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

The Armored Cannon Beetle (フタクチドックリ^?, lit.: "Top-Mouth Tokkuri") is the adult stage of an Armored Cannon Larva. The beetle is first discovered during Olimar's first visit to the Pikmin Planet, and is seen again in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, but only on its larval stage. 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 small creature 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 Red Bulborb; the bug is left visibly flattened after being rolled over by a rock.

Stats

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

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.”

Prima "Field 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 Greater Lithopod, 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”

Strategy

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 on 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.

Technical information

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	beatle
HP	2000

Other information

• Technical name in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide: Greater Lithopod
• Japanese name: クロガネオオイシツツミ^?, lit.: "Iron giant rock package"

Naming

See more: Lithopod family#Naming.

In the creature's scientific name, Granitus chukkulinae, chukkulinae is a made-up word, but similar to "chuck". The internal name for the enemy is simply beatle, which is a misspelling of "beetle".

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	フタクチドックリ? Futa Kuchi Dokkuri	Top-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 (NoE)	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.

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 capable of crushing Water Dumples and leaving them flattened despite there not being a scenario where an Armored Cannon Beetle could fire at one normally.

See also

• Armored Cannon Larva
• Decorated Cannon Beetle
• Arctic Cannon Larva
• Firesnout Beetle
• Boulder