Empress Bulblax

Empress Bulblax
	File:P4 Empress Bulblax Render.png
Appears in	Pikmin 2, Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Oculus matriarcha (Pikmin 2); Oculus kageyamii matriarchia (hypertrophic, gravid) (Pikmin 4)
Family	Grub-dog
Areas	None
Caves	Frontier Cavern, Hole of Beasts, Hole of Heroes, Kingdom of Beasts, Cradle of the Beast, Cavern for a King
Challenge Mode stages	Emperor's Realm
Dandori Challenge stages	None
Dandori Battle stages	None
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Crush Pikmin, cause boulders to fall, birth larvae

The Empress Bulblax (クイーンチャッピー^?, lit.: "Queen Chappy") is a boss in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4. Its markings and general features are similar to those of the Bulborb, but its body is much larger and composed of five distinct segments; the comparatively tiny legs dangle above the ground.

Unlike most bosses, its behavior is different each time it is encountered. In the Hole of Beasts, it must be woken up before battling, rolling from side to side to crush any Pikmin under its weight. In the Frontier Cavern (as well as the Emperor's Realm in Challenge Mode), it will already be awake and giving birth to Bulborb Larvae. In the Hole of Heroes, it does the same while also causing boulders to fall when it hits a wall.

Stats

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.

Game	Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
	20	30	30^{[note 1]}	× 15	5000^{[note 2]}	1.5^{[note 3]}
	20	40	50^{[note 4]}	× 20	5000	No

^ This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the game files.
^ In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy has 3300 HP instead.
^ In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy regenerates 1 HP per second instead.
^ This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the in-game Piklopedia.

Notes

Olimar's notes

“Initial observations placed doubt on the capability of the grub-dog family to support a strong ant- or beelike social structure, but recent studies show the family is capable of such complexity. The egg sac of the largest female grub-dog within a given range swells to dramatic proportions in response to environmental changes, such as the sudden depletion of prey species. These females temporarily take on the role of pack matriarch. Also, in pack formation it has been observed that nearly all males not involved in species reproduction undergo natural sex changes. The characteristics of such specimens are quite intriguing indeed.”

Louie's notes

“For a sophisticated delicacy, make a pate de foie gras from this massively obese creature's liver and spread it over a sesame cracker.”

Dalmo's Notes

“The striking polka dots along that expansive hide provide the very image of royal splendor. While that regal presence essential for queenly quality might throw you off guard, her grand, lumpy figure has more that just visual impact. When provoked, this charmer will roly-poly over and squash any threats! Approach with the utmost caution!”

Olimar's Notes (Pikmin 4)

“Initial observations placed doubt on the capability of the Grub-Dog family to support a strong ant- or beelike social structure, but recent studies show the family is capable of such complexity.

The egg sac of the largest female Grub-Dog within a given range swells to drastic proportions in response to environmental changes, such as the sudden depletion of prey species. These females temporarily take on the role of pack matriarch.

Also, in pack formation, it has been observed that nearly all males not involved in species reproduction undergo natural sex changes. The characteristics of such specimens are quite intriguing indeed.”

Louie's Notes (Pikmin 4)

“For a sophisticated delicacy, make a pâté de foie gras from this massively obese creature’s liver and spread it over a sesame cracker.”

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide

“The rolling wonder squashed Pikmin and its own larvae. Attack one end of the creature by tossing a small group of purples at her, but call them to your pilot's side before it shakes them off. If they are thrown off, they may land near the creature's rolling midsection.”

Pikmin Garden

Text

“餌の枯渇などの環境変化の際に、周辺で最も大きなメスの卵嚢が肥大化し、イモムシのような姿に変化したデメマダラ。大量の子を産み落とし、この個体を女王とした社会形態を取るようになる。

特徴その1 子を産む

大量のベビーチャッピーを産み出し、最大でおよそ50匹ほどの群れを構成する。

(Image text: 子を餌の豊富な場所へ送り出す生存戦略とも、同族の非常食にするためとも考えられている)

特徴その2 転がる

体が大きくなり過ぎて、歩くことはできない。体をくねらせたり、転がらせて移動する。

(Image text: 斑紋がない幼生に気づかず、つぶしてしまうこともある)”

Translation

“During environmental changes such as food depletion, the egg sac of the largest female in the vicinity becomes enlarged, transforming this Bulborb into a caterpillar-like form. It produces a large number of offspring and a social form is established with this individual as the queen.

