Emperor Bulblax
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| Appears in | Pikmin, Pikmin 2 | ||
| Scientific name | Oculus supremus | ||
| Family | Grub-dog | ||
| Areas | The Final Trial | ||
| Caves | Bulblax Kingdom, Cavern of Chaos, Hole of Heroes | ||
| Challenge Mode stages | Emperor's Realm | ||
| 2-Player Battle stages | None | ||
| Attacks | Eats Pikmin, crushes Pikmin, causes panic, summons Mitites | ||
The Emperor Bulblax is the second largest known species of the Grub-dog family right after the Empress Bulblax. Moss grows upon its thick hide in both games, giving its body a greenish color and serving as camouflage, although in the first game it even bears tall mushrooms and fern-like stems. This beast usually hides in the ground to ambush prey, catching it with its long, sticky tongue. Its soft face is its only weak point to attack, but since it doesn't discriminate much when eating things, it can be led to swallow something a bit less tasteful than Pikmin. The Bulblax is different than most members of the grub-dog family as it has a sludgy, melted appearance, smaller eyes, a more flexible tongue, and what appears to be small fungi, or Blaxcaps (in Pikmin 2, there are instead crater-like bumps) on its back.
Notes
Olimar's voyage log
Reel notes
Olimar's notes
Louie's notes
Pikmin
The Emperor Bulblax is the final boss in Pikmin. It lies buried in the ground at The Final Trial inside the center of the sandy arena north of the landing site, visible only by the mossy growth on its back protruding from the ground. When approached, the Bulblax will rear up and roar, knocking Olimar and the Pikmin back, and will then proceed to attack. His attacks are different depending on his "mood". This mood is initially characterized by salivation: he will attack by using his tongue, gobbling up any Pikmin in front of him. His tongue is large and will eat up any Pikmin its tongue touches. The Bulblax can also squish any Pikmin under it by jumping in the air and landing with a heavy impact; the creature also uses this move to shake off your Pikmin. After taking half of his overall health, this phase will end, and the Bulblax will use his long-range jump attack, but still retains the ability to do both former moves in the same way mentioned before. As defeating him when he is doing this is near impossible, you should pay attention to his mood. If you evade several of his jumps, he will go back to his eating mood. It is possible to identify the jumping mood beforehand, as the creature drools far less during the phase. The eyes will also widen just before it jumps. One should be wary that the beast can kill Olimar if it lands on him.
One of the fastest strategies to beating him is to have Yellow Pikmin grab any nearby bomb-rocks inside three boot-like containers around the exterior, then toss the bomb-toting Yellow(s) in front of him, and either allow it/them to throw the bomb-rocks at the huge Emperor, or call them back so that they drop them in his path just before he attacks with his tongue (this does not apply in the New Play Control); alternatively, the Bulblax may be allowed to eat the Yellow(s) while they are holding the bomb-rock(s), although this is not an option for players attempting zero-death runs and is just generally not recommended for Players wishing to conserve Pikmin. Pikmin can also be thrown into his mouth while he is preparing to stick out his tongue and still give a stun-like effect. Once the bomb-rocks explode, it/they will stun the Bulblax (the more bomb-rocks, the longer the stun), providing a good time to toss as many Red Pikmin, as they are stronger than other Pikmin, as possible onto his face. Doing this repeatedly will have him beaten easily.
A slightly faster method would be to leave a Yellow Pikmin with a bomb-rock behind him when he has turned around. All of the Red Pikmin (which should be able to amount to 85 or so) then swarm the Bulblax as soon as it notices the Yellow Pikmin, as attacking its legs also hurts it. However, careful timing is necessary when calling back the Pikmin. The stomping attack will be especially dangerous, as the Pikmin are right beneath the creature, and the attack can be initiated very quickly.
It is also possible to beat the Bulblax by throwing Pikmin onto its head when it is distracted. It is more risky than using bomb-rocks, but much more simple and possibly the only feasible option for people trying to do a zero-death run.
Once defeated, the Emperor Bulblax will go into a particularly long death animation, where it writhes around while drooling and appears to be sucked underground, leaving behind the Secret Safe and five randomly coloured 5-Pellets behind (which are then obsolete, since there is nothing left to kill -- it is possible that they were intended to up the player's score or help a player who has managed to lose so many Pikmin to the Bulblax that they are unable to retrieve the part.)
It's usually a good idea to devote a single day to removing obstacles and clearing the path, and then deal with the Bulblax the following day, since the battle itself can often be time-consuming. The Bulblax must be defeated in a single day, since any damage done on one day will not carry over, and if the day is ended before it is killed, then it will be at full health the next day. However, experienced players can cover all of the Final Trial in a single day, which is a must for a 6-day run.
