Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha is a large mutant Piranha Plant who debuted in Super Mario Sunshine. Since then, he has become a recurring boss in the Mario series and has made frequent appearances in sports and spin-off games, occasionally as a playable character. He has multiple abilities that set him apart from other Piranha Plants, including spitting goop, flying using his leaf-like arms, and the ability to create tornadoes.

Petey Piranha is a loyal follower of Bowser, and it has been suggested in bios for Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Party: Star Rush, as well as by his Japanese name, Boss Packun, that he is the ruler of his kind, with "Packun Flower" being the Japanese name for the Piranha Plant. This is confirmed by the encyclopedia in Mario Party Superstars, in which he is stated to be the leader of the Piranha Plants.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Petey Piranha is stationed in Bianco Hills, where he covers the landscape with goop and resides on top of the Big Windmill. During the episode Road to the Big Windmill, while Mario is on the landscape in front of the windmill where the Gatekeeper is fought, Petey Piranha shoots goop at Mario from his perch. In the episode Down with Petey Piranha!, Mario makes his way to the Windmill to face Petey Piranha; their combined weight causes the windmill's roof to collapse as they both fall in.

Inside, Petey Piranha attacks Mario by spitting goop at him, and also headbutting him away if he comes too close. However, just as he is about to spray goop, Mario must shoot water into his mouth with FLUDD, filling his stomach and making him fall to the ground. Mario must then Ground Pound Petey Piranha's belly three times, causing him to dissolve into goop and give Mario a Shine Sprite. Petey Piranha appears once again in Petey Piranha Strikes Back, where he is snoozing on a cliff high above Bianco Hills. After Mario wakes him by blasting him with a Poink, Petey Piranha uses his enormous arms to fly and launches an attack from the sky. However, he cannot stay airborne for very long without struggling. Mario can spray water or shoot Poinks at him, both of which cause him to fall to the ground; then Mario must fill Petey Piranha's belly with water and Ground Pound it as before. However, if Mario is unable to Ground Pound Petey or he successfully spits goop, he can take to the skies again. On the ground, Petey Piranha not only attacks by spitting goop, but also by unleashing tornadoes. After being defeated, Petey Piranha once again dissolves into goop and is not seen for the remainder of the game.

Most of Petey's attacks have no effect on Mario, but the goop that he spits out hurts Mario if he stays on it for too long, and it can spawn Swoopin' Stus and Piranha Plants. However, if Mario ventures too close to Petey during the tornado attack, he will whack Mario with his wings and damage him.

The player can actually fight Petey Piranha before they complete the first episode of Bianco Hills. After the player defeats the Gatekeeper, the path to the windmill opens, allowing access to Petey. If Mario speaks to the Pianta standing at the windmill, he responds to the fact that he is skipping ahead, asking, "Whuzzah!? Whozat?! What're you doing over here? You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think? Isn't there something else you should do before coming here?" However, Petey Piranha's second appearance cannot be fought prior to Episode 5.

New Super Mario Bros.


In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha is the boss of World 5, the ice world. Many Piranha Plants appear in Petey's castle, a subtle hint that he is going to appear as the boss at the end. Before the fight, he is sleeping, but Bowser Jr. jumps on him, causing him to awaken. When he is confronted by Mario or Luigi, he attacks by flying up high, then dropping back down, attempting to crush Mario or Luigi beneath him with a move similar to the Ground Pound. Since the floor is made of slippery ice, after attacking, he slips and falls. Then, Mario or Luigi can attack him. After two hits, he starts his attack by jumping from side to side. If Mario defeats him using a Mini Mushroom, he can travel to World 7 instead of World 6. However, he is forced to Ground Pound him to inflict damage upon him when tiny. Once defeated, Petey Piranha attempts to get up while glowing a bright white light; he soon vanishes, revealing the key.

If the player has already beaten Petey Piranha once and decides to fight him again, Bowser Jr. will not be present, and he will wake up on his own instead.