Feature #1: Producing offspring

It gives birth to a large number of Bulborb Larvae and forms a pack of up to about 50.

(Image text: "It is thought that this may be a survival strategy to send the young to a place where food is abundant, or to provide emergency food for its own kind")

Feature #2: Rolling

Its body grows too large to walk. It moves by twisting its body and rolling around.

(Image text: "Larvae without spots may go unnoticed and be crushed")”

Strategy

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

Pikmin 2

To defeat the Empress Bulblax, throw (preferably Purple) Pikmin onto its face and call them back before it throws them off. After shaking Pikmin off, the boss rolls from side to side across the chamber in an attempt to crush its aggressors, smashing into walls, and making rocks fall from the ceiling in most encounters in the game. Although risky, the Bulblax can be petrified if the spray is released on the middle of its elongated torso.

The Empress Bulblax is one of the few bosses that can vary depending on where the player encounters it: for the Hole of Beasts fight, it is easier to throw the Pikmin on the Empress Bulblax's side to the left and retreat to the alcove in the wall between attacks. Here, it is also effective to swarm the body from the left at the start of the battle, before the boss wakes up. Doing this will deal heavy damage if many Pikmin manage to latch onto the Empress.

This is not as effective in the later two battles, as the Pikmin have less time to attack the enemy before it shakes the Pikmin off, and they have the Empress continuously giving birth to Bulborb Larvae. These are easily defeated by their own mother's rolling; alternatively, in the Frontier Cavern, since the number that can exist is finite, they can be lured away from the Empress with one leader while the other fights the boss, resulting in a fight that is about as easy as in the Hole of Beasts. For the Hole of Heroes fight, the player starts off behind the Empress, and it can make boulders fall after hitting the walls; these are most easily avoided by moving behind the exit hole, itself behind a gate. All rules apply here the same as the Frontier Cavern fight, but trapping the larvae is nearly impossible, and requires a decoy leader who is in good condition.

When defeated, four of the Empress Bulblax's front body segments explode, leaving only the segment attached to the head, which can be returned to the Research Pod and cashed in for × 15.

During the fights with the Bulborb Larvae, it is suggested that a leader should distract the larvae, preferably at full health and with the Metal Suit Z obtained, as the larvae can deal a lot of damage otherwise.

When going for the quickest kill possible, (using a captain to bait the Bulborb Larvae away if necessary) swarm all Pikmin against the side. For a safer strategy, c-stick throw the Pikmin at the head and wait for the beast to roll completely. Repeat 3-5 times to win the battle with no losses.

Pikmin 4

The strategy for the Empress Bulblax are largely the same in Pikmin 4, but it should be noted that Rock Pikmin are near-flawlessly effective against the beast, as they are immune to crushing and cannot latch onto the boss, which makes it impossible for the Empress Bulblax to throw them off. Rock Pikmin are reccomended for both their appearances in Kingdom of Beasts and Cradle of the Beast. Rock Pikmin come at the disadvantage of dealing only half the damage they typically do against the Empress during their regular headbutts, it is more efficient to leave Rock Pikmin to rack up risk-free chip damage while more damaging types like Red Pikmin or Purple Pikmin focus on beating the beast. A rush from a large number of Rock Pikmin also makes for an excellent opener to the fight, but be warned the Empress will begin rolling immediately if you do this. Rock Pikmin are also surprisingly effective against the Empress' children due to their ability to deal damage immediately on contact instead of having to latch on and attack.

It should also be noted that Pikmin thrown off of the empress when she rolls will typically almost always be thrown forward to safety if thrown onto her face, this (combined with the existence of Rock Pikmin) makes it possible to maximise damage output by attacking the empress during her roll, instead of sitting idle during her only attack. If the player deals enough damage while she is rolling, the Empress will more quickly begin rolling again after stopping, making this strategy extra risky (but coming with the benefit of giving her no time to spawn more larvae). Using a combination of Rock Pikmin and Purple Pikmin will help take advantage of the small windows where the Empress stops rolling using their heavy contact damage, particularly Purple Pikmin deal quite a lot of damage to the beast.

