distance before contact, they curve back up, do a 360° curve, and continue going in the same direction. The idle Queen Shearwig will once again swerve left, right, or up randomly like before, but sometimes, it will follow up a swerve with another swerve right after, without waiting. When all of the Shearwigs in this phase are gone, the boss will not spawn any more, and since it will not attack from this stage onward, it is impossible to lose the battle.

If at any point during the fight, Olimar is down to just the four Winged Pikmin holding on to him, the Queen Shearwig will shriek excitedly, and at the next available opportunity, the entire squad will start spinning and dive directly down, with the Queen following close behind. They're so evenly spread that it is impossible to escape this attack. As soon as they touch Olimar, he instantly dies. If there aren't enough Shearwigs to fill the squad of 30, some will just appear from the top of the screen.

Locations

 * Leafswirl Lagoon
 * Troop Commander: this is the only place it's found in. Just like all other bosses, its arena takes up nearly all of the area.

Standard strategy
As soon as the battle begins, start throwing Winged Pikmin directly at the group. You can hold up to close the distance between you and the Queen Shearwig slightly, which should help. Whenever you see a Shearwig move in front of the group, focus all of your attention to it and take it out before it starts spinning and becomes invulnerable. Eventually, you will have hit the Queen Shearwig enough times for it to retreat, which happens when is health reaches two thirds. You can do this before or after clearing all of the Shearwigs, but it doesn't matter.

When the first line of 15 Shearwigs drops down, start taking them out, preferably while they are still starting their descent, so you can open up a path to squeeze through. Do the same for the second charge attack, but get ready to avoid the Queen Shearwig, which will drop down right after the second group has passed by you. I general, focus on ensuring Olimar's safety, since snatched Pikmin can still be rescued, and Pikmin following behind Olimar will not get harmed by the Queen Shearwig's drill attack.

When the cycle restarts, just repeat what you did in the first phase, paying extra attention to the Shearwigs that move to the front. If you let one slide, quickly get out of the way. After the boss's health drops to the final third, you'll get surrounded by two groups. Stay near the center, and try throwing Pikmin up at the Shearwigs while they're coming down, focusing more on the quantity of Pikmin you throw than on the accuracy of your shots, since it's so hard to hit those moving targets. Some of the Shearwigs will make it close to you and start surrounding you. While they are standing in place, take them down with standard Pikmin throws, but as soon as they start spinning, start throwing in a straight line, since the Shearwigs will just come to your bombardment of Pikmin instead. When you do this, throw left or right, so that the Pikmin collide against the walls and return to you sooner. When the second wave comes, do the same. The Queen Shearwig only comes to you after the Shearwigs are all dead, or have lunged inward, so you should have enough time to kill them all.

For the final stage of the fight, you should once again attack the Shearwigs at the top, but pay extra attention to the Shearwigs that move to the front, since their dive with a spin is both deadly and distracting. If you let one slide, run away, go to safety, and make sure that the Pikmin you throw will not touch the Shearwig.

Speedy completion
To complete the fight more quickly, hold up during most of it to slightly close the distance between you and the enemies, making your shots take less time to connect, and making it possible to sometimes hit the Queen Shearwig when it has swerved upwards in its harmless state. At the very start, you should stay in the center, aim straight up, at the center, and throw Pikmin as quickly as you can, to try to take out the Shearwigs at the center and cause damage to the boss before it does its first horizontal swerve. When it does swerve, you can try throwing Pikmin at its new position, especially if the way the Shearwigs are aligned allows you to land some shots, but it's likely better to continue throwing straight up, so that when the Queen Shearwig does its next swerve, it lands right on a barrage of Pikmin. If you're quick, you can make the fight advance to the next stage within just two horizontal swerves. Note that being offensive like this leaves you open to having Pikmin get hit by Shearwigs that dive nearby.

In the same part of the fight, but with its health at two thirds or less, repeat the process, but be sure to pay attention to the Shearwigs that move to the front, since if those are left unattended, they could end up colliding against you and costing you time and Pikmin. Either take them out or get ready to swerve away. If the Queen Shearwig moves up, throw a couple of Pikmin at the general Shearwig troops near the center, to make your next attacks more likely to connect and cause damage.

When the circling attack comes, wipe out the Shearwigs as quickly as possible, since the second group comes when the first is gone, and the Queen Shearwig drops when the second group is gone. Start throwing Pikmin at the Shearwigs while they are dropping down to circle you, but remember to lead your shots. If you're quick enough, you'll kill them all before they even start rotating, but if not, keep in mind that when they start rotating, you'll have to lead your shots even further. For the final part of the fight, simply do the same as before, but keeping an even more watchful eye on the Shearwigs that come to the front, and killing them as soon as possible. If you don't, not only will they come after you, but their mid-flight loop will likely cause them to stand in your Pikmin's way, killing them.