Piranha Plant Challenge

Piranha Plant Challenge in Mario Tennis Fever

Piranha Plant Challenge is a special game mode in the Mario Tennis series. The Ink Showdown Special Game from Mario Tennis Open, and the Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Ancient Trial versions of the Sure Shot Challenge from Mario Tennis Aces are similar to this mode.

History

Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)

A Piranha Challenge in Mario Tennis

Piranha Plant Challenge first appears in Mario Tennis, where it is called Piranha Challenge. During a match, three Piranha Plants behind the opponent's side of the court randomly spit balls one at a time. For each ball, the player must hit it past an opponent. If the opponent cannot return the ball, the player is then awarded a point. A ball returned by the opponent is no longer in play. The opponent player stays mostly in the center of the net. There are five courts available for the challenge: the default Hard, Clay, Grass and Composition courts, as well as the Piranha Court, unlocked if a perfect score of fifty points is achieved on this challenge.

Each character has an associated rival in this mode:

Player character	Opponent		Player character	Opponent
Mario	Luigi		Wario	Waluigi
Luigi	Daisy		Waluigi	Paratroopa
Peach	Mario		Daisy	Birdo
Baby Mario	DK		Toad	Peach
Yoshi	Baby Mario		Birdo	Yoshi
DK	Toad		Bowser	Boo
Paratroopa	Bowser		Boo	Wario
DK Jr	DK		Shy Guy	Bowser
Alex	Harry		Nina	Kate
Harry	Alex		Kate	Nina

Mario Tennis Fever

The challenge returns as a Score Challenge in Mario Tennis Fever, with a few changes. There is now only one Piranha Plant, who moves randomly between three pipes before spitting a ball. The player must now achieve the goal score before three misses. Missing the ball or having the opponent successfully return it count as misses. The Piranha Plant can also occasionally spit Fever Shots, such as Ice Shots, Mud Shots, Ty-foo Shots and Freezing Shots. There are four difficulties available, all four played on Academy Courts. Piranha Plant can be unlocked as a playable character by beating the Advanced difficulty, and the Red Yoshi alternate color can be unlocked by earning Rank S in Score Attack.

Difficulty	Score goal	Academy Court	Opponent	Alternate opponent
Beginner	20 points	Wood Court	Shy Guy	Koopa Troopa
Intermediate	25 points	Carpet Court	Toadette	Luma
Advanced	30 points	Sand Court	Waluigi	Wario
Score Attack	Their own highscore (initially 20)	Sand Court	Luigi	Daisy

The game's Trial Towers mode also features several Piranha Plant Challenge trials: The Tower of Growth has the Piranha Plant Lob Challenge on the 6th floor, the Tower of Resolve has Waluigi's Piranha Plant Challenge on the 7th floor, and the Tower of Trickery has the Frying Pan vs. Piranha Plant Challenge on the 6th floor.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	パックンチャレンジ Pakkun charenji	Piranha challenge