Petey is the only boss of this game (other than Mega Goomba) who can be defeated in one hit with an item other than a Mega Mushroom, although with Petey, this requires precise timing. The player requires the Super Star from the Roulette Block. It must be grabbed when it bounces near the platform with the Big Piranha Plant. The player must then quickly run into the door and into Petey's room. When he starts flying, the player should jump into him before the Star's power runs out, and he will be defeated instantly.

Petey can also be defeated quickly with the Blue Shell: since he will be knocked over as soon as Mario or Luigi slide into him with the Blue Shell, he can be quickly and easily damaged.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Petey makes his first playable appearance in a spin-off game in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. In this game, he is an unlockable character, obtainable by completing all side games (excluding the Birdie Challenge) on beginner, intermediate, and expert. His large size makes 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. This means that he can easily hit over trees, but his shot is affected by wind more 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 is available when he is unlocked.

On the character select screen, Petey is sleeping, while other characters are all doing some sort of exercise/warm-up/stretch. His animations after completing a hole include him flying up high (eagle, albatross or hole-in one), laughing (birdie), doing the "wave" (par), slapping himself in the face, similar to Super Mario Sunshine if he gets hit by Mario (bogey); and spitting goop before falling down (double bogey or worse).

Mario Golf: World Tour
Though he is absent from Mario Golf: World Tour, there is a Petey Piranha Mii costume that players can unlock. It can be unlocked by completing a Costume Challenge in the Cheep Cheep Lagoon course. Additionally, there is also a Petey Piranha-themed golf club and ball available to buy.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Petey Piranha's first appearance in the Mario Kart series is in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Here, he serves as an unlockable racer, with King Boo as his partner. The pair is unlocked by beating the Star Cup in Mirror Mode. Unlike the other racers who have their own special items, both Petey and King Boo have no special items of their own. Instead, they have the ability to use any special item in the entire game, except for the Green Fireball and the Birdo's Egg. 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 can only race in the Heavy karts.

Notably, if Petey Piranha is selected, the camera will be slightly zoomed out during gameplay.

Mario Kart Wii
Petey Piranha was originally going to appear as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii, as there is an unused player mugshot of him. A kart that resembles him, the Piranha Prowler, is available for use by heavy characters, which can be unlocked by placing first in the 50cc Special Cup. If players are driving this kart and get a speed boost, cross the finish line, or get hit by an item, the mouth at the front of the kart moves. Additionally, Petey makes a cameo appearance on the billboard for "The Mushroom Moon" in Moonview Highway.

Mario Kart Tour
Petey Piranha returns as a driver in Mario Kart Tour in the Piranha Plant Tour, being added to the game alongside a new Mii Racing Suit which is designed after him. His special skill is the Boomerang Flower.

A golden variant of Petey Piranha debuted in the 2022 Halloween Tour, and was available as a Ranked Cup reward. Unlike the regular Petey Piranha, his special skill is the Coin Box. Additionally, his weight class was erroneously set as medium until the 2022 Autumn Tour. At over 51 courses, Petey Piranha (Gold) currently has the most amount of favored courses of any playable character.

Stone Petey Piranha heads appear near a staircase in Piranha Plant Cove and Piranha Plant Cove 2, while a statue of Petey Piranha appears near another staircase in the latter course. His head is also depicted on the ground after the gliding section of Piranha Plant Cove 2.

Mario Pinball Land
Petey Piranha makes an appearance in Mario Pinball Land. However, his appearance is much different from that in most other games; besides his head, which remains largely the same, he has a long neck, a more outward mouth, a round body with white spots instead of dark green, and no feet. Petey appears as one of the bosses in the game in the Grassy Greens Stage. Before Mario can face him, Mario has to earn enough Stars to open the ★ door at the entrance to the windmill area. Once Mario has opened the door and entered the windmill, Petey is fought. Mario has to hit the body while distracting Petey's head to beat him. Hitting him grants 10,000 points each time. Should Mario linger in front of Petey, he snaps Mario up in his mouth and then spits him towards the middle of the flippers, possibly forcing Mario to restart the battle. Hitting Petey three times defeats him and grants 500,000 points. Once defeated, he leaves behind four Yellow Coins and Blue Coins each and a Star Key. The fact that he is fought in a windmill is a reference to Super Mario Sunshine, where the first fight with him is in a windmill as well.

