Emperor Bulblax
| Emperor Bulblax | |
|---|---|
| File:Emperorbulblaxroaring.jpg | |
| Appears in | Pikmin, Pikmin 2 |
| Scientific name | Oculus supremus |
| Family | Grub-dog |
| Areas | The Final Trial |
| Caves | Bulblax Kingdom Cavern of Chaos Hole of Heroes |
| Challenge Mode stages | Emperor's Realm |
| 2-Player Battle stages | None |
| Attacks |  : Eats/squashes Pikmin  : Eats/squashes PikminCauses Panic |
The Emperor Bulblax (ダイオウデメマダラ) is the second largest known species of the Grub-dog family right after the Empress Bulblax. It serves as the final boss in the original Pikmin game, dropping the last Ship Part needed to complete the game.
The Emperor Bulblax is different than most members of the Grub-dog family as it has a sludgy, melted appearance, smaller eyes, and a more flexible tongue. Moss grows on its thick hide in both games, giving its body a greenish color and serving as camouflage. In Pikmin, it also has what appears to be small fungi and ferns growing within its sludgy hide. Although these growths are missing in Pikmin 2, they are replaced by what appears to be rocks imbedded in its back.
This beast usually hides in the ground to ambush prey, catching it with his long, sticky tongue. His soft face is his only weak point to attack, but since he doesn't discriminate much when eating things, he can be led to swallow something a bit less tasteful than Pikmin.
In Pikmin 2 he is significantly weaker than in the first game, but don't underestimate his long tongue. Oddly enough, in Pikmin 2, it actually has less health than the Fiery Bulblax.
Despite being the final boss in Pikmin, some players consider the Smoky Progg to be harder. This is because this boss can only be fought before Day 15, and you will have less experience at this point.
Notes
Ship's Log
"My radar indicates that a gigantic member of the bulborb species has swallowed the Dolphin's final part. Yet, how am I to attack this gargantuan beast? Testing the explosive power of the bomb-rocks the yellow Pikmin unearth may prove valuable..."
Reel notes
"This massive grub-dog buries itself when hunting."
Olimar's Notes
"The largest member of the grub-dog family is normally found buried in the ground, with only the stalks of its eyes exposed. This camouflage allows the predator to surprise smaller creatures and use its long, adhesive tongue to capture prey. The thick hide and angular hump give the organism a distinct rocklike quality. During the rainy season, moss grows freely on its hump, making it nearly impossible to distinguish this lethal predator from a stone."
Louie's Notes
"To prep the tongue for cooking, marinate in olive oil and chop into cubes. Stir in a pot with carrots, potatoes, and chives, cover, and simmer over low heat for several hours. Accompany this mouthwatering, rustic stew with a hearty roll."
Nintendo Player's Guide
"The Emperor Bulblax's most distinguishing feature is its huge purple tongue. If your Pikmin are anywhere near the boss's mouth when it unleashes the tongue, they'll be devoured. In some cases, you'll be able to entice the large creatures into consuming bomb-rocks, which will stun them."
Pikmin
The Emperor Bulblax is the final boss in Pikmin. He lies buried in the ground at The Final Trial in the center of the sandy arena north of the landing site, visible only by the mossy growth on his back protruding from the ground. When approached, the Bulblax will rear up and roar, knocking Olimar and the Pikmin back, and will then proceed to attack. His attacks are different depending on his "mood". This mood is initially characterized by salivation: he will attack by using his tongue, gobbling up any Pikmin in front of him, be very cautious, as the tongue can have up to 100 pikmin at once on it. The Bulblax also squishes any Pikmin under him, and uses this move to shake off Olimar's Pikmin. After taking damage to about half of his overall health, this phase ends, and the Bulblax uses his jump attack, but still retains the ability to do both former moves in the same way mentioned before. As defeating him when he is doing this is rather tricky, as Olimar must pay attention to his mood. If Olimar evades several of his jumps, he goes back to his eating mood. It is possible to identify the jumping mood beforehand, as the creature drools far less during the phase. Its eyes also widen just before it jumps. This beast can defeat Olimar if it lands on him.
