Skutterchuck Icon used to represent the enemy on the wiki.
Artwork of a Skutterchuck.
Appears in Pikmin 3
Scientific name Hierodeciderit crystallosum (US)
Crystallosum securilis (EU)
Family Heavil
Areas Garden of Hope, Tropical Wilds, Springpetal Cave
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages Tropical Forest, Shaded Garden, The Rustyard, Clockwork Chasm
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages Twilight Hollow, Twilight River Remix, Fortress of Festivity, The Rustyard, Clockwork Chasm
Side Story days None
Bingo Battle stages Stagnant Sea, Twisted Cavern
Attacks Throw crystal nodules

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Hey! Pikmin.

The Skutterchuck (エボシトバシ?, lit.: "Eboshi Launcher") is an insect-like enemy first encountered in Pikmin 3, and found again in Hey! Pikmin. The creature has a black wafer-like body with an orange underside. It has a habit of picking up certain objects (like crystal nodules and Pikmin), similar to Dweevils. It uses its odd shape to scoop them up and carry them around, and also for throwing its load at an approaching enemy.

In Hey! Pikmin, it is slightly smaller and is brown. It simply walks forward, and when it passes through certain crystals, it will pick up a crystal nodule if its not holding one already. It can also now crawl under and on the sides of platforms, as well as above. Because they can crawl on the ceiling, they drop their crystals rather than throwing them when the player or their Pikmin are nearby.

Stats

Game Weight Max.
carriers
Seeds Value Health Regen.
  (?) 3 6 (normally) 3   × 5
  × 5
300 No
  N/A N/A N/A   × 0 No

To do: find out its health in Hey! Pikmin by looking into the game files.
Care to do so?

Notes

Hey! Pikmin logs

Its main offensive maneuver is to throw the crystal on its back. Without that crystal, it is defenseless. I've hypothesized that the males carry rocks and the females carry crystals... but I don't have any evidence to back that theory up.

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide

Skutterchucks attack by launching crystal projectiles from their backs. When you encounter a Skutterchuck, use one Rock Pikmin to shatter the Crystal Nodules, then toss another Rock Pikmin onto the creature's exposed back.

Behavior

The Skutterchuck is mainly passive, but when a leader or group of Pikmin gets close, it will try to attack. It attacks by picking up and throwing crystal nodules at its targets. It will also use its crystals as cover when being attacked, with the only Pikmin type that can break through being Rock Pikmin. When not attacking, Skutterchucks wander around in a small area, searching for nearby crystal nodules and picking them up if they have none, or fold in their thin legs and lie dormant on the ground with their crystal as protection and camouflage.

If a Skutterchuck has no crystals to pick up, it will pick up and throw Pikmin into the air instead. If a Rock Pikmin is thrown at it and breaks its crystal, the Skutterchuck will quickly scurry away.

Strategy

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies shown are just suggestions.

A single Rock Pikmin is enough to destroy the crystal if it is thrown onto it. The Skutterchuck will flinch, and another thrown directly afterward onto the now bare Skutterchuck will kill it in one hit. The second throw should come quickly after the first one, as if there's too much of a delay, the creature will flee before the second Rock Pikmin hits it.

Other Pikmin types can also be used to attack the underside of the creature. The Skutterchuck may shake them off and attempt to throw rocks onto them, but it rarely hits on time. This method takes a bit longer, and destroying all crystals with Rock Pikmin before killing the enemies leaves the Skutterchuck helpless.

It is possible to take advantage of the Skutterchuck's attack, as if the player positions a leader near another enemy, the Skutterchuck will throw its crystal at the leader, killing or damaging the other enemy in the process. Unlike other enemies that use weapons like the Careening Dirigibug in Pikmin 2, the Skutterchuck is not immune to the crystal nodules it throws, so this can be used to kill other Skutterchucks if they are in the area, or even the Skutterchuck that launched the nodule.

Technical information

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name iwakko
HP 300
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill 1
White Pikmin ingestions to kill 0
Bomb rock explosions to kill 1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill 0
Number of direct hits on top to kill 0
Damage to leaders 10
Territory radius 200
Mission Mode value 5

Other information

  • European scientific name: Crystallosum securilis

Naming

The following article or section needs help from someone who can translate Japanese/Translate its Pikmin 3 internal name. text.

See more: Heavil family#Naming.

"Skutterchuck" is a combination of "skutter", which is similar to "skitter", which in turn means "to run around quickly", and "chuck", referring to how it tosses rocks. Its Japanese name is エボシトバシ?, エボシ? is a black-lacquered headgear (made of silk, cloth or paper) originally worn by court nobles in ancient Japan and トバシ? is the sterm of the verb 飛ばす? which can mean "to fire", "to hurl" or "to launch". In Pikmin 3, it is internally known as iwakko. In Hey! Pikmin, its internal name is eboshi. Similar to all enemy internal names in Hey! Pikmin, it is a Romanization of the Japanese name, although it doesn't have the second word. Its generator name is enemy_hat_throw. This could be from how Skutterchucks hold Crystal Nodules on their heads like hats, and they will throw them to attack.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
  Japanese エボシトバシ?
Eboshi Tobashi
Eboshi Launcher
  Dutch Smijtmijt Fling(ing) mite
  French Lancetok From lance (throw) and étoc (reef)
  German Schleuderkrabbler Catapult Crawler
  Italian Lanciaquarzo Crystal Tosser
  Spanish Insecto noducristal Crystal nodule insect

Gallery