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Spotty Bulbears (クマチャッピー) are creatures found in all four Pikmin games that resemble Red Bulborbs with a different color and stature, and bigger mouths with wider lips. They are black with red spots, and their face is a creamy yellow. Its large mouth allows it to eat Pikmin rapidly, making it a formidable foe

In Pikmin 2, these enemies are often found with a number of Dwarf Bulbears following it as a source of protection and general aid. They are notoriously difficult in every game they appear in. In Pikmin, they are spread all throughout The Distant Spring, typically appearing next to enemies like Swooping Snitchbugs and/or Yellow Wollyhops.

In Pikmin 3, Spotty Bulbears return with strengths and weaknesses not present in previous titles.

Biology[]

The Spotty Bulbear, like all Grub-Dogs, has a mammalian appearance, bulbous eyes, which are purple (red in the first game), as well as the short stubby legs, sizable girth, and spotty backside. It may be worth noting that their lips are very thick and chapped as opposed to other Grub-Dogs, who have thin lips or lack them at all. Its backside is black with red spots (which pulsated in the first game) and it has a creamy yellow face. Unlike its cousins, however, the Spotty Bulbear has a bigger, wider mouth to match its girth. Its size also gives it more durability to Pikmin attacks and Bomb Rocks.

Olimar notes that this creature "has a certain indefatigability," which is supported mainly in the second game and partly the third game, as the Spotty Bulbear is not only sleepless in both games, but in the second game, it will also revive if defeated and left alone. One can then conclude that the Spotty Bulbear is at a high point in the food chain.

Notes[]

Dalmo's Notes[]

"One glance, and you'll never forget them as long as you live- those unmistakable bold lips. A most distinctive feature the likes of which I've seen nowhere else in the universe. When I gaze upon them, I wonder if the lips server as double duty as a way to feel the world around it, since this cute little cuddler has no fingers!"

Olimar's Notes[]

"A midsize subspecies within the grub-dog family, the spotty bulbear's unique feeding habits set it apart fIom other grub-dogs. The spotty bulbear patrols a set path searching for prey, instead of passively feeding on creatures that wander into a limited territorial range. When entering bulbear habitat, it is wise to proceed with extreme caution until the bulbear's patrol path can be clearly identified."

Louie's Notes[]

"For an unrivaled green curry, peel away the spotty bulbear's skin, pulverize the juicy innards, and stew until curiously fragrant."

Nintendo Player's Guide[]

"Possibly the most vicious of the Bulborb/Bulbear family, the Spotty Bulbear feasts on Pikmin and doesn't give up. Have one group distract the villain while you send another behind it to attack."

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide[]

"The Spotty Bulbear is extremely durable, and its wide jaws allow it to gobble a great amount of Pikmin with each attack. To avoid a prolonged and costly battle, use Bomb Rocks to attack this creature from a safe distance."

General information[]

Pikmin []

In Pikmin, these creatures sleep like most members of the Grub-dog family, and they have bloodshot eyes upon waking up. They have about one and a half times the health of a Red Bulborb, and their red spots constantly pulsate, even after death. Returning a dead member of the species to an Onion produces 15 Pikmin sprouts, but the Crushing glitch can make carrying its body difficult in this game. They do not revive after they have been killed, but their health regenerates if the player takes too much time to kill them.

Pikmin 2[]

In Pikmin 2, Spotty Bulbears have far greater maneuverability than other members of the same family, as if they are not nocturnal like many of the other types of Bulborbs, as well as a less focused patrol area; they have the ability to move anywhere in most areas, below as well as above ground. They can be found in the Perplexing Pool after the 30th day, and may even enter the landing site. If the creature is defeated and its corpse remains, its health will steadily grow back, eventually reviving itself, requiring a repeated "kill," similar to the Gatling Groink. For this reason, it is recommended that the body be quickly returned to an Onion or the Research Pod. Therefore, using White Pikmin to transport them is recommended. Also, if the Spotty Bulbear is defeated in a cave or Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2) arena, the player can leave the current sublevel quickly without the creature regenerating.

Pikmin 3[]

In Pikmin 3, Spotty Bulbears are much faster than in the two previous games, and are still accompanied by juveniles. They do, however, possess newly designed weaknesses:

  • When a Bulbear snatches Pikmin, it stops to fling them into the air and land them down its throat. Then, it pauses for about 2 seconds. This small sliver of time should be enough for a wary player to escape or attempt an attack.
  • After a Bulbear eats a Pikmin, there is a chance that it will release a small belch afterwards, allowing the player to retreat. 
  • Bulbears now emit a heavy, snarly breathing noise when giving chase, which can be heard from a distance, alerting players of their presence. When in a dark area, their glowing purple eyes can also be seen from a distance.
  • They no longer revive themselves after death, unlike the second Pikmin game.
  • If a Bulbear spots the player, it will now give a glance at the group, making it much easier to tell if the Bulbear can see you or not. 