The first of the two best strategies for defeating him is for Olimar to have Yellow Pikmin grab any nearby Bomb Rocks inside three boot-like containers around the exterior, then toss the bomb-toting Yellows in front of him, and either allow them to throw the Bomb Rocks at the huge Emperor, or call them back so that they drop them in his path just before he attacks with his tongue (this does not apply in the New Play Control! version); alternatively, the Bulblax can eat the Yellow(s) while they are holding the Bomb Rock(s), although this is not an option for players attempting zero-death runs and is just generally not recommended for Olimar wishing to conserve Pikmin. Pikmin can also be thrown into his mouth while he is preparing to stick out his tongue and still give a stun-like effect. Once the Bomb Rocks explode, they will stun the Bulblax (the more Bomb Rocks, the longer the stun), providing a good time to toss as many Red Pikmin, as they are stronger than other Pikmin, as possible onto his face. Doing this repeatedly will have him beaten easily. A slightly faster method is to leave a Yellow Pikmin with a Bomb Rock behind him when he has turned around. All of the Red Pikmin (which should be able to amount to sixty or more) then Olimar must swarm the Bulblax as soon as it notices the Yellow Pikmin, as attacking its legs also hurts it. However, careful timing is necessary when calling back the Pikmin. The stomping attack is especially dangerous, as the Pikmin are right beneath the creature, and the attack comes rather surprisingly. It is also possible to defeat the Bulblax by throwing Pikmin onto its flabby cheeks when it is distracted. It is more risky than using Bomb Rocks, but much more simple and probably the only option for people trying to do a zero-death run.
The other best strategy is similar, but will generally kill the creature faster than the other strategy. What you have to do with this strategy is throw a Yellow Pikmin with a bomb rock in front of the Emperor Bulblax. When the Yellow Pikmin steps back to throw the bomb rock, the boss should be getting ready to do his tongue attack. When the Yellow Pikmin throws the Bomb Rock, the Emperor Bulblax will slap himself in the face with his own tongue. This strategy is the most effective the more Red Pikmin you have. Once the beast is stunned, swarm your Pikmin immediately onto the Emperor Bulblax's legs. When it recovers, call your Pikmin back immediately to avoid the Pikmin from being crushed by the Emperor Bulblax. Repeat this strategy until the beast is defeated.
Once defeated, the Emperor Bulblax will go into a particularly long death animation, where it writhes around and appears to be sucked underground, leaving behind the Secret Safe and five randomly colored 5-Pellets behind (which are then obsolete, since there is nothing left to defeat it is possible that they were intended to up the player's score or help a player who has managed to lose so many Pikmin to the Bulblax that they are unable to retrieve the part.) It's usually a good idea to devote a single day to removing obstacles and clearing the path, and then deal with the Bulblax the following day, since the battle itself can often be time-consuming. The Bulblax must be defeated in a single day, since any damage done on one day will not carry over, and if the day is ended before it is killed, then it will be at full health the next day. However, experienced players can cover the Final Trial in a single day, which is a must for a 9-day run.
Alternatively, the player can walk around the arena upon entering without disturbing the boss. Next, breaking the wall on the other side can disband his Pikmin in the area behind. There will be a boot with fifteen bomb rocks to use. Throw one Yellow Pikmin at a time for Bulblax to eat so he is stunned. Throw Red Pikmin onto its head until it shakes them off. Repeat this process until the beast perishes.
Music
thumb|300px|left In Pikmin 2, Emperor Bulblax has the standard boss music.
Pikmin 2
In Pikmin 2, these beasts have the least amount of health of any boss in the game. They are much smaller in the sequel and are found only underground. They are most likely juvenile. Unlike in the first game, their eyes are exposed as a form of camouflage, but emerge in the same manner, just without knocking back the lead captain.
They still eat Bomb Rocks in this game, but must be coaxed into doing so instead, since Yellow Pikmin no longer have the ability to handle those explosive objects. All other abilities are retained, except the jump, and the jumping phase. It is replaced by a roaring phase when the Emperor Bulblax is about a quarter until death, which causes other Emperor Bulblaxes to join the fight. The roar scatters the Pikmin as though there are Mitites, and drags existing Mitites out of the ground.
The hide is not very mossy, but the backside of the beast is still green and slimy, as well as invulnerable. The Pikmin 2 versions may be younger than the one in Pikmin. Where Bomb Rocks are available, making it eat them is the safest strategy, but this can be very time-consuming.