Pikmin 2
In Pikmin 2, these beasts are much weaker, most likely due to their diminished size. They are found only underground, unlike in the first game, with only their eyes exposed as a form of camouflage, but emerge in the same manner. They still eat the now huge bomb-rocks, but must be coaxed into doing so instead, seeing as Yellow Pikmin no longer have the ability to handle those explosive objects. All other abilities are retained, except the jump and the jumping phase. It is replaced by a roaring phase when the Bulblax is about a quarter until death; it will also make other Bulblaxes join the fight. The roar scatters the Pikmin like Mitites, and drags existing Mitites out of the ground. The hide is not very mossy, but the backside of the beast is still green and slimy, as well as invulnerable. This could mean that the Pikmin 2 versions may just be younger than the one in Pikmin.
Where Bomb-rocks are available, making it eat them is the safest strategy (it now takes much more damage from them when eaten), but can be time-consuming. By far the quickest method of defeat is using Purple Pikmin: Lob them at the eyes, not whistling them, fast enough so the beast will die before it can retaliate. Only 10 are required for this quick and easy kill. If the Bulblax has already emerged, you can wait until it retreats back into its state of camouflage, or just throw purples at it then, being sure that they hit the ground or the beast with an impact, stunning it and dealing massive damage. Luckily, unlike in the previous game, an Emperor Bulblax can only eat a maximum of 9 Pikmin at a time. When it dies, the Bulblax spins around and roars, whipping gobs of saliva everywhere until it shrinks down to about half its original size for easier carrying.
This creature is found on the last Sublevel (7) of the Bulblax Kingdom, where the only larger specimen is; two are found on Sublevel 4 of the Cavern of Chaos and Sublevel 10 of the Hole of Heroes; and three are in the Emperor's Realm in Challenge Mode.
Strategy
Pikmin
In Pikmin, bomb-rocks held by Yellow Pikmin will stun and damage the beast. Use them in conjunction with Pikmin, preferably red ones, for an effective strategy. In Pikmin 2, bring a small group of purples (10 or more) and toss them right in between the eyes; in no time at all, the beast will be defeated. If you don't have enough, use reds and other Pikmin, but be prepared to use sprays in case your numbers dwindle. One way to kill in Pikmin 2 without purples is to bring a group of 10 whites, as they are fast, or any of the original Pikmin, to fight and throw all on the Bulblax's face and the battle will be over in from 30 seconds to about a minute.
Captains
In Pikmin 2, it is possible to kill an Emperor Bulblax without Pikmin. The first method is to lure the Bulblax into eating bomb-rocks, should there be any nearby, until it succumbs to the explosions.
Another is to punch it while petrified. However, this requires about 50 sprays under non-stop punching. More damage can be dealt with the Rocket Fist upgrade; using said upgrade would require twenty less sprays. It is one of the only two bosses in the game the captains can hit, the other being the Waterwraith.
Gallery
- EB1.jpg
The Bulblax in Pikmin...
- EB2.gif
...and the Bulblax in Pikmin 2.
The Bulblax licking the ground.
Stunning the Bulblax with a Bomb-rock.
Calling Pikmin back to safety.
The Emperor Bulblax in the Piklopedia from Pikmin 2.
An Emperor Bulblax being defeated in the last sublevel of Bulblax Kingdom.
The Emperor Bulblax being stunned, and attacked in Pikmin.
An Emperor Bulblax in Sublevel 4 of the Cavern of Chaos.
Trivia
- Captain Olimar's notes for the Emperor Bulblax say that moss and plants grow on its back in rainy seasons. In Pikmin 2, these beasts only appear in caves, which, added with the presumably younger age, might explain why so much moss is absent on the beast's back, as the moss only has the cave's moisture to grow with. In Pikmin, the Emperor Bulblax was much larger and had stalks of growth on its back.
- The Emperor Bulblax's attacks and appearance may be based off of the real-life frog. They both bury or immerse themselves with only their eyes and backs exposed while hunting, use their long sticky tongues to catch small things passing by (in this case, the Pikmin), they can both jump higher than most other creatures, both look similar in appearances, and both make loud croaking noises.
- The Emperor Bulblax's Latin name is roughly translated as "The Best Eye".
- In the Bulblax Kingdom, the Emperor Bulblax waiting at the bottom is slightly larger than the others in the Cavern of Chaos and the Hole of Heroes.
- The Emperor Bulblax is one of three bosses in Pikmin to reappear in Pikmin 2, alongside Beady Long Legs and the Burrowing Snagret.
- The Emperor Bulblax is the only final boss in the Pikmin series not to possess all elements. The ones that do are the Titan Dweevil and the Plasm Wraith.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ダイオウデメマダラ? Daiō Dememadara |
Great King Dememadara, the latter consisting of 「出目」deme (protruding eyes) and 「斑」madara (spots). |
 German |
Fürst Knollenauge | Lord Bulb-Eye |