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Petey Piranha

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"SHINY PETEY TIME!"
—Petey Piranha, Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Petey Piranha (Boss Pakkun, in Japan) (sometimes referred to as Boss Piranha Plant) is a giant mutant dragon-like humanoid Piranha Plant who first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine in Bianco Hills. Since then, Petey Piranha has been among one of the main recurring characters and bosses of the Mario franchise.

Petey Piranha is thought to be a loyal follower of Bowser in several of his appearances however this is undetermined (as in some, he is shown to be independent), and it has been suggested in bios for Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Party: Star Rush, as well as by his Japanese name, Boss Packun, that he is the ruler of his kind, with "Packun Flower" being the Japanese name for the Piranha Plant. This is confirmed in Mario Party Superstars where, in the encyclopedia, he is called the leader of the Piranha Plants.

Profile

Physical description

Petey Piranha has a largely different appearance from other Piranha Plants, but he can still be identified as one from having a red head with white spots. Petey Piranha has a large head and a proportionately small and thin body. On Petey's head is a ring of yellow petals with orange rims. Petey's leaf-like arms and thin peg-shaped legs allow him to move around. Petey also has large, green lips, similar to the Piranha Plants from Super Mario 64, and he wears red briefs athletic shorts with white spots. Since Mario Superstar Baseball, Petey has been shown to have a tongue. His bio in the same game says that Petey Piranha got his appearance from an unknown mutation.

In Super Mario Sunshine, Petey Piranha is considerably taller than Mario. While he would retain this trait in subsequent appearances, Petey would be downsized for his playable appearances, such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and in sprite-based games like Super Princess Peach.

Powers and abilities

Petey can be set apart from his brethren by his own innate features, such as using his arms to fly and his ability to summon tornadoes and vines. Petey Piranha can also spit out Nipper Plants and swallow a character.

Biography

The First Fight

Petey Piranha Encounter

In the past of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Petey Piranha ate Princess Peach and Kylie Koopa in the Koopaseum "basement". Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi went into the Gritzy Caves and fought him to save Peach and Kylie Koopa. Petey's attacks include diving into the sand and making rocks fly towards the Mario Bros. To dodge this assault, the player must look at how Petey dives and jump with the according Bro. The mutant plant starts the battle hovering, but after so many attacks, he falls into the sand. While in this state, only his head is visible above the ground. His other main attack, while grounded, includes going underground and swallowing the sand, trying to drag the Mario Bros. into his mouth. The brothers must jump up and down as to not get consumed. After a certain number of turns, he jumps back out of the sand and resumes hovering. He can, once again, be knocked out of the air. It should also be noted that while Petey does appear in the past, he may not be from it, and the Shroobs may have brought him from the future to aid in their conquest of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Battle in Bianco Hills

Petey Piranha cutscene

In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser Jr. selected Petey to help him defeat Mario on his vacation to Isle Delfino. Petey Piranha was stationed in Bianco Hills where he terrorized the residents from atop the Windmill. When Mario faced him on top of the Big Windmill, Petey Piranha's enormous weight made the windmill's roof collapse and he and Mario fell into the windmill. Inside, Petey Piranha attacked Mario by spitting Goop at him and spawning Swoopin' Stus to attack. Mario, however, shot water into his mouth with F.L.U.D.D., and then Ground Pounded Petey Piranha's belly three times. Petey Piranha then dissolved into Goop.

However, Petey Piranha survived and appeared once again in Episode 5, where he was happily snoozing on a cliff high above Bianco Hills. After Mario woke him by blasting him with a Poink, Petey Piranha used his enormous arms to fly, and launched an attack from the sky. Mario had to get him on the ground by shooting Poinks at him, and once again had to fill Petey Piranha's belly with water and Ground Pound it. On the ground, Petey Piranha not only attacked by spitting Goop, but also by unleashing small tornadoes. After being defeated, Petey Piranha once again dissolved into Goop and is not seen again in the game.

Petey Piranha Returns

Peach VS Petey

Even if he was said to be defeated, Petey Piranha reappeared as a boss in Super Princess Peach, residing in Ladida Plains. In this game, he is labeled under the name Boss P. Plant. When Peach arrives in Petey's area, she sees an imprisoned Toad and just as she goes to save him, the overgrown plant emerges from the ground and swallows the Toad, who is trapped in a ball, and the princess must defeat Petey to rescue the poor mushroom resident. Peach had to use her Gloom vibe to make a plant grow so that she could leap on a leaf and once again use the vibe to put tears into the plant and inflate him, making him fall down and reveal his weak spot: his belly button. Peach had to jump on his belly five times to defeat him. The method of defeating the plant makes this appearance quite similar to his Super Mario Sunshine appearance.

Petey Piranha in the Ice World

Petey Piranha - Flying - New Super Mario Bros

In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha is the boss of World 5, the ice world. He attacked by flying up high, then dropping from the sky, crushing any opponents beneath him with a move similar to the Ground Pound. Since the floor was made of slippery ice, after attacking he slipped and fell. It was then that he could be attacked. If Mario or Luigi could defeat him using a Mini Mushroom, they would travel to World 7 instead of World 6. While tiny, the brothers were forced to use Ground Pounds to simply hurt the beast. Many Piranha Plants appeared in Petey's castle, a subtle hint that he would appear as the boss.

