Ranging Bloyster

Ranging Bloyster
Appears in	Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Molluschid predatoria
Family	Mollusking
Areas	None
Caves	Shower Room, Hole of Heroes
Challenge Mode stages	The Giant's Bath
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Shoot out mouthparts and eat Pikmin

The Ranging Bloyster (ケメクジ^?) is a boss in Pikmin 2 that resembles a large Toady Bloyster and is likely named for its longer mouthparts or increased travel range. These creatures have an affinity for shiny objects and will track the active leader's light beacon, making them impossible to approach unnoticed from behind.

This creature is found only on the seventh and final sublevel of the Shower Room, the seventh sublevel of the Hole of Heroes (accompanied by pairs of Armored Cannon Larvae and Decorated Cannon Beetles) and the second and final sublevel of The Giant's Bath in Challenge Mode.

There is a glitch that makes the Ranging Bloyster still "live" after the player kills it. If it is defeated while its antenna is still glowing, the tail left behind by the Bloyster might still glow and beep; however, it will only glow if it is taken to the ship. It is also possible for the creature to not appear when the player visits the seventh sublevel of the Shower Room, albeit very rare. Further details can be found here and here.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
3	6	25	× 15	1500	4.5 HP/s

Notes

Olimar's notes

“This species of mollusk has shed its shell through the process of evolution. What appears as a flower-shaped protrusion on its back actually functions as its gills. The ranging bloyster ensnares small animals with its sticky tentacles, reels them in, and consumes them. Observers have noted that this creature exhibits a keen interest in flashing objects. It often tries to capture and ingest these objects. Researchers and explorers equipped with flashing identification beacons should be wary when in close proximity to this dangerous predator.”

Louie's notes

 GameCube

“The gills are best prepared deep-fried in an herb and bread-crumb batter. Also tasty poached and drenched with fine soy sauce.”

 Wii  US version

“The gills are best prepared deep-fried in an herb and bread-crumb batter. Also tasty poached and drenched with fine soy sauce.”

 Wii  European version

“The gills are best prepared deep-fried in a herb and bread-crumb batter. Also tasty poached and drenched with fine soy sauce.”

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide

“Several tonguelike feelers on the Ranging Bloyster extend from the creature's mouth and seek out the Pikmin that match the color of the bulb on its behind. Split your forces into two armies on opposite sides of the arena, and take turns switching to the team that has a good shot at the bulb.”

Strategy

The following article or section contains guides. The strategies shown are just suggestions.

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2. Particularly: Explain the mechanics when there are two players fighting it. Also, apparently it can be damaged by throwing Purple Pikmin at its hide, though this may be a Japanese release-only thing.

This beast can be difficult to defeat in a timely manner, but with the right strategy, can be overcome without losing any Pikmin. The Bloyster will hunt your active leader and will change its target accordingly if you switch. However, there is a slight delay between the time it stops chasing one leader and starts on the other. Use this to your advantage by placing each leader on either side of the beast. Lure it towards one, then switch with  / and quickly toss Pikmin onto its vulnerable tail. Call them back when the Bloyster turns to face you, then repeat.

Another way to deal with this boss is to attack it with a single group of Pikmin led by both leaders. Because it pauses slightly in order to track the leading leader, the idea is to keep switching control of your leaders every time it turns your active leader's color. In this way, it is very easy to simply walk past it, step behind it, and throw Pikmin at the bulb on its tail without trouble. Be sure to call back any Pikmin that get shaken off their target.

In the Hole of Heroes as well as The Giant's Bath, the arena for the fight is very big, and you can easily corner the Bloyster. Defeat the Armored Cannon Beetle Larvae and Decorated Cannon Beetles in the Hole of Heroes by having them shoot rocks at each other. The Ranging Bloyster cannot be harmed by the rocks. Then, have a leader lure the Bloyster to one of the corners of the room. The leader will be close enough to keep the Bloyster's attention, but the Bloyster cannot reach the leader, as its range does not reach the corners of the room. Have the other leader bring all the Pikmin to the other side, switching between the two leaders while approaching to keep the Bloyster's attention on the one out of reach. When close enough, throw Pikmin onto its tail, while switching to keep it from attacking the group of Pikmin. If a spray or purples are used, the Bloyster can be defeated within less than a minute without casualties.

