Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha is an abnormally large Piranha Plant. His first appearance was in Super Mario Sunshine, and since then he has gained much popularity and has since become a regular boss in Mario titles. He also consistently appears in sports games and spin-offs. Petey Piranha is known to be a loyal follower of Bowser and is a high-ranking member of his army. It is quite possible that he is the ruler of Piranha Plants. He has multiple special powers that set him apart from normal Piranha Plants, including spitting Goop and flying.

The First Fight
In the mushroom kingdom's past, shown in 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. Petey's attacks include diving into the sand and ejecting rocks 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 being hit by multiple attacks, he falls into the sand, being buried up to his head. His other main attack, while grounded, involves 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, as the Shroobs may have brought him from the future to aid in their conquest of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Battle in Bianco Hills
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. 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, covering the landscape with Goop. When Mario faced him on top of the Big Windmill, Petey Piranha's enormous weight made the windmill's roof collapse, causing Mario and him to fall into the windmill. Inside, Petey Piranha attacked Mario by spitting Goop at him, and also headbutting him if he came too close. Mario, however, shot water into his mouth with FLUDD, causing his stomach to become filled with water and making him fall to the ground. Mario then Ground Pounded Petey Piranha's belly three times, causing him to dissolve into Goop, and giving Mario a Shine Sprite.

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 enourmous arms to fly, and launched an attack from the sky. Mario had to spray water or shoot Poinks at him, causing him to fall to the ground. Then, in the same manner as the previous battle, Mario 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 was not seen for the remainder of the game.

Petey Piranha Returns
Even though he was assumed to be defeated, Petey Piranha reappeared as a boss in Super Princess Peach, defending Bowser's Villa from Princess Peach, and keeping a Toad hostage. In this game, he is labeled under the name Boss P. Plant, and is the first boss of the game, being the boss of Ladida Plains. When Peach sees Petey, the overgrown plant swallows the Toad, who is trapped in a ball, and the princess must defeat Petey to rescue the poor mushroom resident. His attacks were shooting sound waves, pushing back Peach and, if she is using a vibe power, ending it, shooting Nipper Plants, which could be absorbed for vibe, and shooting one shockwave to the left and one to the right, which could defeat Nipper Plants if there were any not defeated by the princess. 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. After 3 hits, Petey used his own vibe, Rage. Petey could bounce around, making Peach's attack tough, and additionally shooting 2 shockwaves to each side. It is notable that the method of defeating him is very similar to Super Mario Sunshine, however Peach needed to hit him 5 times, not three like Mario needed to in Super Mario Sunshine, and that, when he fell over, Peach just needed to stomp his navel. Mario needed to ground pound it.

Petey Piranha in the Ice World
In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha was 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 the Putter
Petey made his first appearance in a spin-off game in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. In this game, he was an unlockable character, obtainable by completing all side games (excluding the Birdie Challenge) on beginner, intermediate and expert. His large size made him the most powerful golfer in the game, capable of hitting the longest distance and launching the ball with a higher trajectory than any other character. When he hits the ball with his club, a golden streak follows the ball, like the tail of a comet. Like the other unlockable characters, his star character was available from the start.

Piranha Racing
Petey Piranha also appeared as an unlockable racer in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with King Boo as his partner. The pair were unlocked by beating the Star Cup in Mirror Mode. Unlike the other racers who had their own special items, both Petey and King Boo had no special items of their own. Instead, they had the ability to use any special item in the entire game. Petey Piranha's personal kart, unlocked at the same time as him, is the Piranha Pipes, a vehicle assembled out of the Piranha Plant's trademark, green tubing. As with all heavyweight racers, he could only race in the Heavy karts.

While Petey Piranha does not appear in Mario Kart Wii, a kart that resembles him, named the Piranha Prowler, is available for use by large characters, unlocked by placing first in the 50cc Special Cup.

Who is That?
There was also a deformed version of him in Mario Pinball Land. It had no feet, a long neck, a more outward mouth, and a round body. He appeared as the first boss in the game, in the Grassy Greens area. Before Mario could face him, Mario had to earn enough stars to open the Star Door at the entrance of the windmill. Once he had opened the door, Petey Piranha was fought. Mario had to hit the body three times while distracting the head to beat it.

