The Submerged Castle is arguably the most difficult dungeon in the Perplexing Pool and is most likely the last dungeon you will go to there. The boss of this dungeon, the Waterwraith, appears on all 5 sub levels after 5 minutes has passed while exploring each sub level. Only Blue Pikmin can be brought in as the dungeon is located in the water. The Waterwraith's weakness is Purple Pikmin so attacking with the Blue Pikmin, White Pikmin, and Bulbmin is futile. There is no way to harm the Waterwraith before sublevel 5, as the Violet Candypop Buds are located on that sublevel, meaning only Purple Pikmin can defeat it. (Acquiring the Stellar Orb from the Subterranean Complex is highly recommended, due to the cave being dark and making the Waterwraith more dificult to see, and becuase of it’s clear body.)
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Treasures[]
- Bug Bait (sub level 1)
- Diet Doomer (sub level 1)
- Pastry Wheel (sub level 1)
- Comfort Cookie (sub level 2)
- Confection Hoop (sub level 2)
- Chocolate Cushion (sub level 2)
- Compelling Cookie (sub level 3)
- Activity Arouser (NTSC)/Pondering Emblem (PAL) (sub level 3)
- Succulent Mattress (sub level 3)
- Pale Passion (sub level 4)
- Drone Supplies (NTSC)/Open Archive (PAL) (sub level 4)
- Proton AA (sub level 4)
- Professional Noisemaker (sub level 5)
Enemies[]
- Anode Beetles
- Anode Dweevils
- Bulbmin
- Careening Dirigibugs
- Dwarf Orange Bulborbs
- Fiery Blowhogs
- Fiery Bulblaxs
- Fiery Dweevils
- Iridescent Glint Beetles
- Mitites
- Volatile Dweevils
- Withering Blowhogs
- Wollywogs
- BOSS: Waterwraith
Music[]
- Submerged Castle
- The Waterwraith Appears
- The Waterwraith is Coming
- Boss Battle
- The Waterwraith's Pathetic Escape
Strategy[]
On Sublevels 1-4, the Waterwraith appears after five minutes of being in the level. A few key points to remember about the Waterwraith are:
- The Waterwraith steams around the level on two stone rollers, which crushes and kills Pikmin in the way, but also can defeat most, if not all, terrestrial enemies and disable traps.
- The Waterwraith does not go into small corners, dead ends, or small spaces, making it safe to hide.
- The best way for the Captains to deal with it is for them to quickly snag all of the treasures and leave the sublevel before he appears. The Leaders must ignore enemies when possible and avoid bringing back their carcasses.
- The Waterwraith is deadly to the Captain's Pikmin, so they must stay out of its way. If they are careless, they could lose every one of their Pikmin.
- It follows the active Captain. However, they can use this to their advantage, much like fighting the Ranging Bloyster.
- There is NO WAY to harm the Waterwraith before Sublevel 5, so don't bother trying.
- The Captains must quickly collect as many treasures as they can. If they forget to get a treasure, they can always go back and get it later.
- If you want all 40 Bulbmin, Bring in a Max of 60 Blue Pikmin. (Preferably Flower Pikmin)
- Use Bulbmin for Candypop Buds as you cannot keep them
- To avoid Pikmin losses from Enemy Bulbmin either Punch them to Death or Bitter Spray and then Swarm them.
Sublevel 1[]
This sublevel contains many fire hazards that your captains must avoid/defeat when first entering. Your captains can collect three treasures (Bug Bait, Diet Doomer, and Pastry Wheel) on this floor. When they defeat a Fiery Bulblax in the water, the Bug Bait appears. Your captains must search for the other two treasures, the Diet Doomer and the Pastry Wheel. After that, you can move on to the second Sublevel. There is also a geyser on this floor, allowing you to escape after having found all treasures, which is very convenient.
Sublevel 2[]
This area contains Careening Dirigibugs, Fiery Dweevils, and Bulbmin. You must focus on looking for an entrance of a pipe and walk inside it to avoid the Waterwraith. Your captain must then take the pipe to a slide-like passageway, where you go down quickly and fall out of the pipe, landing near the Chocolate Cushion.
