Armored Cannon Beetle

Armored Cannon Beetle
Appears in	Pikmin
Scientific name	Granitus chukkulinae
Family	Lithopod
Areas	The Forest of Hope, The Distant Spring
Challenge Mode stages	None
Attacks	Launch boulders

This article is about the lithopod that first appears in Pikmin. For the version unique to Pikmin 4, see Horned Cannon Beetle. For an explanation of the difference or lack thereof, see Lithopod family#Naming.

The Armored Cannon Beetle (フタクチドックリ^?, lit.: "Two-Mouth Tokkuri") is the adult stage of an Armored Cannon Larva, appearing in Pikmin, with its larval stage appearing in Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, and Pikmin 4. It is a large, black, almost shiny beetle with a thick, rounded shell of armor and a blowhole above its head. It attacks by inhaling through this opening and subsequently firing a rolling rock from its mouth that travels in a straight path, which crushes any Pikmin in its path and only stops when it hits a wall or another enemy. To defeat the creature, one must attack its abdomen; attacking other parts of the creature (like its legs) won't damage it.

This enemy is only found in The Forest of Hope, where one is guarding the Radiation Canopy, and The Distant Spring, where one has ingested the Bowsprit. As a side-note, Olimar can destroy the rocks by punching them; this does not work with the rock-producing lithopods in Pikmin 2, however. The boulders can also instantly kill a Dwarf Bulborb; the bug is left visibly flattened after being rolled over by a rock.

While this creature does not appear outside of the original Pikmin game, many other members of the Lithopod family appear throughout future titles, such as the mentioned Armored Cannon Larva and the Horned Cannon Beetle, whose appearance and behavior are very similar to the Armored Cannon Beetle.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
30	50	50	N/A	2000	Unknown

Behavior

While idle, it wanders around a set area and looks around itself, checking its surroundings. Once engaged, it will turn to face Olimar and any Pikmin and begin inhaling. While inhaling, the Armored Cannon Beetle will not turn in any direction and stay facing the same way for a few seconds before spitting out a large boulder. This boulder will crush any Pikmin it hits, killing them, and it can damage Olimar as well. If a Pikmin is thrown into its blowhole while it is inhaling, it causes the Armored Cannon Beetle to get stunned, causing it to open its hard shell to cool off, as seen by the steam and the sizzling noises coming from the revealed flesh. This steaming back is its weak point and when revealed, it will attempt to flee by awkwardly scuttling away. After a few seconds, it will shake off any Pikmin attacking its back and quickly close its opened shell, hiding its weak spot. Once defeated, the Armored Cannon Beetle will close its shell and fall down onto its back.

Locations

The Forest of Hope

It is found in the northern part of the arena, in an arena blocked off by a black bramble gate. It is seen guarding the Radiation Canopy. Access to the arena is also blocked off by a white bramble gate which is submerged in water, so Blue Pikmin are recommended for destroying the wall, though it can be bypassed by throwing bomb rocks on top of the wall.

The Distant Spring

It is found in the middle of the map, in a circular arena located inside the largest of all the tree trunks. It is in the tree trunk closest to the landing site. It never returns once defeated due to it carrying the Bowsprit.

Strategy

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

The only way one can be defeated is by clogging the blowhole during air intake (Pikmin are impervious to harm when inhaled). This causes the beetle's internal temperature to rise dramatically, and in response, the beetle will expose its burning abdomen underneath the armor to vent. The exposed abdomen leaves the beetle vulnerable to attack. However, the beetle will quickly unclog its blowhole, shield its backside, and continue its attack after excess heat has been drained. After closing its back up, your Pikmin will be knocked down, and the Armored Cannon Beetle will shoot a boulder out of its front.

If you bring 30 to 50 Red Pikmin with buds or flowers and throw quickly, the beast can be taken down on the first or second cycle. When it fires its rock, make sure you whistle your Pikmin quickly, or they will be crushed. Also, Pikmin that miss the abdomen will attack the creature's armored legs. They will also be thrown out in front of the beast when it shakes off other Pikmin attacking its back. Whistle them back quickly as well.

Alternately, you may carry the Radiation Canopy without fighting the boss. Distract the beetle by making it shoot a rock at a wall, and while it's busy with its shooting animation, order some Pikmin to carry the object. You can now either continue distracting the enemy with Olimar or go away and leave the Pikmin to it. If you choose to leave, switch the camera to the top-down view and the closest zoom level. This will make the Armored Cannon Beetle go off-camera and not attack the Pikmin as a result.

