Editing Waterwraith

|image      = Wraith.png

|image2      = Waterwraith stunned.png

|icon        = Piklopedia Waterwraith.png

|underground = [[Submerged Castle]]

The '''Waterwraith''' ({{j|アメボウズ|Ame Bouzu|Rain Priest}}) is a boss from ''[[Pikmin 2]]'', found in all sublevels of the [[Submerged Castle]] and in the [[Bully Den]] in [[Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2)|Challenge Mode]]. It can only be damaged by [[Purple Pikmin]]; however, the entrance to the cave is flooded, making them impossible to bring along.

Its appearance is generally humanoid in shape, with the suggestion of a head, body, arms, and legs, but without distinct characteristics, and with a watery, transparent body. As a matter of fact, its scientific name is ''Amphibio sapiens'', which is similar to the human's scientific name: ''Homo sapiens''. The [[Hocotate ship]] notes that although it can be seen, its sensors somehow detect nothing, leading to the conclusion that the Waterwraith's physical form is anchored in another dimension. It is one of the most dangerous [[Enemy|enemies]], as it can instantly kill [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] by just rolling over them, and cannot be deterred or defeated until the final floor. However, it does not appear immediately, instead giving the player a five minute grace period before appearing. In the Bully Den, both Waterwraiths will fall when the seconds counter falls to 270, leaving only 30 seconds for preparation.

The Waterwraith is one of the few enemies in ''Pikmin 2'' which has its own background [[music]], along with the [[Titan Dweevil]] and the [[Giant Breadbug]]. In the Submerged Castle, when it appears, [[Music in Pikmin 2#Waterwraith attacks|its own theme]] plays. When it is fought in the last sublevel, the [[Music in Pikmin 2#Common boss battle|normal boss music]] plays, and when it has no rollers, a special, more lighthearted [[Music in Pikmin 2#Waterwraith vulnerable|version of the boss music]] plays.

==Stats==

|weight2 = N/A

|carriers2 = N/A

|seeds2 = N/A

|value2 = N/A

|hp2 = 1800<ref group="note">1800 HP on the rollers phase, 1500 HP on the walking phase.</ref>

|regen2 = 0

==Strategy==

===While wandering===

The Waterwraith will come on any sublevel of the Submerged Castle, after 5 minutes. When encountered, the beast falls from the sky. This will give two falling noises followed by two explosion-like sounds and then a noise like a scream underwater. It lifts up its front roller, and smashes it on the ground, [[crushing]] any Pikmin underneath. It then commences moving around on its stone rollers. However, before sublevel 5, there is '''no way''' at all to harm it; not even [[bomb rock]]s or an [[ultra-bitter spray]] will have any effect. With that in mind, there are a few things to remember:

*The Waterwraith can kill other enemies and disable traps. This can be used to your advantage.

*It follows the active leader. This can be used to your advantage, similar to the fight with the [[Ranging Bloyster]].

*The Waterwraith does not go into small corners, crevices, dead-ends, and areas with Candypop Buds (even if it has been used) making these places safe to hide in.

*If you're having a difficult time avoiding the Waterwraith, you can always reset in an attempt to get an easier or more exploitable floor layout.

*A cloud of dust is visible behind the Waterwraith, allowing you to keep better track of it.

The following tips can also be used for story mode:

*You should collect treasures as quickly as possible and avoid collecting corpses. If you're fast enough, you can avoid facing the Waterwraith entirely. Remember that you can return to the cave and collect anything you missed the first time around.

*It is advised to at least have the [[Rush Boots]] power up, which can allow leaders to quickly escape the Waterwraith. The [[Stellar Orb]] also helps to illuminate the area, giving you a good view of where the beast is.

===Battle===

Since it can only be damaged by Purple Pikmin, the only way to combat it in the Submerged Castle is to survive until the final sublevel, where you can get Purple Pikmin via [[Violet Candypop Bud]]s.