However, they are now much more resistant to explosions than in past games.

Battle strategy[]

Pikmin[]

The exact same strategy for the Red Bulborb is effective here: get a large group of Pikmin, and swarm it from behind. Red Pikmin are mostly recommended for this. Another strategy is to simply use three bomb rocks on it while it is asleep.

Pikmin 2[]

Spotty Bulbears do not sleep in Pikmin 2 and are constantly roaming the map, making a surprise attack nearly impossible. It is possible to trick the Bulbear into attacking and missing, allowing the captain access to its backside, but they frequently have Dwarf Bulbears following them, making this tactic risky. Another means of accessing its rear is to split the Captains, using the one without Pikmin as a distraction. If Purple Pikmin are available, they make the battle easier as they can injure and stun the adult and children (Note if a Pikmin is grabbed before the Bulbear is stunned it will still eat the Pikmin when he has lost all his health unlike other Bulborbs. Attacking his back is recommended or using a Ultra-Bitter Spray for no losses if a Pikmin is caught), but with other colors it may be wise to use an Ultra-Bitter Spray. It is often effective to switch roles with and hunt the Bulbear itself before it can pick up any Dwarfs, and then stun and attack it.

If time is not a concern, captains can be used to kill the Dwarf Bulbears and even the adult without the risk of losing Pikmin. The Brute Knuckles upgrade makes this tactic easier to use.

In the Perplexing Pool, one can trap the Bulbear in between the wall and the small 3-D maze next to the bridge. It will be unable to get out, so it won't be an issue anymore unless you want to kill it. Just begin to rain Pikmin down on its head, it should shake once or twice before dying. You then can carry its corpse and the 10-pellet it dropped out of the area and they will be able to get to the Onion. In most caves, leaving a Pikmin on one side of the wall that the Bulbear cannot reach allows a slight edge. Be quick and you can severely damage, if not kill it, with few losses.

To defeat the Spotty Bulbears in the Subterranean Lair in Challenge Mode, lure all three close to one another, then hit them all with a single shot of Ultra-Bitter Spray to petrify all three at once, hopefully petrifying their dwarf companions.

Since Bulbears follow the active captain, they can be lured into falling into bottomless pits that are between the pilot and the Bulbear. Any treasures the creature would drop will be, unlike in Pikmin, safely returned to the sublevel for collection. One such level is Sublevel 3 in the Dream Den.

If you want to get rid of the posse of dwarfs following the Spotty Bulbear, you can bring twenty Purple Pikmin and sneak up on the farthest dwarf in the group. Throw the purple on its back and it will die instantly. Do this to all the dwarfs without the Spotty Bulbear "noticing" and then you can defeat it with ease.

Pikmin 3[]

A Spotty Bulbear appears inside a dark cave in the Distant Tundra in Pikmin 3. Here, they are accompanied by the usual Dwarf Bulbears and some Fiery Blowhogs. In the cave, there are 10 Bomb Rocks. It will take 3 or 4 bombs to kill the Bulbear itself, and making it ingest a bomb can kill it instantly, this can be easily accomplished by letting it eat a pikmin holding a bomb, as it will eat the bomb and throw the pikmin away. The remaining can be used to deal with the other enemies with ease. 

For a head-on attack, make sure all other enemies are dead before facing it as otherwise shaken off Pikmin may become eaten or set on fire. Chuck Pikmin at its eyes until you hit the eyes. Don't throw any more Pikmin until its ready to attack again. This keeps it flinching over hitting its eyes meaning Pikmin can attack it without you having to whistle them back to hit the eyes again. Rock Pikmin and Red Pikmin can help defeat it quicker, as will an Ultra-Spicy Spray. 

