Iridescent Flint Beetle
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Appears in | Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4 | ||
Scientific name | Pilli envelopens (Striped) Pilli envelopens striaticus (Spotted) | ||
Family | Flint beetle | ||
Areas | The Impact Site, The Forest of Hope, The Forest Navel, Awakening Wood, Garden of Hope, Twilight River, Sun-Speckled Terrace | ||
Caves | Citadel of Spiders, Cavern of Chaos, Hole of Heroes, Dream Den | ||
Challenge Mode stages | The Impact Site, The Distant Spring, Novice Training | ||
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages | Tropical Forest, Thirsty Desert, The Rustyard | ||
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages | None | ||
Side Story days | None | ||
Dandori Challenge stages | None | ||
Dandori Battle stages | None | ||
2-Player Battle stages | None | ||
Bingo Battle stages | Blooming Terrace | ||
Attacks | None |
The Iridescent Flint Beetle (コガネモチ?, lit.: "Small Riches Holder") is an enemy in the mainline Pikmin games. It is harmless to Pikmin, and instead runs around unpredictably. When a Pikmin is thrown directly on top of it, it will flip over and drop a useful object, such as a pellet or a drop of spray. Pikmin attacking from the ground cannot harm it. This enemy spends most of the time underground, only surfacing when a leader comes near, and it will return to the ground after some time has passed or after it has been hit enough times.
The name "Iridescent Flint Beetle" can refer to two different subspecies of creatures: the main one from Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 4, or the spotted subspecies from Pikmin 3. Aside from appearance, both species act identically.
Stats
Game | Weight | Max. carriers |
Seeds | Value | Health | Regen. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No | |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1000 | 0.3 HP/s | |
(?) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A[note 1] | No |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 | No |
- ^ The game files specify that this enemy has 1 HP.
Pikmin
In Pikmin, the Iridescent Flint Beetle is small, round, and fairly common, with a green body and yellow eyes. They are mostly found in foliage or in corners. When hit, they drop, in order[1]:
- A 1-pellet,
- Two doses of nectar,
- Two more doses of nectar,
- A 5-pellet,
- A 1-pellet,
- Two doses of nectar,
- Two more doses of nectar,
- A 5-pellet.
After that, more hits will not generate anything. This is difficult to achieve before it returns underground, however, due to its unpredictable and swift movement. It also poses an indirect threat to Pikmin, as it will often run through Olimar's army. This results in the Pikmin automatically attacking and chasing it unless called back, which can lead them into danger.
Pikmin 2
In Pikmin 2, the Iridescent Flint Beetle's appearance was slightly changed to have a different coloration, and it is slightly smaller. Pikmin no longer attack them automatically as they do in the original game. In all Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode levels they're in, these creatures drop treasures. They are found in similar locations, but only drop three things: a 1-pellet (a dose of nectar if it's underground), 2 doses of nectar, and then a dose of ultra-spicy spray (3 doses of nectar if the ultra-spicy spray hasn't been discovered yet). Using Purple Pikmin, it is easier to fight them due to the shockwaves that the heavy Purple Pikmin produce when thrown. It is possible to defeat these creatures while petrified, but they drop neither nectar nor spray and leave no corpse.
On the main menu, if the player presses / , an Iridescent Flint Beetle may appear that can be controlled with / . The beetle will be swarmed if it gets close to the Pikmin. This is just one of the main menu easter eggs.
Pikmin 3
In Pikmin 3, the Iridescent Flint Beetle was significantly redesigned. Its eyes (now purple) are still on stalks, but it sports two horizontally-facing antennae that look almost like a mustache, its shiny exoskeleton seems to have layers and appears less vibrant, and its underside appears to have four glowing, blue spots. In Pikmin 3 Deluxe's Piklopedia, Olimar confirms this drastic appearance change is due to them being a subspecies of the ones from previous games. The only way to harm one of these creatures, as with previous games, is by throwing Pikmin on its back, upon which it drops nectar or pellets.
