Tombcarver Mawdad

The Tombcarver Mawdad is a mawdad appearing in Pikmin: Wide World as the boss of Lost Kingdom, a cave located in Arid Oasis. It is encountered on the cave's eighth and final sublevel. When its chamber is entered, a cutscene begins. The cutscene shows Olimar, Shacho, and Marie, as well as Louie if he was rescued from the Frosted Arcticlops, and their Pikmin walking cautiously into the center of its arena, closely together. A growl is then heard, and the camera pans over to a large, inaccessible crevice high up in the chamber's wall. The Tombcarver Mawdad is seen peering at the leaders and their Pikmin before hissing and rushing out towards them. The leaders and their Pikmin scramble away from the creature, which then gurgles and then sprays a wide area in front of itself with acid mist, an attack that just misses its targets. Now face-to-face, the battle between leaders and their Pikmin against the Tombcarver Mawdad begins. Like the Armored Mawdad, the Tombcarver Mawdad has the ability to scale the walls of the sublevel it is fought in, such as to get away from its attackers or find a new position to directly attack leaders and Pikmin from. However, the Tombcarver Mawdad can attack from a wall outright by spitting balls of acid at its attackers. These balls of acid fly through the air in an arc and burst upon hitting a surface, such as another wall or the ground, or an entity, such as a leader or Pikmin, splattering acid in the nearby vicinity, endangering any nearby Pikmin and leaders, except for Green Pikmin, and leaders that possess the Antacid Polish. While it is climbing the walls of its chamber, the Tombcarver Mawdad's movements can be traced by the debris that falls from its position, but the creature can be watched directly using the HocoPad's camera function. Additionally, it can be clearly seen while it attacks from the walls of its chamber, as it must be in one of two orientations whilst attacking, both of which it is vulnerable in; if it is facing downwards, it will use only its acid spray and acid stream attacks, which are respectively close- and medium-range, and if it is facing upwards, it will use only its acid ball attack, which is long-range. The Tombcarver Mawdad will emit three different noises depending on which acid-based attack it will use: a gurgle is followed by an acid spray attack, a bubbling sound is followed by an acid stream attack, and a hacking noise is each followed by an acid bubble attack. On the ground, it can also charge its attackers, as well as eat them. Leaders the Tombcarver Mawdad bites into will be chewed up, and then spat out alongside any Pikmin in its mouth at the time. Because it does not have mandibles, it cannot trap Pikmin or leaders to eat them.

It bears a striking resemblance to the Armored Mawdad in appearance, being a large, long, centipede-like creature, but has a different coloration, is missing mandibles, and is protected by plates of beige rock instead of transparent gray crystal. Additionally, it is larger than the Armored Mawdad. The creature's body itself is primarily brown and bumpy with a light brown underside. Both of its jaws are lined with two rows of small jagged teeth. Its mouth is green, and its large, flat tongue is bright green. Drops of acid periodically fall from its mouth, but these pose no threat. It has somewhat large eyes that each have a round black pupil, green iris, and bright green sclera. The armor covering its tail is somewhat arrow-shaped, being pointed at the very end and having two sharp, curved hooks protruding from it, but the tail itself is flat and shaped vaguely like a triangle.

Green Pikmin are very useful for battling the Tombcarver Mawdad because of their acid resistance, but they are not required for the fight. Instead, only normal bomb rocks or Purple Pikmin are necessary to break through the Tombcarver Mawdad's rock armor and reach its leathery flesh, which any Pikmin can attack. Normal bomb rocks can damage or blast away entire sections of the Tombcarver Mawdad's armor at once, and Purple Pikmin that are thrown directly above the creature can pound on its armor to fracture and break it. Either source of damage can harm the creature through its rock armor, although the damage inflicted is significantly reduced. Note that Rock Pikmin cannot be used to destroy the Tombcarver Mawdad's armor, as they harmlessly bounce off, although they can be thrown at unprotected portions of the creature's body to harm it. Rocks are also ineffective against the Tombcarver Mawdad's armor, harmlessly bouncing off of it and eventually breaking after enough uses, although they did inflict major damage against the creature. The use of Pikmin that can cling onto what they are attacking is recommended, as those Pikmin can continue to attack the Tombcarver Mawdad's exposed body even while it climbs walls. Although its eyes are somewhat large, throwing Pikmin at them will have no effect beyond further aggravating the creature, regardless of if the eyes are squinted or wide open. Upon defeat, the Tombcarver Mawdad will yield, and its body can be taken to the Lander Pod. There, its corpse can be used to either receive or gain forty-five Pikmin seeds from the Master Onion, but only if the cave is exited using an escape geyser.

Olimar's notes

 * "A larger, fiercer mawdad, the tombcarver mawdad has the ability to create a powerful corrosive acid. It uses this acid for a variety of purposes, such as repelling or critically injuring prey, and wearing away natural materials to expand its secluded subterranean territory. Rich with oblong, twisting tunnels, tombcarver mawdad territories expand deep into the world every which way and branch off to a countless number of chambers. It creates its rock armor using its acid, carefully shaping the pieces to fit along its body and maneuvering them around to be positioned comfortably and securely on top of itself."

Shacho's notes

 * "This creature's powerful acid could net me a decent amount of Pokos if I sold samples of it to scientists or excavation companies back on Hocotate! I'd just have to find a container it won't melt through..."

Marie's notes

 * "This creature's corrosive acid, as well as its outstanding hostility, make it a terrible choice for a potential household pet. It seems much too focused on making a home for itself that, even if it were properly trained, it wouldn't be able to resist the urge to melt through the floor of its owner's house and burrow under the foundation!"

Louie's notes

 * "Best enjoyed fresh. Slay, clean of any loose particles, such as dirt, sand, or rock particles, and promptly cook. Has a notably earthy flavor of its own."

Dolphin Lander's notes

 * "The network of tunnels and chambers created by the tombcarver mawdad is simply amazing! As the creature moves along, excavating rock with its acid, it twists, causing its tunnels to appear as spirals. Even better, because of its wide body, its tunnels often take on an intriguing shape. Any chambers it creates are wide and spacious, and transition smoothly to and from tunnels from a variety of orientations, but often focus more on width than height. The tombcarver mawdad uses these chambers for a variety of purposes, such as housing larvae or storing any leftover remains of its prey. Usually, those two things are stored together. Interestingly, tombcarver mawdads are known to swallow objects they are fond of and then regurgitate them inside what can best be described as a 'trophy room'. If only we could safely navigate through those tunnels and chambers, we could collect further riches..."