If it does eat Pikmin, it chucks them in the air and may burp afterwards. This time is enough to escape or whistle the Pikmin back to hit its eyes again.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • When it walks into sleeping enemies (most notably, other members of the Grub-dog family), it wakes them up. Strangely, when it walks into an Orange Bulborb it does not wake it up, even though it can be easily woken up by a Captain or Pikmin approaching it. This can be seen on Sublevel 9 of the Hole of Heroes in Pikmin 2.
  • In the Creature Montage of Pikmin, it says that it has a certain indefatigability (which means incapable or seemingly incapable of being fatigued; tireless) which is strange, since Spotty Bulbears could only revive in Pikmin 2, and not Pikmin or Pikmin 3.
  • In the Creature Montage, Bulborbs are present in places that Bulbears inhabit in the finished game, suggesting that this is how it was in the development version. This means that Spotty Bulbears were created late in the game's process. 
  • Their scientific name, Oculus terriblis dotticum, means 'Terrible Dotted Eye'.
    • The Japanese name of the Bulbear is クマチャッピー kuma chappī, or "Bear Chappy".
    • Both the scientific and Japanese names of the enemy could be subtle references to the Grizzly Bear, a powerful hyper-carnivore whose scientific name is Ursus Horribilis, meaning "Horrible Bear".
  • In Pikmin, its spots pulsate even when the game is paused.
  • Between Pikmin and Pikmin 2, their eyes change colors from a bloodshot red to a blueish-purple.
  • Using an Action Replay to access a model test menu in Pikmin, the Spotty Bulbear's code name is "swallob".
  • The Bulbear, along with Antenna Beetles and Caustic/Fiery Dweevils, were unused roulette creatures in the 2-Player Battle game in Pikmin 2. Their icons can still be found in the game's files.
  • The Spotty Bulbear, along with the Gatling Groink are the only enemies that can revive in Pikmin 2.
  • It’s hindquarters have a wobbling effect after it stamps it’s foot when you escape it before sunset in Pikmin 3 (This is most notably seen at the end of day in the Distant Tundra).
Enemies and plants
Pikmin
Armored Cannon Beetle | Beady Long Legs | Breadbug | Burrowing Snagret | Candypop Bud | Dwarf Bulbear | Dwarf Red Bulborb | Emperor Bulblax | Fiery Blowhog | Female Sheargrub | Goolix | Honeywisp | Iridescent Flint Beetle | Mamuta | Pearly Clamclamp | Pellet Posy | Puffstool | Puffy Blowhog | Male Sheargrub | Shearwig | Smoky Progg | Spotty Bulbear | Swooping Snitchbug | Red Bulborb | Water Dumple | Wolpole | Wollyhop | Yellow Wollyhop
Pikmin 2
Red Bulborb | Hairy Bulborb | Orange Bulborb | Dwarf Bulbear | Spotty Bulbear | Fiery Bulblax | Emperor Bulblax | Empress Bulblax | Bulborb Larva | Water Dumple | Bulbmin | Breadbug | Giant Breadbug | Dwarf Red Bulborb | Dwarf Orange Bulborb | Snow Bulborb | Fiery Blowhog | Watery Blowhog | Puffy Blowhog | Withering Blowhog | Fiery Dweevil | Anode Dweevil | Caustic Dweevil | Munge Dweevil | Volatile Dweevil | Titan Dweevil | Beady Long Legs | Man-at-Legs | Raging Long Legs | Burrowing Snagret | Pileated Snagret | Armored Cannon Beetle Larva | Decorated Cannon Beetle | Segmented Crawbster | Hermit Crawmad | Male Sheargrub | Female Sheargrub | Shearwig | Doodlebug | Iridescent Glint Beetle | Iridescent Flint Beetle | Cloaking Burrow-nit | Ravenous Whiskerpillar | Skitter Leaf | Careening Dirigibug | Swooping Snitchbug | Bumbling Snitchbug | Antenna Beetle | Anode Beetle | Lesser Spotted Jellyfloat | Greater Spotted Jellyfloat | Toady Bloyster | Ranging Bloyster | Wolpole | Yellow Wollyhop | Wollyhop | Creeping Chrysanthemum | Unmarked Spectralid | Honeywisp | Mitite | Gatling Groink | Mamuta | Waterwraith | Crimson Candypop Bud | Golden Candypop Bud | Lapis Lazuli Candypop Bud | Violet Candypop Bud | Ivory Candypop Bud | Queen Candypop Bud | Pellet Posy | Common Glowcap | Glowstem | Clover | Figwort | Dandelion | Seeding Dandelion | Horsetail | Foxtail | Margaret | Fiddlehead | Shoot | Burgeoning Spiderwort