Power Player
In Mario Power Tennis, he appeared as an unlockable character alongside Fly Guy, Paratroopa and Wiggler. He could be unlocked by beating the two Special Tournaments- Fire and Thunder- in Doubles. In this game, he appeared once again as a power character; therefore, his shots traveled faster than usual, but he was slower than most other characters. His Power Shots were Sludge Racket and Piranha Swingback. The first involved swallowing his racket, puking it up, and spitting it at the ball at a high speed, while the latter involved him spitting a Piranha Plant in the Generator near the ball, which would then hit it back to the other side of the court. His default Doubles partner was Wiggler, who was a Defense type character, making them an effective team.

Hard Hitter
Petey made an appearance in the first game of the Mario Baseball series, Mario Superstar Baseball, as a team member of Wario's in Challenge Mode. In this game he was a Power type character, the strongest in the game with a batting stat of 9/10, tied with Bowser. He was also the slowest runner, with a running stat of 1/10, tied with Red Pianta, Yellow Pianta and Bowser. In this game, he had good chemistry with Birdo, Donkey Kong and King Boo, but he had bad chemistry with Princess Daisy, Princess Peach, Noki and Pianta. It is unknown why he had good chemistry with Birdo and Donkey Kong, and why he had bad chemistry with Daisy. He had the ability to Body Check, to save him in tight pinches. He can body check any other character, even Bowser, with ease. He also has the strongest throwing arm in the game, and he can't get body checked when on a base. He reappears in Mario Super Sluggers again as a Power Character. However, unlike the previous installment, he was a starter character, although he still retained his ability to Body Check. In Challenge Mode, he appeared in Peach Ice Garden in an empty flower pot. If Princess Peach uses her special ability, Petey Piranha appears. To get him to join, the player must hit the ball into the yellow circle five times. In this game he has compatability with Birdo, King Boo, Blooper, and Wiggler, but he has bad chemistry with Pianta.

The Daisy Garden
Two Petey Piranha-like monsters appear in the Daisy Garden court as the baskets in Mario Hoops 3 on 3 and try to keep anyone from making a slam dunk. They can occasionally fall asleep, making dunks possible during this time. If a team dunks three times in the first half without letting their opponents score, a blue seed will be in a ? panel. If the player takes it, and wins the game, a secret court called Malboro Garden becomes playable. Because these "Peteys" have grey mouths, they may instead be Piranha Beans, which resemble Petey greatly.

Petey Piranha Plays Soccer
Petey Piranha appeared as an unlockable captain in the Wii game Mario Strikers Charged. He was a Power player, making him good at tackling and shooting; however, he could not pass or run very well. His Super Ability, Mud Slinger!, causes him to spit mud on the ground, which slows everyone but him down. He can use this move up to 4 times in one Super Ability. Petey Piranha's Deke involves rapidly banging his head backwards and forwards to prevent opponents from stealing the ball. His Mega Strike is difficult to block as well. In this move, Petey is enclosed in a large bud, while a stem sprouts from the ground and takes him above the stage. He is the final unlockable character in the game, unlocked by beating the final cup, the Striker Cup, which involves beating Petey in the Stormship Stadium stage. Petey is not shown in the opening cinematics of the game.

An Enemy Again
Petey is the first boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When Bowser left the Mushroom Planet to compete in Super Smash Bros, he brought the Koopa Troop with him. As Petey is a member of the Koopa Troop he went with Bowser. After Bowser joined the Subspace army in its attempts to conquer the Super Smash Bros. World, Petey and the Ancient Minister led an attack on the Midair Stadium where Mario and Kirby were having a friendly brawl. He captures Peach and Zelda, who were watching, in cages, and prepares to face off against Kirby after blasting Mario away with a cannonball (before Mario could destroy a Subspace Bomb that had been dropped by the Ancient Minister). Kirby must attack the cages to weaken them, saving one of the princesses. However, only one can be saved, and the other princess will be changed back into a trophy by Wario, who then steals it. It is presumed that Petey survived and returned to the Mushroom Planet.

Physical Description
Petey Piranha could be recognized as a Piranha Plant, but looks a little different from a normal one. According to Mario Superstar Baseball, Petey Piranha got his looks from a mutation of an unknown source, possibly the Shroobs. He has leaf-like arms and stubby legs unlike normal Piranha Plants. He also has a ring of flowers around his head (which could be a crown) and is bigger than most Piranha Plants. He has a large belly button, which is his weak point, but is only visible if his stomach is inflated (usually with a large amount of water). Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was the first game to portray Petey Piranha with a tongue, which was also seen in New Super Mario Bros., Mario Strikers Charged and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

It should be noted that several other "Giant Piranha Plant" characters appear throughout the Mario series, many of which bear a resemblance to Petey. These include:


 * Naval Piranha: A boss from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, she went on to make two more appearances before being seemingly replaced by Petey (she appeared in Mario Party Advance, where Petey's name was mentioned, but the two characters have never interacted).


