Wolpole

Wolpole
Appears in	Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Amphicaris frodendum; Amphicaris frondiferorum (Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch) onwards)
Family	Amphituber
Areas	The Forest of Hope, The Distant Spring, Awakening Wood, Perplexing Pool, Garden of Hope, Distant Tundra, Tropical Wilds, Sun-Speckled Terrace
Caves	Shower Room, Hole of Heroes, Secluded Courtyard
Challenge Mode stages	None
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	Forgotten Cove
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	Thirsty Desert, Shaded Garden
Side Story days	None
Dandori Challenge stages	None
Dandori Battle stages	None
2-Player Battle stages	None
Bingo Battle stages	Stagnant Sea
Attacks	None

Wolpoles (オタマ^?, lit.: "Tadpole"; known as Wogpoles in North America until the Switch ports of Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 and in Europe until New Play Control! Pikmin) are harmless enemies in the Pikmin games. They resemble tadpoles in appearance, and are in fact the larval form of the frog-like Yellow Wollyhops.

In Pikmin, they only appear in the The Forest of Hope and The Distant Spring areas. They are typically a hard-to-get, low-reward enemy in that they are fast swimmers which produce only one Pikmin seed when carried to the Onion. In Pikmin 2, Wolpoles are found in the Awakening Wood (being chased by wild Blue Pikmin) and the Perplexing Pool, as well as the sublevels of certain caves where they have the treasure value of merely × 1. While being chased, Wolpoles may sometimes accidentally beach themselves, flopping about helplessly until they land safely back in the water. They may also drop from the ceiling, usually on a dry spot in an otherwise wet level. As a side note, the Wogpoles in Pikmin seem to be closer to maturation than those in Pikmin 2, as the legs near their tails are present.

In Pikmin 3, they can be found in the Tropical Wilds, the Garden of Hope, and the Distant Tundra. Their skin is now a teal color instead of dark blue, and their AI has been refined to run directly away from approaching leaders instead of in random directions.

Stats

Game	Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
	1	2	1	N/A	50	Unknown
	1	1	1	× 1	200	No
(?)	1	2 (normally)	1	× 5 × 5	74	No
	1	1	2	× 1	74	No

Notes

Reel notes

“This creature appears to be a newborn yellow wollywog in tadpole form.”

Olimar's notes

“The wollywog spawns in early spring, laying its eggs on low-hanging tree branches and shrubs growing in or near lakes and ponds. Such unorthodox amphibious behavior is a defense mechanism, protecting the eggs from predation by blue Pikmin and water dumples. The wollywog's wild hopping near the shoreline in early spring is thought to be a method of driving predators away from the wogpole eggs.”

Louie's notes

“Wogpoles can be eaten raw, but they're much more flavorful when steamed or grilled. Also heavenly in risotto! Feel free to experiment with this lush ingredient.”

Alph's comments

“Structural flaw: weak hide
Weight: 1

It's built for one thing: swimming. On everything else, from engaging predators to environmental awareness, it kind of falls apart.”

Brittany's comments

“You know the saying "It's more afraid of you than you are of it"? This is the only thing on this planet where that feels true. Something about getting close to this creature at all feels like cruelty to animals.”

Charlie's comments

“Strange how such a scrawny pushover grows up to flatten Pikmin left and right. Then again, maybe it remembers being helpless and holds a grudge.”

Louie's comments

US version

“Wogpoles can be eaten raw, but they're much more flavorful when steamed or grilled. Also heavenly in risotto! Feel free to experiment with this lush ingredient.”

European version

“Wolpoles can be eaten raw, but they're much more flavourful when steamed or grilled. Also heavenly in risotto! Feel free to experiment with this lush ingredient.”

Olimar's comments

US version

“Wogpole
Amphicaris frodendum
Amphituber family

The wollywog spawns in early spring, laying its eggs on low-hanging tree branches and shrubs growing in or near lakes and ponds. Such unorthodox amphibious behavior is a defense mechanism, protecting the eggs from predation by Blue Pikmin and water dumples. The wollywog's wild hopping near the shoreline in early spring is thought to be a method of driving predators away from the wogpole eggs.”

European version

“Wolpole
Amphicaris frodendum
Amphituber family

The wollyhop spawns in early spring, laying its eggs on low-hanging tree branches and shrubs growing in or near lakes and ponds. Such unorthodox amphibious behaviour is a defence mechanism, protecting the eggs from predation by Blue Pikmin and water dumples. The wollyhop's wild hopping near the shoreline in early spring is thought to be a method of driving predators away from the wolpole eggs.”

