Empress Bulblax
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| Appears in | Pikmin 2, Pikmin 4 | ||
| Scientific name | Oculus matriarcha (Pikmin 2) Oculus kageyamii matriarchia (hypertrophic, gravid) (Pikmin 4) | ||
| Family | Grub-dog | ||
| Areas | None | ||
| Caves | Frontier Cavern, Hole of Beasts, Hole of Heroes, Kingdom of Beasts, Cradle of the Beast, Cavern for a King | ||
| Challenge Mode stages | Emperor's Realm | ||
| Dandori Challenge stages | None | ||
| Dandori Battle stages | None | ||
| 2-Player Battle stages | None | ||
| Attacks | Crush Pikmin, cause boulders to fall, birth larvae | ||
The Empress Bulblax (クイーンチャッピー?, lit.: "Queen Chappy") is a boss in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4. Its markings and general features are similar to those of the Bulborb, but its body is much larger and composed of five distinct segments; the comparatively tiny legs dangle above the ground.
Unlike most bosses, its behavior is different each time it is encountered. In the Hole of Beasts, it must be woken up before battling, rolling from side to side to crush any Pikmin under its weight. In the Frontier Cavern (as well as the Emperor's Realm in Challenge Mode), it will already be awake and giving birth to Bulborb Larvae. In the Hole of Heroes, it does the same while also causing boulders to fall when it hits a wall.
Stats[edit]
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The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4. |
| Game | Weight | Max. carriers |
Seeds | Value | Health | Regen. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
20 | 30 | 30[note 1] |  × 15
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5000[note 2] | 1.5[note 3] |
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20 | 40 | 50[note 4] |  × 20
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5000 | No |
- ^ This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the game files.
- ^ In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy has 3300 HP instead.
- ^ In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy regenerates 1 HP per second instead.
- ^ This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the in-game Piklopedia.
Behavior[edit]
The Empress Bulblax appears in multiple locations across both Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4, with three encounters each (or an extra encounter if the Emperor's Realm's is included). Its behavior changes depending on the cave it is encountered in.
When encountered in the Hole of Heroes or Kingdom of Beasts, the Empress Bulblax will be asleep. It will be curled up into a compact position, comparable to how a dog sometimes sleeps. While asleep, it will be completely oblivious to the player's presence, offering the perfect chance for a sneak attack. In the Frontier Cavern or the Kingdom of Beasts (as well as the Emperor's Realm), the Empress Bulblax will be awake and will actively be birthing Bulborb Larvae. When awake, it lays forward, exposing its full form. The Bulblax will birth several Bulborb Larvae, which can quickly overwhelm players if not handled carefully. In the Hole of Heroes and the Cavern for a King, it behaves the same but with an added danger: every time the Empress rolls itself into a wall, boulders will fall from the sky, potentially crushing non-Rock Pikmin. Though in the Cavern for a King, it will not be birthing any Bulborb Larvae – it will just be lying there.
If the Empress Bulblax is being swarmed by multiple Pikmin, it reacts violently to shake them off. Initially, the Bulblax raises its body from its half-lying state into the air before violently swinging its raised half from left to right. This action is intended to knock off the attackers and clear the area around itself. After it does this, the Empress will then lie back down before rolling to one side of the room, crashing itself against the wall. It will then roll itself to the other side of the room, crashing into the other wall. After doing this once or twice, it will return to the middle of the room and it will return to its idle-like state – either birthing Bulborb Larvae or simply lying still.
Locations[edit]
Pikmin 2[edit]
Caves[edit]
- Frontier Cavern - Births infinite Bulborb Larvae
- One can be seen on sublevel 8, holding the Repugnant Appendage.
- Hole of Beasts
- One can be seen on sublevel 5, holding the Prototype Detector.
- Hole of Heroes - Births infinite Bulborb Larvae
- One can be seen on sublevel 11, holding the Favorite Gyro Block.
Challenge Mode[edit]
- Emperor's Realm - Births infinite Bulborb Larvae
- One can be seen on sublevel 4, holding The Key.
Pikmin 4[edit]
Caves[edit]
- Kingdom of Beasts
- There is one Empress Bulblax on sublevel 3. It can be found in a long, open, arena directly in front of the S.S. Beagle. It holds a castaway, and once defeated the nearby numbered gate lowers.
- Cradle of the Beast - Births infinite Bulborb Larvae
- There is one Empress Bulblax on sublevel 3. It is located in an open arena towards the northeast, requiring the nearby dirt wall to be destroyed in order to reach said arena. It holds five Stately Rubber Cuties, and once defeated the nearby numbered gate lowers.
- Cavern for a King - Spawns 10 Bulborb Larvae after every second roll hit the wall (infinite)
- There is one Empress Bulblax on sublevel 17. It can be found in a small arena towards the northwest of the base, with a geyser in the northwestern corner and another in the southeastern corner. It holds a Fire-Breathing Feast, and once defeated the nearby numbered gate lowers.
Strategy[edit]
|
The following article or section contains guides. |
With Pikmin[edit]
To defeat the Empress Bulblax, it's important to swarm it with a decently-sized army. One good method involves throwing (preferably) Purple Pikmin onto its face and calling them back before the Bulblax shakes them off. Once the boss shakes them off, it will then begin to roll from side-to-side, attempting to crush your Pikmin by slamming itself into the walls. Be mindful of the boulders that fall when fighting the ones found in the Hole of Heroes and the Cavern for a King, as they can crush non-Rock Pikmin.
Purple Pikmin are very useful in fighting these bosses due to their high attack power and, for Pikmin 2, their power to stun the Empress Bulblax. Rock Pikmin also have a major advantage – they cannot be knocked off by the Empress’ violent shaking, as they do not latch on to attack, and they are immune being crushed by both the beast and the boulders.
For the Empress Bulblax found in the Hole of Beasts and the Kingdom of Beasts, due to their sleeping state, your best bet is to simply swarm it with your entire squad before it has the chance to fully awake – dealing a huge chunk of its health. For the other Bulblax encounters, this isn't suggested as they will be surrounded with Bulborb Larva and will be fully awake, so that sneak attack isn't available. For the Empress Bulblax specifically in the Cavern for a King, it will be encountered in a small space with geysers on either side. It is highly recommended that Oatchi is ridden, as managing your squad is difficult. This is the trickiest and toughest fight against it in the entire franchise if played as expected, particularly since it is unlikely that you won't access to Rock Pikmin during the encounter. It should be noted that there is an exit located at the rear-end of the arena, which can allow for an easy escape without having to deal with the typically tricky geyser timing. The player can attack it from the rear with a rush while mounted on Oatchi, recall their Pikmin before it rolls, and simply exit the arena. This can take some time, but is considerably more reliable than other strategies.
Alternate methods[edit]
If you want to avoid any potential Pikmin casualties, there are a few method to defeat the Bulblax without Pikmin. One way is to just use a leader's punch. Whilst it does take a long time, it is useful in dealing with the Bulborb Larva that get birthed, as they can be defeated with a single punch; Bulborb Larvae also eat Pikmin extremely fast. Additionally, you could lure the Bulborb Larva to stay at the side of the Empress Bulblax, as its crushing rolls will kill the Larva instantly.
In Pikmin 4, Oatchi is a good way to defeat the beast, provided he has a sufficiently leveled Rush and Chomp. Since he can attack and dodge quickly, he makes for an effective method to safely defeat the boss. Alternatively, 8 Bomb Rocks can swiftly deal with the beast.
Notes
Olimar's notes
Louie's notes
Dalmo's notes[edit]
Olimar's notes (Pikmin 4)[edit]
“Initial observations placed doubt on the capability of the Grub-Dog family to support a strong ant-or beelike social structure, but recent studies show the family is capable of such complexity for brief periods when certain external parameters are met.
The egg sac of the largest female Grub-Dog within a given range swells to dramatic proportions in response to environmental changes, such as the sudden depletion of prey species. These females temporarily take on the role of pack matriarch.
Also, in pack formation, it has been observed that nearly all males not involved in species reproduction undergo natural sex changes. The characteristics of such specimens are quite intriguing indeed.”Louie's notes (Pikmin 4)[edit]
Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide[edit]
Pikmin Garden[edit]
Text
“餌の枯渇などの環境変化の際に、周辺で最も大きなメスの卵嚢が肥大化し、イモムシのような姿に変化したデメマダラ。大量の子を産み落とし、この個体を女王とした社会形態を取るようになる。
特徴 その1 子を産む
- 大量のベビーチャッピーを産み出し、最大でおよそ50匹ほどの群れを構成する。
- (Image text: 子を餌の豊富な場所へ送り出す生存戦略とも、同族の非常食にするためとも考えられている)
特徴 その2 転がる
- 体が大きくなり過ぎて、歩くことはできない。体をくねらせたり、転がらせて移動する。
- (Image text: 斑紋がない幼生に気づかず、つぶしてしまうこともある)”
Translation
“During environmental changes such as food depletion, the egg sac of the largest female in the vicinity becomes hypertrophic, transforming this Bulborb into a caterpillar-like form. It produces a large number of offspring and a social form is established with this individual as the queen.
Feature #1: Producing offspring
- It gives birth to a large number of Bulborb Larvae and forms a pack of up to about 50.
- (Image text: "It is thought that this may be a survival strategy to send the young to a place where food is abundant, or to provide emergency food for its own kind")
Feature #2: Rolling
- Its body grows too large to walk. It moves by twisting its body and rolling around.
- (Image text: "Larvae without spots may go unnoticed and be crushed")”
In other media[edit]
Pikmin comic[edit]
In the Pikmin comic strip "Too Stuck to Pluck", an Empress Bulblax tries to pull a Red Pikmin into its underground nest while the rookie Rescue Officer pulls it in the opposite direction.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
The Empress Bulblax appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
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Description:
“A member of the grub-dog family, transformed by environmental factors. Due to her ridiculous size, the empress bulblax can no longer walk on her tiny legs. She just wiggles around, rolling from left to right. Although the female continues spawning bulborb larvae, she unfortunately rolls over them with her massive body.
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| How to obtain: Random appearance. | Type: Fighter Related | |
WarioWare series[edit]
The Empress Bulblax makes a cameo appearance in WarioWare: Smooth Moves, in a micro-game simply called Pikmin 2. In this micro-game, the player must tilt the Wii Remote to squish some Pikmin. This micro-game returns in WarioWare Gold.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
The Empress Bulblax appears as a Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after enhancing a Red Bulborb spirit. Its unique trait allows fighters to gain a large boost to their overall stats upon eating a food item.
| Spirit info | Augmented Fighter info | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Type | Class | Slots | Fighter(s) | Stage | Music | Rules/Hazards | Conditions | Image |
| Empress Bulblax | Shield | ★★★★ | 2 | None (Enhanced from the Bulborb Spirit) | 
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Technical information[edit]
| showPikmin 2 technical information (?) |
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Other information[edit]
- Size: Body length: 480mm, as per the e-card
- Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #70
- Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #14
- Musical theme:
Naming[edit]
- See also: Grub-dog family#Naming.
- Common name: Empress Bulblax. It is the female counterpart to the Emperor Bulblax, and is indeed a large Bulborb. Unlike the other two Bulblaxes, which share at least some features, the Empress seems to have the name only for its role in the ecosystem.
- Japanese nickname: クイーンチャッピー?, lit.: "Queen Chappy".
- Japanese name: デメマダラ（卵嚢肥大個体）?, lit.: "Spotted Bug-eye (specimen with egg sac hypertrophy)".
- Scientific name: Oculus kageyamii matriarchia (hypertrophic, gravid). Oculus kageyamii is the scientific name of the Bulborb species, and matriarchia being similar to the English word "matriarch", which is the female leader of a community. 'Hypertrophic' relates to hypertrophy, referring to the swelling of the creature's egg sac. 'Gravid' simply means pregnant. Before Pikmin 4, the scientific name was simply Oculus matriarcha.
