Whiptongue Bulborb
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Appears in | Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4 | ||
| Scientific name | Oculus longolingua | ||
| Family | Grub-dog | ||
| Areas | Tropical Wilds, Distant Tundra, Serene Shores | ||
| Caves | Kingdom of Beasts, Plunder Palace | ||
| Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages | Tropical Forest, Beastly Caverns | ||
| Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages | Thirsty Desert, Distant Tundra Remix, Formidable Oak Remix | ||
| Side Story days | Team Monster Hunt, Channel Gone Dry, Looking for Louie, Another Part Found | ||
| Dandori Challenge stages | Trial of the Sage Leaf | ||
| Dandori Battle stages | None | ||
| Bingo Battle stages | Stagnant Sea, Jigsaw Fortress, Blooming Terrace, Buried Pond, Sandbox Kingdom, Jigsaw Colosseum | ||
| Attacks | Slurp up Pikmin | ||
The Whiptongue Bulborb (ペロチャッピー?, lit.: "Slurping Chappy") is an enemy in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4. It is a member of the grub-dog family, but is different from the others in that it has a long tongue that it uses to slurp up Pikmin. Its tongue can catch up to 5 Pikmin at once, somewhat like the Emperor Bulblax, but quicker and much less destructive. It has a brown face, much in contrast to the paler face of the Bulborb, with a long snout at the end that the tongue comes out of, as well as a distinctive white body with black spots, and blue eyes. No dwarf mimic exists, and the creature only gains its tongue after its second molt.
Stats
| Game | Weight | Max. carriers |
Seeds | Value | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 (?)
|
12 | 25 (normally) | 15 |  × 50 × 50
|
1300 |
|
10 | 20 | 12 (5 glow pellets) |  × 12
|
1300 |
Notes
Alph's comments
“Structural flaw: eyeballs, back
Weight: 12
Brittany's comments
Charlie's comments
Louie's comments
Olimar's comments
“Whiptongue Bulborb
Oculus longolingua
Grub-dog family
“Whiptongue Bulborb
Oculus longolingua
Grub-dog family
Dalmo's notes
Olimar's notes (Pikmin 4)
“Instead of the gnashing jaws usually found in related species, it uses its extensible, viscous tongue to capture prey. Even before it opens its mouth, it's recognizable by its tapered snout and black spots against its white back.
Some theorized that it evolved its long tongue to snatch prey drawn to high-blooming flowers, but a recent finding confirmed that until its second molt, this creature feeds with its teeth much like other Grub-Dog species. It will begin to use its tongue once it reaches adulthood.”Louie's notes (Pikmin 4)
Pikmin 3 website
Pikmin 3 Prima Guide
Behavior
Pikmin 3
This Bulborb species attacks with its long, flexible tongue, which allows it to quickly devour Pikmin from much greater distances than other members of the grub-dog family. It doesn't sleep when unaware of the presence of Pikmin. Instead, it will rummage through the ground and sniff around the surrounding area much like a Dwarf Bulborb.
When a leader and/or a Pikmin is nearby, it will quickly shuffle towards them. If the Pikmin are standing within attack range, it will launch its tongue outward as a means of consuming them. Up to five Pikmin can be snagged at a time by this move. However, if Pikmin are standing beside it, or are attacking its feet, it will lap up individual Pikmin one at a time at a slightly slower pace than normal Bulborbs. Just like all other grub-dogs in Pikmin 3, it can be temporarily incapacitated by throwing Pikmin directly at its eyes.
Pikmin 4
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Strategy
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The following article or section contains guides. |
Pikmin 3
The Whiptongue Bulborb can be quite a dangerous foe because not only does it constantly roam around, leaving no part of its body exposed for long, but its long tongue allows it to ensnare batches of Pikmin from a distance. There are several ways to deal with this enemy.
The first method is attacking from the rear, much like combating a Red Bulborb. Use a 30+ Pikmin squad comprised of Red and Rock Pikmin and simply keep chucking them from behind. Wait until it has begun sniffing the ground before throwing any Pikmin so that it doesn't spontaneously turn around and proceed to lash out its tongue. If you can keep throwing Pikmin on its back as it shakes them off, it'll be taken out without getting the chance to use its tongue.