A much more time-consuming method is to have a 100 strong army, confront the Ranging Bloyster, spray it, and then toss Pikmin onto its back. When it unfreezes, simply spray it again, and any Pikmin that were thrown off will leap back on it to continue the assault. Note that this can take multiple ultra-bitter sprays and the Pikmin will likely revert back to leaf Pikmin when thrown off, but it is a far safer method.

A safe but slightly slow way is to use a single Purple Pikmin. Begin by making the Bloyster use its main attack. While it's busy doing so, go around it and throw the Purple Pikmin at its bulb. Slowly rotate alongside the Bloyster so that it does a full circle. When it reaches its initial position, make it attack again, and while it's doing so, go to its back, whistle the Pikmin, and re-throw it. Repeat this until the creature is dead.

As a last resort, White Pikmin can be fed to the Bloyster, each dealing heavy damage when eaten. At least 8 are necessary to poison the creature to death.

Technical information

Internally, Toady Bloysters are actually Ranging Bloysters, except with some properties that specify the differences, and the hard-coded ability to track leaders removed.

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name			umimushi (umimushiblind for the Toady Bloyster)
Global properties (List)
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
s000	friction(not used)	Friction	0.5
s001	wallReflection	Unknown (wall bounce speed multiplier?)	0.5
s002	faceDirAdjust	Unknown	0.25
s003	accel	Acceleration	0.1
s004	bounceFactor	Unknown (bounce when it hits the ground?)	0.3
fp00	ライフ	HP	1500
fp01	マップとの当り	Unknown (related to slopes)	80
fp02	ダメージスケールXZ	Horizontal damage scale	0.1
fp03	ダメージスケールY	Vertical damage scale	0.15
fp04	ダメージフレーム	Damage scale duration	0.35
fp05	質量	Unknown (weight?)	0.5
fp06	速度	Move speed	15
fp08	回転速度率	Rotation acceleration	0.1
fp09	テリトリー	Territory radius	300
fp10	ホーム範囲	"Home" radius	30
fp11	プライベート距離	"Private" radius	0
fp12	視界距離	Sight radius	700
fp13	視界角度	FOV	180
fp14	探索距離	Unknown (exploration radius?)	400
fp15	探索角度	Unknown (exploration angle?)	90
fp16	振り払い率	Successful shake rate	1
fp17	振り払い力	Shake knockback	120
fp18	振り払いダメージ	Shake damage	1
fp19	振り払い範囲	Shake range	90
fp20	攻撃可能範囲	Unknown (shock attack max range?)	30
fp21	攻撃可能角度	Unknown (shock attack max angle?)	15
fp22	攻撃ヒット範囲	Unknown (attack hit range?)	170
fp23	攻撃ヒット角度	Unknown (attack hit angle?)	30
fp24	攻撃力	Attack damage	10
fp25	視界高	Unknown (height visibility?)	50
fp26	探索高	Unknown (exploration height?)	50
fp27	ライフの高さ	HP wheel height	100
fp28	回転最大速度	Rotation speed	1
fp29	警戒時間	Unknown (warning time?)	0
fp30	警戒ライフ	Unknown	0
fp31	ライフ回復率	Regeneration rate	0.0001
fp32	LOD半径	Off-camera radius	200
fp33	マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定	Collision processing radius	100
fp34	ピクミンとのあたり	Pikmin damage radius	0
fp35	石化時間	Petrification duration	1
fp36	ヒップドロップダメージ	Purple Pikmin drop damage	50
fp37	地震気絶確立	Purple Pikmin stun chance	0 (0%)
fp38	地震気絶時間	Purple Pikmin stun time	5
ip01	振り払い打撃Ａ	Shake mode 1 – hit count	10
ip02	振り払い張付１	Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement	3
ip03	振り払い打撃Ｂ	Shake mode 2 – hit count	13
ip04	振り払い張付２	Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement	6
ip05	振り払い打撃Ｃ	Shake mode 3 – hit count	16
ip06	振り払い張付３	Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement	9
ip07	振り払い打撃Ｄ	Shake mode 4 – hit count	20
Specific properties
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
fp01	ダメージレート	Unknown (damage rate?)	0.03
fp02	旋回開始角度	Unknown (turning start angle?)	30
fp03	旋回終了角度	Unknown (turning end angle?)	10
fp04	サーチ移動速度	Unknown (unmesmerized move speed?)	85
fp06	サーチ回転速度率	Unknown (unmesmerized rotation speed?)	0.05
fp07	サーチ回転最大速度	Unknown (unmesmerized max rotation speed?)	2.5
fp09	黒ピクミンダメージレート	Unknown (Purple Pikmin damage rate?)	0.05
fp10	地下テリトリー	Unknown (underground territory?)	300
fp11	白ピクミン	White Pikmin poison damage	200
fp12	めくらライフ	Toady Bloyster HP	800
fp13	めくら待機間隔	Toady Bloyster idle duration	200
fp14	めくら移動間隔	Toady Bloyster movement interval duration	200
ip01	攻撃後待機期間	Unknown (wait period before attacking?)	0