 * The Piranha Bean and the Mom Piranha from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga


 * The Lava Piranha from Paper Mario


 * The Big Bungee Piranha from Yoshi's Island DS.


 * The Dino Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy

Personality
Petey Piranha is a stereotypical big, tall and strong character with a tiny brain. Even though Petey Piranha isn't very smart, he's still very skillful at sports such as golf. He also seems to like taking naps, and gets frustrated when someone suddenly wakes him up. This trait is a possible reference to the sleeping Piranha Plants from Super Mario 64. He is also known for being very hungry, and he seems to be omnivorous. Despite his low intelligence, he frequently aims to destroy Mario. However, this may be due to the fact that he is simply hungry, and he sees Mario as a nice snack. He seems to simply attack anyone who gets in his way. However, in Mario Power Tennis, in Petey Piranha's victory ending, instead of attacking Mario and the others he simply took the Trophy and flew away. His exact motives towards Mario and his friends is unknown. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! seems to hint that Petey Piranha has some sort of a relationship with King Boo, while Mario Power Tennis partners him with Wiggler.

Abilities


Petey Piranha's leaves double as wings, granting him the ability to fly, something normal Piranha Plants cannot do. In Super Mario Sunshine he could spit goop from his mouth and whip up Tweesters with his leaves. He could also headbutt Mario. This attack normally caused no damage; however, occasionally players would get knocked back far enough to lose health. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time he could dig into sand and spit out a Piranha Plant seed which would sprout and attack the players. In Super Princess Peach he could make sound waves, shock waves and spit Nipper Plants.

When Petey Piranha hits the ball with his club in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour it shoots across the course in a golden streak. When he's playing baseball, he catches and throws the ball with his mouth, but when he's batting he hits the ball with his leaf-like arm. His sweet spot is the vein of his arm.

Mario Superstar Baseball

 * Type: Power
 * Starting Team Captain: Wario
 * Status: Player
 * Stats:
 * '''Batting: 9/10
 * '''Pitching: 5/10
 * '''Fielding: 4/10
 * '''Running: 1.5/10
 * Player Chemistry: Donkey Kong, Birdo, King Boo
 * Bad Chemistry: Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Pianta, Noki
 * Special Talents: Body Check
 * Bio: A mutation created this boss of the Piranha Plants. Petey can fly in the air for a short while, flapping the leaves that he has developed into primitive arms. When Petey spits a ball out of his toothy mouth, it is lightning-fast.

''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

 * Partner: King Boo
 * Class: Heavyweight
 * Kart: Piranha Pipes
 * Special Item: Random
 * Bio: Petey Piranha can grab any special item, allowing him to abuse the rest of the field. To unlock him, finish the Mirror Mode Star Cup with a 1st place win.

''Mario Power Tennis

 * Type: Power
 * Defensive Power Shot: Piranha Swingback
 * Offensive Power Shot: Sludge Racket

Mario Strikers Charged

 * Type: Power
 * Super Ability: Mud Slinger!
 * Deke: Shakes his head to repel opponents.

Stats

 * Movement: 3
 * Shooting: 10
 * Passing: 3
 * Defense: 10

Official Artwork
''

Trivia

 * In Super Mario Galaxy, there is a boss in Good Egg Galaxy named Dino Piranha who greatly resembles Petey Piranha, but is more ghastly and lizard-like, as well as a Fiery Dino Pirahna in Melty Molten Galaxy.
 * Petey Piranha is offered as an answer to one of Pokey's riddles in Mario Party Advance — specifically, "What golfs, parties, and rides on a kart?" Mario is the correct answer, however, as Petey never appeared in a Mario Party game at that time.
 * In a video of Super Smash Bros. Brawl that was shown at the Fall 2007 Nintendo Press Conference, Mario can briefly be seen fighting Petey in Kirby's place. This was changed in the final version for unknown reasons. However, Mario is allowed to fight Petey if the player replay the level has Mario.
 * In Mario Super Sluggers, Petey is a playable from the start.