Shadegrub

From Pikmin Fanon
Not to be confused with Shadow Sheargrub.
Shadegrub
Enemy
Family Mandiblard

The Shadegrub is a species of mandiblard that hides in the shadows and attacks by swarming.

In fanon games

Below this point is where users place their version of the Shadegrub.

In Pikmin Evolution

Pikmin Evolution icon.png
"An Evolution Revolution."
This article or section presents information pertaining to Pikmin Evolution, a fanon game created by Glubfubb.
Pikmin Evolution icon.png
Shadegrub The icon used to represent this enemy.
Scientific name Himeagea necromia
Family Mandiblard
Habitats Dark areas
Diet Carrion
Rarity Rare
Carry weight N/A
Max. carriers N/A
Seed worth N/A
Sparklium value HP Sparklium icon.png × 12-25
Collectable resources Soft soil, plasm membrane
Attacks Eats Pikmin
Resistances Blunt force icon.png
Weaknesses Light icon.png Fire icon.png

The Shadegrub is a species of mandiblard that appears in Pikmin Evolution. They are among the most unique enemies to encounter, being both considered a normal enemy and boss, as well as being one of the few found in only one location, that being the den that is the Cavern of Fangs. As a den set in complete darkness, the Shadegrubs appear as the den's primary threat. At first, in the first three floors of the den, the only evidence of their existence are clumps of spongey blue egg sacs which initially act as trampolines for the captains to bounce across in the dingy and dark cave they are found in. However, upon engaging the Emperor Bulblax on the fourth sublevel, countless Shadegrubs will hatch from the surrounding egg sacs and instantly kill it, completely overwhelming and devouring the Bulblax, leaving no remains, before forcing the captains and Pikmin to flee from the horde of shadowy grubs and into the next sublevel, lest they suffer the same fate.

These pitch-black slugs attack in massive hordes and swarm anything that moves, rapidly consuming every morsel and multiplying using the provided nutrition. Individual Shadegrubs have slightly varied sizes, from half the size of a standard sheargrub to twice one's size, and have a shadowy, goo-like texture. They can't be fought directly, at least not initially because of the swarm's lethality, so instead, the swarm must be manipulated to the leaders' benefit when traversing the next few floors of the den. Naturally for dark and scary creatures, they hate light, and actively avoid any major sources of it such as patches of glowcaps or powered lightbulbs, as the glaring beams of energy disintegrate them on contact. As a result, sources of light can be used as safe havens from the swarm. Another element of the Shadegrubs that could prove to be helpful is their appetite, which also affects anything that may impede the leaders' progress. For instance, while Pikmin can't destroy Bloatstools as efficiently as other resilient enemies, the Shadegrubs can, helping form a balance between avoiding the swarm and letting the swarm help the leaders.

Upon reaching the final floor, there is a bed of hot coals that Elixer Pikmin can dig into to collect the flaming rocks with. The coals are essential to harness, as on top of the Shadegrubs' weakness to light, they also hate intense heat, rendering them weapons against the insects. However, aware of the looming threat to their livelihood, the Shadegrubs will combine forces and form a massive Shadegrub with a gaping maw, serving as the den's boss. The giant Shadegrub has a similar attacking style to the Mama Sheargrub in that it will attempt to flail about and crush Pikmin, but the Shadegrub swarm is much larger than it, making the attack more dangerous. The only way to separate the swarm is to wait for it to charge into a wall, as that way it can be fed a hot coal, causing it to burst and reveal several stunned Shadegrubs that can be killed while the rest are dispersed. After a while, the surviving Shadegrubs will recombine into a smaller but faster and more agile form. Once the Shadegrubs are killed, the remaining few isolated ones rupture into nothingness, each having a tiny piece of refuse that a single Pikmin can carry each, alongside several assorted sparklium seeds. A very dangerous foe from a frightening land indeed.

In Pikmin Rebirth

Pikmin Rebirth icon.png
"A new world, a new time, a new adventure."
This article or section presents information pertaining to Pikmin Rebirth, a fanon game created by Glubfubb.
Pikmin Rebirth icon.png
Shadegrub The icon used to represent this enemy.
Scientific name Himeagea necromia
Family Mandiblard
Habitats Caves
Diet Carrion
Rarity Rare
Carry weight N/A
Attacks Eats Pikmin
Resistances Poison icon.png Electricity icon.png Acid icon.png
Weaknesses Light icon.png Fire icon.png Explosion icon.png

The Shadegrub is a species of mandiblard appearing in Pikmin Rebirth. They only appear in the deepest and darkest caves, acting as one of the more frightening encounters within them; part of the reason is due to having pitch-black bodies, slug-like anatomy, and glowing red eyes. They also are frightening due to their behavior, as Shadegrubs are opportunistic scavengers, only appearing if a corpse is left alone for too long. When they find a notable piece of carrion, they will swarm the corpse and quickly devour it, with more Shadegrubs taking its place. Shadegrubs are highly dangerous as they can quickly swarm and devour a squad of Pikmin. What makes them even more dangerous is the fact that these swarms can become even bigger by exposure to poison, electricity, and acid, all common methods of dealing with other enemies. Due to these facts, the best way to deal with them is to flee, as, despite the size of their swarms, Shadegrubs are easy to distract. Any large pieces of carrion will redirect pursuing Shadegrubs to it for devouring purposes. Additionally, they are attracted to sources of energy; while they should be lead away from electricity, fire and light can prove to be the swarm's downfall as the heat can quickly burn and shrivel up the swarm, eventually killing it. While Shadegrubs aren't considered boss enemies, killing a swarm still drops a large amount of sparklium and the occasional relic, meaning that there is good reason to hunt these creatures down. Still, their sheer numbers and frightening speed make them one of the most formidable opponents to face.

Related achievements
P3 Bronze badge.png Battle of the Two Armies Kill a swarm of Shadegrubs
P3 Bronze badge.png We have reserves Kill a swarm of Shadegrubs without losing any Pikmin
P3 Bronze badge.png A common enemy Have a swarm of Shadegrubs kill a boss enemy

Notes

Magdalene's journal

My fellow trainees used to laugh at me for being afraid of the dark. NOW WHO'S LAUGHING, HUH?! Sorry, that experience with those small bugs just reminded me of some bad memories, like when I was a child and my mom would always check the closet to see if there were monsters inside... I sorta hope she's still okay. We haven't talked in a while ever since I became a cadet... I should stop writing.

Azure's salvage logs

These beasts are impossible to tame. While they could make some good assistance at the local garbage dump, their feral tendencies make them too difficult to work with.

Lenin's cooking tips

Inedible. How can I cook something that burns with the slightest touch of flame?

Ivy's biology logs

Despite what my comrades say, these are, in fact, not monsters, but simple scavengers. Living in caves, these primitive members of the mandiblard family lack a traditional organ structure; rather, they merged their stomach, heart, and other vitals with their exoskeleton. At first, this may seem like a bad thing, as this makes them essentially as durable as a simple grape, but this also allows them to perform a special process; being hermaphrodites, they can reproduce asexually and are capable of splitting into two copies when they have enough nutrients, similar to mitosis in cells, making them very quick to reproduce. As a result, they can cover territory very quickly, and erase those areas of nutrients at a similar speed.

Indy's strategy guide

The perfect soldiers, they work to conquer their territory and then use the resources to grow in numbers. They could be great troops, if only they wouldn't burn up in the light.