Kakureimo

The Kakureimo is an enemy that was to be shown in Pikmin 3, but was left unused prior to the final release.

In Pikmin: Infection in Progress
Kakureimos are new enemies found in Pikmin: Infection in Progress. They mainly reside partway underground in soft, moist earth. Kakureimos can be identified as purple bumps with mustard-yellow stripes buried halfway into the damp earth. Once confronted, a Kakureimo swarm will unearth and begin their pathetic assault. The President cannot assist in carrying Kakureimo corpses because of their light weight.

Appearance
A Kakureimo is only slightly bigger than a Pikmin's head. It possesses three small green eyes on either side of its head. Kakureimos have mustard-yellow underbellies and have stripes on their abdomens of the same hue. The rest of the body is a deep purple. Two long antennae protrude from the front of the head and are tipped with yellow as well. On the front of both sides of the body are fins that match the body's color scheme. The bottom of the head harbors a large circular mouth that is used to cling on to the back of a Pikmin's head.

Combat
When near a group of Pikmin, a swarm of Kakureimos will typically wait until the group has passed to begin preying on them. Kakureimos will the latch onto the back of Pikmins' heads once the group has passed as to not alert the Pikmin in front of the victimized ones. Kakureimos only take a single hit from a fellow Pikmin or from the President to be knocked off and/or vanquished. When latched onto, Pikmin will typically idle around or subtly wander away from the group. Pikmin that have been latched onto by a Kakureimo will ignore any and all commands issued to it.

Trivia

 * The idea for this enemy originally came from the beta files of Pikmin 3 of a model with the same name.
 * When latched onto a Pikmin, Kakureimos will emit high-pitched, but quiet, squeals.
 * A Kakureimo emerges very quietly from the ground, often resulting in sneak attacks.
 * Kakureimos crawl along the ground and jump onto the back of a Pikmins' head, pulling them backward slightly.

In Pikmin Eco
The Kakureimo is a Pikmin Eco exclusive enemy found within the overworld of Bounty Canopy. It was to be an enemy in Pikmin 3 but was left unused like the Crystal Wollywog and Emperor Bulblax. It doesn't attack you or your Pikmin right away, and instead tries to run away from you upon finding you. It will continue to run away for about twenty seconds before it buries itself underground. Once it does this, it won't respawn in the area until the next day.