Petey reappears and is fought again after all the Goombas are defeated in his rematch room in the Fiery Stage. This time, defeating him grants 1,000,000 points and yields the player a Star.

Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis
In Mario Power Tennis, he appears as an unlockable character alongside Fly Guy, Paratroopa, and Wiggler. He can be unlocked by beating the two Special Tournaments - Fire and Thunder - in Doubles. In this game, he appears once again as a power character; therefore, his shots travels faster than usual, but he is slower than most other characters. He is also the largest character in the game, giving him a very large reach, but opponents have an easier time hitting him. Also, if he charges up his shot and the opponent hits it, the opponent gets pushed back a little. His Power Shots are Sludge Racket and Piranha Swingback. The first involves swallowing his racket, spitting it up, and swinging it at the ball at a high speed, while the latter involves him spitting a Proto Piranha near the ball, which then hits it back to the other side of the court, the shot is a Drop Shot. His default Doubles partner is Wiggler, who is a Defense type character, making them an effective team.

If the player makes Petey a lefty, his appearance is mirrored. The same goes for Bowser Jr. who also is mirrored as a lefty.

In his victory scene, Petey is given his trophy by Mario with Peach, a Purple Toad, Shy Guy, and Koopa Troopa. Petey starts dancing, shaking the ground and knocking the five off balance, before leaping in the air. The five of them then close their eyes in anticipation of Petey slamming back onto the ground, but are relieved when they see him flying in the air with the trophy in his mouth.

Mario Tennis Open
While Petey Piranha does not appear in Mario Tennis Open, the player can unlock a Petey Piranha costume to customize their Mii with by reaching 50 rebounds in the Ink Showdown Challenge difficulty. One can also purchase his racket, which has been altered slightly: the Piranha Plant emblem now bears petals, akin to Petey's actual appearance.

Mario Tennis Aces
Petey Piranha appears in Mario Tennis Aces as the first boss of the game's story mode, fought in the mission Forest Monster. When Mario enters the Ancient Altar in search of a Power Stone, Petey Piranha falls from above and attacks. Once the match starts, a Piranha Plant will serve the ball and the rally between Mario and Petey Piranha begins. Every time Petey Piranha rallies the ball, he loses a bit of health. Whenever Petey Piranha loses a full meter, he will fall over and his bellybutton will be exposed, which Mario needs to attack with a Zone Shot. Failing to hit the bellybutton will cause Petey Piranha to recover a bit of health and stand back up. Petey Piranha has three meters of health, indicated by hearts, and whenever he loses one, he will send out groups of tornadoes Mario has to avoid or use Trick Shots to jump over. Petey Piranha is also capable of Zone Shots that can end up breaking Mario's racket in one hit. To defeat Petey Piranha, Mario has to drain all of his health within 300 seconds, and failing to rally a ball will cause some time to be lost.

In the version 2.1.0 update, Petey Piranha became a playable character, marking his first playable appearance in 10 years. Petey Piranha has been available for all players since January 1, 2019, although he could be unlocked earlier by participating in the December 2018 singles online tournament. He retains his Powerful classification, though unlike in previous installments, he does not use a tennis racket, instead using his leaves to hit the ball, making him the only character in the tennis games to not use a tennis racket. Due to this, when his "racket" breaks, Petey Piranha's leaf instead receives a bandage and he falls to the floor in a unique animation that resembles his animation when he loses a meter of health in his boss fight. His horizontal Trick Shot, Fluttering Fury, and his vertical Trick Shot, Spin 'n' Slap, both involve him flying to the ball to hit it. His Special Shot, Vicious Twister, has him fly into the air and use a pair of tornadoes to propel the ball towards himself so he can hit it.

Mario Party Advance
Petey Piranha is mentioned as one of the answer choices 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, since Petey has yet to appear in a Mario Party game as a playable character and would not appear in one at all until Mario Party 10.

Mario Party 10
Petey Piranha makes his physical debut in the Mario Party series in Mario Party 10; as the boss of Mushroom Park. He is fought in the boss minigame Petey's Bomb Battle, in which players must toss bombs at him to gain points. Periodically, he will attempt to inhale the bombs and spit them back at players to counterattack; being hit by Petey Piranha results in losing one point.

Mario Party: Star Rush
Petey Piranha makes his second appearance in the Mario Party series in Mario Party: Star Rush. He is fought in the boss minigame, Petey Piranha's Shell Smackdown, where players must grab and throw Green Shells to defeat him.

Mario Party: The Top 100
Petey Piranha appears in Mario Party: The Top 100, where he replaces the Piranha Plant from the Mario Party minigame Piranha's Pursuit. A balloon of his head also appears on Minigame Island, which signifies the appearance of the minigame Piranha's Pursuit in the area.

Mario Party Superstars
Petey Piranha reappears in Mario Party Superstars reprising his role from Mario Party: The Top 100 by appearing in the Piranha's Pursuit minigame. His encyclopedia entry confirms he is the leader of the Piranha Plants and mentions that his belly button is hidden under his shorts.

Mario Superstar Baseball
Petey makes an appearance in the first game of the Mario Baseball series, Mario Superstar Baseball, as an unlockable character and a team member of Wario's in Challenge Mode. In this game he is unlocked by completing challenge mode with Wario's team and is a Power type character, the strongest in the game with a batting stat of 9/10, tied with Bowser. He is also the slowest runner, with a running stat of 1/10, tied with Red Pianta, Yellow Pianta, Bowser and most Magikoopas. In this game, he has good chemistry with Birdo, Donkey Kong, and King Boo, but he has bad chemistry with Princess Daisy, Princess Peach, Noki, and Pianta. He has the ability to Body Check, saving him in tight pinches. He also has the strongest throwing arm in the game (despite the fact that his pitching is only around average), and he cannot get body checked when on a base. Also notable is when Petey is fielding, he does not try to catch the ball with a glove and instead eats the ball if he catches it.

Mario Super Sluggers
Petey Piranha reappears in Mario Super Sluggers again as a Power character. However, unlike in the previous installment, he is available from the start. He also still retains his ability to Body Check, being the only player who can do so. He is also the only player who can perform the Piranha Catch. Unlike in the last game, he is on Peach's team. In Challenge Mode, he appears 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 has to hit the ball into the yellow circle three times. In this game he has compatibility with Birdo, King Boo, Blooper, and Wiggler, but he has bad chemistry with Pianta, Noki, Peach, Daisy, Baby Peach, Baby Daisy and Baby Mario. He also appears on the box's game cover, behind Toad and Toadette.

Like with the predecessor, Petey's highest stat is his batting stat; batting is tied with Bowser and King K. Rool. His fielding is about average, but his pitching skills are rather weak, and he's a slow runner. Oddly, Petey Piranha's stamina is quite lackluster, since he gets exhausted rather quickly while pitching; even quicker than King K. Rool, who also has low stamina.

In both Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, Petey is the only character who does not use a bat/glove or any item at all to hit/catch the ball, as he uses his leaf-like arm when he is batting. As mentioned before, Petey eats the ball while fielding and simply uses his mouth as a glove.

Super Princess Peach
Petey Piranha reappears as a boss in Super Princess Peach, defending Bowser's Villa from Princess Peach, and keeping a Toad hostage. In the North American version of this game, he is labeled under the name Boss P. Plant (short for Boss Piranha Plant, a more direct translation of his Japanese name), but in the European release, Petey Piranha is referred to by his proper English name. He is the first boss of the game, being the boss of Ladida Plains. When Peach sees Petey, Petey swallows the Toad, who is trapped in a ball, and Peach has to defeat Petey to rescue the Toad. His attacks send shockwaves, pushing back Peach, shooting Nipper Plants (which can be absorbed for vibe), shooting one shockwave to the left and one to the right (which can defeat Nipper Plants if there are any not defeated by the princess), and if she is using a vibe power, ending it. Peach has to use her Gloom vibe to make a plant grow so that she can leap on a leaf and once again use the vibe to put tears into Petey and inflate him, making him fall and reveal his weak spot: his belly button. Peach has to jump on his belly five times to defeat him. After 3 hits, Petey uses his own vibe, Rage. Petey can bounce around, making Peach's attack tough, and additionally send 2 shockwaves to each side. It is notable that the method of defeating him is very similar to Super Mario Sunshine; however, Peach needs to hit him five times, not three like Mario needs to in Super Mario Sunshine, and when he falls, Peach needed just to stomp his navel. Once defeated, Petey Piranha explodes.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Petey Piranha makes his Mario & Luigi series debut as a boss in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In the Koopaseum of the Mushroom Kingdom's past, Princess Peach is fed to Petey Piranha by Princess Shroob's orders. Shortly afterwards, Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi enter the Gritzy Caves beneath the Koopaseum to find Petey and save Peach. On their way, they encounter two Shroobs with Kylie Koopa, whom they have suspended by a rope. Petey then emerges from the ground and the Shroobs cut Kylie's rope, feeding her to Petey as well as the princess. Before the Mario Bros. can do anything, however, he burrows away. The bros. later find Petey in the room past the large gate in the caves, where he emerges from the ground after the bros. hit a high ? Block in the middle of the room containing a single coin. Petey then swallows the block and spits it out, which bounces across the room before hitting the back wall, creating a crack for the bros. to hammer through later and progress, and his boss battle begins.

Due to the bros. already being high on POW, Petey Piranha does not have a particularly high defense like previous bosses, making the battle slightly easier. His attacks include diving into the sand and ejecting rocks towards the Mario Bros. To dodge this assault, they have to look at how Petey dives, and they must jump with the according Bro. Petey 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 have to jump up and down to not get consumed. He can also spit out Piranha Pests that have to be hammered away multiple times. After a certain number of turns, he jumps out of the sand and resumes hovering, though the Bros. can knock him out of the air again. He is especially susceptible to fire and ice. Once defeated, Petey Piranha explodes and both Kylie and a Cobalt Star Shard fly out of him, but Princess Peach does not. Kylie explains that when she was eaten, she saw the princess, but Petey spat her out right after swallowing Kylie.

In this game, Petey Piranha's voice is identical to that of Yoob.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Petey Piranha and his paper counterpart, Paper Petey Piranha, both appear as bosses in the fifth installment of the Mario & Luigi series, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Both versions of Petey are fought in Sunbeam Plains.

The regular Petey Piranha appears as the game's first boss‚ and is sent to attack Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario by Bowser after he teams up with Paper Bowser and they kidnap both Peaches. He mainly attacks by ramming towards Paper Mario, flying into the air before slamming onto the ground, creating a shock wave, or by attempting to grab one of the trio using his leaves while spinning rapidly, before chomping down on them multiple times and, if it is Mario or Luigi he grabbed, swallowing them, temporarily removing them from the battle. If Paper Mario successfully avoids the spinning attack or jumps on him during his ramming attack, Petey will become dizzy and will fall over for a short period of time, allowing the group to attack his stomach; he can potentially cough up some coins or a Goomba whenever a jump attack is used, and Mario and Luigi if he swallowed them, returning them to the battle. Lastly, he also has a chase attack where he will spit balls of goop at the trio. which they have to avoid by grabbing onto Paper Mario's paper airplane form. After avoiding enough balls of goop, Petey will collapse and Paper Mario will attack him, causing him to cough up a bean or an item. Being a plant, Petey Piranha is especially weak to fire-based Bros. Attacks, such as the Fire Flower. Upon being defeated, the trio obtain some ? cards and continue pursuing the Bowsers.

Additionally, his paper counterpart is fought later in the game.

Despite having his own voice clips from several games, Petey Piranha uses Wiggler's voice clips from Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Two Petey Piranhas 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 fall asleep approximately every 30 seconds, making dunks possible during that time. If a team dunks three times in the first half without letting their opponents score, a blue seed appears in a ? Panel. If the team takes it and wins the game, a secret court called Malboro Garden is playable, which features plant-like monsters from the Final Fantasy series that move slowly from side to side behind the hoops and breathe out a purple gas that stuns players.

Mario Strikers Charged
Petey Piranha appears as an unlockable captain in the Wii game Mario Strikers Charged. He is a Power player, making him good at tackling and shooting; however, he can neither pass nor run very well. His Super Ability, Mud Slinger!, causes him to spit mud on the ground, which slows everyone down but him. He can use this move up to four times in one Super Ability. Petey Piranha's deke involves him rapidly banging his head backwards and forwards to prevent opponents from stealing the ball. In his Mega Strike, Petey is enclosed in a large bud, while a stem sprouts from the ground and takes him above the stage, where he spits the ball at the goal.

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 the only character not shown in the opening cinematic of the game, whereas Diddy Kong and Bowser Jr. (the other two unlockables) make brief appearances.

His theme music when he scores a point is calypso. One of his winning animations involves him doing the limbo with his team players, while one of his "losing animations" (sometimes when the opponent scores a point) Petey walks angrily to one of the opponents while others are running and screaming, eats them, and lets them back out, covering the player in mud. Sometimes, the second losing animation will include some sidekicks running and tripping (or in Monty Mole's case, he attempts to dig) or cowering in fear. Petey is the only captain to wear a helmet in this game.

Petey is the only team captain in Mario Strikers Charged that does not return in Mario Strikers: Battle League, with his number, 4, instead being used by Birdo.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Petey is the first boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. After Bowser joins the Subspace Army in its attempts to conquer "this world," Petey and the Ancient Minister lead an attack on the Midair Stadium, where Mario and Kirby are having a friendly brawl. Before Petey captures the spectating Peach and Zelda in cages, Mario is blasted away by a cannonball while he attempts to destroy a Subspace Bomb that has been dropped by the Ancient Minister, leaving Kirby as his only opponent. Petey attacks by swinging the cages at him, as well as jumping into the air and potentially causing damage from the impact of landing. Kirby has to attack the cages to weaken them, saving one of the princesses (attacking Petey himself deals damage to both cages). Petey Piranha has no other attacks beside body slamming the player and swinging the cages around. However, only one princess can be saved, and the other princess is changed back into a Trophy by Wario, who then steals it. Once defeated, Petey Piranha suddenly bursts into flames. Petey also has two stickers depicting him, with both of them being very large. The first is his artwork for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and increases the power of darkness attacks by 47 and is only usable by Ganondorf. The second is his artwork for Mario Strikers Charged and it increases the power of bite attacks by 32 and is only usable by Wario, Yoshi, Pokémon Trainer and Wolf.

Unusually, Petey's petals are behind his neck in this game; normally, they are in front of it. This game also gives him detailed gums, which are never depicted again. Also, he uses realistic monster roars instead of his cartoonish voice. His trophy in the English version of the game uses gender-neutral pronouns when describing him.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Petey Piranha appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of Piranha Plant's Final Smash. His appearance is derived from the Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, including the cages he wields, though he has a brighter color scheme more comparable to the mainline Mario games. He hops along the stage while swinging his cages, and is able to trap opponents inside them. At the end of the Final Smash, he will breathe fire and slam the cages into the ground. He also appears in the form of two primary Grab type spirits, using artwork from Mario Super Sluggers and Mario Strikers Charged. The former spirit is an enhanced form of the Nipper Plant spirit and makes the user temporarily giant at the start of a battle.

On Palutena's Temple, both Petey Piranha and Petea Piranha are mentioned briefly by Viridi during Palutena's Guidance dialogue for Piranha Plant.

Super Mario-Kun
Petey Piranha appears in volume 36 of the Super Mario-Kun, the adaption of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In this manga, he is apparently a mother of the Tongue Piranha children, and he holds a shard of the Cobalt Star in his mouth, as a replacement for a tooth. Petey talks in a sweet, feminine way, making Mario and Luigi comment on how nice he is. Mario and Luigi anger him, however, by attempting to snatch the Cobalt Star Shard. After a fight, however, Petey gives it to the four brothers.