Petey Piranha's Island

Fat Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha returns again in Paper Mario: Sticker Star this time residing on the tropical jungles of World 5, the Tropical Ruins Island. Petey Piranha is seen residing inside the volcano and is the cause of its constant eruptions. The Spear Guys residing on the island would throw fests to prevent the dangerous Rumble Volcano from erupting however one day, a Royal Sticker descended down on the island and Petey Piranha emerged swallowing the Royal Sticker which made him shinier and stronger. Upon donning the Royal Sticker on his head, he later returned back to the volcano.

When Mario and Kersti arrive at the Rumble Volcano after a long trek through the Island, Kersti decides to check the place out however at that moment, Petey Piranha emerges for a surprise attack and swallows Kersti whole retreating to his platform. Mario tried to give chase however there was a large hole in the bridge which prevented him from following Petey, instead, he took a long detour around the volcano defeating some Big Chain Chomps along the way for use on the elevator and then finally reached the overgrown Piranha Plant. Mario engaged Petey Piranha in battle, during the battle, Petey Piranha attempted to attack Mario by spitting gooey balls at him, attacking from above, and spinning into him. After several hits, Mario freed Kersti from Petey's stomach and then finished off Petey Piranha retrieving the Royal Sticker from his head to add to the collection.

Encounter at Sunbeam Plains

Petey Piranha Vietnam Attack

Petey Piranha comes back for more in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. This time, he is found residing at the Sunbeam Plains. When Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario reach the end of the area, Bowser and Paper Bowser arrive revealing that they have kidnapped Princess Peach and Paper Princess Peach and send Petey Piranha to deal with the heroes. Petey Piranha put up a very good fight and used some brutal attacks, but the Mario Bros. and Paper Mario were too powerful and bested him yet again. Upon Petey's defeat, the heroes continued onward chasing the two Bowsers. Later on, Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario battle Petey Piranha's long lost paper counterpart Paper Petey Piranha.

Statistics

For Petey Piranha's in-game
statistics, click here.

Timeline

For information on Petey Piranha's
appearances, click here.
Game Role Year Console Notes
Super Mario Sunshine Boss 2002 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Unlockable playable character 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Unlockable playable character 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Pinball Land Boss 2004 Game Boy Advance
Mario Power Tennis Unlockable playable character 2004 Nintendo GameCube
Yakuman DS Unlockable playable character 2005 Nintendo DS
Mario Superstar Baseball Unlockable playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Super Princess Peach Boss 2005 Nintendo DS
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Boss 2005 Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros. Boss 2006 Nintendo DS
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 Non-playable character 2006 Nintendo DS
Mario Strikers Charged Unlockable playable character 2007 Wii
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Boss, trophy, sticker 2008 Wii
Mario Kart Wii Cameo 2008 Wii
Mario Super Sluggers Playable character 2008 Wii
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis Unlockable playable character 2009 Wii
Mario Sports Mix Non-playable character 2010 Wii
Paper Mario: Sticker Star Boss 2012 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 10 Boss 2015 Wii U
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Boss 2015 Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Boss 2015 Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft: Wii U Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2016 Wii U
Mario Party: Star Rush Boss 2016 Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2017 Nintendo Switch
Mario Party: The Top 100 Non-playable character 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2018 New Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft (Bedrock version) Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2018 Nintendo Switch
Mario Tennis Aces Boss, playable character (update) 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Non-playable character, Spirit 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario 3D All-Stars Boss 2020 Nintendo Switch
Dr. Mario World Playable character (update) 2021 iOS / Android
Mario Party Superstars Non-playable character 2021 Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Tour Playable character 2022 iOS/Android

Gallery

To view Petey Piranha's
image gallery, click here.

Trivia

  • Dino Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy greatly resembles Petey Piranha.
  • It is unknown, but Petey Piranha may be native to the Beanbean Kingdom. In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, a Beanbean Piranha Plant known as a Piranha Bean appeared, which appears to be the same type of Piranha Plant as Petey.
  • Although Petey Piranha isn't in a Mario Party game, before they made Wiggler's Garden in Mario Party DS, they were thinking of Petey's Greenhouse. The story was that one Piranha Plant that acts as a boss is one of the many others that has betrayed him. Petey would make his official Mario Party debut in the tenth game where he is a boss.
  • In Super Mario Sunshine, in either of the missions that you face Petey Piranha if you time a ground pound just right when he is down you can glitch the physics engine and you will be inside of his belly. Escaping him requires jumping, although it will hurt Mario.
  • In both Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, Petey is the only character who does not use a bat/glove or any item at all to hit/catch the ball, as he uses his leaf-like arm when he is batting.
  • He was created by an error when trying to make a Piranha Plant.
  • He was scrapped from New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
  • The only appearance, so far, where Petey Piranha spoke intelligible language was in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, although he spoke one line and under the influence of a Royal Sticker.
  • In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Petey Piranha's voices were the recycled voices of Wiggler from Super Mario Sunshine.


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