A surprisingly effective strategy is charging it from the front with 35+ Rock Pikmin. Just like other Bulborbs, the Whiptongue Bulborb will flinch when its eyes are hit. Take your squad and let it catch sight of you from a distance. As it approaches and gets ready to use its tongue, start throwing your Rock Pikmin at its face. Throwing them at the face is bound to lead to some hitting the eyes, which will make it flinch. Attacking it from the front without aiming for the face however is lethal and will result in you losing a lot of Rock Pikmin to this. If you keep throwing Rock Pikmin at the face in rapid succession like this, it'll have all its hit points drained without even getting a chance to use its tongue, because it will constantly be flinching.
Another rather risky method is to get a group of around 30-50 Pikmin, preferably Reds and Rocks, attract the attention of the Whiptongue Bulborb and lead it to the edge of its territory; then, when it's walking away, order your Pikmin to rush it. If done correctly, the Whiptongue Bulborb will quickly succumb to the blitzkrieg, with little to no deaths. Note that this will not be the preferred choice of action if you are attempting a zero-death run unless around 50 Red Pikmin and 30-50 Rock Pikmin are present.
Another fact to note is that even though it eats with a tongue, just like with other Bulborbs, if hit in the eye, it'll release any Pikmin it has caught in its mouth and is about to eat. This can be taken advantage of if you are in a pinch and a Whiptongue Bulborb is about to eat quite a few of your Pikmin. You can also take cover in clover patches in order to hide from it.
There is another method, which needs only one single Pikmin: using a bomb rock. Luckily, these bombs can be found on a dirt mound near the Whiptongue Bulborb. When a Pikmin is carrying a bomb rock, it can be thrown directly on the Bulborb, or you can leave this Pikmin in front of the creature; it will try to eat the Pikmin, but it'll eat the bomb instead. Afterwards, the Whiptongue Bulborb will explode and die.
Pikmin 4
The Whiptongue Bulborb remains similar to its Pikmin 3 counterpart in most ways, one thing to note is that hitting it in the eyes no longer stuns it, leading to a more difficult encounter. As well, bomb rocks are now items which the player holds but still are as effective at dispatching the creature as in the game prior. Every other strategy works as well as it did in the previous game, or more effective, such as charging with Rock Pikmin.
Disregarding items, while riding Oatchi, you can rush the Whiptongue Bulborb to quickly attach all your Pikmin to it (Or damage in the case of Rocks). Reds, Rocks, Purples or Ice are preferred, though with a large enough squad this won't matter. However in certain Dandori challenges or scenarios where Pikmin numbers are limited, a safer option for deathless runs would be to use Oatchi as bait to distract the Bulborb, then charge from behind. Due to the fact that the creature doesn't sleep, this can prove very helpful and minimize Pikmin loss.
As well as this, the new Ice Pikmin can prove very effective in freezing the Whiptongue Bulborb allowing for you to safely reposition or retreat the fight if necessary. A small group of around ten Ice Pikmin will suffice, but preferably a group of fifteen or more.
In Night expeditions where the Whiptongue Bulborb appears it is recommended to use a Glow Mob on them as Glow Pikmin have no other combat capabilities to help defeat the Bulborb.
Technical information
| Pikmin 3 technical information (?) | |
|---|---|
| Internal name | arikui
|
| HP | 1300 |
| Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill | 30 |
| White Pikmin ingestions to kill | 5 |
| Bomb rock explosions to kill | 1 |
| Bomb rock ingestions to kill | 1 |
| Number of direct hits on top to kill | 0 |
| Damage to leaders | 10 |
| Territory radius | 300 |
| Mission Mode value | 50 |
Other information
- Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #12
- This enemy triggers the Auto Target Lock note in the Rescue Journal
Naming
- See more: Grub-dog family#Naming.
- Common name: Whiptongue Bulborb. "Whiptongue" is a combination of "whip" and "tongue", referring to how this creature can lash its tongue around.
- Japanese nickname: ペロチャッピ?, lit.: "Slurping Chappy". It is the same as all Bulborbs, but starting with the word for "slurping".
- Japanese name: シタナガデメマダラ?, lit.: "Spotted Long-tongued Bug-eye".
- Scientific name: Oculus longolingua. It combines "longa" and "lingua", Latin for "long" and "tongue", respectively.