Other information

• Size: Body length: 211mm, as per the e-card
• Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #77
• Musical theme: Common boss battle

Naming

See more: Mollusking family#Naming.

• Common name: Ranging Bloyster. It is called such because it is like the Toady Bloyster, but has a proboscis that has far greater range.
• Japanese nickname: ケメクジ^?. It is an adaptation of the word ナメクジ^? (lit.: "land slug"), but renamed slightly to make it alien sounding.
• Japanese name: ヒトハナケメクジ^?, lit.: "Single Flower Kemekuji".
• Scientific name: Molluschid predatoria. Predatoria is similar to the English word "predator", given how this creature is much more effective at hunting down Pikmin compared to the Toady Bloyster.
• Internal names: Internally, it is called umimushi, which is a Romanization of うみむし^?, or "sea insect", and may be a pun on ウミウシ^? (lit.: "sea slug").
• Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ケメクジ? Kemekuji	From ナメクジ? (lit.: "slug")
Chinese (traditional)	蛞蝓	Slug
French (NoA)	Eventraille adulte (Piklopedia) Éventraille adulte (Olimar's notes in the Piklopedia)	Adult innard disemboweler
French (NoE)	Eventraille Adulte	Portmanteau of "éventrer" (disembowel) or "entrailles" (innards) and "éventail" (fan), and "adulte" (adult)	"Eventraille" should be "Éventraille", according to authorities such as the Académie française; however, in practice, many French speakers and publications frequently omit accents on capital letters.
German	Blasebalg-Knaller	Bellow-Banger
Italian	Blostrica branchiata	Gilled Bloyster
Korean	맨들민달팽이
Spanish (NoA)	Berberéchido urraca	Magpie cockle

Gallery

• 

  A Ranging Bloyster in the Piklopedia.

• 

  The Ranging Bloyster attacking with its seven tongues.

• 

  The Ranging Bloyster when targeting Captain Olimar.

• 

  The Ranging Bloyster when targeting Louie or The President.

• 

  Two Ranging Bloysters attacking Louie in the unused cave, last_4.

• 

  The Piklopedia icon of the Ranging Bloyster in the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin 2.

• 

  The corpse of a Ranging Bloyster.

• 

  The Ranging Bloyster's e-card, #25 (20^th blue card).

Trivia

The Ranging Bloyster can be seen at the bottom of the image, below the Pikmin counter's slash.

• When the Ranging Bloyster dies, its body shrinks down, except for the bulb, which can then be carried. The body doesn't shrink down that much, and can actually be seen by zooming in the camera. This also happens with the Toady Bloyster, Burrowing Snagret, and Pileated Snagret.
• Ranging Bloysters are based on nudibranchs, which are sea slugs that are very similar in appearance. Like nudibranchs, Ranging Bloysters evolved from a shelled ancestor species to a soft-bodied state.
• The Nintendo Player's Guide states the Ranging Bloyster will target Pikmin that match the color of its bulb, but this is not correct, as it will actually target the leader that matches the color of its bulb. This may be a mistranslation or a misinterpretation of the Ranging Bloyster's behavior.
• The Ranging Bloyster 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 Ranging Bloyster, which is clearly dead. This oddity is shared with the Toady Bloyster, Empress Bulblax (both only exhibiting this anomaly in Pikmin 2), and Titan Dweevil, along with all members of the arachnorb family regardless of game.

See also

• Toady Bloyster
• Bloomcap Bloyster