Smoky Progg

Smoky Progg
File:Smoky Progg(PikminNPC).jpg
Appears in	Pikmin
Scientific name	Unknown
Family	Unknown
Areas	The Distant Spring
Challenge Mode stages	None
Attacks	Suffocates Pikmin, uproots sprouts

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The Smoky Progg (ドドロ, Dodoro) is a hidden, optional boss found only in the first Pikmin game, and is considered one of the toughest. The only way to encounter it is to visit The Distant Spring on or before day 15. It resides in the large watery area located to the south of the landing site, in the center of a small group of islands. The Progg is in an egg and if it is approached, it will break out within four to eight seconds. When the egg breaks open, the Progg will go directly to the landing site, ignoring Olimar and possibly walking through the Pikmin squad if not careful. Swarming the unopened egg with a large number of Pikmin can easily defeat the Progg, but does not produce any reward.

The Progg itself is a dark green and black creature with glowing white eyes with a pinkish ring around them. It constantly emits a cloud of gas that is harmful to both the Pikmin and Olimar, which is usually behind the Progg. It is also able to uproot Pikmin sprouts. The Smoky Progg will make its way towards the landing site upon emerging, so it is necessary to kill it to avoid interference with the day's plans. It has a very high defense, so it takes a while to kill. When killed, however, it drops a golden pearl which, if carried to an Onion, will produce 100 Pikmin seeds.

Olimar's belief that the creature is a malformed larval Mamuta is most likely based upon the fact that both creatures affect Pikmin on a different end of the same spectrum; the Mamuta plants the Pikmin and upgrades them to flower state, while the Progg uproots them and proceeds, then, to kill them. It is notable that, despite Olimar being scientific-minded, his hypothesis and reasoning for it contrasts with what a human scientist would say: rather than being at opposite ends of the same spectrum indicating a similarity or relation, it would indicate quite the opposite. This relationship could however be derived from that of the paradox frog (pseudis paradoxa) and its young; paradox frog tadpoles are about four times larger than their adult selves.

Notes

Olimar's voyage log

“This hideous beast comes from a strange, hard egg. Its mollusk-like body is wrapped in an unpleasant gas that suffocates any Pikmin that inhales it. Attacking its head is successful, but it's best to eliminate in egg form.”

Reel notes

“Thought to be a malformed larval Mamuta.”

Strategy

File:Proggegg.JPG

The Progg inside its egg.

There are several methods of defeating the Smoky Progg, some riskier than others. Swarming is utterly useless and will only result in all the Pikmin dying. One method is to withdraw 100 Red Pikmin, wait until it uses its uprooting ability and becomes still, then throw Pikmin onto its face as fast as possible, using the group move trick (precise aiming is required so that the Pikmin do not hit the Onion instead of the Progg). If done correctly, the Smoky Progg will be so distracted shaking off Pikmin that it will not be able to move and will eventually die. Another method is to bring out 10-20 reds at a time and continuously attack until it is dead; naturally this method takes longer, but may be less risky.

An alternate way to hurt it would be to use Yellow Pikmin with bomb-rocks, aiming well and not hitting the Progg on the rear with the Yellow that is thrown. Any Pikmin left walking in its trail will succumb to the poison. Occasionally, it will chase Olimar around and not give up until his Pikmin are dead or he gets far enough away, at which point the creature will ignore the player temporarily and it can be attacked again. A group of 15-20 yellow Pikmin with bomb-rocks can also be disbanded near the shore between the Progg's egg and the Onions, keeping the rest of the Pikmin stashed away to avoid excessive casualties. The Progg egg should be attacked with a single Blue Pikmin until the creature hatches, then the player must hightail back to the shore. The Progg will home in on the Yellows, and the combined explosions will instantly kill or at least severely damage it. In this case, it might be a good idea to give the pearl to the Yellow Pikmin, to make up for the losses.

It is possible to take advantage of the fact that the Progg can get stuck behind an Onion's leg in battling it. After it completes its uprooting move, it can get stuck in this way from a few seconds up to several minutes. Pikmin can be tossed on its head without the enemy even being able to shake them off, and with luck, it can be killed before it frees itself from the glitch.

Possibly the safest method to killing the Smoky Progg and still obtain a reward would be to draw out 2-5 Red Pikmin, then, when the Progg idles at any Onion, throw all of the Red Pikmin at the Progg. When it shakes the Pikmin off, throw them back on. It should die in about a third to a fourth of a day. Note that this strategy is not recommended for speed-runners.

There is another exploit that can be used to your advantage. If the bridge that leads to the Massage Machine has not been built yet, lead the Progg behind the unbuilt bridge and then run away. The Progg will be stuck by the bridge, and will endlessly turn around in circles. You can then bring 100 Blue Pikmin out and attack the Smoky Progg.

Glitches

To do: Confirm these and move them to the glitch article. Care to do so?

In a rare case, if Olimar walks up to the egg with no Pikmin, circles the egg and tries to attack it, the egg won't take any damage, yet if he goes back to an Onion to get some Pikmin and return to the cluster of islands, the egg will be gone. The only way to reset the egg is to reset the entire day. Going to sunset and continuing to the next day will not bring the egg back.

In another rare case, there is a glitch where a Pikmin that is thrown at the egg right when it hatches will float in mid-air while doing its 'hitting' sequence, damaging the Progg. After about ten seconds the Pikmin will start vibrating faster and faster and eventually fall off.

Rarely, the Smoky Progg may be near a Yellow Wollywog when the Wollywog jumps. The jump will propel the Progg in to the air where it will hover for a short time until it begins to slowly return to ground level.

The Progg is also especially likely to glitch the Pikmin counter for unknown reasons.

Technical information

Creature

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	dororo
HP	4000

Egg

To do: Get its HP. Care to do so?

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	tamago
HP	?

Gallery

• 

  The Smoky Progg, as seen on the Enemy reel.

• 

  The Smoky Progg at The Distant Spring.

Trivia

• The Smoky Progg is the only enemy who seemingly uses poison attacks in the first Pikmin game. Since White Pikmin have not yet been discovered, this means that Olimar has nothing that resists the creature's lethal gas.
• The Smoky Progg is the rarest enemy in the game, with only one of them existing, and only for the first 15 days.
• The Smoky Progg can strangely change its eye color from red to green.
• Coincidentally, there is a manga series by Osamu Tezuka called Dororo, in which the main character is born malformed and was abandoned on a river.
• The Smoky Progg appears to be hollow, or transparent. If viewed from behind, you can see a glowing light suspended inside of it with chunks of gas falling around the light. This light may be the pearl it drops.
• While the Smoky Progg is inside its egg, it is called the "Dodoro's Egg," which in Japanese translates as ドドロのたまご (Dodoro no Tamago).

External Links

• Video of awakening and fighting the Smoky Progg

This article was a featured article from 12th April 2011 to 19th August 2011.