Smoky Progg
| Smoky Progg | |
|---|---|
| |
| Appears in | N/A |
| Scientific name | Unknown |
| Family | Unknown |
| Areas | The Distant Spring |
| Attacks | Suffocates Pikmin, uproots sprouts |
The Smoky Progg is a hidden boss found only in the first Pikmin game, and is possibly one of the toughest. The only way to encounter it is to visit The Distant Spring before day 15. It resides in the large watery area located to the east of the landing site, in the center of a small group of islands. The Progg resides in an egg and if you touch the egg in any way, even with Olimar, it will break out within 4-8 seconds. Swarming the unopened egg with a large number of Pikmin can easily defeat the Progg, but does not produce any reward.
The Progg itself is a dark green and black creature with glowing white eyes, and constantly emits a cloud of gas that is poisonous to both the Pikmin and Olimar. It is also able to uproot Pikmin sprouts. The Smoky Progg will make its way towards the landing site upon emerging, so it is necessary to kill it to avoid interference with the day's plans. It has an incredibly high defense, so it takes a while to kill. When killed, however, it drops a small nut which, if carried to an Onion, will produce 100 Pikmin seeds.
Olimar's belief that the creature is a malformed larval Mamuta is most likely based upon the fact that both creatures affect Pikmin on a different end of the same spectrum; the Mamuta plants the Pikmin, while the Progg uproots them and proceeds, then, to kill them. As the Mamuta doesn't feed on Pikmin, on the other hand, it is doubtful that its larval form would.
A Smoky Progg video: <youtube>tEGnc4AXkSA</youtube>
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How to Kill
There are several methods of defeating the Smoky Progg, some riskier than others. Swarming is utterly useless and will only result in all the Pikmin dying. One method is to withdraw 100 Red Pikmin, wait until it uses its uprooting ability and becomes still, then use the C-stick and A to throw Pikmin onto its face as fast as possible (Precise aiming is required so that the Pikmin do not hit the Onion instead of the Progg). If done correctly, the Smoky Progg will be so distracted shaking off Pikmin that it will not be able to move and will eventually die. A less risky method is to bring out 10-20 reds at a time and continuously attack until it is dead; naturally this method takes longer, but may be less risky.
An alternate way to hurt it would be to use Yellow Pikmin with bomb-rocks, aim well and do not hit the Progg on the rear with the Yellow that is thrown. Any Pikmin left walking in its trail will succumb to the poison. Occasionally, it will chase you around and not give up until your Pikmin die or you get far enough away, at which point it will ignore you temporarily and you can attack it again.
Egg Glitch
In a rare case, if you walk up to the egg as Olimar with no Pikmin, circle the egg and press A to try to attack it, the egg won't take any damage, yet if you go back to an onion to get your blue Pikmin and return to the cluster of islands, the egg will be gone. The only way to reset the egg is to reset your game. Going to sunset and continuing to the next day will not bring the egg back.