Plasm Wraith

Plasm Wraith
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Unknown
Family	unknown
Areas	Formidable Oak
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	None
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	None
Side Story days	None
Bingo Battle stages	None
Attacks	Spew gold liquid; Crush Pikmin; Electrocute Pikmin; Drown Pikmin; Burn Pikmin; Eat Pikmin

Warning: the following article or section contains major spoilers.

This article or section needs to be cleaned up, either its format or general style.

The Plasm Wraith is the final boss of Pikmin 3, and is responsible for capturing Captain Olimar. It is virtually featureless aside from a torso, two stumpy legs, short, asymmetrical arm-like structures that can stretch, and a hole in the middle of where its "face" would be, which seems to act as both an eye and mouth.

As with most final bosses, the path leading up to it, as well as the boss fight itself, requires knowledge and the utilization of every Pikmin type.

Mysterious Life Form phase

Just like in the first Pikmin game, the level the Plasm Wraith is fought in the Formidable Oak, the level that is entirely devoted to its battle. Upon walking up the termite mound-like structure by the landing site, the player and their Pikmin will proceed to attack the small Plasm Wraith in order to save Olimar. The being will collapse and disappear, allowing the player to escape down into the nearby cave with Olimar. However, entering the cave causes the being to shapeshift into a massive Goolix-like creature called the Mysterious Life Form , which will chase the player down the chasm. The player must stay ahead of it while overcoming the various obstacles present within the chasm in order to safely escape. There are a few notes that the player should take at this point...

The Mysterious Life Form is impossible to defeat or get around, so the player must always move forward.
There are multiple paths the player can take, so take whichever is easier to overcome.
Many of the paths in the chasm are circles, so, while the Alph and Charlie are figuring out the puzzle, Brittany can go around in circle to distract the Mysterious Life Form.
Every enemy in the chasm are illusions created by the Mysterious Life Form; when killed, they disintegrate into gold.
The Mysterious Life Form and the Pikmin carrying Olimar will always follow Brittany; this can be utilized to buy time. If Brittany is downed, they will follow Charlie, then Alph.
It is best to use 10 flowered Winged Pikmin to carry Olimar, as they are fast, can cross gaps, and do not require bridges. However, Alph and Charlie must defeat any Arachnodes BEFORE Brittany arrives, or the Winged Pikmin will get stuck and drop Olimar.
If the beast manages to get hold of Olimar by any chance, it will stop following Brittany and try to leave the cave via a hole found at the beginning of the level (Pictured on the right). At this time, it will become vulnerable to attack; after taking some damage, it will change into an Elemental Plasm. When the Elemental Plasm is destroyed, the Mysterious Life form will drop Olimar and will remain immobilized until its health gauge refills, allowing Brittany an opportunity to escape.

After the player successfully escapes the chasm, they will appear in an arena outside. After the Mysterious Life Form gets to the exit as well, it transforms into the Plasm Wraith, inhales Olimar, and the final battle begins.

Strategy

When the Mysterious Life Form transforms into the Plasm Wraith and recaptures Olimar, proceed to throw Pikmin other than Rock Pikmin at its body in order for it to shake off bits of its gold-like body. All types of Pikmin can be utilised for specific parts of the fight, although none are specifically required. You can take 20 of each Pikmin for the battle. Throw the other two captains out of its reach, as this fight only requires one captain.

Upon entering the arena, the Plasm Wraith will slowly begin walking toward the player and their Pikmin. When close enough, it will extend thin, needle-like arms from its "shoulders" to skewer Pikmin, there is no chance of them recovering from this attack, however Rock Pikmin are immune to this attack. Throwing any Pikmin at its body will do damage to it. However, its health meter differs from all other creatures in the Pikmin world in that it is a beveled-gold color, rendering it more difficult to tell exactly how much health the boss has lost.

