Fiery Empress Bulblax

The Fiery Empress Bulblax is the grub-dog matriarch of Fiery Bulblaxes, and as such it resembles them and is perpetually cloaked in fire. It is found only underground, usually found sleeping peacefully, waking up upon taking damage. However, it may be found awake, birthing countless Bulblax Larvae. The Fiery Empress Bulblax has no adverse reaction to the presence of leaders or Pikmin, not even attempting to eat any directly in front of it, but it does watch them so long as they are in its line of sight. After being woken up, a Fiery Empress Bulblax will return to its slumber if it is left alone for long enough. A Fiery Empress Bulblax that was found awake will remain so until she has given birth to enough Bulblax Larvae, prompting her to fall asleep until she is woken up or enough of her offspring are killed. Some Fiery Empress Bulblaxes have the ability to cause boulders to fall from the cave ceiling after colliding with a wall during its rolling attack. A Fiery Empress Bulblax can never be fully extinguished using water while it is still alive due to the combustible fluid it constantly secretes and, as it cannot swim, it eventually drowning in water deep enough to completely submerge its face.

As mentioned previously, the Fiery Empress Bulblax is the matriarch of Fiery Bulblaxes. It resembles them but in a form reminiscent of the Empress Bulblax, only larger, having a massive, long, segmented body that's covered in a red and black fluid, a comparatively small, light-colored face featuring two eyestalks on top that each support an eye of differing size, little legs dangling underneath its face, and distorted, melted features.

Although it is a massive creature that is vulnerable from any part of its body, a Fiery Empress Bulblax should always be fought head-on regardless of whether it is actively birthing Bulblax Larvae. Red Pikmin are the optimal choice against this creature because of their resistance to fire and because they inflict more damage than most other Pikmin types, which is important as the Fiery Empress Bulblax has more vitality than most other empress bulblaxes. Leaders can also damage a Fiery Empress Bulblax by punching it, although they will be damaged by contact with it unless they have the Scorch Guard equipped. Leaders are also extremely useful for distracting and disposing of the ravenous, ever-hungry swarm of Bulblax Larvae the creature will inevitably push out. After taking enough damage, it will quite forcefully shake Pikmin off of itself and begin to roll from side to side, barking as it switches directions after colliding with a wall, which may cause boulders to fall if the cave ceiling is weak enough. Anything a Fiery Empress Bulblax rolls over will be crushed and killed, and anything that is not will be set ablaze if they are not also fire-retardant. After doing this a few times, it returns to its original position and resumes its idle behavior. Upon death, only the frontmost segment of it will remain, and its body will extinguish, allowing the possibility of any Pikmin type carrying it.