Afterwards, you must focus on finding the Bulbmin. The parent can be defeated by getting close and throwing Pikmin onto its back. The Mother Bulbmin gets a few mouthfuls of Pikmin if you attempt to swarm it with your Pikmin. Once they see their leader is dead, the smaller Bulbmin panic and begin running around; your current leader must blow their whistle to gain control of them. The game decides the amount of Bulbmin at the beginning of the sublevel depending on the amount of Pikmin. Occasionally though, the player can possibly find an Ivory Candypop Bud on this sublevel and get White Pikmin. However, throwing a White Pikmin at the Waterwraith does not have a different effect than any other non-purple Pikmin. A checkered chocolate cookie known as the Comfort Cookie then comes out of the parent Bulbmin once defeated. The final treasure, a Confection Hoop can be found on a ledge guarded by some Dwarf Orange Bulborbs. Your captains can get there by walking to the opposite side and throw some Pikmin up to collect the treasure and defeat the Bulborbs. The exit is sealed, so you use Pikmin to smash the rock and open the cave to the next sublevel. Getting the treasure back to the Research Pod takes you effort because of the Waterwraith always coming down a small isle that is required to walk through. Quickly calling Pikmin to the side of the isle can avoid them being crushed. Then your captains can get the treasure back to their pod and advance to the next sublevel.
Sublevel 3[]
This level contains electrical hazards which you must avoid. Swarming the electricity generators the very second they turn off can be dangerous but it is possible. It is safer to use Bulbmin instead of swarming them. You must kill the Withering Blowhog as it holds the Activity Arouser. Anode Dweevils only require Bulbmin to be thrown on them, as Bulbmin are immune to all hazards. You must must defeat the Wollywog the same way as defeating a Yellow Wollywog.
For your captain to full complete this sublevel, they must collect the other two treasures, the Succulent Mattress and the Compelling Cookie, and take them back to the Research Pod. These treasures can be anywhere, usually behind a gate. The Waterwraith likely has appeared by this time so you must break the exit if it appeared. It is also covered in rocks.
There is an additional Ivory Candypop Bud in one of the alcoves on this floor, but it is best ignored as the White Pikmin have a harder time following the rest of their group throughout the next sublevel's bothersome puddles.
Note: you must not swarm electric generators when treasure is about to reach the ship. you may be paused while the ship identifies the treasure, but the genetator won't, causing a lot of your Pikmin to get shocked.
Sublevel 4[]
This floor is difficult due to the Bomb Rocks and Volatile Dweevils that fall from the ceiling, and the Careening Digiribugs. Your captains must first focus on getting the Drone Supplies and the Proton AA. There is an Iridescent Glint Beetle running around the place. You must throw a Pikmin at it to make it to drop the Pale Passion. In order for you to make the path safer for their Pikmin, they must quickly run through the area with a single captain and detonate all the Bomb Rocks and Volatile Dweevils. Then, your captains must finish by breaking the hole and diving on down to the Final Floor. It is also possible for the Waterwraith to get stuck in one of the corners of this sublevel. Though, the Waterwraith still follows your captains to the next sublevel once they leave.
Sublevel 5 (Final Floor)[]
The Waterwraith appears in the arena after entering. However, it appears in the arena by itself if you wait too long. Your captains should have plenty of Bulbmin by this point. There are three gates in the starting area as well as two Violet Candypop Buds. You should use your remaining Bulbmin to create Purple Pikmin because Bulbmin are unable to leave the cave with you. There are also three eggs that contain nectar. Your Pikmin must then smash the final black gate that blocks access to the boss arena.
It is worth noting that the boss is not restricted to the boss arena and can roam around the rest of the floor as well. It may be worth destroying all the gates so you can corner the boss easily, or hide in one of them as the boss cannot chase you all the way into a corner.
Final Floor Battle[]
You will need Purple Pikmin to harm it. The battle begins with the Waterwraith falling from the ceiling and slamming its front steamroller on the ground. Your captains should move to its side as it does this; once it's slammed its roller down, throw a Purple Pikmin at or near it, making sure to be far enough so that it slams on the ground beside the Waterwraith. The Purple Pikmin's slam attack has the ability to stun the Waterwraith and scare it, indicated by it turning solid and purple in coloration. When it's purple, any of your Pikmin can damage it; if it doesn't become purple, then the captain must call the Pikmin back and wait for their chance to throw more Purples at it.
