Volatile Dweevil
Appears in	Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Mandarachnia explodus
Family	Dweevil
Areas	None
Caves	Subterranean Complex,Shower Room,Submerged Castle,Hole of Heroes
Challenge Mode stages	Concrete Maze,Cave of Pain,Bully Den
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Self-destructs

TheVolatile Dweevil (サクレショイグモ^?, lit.: "Exploding Carrying Spider") is anenemy inPikmin 2. At first glance, Volatile Dweevils appear to bebomb-rocks with legs, but are actuallyDweevils that have picked up bomb-rocks, much like how other members of the Dweevil family pick uptreasures and corpses. Unlike other members of that family, Volatile Dweevils are known toonly carry bomb-rocks and are never seen without one.

Volatile Dweevils are roulette options in2-Player Battle. When activated, a Volatile Dweevil drops onto the opponent player and begins to detonate. It is best to use this power-up when the opponent is preoccupied with many tasks.

While the species is absent fromPikmin 4, other Dweevil species can be encountered carrying Bomb Rocks. Functionally, the only notable difference is the presence of the Dweevil's recoverable corpse after the explosion. Aesthetically, these Bomb wielding Dweevils do not sit down when idle like the Volatile Dweevil does. Killing such a Dweevil before it can set off the Bomb Rock allows the player to collect the Bomb Rock as their own.

Stats[edit]

Behavior[edit]

In terms of gameplay, Volatile Dweevils are more-so hazards than traditional enemies. They can unexpectedly drop from the ceiling and are often found falling near treasures, making them a big threat towards any Pikmin attempting to retrieve the treasure. Once near enough to a leader or Pikmin, it will begin to pursue them.

After a few uninterrupted seconds of chasing its target, thebomb-rock on its back will activate and begin a countdown until it explodes. The countdown can triggered early by attacking the creature, most reliably triggered via apunch. Once the bomb-rock explodes, the Dweevil will die, leaving behind no corpse. AnyPikmin caught within the explosion's radius will also be killed. Additionally, if the Dweevil ends up near any otherenemies, the explosion will deal great damage to them. The explosion is capable of killing smaller creatures in one blow, likeDwarf Bulborbs.

If the Volatile Dweevil's target escapes its range of interest, which is particularly easy for a leader with theRush Boots upgrade), then it will switch it target to the next closest leader or Pikmin. If no targets are nearby the Volatile Dweevil, it will go into a dormant state, lowering its head to the ground. At this point, it looks similar to a bomb-rock, though with the differences of it wobbling in place, and its thin legs still being visible. The creature will only get back up when approached once again by a leader or Pikmin.

Locations[edit]

Caves[edit]

• Subterranean Complex
  • Eight can be seen on sublevel 6.
  • One, and an indefinite amount, can be seen on sublevel 7.
• Shower Room
  • One can be seen on sublevel 6.
• Submerged Castle
  • Five can be seen on sublevel 4.
• Hole of Heroes
  • Five can be seen on sublevel 3.

Challenge Mode[edit]

• Concrete Maze
  • Thirty-six can be seen on sublevel 2.
• Cave of Pain
  • Six can be seen on sublevel 1.
• Bully Den
  • Two can be seen on sublevel 1.

Strategy[edit]

Volatile Dweevils attack by igniting thebomb-rock on their head and walking towards leaders and their Pikmin, attempting to include them in the blast radius. If you can see one in the open, neutralizing the threat is quite simple; simply walking near it with a leader will prompt it to ignite the bomb-rock, at which point you can simply run away and leave it to detonate itself on its own. If needed, apunch from one of the leaders can activate its bomb-rock earlier.

Volatile Dweevils are at their most dangerous when they drop from the ceiling as an ambush. In these situations, it is best to drop what you were doing, and corral any and all nearby Pikmin away from the creature. Several of these 'trap' Dweevils only drop if Pikmin are nearby; if a floor is trapped with a large number of them, such asthe Subterranean Complex's fifth sublevel, a viable option is to grab a single Pikmin, keep holding it, and run around the floor to drop and detonate every Dweevil, although bear in mind that a few Dweevils will only drop if nearby Pikmin are carrying objects.

