Editing Sandbelching Meerslug

The '''Sandbelching Meerslug''' ({{j|オオスナフラシ|Oo Suna Furashi|Giant Sand Rainer}}) is a [[boss]] in ''[[Pikmin 3]]'' and the third major boss encountered in [[Story Mode]], at the [[Tropical Wilds]]. It is a light brown eel-like creature resembling a {{w|lamprey}}, with very small eyes, thick purple lips and two rows of large sharp teeth. Further down its body, it gets wider and harbors spike-like protrusions. It is one of the largest bosses in the [[Pikmin series|''Pikmin'' series]] to date.

Upon attempting to [[Dig|dig up]] the [[Folded Data Glutton]] buried in the center of the arena, the Meerslug appears from beneath the sand, eats the device, and begins to attack the leaders and the Pikmin. It tunnels beneath the side, causing waves of sand to appear across the surface, which signifies its location. It will try to trap and eat Pikmin by creating a sinkhole in the sand that sucks them in. The most effective way is to throw a bomb rock into its open mouth. The eating attack it performs at the bottom of its sinkhole does the most damage to leaders out of any attack in the game, taking out thirty percent of a leader's health in a single chomp. It can also spit balls of sand, which can plant Pikmin. These planted Pikmin can still be eaten by the Meerslug. Upon its defeat, it will spit out the Folded Data Glutton as well as the [[Crimson Banquet]], which breaks into pieces upon hitting the ground.

The Sandbelching Meerslug moves quickly and does not show itself while on the move. Due to its enormous size, however, it can easily be seen burrowing just below the layer of sand in its arena. It will chase any [[leader]]s or Pikmin down and then follow up by emerging from the sand, where it will spit sand balls, and at the same time be left vulnerable, or burrow deeper into the sand and create a sinkhole to bring Pikmin down to its mouth, where they are eaten at a considerable rate. When damaged enough or fed a [[bomb rock]], the Meerslug will be forced from the ground and lay as a massive target for all Pikmin for a moment. Afterwards, it will burrow back into the ground and repeat its attacks.

The Sandbelching Meerslug is the third opponent in [[Defeat Bosses!]], and the player is given 13 minutes to kill it. The entrance/exit to the sandy arena is blocked off by a "keep out" sign. The player starts with Alph (player 1's starting leader), Brittany (player 2's starting leader), and Charlie. Their order in ''Pikmin 3'' is Alph, Brittany, Charlie, and in ''Pikmin 3 Deluxe'' the [[action menu|order]] is Brittany, Charlie, Alph. The player also starts with 20 Red, 20 Rock, and 10 Yellow Pikmin that have to be recalled due to the Meerslug's introduction. Dotted around the arena are buried bud and flower Pikmin. Behind the start are Reds in groups of 10 and 5. The south side of the arena has 5 Reds and 10 Rocks, as well as two bomb rocks on a ledge outside of the arena. On the far side from the entrance is a group of 10 Reds, and to the north is 5 Rocks and 5 Yellows, for a total of 50 Red, 35 Rock, and 15 Yellow Pikmin. The dirt mounds that originally contained the Meerslug's Data Files now have 5 bomb rocks (north) and 3 bombs rocks (southwest).

{{world records | date = {{date|27|June|2022}} | dbs = 0:53 | dbc = 0:55 | p3d = y}}

The Sandbelching Meerslug has two basic attacks, but has many different ways to execute them. As its health gets lower, the attacks get more dangerous.

If Pikmin holding bomb rocks are buried, the bomb rock will instantly go off. As such, it may be wise to keep your bomb rock Pikmin with another leader.

Bomb rocks can also be thrown into the creature's mouth whilst it is creating a vortex to cause damage. This also causes it to jump out of the sand, which makes it the only of getting your Pikmin army to safety should you and your Pikmin be caught in its deep wall sinkhole. Therefore, it's highly recommended that you harvest all the bomb rocks in the arena before starting the fight. When you use the charge command, Pikmin holding bomb rocks will gather in their own group away from the action and when a Pikmin with a bomb rock is thrown into the creature's sinkhole, it'll drop the rock and run out of the hole without even needing to be whistled. This means that there's almost no drawbacks in getting the bomb rocks early.

In {{p3d}}, there is a [[badge (Pikmin 3 Deluxe)|badge]] the player can gain for defeating the Sandbelching Meerslug:

Badge 12 meerslug.png|Duel in the Dunes. The badge shows an illustration of the Meerslug.

{{stub|section=y}}

|common    = Sandbelching Meerslug. "Belching" is slang for "vomiting" or "spitting", so "sandbelching" means "spitting sand". The word "Meerslug" might come from "{{w|Meerkat}}", and "{{w|slug}}".

|jpcommon  = {{j|オオスナフラシ|Oo Suna Furashi}}. {{j|オオ|oo}} means "giant", {{j|スナ|suna}} means "sand", and {{j|フラシ|furashi}} means "rainer" (as in to cause something to rain down).

|internal  = Internally, it is called <code>arijigoku</code>, which means "antlion pit", referring to it causing pits to draw in Pikmin to eat

|scientific = ''Gastropoidae anguilii''. ''Anguilii'' comes from ''anguilla'', which is Latin for 'eel'.

|FraM = Pukeslug

|FraN = Portmanteau of ''dégeulis'' (puke) and ''limace'' (slug)

Sandbelching Meerslug huge sinkhole.jpg|The Meerslug making a sinkhole as big as the arena.

Sandbelching Meerslug dead.jpg|The spoils of defeating the Meerslug – the [[Crimson Banquet]], which is broken into several pieces, and the [[Folded Data Glutton]].

SandbelchingMeerslugDataFile1.jpg|The first data file on the Meerslug.

SandbelchingMeerslugDataFile2.jpg|The second data file on the Meerslug.

{{p3enemies}}