When it is vulnerable, it is recommended that you swarm all of your Pikmin onto the Waterwraith's front roller, as the back roller cannot be attacked. The Waterwraith's health should be drained in a matter of seconds, before it even has a chance to recover. This should only be done with around at least 50 or 60 Pikmin; otherwise, the Waterwraith is likely to recover and slam its front roller again, killing any Pikmin you do not call back in time.
If you don't have a large Pikmin squad, throw Purple Pikmin and your other Pikmin onto its body as you would most other enemies, and its health should deplete quite rapidly as well. Since you're less likely to drain all of its health and Pikmin are being thrown onto its body, it will occasionally throw off all of your Pikmin, so players should be cautious of this. After doing this a few times, it will become clear again and slam its roller down. At this point, you must stun it again with the Purple Pikmin.
After the Waterwraith's health circle falls to zero, its rollers are destroyed and it begins to frantically run away from your captains. In this phase, the Waterwraith is completely harmless. Your captain must then chase the Waterwraith and stun it again with Purple Pikmin to make it vulnerable; it will occasionally stop running to catch its breath, making it an easy target. When attacked while vulnerable, the Waterwraith will constantly shake off Pikmin and deflower them, but it is still incapable of hurting them. Throwing Purple Pikmin is effective here as their slam attack will deal more damage in a short time span and delay the Waterwraith from throwing off your Pikmin. If you wait too long, the Waterwraith will recover and continue to run around. When the Waterwraith loses all of its health in this phase, its body vaporizes and it is fully defeated.
Once defeated, the Waterwraith drops a Professional Noisemaker, which gives you a device called the Pluckaphone. It allows Olimar and Louie (or the President) to pluck Pikmin sprouts from the ground just by whistling at them.
Alternative Strategies[]
If you are having problems collecting all the treasures in each sublevel before the Waterwraith appears, reset the game until the treasure locations for at least one is favorable. Collect one treasure from each sublevel as you go down, and defeat the boss, then re-enter the cave and collect the remaining treasures in a similar fashion - the Waterwraith will appear on both trips, though. This is only recommended if you are finding the normal route too challenging.
Also, you can simply visit the Submerged Castle multiple times collecting as much treasure as you can before the Waterwraith appears, and then continue on to the next level, until you have everything, thus finishing with minimal interactions with the Waterwraith.
Similar Cave[]
Main Article: Engulfed Castle
In Pikmin 4, there is a restyled version of this dungeon called the Engulfed Castle. The general layout of each sublevel is the same in both games, but the enemies and treasures are changed in Pikmin 4. Similar to the Submerged Castle, the dungeon can only be accessed with Blue Pikmin and the Waterwraith appears in each sublevel after a period of time. Violet Candypop Buds are also available on the 5th sublevel.
Gallery[]
Main Article: Submerged Castle/Gallery.
Trivia[]
- Sublevel 2 of this cave is one of the few sublevels in the game that has a layout that never changes despite the fact that sublevels are usually randomly generated. The only thing that may change is where the ship lands. It may land on either the hill or below the hill at the start. If it lands on the hill, it will take the Pikmin a few more seconds to get the treasures to the ship, making it slightly more likely that the player will encounter the Waterwaith on this sublevel.
- The cavern contains thirteen treasures, a famously unlucky number; this appears to be intended to reflect the cave's nature, and especially that of its boss.
- If an external cheat is used to make all Pikmin types immune to drowning and the player tries to enter the Submerged Castle with them, the game will outright deny the player from entering, stating that only Blue Pikmin may enter.
- The Submerged Castle was originally going to be called "The Submarine Castle."
- In the game's data, you can find that the "timer" until the Waterwraith falls from the sky on the final floor is 15 seconds, but normally the Waterwraith never falls until you enter the center of the arena on the final floor.
- By using an Action Replay code to give Blue Pikmin the same abilities as Purple Pikmin, it is possible to defeat the Waterwraith on floors 1 through 4. If the Waterwraith is killed this way, it will not appear in any succeeding floors, including the final floor.
- The Waterwraith is the only boss that a captain can damage.
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