In the final cave of the game, Cavern for a King, an Empress Bulblax is encountered on one of the deeper floors, and is fought in a square arena exactly as large as the Bulblax, necessitating the constant use of geysers to dodge its attacks, as well as having to contend with falling boulders and Bulborb Larvae. This is the trickiest and toughest fight against it in the entire franchise if played as expected, particularly since it is unlikely that the player will have access to Rock Pikmin during the encounter. It should be noted that there is an exit located at the rear-end of the arena, which can allow for an easy escape without having to deal with the typically tricky geyser timing. The player can attack it from the rear with a rush while mounted on Oatchi, recall their Pikmin before it rolls, and simply exit the arena. This can take some time, but is considerably more reliable than other strategies.

The quickest way to defeat it without items is as-intended, tackling it head-on (or side-on) by constantly swapping sides of the arena to dodge the attacks. Rush Boots are heavily reccomended as otherwise the window for dodging the attacks is very slim, be wary of Bulborb Larvae also as they can easily pick pikmin off of Oatchi's back. When it comes to attack the boss when it stands still, hitting it with a rush of all your pikmin will leave a dent in the Empress's HP. Alternatively, throwing Purple Pikmin can be a less risky, more precise method to piling on lots of damage at once. Another quick way is to simply use items, stunning the boss or chipping its HP a little with bombs before sending in an entire squad of Ultra-spicy sprayed pikmin will typically be enough to beat it before it can even react.

If the player is struggling especially hard with the Cavern for a King variation of this boss, or brought Winged Pikmin with them to quickly beat several other bosses, the player can simply attack the boss from behind since Winged Pikmin do not mind the ledge. Ultra-Spicy Spray makes this strategy even more reliable. The player should take care, however, as falling boulders can still hit them from below.

In other media

Pikmin comic

In the Pikmin comic strip "Too Stuck to Pluck", an Empress Bulblax tries to pull a Red Pikmin into its underground nest while the new Rescue Officer pulls it in the opposite direction.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Empress Bulblax appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

	Description: “A member of the grub-dog family, transformed by environmental factors. Due to her ridiculous size, the empress bulblax can no longer walk on her tiny legs. She just wiggles around, rolling from left to right. Although the female continues spawning bulborb larvae, she unfortunately rolls over them with her massive body. Pikmin 2”
How to obtain: Random appearance.		Type: Fighter Related

WarioWare series

The Empress Bulblax makes a cameo appearance in WarioWare: Smooth Moves, in a micro-game simply called Pikmin 2. In this micro-game, the player must tilt the Wii Remote to squish some Pikmin. This micro-game returns in WarioWare Gold.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Empress Bulblax appears as a Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after enhancing a Red Bulborb spirit. Its unique trait allows fighters to gain a large boost to their overall stats upon eating a food item.

Spirit info				Augmented Fighter info
Name	Type	Class	Slots	Fighter(s)	Stage	Music	Rules/Hazards	Conditions	Image
Empress Bulblax	Shield	★★★★	2	None (Enhanced from the Bulborb Spirit)

