Quaggled Mireclops

The Quaggled Mireclops is a boss that resembles a massive chunk of land, complete with plant life growing on it, that is supported by three enormous hooved legs, making it a tripedal creature. It walks around much like creatures from the arachnorb family. When the boss stomps on the muddy terrain that makes up its entire arena, it leaves a depression that is filled with water, presenting the threat of drowning to any non-Blue Pikmin.

At first, this creature will be submerged underground with only the top of its body exposed, encased in a large crystal called the Mireclops crystal. It will not move until the crystal is damaged enough to release one of its eyes; at that point, it will rise out of the ground and begin stomping around. Once it rises from the ground, its large fleshy hooves are its main weak point. The hooves will become increasingly redder and rawer-looking as Pikmin attack them. When a hoof becomes bright red, the colossal creature will collapse onto the ground and become stunned, slamming its hooves into the ground to soothe them. During this time, the top of the creature will be accessible. Rock Pikmin can be used to finish breaking the Mireclops crystal. As Pikmin and leaders linger on its body, the Quaggled Mireclops will try to catch them on its incredibly large tongue to feed on them.

After the Mireclops crystal breaks, the beast's vulnerable bulb will be exposed, which can be attacked to cause damage to the boss. As it loses health, it will begin to charge faster and more aggressively and will also slam its body into the ground, crushing any Pikmin underneath it. In addition, it will perform its tongue spin twice in a row, with the second spin rotating at a much higher speed.

When the Quaggled Mireclops is defeated, its remains become a permanent part of the environment. If the area is revisited in the following days after the creature has been killed, a garden of assorted Pellet Posies and other vegetation can be found growing on its body. Peaceful enemies such as Red Spectralids, can be found in this garden.

Attacks
The Quaggled Mireclops has very few attacks, but has many different ways of executing them: After destroying the Mireclops crystal, it will have a few new, more devastating attacks:
 * As stated above, it will stomp around the arena, leaving holes in the ground filled with water. This poses a threat to non-Blue Pikmin, on top of being able to crush Pikmin.
 * While its bulb is being attacked or the crystal protecting it is being damaged, it will lash out its bizarre tongue, with which it can eat many Pikmin at a time. Leaders can also be swallowed, but the Quaggled Mireclops will quickly spit them out.
 * If any leaders or Pikmin are on the Quaggled Mireclops as it stands up, the Quaggled Mireclops will tilt over, knocking all of them off onto the ground below.
 * The Mireclops may quickly run across its arena, leaving many depressions in the ground, as well as crushing anything that happens to be under its hooves.
 * The Mireclops may suddenly fall to the ground, crushing anything underneath its body. This attack can easily kill a full squad in one execution, leaders included.
 * The Mireclops may drop to the ground and move forwards, flopping on the ground as it advances. This attack can be devastating should the squad be too close to the boss when it performs this attack.

Alph's comments

 * "Structural flaw: fruit-like protrusion / Weight: 20 / I thought it was an ordinary fruit trapped in crystal until it started stomping around the bog. Its stony hull is invulnerable to damage everywhere except its toes. If you can hit them enough, it'll fall over and leave its fruit-like bulb open to attack. But even then, it has a fallback mechanism in the form of its huge tongue. When it starts shaking, it's best to back away unless you have Winged Pikmin to send after it."

Brittany's comments

 * "Its giant head perplexes me. I know now that it's not a Sunseed Berry, but what is it? A plant? An animal? I thought I'd figure it out once I tasted it, but the captain snapped at me not to lick everything we fight. How else am I supposed to do science?!"

Charlie's comments

 * "I don't like doing it, but I had to put my foot down when Brittany tried to taste its brightly colored core. (Talk about forbidden fruit!) I must put the safety of my crew before their research, and I don't know where that thing's been."

Louie's comments

 * "A fruit so sweet, it could be a dessert unto itself. Remove and discard peel and core. Slice fruit into small pieces and enjoy!"

Olimar's comments

 * "A rule of thumb is that the larger a creature is, the more it must consume to support its body weight. The quaggled mireclops is no exception. It uses its rootlike legs to drain its environs of nutrients, to the point that puncturing it could improve the entire surrounding area's ecosystem. It also catches small insects using a hidden tongue in the wide mouth found all about its circumference. What prey it manages to catch, it dissolves to their base compounds, such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium. Its insides are fertile ground for a wide variety of plants, including Sleeping Beauty and Dusty Mushrooms. Some theorize that the fruit-like growth atop its main body is in itself a parasitic species living off the nutrients it drains from the mireclops's enormous body."