Deranging Bloyster

The Deranging Bloyster is a boss encountered in Pikmin: The After Years. It is similar in appearance to the Ranging Bloyster but is cross-eyed, green in color, and has a purple tail. It moves at the same speed as the Ranging Bloyster. Since it is cross-eyed, it will go to whichever leader it pleases. Its eyes will turn blue if going after Olimar or pink if it's going after his wife. This attack is unpredictable, however, as it may go after the inactive leader rather than the active one. After the Deranging Bloyster has taken enough damage, its eyes' illuminating ability will be disabled and the creature will simply groan and target a random leader. Listening to the groans carefully will decipher its pattern and will reveal which leader it is after. A low groan will mean that it will go after Olimar and a high-pitched groan will mean that it's going after his wife. It also has a new attack, one that could wipe out an entire Pikmin army: when it is down to half health, it'll start to go insane, sticking out all of its tentacles and spinning in an erratic matter. Avoid and stay clear of this attack by staying away, or hiding in an alcove because this attack cannot reach smaller areas. Just toss Pikmin on its gill-like appendage and retreat when it attacks. This beast has as much health as its cousin, but it also has an unpredictable attack pattern. Purple Pikmin cannot stun this beast, making this a long and tough battle. Just stay clear of its attack and toss Pikmin on top of it and it should die in no time. The Deranging Bloyster's name is a combination of the words derange, meaning insane, and Ranging Bloyster.

=In other games=

In Pikmin: Wide World
The Deranging Bloyster is a large mollusking appearing in Pikmin: Wide World. It is the mentally-unhinged and quite unpredictable counterpart of the Ranging Bloyster. They are commonly found alone, on dry land or in water of any depth, peacefully exploring a rather large territory, occasionally stopping for some time to take in its surroundings. If it is on dry land, it leaves behind a visible, short-lasting slime trail in its wake. Its tail occasionally sways or twitches. It generally has little interest in Pikmin, Captmin, and other small enemies, but it will attempt to devour them should they linger directly in front of it for too long. It gives a shrill, maniacal warning cry before lashing its tongue out at them. However, when it sees a glowing object, such as a leader's beacon, or lifeform, a Deranging Bloyster will excitedly creep towards it at and try to eat it, if the target is small enough and it can reach them. During this, its eyes light up a random color, and the creature emits random vocalizations. Both the color of its eyes and the vocalizations it emits have no correlation to the creature's target and change randomly with each target, even the current one. Additionally, a Deranging Bloyster will randomly choose between using its eye color, its calls, or both, as it chases its prey. If it is physically unable to consume its target, either because it is too large or out of reach, a Deranging Bloyster will obsessively inspect it before groaning and permanently losing interest in it. Should a Deranging Bloyster manage to capture a leader with its branching tongue, it will chew, swallow, and then forcefully regurgitate them, inflicting damage to them while chewing and regurgitating them. Because the Deranging Bloyster eats leaders instead of spitting them out before it swallows them, Pikmin it pulls into its mouth cannot be saved unless the creature dies before then. Because of its physiology, leaders, Pikmin, and some enemies can walk up a Deranging Bloyster's back, although it will shake them off after standing there for some time, especially if they themselves glow or another part of them does.

Although it is colored differently, the Deranging Bloyster is physically very similar to the Ranging Bloyster in shape and size. Like most other molluskings, the Deranging Bloyster is a large, slimy, sluglike creature with a plant-like tail at its backside terminating in a tail-bulb. Additionally, the relatively small tail has three equidistant leaf-like appendages at its tip, and they form a triangle shape. Its body is a ghastly blue color, has a high hump, and tapers to an edge at its flattest parts. Each Deranging Bloyster has unique, dark blue markings on its blue body. Its tail is purple in color with pink details, and its tail-bulb is light lavender in color. Contained in its massive, gaping mouth is a long, slender, green tongue that branches off into six separate tongues at its tip. These six tongues flail around to catch prey the initial tongue did not. The creature has a pair of small eyes that are supported by tall, thin eyestalks, which have blue rims. The eyes themselves are black when the creature is completely idle, turning white and lighting up when it detects a target, and then changing to a random color and glowing when actively pursuing targets. When targeting leaders, however, its eyes will turn red, representing Captain Olimar, purple, representing Shacho, orange, representing Marie, or blue, representing Louie. Although the colors represent each of the four playable leaders, they are random and do not correlate to the leaders they represent. They change randomly each time the creature selects a new target, and so its eye color matching a leader's beacon color is purely coincidental. Additionally, an eye color matching a leader's signature color will not appear until that specific leader becomes playable.

Like the Ranging Bloyster, the Deranging Bloyster is rather ignorant and oblivious of mostly anything except for glowing objects and creatures. However, it is extremely dangerous because of its erratic movement patterns and unpredictable behavior. Relying on a Deranging Bloyster's eye color and calls to discern its target is impossible, as it randomly chooses between eye colors and vocalizations with each chosen target, including when it rediscovers a target it was just tracking. As well, it also randomly chooses between using its eye color, call, or both, while pursuing targets, of which it also randomly chooses, adding further confusion and insanity to battles against a Deranging Bloyster. Although using a Captmin to battle a Deranging Bloyster is the safest strategy, since they do not have a beacon, it is often not possible. A Deranging Bloyster's most vulnerable part is its gill-bulb, but its main body can be attacked by Pikmin and leaders alike to inflict much less damage. However, throwing a Purple Pikmin in such a way that it pounds on the creature's back will inflict a decent amount of damage. Throwing Pikmin onto a Deranging Bloyster's gill-bulb is not necessary, as they know to jump up at or onto it. Like the Ranging Bloyster, the Deranging Bloyster does not defend itself with ink, instead rather violently shaking them off of its body and throwing them everywhere in the process. Upon death, a Deranging Bloyster will unleash a loud, distorted scream, stiffening up and dramatically shrinking in size. After this, it adopts a dried, shriveled appearance and yields. The moment it finishes shrinking, its remains can be carried by its tail-bulb to the Lander Pod to receive either or forty-five Pikmin seeds of any chosen discovered main type from the Master Onion, but only if the cave is exited using an escape geyser. Upon its defeat, a Deranging Bloyster regurgitates the remains and Sparklium of any creatures, besides Pikmin, it ingested, alongside anything else it may have swallowed.



Olimar's notes

 * "Although it may initially appear as harmless as most other molluskings, the deranging bloyster is an extremely dangerous predator due to its unpredictable behavior. The moment it detects glowing objects or prey, which it obsesses over, it goes berserk, rushing towards them, changing randomly between using eye colors, verbal calls, or both simultaneously, to petrify its target further and lock them in place doing so. Eventually, the creature enthusiastically and quickly devours its helpless prey by pulling them into its mouth with its long, branching tongue. Before entering the presence of a deranging bloyster, it is wise to deactivate any sources of light in one's possession."

Shacho's notes

 * "The color of this creature's slimy skin is eerie and I don't much like it. My skin would be the same color if Olimar and Louie hadn't paid off the All-Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks before they did me in and left my body in the Hocotate swamp."

Marie's notes

 * "I really do not recommend having one of these as a pet. At all. I don't believe I need to explain why, especially to those who have themselves fended off against a deranging bloyster."

Louie's notes

 * "Every morsel of the beast is tough and bitter. Feed only to disliked in-laws."

Dolphin Lander's notes

 * "Never before have a witnessed a creature like the deranging bloyster. I fear it, although it does not target me. The color of its skin is grim and foretells the color of the flesh of those who dare fight it."