Pirate's Grotto

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Pirate's Grotto
PMTTYD Pirate's Grotto Talking To Crowd.png
First appearance Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Greater location Keelhaul Key
Ruler Cortez
Inhabitants Bullet Bills, Bulky Bob-ombs, Embers, Parabuzzies, Lava Bubbles

Pirate's Grotto is the fourth major dungeon in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It is a long area which Mario and his team must go through to find the Pirate King Cortez and receive the Sapphire Star. Before Mario and his teammates can reach Cortez, they have to rescue a bunch of stranded Toads, along with Francesca and Frankie.

The Pirate's Grotto is a huge series of caverns and streams on the edge of Keelhaul Key. In some areas waves roll by, and debris from ships can be seen in the background. Every area shows sign that pirates have been there; bottles, wood planks, crates, barrels, etc. Cortez's ship, the Black Skull is docked here. The Boat Mode transformation is learned here.

Enemies[edit]

Main article: List of enemy formations in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Pirate's Grotto
Boat Mode from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Boat Mode.

Items[edit]

Item Icon Location
Black Key Sprite of a Black Key from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In the leftmost screen in the south area, it's dropped by an Ember that appear after talking to the black chest.
Couple's Cake Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door In the storeroom in the left of the north area, it's dropped by Goom Goom when Mario takes on his trouble.
Defend Plus P (International)

Damage Dodge P (Japanese)
Sprite of the Defend Plus P badge in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Sprite of the Damage Dodge P badge in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
In the big stair room in the right of the north area, there is a river to the north of the stairs. To the right of the river source is a chest box with this badge. Accessible using Boat Mode.
Gate Handle Sprite of the Gate Handle in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In the leftmost screen of the entrance area, it's on top of a ship floating in the south.
Grotto Key Sprite of the Grotto Key from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door In the storeroom in the left of the north area, it's on top of the north ledge.
P-Down, D-Up Sprite of the P-Down, D-Up badge in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In the leftmost screen of the south area, it's in a chest in the sunken ship with the black curse box.
Ruin Powder Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door In the entrance scene, it's behind the southwest barrel.
Sapphire Star Sprite of the Sapphire Star in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door On the Black Skull (Cortez's ship), it is given to Mario after he defeats Cortez.
Shine Sprite A Shine Sprite from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door In the spike room in the left of the first areas, it's on top of the far side of the ship floating in the left.
In the storeroom in the left of the north area, it's on top of the barrels in the high place on the left.
In the big stair room in the right of the north area, it's above the last few stairs. Accessible with a hidden block.
In the room with boats and barrels in the middle of the south area, it's high in the northeast corner. Accessible with a hidden block below.
In the room with spikes and waves in the right of the south area, it's to the right of the north entrance. Requires Koops.
Star Piece A sprite of a Star Piece. In the spike room in the left of the first areas, it's on a small island in the south.
In the storeroom in the left of the north area, it's inside a barrel in the high place on the left.
In the waterfall room of the north area, it's under a panel near the door to the right of the waterfall source.
In the Buzzy Beetle room in the right of the north area, it's under a panel at the center of the room.

Hidden ? Blocks[edit]

Main article: List of hidden blocks in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Item Description Image Image (block revealed)
1 Coin In the area with the second Save Block, at the second step from the top, Mario must use Koops to hit the hidden ? Block underneath the Shine Sprite. Screenshot of Mario at a hidden ? Block location in Pirate's Grotto, in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Screenshot of Mario using Koops to reveal a hidden "stepping stone" ? Block in Pirate's Grotto, in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Coin Block In the area just before the corridor with Bill Blasters, there's a Shine Sprite on the right side. There's a hidden ? Block underneath it that Mario can reveal by hitting it with his Hammer. Screenshot of Mario at a hidden ? Block location in Pirate's Grotto, in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Screenshot of Mario using his Hammer to reveal a hidden "stepping stone" Coin ? Block in Pirate's Grotto, in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Characters found[edit]

Area Tattles[edit]

  • "This is the entrance to Pirate's Grotto. There's gotta be something good in there. Considering how hard it is to get in, there sure as heck BETTER be!"
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. Looks like we can go down from here... Aside from jump pads, there's not much else here."
  • "Yikes! Talk about unsteady footing! You could totally wipe out easily here. Oh, and watch out for those spikes that pop out, OK? They... would probably hurt. At least they pop out with predictable timing. We can figure out a way across."
  • "There's a Bill Blaster at the end of this corridor. Someone really wants to keep us out! You know what? Who cares! CAN'T STOP US, SUCKERS! Let's get going, Mario."
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. Pirates must have built the bridges and sluice gate here. There's also a waterfall flowing from above. Careful not to lose your footing."
  • "It's totally weird to walk around down here... I mean, PIRATES lived here... The scourge of the seas... I wonder where their souls are wandering now..."
  • "This is a storage area... Looks like the pirates left tons of stuff here. The switch in front there lifts and lowers cargo. Maybe Bobbery could alter the timing of when the switch gets activated.
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. Uh... You can probably tell, but this room looks empty."
  • "Watch out for those spikes! Yeah, the thing about spikes is...they really hurt. Forget using an ally's power here... Trust yourself and let's roll! You know what I mean!"
  • "Jumping around on barrels and sinking ship fragments... This is pretty gnarly. So let's take it easy and not get too careless, OK?"
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. This is a looooong corridor. There's a Bill Blaster at the end of this corridor, too. They don't want us here!"
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. There's a sunken ship here. Something good inside? 'Cause that's how it always is in video games...right?"
  • "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. Lots of sunken ships floating around here, huh? Hey, by the way, Mario, you can cancel Boat Mode or Plane Mode by pressing B. I'm like, the tip MASTER! That's a super-convenient one, too, so don't forget!"
  • "This is the deepest part of Pirate's Grotto. One part of this area's covered in fog. Seems like maybe all of the ships that capsized near here ended up in this cavern. I wonder if Cortez's ship was the first to end up down in these caverns..."
  • "This is the inside of Cortez's ship. Cortez must be inside that next room, huh?"
  • "This is Cortez's room, all right. I guess you'd call this the captain's cabin. Sure is a lot of treasure in here... You could live many lives of luxury with this... And I'll tell you, lots of this stuff has archaeological value, as well... You think maybe we could pocket a little bit without Cortez noticing?"
RogueportPetalburgPetal MeadowsHooktail CastleThe Great TreeBoggly WoodsPirate's GrottoKeelhaul KeyTwilight TownTwilight TrailFahr OutpostCreepy SteepleMoonX-Naut FortressGlitzvillePoshley SanctumRiverside StationPoshley HeightsA map of Rogueport and the surrounding areas visited during Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Click an area to open the relevant article.

In-game map description[edit]

  • A cave where pirates once hid out. It's quite spacious inside, and even has sea-water flowing into it. It's filled with the ruined shells of wrecked ships and other flotsam.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese 海賊のどうくつ
Kaizoku no Dōkutsu
Pirate's Cave

French Grotte Pirate
Pirate's Grotto
German Piratenhöhle
Pirates Cave
Italian Grotta dei Pirati
Pirate's Grotto
Spanish Cueva de los Piratas
Pirates' Cave