Editing Ancient Sirehound

|attacks    = Eat, [[crush]], ram, [[electricity|zap]], [[fire|burn]], [[ice|freeze]] Pikmin, and uses [[Smoky Progg|gloom]]

The '''Ancient Sirehound''' is the final [[boss]] of {{p4}}. It is a giant space dog very similar to [[Oatchi]] and [[Moss]], speculated by [[Yonny]] and [[Captain Olimar|Olimar]] to be the ancestor of all space dogs. They theorize that its descendents evolved to become smaller and were somehow dispersed across the universe, eventually becoming modern space dogs.

While it is said to be rather gentle in most cases, [[Louie]] somehow drives it into a rampage, complicating the [[Rescue Corps]]' attempts to get the cell sample they need to reverse [[Oatchi]]'s leaf tail.

The Ancient Sirehound is found on the bottom floor of the [[Cavern for a King]].

|hp4 = 9000

Unlike most previous bosses, the Ancient Sirehound has multiple [[health wheel]]s which must all be depleted for it to be defeated. Its attack patterns will change with each wheel that it loses. As it has access to multiple elements, the Candypop Buds on the previous floor may seem useful in order to combat the elements, but however, each Candypop Bud only yields 5 Pikmin, and there is only one of each type, meaning you can only receive 5 of any one Pikmin type; two of the buds are elements not present in the fight ([[water]] and [[poison]]). Even if for one respective phase you have 5 appropriately resistant Pikmin, the only spot on the Ancient Sirehound where you can initiate the damage sequence (the tail), has no elemental charge and thus resistant Pikmin are not needed; the rest of your  whole squad will still remain vulnerable to any elemental attack. The one benefit of having a few resistant Pikmin is during Phase 3 and 4, destructible, elemental obstacles will be summoned, and only resistant Pikmin can clear these hazards, however Oatchi's rush can also destroy the hazards, but Pikmin riding him have a chance to be hurt by it. The superior combat strength of [[Purple Pikmin]] is also valuable if the player has access to them, and with 100 Purple Pikmin, and use of [[Ultra-spicy spray]] it is possible to beat all 4 phases in just 3 attack swarms. If the player has [[Glow Seed]]s remaining in their inventory they should consider the use of [[Glow Pikmin]], which are resistant to most of the Sirehound's attacks and can stun it with a [[glowmob]].

The Ancient Sirehound mainly attacks with a jumping slam and a charge; the former [[crush]]es Pikmin and causes stalactites to drop from the ceiling, and the latter allows it to eat Pikmin that it catches in the charge. It can also swipe at Pikmin if they're too close to it.

To fight it, the player must trick it into charging at one of the fallen stalactites, which will stun it. The player must then have 15 Pikmin, or two [[Purple Pikmin]], grab onto its tail to flip it over and expose its belly to attack. This is the basis for dealing damage in all of the phases. As the Sirehound's health decreases, it will perform more jumping slams before charging.

The Sirehound will now begin to use a spread of five bouncing snowballs akin to those of an [[Arctic Cannon Larva]] and a long-ranged ice breath attack; if it freezes Pikmin, it will follow up with a charge. While it will try to face the player when using the latter, it cannot turn very quickly and its tail can be pulled on as before. However, care should be taken in order to avoid being hit by a stray snowball. The Sirehound will use six, then seven snowballs as its health decreases, and its ice breath rotation speed increases slightly.

Changing its element again to fire, the Sirehound will begin to spit fireballs, stomp the ground to produce flaming shockwaves (which Oatchi can jump over) and spit up burning hairballs which produce further shockwaves if they are not destroyed before being hit by a shockwave. The shockwaves cannot hit anything behind the Sirehound and it cannot turn around while performing them, which can be used to get behind it and pull on its tail.

Instead of using an element, the Sirehound starts to fly. It will lob projectiles that produce the same [[Smoky Progg|gloom]] that the [[Smoky Progg]] uses in a circular area when they land, and will also use a beam of this gloom to attack in a line. Due to the previous phases using hazards, and the poisonous appearance of the boss during the phase, it is a common mistake for players to throw White Pikmin into the gloom.

The player must navigate between the gloom patches without being hit by the beam to get underneath the Sirehound and pull on its tail once more. At low health, it will begin to panic Pikmin with its close-range roar and may quickly reposition itself to keep its distance from the player. This roar is to be treated with maximum and utmost caution, as this will cause dozens of your Pikmin to be instantly destroyed by the many puddles of gloom.

Upon losing its last health wheel, the Ancient Sirehound will be defeated and run away, leaving behind its collar and [[Louie]]. If fighting it in the [[Piklopedia (Pikmin 4)|Piklopedia]], it will simply fall asleep, now docile.

=== Dalmo's Notes ===

{{transcript|A coat that's dense and rough like a primeval forest, a stench like a wet canine, and a shockingly toasty body temperature... Clearly a dog in every sense. The long history of dogs being companions we can rely on triggers an instinctive reaction through our entire bodies! if I were left on this planet with this massive cutie, I'd be content!}}

=== Olimar's Notes ===

{{transcript|If we harvest mesenchymal stem cells from this gigantic canine creature and cultivate them with glow sap, the generated serum should return Oatchi's leafified tail to normal once administered. These results would indicate that 99.9 percent of the canine DNA matches Oatchi's and that the only difference between Oatchi and Moss may be the natural presence or absence of a leaf tail.

If these two theories prove to be true, it would suggest the possibility that this ancient creature is a common ancestor to two canine species from vastly remote star systems. And that, perhaps, there are even more hidden secrets out there that could hint at a fascinating yet inconceivable truth the universe has yet to reveal.}}

=== Louie's Notes ===

{{transcript|The ultimate ride, plush and comfortable. I wish I could bring it home with me.}}

* [[Cavern for a King]]: Appears as the final boss of the game, ridden by Louie.

Common name: Ancient Sirehound. A sire is someone of a high status.

* Ancient Sirehound bears a great resemblance to a real-life breed of tiny dog called a Shih Tzu. When compared to real-life sizing, the Sirehound would be about the size of a Shih Tzu puppy.  

* The Ancient Sirehound is one of the two enemies in the ''Pikmin'' series to have sequential health meters, the other being the [[Waterwraith]].

** Self-resurrecting enemies, such as the [[Spotty Bulbear]] and the [[Gatling Groink]], can fill their meter from empty to full, however this is technically the same meter and not a new sequential meter.

*When being fought in the Piklopedia, it is possible for it to jump on top of the walls of the arena.

*Each of Ancient Sirehound's elemental phases reflects a different type of pikmin.  

** The second phase is cyan and uses ice attacks like Ice Pikmin, the third phase is bright yellow and uses electricity like Yellow Pikmin, the fourth phase is red and uses fire like Red Pikmin, and the final phase is neon green, floats and uses otherworldly attacks like Glow Pikmin.