- Internal names: Its internal name is simply
queen. - Prerelease: In the unused early English script inside Pikmin 2's files, Olimar refers to the Empress Bulblax as "Queen Bulborb", a straightfoward translation of the Japanese nickname, and the species name is misspelled as matriarhca.[1]
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
クイーンチャッピー? Kuīn Chappī |
Queen Chappy | "Chappy" is the Japanese name for Bulborb |
 Chinese(traditional) |
王后恰比 Wánghòu Qiàbǐ |
Queen Chappy | "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (traditional) name for Bulborb |
 Chinese(simplified) |
王后恰比 Wánghòu Qiàbǐ |
Queen Chappy | "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (simplified) name for Bulborb |
 Dutch |
Keizerinbulblax | Empress bulblax | |
 French |
Reine Bulblax Reine bulblax (Pikmin 4) |
Bulblax Queen Bulblax queen (Pikmin 4) |
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 German |
Fürstin Knollenauge | Lady Bulbeye | |
 Italian |
Bulbica Imperiale Bulbica imperiale (Pikmin 4) |
Imperial Bulblax Imperial bulblax (Pikmin 4) |
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 Korean |
여왕차피 Yeowang-Chapi |
Queen Chappy | "Chapi" is the Korean name for Bulborb |
 Portuguese |
Bulbolhona-real | Royal big bulbeye | "Bulbolhona" is the feminine augmentative form of "Bulbolho", the Brazilian Portuguese name for Bulborb "Bulbolhona" also sounds close to "bobalhona" (a childish slang that means "silly" or "stupid", feminine form of "bobalhão") |
 Spanish |
Bulbo emperatriz | Empress bulborb | "Bulbo" is the Spanish name for Bulborb |
Gallery[edit]
Pikmin 2[edit]
Artwork of the Empress Bulblax.
The Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia.
The Empress Bulblax in the Hole of Beasts.
The Empress Bulblax in the Frontier Cavern, surrounded by its Bulborb Larva offspring.
The Empress Bulblax as seen from above.
The Empress Bulblax's corpse.
Prerelease screenshot showing the Empress Bulblax beginning to roll.
The Piklopedia icon of the Empress Bulblax in the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin 2.
An Empress Bulblax petrified in the Frontier Cavern.
Pikmin 4[edit]
The Empress Bulblax's Piklopedia icon.
The Empress Bulblax rolling over several Pikmin and Bulborb Larvae.
The Empress Bulblax as seen from behind.
A sleeping Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia.
An Empress Bulblax corpse in the Kingdom of Beasts.
A defeated Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia.
An Empress Bulblax as seen in the "Too Stuck to Pluck" comic.
Other[edit]
The Empress Bulblax's e-card, #14 (20th red card).
Trivia[edit]
- Empress Bulblaxes can apparently shed their skin, as there appears to be a shed skin on the floor on the last sublevel of the Hole of Beasts, right underneath the Research Pod.
- It is impossible to wake up the Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia in Pikmin 2, no matter how many Pikpik carrots are thrown at it. The only other enemies who will not attack in the Piklopedia are the Titan Dweevil and the Segmented Crawbster.
- The Empress Bulblax is the only member of the grub-dog family that cannot kill Pikmin by eating them.
- The creature resembles a real-world pregnant queen termite.
- The Empress Bulblax gives birth to live larval-form offspring. This is not only unique to the Pikmin series, but also to real-world lifeforms.
- In Pikmin 2, the Empress Bulblax's specific epithet, matriarcha, indicates that it is considered a different species from its offspring, the Bulborb Larvae (bambinii), which is a biological impossibility. Pikmin 4 corrects this by updating the specific epithets of both the Empress Bulblax and the Bulborb Larvae to that of the Bulborb (kageyamii), establishing that they are all different forms of the same species.
- Louie's notes in the Japanese version of the game mention cooking the ovaries of the creature instead of its liver. This was also the case for the prototype version of Pikmin 2's English script.[2]
- In Pikmin 2, the Empress Bulblax bizarrely does not appear to have a soul; when defeated, one does not rise from its corpse. While there exist other enemies that similarly don't have souls, they explicitly are only incapacitated when defeated, unlike the Empress Bulblax, which is clearly dead. This oddity is shared with the Toady Bloyster (also only exhibiting this anomaly in Pikmin 2), Ranging Bloyster, and Titan Dweevil, along with all members of the arachnorb family regardless of game.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Pikmin 2/Early English Script on The Cutting Room Floor
- ^ Pikmin 2/Early English Script/Louie's Notes on The Cutting Room Floor
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