Ghoul Progg
| Ghoul Progg | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific name | Unknown |
| Family | Unknown |
| Areas | ??? |
| Carry weight | 30 |
| Max. carriers | 32 |
| Seed worth | 0 seeds (Gives Crystal Essence) |
| Attacks | Suffocates Pikmin, Deflowers Pikmin, Eats Pikmin |
Originally found by a Koppite survey team in PNF-240, dubbed the Ghoul Progg, this genetic relative of the Smoky Progg is an anomaly to known migration patterns. Although the Great Migration report demonstrates the diaspora of organisms off of PNF-404 via asteroid collisions and charter activity, PNF-240 has no known instances of diaspora, and the Ghoul Progg stands alone as a PNF-404 genetic descendent. Many theories have been presented by ecologists and zoologists, however there is little proof of the Ghoul Progg's relation to the Smoky Progg, as DNA sequencing is impossible on any Progg specimen. The only data to suggest relation is the remarkable similarity to the Smoky Progg, and its instinctual response upon seeing Pikmin. The Ghoul Progg is notably different from its cousin in that it will devour Pikmin with its semi-transparent mandibles - which astrobiologists suggest is evidence of exposure to edible plant matter during its journey to PNF-240. With the only option for the Progg being plant material, it is suggested that the Progg adapted its body to digestion and capture of prey. Although the Progg eats and consumes plant material, some of it is still lost to oxygen starvation from the gaseous matter emanating from its backside. Also, hallmark discoloration of streaks of blue can be seen all over the Progg's body, suggesting exposure to cosmic rays. Little is currently known about the Progg's ability to withstand the vacuum of space, but it is hypothesized that perhaps the Progg was able to drift away from a host meteorite in order to land on PNF-240. However, astrobiologists doubt that the Progg was fully in vacuum for the duration of its journey, and that perhaps the host meteorite was actually an oxygen oasis - an extremely rare instance where microorganisms regulate and distribute gases to make an "atmosphere bubble" of sorts, allowing for complex ecology. This would explain the exposure to cosmic rays and the adaptation to consumption of plant material, but there is expressed skepticism to the idea an "oxygen oasis" can even exist. No instances of an oxygen oasis exist in a verifiable manner, save for some tenuous reports and hoaxes. Whatever caused the Ghoul Progg to exist, at least three reports have shown the population on PNF-240 to be of 2,000 - 3,000 distinct individuals. This has caused the intergalactic community to refer to PNF-240 as "Progg Prime", however there is no evidence to support the Progg lineage started here. It is unclear whether the Ghoul Progg was ever in its form on PNF-404, suggesting some to posit a new and separate lineage - a case of convergent evolution across 40 light-years. Both hypotheses, the "Diaspora Hypothesis" and the "Origin Hypothesis" have faults and cannot be verified due to lack of evidence.