Gatling Groink
Appears in	Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Megaplod calibersi
Family	Unknown
Areas	Wistful Wild
Caves	Subterranean Complex,Cavern of Chaos,Dream Den
Challenge Mode stages	Collector's Room,Three Color Training,Secret Testing Range,Sniper Room
2-Player Battle stages	Rusty Gulch
Attacks	Fire explosive mortars

TheGatling Groink (タマコキン^?, lit.: "Bullet Child Goldfish") is anenemy inPikmin 2. Gatling Groinks are biomechanical creatures similar in size to anadult Bulborb. They resemble rotund goldfish, including skin that resembles fish-scales and sport the typical orange and white coloring of goldfish. They further have two slender legs that end in web- or fin-like feet, what appears to be windshields between their two forward-facing eyes, two upward exhaust pipes, rotatable fin-like tails, and mouth plates which covers both their undersides and their retractable cannons. The cannons fire mortar rounds and are placed where a fish's mouth would typically be. The origins of the mechanical parts are quite vague, much like theMan-at-Legs andFireflinger Groink.

Gatling Groinks can usually be seen patrolling caves and are known to seek out the activeleader and hisPikmin. A different variation of the groink is found stationary on top of hard-to-reach towers, giving it a wide attack range, which is especially annoying when they are in possession of a treasure and cannot merely be avoided. There are hence, two behaviors, one for walking around, shooting at short range, one for standing still and shooting enemies below at long range. This is evidenced by the fact that if a tower-standing Gatling Groink is taken down and left to be revived, it will not move from its spot. When roaming a metal-type sublevel, it is entirely possible that the Gatling Groink may walk off into the abyss, most commonly in sublevel 7 of theSubterranean Complex.

They attack by extending cannons from their mouths and firing either one large or three small mortars (with a small duration between firings). When the shells hit the ground, they explode and scatter any of the Pikmin in range and kill those at the absolute center of the blast for the large mortar. The 3-shot mortars have one deadly mortar which will kill Pikmin along the entire radius while the 2 others simply knock Pikmin away.

If used correctly and carefully, the Gatling Groink's cannon can be used to kill other enemies and even airborne enemies. To do this, the Gatling Groink must fire at the active leader while he is standing near or under an enemy. If this is done correctly, it should be able to kill most large ground enemies in three to four shots. The shells will not harm the Gatling Groink itself, however. It can also destroy every type ofhazard except forbomb-rocks. This can be used to the player's advantage by having it destroy the two poison gates in theWistful Wild.

Stats[edit]

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
10	20	12	× 7	1200[note 1]	0.36[note 2]

Notes

Olimar's notes

Louie's notes

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide[edit]

Strategy[edit]

The best method to attack it is tothrow Pikmin onto its sides and back, as the front has a protective shield. With Purple Pikmin, it is possible to throw them to the left or right of the protective shield while facing the enemy, and the Pikmin will stop after passing the shield and being on the creature's side to home-in on its body and attack there.

Certainly the most effective strategy is to pummel it with heavyPurple Pikmin, as each one carries a chance of stunning the creature, preventing it from fighting back. Once defeated, this beast will begin torevive over time, just as theSpotty Bulbear does, making it crucial to carry it to theOnion orResearch Pod immediately. If not, it will spring back to life within about two minutes, and then continue its attack. It is said inOlimar's notes that if its tail were incapacitated, it would be incapable of attacking, though this isn't the case in-game.

However, in theCavern of Chaos, they are accompanied by manyDwarf Red Bulborbs, in which case using anultra-bitter spray would be wise due to the Bulborbs. In the case of patrolling Gatling Groinks, it is also possible to attract the Groink's attention, and then move to a position in which a bottomless chasm is between the leader and the Groink. The Groink's stride is often high enough to step over the safety barriers that ordinarily stop leaders, Pikmin, and other monsters from falling into the chasms. In this case, the body will be irretrievable, although any treasures it may have been carrying will show up elsewhere on the sublevel. If two Gatling Groinks are near each other, it is possible to have one Groink kill the other by shooting it; the other Groink should then be killed withPurple Pikmin.

Another strategy is to use one lone leader as bait, to draw the Groink's attention, and then switch leaders and attack the distracted creature from behind. Idle leaders run about to try to avoid enemy attacks, so it's likely that the bait leader will suffer minimal damage from this strategy. Alternatively, the player can use theFive-man Napsack to make a leaderlie down directly in front of a roaming Gatling Groink. This causes the enemy to stand in place indefinitely as a result of being unable to lock on to the leader.

Against Groinks atop pillars,Yellow Pikmin are the most likely to reach them, but it is possible with other types depending on the height of the pillar. Since ultra-bitter sprays may have trouble reaching them, the decoy method is typically preferred. Placing a leader close to the base of the pillar will keep the Groink's attention, even when approached closely from behind. In some cases, such as the toybox themedsublevels, the pillar is slightly conical, and can potentially block the Groink's bullets – this allows the use of a Pikmin decoy, freeing up the second leader.

Note that using an ultra-bitter spray on a Gatling Groink that has already fired some shots will make the shots disappear.^[1] This is a good way to save Pikmin that would otherwise be on the receiving end.