Mario Sports Mix
Petey Piranha appears in Mario Sports Mix on Daisy Garden, as an NPC. During a basketball match, Petey reprises his role from Mario Hoops 3-on-3, acting as the hoop, and during a dodgeball match, Petey stands on the side of the playing area and will spit goop that will act as obstacles to the players. Petey stars in his very own party game called Feed Petey, where players try to feed as much fruit to him within the time allotted.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Petey makes his Paper Mario debut as the boss of Rumble Volcano in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Like the other bosses, he gains power from a Royal Sticker that he took and ate from a tribe of Spear Guys who described him as gluttonous. Upon first sighting Mario and Kersti, he swallows Kersti whole, forcing Mario to go after him. Presumably during this time, he also ate several Koopa Troopas and Stickers, as he coughs up Dry Bones and random stickers during the battle. Once found, he immediately attacks Mario.

He mainly fights by flying with his leaves before slamming down on Mario. He can also spit out a ball of goo at Mario which can sometimes cause him to gain the "soggy" status effect. After losing HP, he uses his leaves to spin around rapidly to attack Mario but doing so makes him dizzy. Sometimes, Mario gets dizzy if he is hit by this attack. If Petey is attacked during his dizzy state; his weak point (his belly button) becomes exposed, which leaves him vulnerable to serious damage from Jump attacks. Once his belly button is attacked, he spits out Kersti, as well as several Jump stickers, and a Dry Bones. Petey has 300 HP. When he has 100 HP left, he begins a more powerful attack when he bites Mario three times. Each time he bites Mario, he deals 7 damage. Once he is defeated, he explodes into confetti and reveals the Green Royal Sticker. Petey Piranha is the only boss in the game to not require any specific types of stickers to beat.

This is the first, and so far, the only appearance of Petey's in which he speaks intelligible language, albeit one line and under the influence of a Royal Sticker. Interestingly, although Petey ate the green Royal Sticker, it appears on his head during his fight.

Petey Piranha being the boss of the 5th world in this game, encountered in a volcano in a tropical jungle, mirrors how Lava Piranha is the boss of the 5th chapter in Paper Mario, and is encountered in the volcanic Mt. Lavalava of the tropical Lavalava Island.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
While Petey himself does not appear in Paper Mario: Color Splash, a counterpart of Petey known as Petea Piranha appears as the boss of Plum Park.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Petey appears as the boss of World 5-7 and World 8-3 in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, and can also serve as an ally for the player. His main attribute is Wood, and his sub-attribute is Light. Petey Piranha's skill, Giga Piranha Drain, can transform all Orbs into Fire, Wood, and Heart Orbs. His Awoken Skill increases the amount of HP that gets restored whenever Heart Orbs are cleared.

Petey Piranha's strongest stat is his ATK, and he also has above average HP while his RCV is below average. The player can acquire Petey Piranha by using six Super Leaves to transform a Fire Piranha Plant.

Unlike with most other games, Petey Piranha is treated as a generic enemy in this game, so he can still appear as an enemy, regardless of whether or not he is in the player's party.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Though Petey Piranha himself does not appear in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, one of the boss Rabbids, Pirabbid Plant, dons an outfit that references Petey Piranha's design.

Dr. Mario World
Petey Piranha was added as a playable character in Dr. Mario World on April 28, 2021 as Dr. Petey Piranha. He is available as regular staffing.

Dr. Petey Piranha's skill clears the bottom-most object(s) in every column, where it's one per column in stage mode and level 1 in versus mode, and two per column in level 2 and above in stage mode. In versus mode, if this skill clears the two bottom-most row of objects, one set of objects are cleared at a time. The objects that are cleared are immediately eliminated, including any that usually takes multiple hits to clear like crates and floatie viruses. If an unclearable object is at the lowest part of the column such as a key or an Empty Block even though a clearable object exists above it, the unclearable object will still be targeted, meaning that nothing different happens on that column.