Notes

Olimar's voyage log

“This creature spits out massive rocks and boasts an impenetrable shell that repels all Pikmin attacks. Just before spitting out a boulder, it sucks in large breaths of air... Perhaps its air hole will provide a clue to it's weakness.”

Reel notes

“This migrant lithopod has developed a stronger carapace than its relatives.”

Pikmin Official Player's Guide description

“This member of the lithopod family migrated to the area during a global climate shift in the atmosphere within the last century. The continental breed of this beast, known as the strong-armed cannon beetle, had the ability to compress inhaled air in a bladder and use the pressure to expel partially digested fragments of stone. This migrant Lithopod has developed a stronger carapace than its relatives”

“Continuously fire Pikmin into the armored cannon beetle's upper snout until it inhales a Pikmin. The Pikmin will plug up the bug and cause it to open its protective shell and reveal its vulnerable body. Circle to the bug's rear and toss Pikmin onto its exposed red body to inflict damage.”

Pikmin Nintendo Power Booklet description

“Pikmin look absolutely tiny compared to this fierce rock-hurling foe. Even when they're vastly outsized, Pikmin can overpower the largest beasts if they work together.”

Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch) Reel notes

“This migratory lithopod has developed a stronger carapace than its relatives.”

Technical information

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	beatle
HP	2000

Other information

• Technical name in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide: Greater Lithopod

Naming

See more: Lithopod family#Naming.

• Common name: Armored Cannon Beetle.
• Japanese nickname: フタクチドックリ^?, lit.: "Two-Mouth Tokkuri"
• Japanese name: クロガネオオイシツツミ^?, lit.: "Black Iron Giant Stone Wrapper"
• Scientific name: Granitus chukkulinae. Chukkulinae is a made-up word, but similar to "chuck". It may also refer to "up-chuck", a term for vomiting.
• Internal names: The internal name for the enemy is simply beatle, which is a misspelling of "beetle".
• Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	フタクチドックリ? Futa Kuchi Dokkuri	Two-Mouth Tokkuri
French (NoE)	Scaracanon Blindé	Armored Cannon Beetle (from "scarabée" (beetle) and "canon" (cannon))
German	Crustabitze	Contraction of Crustacea and Haubitze (howitzer)
Italian	Scarabeo Corazzato	Armored Beetle
Korean	두입호롱 Du ip ho long	'두입' means two mouths, '호롱' means oil lamp
Spanish	Escarabajo Tirador	Shooter Beetle

Gallery

• 

  The Armored Cannon Beetle.

• 

  An Armored Cannon Beetle's exposed abdomen.

• 

  The Armored Cannon Beetle's corpse.

• 

  An Armored Cannon Beetle in an early version of Pikmin, on The Forest Navel. Notice that its cannon is larger and more defined than in the final version.

• 

  An Armored Cannon Beetle in the enemy reel.

• 

  A drawing of an Armored Cannon Beetle from the Pikmin Official Player's Guide.

Trivia

• The sound of the Cannon Beetle moving was done by playing a snare drum and kicking a bass drum.^{[source needed]}
• If an Armored Cannon Beetle sucks in a Yellow Pikmin holding a bomb rock, the Pikmin will keep holding it. When the Pikmin is released, it will keep the bomb rock, and whistling it will not make it drop the explosive. This is true for both the GameCube and the Wii versions of the game.
• By having Olimar lie down and get carried into the creature, it is possible for it to get pushed far enough to leave the arena, and be unable to return.
• In Pikmin, the enemy reel states that the Armored Cannon Beetle "developed a stronger carapace than its relatives", despite the Armored Cannon Beetle being the only lithopod that Olimar encounters in the game.
• Its boulders are programmed to crush Dwarf Bulborbs and Dwarf Bulbears, leaving them flattened. This can be seen for the former by leading one so it is in range to be hit by a boulder, and in the case for the latter, leading one to the Armored Cannon Beetle in The Distant Spring. They are also programmed to crush Water Dumples, despite there not being a scenario where an Armored Cannon Beetle could fire at one normally.
• The Armored Cannon Beetle is one of only five enemies from the original Pikmin that did not return in Pikmin 2.
  • It and Goolix are the only two of these five to not return in Pikmin 4. However, the Horned Cannon Beetle functions identically to this enemy and is infact the exact same enemy in the Japanese version.

See also

• Horned Cannon Beetle
• Arctic Cannon Beetle
• Armored Cannon Larva
• Boulder