Forest Bulborb

The Forest Bulborb appears in Pikmin 2: New Year as a member of the grub-dog family and a close relative of the Orange Bulborb. It is often found sleeping but will wake up when touched or harmed, although it will return to its slumber shortly thereafter if Pikmin and leaders are not in its territory. If they are, it will chase after them until they flee its range, prompting the creature to navigate to its resting spot and resume its slumber there. Notably, Forest Bulborbs wake up when leaders or Pikmin are so much as near them compared to touching them, although injuring a Forest Bulborb will cause it to wake up no matter the distance leaders and Pikmin have from it. Its dwarf counterpart is the Dwarf Forest Bulborb.

Forest Bulborbs have a characteristically odd skin tone and spots, being of a drab olive color, and have a yellow rump bearing unique gray-brown spots that resemble bullet holes. Consequently, they are physically striking in much the same way as Painted Bulborbs, with which they also share their behaviors. Forest Bulborbs have a tapered snout, and their eyes, which are mounted on eyestalks, have gray sclerae and lighter gray pupils. A single claw is present on the end of each of their four toes.

A battle against a Forest Bulborb is made perilous because of its awareness of its surroundings, it waking up before leaders and Pikmin can even make physical contact with it unless they are quick to do so. Because swarming the creature is no easy or convenient task, Pikmin should instead be rapidly thrown onto its back. They should be whistled off and away from the Forest Bulborb as it prepares to shake them off and be thrown back onto it afterward to maximize the damage inflicted to it. With enough Pikmin and the skills to outmaneuver it, the Forest Bulborb should be defeated in no time with little to no casualties.