Skutterchuck

The Skutterchuck is a passive insect-like enemy that has a habit of picking up crystal nodules, using its odd shape to scoop them up and carry them around. It lobs its nodules at attackers and also uses them as cover when being attacked. When idle, Skutterchucks wander about a small area, searching for nearby crystal nodules and picking them up if they have none, or fold in their thin legs and lie dormant on the ground. If a Skutterchuck has no crystals to pick up, it will pick up and throw Pikmin and leaders into the air instead. If the crystal a Skutterchuck is holding breaks, it will quickly scurry away.

In, it simply walks forward, and when it passes through a crystal mound, it will pick up a crystal nodule if it's not holding one already. It can also crawl on walls and ceilings in addition to walking on the ground. While on a ceiling, they simply drop their crystals rather than throw them onto leaders or Pikmin below.

=In fanon games=

In Pikmin E
The Skutterchuck returns in Pikmin E, now called the Bomb Flinger, where it can throw bomb rocks and can only be found in areas with holes in the ground.

In Pikmin Eco
The Skutterchuck appears in Pikmin Eco, where much of its behavior mirrors that of its incarnation: it can throw crystal nodules at its aggressors when threatened. They are, however, slightly smaller, and found in groups much of the time.

In Pikmin Z
The Skutterchuck appears in Pikmin Z. In addition to picking up and lobbing crystal nodules at Pikmin and leaders in self-defense, it may also weaponize bomb rocks, such as those that have been dropped by Careening Dirigibugs. Wait until the Skutterchuck throws what it has, then swarm it. It may even kill itself with its own weapon if it is manipulated to. The Skutterchuck's diet and predators are unknown.

In Pikmin: Dual Worlds
The Skutterchuck appears in Pikmin: Dual Worlds as a rather weak enemy. It often appears around crystal nodules and uses them as weapons, but can also appear around other objects such as bomb rocks or Droplet Pitchersacks. It most often appears in small groups, roughly two to five members per cluster. It attacks by using the object found in its vicinity as a projectile, rocking its spade-shaped head upwards to hurl it into the air and onto its foes.

In Pikmin: Wide World
The Skutterchuck is a relatively common enemy in Pikmin: Wide World. Much like it could in Pikmin 3, a Skutterchuck is able to throw crystal nodules at Pikmin and leaders, but it can also throw other objects such as bomb rocks and their variants, boulders, eggs, ice chunks, snowballs, sweetgum pods, and even small enemy corpses. When there are no such objects around, a Skutterchuck will instead pick up and toss Pikmin and leaders. Most objects that land after being thrown by a Skutterchuck often either break, such as eggs, or become active, such as bomb rocks. Boulders, corpses, crystal nodules, ice chunks cannot be destroyed no matter how many times they are thrown. Snowballs become damaged as they are thrown and eventually crumble.

Skutterchucks appear as they did in Pikmin 3. It is a flat, black, cricket-like creature that has orange eyes and walks on a pair of insectoid legs.

The most effective way to eliminate a Skutterchuck is to coax it into throwing an object it is holding, charging Pikmin at it as a counterattack while it is defenseless. However, when in groups, it is important to prioritize removing objects the creatures cannot destroy by using them to attack. Throwing a single Pikmin onto a Skutterchuck's back while it isn't holding anything will kill it instantly. Upon defeat, a Skutterchuck will produce. On the surface, its body can be taken to either the Dolphin Lander to earn or the Master Onion to gain three Pikmin seeds. Underground, their bodies can be brought to the Lander Pod to either immediately receive or be saved for later to gain three Pikmin seeds when the surface is reached using an escape geyser.