When a Purple Pikmin lands on or near the Waterwraith in a fashion that would stun any other beast, it turns a deep shade of purple not dissimilar to that of the Pikmin that cause this state to come about. In this state, it is vulnerable to '''all''' Pikmin attacks. When the Wraith's [[health]] has been fully depleted, the rollers crumble and the Waterwraith will run aimlessly around the cave, no longer a threat to your Pikmin. Attack with more Purple Pikmin and then you can easily attack it with other Pikmin. When defeated, it will vanish into nothing, and you will be troubled no more. It drops the [[Professional Noisemaker]], a useful addition to the [[Exploration Kit]] the first time you beat it in the [[Submerged Castle]].

The Waterwraith can be petrified, which is useful to stop it if it is coming towards you, but while in this state, it cannot be damaged with normal attacks &ndash; Pikmin that attack will just cause an effect similar to attacking a [[reinforced wall]] in other games. Purple Pikmin that land with a thud on the petrified creature have a different behavior, however. When the boss has its rollers, a thud can cause the [[HUD#Health wheel|health wheel]] to appear, if it hasn't already. In the state without rollers, these thuds will actually cause a small amount of damage, and make it possible to kill the creature when petrified.

===Nintendo Player's Guide===

{{transcript|The anxious Waterwraith appears before the final floor of the Submerged Castle, but you won't be able to defeat it until you use Violet Candypop Buds to create Purple Pikmin on the cave's lowest level. One touch from a purple will make the beast temporalily vulnerable.}}

==Glitches==

*'''[[Glitches in Pikmin 2#Struggling Waterwraith|Struggling Waterwraith]]''': by petrifying the creature on the [[Piklopedia (Pikmin 2)|Piklopedia]] just as its archive is opened, and then petrifying it again just as the rollers break free will result in only the rollers getting petrified, but not the boss.

*'''[[Glitches in Pikmin 2#Sliding Waterwraith|Sliding Waterwraith]]''': By switching between a [[leader]] close to a vulnerable Waterwraith and to a leader far away from it, the creature will be seen stuck in the same pose, but moving around like normal.

*It is likely that if the Waterwraith's head comes into contact with the [[Research Pod]] after having lost its rollers, another glitch will occur. The outcome is a change in the way it moves: instead of walking, the creature glides along; and any Pikmin that touch it are thrown out-of-the-way, though unharmed. The amount of health it had previous to the glitch occurring determines whether or not it can be damaged in this state.

*Another glitch may occur when the Waterwraith attempts to turn around sharp corners. Instead of successfully completing a 360 degrees turn, it may get wedged in the middle of a tight space. This could either be helpful, allowing the player to avoid the Waterwraith, but this glitch could also block crucial pathways, such as a pathway to the next floor. Unfortunately, the only solution for this is to reset.

*Yet another glitch happens when the Waterwraith is hit with a Purple Pikmin while running. The Waterwraith may turn clear while in the crouching position, instead of it having a purple hue.

*In [[Bully Den]], the Waterwraiths will never pay attention to Louie, when playing in 2-player mode. This can result in a rollerless Waterwraith to casually walk or even stand still near Louie, instead of panicking. It can still be attacked by Louie, though.

==Technical information==

===Creature===

===Rollers===

==Other information==

|music     = ''[[Music in Pikmin 2#Waterwraith appears|Waterwraith appears]]'', ''[[Music in Pikmin 2#Waterwraith|Waterwraith attacks]]''

==Naming==

A "wraith" is a spirit, or a ghost, and the Waterwraith's name is a portmanteau of "water" and "wraith". In Japan, this creature is called {{j|アメボウズ|Ame Bouzu}}, in which {{j|ボウズ|Bouzu}} translates to "Priest", but the meaning behind {{j|アメ|Ame}} is more mysterious, in that it can either translate to "rain" or "candy". Both of these could refer to the creature's gelatinous body and also the fact that the majority of the treasures in the cave are candies. In addition, the name could be a portmanteau of "amoeba" (written in katakana like "ameba"), an unicellular organism usually found in water, and "umibōzu", which is, in Japanese folklore, a watery creature with a bald head similar to a monk.