- Internal names: Its internal name is
arikui, a romanization of ありくい? (lit.: "anteater"). - Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ペロチャッピ? Pero Chappī |
Slurping Chappy | "Chappy" is the Japanese name for Bulborb |
 Chinese(traditional) |
長舌恰比 Chángshé Qiàbǐ |
Long-Tongued Chappy | "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (traditional) name for Bulborb |
 Chinese(simplified) |
长舌恰比 Chángshé Qiàbǐ |
Long-Tongued Chappy | "Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (simplified) name for Bulborb |
 Dutch |
Zwieptongbulborb | Swishtongue Bulborb | |
 French |
Bulborbe vermilingue | Worm tongue bulborb | "Bulborbe" is the French name for Bulborb |
 German |
Zungen-Punktkäfer | Tongue Dot Beetle | "Punktkäfer" is the German name for Bulborb |
 Italian |
Coleto linguoide | Tongue Bulborb | "Coleto" may come from "boletus" (Latin for mushroom), as a bulborb's spots resemble those found on certain mushrooms, and "coleottero", Italian for bug, insect "Coleto" is the Italian name for both Bulborb and Bulbear "Linguoide" means "that has a tongue" |
 Korean |
채찍혀차피 Chaejjig-Hyeo-Chapi |
Whiptongue Chappy | "Chapi" is the Korean name for Bulborb Calque of English name |
 Portuguese |
Bulbolho-tamanduá | Anteater bulbeye | "Bulbolho" is a portmanteau of "bulbo" (bulb) and "olho" (eye) "Bulbolho" is the Brazilian Portuguese name for Bulborb |
 Spanish |
Bulbo vermilengua | Anteater bulborb | "Bulbo" is the Spanish name for Bulborb |
Gallery
Pikmin 3
Artwork of the Whiptongue Bulborb from Pikmin 3.
Artwork of a Whiptongue Bulborb from the Official Nintendo Magazine.
E3 2012 screenshot of a Whiptongue Bulborb capturing Pikmin with its tongue.
A close-up screenshot of a Whiptongue Bulborb revealed in a Nintendo Direct.
Red Pikmin hiding from a Whiptongue Bulborb.
The group of heroes approaching a Whiptongue Bulborb in an earlier version of the Distant Tundra.
A Whiptongue Bulborb being locked-on and scanned.
A Whiptongue Bulborb sticking its long tongue out. This picture was taken with the KopPad.
A Whiptongue Bulborb just about to attack.
A Whiptongue Bulborb scratching itself.
Another Whiptongue Bulborb scratching itself.
A Whiptongue Bulborb noticing the player.
A Whiptongue Bulborb approaching.
A Whiptongue Bulborb mid-blink.
A Whiptongue Bulborb just after exploding.
A dead Whiptongue Bulborb.
Pikmin 4
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This article or section is in need of more images. |
A Whiptongue Bulborb in Pikmin 4's Piklopedia.
A defeated Whiptongue Bulborb in the Piklopedia. Notice how the thinness of its snout causes its carcass to tilt to one side.
The Whiptongue Bulborb in Kingdom of Beasts eating three Red Pikmin.
The Whiptongue Bulborb idle in Serene Shores.
Trivia
- In the Pikmin 3 US website notes, it states that it's part of the "Bulborb Family," even though the family name is "grub-dog".[1]
- This is the only adult Bulborb to not have a dwarf mimic in Pikmin 3.
- This enemy is arguably one of the most advertised enemies in Pikmin 3, with others being the Armored Mawdad, Pyroclasmic Slooch, Peckish Aristocrab, and the Medusal Slurker.
- Unlike its other grub-dog relatives, it may not be nocturnal, as it is found awake in the wild, similar to the Spotty Bulbear in Pikmin 2. However, in the Tropical Wilds, it is seen scavenging for Pikmin during sunset. This suggests that Whiptongue Bulborbs are cathemeral, meaning they are active at both day and night. This is confirmed with their night activity within Pikmin 4.
- In the E3 2012 demo of Pikmin 3, the corpse of a Whiptongue Bulborb required 10 Pikmin to carry, while in the final game, it requires 12 Pikmin.
- Whiptongue Bulborbs might have been inspired by anteaters. Both creatures have extended snouts, and long and sticky tongues to capture their prey with.
References
- ^ “WHIPTONGUE BULBORB”
“Part of the Bulborb family, it has an extra long tongue, giving it more range to grab its prey.”, Explorer's Guide: Know Your Enemy on Pikmin 3 official site, archived through Wayback Machine, published on August 3, 2013, retrieved on September 18, 2019