Pikmin 4
In Pikmin 4, the Iridescent Flint Beetle now uses its design from the first two games and can now drop raw material.
Notes
Olimar's voyage log
Reel notes
Olimar's notes
Louie's notes
Alph's comments
“Structural flaw: back
Weight: unknown
Brittany's comments
Charlie's comments
Louie's comments
Olimar's comments
“Iridescent Flint Beetle
Pilli envelopens striaticus
Flint beetle family
Dalmo's Notes
Pikmin Nintendo Player's Guide
Pikmin Nintendo Power booklet description
Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide
Pikmin 3 Prima Guide
“The Iridescent Flint Beetle is a harmless burrowing creature. Attacking the creature generally yields a nice supply of pellets and Nectar.
The Iridescent Flint Beetle is a fast-moving creature. When the creature emerges, allow it to scurry around the area. When the creature stops moving, you have a brief window to attack. Toss a single Pikmin directly onto the Iridescent Flint Beetle to yield a nice reward. Repeat the process as many times as possible before the Iridescent Flint Beetle burrows back underground.”Behavior
The Flint Beetle is harmless and will remain underground until a leader or Pikmin approaches its resting spot. Once active, the Flint Beetle will scurry about in no particular direction; only away from the player after being hit. It moves quickly and can be difficult to hit at times, but repeatedly flipping it over for up to three times will provide increasingly valuable rewards. After being hit three times, or being active for a certain amount of time, the creature will scurry back underground. Though it does not die, it will not return for the rest of the day/challenge.
Strategy
The following article or section contains guides. |
While the Flint Beetle cannot be killed, it can have certain items knocked out of it. The creature can only be attacked with Pikmin, as leaders have no way of damaging this creature aside from ultra-bitter spray. Pikmin must be thrown at the Beetle's shell to flip it, knocking out useful items. The Iridescent Glint Beetle and the Doodlebug are damaged in the same way.
Purple Pikmin in Pikmin 2 can home in, making them easier to hit with. With proper timing, or by repeatedly throwing Pikmin, one can hit the beetle before it begins running again, resulting in the creature staying in the same place.
In the Super Smash Bros. series
The Iridescent Flint Beetle appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a trophy.
Brawl trophy
Smash 4 trophy
Technical information
showPikmin technical information (?) |
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showPikmin 2 technical information (?) |
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showPikmin 3 technical information (?) |
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Other information
- Technical name in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide: Steeliprax
- Size: Body length: 30mm, as per the e-card
- Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #20
Naming
- Common name: Iridescent Flint Beetle. The word "iridescent" means "showing different colours depending on the viewer's angle", referring to its shiny elytron. Flint is a type of hard rock historically used to ignite fires by striking other rocks, similar to how striking it with a Pikmin yields prizes. However, "flint" is also similar to "glint", meaning "a bright reflection of light" – this is used in its relative's name, the Iridescent Glint Beetle.
- Japanese nickname: コガネモチ?, lit.: "Small Riches Holder". コガネ? means "Small amount of money", likely referring to how it gives out worse prizes than its golden counterpart, and モチ? means "holder". "Koganemushi" 黄金虫? also means scarab beetle, which its color is similar to.
- Japanese name: タテスジルリコガネモチ?, lit.: "Vertical Stripes Lapis Lazuli Small Riches Holder" (Pikmin, Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4); マダラルリコガネモチ?, lit.: "Spotted Lapis Lazuli Small Riches" (Pikmin 3 Deluxe).
- Scientific name: Pilli envelopens (Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 4); Pilli envelopens striaticus (Pikmin 3 Deluxe). Pilli is probably derived from "pill", in reference to its round shape. Envelopens is based on the English word "envelop", which means "to cover", possibly chosen due to the creature being mostly covered in a flint-hard shell. Striaticus likely comes from "stria", a term for a narrow streak or groove, or more specifically "striated", the state of having striae. While this term better describes the grooves found in the regular variant, the different color of the spots makes them more noticeable.