It will not actively attack Pikmin, instead, he will follow the captains and attack when they are close. You can seperate the captains as a distraction, with one captain handling all the Pikmin. It is unwise to attack it head-on, as he will not be phased by attacks, and can easily kill the Pikmin. Instead, throw just a few Pikmin at it, preferably it's backside, until it tries to shake Pikmin off by twisting it's body. This will cause gold blobs to fly off of its body. As it loses gold, it grows smaller and faster, but it will frequently try to heal itself by reabsorbing the stray gold . Throw Pikmin at the gold on the ground to minimize the amount of health that the Plasm Wraith can recover.

After a quarter of health is depleted, the boss will attack by spewing large masses of gold onto the arena, then spitting out a solid gold cube. The mass will form around this solid cube and form an Elemental Plasm. If the boss spits out a cube, quickly call all Pikmin away from it. It has many forms, each of which can only be killed with certain Pikmin types:

The Elemental Plasm will protect the cube in a bubble of water. Only Blue Pikmin can break it.
The Elemental Plasm will turn molten and surround the floor with fire. Only Red Pikmin can break it.
The Elemental Plasm will form a spike underneath the cube, setting it high up in the air. The cube will them generate an electric barrier around it and the morphoplasm. Only Yellow Pikmin can break it.
The Elemental Plasm will turn into a glass cube that slowly tumbles around the stage, crushing Pikmin. Only Rock Pikmin can break it.

Once the Elemental Plasm has been destroyed, it will leave behind a large amount of gold that must be destroyed. If the Elemental Plasms are left alone for too long, the Plasm Wraith will reabsorb the Elemental Plasms and heal itself. After it's been reduced to just a quarter of its health, it will create three Elemental Plasms at once to attack your Pikmin. Attack one at a time, and make sure there are no idle Pikmin near them.

After its health depletes by 3/4, the boss can become airborne. It can only be reached by Winged Pikmin in this state, but the boss usually stays airborne for 5-15 seconds. When airborne, it will not move from its spot, so as long as no Pikmin are near it, they will not be killed. However, it can turn around, even when attacking. It also cannot kill Pikmin directly under it. If the boss is hit with Winged Pikmin, it may fall down, which can give you an opening for attack.

Once its health is down to red, you can give your Pikmin a Ultra-Spicy Spray and send all your Pikmin to attack It. Since the Onion is right beside the battlefield, you may go and deposit all your Pikmin, and pull out all your Red Pikmin and 5 winged Pikmin first, as Red Pikmin do more damage, and Winged Pikmin will knock it down from the air. When near death, it becomes very small in stature, and will hardly be able to attack your Pikmin. Once it is defeated, it expells a gold cube, which dissolves to reveal Olimar inside, and the remaining gold on the floor crawls away and retreats back into the cave.

Trivia

Even though the Plasm Wraith is defeated, it is revealed to still be alive in the final cutscene. One can notice this because the small trail of gold-like remains after its defeat slowly moves away from the site.
The Plasm Wraith and its previous form, the Mysterious Life Form (Japanese Amebouzu), may have been inspired by the Umibouzu, an evil spirit in Japanese legend that snatches treasures and captains from their ships, and then crashes the ships. Both creatures are described as having similar traits. Interestingly, the japanese name for the Waterwraith is also "Amebouzu".
The Plasm Wraith is the first final boss in the Pikmin series to have multiple phases.
The Plasm Wraith bears a resemblance to some bosses in the Pikmin series: In its final form, it resembles the Waterwraith from Pikmin 2. It also has a phase when it resembles the Goolix from Pikmin.
When idle, the Plasm Wraith's right "shoulder" is longer than the left, making it one of the two abnormally-asymmetric creature in the Pikmin series, the other being the Mamuta.
In Olimar's Data File entry about the Plasm Wraith, he states the creature has been stalking him since he first landed in the Formidable Oak, and that every time he tries to evade it, it triggers his suit's auto-sleep function and drags him back. It becomes protective of Olimar to the point that it'll attack the captains if they approach Olimar. The exact reason for this bizarre behavior is unknown.
In the secret data file reward video, "At the Oak", Olimar is seen surveying the area, while Louie is running away from something. Right as the video ends, the veiwer can hear loud footsteps and the Plasm Wraith's roar, implying the capture of Olimar.