Gatling Groink

The Gatling Groink is a biomechanical creature similar in size to an adult Bulborb. It looks like a rotund goldfish, including a skin that resembles fish-scales and sports the typical orange and white coloring of one. It further has two slender legs that end in fin-like feet, a glass shield between its two forward-facing eyes, two upward-facing exhaust pipes, a rotatable fin-like tail, and a mouthplate which covers both its underside and its retractable cannon. The cannon fires mortar rounds and is placed where a fish's mouth would typically be. The origins of the mechanical parts are quite vague, much like the Man-at-Legs and Fireflinger Groink. Its shield can be destroyed using Rock Pikmin or a similar Pikmin variety. Bomb-rocks can also be used to destroy it. Pikmin can be thrown onto its tail to prevent it from firing its cannon, which will cause it to panic until it shakes its attackers off of itself.

Gatling Groinks usually patrol areas they are found in and are known to actively seek out leaders and their Pikmin. Some Gatling Groinks are found stationary on top of hard-to-reach towers, giving it a wide attack range, which is especially annoying when they have an item such as a treasure and cannot merely be avoided.

It attacks by initiating a cannon from its mouth and fires either one large or three small mortar shells, with little time between firings. When the shells hit the ground, they explode and scatter any of the Pikmin in range and kill those at the absolute center of the blast. If used correctly and carefully, the Gatling Groink's cannon can be used to kill other enemies and even airborne enemies. To do this, the Gatling Groink must fire at the active leader while they are standing near or under another enemy. If this is done correctly, it should be able to kill most large ground enemies in three to four shots. The shells will not harm the Gatling Groink itself, however. It can also destroy every type of hazard except for bomb-rocks.

Olimar's notes

 * "This beastly predator's aggressive ejection of high-speed projectiles makes it one of the most fearsome creatures in the ecosystem. Its body seems to comprise of both biological and mechanical components, and represents one of the most evolutionary advanced specimens ever observed. The chamber within its torso gives it rapid-fire bio-pellet launch capabilities. What appears to be a tail fin is in fact the base of its counter-weight and ammunition cylinder, so immobilizing this appendage will prevent the groink from attacking... at least in theory. Confirmation of this suspicion remains elusive, as nobody has volunteered to test it."

Louie's notes

 * "Remove the cannon and ammo stockpile, then vigorously tenderize the meat with a heavy mallet. Stir-fry with caramelized onions and figwort sprouts. Spoon over a steaming bowl of fluffy white rice and douse with chili sauce."

Pikmin: Ultimate Doom
The Gatling Groink is a miniboss in Pikmin: Ultimate Doom. It has stronger mortar blasts, killing all but Bomb-Rock Pikmin on contact. It is also slightly larger, and runs faster.

Locations

 * Volatile Minefield
 * Abandoned Mine - Sublevel 5

Pikmin Z
Gatling Groinks can be found in Toxic Town and Giant's Playground.

Pikmin Forever
The Gatling Groink now has four smokestacks and a crystal on its head instead of a glass shield. The crystal can be broken by a Rock Pikmin, leaving the Groink more vulnerable but faster. The Groink can fire its familiar projectiles but can also use its firing appendage to inhale Pikmin surrounding it and fire them away, as an added defense to its softened shaking move. Attacking the tail will prevent the Groink from firing. They can be found in Forbidding Precipice, Canyon of Moonlight, sublevel three of Ceramic Rift, and sublevel seven of Flurry Shelter.

Olimar's notes

 * "Only recently has this elusively evolved juggernaut developed an orifice that serves both as a muscle for firing projectiles and a proboscis for drinking nectar. The mechanical components of the Groink's digestive and lymphatic systems may seem a bit advanced for its ecosystem, but the Groink has used this adaptation to climb the trophic ladder and become a top predator. The launching of projectiles seems to serve mainly as a defense mechanism now since specific prey species for the Groink have dwindled; yet still, the Groink's aggressive predatory behavior persists. Although an ambitious claim, ecological models predict that future evolution of the Gatling Groink will probably soften or even remove its predatory mechanism in favor of a more peaceable coexistence with herbivorous counterparts."