Pikmin 3
Arachnode | Arctic Cannon Larva | Armored Cannon Larva | Armored Mawdad | Bearded Amprat | Bug-Eyed Crawmad | Bulborb | Burrowing Snagret | Calcified Crushblat | Desiccated Skitter Leaf | Dwarf Bulbear | Dwarf Red Bulborb | Dwarf Orange Bulborb | Female Sheargrub | Fiery Blowhog | Flighty Joustmite | Hermit Crawmad | Iridescent Flint Beetle | Joustmite | Male Sheargrub | Medusal Slurker | Necterous Dandelfly | Orange Bulborb | Peckish Aristocrab | Pellet Posy | Phosbat | Plasm Wraith | Puckering Blinnow | Puffy Blowhog | Pyroclasmic Slooch | Quaggled Mireclops | Red Spectralid | Sandbelching Meerslug | Scornet | Scornet Maestro | Shaggy Long Legs | Shearwig | Skeeterskate | Skitter Leaf | Skutterchuck | Spotty Bulbear | Sputtlefish | Swarming Sheargrub | Swooping Snitchbug | Toady Bloyster | Vehemoth Phosbat | Waddlepus | Water Dumple | Watery Blowhog | Whiptongue Bulborb | White Spectralid | Wolpole | Yellow Spectralid | Yellow Wollyhop
Pikmin 4
Albino Dwarf Bulborb | Ancient Sirehound | Anode Beetle | Arctic Cannon Beetle | Arctic Cannon Larva | Aristocrab Offspring | Armored Cannon Larva | Baldy Long Legs | Bearded Amprat | Blizzarding Blowhog | Bloomcap Bloyster | Bogswallow | Breadbug | Bug-Eyed Crawmad | Bulborb | Burrowing Snagret | Chillyhop | Creeping Chrysanthemum | Crusted Rumpup | Desiccated Skitter Leaf | Doodlebug | Downy Snagret | Dwarf Bulbear | Dwarf Bulborb | Dwarf Frosty Bulborb | Dweevil | Emperor Bulblax | Enemy | Fiery Blowhog | Fiery Bulblax | Foolix | Freezecake | Frosty Bulborb | Giant Breadbug | Gildemander | Gildemandwee | Groovy Long Legs | Grubchucker | Hermit Crawmad | Horned Cannon Beetle | Hydro Dweevil | Iceblown Dweevil | Icy Blowhog | Joustmite | Jumbo Bulborb | Mama Sheargrub | Mammoth Snootwhacker | Mamuta | Man-at-Legs | Miniature Snootwhacker | Mitite | Moldy Dwarf Bulborb | Moldy Slooch | Moss | Muckerskate | Pearly Clamclamp | Porquillion | Puckering Blinnow | Puffy Blowhog | Pyroclasmic Slooch | Red Spectralid | Scorchcake | Shearflea | Shearwig | Shockcake | Skutterchuck | Smoky Progg | Snavian | Snowfake Fluttertail | Snowy Blowhog | Sovereign Bulblax | Spotty Bulbear | Startle Spore | Sunsquish | Titan Blowhog | Toady Bloyster | Toxstool | Tusked Blowhog | Venom Dweevil | Waddlepus | Waddlequaff | Waterwraith | Watery Blowhog | Wollyhop | Wolpole | Yellow Wollyhop
Hey! Pikmin
Adult Centipare | Armurk | Berserk Leech Hydroe | Blubbug | Bulborb | Centipare | Clicking Slurker | Coppeller | Crammed Wraith | Crested Mockiwi | Crumbug | Crystalline Crushblat | Electric Cottonade | Electric Spectralid | Electripede | Elongated Crushblat | Emperor Bulblax | Eye-Stalker Bulbeel | Fiery Blowhog | Fiery Blowlet | Fiery Dwarf Bulblax | Fiery Young Yellow Wollywog | Fireflap Bulborb | Fireflinger Groink | Firesnout Beetle | Flatterchuck | Flying Spotted Jellyfloat | Grabbit | Large Splurchin | Long Water Dumple | Luring Slurker | Male Sheargrub | Mockiwi | Muggonfly | Puckering Blinnow | Puffstalk | Puffy Blubbug | Queen Shearwig | Red Bubblimp | Seedbagger | Shearblug | Shearwig | Shooting Spiner (Female) | Shooting Spiner (Male) | Skutterchuck | Sparrowhead | Speargrub | Spiny Coppeller | Sporegrub | Spornet | Starnacle | Stony Flint Beetle | Stuffed Bellbloom | Swooping Snitchbug | Widemouthed Anode Beetle | Yellow Wollyhop | Young Yellow Wollywog
Families
Amphituber | Arachnorb | Breadbug family | Blowhog | Candypop Bud | Chrysanthemum family | Dweevil | Glowcap family | Grub-dog | Jellyfloat | Lithopod | Mandiblard | Mollusking | Snavian | Unknown Family
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