Sandbelching Meerslug

Sandbelching Meerslug
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Unknown
Family	Unknown
Areas	Tropical Wilds
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	None
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	None
Side Story days	None
Bingo Battle stages	None
Attacks	Shoots clumps of sand Eats Pikmin Buries Pikmin

The Sandbelching Meerslug is a boss in Pikmin 3 and the third major boss encountered in Story Mode. It is a light brown, amphibian-like creature resembling that of a lamprey eel, 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 largeset Pikmin Bosses to date. Upon attempting to dig up the cell phone in the middle of the arena, the Meerslug appears from beneath the sand to attack the captains 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 vortex in the sand that sucks in Pikmin. It can also throw balls of sand, which can plant pikmin. These planted pikmin can still be eaten by the Meerslug. 

Battle Strategies

Basic Strategy

Upon attempting to dig up the cell phone in the middle of the arena, the Meerslug appears from beneath the sand to attack the captains 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 vortex in the sand that sucks in Pikmin.

When it emerges from the ground, it attacks by spitting large clumps of sand to bury its prey, hence its name. If Pikmin are hit by the clumps of sand, they will be buried back in the ground. Beware, as this enemy is exceptional in that not only can it bury your Pikmin, but it can kill them while they are underground too as sprouts that get sucked in are devoured as if they were free running Pikmin.

File:Pikmin 3 Boss Sandbelching Meerslug

After its HP is in the yellow, it will move quick in a circling fashion before creating a sinkhole that affects the whole arena, so it is highly recommended to retreat to the stone area where you enter. After this, it will return to normal speed, but the holes it creates will have walls, meaning the Pikmin can no longer escape. It will also begin shooting sandballs in rapid fire. However, when it does this, it needs a bit more time than normal to lump up the sand, leaving an optimal time to swarm it.

It is possible to immobilize the enemy by overwhelming it with Pikmin. This causes it to shoot out of the ground and lie on the floor for short while, leaving it vulnerable to further assaults. The best way to perform this is to use the swarm control that has the Pikmin rush towards the enemy once locked on (Throwing Pikmin doesn't work well here; if you can't get enough Pikmin to attack it at once, it will simply shake them off). Be sure to get very close to it before doing this. Otherwise, the shifting sand will make the Pikmin lose their target and stop halfway towards it, leaving them under idle status and highly vulnerable to getting buried under sandballs.

Bomb Rocks can also be thrown into the creatures mouth whilst it is creating a vortex to cause damage. This also causes it to jump out of the sand.

Upon defeat, it expels another cellphone, ableit more modern in appearance than the one dropped by the Armored Mawdad, and a relatively small watermelon, which bursts into smaller pieces after being expelled.

Expert Strategy

Warning: it is advised that this strategy only be attempted by experienced players.

This is a much quicker way to attack the Meerslug at any point. Rather than using Bomb Rocks to force the beast out of its hole, an alternate strategy is to swarm its lips with a large ground of Red Pikmin. When the swarming Pikmin reach its lips, one will get trapped in its mouth, allowing all the others to attack its lips. If most of the Pikmin attack it at once, it will be forced out of the ground and become vulnerable, saving the trapped Pikmin in the process. 

Using this strategy, the boss can be attacked at the same time that it is trying to attack, allowing for it to be defeated in under 2 minutes. However, this strategy is very dangerous, as if the Pikmin charge in a line to attack the Meerslug's lips, they will not deal enough damage in time to save the trapped Pikmin, who will then be eaten. It is advised that your Red Pikmin are flowered before battle so they dont lag behind when trying to swarm.

Gallery

• 

  The Sandbelching Meerslug being scanned while shooting rocks.

• Dead SandBelching Meerslug.jpg

  A deceased Sandbelching Meerslug.

• 00SlugSpoils.PNG

  The spoils of defeating the Sandbelching Meerslug:The Crimson Banquet broken into pieces and the Folded Data Glutton.

• 

  The Sandbelching Meerslug seen from a different angle.

• ZlCfzREQQDEyNgDBPm.jpg

  The Sanbelching Meerslug forced above ground and immobilized

• ZlCfzREQRbICT8Sb-Z.jpg

  A close up of the Sandbelching Meerslug's face.

• FerretPhone.jpg

  The phone the Meerslug drops being analyzed by the SS Drake. Notice the ferret wallpaper.

• 

  The Sandbelching Meerslug upon first appearing.

• 

  Comes out

Trivia

• This creature is the only enemy in the series that can kill Pikmin sprouts.
• If uprooted while in the sand trap phase, it glitches the camera.
• In addition to most of the bosses, the Sandbelching Meerslug's corpse is so massive that it has to be dragged back to the Onion by Pikmin instead of being carried above the ground, and thus takes longer than other bodies to carry back.
• The Sandbelching Meerslug attacks very similar to a real life creature called the Antlion. The Antlion creates pits in sand. When an ant falls in the pit, the Antlion eats it, similarly to the Sandbelching Meerslug.
• The Sandbelching Meerslug could be based in the cryptid Mongolian Death Worm, because it lives in sand, it's worm-like and spits wet sand, equivalent to the Death Worm's acid.