Dalmo's Notes

“While watching it swim to and fro, fatigue and time just melt away. I'm able to relax this much, even on an unknown planet at the ends of the universe, because observing this aquatic beastie takes me back to the waterfront in my hometown when I was a child.”

Pikmin Nintendo Player's Guide

“Though it loses some of its ability to swim during adulthood, the wollywog lives exclusively in water during its larval stage of development. As a tadpole, the wollywog navigates through the water using its finned tail. Upon maturation, the wollywog develops powerful legs, and its external gills are replaced by internal ones. This creature appears to be a newborn yellow wollywog in tadpole form.”

“Wogpoles are defenseless and very weak. They're also very swift. If your Pikmin manage to get close to one, they'll chase after it until they can catch up and defeat it. A defeated wogpole produces only one Pikmin seed when its body is delivered to an onion, so hunting down baby wollywogs might be more trouble than it's worth.”

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide

“The Sheargrubs of the water swim near your Pikmin and distract the troops, but they don't cause any real harm. If you have the time, you can harvest them for minimal sprouts or Pokos. If not, ignore them.”

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide

“Wogpoles are harmless aquatic creatures that retreat any time they feel threatened. If you're determined to defeat a Wogpole, it's usually best to send a squad of Blue Pikmin charging in to attack the creature. Most of the time, however, it's not worth the time it takes for your Pikmin to chase down a fleeing Wogpole.”

Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch) Reel notes

“This creature appears to be a newborn yellow wollyhop in tadpole form.”

Strategy

In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, although they constantly swim away from leaders, Wolpoles will occasionally stop for a few seconds when only chased by Pikmin, giving the Pikmin a chance to attack. Wolpoles themselves can't attack, but they can cause flower Pikmin to lose their petals when they shake the predators off. Since they only yield one Pikmin seed when retrieved, they're almost always more trouble than they're worth.

One way to catch it mid-chase is to extend your Pikmin group into a line such that the creature swims into the line. This does not necessarily mean it will be hurt, though. If any Wolpoles are on land (such as in the Shower Room, where they drop from the ceiling), they can easily be attacked with any Pikmin, though their floundering can make the process slower.

The new AI in Pikmin 3 allows the player to rather easily force the Wolpole along the pond walls until it flops onto land, allowing even non-Blue Pikmin to kill it and take it with them. If the Wolpole is not killed in time, it will eventually flop its way back into water and swim to its spawning location, regardless if it is being chased or not, making it even easier to defeat than the original Wogpole with Blue Pikmin. It might also stand still for a while, granting an opportunity for a charge.

Technical information

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	`otama`
HP	50

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name			`tadpole`
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	200
fp01	マップとの当り	Unknown (related to slopes)	15
fp02	ダメージスケールXZ	Horizontal damage scale	0.2
fp03	ダメージスケールY	Vertical damage scale	0.25
fp04	ダメージフレーム	Damage scale duration	0.35
fp05	質量	Unknown (weight?)	0.1
fp06	速度	Move speed	180
fp08	回転速度率	Rotation acceleration	0.3
fp09	テリトリー	Territory radius	200
fp10	ホーム範囲	"Home" radius	50
fp11	プライベート距離	"Private" radius	210
fp12	視界距離	Sight radius	200
fp13	視界角度	FOV	180
fp14	探索距離	Unknown (exploration radius?)	0
fp15	探索角度	Unknown (exploration angle?)	0
fp16	振り払い率	Successful shake rate	1
fp17	振り払い力	Shake knockback	50
fp18	振り払いダメージ	Shake damage	0
fp19	振り払い範囲	Shake range	50
fp20	攻撃可能範囲	Unknown (shock attack max range?)	0
fp21	攻撃可能角度	Unknown (shock attack max angle?)	0
fp22	攻撃ヒット範囲	Unknown (attack hit range?)	0
fp23	攻撃ヒット角度	Unknown (attack hit angle?)	0
fp24	攻撃力	Attack damage	0
fp25	視界高	Unknown (height visibility?)	50
fp26	探索高	Unknown (exploration height?)	0
fp27	ライフの高さ	HP wheel height	50
fp28	回転最大速度	Rotation speed	15
fp29	警戒時間	Unknown (warning time?)	0
fp30	警戒ライフ	Unknown	0
fp31	ライフ回復率	Regeneration rate	0
fp32	LOD半径	Off-camera radius	30
fp33	マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定	Collision processing radius	25
fp34	ピクミンとのあたり	Pikmin damage radius	10
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	0.3 (30%)
fp38	地震気絶時間	Purple Pikmin stun time	5
ip01	振り払い打撃Ａ	Shake mode 1 – hit count	0
ip02	振り払い張付１	Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement	0
ip03	振り払い打撃Ｂ	Shake mode 2 – hit count	0
ip04	振り払い張付２	Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement	0
ip05	振り払い打撃Ｃ	Shake mode 3 – hit count	0
ip06	振り払い張付３	Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement	0
ip07	振り払い打撃Ｄ	Shake mode 4 – hit count	0
Specific properties
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
fp01	ピチピチ移動速度	Movement speed while bouncing above water	20

