Emperor Bulblax

The Emperor Bulblax is the largest known species of the Grub-dog family. Moss grows upon its thick hide, giving its body a greenish color and serving as camouflage. 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.

Pikmin 1
The Emperor Bulblax is the final boss in Pikmin 1. It lies buried in the ground at The Final Trial, 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, even as many as all 100 if the player is careless. After taking damage, this phase will end, and Bulblax will use his jump attack. As defeating him when he is doing this is very difficult, 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 best strategy to beating him is to have Yellow Pikmin grab any nearby bomb-rocks, toss the Pikmin in front of him, and either allow them to throw the bomb-rocks at him or call them back so that they drop them in his path just before he attacks with his tongue; alternatively, the Bulblax may be allowed to eat the Pikmin while they are holding the bombs, although this is not an option for players attempting zero-death runs and is just generally not recommended for Players wishing to conserve Pikmin. Once the bomb-rocks explode, they will stun the Bulblax (the more bomb-rocks, the longer the stun), providing a good time to toss as many Red Pikmin as possible onto his face. Doing this repeatedly will have him beaten easily.

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.

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 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 that their jump height is greatly reduced and they cannot lick their own faces. 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 1.

Where bomb-rocks are available, making it eat them is the safest strategy, but can be time-consuming. Some of the game's Emperor Bulblaxes, once reduced to half health, roar, which has several effects: it causes your Pikmin to panic, summons another Bulblax to the fight if there is one in the area, and may bring Mitites burrowing out of the ground. By far the quickest method of defeat is using Purple Pikmin: simply throw them at the eyes, not whistling them, and 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. When it dies, the Bulblax spins around and roars, whipping gobs of saliva everywhere until it shrinks down to about half it's 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.

Trivia

 * The reel notes for the Emperor Bulblax say that moss and plants grow on its back in rainy seasons, meaning that is not possible to grow it underground - in Pikmin 2, these beasts only appear in caves.

Pikmin:The After Years
Same size and health as in Pikmin 1 and same attacks as in Pikmin 2.

Pikspore
PS undefined They're just as big as in Pikmin 1, but slightly weaker. Still a tough boss, though. Fought in the Jungle Tunnel

Pikmin Choronicles
In Pikmin Choronicles, an Emperor Bulblax serves as the first boss, appearing towards the end of Chapter 1. It is found buried in the ground on the last sublevel of the cave, with both it's eyes and moss covered back exposed. The pikmin walk up to it, unaware of what it is, until it is too late. At first, it is too strong to kill and the player must quickly escape to the surface before it eats them. Once at the surface, the ground shakes and a loud roar is hear. A few seconds later, the upset Emperor Bulblax bursts through the ground and terrorizes the landing site, which is where the boss battle takes place, It is about the same size as the one in Pikmin 1, and is killed the same way. After it is killed, it's body is taken away and the player realizes that the hole the Emperor Bulblax created when it busted through the ground has opened up a new path...

Pikmin: New World
In this game a trio of Emperor Bulblaxes are first seen on the final sublevel of the Empire of Lichen as the bosses. This time, they are the smallest ones yet encountered, even smaller than the ones in the Cavern of Chaos. However, in the Giant's Jungle, several small Emperor Bulblaxes are seen and one enormous version at the end, this time the largest version ever seen. There are also several different versions of the Emperor Bulblax, including the Scorching Bulblax and Electro Bulblax.

Olimar's Notes
"An excessively muscular hump on its back may be formed due to hypertrophy in its torso muscles. This hump structure is atttached to its tongue, which is normally curled up in the back of its throat. All of the bodie's blood is pumped directly from the vigorously-beating central heart through this tongue and the returns to supply the rest of its body with fresh oxygen. Because of this remarkable system, all that is needed is a slight contraction of the torso to trigger its tongue to unfurl at a rapid speed and then pull backwards with the force of 10,000,000 Gs when it expands. It is nearly impossible for any prey item to escape death to an attack from this destructive mechanism."

Louie's Notes
"Slice out the softer parts of the massive, wiry hump and throw away the rest. Cook with spices, barley and lime juice to add flavour. Remove from oven while still moist and not overcooked. This amazing tenderloin recipe is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will stay with you forever!

Sagittarius's Notes
"Not a suitable pet for a domestic household, it is actually a vicious monster that is found deep within caves where it ambushs its prey. It is enormous, so a giant, outdoor greenhouse is the only possible place to store this creature. At times they will attack even their own owners so it is recomended that a distance of at least fifteen meters is kept away from them and they be fed meat using a long stick. A bi-weekly trip to the vet is highly reccomended and all vaccines should be injected via the tongue as it is the most direct way to transport medicines throughout the body."

Libra's Notes
"The green, mottled pattern on this ugly beast's oversized body is perfect for adding to tie-dye shirts. The creature itself isn't much to look at, but the stylish shirts they make are the pinnacle of tie-dye fashion!"