Waterwraith

Waterwraith
File:Waterwraith.jpg
Appears in	Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Amphibio sapiens
Family	Unknown
Areas	None
Caves	Submerged Castle
Challenge Mode stages	Bully Den
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Crushes Pikmin

The Waterwraith, writes Olimar, "may be the ectoplasmic incarnation of a kind of psychic phenomenon". It is found only in the Submerged Castle (all sublevels), and in the Bully Den in Challenge Mode. 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. The ship notes that although it can be seen, its sensors detect nothing, leading to the conclusion that the Waterwraith's physical form is anchored in another dimension. It is one of the most dangerous enemies, as it can kill Pikmin by just rolling over them once. When encountered in the Submerged Castle, but not in the Bully Den, its music will play - music that is played only then. The following is a sample.

The Waterwraith's name is a combination of water, given its watery appearance, and wraith, which means ghost or phantom.

Strategy

In the Piklopedia.

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. Be careful when you hear this. After that, the Waterwraith will move around on its stone 'rollers'. It will chase Olimar and any Pikmin nearby, with greater focus on crushing the active Captain. It is invincible to any Pikmin assault, even if petrified, except that of Purple Pikmin. When a Purple 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. Like this, it is vulnerable to all Pikmin attacks. When the Wraith's health has been fully depleted, the rollers crumble and the Waterwraith will scoot all around the cave, no longer a threat to your Pikmin. Attack with more purples 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.

A Waterwraith (rear).

Strangely, petrifying the Waterwraith makes it less vulnerable to Purple Pikmin, in which case the Pikmin must be thrown in a perfect arch for enough impact to make the creature susceptible to attack. In other words, Purples make a certain "squashing" sound when they hit an enemy or a plant; when this sound is performed, a creature may also be stunned. These effects can only occur when the Purples have a straight fall downward after they're thrown (the distance in which they fall vertically is irrelevant, as long as it exists). Finally, when all these circumstances are achieved, the Waterwraith may gain damage; this will not happen when Purples are thrown on it without the drop.

Note: In the Submerged Castle, you will only be able to get purples on the last sublevel (5) via the Violet Candypop Buds.

In the Bully Den, you will already have 25 purples, but no other type of Pikmin. Here, there are two Waterwraiths and a variety of other bugs.

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 Sublevels 1-4, when it appears, its own music track plays. When it is in the last Sublevel, normal boss music plays and when it has no rollers, a different kind of the normal boss music plays, which has a more positive/silly mood.

Notes

Ship's dialogs

“What is this?!? I can see it with my optical receptors, but my sensors cannot detect it!

Could its physical form be anchored in another dimension? ...Attacking it is futile!

If only we could force it to take on physical form... But in its current state... Krzzzt-zrrrk!

Danger! Danger! Danger!”

Olimar's notes

“All that is known about this creature stems from a few sightings deep underground. All reported sightings feature the same core set of details: a giant, viscous form with a clear, hazy sheen not unlike hard candy. One theory holds that it may be the ectoplasmic incarnation of a kind of psychic phenomenon, but as is usually the case with such theories, it is very difficult to prove. All witnesses report being suddenly overcome with fear upon sighting the creature, approaching a state of panic and near insanity. In fact, every report contains an inordinate amount of extremely vague details, which has led to suspicions that exhaustion and fear have caused some simple natural phenomenon to be viewed as a living creature.”

Louie's notes

“Inedible. Known to cause mass hysteria, followed by leg spasms and internal thunderings.”

Glitches

Petrification glitches

The Waterwraith while sitting on petrified rollers.

While in the Piklopedia, press the "Z" button immediately upon selecting the Waterwraith to petrify its roller. When the Waterwraith itself lands, it too will be encased in stone, but the rollers will revert to their normal state before the creature itself. Petrify it again, and the Wraith will be normal, but not the rollers; the Wraith will have problems lifting them. Its audio will get messed up, as it cries with each attempt to pick up the front roller. It is possible to do this in the main game (and Challenge Mode) as well, but the beast will not turn purple when Purple Pikmin are thrown at it. This is because it needs to lift its rollers first. Also, when the Waterwraith pulls up his stone rollers, petrify it.

Then when it wears off, do it again. If your timing is correct, you should only petrify its rollers. The Waterwraith's arms will be stretched backwards grabbing the roller that is in mid air while it sits on the other roller facing the ground, trying to pull back the roller.

It is possible to defeat the Waterwraith while petrified. First, it must be without its rollers, and the player must deplete its health as far as possible. Then, when frozen, if Purple Pikmin are thrown onto it, it should die in that state, shattering and leaving 5 pools of nectar, usually some replaced with spray drops.

Gliding Waterwraith

It is likely that this glitch is caused by the Waterwraith's head coming into contact with the Research Pod after having lost its rollers. 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 previously to the glitch occurring determines whether or not it can be damaged once in this state.

Stuck Waterwraith

A 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 can be helpful, allowing the player to avoid the Waterwraith, but this glitch can also block crucial pathways, such as a pathway to the next floor. Unfortunately, the only solution for this is to reset.

Crouching while clear

There is a glitch that can happen when the Waterwraith is hit with a Purple Pikmin while running. It may turn clear while in the crouching position it is normally purple in.

Unimportant Louie

There is a possible glitch that is known to happen in the Bully Den. The cause of this glitch is unknown, but the effects are strange. When both Waterwraiths have had their rollers taken away, they will sometimes only frantically run away from Olimar, and will casually walk past Louie and even stop right in front of him, as if they do not even notice him. They can still be attacked, though.

Trivia

• The Waterwraith is similar to the Goolix, as both enemies are watery in appearance and can only be defeated by a certain type of Pikmin.
• The Latin name in this boss's Piklopedia entry translates into "Water Man".
• The French name in this boss's entry translates into "Water Specter".
• This is the only boss to have two life meters.
• From sublevel 1 to 4, it might be best to do the Frontier Cavern first, because there you can get the Repugnant Appendage. That will make you walk faster, and you can go hide easily. Having Bulbmin in your team might be a bit better, because those will not be able to leave the cave, and can be crushed without any decrease of Pikmin. Also, going to the Subterranean Complex to get the Stellar Orb is helpful, because the Stellar Orb lights up the area. It is very helpful to be able to see farther, since the Waterwraith can easily sneak up on you.
• 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:

This article was a featured article from 24th March 2010 to 23rd September 2010.