Battle Strategy
Strategy 1
By far, the quickest and best method of defeat is using Purple Pikmin: Lob them at the eyes, not whistling them, quick enough so the beast becomes defeated before it can retaliate. Only ten Pikmin are required for this quick and easy defeat. However, if Olimar or Louie go too close to the Emperor Bulblax, Olimar or Louie will get stunned by its jump, and will be unable to throw the Purple Pikmin. If the Emperor Bulblax has already emerged, Olimar and Louie can wait until it retreats back into its state of camouflage, or can throw Purples at it then, being sure that they hit the ground or the beast with an impact, stunning it and dealing massive damage. When it dies, the Emperor Bulblax spins around and roars, whipping gobs of saliva everywhere until it shrinks down to about half its original size for easier carrying.
Video
File:Pikmin 2 emperor bulblax
Strategy 2
Note: This works only on levels where there is water.
Strategy 2, which is specialized for levels where there are water, is the bomb-rock method. Take a the entire squadron of blues available with you to fight the Bulblax. Guide the Bulblax to a bomb-rock, and while he's eating it, spray your Blue Pikmin with the ultra-spicy spray. Next, the Bulblax will be stunned, giving your blues the opportunity to utilize their increased power and deal massive damage on the Bulblax. Since the bomb-rock also deals damage, the Bulblax is capable of dying in one shot. If he's still alive after one attempt, use a second or third bomb-rock.
Strategy 3
Note: This solution can work only if you have Ultra-spicy Spray and Ultra-bitter Spray.
Use an Ultra-spicy Spray on your Pikmin and use an Ultra-bitter Spray on the Emperor Bulblax. So, you can easily attack the Emperor Bulblax.
Strategy 4
Possibly one of the safest, if time-consuming methods, for defeating the Emperor Bulblax is to get one or two Pikmin and dash-throw them onto its face while it is still far enough from you so as to not pose an immediate threat.
Locations
This creature is found on the last Sublevel of the Bulblax Kingdom, where the only larger specimen is; two are found on Sublevel 4 of the Cavern of Chaos and Sublevel 10 of the Hole of Heroes; and three are in the Emperor's Realm in Challenge Mode.
Gallery
Calling Pikmin back to safety.
Stunning the Bulblax with a Bomb Rock.
- Stunned Bulblax.jpg
The Emperor Bulblax being stunned and attacked in Pikmin.
The Emperor Bulblax in the Piklopedia from Pikmin 2.
An Emperor Bulblax being defeated in the last sublevel of the Bulblax Kingdom.
An Emperor Bulblax in Sublevel 4 of the Cavern of Chaos.
Emperor Bulblax hiding itself in Pikmin.
An Emperor Bulblax in Pikmin 2. Note the smaller size compared to the Emperor Bulblax from Pikmin 1.
The Emperor Bulblax hiding in the ground.
The Emperor Bulblax lashing out its tongue.
The Emperor Bulblax when defeated.
Emperor Bulblax in the enemy reel from Pikmin.
Trivia
- Captain Olimar's notes for the Emperor Bulblax say that moss and plants grow on its back in rainy seasons. In Pikmin 2, these beasts only appear in caves, which, added with the presumably younger age, might explain why so much moss is absent on the beast's back, as the moss only has the cave's moisture to grow with.
- The Emperor Bulblax's attacks and appearance may be based on the real-life frog. They both bury or immerse themselves with only their eyes and backs exposed while hunting, use their long sticky tongues to catch small things passing by (in this case, the Pikmin), they can both jump really high, and both make loud croaking noises.
- Its scientific name, Oculus supremus, translates to 'Supreme Eye': Oculus translates into eye, and supremus is similar to supreme. It is somewhat ironic considering Emporer Bulblaxes have the smallest eye of any grub-dog, tied with Fiery Bulblaxes' small eyes.
- 'Supreme Eye' could be intentional because of it sounding similar to 'I, Supreme.'
- Interestingly enough, the Emperor Bulblax is the final boss in Pikmin, but is among one of the easiest bosses in Pikmin 2.
- In New Play Control! Pikmin, the Yellows don't drop Bomb Rocks when you call them, thus rendering a strategy obsolete. However, throwing a Yellow Pikmin directly at his nose will provoke them to throw the Bomb Rock into his mouth, stunning him longer.
- The Emperor Bulblax strongly resembles the Grand Bulblord from Pikmin Adventure.
- The Emperor Bulblax is one of the two creatures in the whole Pikmin series to have plant-life growing on the beast, the other being the Quaggled Mireclops.
- He was the main antagonist of the first Pikmin game.