Bearded Amprat

Bearded Amprat
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Porcellus barbavolta
Family	Numbouse
Areas	Distant Tundra, Formidable Oak
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	Shaded Garden Remix, The Rustyard, Forgotten Cove
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	Silver Lake, Distant Tundra Remix, Clockwork Chasm
Side Story days	River, Tundra, Creature Hunting, First Part Found, Team Monster Hunt, Looking for Louie, Another Part Found, The Ship Restored
Bingo Battle stages	Rusted Labyrinth, Jigsaw Fortress, Blooming Terrace, Parched Brook, Corroded Maze, Jigsaw Colosseum
Attacks	Eat Pikmin, electrocute Pikmin

The Bearded Amprat (ビリー^?, lit.: "Billy") is a rodent-like enemy in Pikmin 3. It attacks Pikmin by generating electricity, stunning all Pikmin attacking it (except Yellow Pikmin), and then eating them. It resembles a small white guinea pig with large brown spots on its face and back. Its head is rounded with small eyes in the front and no apparent ears. As its name implies, its face is draped in large amounts of long, straight hair which gives their face a slight resemblance to a skull. It has four small, mouse-like feet which it uses to move around and to grab prey. Unlike the rest of its body, the feet are green with brown tips on the toes, which lack claws. Its body ends in a few small brown spots and a skinny, mouse-like tail.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
7	15 (normally)	8	× 50 × 50	750

Notes

Alph's comments

“Structural flaw: soft hide
Weight: 7

Electricity generation is a useful trait in an animal! I'm not sure if this one can be domesticated, but think of all the useful applications if it could. At the very least, we could study it to see if we could reproduce the trick.”

Brittany's comments

“With a few tweaks to its output, I bet its electricity-generating properties could really open up my pores. I'll run the idea by Alph and see what he thinks.”

Charlie's comments

“It looks cute and fuzzy, and that's how it springs its trap. Throw a few Pikmin on thinking it's easy prey, and it'll zap the life out of them. The best strategy is to take a squad of Yellow Pikmin. Then it's you who'll get the last laugh.”

Louie's comments

“Pan roast the thighs with sprigs of rosemary and whole garlic cloves. Finish with a squeeze of fruit juice to highlight the subtle notes of the lingering electricity.”

Olimar's comments

US version

“Bearded Amprat
Porcellus barbavolta
Numbouse family

The hair covering its face works as a capacitor. It charges electricity by rubbing the hair to build static, then discharges it at enemies intruding on its territory. It's more territorial than aggressive, attacking only when threatened rather than to hunt prey. It has several qualities unique to this ecosystem, such as breastfeeding its young, which may someday give rise to a whole new taxonomy of fauna here.”

European version

“Bearded Amprat
Porcellus barbavolta
Numbouse family

The hair covering its face works as a capacitor. It charges electricity by rubbing the hair to build static, then discharges it at enemies intruding on its territory. It's more territorial than aggressive, attacking only when threatened rather than to hunt prey. It has several qualities unique to this ecosystem, such as producing milk for its young, which may someday give rise to a whole new taxonomy of fauna.”

Pikmin 3 website

“A fearsome creature capable of sending out electric shocks to fend off any Pikmin brave enough to come into contact with it.”

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide

“When a Bearded Amprat feels threatened, it rubs its face to build up a static charge. When the Bearded Amprat releases the charge, its whiskers lift up, exposing its sharp teeth. While its teeth are exposed, this enemy uses its front paws to feed nearby Pikmin into its mouth.

When you attack a Bearded Amprat, use Yellow Pikmin to overcome the electrical charge. If you're not able to defeat the creature before it releases the charge, call your Pikmin away before they're eaten. Whenever possible, flank the creature to attack from the rear.”

Behavior

Normally, the creature passively walks around its territory. When Pikmin or a leader come close, however, it will begin to rapidly rub its beard, generating electricity, which causes its hair to flare up and reveal its true face as it charges to try and grab Pikmin and eat them. This hair spikes up when they are attacked and electricity will begin to pulse through their entire body to harm all non-Yellow Pikmin. After a short period of being on the attack, or after the player leaves the creature alone, the Amprat will return to its neutral, harmless state of wandering around.

Strategy

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

Due to their electricity, in any case, the Bearded Amprat is best fought with Yellow Pikmin. Whether electricity is flowing through one's body or not, Yellows can be thrown onto the body to deal safe damage. However, the creature, when flared up, can still shake the Pikmin off and eat a few at a time, so you must stay alert and whistle them back before this happens. The leaders should keep a good distance from the Amprat while fighting because if a leader is struck, if you have not acquired the space suit upgrades, they will be forced back and immobilized briefly. This leaves the Pikmin vulnerable to any enemies in the area.

Red Pikmin and Rock Pikmin may also be used to defeat the Amprat efficiently, but with a greater risk. While the creature is roaming about, swarm it with at least 12 Red and Rock Pikmin to defeat it before it can react. If the creature does manage to charge up its electrical attack, then you should immediately call back all Pikmin, and move a considerable distance from it, or use nearby plants to hide in. The Amprat should calm down quickly, providing a second chance to attack and defeat it.

Technical information

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`billy`
HP	750
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill	15
White Pikmin ingestions to kill	3
Bomb rock explosions to kill	1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill	1
Number of direct hits on top to kill	0
Damage to leaders	10
Territory radius	300
Mission Mode value	50

Naming

Common name: Bearded Amprat. The word "Bearded" refers to its long beard-like hairs on its face, and "Amprat" is a portmanteau of "Amp", a measurement unit of electricity, and "rat", a type of real-life rodent which it resembles.
Japanese nickname: ビリー^?, lit.: "Billy". It may be derived from ビリビリ^?, an onomatopoeia often used in Japanese to describe the sound of electricity.
Japanese name: テンジクシビレネズミ^?. シビレ^? means "numbness", referring to its ability to paralyze Pikmin, while テンジクネズミ^? means "guinea pig".
Scientific name: Porcellus barbavolta. Porcellus is the second word in the species name for guinea pigs, which the Bearded Amprat is similar to. Barba is Latin for "beard", while volta is derived from "Volt", a unit of electric potential.
Internal names: Its internal name, billy, matches its Japanese name.
Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ビリー^? Birī	Billy
Chinese (traditional)	電鬚鼠
French	Bzit	The french onomatopoeia for an electric shock
German	Voltster	Agent-noun of volt
Korean	수염쥐
Spanish (NoA)	Estaticán lanudo	Portmanteau of "estática" (static) and "can", "lanudo" means wooly

Gallery

Bearded Amprat about to eat Pikmin.
An Amprat building up static in its beard.
Bearded Amprat stretching.
Bearded Amprat sniffing around.
A dead Bearded Amprat seen from the back.
Yellow Pikmin attack the Bearded Amprat.
The data file on the Bearded Amprat.

Trivia

The Bearded Amprat is one of the few creatures in the Pikmin universe that seems to retain some traits from modern-day mammals.
The Bearded Amprat is the only enemy that displays a visible anus.