Technical information

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name			`queen`
Global properties (List)
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
s000	friction(not used)	Friction	0.5
s001	wallReflection	Unknown (wall bounce speed multiplier?)	0.5
s002	faceDirAdjust	Unknown	0.25
s003	accel	Acceleration	0.1
s004	bounceFactor	Unknown (bounce when it hits the ground?)	0.3
fp00	ライフ	HP	5000
fp01	マップとの当り	Unknown (related to slopes)	90
fp02	ダメージスケールXZ	Horizontal damage scale	0
fp03	ダメージスケールY	Vertical damage scale	0.05
fp04	ダメージフレーム	Damage scale duration	0.35
fp05	質量	Unknown (weight?)	0.01
fp06	速度	Move speed	125
fp08	回転速度率	Rotation acceleration	0.1
fp09	テリトリー	Territory radius	200
fp10	ホーム範囲	"Home" radius	25
fp11	プライベート距離	"Private" radius	70
fp12	視界距離	Sight radius	200
fp13	視界角度	FOV	90
fp14	探索距離	Unknown (exploration radius?)	50
fp15	探索角度	Unknown (exploration angle?)	120
fp16	振り払い率	Successful shake rate	1
fp17	振り払い力	Shake knockback	300
fp18	振り払いダメージ	Shake damage	1
fp19	振り払い範囲	Shake range	120
fp20	攻撃可能範囲	Unknown (shock attack max range?)	150
fp21	攻撃可能角度	Unknown (shock attack max angle?)	25
fp22	攻撃ヒット範囲	Unknown (attack hit range?)	150
fp23	攻撃ヒット角度	Unknown (attack hit angle?)	25
fp24	攻撃力	Attack damage	10
fp25	視界高	Unknown (height visibility?)	50
fp26	探索高	Unknown (exploration height?)	50
fp27	ライフの高さ	HP wheel height	50
fp28	回転最大速度	Rotation speed	10
fp29	警戒時間	Unknown (warning time?)	15
fp30	警戒ライフ	Unknown	500
fp31	ライフ回復率	Regeneration rate	0.00001
fp32	LOD半径	Off-camera radius	300
fp33	マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定	Collision processing radius	250
fp34	ピクミンとのあたり	Pikmin damage radius	50
fp35	石化時間	Petrification duration	1
fp36	ヒップドロップダメージ	Purple Pikmin drop damage	50
fp37	地震気絶確立	Purple Pikmin stun chance	0 (0%)
fp38	地震気絶時間	Purple Pikmin stun time	10
ip01	振り払い打撃Ａ	Shake mode 1 – hit count	30
ip02	振り払い張付１	Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement	5
ip03	振り払い打撃Ｂ	Shake mode 2 – hit count	35
ip04	振り払い張付２	Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement	10
ip05	振り払い打撃Ｃ	Shake mode 3 – hit count	45
ip06	振り払い張付３	Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement	15
ip07	振り払い打撃Ｄ	Shake mode 4 – hit count	50
Specific properties
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
fp01	ローリング時間	Determines how many rolls it completes (only with base fp06 value)	3.5
fp02	出産間隔 ( sec )	Birth interval	2
fp	Forest 1 Life	HP on the Hole of Beasts	3300
fp	出産数 ( Max )	Max births until it falls asleep	50
fp	出産数 ( Min )	Min number of Larvae on the cave with which it will wake up again	25

Other information

Size: Body length: 480mm, as per the e-card
Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #70
Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #14
Musical theme:
- Pikmin 2: Common boss battle
- Pikmin 4: Boss battle (cave)

Naming

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	クイーンチャッピー^? Kuīn Chappī	Queen Chappy	"Chappy" is the Japanese name for Bulborb
Chinese (traditional)	王后恰比 Wánghòu Qiàbǐ	Queen Chappy	"Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (traditional) name for Bulborb
Chinese (simplified)	王后恰比 Wánghòu Qiàbǐ	Queen Chappy	"Qiàbǐ" is the Chinese (simplified) name for Bulborb
Dutch	Keizerinbulblax	Empress bulblax
French	Reine Bulblax Reine bulblax (Pikmin 4)	Bulblax Queen Bulblax queen (Pikmin 4)
German	Fürstin Knollenauge	Lady Bulbeye
Italian	Bulbica Imperiale Bulbica imperiale (Pikmin 4)	Imperial Bulblax Imperial bulblax (Pikmin 4)
Korean	여왕차피 Yeowang-Chapi	Queen Chappy	"Chapi" is the Korean name for Bulborb
Portuguese	Bulbolhona-real	Royal big bulbeye	"Bulbolhona" is the feminine augmentative form of "Bulbolho", the Brazilian Portuguese name for Bulborb "Bulbolhona" also sounds close to "bobalhona" (a childish slang that means "silly" or "stupid", feminine form of "bobalhão")
Spanish	Bulbo emperatriz	Empress bulborb	"Bulbo" is the Spanish name for Bulborb

Gallery

Pikmin 2

Artwork of the Empress Bulblax.
The Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia.
The Empress Bulblax in the Hole of Beasts.
The Empress Bulblax in the Frontier Cavern, surrounded by its Bulborb Larva offspring.
The Empress Bulblax as seen from above.
The Empress Bulblax's corpse.
Prerelease screenshot showing the Empress Bulblax beginning to roll.
The Piklopedia icon of the Empress Bulblax in the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin 2.
An Empress Bulblax petrified in the Frontier Cavern.

