| Vehemoth Phosbat | |
|---|---|
| |
| Appears in | Pikmin 3 |
| Scientific name | Unknown |
| Family | Unknown |
| Areas | Distant Tundra |
| Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages | None |
| Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages | None |
| Side Story days | None |
| Bingo Battle stages | None |
| Attacks | Sucks up Pikmin Emits poison |
The Vehemoth Phosbat is a boss in Pikmin 3, and is the second boss encountered in story mode. It is a large, bioluminescent moth-like creature with massive orange wings, yellow eyes, small stumpy limbs, and a large gaping whale-like mouth.
This creature resides in dark caves, where it renders itself completely invisible by turning off all of its biolights, which also allows it to safely roam the cave undetected. When a captain approaches the Vehemoth Phosbat, it lights up its entire body with bioluminescent hairs which glow pink, and an orange torso. Upon lighting up, it will open its mouth and inhale ferociously, creating a powerful vortex that will trap Pikmin and the captain. After a few seconds, any number of Pikmin up to 5 will be inhaled into its mouth and become the Phosbat's meal.[1] When distressed, it will also frantically flap its wings, releasing a cloud of toxic dust that chokes nearby Pikmin and causes them to scatter around the room.[2]
Background
At the beginning of the game, Charlie takes shelter in a cave, where he finds larval Phosbats crawling on the cave floor. He uses his Yellow Pikmin to kill them, which leads to the parent Phosbat abducting him. He is not playable until Alph and Brittany rescue him later in the game.[3]
Battle Strategy
Unlike the Armored Mawdad, the Vehemoth Phosbat's arena is much more expansive, giving the player more room to move about. As the player enters the area, the only light present will be from the variously-placed Common Glowcaps. In this darkness, the Phosbat is invisible, and it will quietly move throughout the area, only revealing itself when it tries to inhale Pikmin. To stun the Phosbat, the player can lure it near a light and then activate it with Yellow Pikmin, which will cause the creature to reveal itself and fall to the ground, stunned. However, once the player has done this, the Phosbat will retaliate by summoning its babies to attack the player. Its young can eat 1 Pikmin at a time. However, they're slow and easy to kill, making them pose little threat, but can be somewhat of a nuisance when trying to do other tasks.
The Phosbats are spawned from large eggsack-like objects that are placed throughout the area called Phosbat Pods, which can be destroyed to prevent further spawning of Phosbats. Continue the previously mentioned stun method to buy some time, as the Phosbat will constantly follow you after you've begun to attack its children. You can hide under Glowcaps, which will prevent it from coming towards you, at least until the next phase of the fight.
Scattered around the cave are 2 piles of Fragments, which can be used to build a bridge to a large red box. Having 20 Yellow Pikmin stand atop this box will light up a large light bulb attached to the cave ceiling, which illuminates the entire area. This light results in the stunning of the Phosbat and renders it incapable of becoming invisible for the remainder of the battle. After this happens, the player can simply throw Yellow Pikmin onto its back to weigh it down whenever the beast stops to suck in Pikmin. After it gets back up, it will begin to release a toxic powder that chokes all nearby Pikmin. During this time, it will retreat onto a wall in the cave to rest and regenerate health. It is recommended to throw several Rock Pikmin at its back while it rests, as normal Pikmin will just be thrown off after the Phosbat prepares to start flying.
Continue this process until the Phosbat is defeated. Upon defeat, the Phosbat will erretically fly around the area until it electrocutes itself on the lightbulb dangling from the ceiling, afterwhich it will fall to the ground and writhe in pain, just before its life finally ends.
Expert Strategy
Warning: it is advised that this strategy is only attempted by experienced players.
A much quicker way to defeat the Phosbats involves using both captains and distracting the boss while the Pikmin work.
First, have the Pikmin destroy a few Phosbat Pods do get them nectar. Then, go to the right of the cave enterance and there will be a pile of sticks that lead up to a fragment pile. Instruct all of your Pikmin to climb the stick and construct the bridge while the captains distract the Phosbat. Once the Pikmin have brought all of their bridge shards to the bridge, it should be long enough for the captains to throw eachother across. Simply throw one of the captains across and then throw 20 Yellow Pikmin up to them, and then have them use the Yellows to activate the car battery. This will instantly commence the second phase of the battle.
Once the Phosbat falls to the ground, swarm it with all of your Pikmin, and then quickly call them back before it gets up. Once it begins to fly away, stay ahead of it and throw a few Yellows at it while running in the same direction that it is flying. This will make the boss stop to shake them off and change directon. During this short period of time, quickly throw all of your Yellows at it to weigh it down, causing it to fall into the ground and struggle to get back up, which opens it up to further attack. Using this strategy, the boss can be defeated in under 2 minutes.
After its death, the player unlocks Charlie as a playable character and is also rewarded with the Heroine's Tear.
Gallery
The Vehemoth Phosbat being scanned in the final game.
The day dedicated to defeating the Vehemoth Phosbat.
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Charlie killing Phosbats.
The Vehemoth Phosbat dropping dust on the Pikmin.
The Vehemoth Phosbat being revealed after the area is lit up.
- 00Charlie.PNG
The captain returns.
Phosbat Pod
- ZlCfzRFt-mUoSRRTug.jpg
The invicible Vehemoth Phosbat
- ZlCfzRFzE knzCj7jM.jpg
The Vehemoth Phosbat using its vortex attack.
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A group of Phosbats.
Trivia
- The Vehemoth Phosbat is the first airborne boss in the Pikmin series.
- Vehemoth is a portmanteau of Vehement, which means to exaggerate, referencing the boss' wide variety of colors and bizzare facial expression, and Behemoth, which means enormous, referenceing the boss' size.
- Sections of the creature's name seems to be derived from "moth" and "bat" contributing to its apperance of being part moth and bat, and "phos", referencing its bioluminescent abilities.
- The Vehemoth Phosbat is the third boss in the Pikmin series to have an actual younger form.
- If baby phosbats are caught in the vortex attack of the Vehemoth Phosbat, they will duck in cover to avoid getting eaten themselves.
- Although it is recommended that the large light is activated, it is possible (and time-consuming) to defeat the Vehomoth Phosbat without activating a single light by throwing Rock Pikmin at it when it reveals itself during attack..
References
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