Porquillion

Porquillion
Appears in	Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Castanutum pricklirus
Family	Sharpshell
Areas	Sun-Speckled Terrace, Hero's Hideaway
Caves	Plunder Palace, Cradle of the Beast, Trial of the Sage Leaf
Dandori Challenge stages	None
Dandori Battle stages	None
Attacks	Impale Pikmin

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Porquillions (ハリアラシ、lit. "Needle Storm") are spiky enemies in Pikmin 4. In some fights, the creature serves the role of a mini-boss and the music correspondingly changes. It attacks by shooting out the spikes on its body, though this leaves it vulnerable until it grows them back. The spikes have a chance to stun or outright kill Pikmin. The first one encountered in the game drops the Interstellar Radio.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
12	24	20	× 12	5000

Behavior

When idling, it simply roams about the area, with its spikes at the ready. When prey gets near, but not close enough for the spikes to reach, the Porquillion faces the next quadrant of its body that it plans to attack with towards the threat, and starts shaking in anticipation. If its target ends up getting closer, it will launch all spikes in that segment of the body outward and upward, aiming them so that they land on its prey. It will keep choosing a new quadrant and attacking until the threat is gone, or until it runs out of spikes. Once out of spikes, regardless of there being targets nearby, it will pause for a moment, charge up, and secrete new spikes on all segments of the body, ready to attack again. It will not regenerate spikes in any situation unless it is completely empty.

Appearance

The creature's bulbous back is red and filled with pores from which its white spikes come out. It is also divided into four distinct parts like leaves on a clover with a texture similar to inverted sponge. The remaining part of its body is much like a hedgehog's, including four paws, some small eyes at the front, and a tiny snout.

Locations

One appears as the first enemy encounter of the game, during the tutorial with Olimar.
Atop a hill in the Sun-Speckled Terrace.
In the 3rd sublevel of the Plunder Palace, elevated on a platform. Such a location removes charging and rushing as a strategy against this enemy.
On the kitchen table in Hero's Hideaway, on top of a pile of plates to avoid being charged or rushed at.

Strategy

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

The Porquillion cannot be harmed while its spikes are extended, but any quadrant of its body that it has launched the spikes from will remain vulnerable until the spikes grow back. As it is not especially fast, it can be dispatched with ease by rushing at the exposed parts.

Notes

Dalmo's Notes

“When it cowers down to roll up, it looks like it's feeling lonely. If you get closer, the needles all over its body become projectiles that it will launch at you. I can’t help thinking this is just a plea for attention. It's OK, prickly bean! I'll be your friend!”

Olimar's Notes

“Its needle-covered armor is soft and quite exposed.Furthermore it has a cowardly disposition, so when it senses even the slightest danger, it shoots out it spikes.

Regenerating new spikes requires significant amounts of caloric energy, so this creature requires significant amounts of food. This likely explains why, when it scrounges through garbage, it sucks up not just the insects it finds but also the trash itself.

They have ingested a few of the S.S. Dolphin's parts too, but those could never be mistaken for trash.”

Louie's Notes

“Cut the meat into four even slices. Dip slices into a beaten egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Fry over low heat.”

Naming

See more: Sharpshell family#Naming.

Common name: Porquillion. May be a combination of 'Porcupine', 'Quill', and 'Million'.
Japanese nickname: ハリアラシ^?, lit.: "Needle Storm". It may also be a combination of ハリネズミ^? (lit.: "hedgehog") and ヤマアラシ^? (lit.: "porcupine").
Japanese name: ドドメイガグリヒコウ^?, lit.: "Mulberry chestnut burr scarlet shell".
Scientific name: Castanutum pricklirus. Pricklirus is derived from "prickly", referring to the creature's sharp spikes.
Internal names: Unknown.
Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ハリアラシ^? Hari Arashi	Needle Storm
French	Tatoursin	From "tatou" (armadillo) and "oursin" (urchin)
Italian	Porcospillo	From porcospino (porcupine) and spillo (needle)
Korean	고슴도저 Goseumdojeo	From "고슴도치" (hedgehog) and "호저" (porcupine)
Portuguese (NoA)	Tatulha	From "tatu" (armadillo) and "agulha" (needle)
Spanish	Porquipúas	From "puercoespin" (porcupine) and "púas" (spikes)

Gallery

The enemy with no spikes.
The enemy's corpse.
The enemy as seen on the website.
The enemy as seen in the trailer.