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`otama`
HP	74
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill	1
White Pikmin ingestions to kill	0
Bomb rock explosions to kill	1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill	0
Number of direct hits on top to kill	0
Damage to leaders	0
Territory radius	200
Mission Mode value	5

Other information

Technical name in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide: Amphituber
Size: Body length: 37mm, as per the e-card
Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #45

Naming

See more: Amphituber family#Naming.

Common name: Wolpole. It is a combination of "wog", from "pollywog" (like other amphitubers), and "tadpole". This enemy, similarly to the Wollywog and Yellow Wollywog, was originally called Wogpole, but was renamed to Wolpole for the European versions of New Play Control! Pikmin, New Play Control! Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3. This name was eventually made standard in the Switch ports of Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2, as well as Pikmin 4
Japanese nickname: In Japan, its name is オタマ^?, which written like that means "ball" but it's short for オタマジャクシ^? which means tadpole.
Japanese name: ダルマイモガエル^?, lit.: "Daruma Potato Frog". It is shared with the Yellow Wollyhop.
Scientific name: This species was originally classified as amphicaris frodendum. This was also shared with the Yellow Wollyhop. Starting in the Switch port of Pikmin 2, the species name for both was changed to frondiferorum. Both are similar to the latin word frondeum, which means "leaf-like", which may refer to the green top of the Yellow Wollyhop, or the tail of the Wolpole.
Internal names: The internal name in Pikmin and in Pikmin 3 is the same as the Japanese name, otama, and the Pikmin 2 name is the same as the English translation, tadpole.
Prerelease: In the GameCube Interactive Multi-Game Demo Disc Version 18, this enemy's scientific name is mistakenly the same as the Water Dumple's – Ichthyosa Felinis.^[1]

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	オタマ^? Otama	Tadpole
Chinese (traditional)	蝌蚪
French	Wog Larvaire	Larval Wollyhop
German	Wackelquappe	From "wackeln" (wobble) and "Kaulquappe" (tadpole)
Italian	Ranuchetta	From "Ranuca", a part of the Wollyhop's name and "-etta", a term of endearment; Little Wollyhop
Korean	올챙 ol chang	Tadpole
Portuguese	Girinuru	From "girino" (tadpole) and "cururu"
Spanish (NoA)	Sapicuajo	Portmanteau of "sapo" (toad) and "renacuajo" (tadpole)

Gallery

Pikmin

Artwork of the Wolpole from New Play Control! Pikmin.
The Wolpole as seen in the enemy reel of Pikmin.
The Wolpole as seen in the enemy reel of the European version of New Play Control! Pikmin.
Drawings of the Wolpole from the Pikmin Official Player's Guide.

Pikmin 2

Artwork of a group of Wolpoles from Pikmin 2.
A Wolpole in a body of water.
The creature's e-card, #46.

Pikmin 3

Artwork of the Wolpole from Pikmin 3.
A Wolpole in an early version of Pikmin 3.

Pikmin 4

A pair of wolpoles, seen in the first sublevel of the Secluded Courtyard.
Another wolpole, who has unfortunately leaped onto land, making it extremely vulnerable.
An unfortunate wolpole, who did not make it back to safety.

Trivia

The Wolpoles that spawn in Garden of Hope, within the water near base, no longer appear in Pikmin 3 Deluxe. This change was likely made to discourage new players from throwing their Red Pikmin into the water. Their absence means Wolpoles do not appear in the Garden of Hope at all in this version.
- Despite this, Wolpoles still appear in that location in their Piklopedia video and have their main habitat listed as "Garden of Hope, etc.".
Their external gills are only present in Pikmin, having been removed in later games for unknown reasons.