Technical information[edit]

Free[edit]

Tower[edit]

Other information[edit]

• Size: Body length:118mm, as per thee-card
• Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #19

Naming[edit]

• Common name: Gatling Groink. The word "Gatling" is a reference to theGatling-type cannons in real life. The name "Groink" seems entirely made up; it is possible to extract the onomatopoeia for pig grunts, "oink", thus contracting "grunt" and "oink" to "Groink". Though it's difficult to see how pigs factor into the creature's design, the "grunt" component is found again in the German localization. "Groink" could also stem as an attempt at translating a possible play on words with "testicles" in the Japanese name (see below), wherein the translators kept the same thing as well as the "surplus"コ^? character.
• Japanese nickname:タマコキン^?. It translates to "Bullet Child Goldfish", referring to how it looks like a goldfish and fires bullets. The word "child" suggests it is a juvenile member of its species. Also possible is a wordplay onきんたま^?, which translates to "gold ball" and is a slang term for human testicles.
• Japanese name:テッポウコキン^?, lit.: "Gun Child Goldfish".
• Scientific name:Megaplod calibersi. It could be a corruption of themegapodes family of birds, though the similarity between the Groink and these birds are few; it is perhaps worth noting that the megapodes build mounds, and the Groink's signature placement in the game is also atop of a mound, or rather a form of pillar. It is possibly that the word "explode" was worked into the name as well due to the Groink's explosive attack.Calibersi seems to be a corruption of "caliber", a measure for the size of projectiles.
• Internal names: Internally, the creature is known asminihoudai, a combination of "mini" and砲台^?, which means "artillery battery". The namehoudai is already taken by theMan-at-Legs.
• Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	タマコキン? Tama Ko Kin	Bullet Child Goldfish
French	Bioméca	From "biomechanic"
German	Granatengrunzer	Grenade-Grunter
Italian	Groink armato	Armed Groink
Spanish (NoA)	Groink gatillante	Triggering groink

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Artwork of the Gatling Groink.

• 

  Alternate scan of the Gatling Groink's artwork.

• 

  The mortar blast of a Gatling Groink.

• 

  A Gatling Groink regenerating life.

• 

  A Gatling Groink in the Piklopedia.

• 

  Two Gatling Groinks in anunusedcave.

• 

  ThePiklopedia icon of the Gatling Groink inthe Nintendo Switch version ofPikmin 2.

• 

  The Gatling Groink'se-card, #20 (15^th yellow card).

Trivia[edit]

• The Gatling Groink and theSpotty Bulbear are the only enemies inPikmin 2 that canrevive after being defeated.
• In the Wistful Wild, if the Gatling Groink is in the end ofdaycutscene, it can actually shoot at the leaders and damage them. The leaders cannot be knocked down with this, however.
  • Its mortars can also damage enemies and even kill them very rarely, showing that if an enemy dies in the end of day cutscene their corpse vanishes.
• The whistling heard when Gatling Groink pellets are flying is a modified version of the same whistle inSuper Mario Sunshine whenBullet Bills are fired from cannons.^[2]

See also[edit]

• Fireflinger Groink
• Man-at-Legs
• Spotty Bulbear

References[edit]

Pikmin 2enemies

Red Bulborb • Hairy Bulborb • Orange Bulborb • Dwarf Red Bulborb • Snow Bulborb • Dwarf Orange Bulborb • Spotty Bulbear • Dwarf Bulbear • Bulborb Larva • Fiery Bulblax • Water Dumple • Bulbmin • Fiery Blowhog • Watery Blowhog • Armored Cannon Beetle Larva • Decorated Cannon Beetle • Puffy Blowhog • Withering Blowhog • Gatling Groink • Iridescent Flint Beetle • Iridescent Glint Beetle • Doodlebug • Female Sheargrub • Male Sheargrub • Shearwig • Cloaking Burrow-nit • Ravenous Whiskerpillar • Anode Beetle • Mitite • Hermit Crawmad • Swooping Snitchbug • Bumbling Snitchbug • Careening Dirigibug • Antenna Beetle • Lesser Spotted Jellyfloat • Greater Spotted Jellyfloat • Fiery Dweevil • Anode Dweevil • Hydro Dweevil • Munge Dweevil • Volatile Dweevil • Toady Bloyster • Yellow Wollyhop • Wollyhop • Wolpole • Creeping Chrysanthemum • Skitter Leaf • Unmarked Spectralids • Honeywisp • Mamuta • Breadbug • Empress Bulblax • Burrowing Snagret • Beady Long Legs • Emperor Bulblax • Giant Breadbug • Pileated Snagret • Man-at-Legs • Ranging Bloyster • Waterwraith • Segmented Crawbster • Raging Long Legs • Titan Dweevil

• Pikmin 2
• Unknown family
• Pikmin 2 enemies
• Pikmin 2 exclusive enemies
• Explosion enemies
• Enemy-harming enemies
• Reviving enemies
• Wandering enemies
• Wistful Wild
• Subterranean Complex
• Cavern of Chaos
• Dream Den
• Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode
• 2-Player Battle

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