Startle Spore

This article relates to the official games. See Pikipedia's "Startle Spore" article for more official information.

Startle Spore
Enemy
Appearance in Pikmin 4.
Scientific name	Taraxacum fungenesus
Family	Chrysanthemum

The Startle Spore is a hostile chrysanthemum that burrows into the ground to disguise itself as a cluster of red mushrooms. When Pikmin or leaders come near, it hops out of the ground and almost immediately thrusts its tongue out at them, leaving a splatter of poison on where it landed. If it misses, its tongue will rebound and hit it in the face, stunning it for some moments. It will return to its hiding place when left alone.

In fanon games

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

In Pikmin 18,000,000,011

How did we get here? This article or section is pertaining to Pikmin 18,000,000,011, a fanon game created by PikminKartSuperCircuit.

Startle Spore
Scientific name	Taraxacum fungensus
Family	Chrysanthemum
Areas	Wistful Wild
Caves	Submerged Castle, Pit of 100 Trials, Cave of Jokes
Challenge Mode stages	Hazard Training
Battle Mode stages	Trial of the Sage Leaf
Carry weight	10
Max. carriers	20
Seed worth	12
Poko value	× 7
Sparklium value	× 12
Drops	None
Health	2000
Attacks	Eat Pikmin, spew poison

The Startle Spore (おったまダケ^?, lit.: "So-Spooked Shroom") is an enemy in Pikmin 18,000,000,011. It has a similar appearance to the Creeping Chrysanthemum from Pikmin 2, but it mimics red mushrooms instead of flowers. It hides as a cluster of said mushrooms, with its eyes being the only thing differentiating it from the true mushrooms. When a leader, Oatchi, Moss, or Pikmin come near, they will spring out of the ground, revealing their root-arms, their bulbous bodies, and their gigantic mouths that emerge from their tallest mushrooms. They move moderately slowly, and will return to their original spots if left alone for a while. They replant themselves by standing above the spot where they originally came and sucking themselves into the ground until only the "mushrooms" remain. These enemies cannot be petrified or destoryed while they are in the ground.

Startle Spores will hide partially underground, mimicking mushrooms in the nearby area. Occasionally, if observed long enough, it will open its eyes to look around. Much like the Skitter Leaf and the Desiccated Skitter Leaf, it can't be spotted on the Map while it's burrowed underground. When something gets close, its eyestalks will turn to look at its target, while a dramatic sound plays to note it's awakening. It will hop out of the ground, knocking down Pikmin, Captains, and Oatchi too close to it. Almost immediately, it will launch out its tongue to eat Pikmin, leaving a splatter of poison on where it landed, which can only be traversed safely by White Pikmin or Oatchi when he has the File:Oatchi P4 icon.png Sniff Saver. It will eat any Pikmin who get stuck on its tongue, but it will hit itself with said tongue and be stunned for a bit if it catches no Pikmin (however, this will still release poison). It can also catch the player, but will regurgitate them instantly. It shakes off Pikmin by inflating its cheeks and throat when too many have begun to attack it. When its prey is close, it will take chase, but it will re-enter hiding if its prey strays far away, returning to its original spot.

The Startle Spore can be hard to spot, especially when the player does not know about it or it is effectively camouflaged in Primordial Thicket. It is best to watch for the unusual, spherical bulges underneath the cap of the mushroom. These are its eyes, which it usually keeps shut to prevent this from being obvious. They also appear in the middle of a path instead of to the sides like red mushrooms typically do.

The player can use the same strategy as the Creeping Chrysanthemum, being weary of the pools of Poison it spews by attacking the beast from behind. The poison pools last longer and reach father than they might first appear, and can make fighting the creature a nuisance. The player can use White Pikmin to make fighting this creature a little easier, but their low damage and the Startle Spore's immunity to being poisoned combined with a large health pool can make this strategy not extremely effective (Especially if the player only has a small number of White Pikmin, which is likely). If the player plans on relying on White Pikmin, Ultra-spicy spray is reccomended.

Instead, the player can opt to use a small number (Around 30 or so) of high-damaging Pikmin such as Rock Pikmin or Purple Pikmin. Bait out the enemy from hiding by throwing and whistling back a single pikmin, then reach around to the back (It should be noted the creature will turn to have its sights on the bait pikmin, so you can use this to your advantage). When you reach the back, simply throw Purple Pikmin continuiously or repeatedly charge and call back your Rock Pikmin, this should defeat the beast quite quickly and safely. Using Oatchi's Rush with a large squad here is also a good option (And one of your only options, if fought in the Submerged Castle), but be mindful of your squad's damage output and make sure Oatchi has his File:Oatchi P4 icon.png Sniff Saver equipped.

If the player is struggling with this enemy, a single Bomb Rock is enough to take it out, even if it hasnt been consumed.

Notes

Olimar's notes

 “The defining characteristics of the fungi that grow from its head differ from that of the Chrysanthemum family's Creeping Chrysanthemum, but the makeup of the body out of which they grow is mostly the same. As a result, we can theorize that like fellow Ambuloradicis the Bulbmin, this species is not an evolutionary variation, but that the body is a parasite that has nestled inside a group of mushrooms. Because the hosts are mushrooms, the Startle Spore cannot photosynthesize. Instead it gains nutrients by catching its prey with highly poisonous fluids, or by absorbing the nectar in the ground left behind as creatures killed by its poison decompose.”

Louie's notes

 “If you can successfully remove the bulb's poison glands, you'll enjoy a rare opportunity to appreciate the umami synergy of the mushroom and meat combo.”

Dalmo's Notes

File:Dalmo icon.png “These don't just mimic a growth of mushrooms for the fun of catching you by surprise-they also use the opportunity to spread poison around quite indiscriminately. But that's just this little darling's idiosyncratic method for catching its prey. We could learn from the way nature embraces such unique and varied creatures.”

In Pikmin 5 (Microsoftpaintadventures version)

Pikmin 5 (Microsoftpaintadventures version) This article or section presents information pertaining to Pikmin 5 (Microsoftpaintadventures version), a fanon game created by Microsoftpaintadventures.

Startle Shroom
Scientific name	Falsiflora funginesus
Family	Falsifloran
Weight	5
Seeds	7
Max carriers	10
Attacks	Eats Pikmin

The Startle Shroom is a falsifloran found in Pikmin 5. It resembles the Creeping Chrysanthemum but has red mushrooms instead of yellow flowers, and an orange base instead of a beige one. Notably, the middle mushroom's stalk seems to continue infinitely into a hole on the bottom of its cap, which expands and sucks in Pikmin by rotating, causing it to have vastly different behavior to its Pikmin 4 incarnation. It has a glowing, cyan variation that mimics a Common Glowcap in Subterranean Shipwreck, but the difference is merely cosmetic.

---