 

Its scientific name, ''Amphibio sapiens'', uses the word ''amphibio'', similar to the English word "amphibious", and ''sapiens'', meaning "discerning" or "wise", and which is also part of the species name for the real world human, ''{{w|Homo sapiens|Homo sapiens}}''. This can be construed as both a reference to its humanoid shape, as well as it being essentially "living water". In any case, the scientific name can be translated to "wise water". Finally, this boss' internal name is <code>blackman</code>. The "man" part is naturally because of its human-like frame, and "black" is presumably due to the fact that it can turn purple when attacked by [[Purple Pikmin]] &ndash; during development, Purple Pikmin were given the name "black".

 

Interestingly, the names of the creature's animations inside the game's files refer to it as "Kagebōzu" ({{j|かげボウズ|Kagebōzu}}), which means "Shadow Priest". This indicates that, [[Pikmin 2 prerelease information|during development]], the Waterwraith's Japanese name was meant to be different.

===Names in other languages===

|JapM  = Rain Priest

==Gallery==

Tiredwaterwraith.png|A tired Waterwraith with no rollers.

Waterwraithcutscene.png|The Waterwraith appears.

Waterwraith2.jpg|A Waterwraith as seen from behind.

R16.JPG|The creature's [[e-card]], #63 (16^th red card).

==Trivia==

[[File:Waterwraith standing.gif|thumb|Animation of the Waterwraith standing still.]]

* The Waterwraith is similar to the [[Goolix]], in that both enemies are watery in appearance and can only be defeated by a certain type of Pikmin.

* In the Piklopedia, it is possible that the Waterwraith will roll out-of-bounds.

* The Waterwraith seems to be related to a boss of ''[[Pikmin 3]]'', the [[Plasm Wraith]], in both appearance and names: the Waterwraith is called {{j|アメボウズ|Ame Bouzu|Rain Priest|f=tp}} while the Plasm Wraith is called {{j|アメニュウドウ|Ame Nyuudou|Rain Monk|f=tp}}. In addition, in [[Pikmin 3 Deluxe]] Olimar’s [[Piklopedia]] entry mentions the Waterwaith.

* In the game's files, the Waterwraith's model contains a dummy texture that reads "fb dum". This is the texture applied to the model before the shaders are applied: [[File:Waterwraith dummy texture.png]]

*Since the Waterwraith disappears after defeat it is unknown how Louie collected and experimented for food purposes.

*If Purple Pikmin are forced to appear in the cave earlier than sublevel 5 and the monster is defeated then, it will still drop the treasure. Speaking of which, the monster's treasure will not be detected by radar until the showdown with the beast in the final floor; if all treasures in an earlier sublevel are collected, the radar will deactivate and remain that way, even if the Waterwraith had shown up.

* After taking out the Waterwraith's rollers and entering the second stage of the fight, if the player is sufficiently far away from the boss, it will stop walking randomly and will instead stand in place. In this animation, it also occasionally turns around back and forth. This elusive animation can only be seen by being far enough away, by using the zoomed-out or ground-level [[camera]] settings, and by being on sublevel 5 of the [[Submerged Castle]], since it is too dark to see that far away on the [[Bully Den]].

*If the player reaches the final floor before the Waterwraith makes its first appearance, the boss battle with play out as usual, but the ship will not trigger the cutscene to declare it a danger.{{cite youtube|6UrIdb6FDDI|of a speedrunner discovering the Submerged Castle for the first time, but not encountering the Waterwraith until the final floor|h=1|m=54|s=12|published={{date|29|November|2018}}|retrieved={{date|4|June|2020}}}}

==See also==

*[[Plasm Wraith]]

*[[Goolix]]

==References==

{{enemies}}