Wolpole

Wolpole
Appears in	Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Amphicaris frodendum
Family	Amphituber
Areas	The Forest of Hope, The Distant Spring, Awakening Wood, Perplexing Pool, Garden of Hope, Tropical Wilds, Distant Tundra
Caves	Shower Room, Hole of Heroes, Dream Den
Challenge Mode stages
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	None
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	None
Side Story days	None
2-Player Battle stages	None
Bingo Battle stages	None
Attacks	N/A

Wogpole (オタマ) is an enemy found in every Pikmin game, and are completely harmless. It resembles tadpoles in appearance, and is in fact the larval form of the frog-like Wollywogs.They grow into the Wollywogs and Yellow Wollywogs. In the first game, it only appears in the The Forest of Hope and The Distant Spring areas. It is typically a hard-to-get, low-reward enemy; in that it is a fast swimmer which only gives one Pikmin seed when carried to the Onion. In Pikmin 2, Wogpoles are found in the Awakening Wood and Perplexing Pool areas, as well as the sublevels of certain caves, such as the Shower Room, where they have a measly treasure value of one poko. While being chased, Wogpoles may sometimes accidentally beach themselves, flopping about helplessly on land until they land safely back in the water. They may also drop from the ceiling in caves. As a side note, the Wogpoles in Pikmin seem to be in early stages of development as opposed to those in Pikmin 2, as external gills near their heads are present.

These creatures are called Wolpoles in the New Play Control! Pikmin 2 released in PAL.

In Pikmin 3 their design has been changed a bit due to the HD quality. They now have visibly wet skin, along with spots on their heads and wider, more bulging eyes. The latter-most feature may be due to their stage of development, as their small heads now resemble the bulging eyes of their parents. The can be found in the Tropical Wilds, the Garden of Hope, and the Distant Tundra.

Notes

Reel notes

"This creature appears to be a newborn yellow wollywog in tadpole form."

Olimar's Notes

"The wollywog spawns in early spring, laying its eggs on low-hanging tree branches and shrubs growing in or near lakes and ponds. Such unorthodox amphibious behavior is a defense mechanism, protecting the eggs from predation by blue Pikmin and water dumples. The wollywog's wild hopping near the shoreline in early spring is thought to be a method of driving predators away from the wogpole eggs."

Louie's Notes

"Wogpoles can be eaten raw, but they're much more flavorful when steamed or grilled. Also heavenly in risotto! Feel free to experiment with this lush ingredient."

Nintendo Player's Guide

"The Sheargrubs of the water swim near your Pikmin and distract the troops, but they don't cause any real harm. If you have the time, you can harvest them for minimal sprouts or Pokos. If not, ignore them."

Battle Strategy

Although they constantly swim away from captains, Wogpoles will occasionally stop for a few seconds when only chased by Pikmin, giving the Pikmin a chance to attack making the best strategy to spread out your Pikmin in a line using the C-Stick and charge at them so they pass through the line of Pikmin and the Pikmin begin to chase it. If any Wogpoles are on land(such as in the Shower Room, where they drop from the ceiling), you can easily attack them with your Pikmin, though their floundering can make the process slower. In Pikmin 3, one can also wait for Wogpoles to be at a standstill, then send a swarm of Blue Pikmin after them. Wogpoles themselves can't attack, but they can cause flower Pikmin to lose their petals when they shake the predators off. If a captain is hit by this shake, they will be immobilized for a brief moment. Since Wogpoles only yield one Pikmin seed when retrieved, they're almost always more trouble than they're worth.

Gallery

• 

  A group of Wogpoles.

• 

  The Wogpole as seen in the Creature Montage of Pikmin.

• 

  A Wogpole in water.

• Screen Shot 2013-04-17 at 10.03.02 AM.png

  A Wogpole as seen in Pikmin 3.

Trivia

• When using an Action Replay to access a model test menu in Pikmin, the Wogpole's code name is "otama", which is its Japanese name.
• The reason Wogpoles were changed to Wolpoles is because in the PAL areas, "wog" is an offensive racial slur.
• Of all the baby versions of enemies in the Pikmin games, Wogpoles (Wolpoles) are the only harmless baby enemies.
• In the Distant Spring there are serveral spots where you can find sea grass, with what appear to be a younger versions of the Wogpoles swimming around inside them. This shows an even younger stage of the Wollywogs life cycle.