Pikmin 4

The Empress Bulblax's Piklopedia icon.
The Empress Bulblax rolling over several Pikmin and Bulborb Larvae.
The Empress Bulblax as seen from behind.
A sleeping Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia.

Other

The Empress Bulblax's e-card, #14 (20^th red card).

Trivia

Empress Bulblaxes can apparently shed their skin, as there appears to be a shed skin on the floor on the last sublevel of the Hole of Beasts, right underneath the Research Pod.
It is impossible to wake up the Empress Bulblax in the Piklopedia in Pikmin 2, no matter how many Pikpik carrots are thrown at it. The only other enemies who will not attack in the Piklopedia are the Titan Dweevil and the Segmented Crawbster.
The Empress Bulblax is the only member of the Grub-dog family that cannot kill Pikmin by eating them.
The creature resembles a real-world pregnant queen termite.
The Empress Bulblax gives live birth to its larval-form offspring. This is not only unique to the Pikmin franchise, but also to Earth lifeforms.
In Pikmin 2, the Empress Bulblax's specific epithet, matriarcha, indicates that it is considered a different species from its offspring, the Bulborb Larvae (bambinii), which is a biological impossibility. Pikmin 4 corrects this by updating the specific epithets of both the Empress Bulblax and the Bulborb Larvae to that of the Bulborb (kageyamii), establishing that they are all different forms of the same species.
The Japanese Louie's notes mentions cooking the ovaries of the creature instead of its liver. This was also the case for the prototype version of Pikmin 2's English script.^[2]
In Pikmin 2, the Empress Bulblax bizarrely does not appear to have a soul; when defeated, one does not rise from its corpse. While there exist other enemies that similarly don't have souls, they explicitly are not truly dead when defeated, unlike the Empress, which is clearly dead.

References

^ Pikmin 2/Early English Script on The Cutting Room Floor
^ Pikmin 2/Early English Script/Louie's Notes on The Cutting Room Floor

[1] This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the game files.

[2] In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy has 3300 HP instead.

[3] In the Hole of Beasts, this enemy regenerates 1 HP per second instead.

[4] This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the in-game Piklopedia.

[5] Pikmin 2/Early English Script on The Cutting Room Floor

[6] Pikmin 2/Early English Script/Louie's Notes on The Cutting Room Floor

[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[1]

[2]

Bosses
Pikmin	Burrowing Snagret • Armored Cannon Beetle • Puffstool • Beady Long Legs • Goolix • Mamuta • Smoky Progg • Emperor Bulblax
Pikmin 2	Empress Bulblax • Burrowing Snagret • Beady Long Legs • Emperor Bulblax • Giant Breadbug • Pileated Snagret • Man-at-Legs • Ranging Bloyster • Waterwraith • Segmented Crawbster • Raging Long Legs • Titan Dweevil
Pikmin 3	Armored Mawdad • Vehemoth Phosbat • Sandbelching Meerslug • Scornet Maestro • Quaggled Mireclops • Plasm Wraith Baldy Long Legs • Bug-Eyed Crawmad • Burrowing Snagret • Shaggy Long Legs
Pikmin 4	Foolix • Empress Bulblax • Emperor Bulblax • Groovy Long Legs • Waterwraith • Gildemander • Snowfake Fluttertail • Giant Breadbug • Man-at-Legs • Sovereign Bulblax • Smoky Progg • Ancient Sirehound Porquillion • Burrowing Snagret • Crusted Rumpup • Hermit Crawmad • Bug-Eyed Crawmad • Baldy Long Legs • Toxstool Tusked Blowhog • Puffy Blowhog • Masterhop • Arctic Cannon Beetle • Mammoth Snootwhacker • Dwarf Bulborb • Bulborb • Jumbo Bulborb • Titan Blowhog • Blizzarding Blowhog • Horned Cannon Beetle
Hey! Pikmin	Bulborb • Long Water Dumple • Armurk • Electric Cottonade • Queen Shearwig • Fiery Blowhog • Luring Slurker • Emperor Bulblax • Berserk Leech Hydroe

Empress Bulblax

Contents

Stats