- Internal names: Its internal name in all of the games is
kogane
, part of its Japanese nickname. - Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
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Japanese | コガネモチ? Kogane Mochi |
Small Riches Holder | |
Chinese (traditional) |
小富蟲 | ||
French | Scarabée Iridescent | Iridescent Beetle | |
German | Psychilex | ||
Italian | Iridococco | Iris Coccus | |
Korean | 황금벌레 Hwang geum bulle |
Gold bug | |
Portuguese (NoA) | Silisouro iridescente | Iridescent flint beetle | "Silisouro" is a portmanteau of "sílice" (flint) and "besouro" (beetle) |
Portuguese (NoE) | Besouro Iridescente | Iridescent Beetle | Name taken from the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy. |
Spanish (NoA) | Escarabajo de sílex iridiscente | Iridescent flint beetle |
Gallery
- Iridescent Flint Beetle P1 art.png
Artwork of the Iridescent Flint Beetle from Pikmin.
- Iridescent Flint Beetle P2 screenshot.png
Close-up of an Iridescent Flint Beetle in Pikmin 2.
- FlintBeetle.jpeg
A better look at the Iridescent Flint Beetle in Pikmin 3.
- Flint Beetle.jpg
A detailed side view of the Flint Beetle from Pikmin 3.
- IridescentFlintBeetle Pikmin3.png
The Iridescent Flint Beetle in an early version of Pikmin 3.
- Pikmin3IridFlintBeetle.png
Art of the Pikmin 3 Iridescent Flint Beetle from the Official Nintendo Magazine.
The creature's e-card, #24.
Trivia
- The Iridescent Glint Beetle belongs in a different family, the Glint beetle family, while their genera is the same as the Iridescent Flint Beetles. In real life, it is impossible for members of different families to share a genus; this would mean their genus identifiers are coincidentally the same instead of related.
- The European version of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy advises players to flip the creature over with a Purple Pikmin and then having them attack it. This strategy doesn't make much sense, and was likely mistaken for the Anode Beetle instead, which lacks a trophy.
- In Pikmin 3, the Iridescent Flint Beetle has 6 legs, making it the first anatomically-correct insectoid in the Pikmin franchise.
- Prior to the release of Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch), the Doodlebug was mistakenly referred to as belonging to the "Flint bug family" in the English version, even though it were claimed to share the same genus as the Iridescent Flint Beetle. In the Japanese version of Pikmin 2, the Iridescent Flint Beetle and the Doodlebug have always shared the same family.
- In the Spanish version, the Flint Beetle, Glint Beetle, and Doodlebug are from the same family. Even though the Glint Beetle is referred to belong in a different family in the Japanese version.
- In Pikmin 3, when an Iridescent Flint Beetle is hit with a Pikmin and lands on the ground, it makes a clink like a coin hitting the ground.
- The Iridescent Flint Beetle may be based off jewel beetles.
- The Iridescent Flint Beetle can be killed when turned to stone by an Ultra-Bitter Spray in Pikmin 2, or frozen by an ice blast in Pikmin 4.
See also
showHarmless enemies |
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showPikmin enemies |
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showPikmin 2 enemies |
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showPikmin 3 enemies |
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showPikmin 4 enemies |
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References
- ^ YouTube video of Iridescent Flint Beetles stuck in place with hacks, showing what they can drop, published on February 12th, 2019, retrieved on February 15th, 2019
- Pikmin 1
- Pikmin 2
- Pikmin 3
- Pikmin 4
- Flint beetle family
- Pikmin 1 enemies
- Pikmin 2 enemies
- Pikmin 3 enemies
- Pikmin 4 enemies
- Harmless enemies
- Burrowing enemies
- Hiding enemies
- The Impact Site
- The Forest of Hope
- The Forest Navel
- Pikmin 1 Challenge Mode
- Awakening Wood
- Garden of Hope
- Twilight River
- Citadel of Spiders
- Cavern of Chaos
- Hole of Heroes
- Dream Den