Glacial Studded Beeb

The Glacial Studded Beeb is a dangerous boss that appears in Pikmin: Infection in Progress. It prowls within the fog of Noxious Expanse. It is one of the most difficult bosses in the game, but is completely optional. Only luck, chance, and awareness decide whether the President is faced against the robotic arctic menace. The Glacial Studded Beeb emits loud mechanical wails and shrieks as it wanders the area, their volume changing depending on the distance from it. The boss can be heard emitting monstrous roars as it engages other creatures in combat, which it will do if it comes across any that do not flee. The sounds of its footsteps are not very noticeable due to the soft snow in the area, but if heard, are quiet thumps and clangs. The beast itself is quite obvious if witnessed wandering the frozen landscape. The President can assist in carrying the several chunks of the Glacial Studded Beeb.

Appearance
The Glacial Studded Beeb has a very similar appearance to a praying mantis; it has an erect posture, a head and an abdomen with two pairs of legs that are connected to the abdomen, and a pair of limbs that end with frozen spiked balls that are attached to the base of its head. On the top of its head and the back end of its abdomen are purple glowing domes that act as the boss's weak points. On the rim of the head where the dome and the base of the head connect are its eye stalks and actual eyes. The boss is mainly light grey with black highlights spread across most parts of its body. Its eyes are black and its pupils blink cyan and white.

Combat
The Glacial Studded Beeb is an exceptionally difficult and resilient opponent, although its remains are well worth the fight. Once initiated into combat, the Glacial Studded Beeb will charge towards its prey, and attempt to crush them with the dual spike balls at the end of its frontal limbs. If dodged quickly enough, the attack can be avoided and will render the boss helpless briefly. The Glacial Studded Beeb will yank its weapons out from the snow, and swing them to and fro in an attempt to crush and fling Pikmin away from their Leader. It finishes this move by dragging its weapons around itself swiftly twice, at which point it will become dizzy and be rendered helpless for a short time. Any Pikmin underneath of the boss can be rushed as it stomps its feet into the ground. Making contact with certain parts of the Glacial Studded Beeb, like its dual spike balls, will chill and eventually freeze the President or his Pikmin.

The Glacial Studded Beeb's weak points are the purple domes on its head and posterior; attacking these will slowly drain the boss's health. After destroying one of the domes, the boss becomes stunned and enters a rage state in which it will attack faster and deliver more damage. The upside to this is that the boss is more vulnerable because it is now frequently helpless, although the boss is increasingly deadlier.

Upon being defeated, the Glacial Studded Beeb will stand straight up, tremble with increasing intensity while emanating a screech that rises in pitch, and ultimately self-destruct, which can kill any Pikmin caught in the radius. Its eyes go dim and blacken, and it produces a mechanical groan that quickly lowers in volume. The several pieces of the boss are retrievable and give a large sum of seeds to make up for losses during the fight.

Trivia

 * Seeing the silhouette of the Glacial Studded Beeb is the closest one can get before it initiates combat; approaching any closer will begin the fight.
 * The idea for this boss was based off of a boss that's part of Nintendo Land's attraction, Pikmin Adventure, in which a boss named Greater Studded Beeb is part of.