White Pikmin are the only type of Pikmin capable of outrunning a Volatile Dweevil while carrying, allowing for a relatively effortless escort of an object through territory the creatures occupy. For the least chance of risk, they should preferably beflowered, and as many of them should be on a given carriable object as possible. If in a pinch, a directslam from aPurple Pikmin can be used to detonate a Volatile Dweevil's bomb-rock early, potentially allowing you to kill the creature early before it can reach any Pikmin out of range of your whistle.

If you are unable to flee, using a lone leader or Pikmin as bait will be your best bet, as they can distract any approaching Dweevils, making them stay in place. To avoid them taking damage or dying, recalling them back when the bomb-rock's timer reaches about a quarter is recommended. A less committal alternative is simply having a leader run under the Volatile Dweevil's legs and back, as this will briefly keep it in place as it turns to try and face the leader.

Volatile Dweevils are immune to most conventional attacks unless they are affected byultra-bitter spray, which allows them to be killed with little risk. Petrifying them also pauses the bomb-rock detonation timer for the effect's duration, allowing for an easy escape in an emergency.

Notes

Olimar's notes

 GameCube

 Wii

Louie's notes

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide[edit]

Technical information[edit]

Other information[edit]

• Size: Leg span:54mm, as per thee-card
• Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #41

Naming[edit]

See also:Dweevil family#Naming.

• Common name: Volatile Dweevil. "Volatile" means "something that can blow up all of a sudden", which fits the Volatile Dweevil's explosive tendencies.
• Japanese nickname:サクレショイグモ^?, lit.: "Exploding Carrying Spider".
• Japanese name:セオイカナエグモ^?, lit.: "CarryingDing Spider". It is shared with theFiery,Anode,Hydro,Iceblown,Munge andVenom Dweevils.
• Scientific name:Mandarachnia explodus.Explodus is a corruption of "explode".
• Internal names: Internally, this enemy is calledbombotakara, which is the same name used for all dweevils, but starting with "bomb".
• Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サクレショイグモ? Sakure Shoi Gumo	Exploding Carrying Spider
Dutch	Explosieve tooiwagen	Explosive Dweevil
French (NoA)	Araknéak volatil	Volatile dweevil
French (NoE)	Araknéak Volatil (GameCube and Wii) Araknéak volatil (Switch)	Volatile Dweevil (GameCube and Wii) Volatile dweevil (Switch)
German	Granatarak	Portmanteau of "Granate" (grenade) and "Arak" (the German name for the dweevil familiy)
Korean	폭탄업어거미 Pogtan-Eob-Eogeomi	Bomb Carrying Spider
Spanish	Bombaraña	Portmanteau of "bomba" (bomb) and "araña" (spider)

Gallery[edit]

• 

  A Volatile Dweevil chasingCaptain Olimar. The Dweevil's black head is visible here.

• 

  A Volatile Dweevil about to explode in thePiklopedia.

• 

  The Volatile Dweevil, and the bomb it carries, falling from the ceiling. The bomb and the dweevil fall separately, so the Volatile Dweevil's body can briefly be seen unobscured.

• 

  The Piklopedia icon of the Volatile Dweevil inthe Nintendo Switch version ofPikmin 2.

• 

  The Volatile Dweevil'se-card, #42 (13^th yellow card).

Trivia[edit]

• In this enemy'sPiklopedia entry, petrifying the creature with anultra-bitter spray just as it breaks free from being petrified by another spray makes it possible to freeze it and itsbomb-rock separately. It shares this trait with theWaterwraith, which similarly can be frozen separately from its rollers with good timing inPikmin 2.
  • If sufficiently agitated by repeatedly petrifying it in this matter while throwingpikpik carrots, it will eventually ignite its bomb-rockand detonate. If performed on the Japanese Gamecube version, this will crash the game.

See also[edit]

• Careening Dirigibug
• Skutterchuck

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
• Dweevil family
• Pikmin 2 enemies
• Pikmin 2 exclusive enemies
• Explosion enemies
• Subterranean Complex
• Hole of Heroes
• Submerged Castle
• Shower Room
• 2-Player Battle
• Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode