Emperor Bulblax
| Emperor Bulblax | |
|---|---|
| File:14.jpg | |
| Appears in | N/A |
| Scientific name | Oculus supremus |
| Family | Grub-dog |
| Areas | The Final Trial |
| Attacks | Eats Pikmin, crushes Pikmin, causes panic, summons Mitites |
The Emperor Bulblax is the largest known species of the Grub-dog family. Moss grows upon its thick hide, giving its body a greenish color and serving as camouflage. In the first game, tall mushrooms called Blaxcaps grow on its hide. This beast usually hides in the ground to ambush prey, catching it with its long, sticky tongue. Its soft face is its only weak point to attack, but since it doesn't discriminate much when eating things, it can be led to swallow something a bit less tasteful than Pikmin.
Pikmin 1
The Emperor Bulblax is the final boss in Pikmin 1. It lies buried in the ground at The Final Trial, visible only by the mossy growth on its back protruding from the ground. When approached, the Bulblax will rear up and roar, knocking Olimar and the Pikmin back, and will then proceed to attack. His attacks are different depending on his "mood". This mood is initially characterized by salivation: he will attack by using his tongue, gobbling up any Pikmin in front of him, even as many as all 100 if the player is careless. After taking damage, this phase will end, and Bulblax will use his jump attack. As defeating him when he is doing this is very difficult, you should pay attention to his mood. If you evade several of his jumps, he will go back to his eating mood. It is possible to identify the jumping mood beforehand, as the creature drools far less during the phase.
The best strategy to beating him is to have Yellows grab any nearby bomb-rocks, toss the Pikmin in front of him, and either allow them to throw the bomb-rocks at him or call them back so that they drop them in his path just before he attacks with his tongue; alternatively, the Bulblax may be allowed to eat the Pikmin while they are holding the bombs, although this is not an option for players attempting zero-death runs and is just generally not recommended for Players wishing to conserve Pikmin. Once the bomb-rocks explode, they will stun the Bulblax (the more bomb-rocks, the longer the stun), providing a good time to toss as many Reds as possible onto his face. Doing this repeatedly will have him beaten easily.
It's usually a good idea to devote a single day to removing obstacles and clearing the path, and then deal with the Bulblax the following day, since the battle itself can often be time-consuming. The Bulblax must be defeated in a single day, since any damage done on one day will not carry over, and if the day is ended before it is killed, then it will be at full health the next day.
Pikmin 2
In Pikmin 2, these beasts are much weaker, most likely due to their diminished size. They are found only underground, unlike in the first game, with only their eyes exposed as a form of camouflage, but emerge in the same manner. They still eat bomb-rocks, but must be coaxed into doing so instead, seeing as Yellow Pikmin no longer have the ability to handle those explosive objects. All other abilities are retained, except that their jump height is greatly reduced and they cannot lick their own faces. The hide is not very mossy, but the backside of the beast is still green and slimy, as well as invulnerable. This could mean that the Pikmin 2 versions may just be younger than the one in Pikmin 1.
Where bomb-rocks are available, making it eat them is the safest strategy, but can be time-consuming. Some of the game's Emperor Bulblaxes, once reduced to half health, roar, which has several effects: it causes your Pikmin to panic, summons another Bulblax to the fight if there is one in the area, and may bring Mitites burrowing out of the ground. By far the quickest method of defeat is using Purple Pikmin: simply throw them at the eyes, not whistling them, and the beast will die before it can retaliate. Only 10 are required for this quick and easy kill. If the Bulblax has already emerged, you can wait until it retreats back into its state of camouflage, or just throw purples at it then, being sure that they hit the ground or the beast with an impact, stunning it and dealing massive damage. When it dies, the Bulblax spins around and roars, whipping gobs of saliva everywhere until it shrinks down to about half its original size for easier carrying.
This creature is found on the last Sublevel (7) of the Bulblax Kingdom, where the only larger specimen is; two are found on Sublevel 4 of the Cavern of Chaos and Sublevel 10 of the Hole of Heroes; and three are in the Emperor's Realm in Challenge Mode.
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Trivia
- The reel notes for the Emperor Bulblax say that moss and plants grow on its back in rainy seasons. In Pikmin 2, these beasts only appear in caves, which, added with the presumably younger age, might explain why so much moss is absent on the beast's back, as the moss only has the cave's moisture to grow with.
Ways to kill
- In the first Pikmin game, yellows and bomb rocks stun and damage the beast. Use them in conjunction with reds for an effective strategy. In Pikmin 2, bring a small group of purples(10 or so) & toss them right in between the eyes; in no time at all the beast will be defeated. If you don't have enough purples, use other colors, but be prepared to use sprays in case your numbers dwindle.