Physical appearance
Petey Piranha is certainly recognizable as a Piranha Plant, but he differs starkly from a typical one. According to Mario Superstar Baseball, he got his looks from a mutation. Petey is characterized by a remarkably large head and a comparably small body. He has a round, protuberant belly and a large belly button under his shorts, but it is only visible if his stomach is inflated with a great quantity of water. Additionally, he has leaf-like arms and stubby legs, both of which grant him mobility beyond his pipe-dwelling "cousins". He also has green lips, which are similar to the lips of the Piranha Plants in Super Mario Sunshine, in contrast to the white lips of Piranha Plants in most other games. His lips are also covered with darker green lines. He wears red pants with white polka dots, matching the coloration of his head. His most distinguishing feature is a ring of yellow petals with orange rims around his head, resembling a crown or a mane. In his first appearance, these petals have an iridescent quality, becoming a vibrant, fiery orange or a shiny white (with pinkish rims) depending on the angle of the light, but this trait is no longer present beyond Super Mario Sunshine. Petey is also of a much greater size than normal Piranha Plants, easily standing six times Mario's height, though when depicted with a sprite or encountered in sports and spin-offs, he's smaller. Mario Superstar Baseball is the first game to portray Petey Piranha with a tongue, which was also seen in every game following. While his size varies between games, the official height chart shows Petey being 12'9" tall (3.9 m).

In the Super Smash Bros. series, Petey Piranha's appearance changes. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Petey's color scheme is much darker, his gums receive heavy detailing, and his design is more realistic overall while his neck is located in the front of his petals. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Petey's color scheme is more vibrant overall, while his gums are reverted to their original appearance, more closely matching his design in the Mario series. However, his stem is still in front of his petals, and received some minor detailing.

Several other giant Piranha Plant bosses appear throughout the Mario franchise, many of which bear a physical resemblance to Petey Piranha, including the Mom Piranha and Piranha Bean from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy, and the Peewee Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Personality
Petey Piranha is a big, tall, and strong character with intelligence exceeding that of a normal Piranha Plant. Usually his sentience is portrayed to be on the same level as that of a person. His seemingly unintelligible Piranha Plant noises have been shown to be a real language, as his barks and growls are translated into normal words for the player in the Paper Mario titles.

In most of the games he appears in, Petey Piranha has a cheeky, laid-back personality. He's known for taking his losses in stride, such as when he slaps his face in humiliation once he's back on his feet after taking damage in Super Mario Sunshine. He has a sense of humor, too, as shown in the Mario Baseball series when he skips daintily to home plate after hitting a home run. He also likes to gloat and show off. In Mario Strikers Charged, he goes as far as to limbo in the middle of the field after he scores. Like his smaller contemporaries, Petey is a ravenous eater. Although not so much a glutton, he is able to eat just about anything.

Petey frequently acts as a rival to Mario, likely because of their first meeting on Isle Delfino. But due to his laid-back nature, Petey is not always aggressive with Mario and his friends and often participates with them in friendly competitions, like Mario Power Tennis and other sports games. These spin-off titles display a sassy side to him, usually seen in the way he walks or reacts to a victory. If he is losing, he usually gets embarrassed or tries to shake it off, but it has been shown that he does have a hot temper if he is pushed far enough.

Abilities
Petey Piranha has unique abilities that normal Piranha Plants cannot perform. His leaves, for example, double as wings, granting him the ability to fly. In Super Mario Sunshine, he whips up Tweesters with his leaves and headbutts the player if they come within range. These attacks normally cause no damage, though at times Mario may get knocked back far enough to lose health. Petey's main attack involves spitting out large quantities of brown goop, which create Swoopin' Stus and occasionally small Piranha Plants. Mario is damaged if he is in the goop too long and/or slips. This ability of Petey's is not exclusive to Super Mario Sunshine as he can still spit goop in later appearances, making it somewhat of a trademark of his. Another one of Petey's main traits is his phenomenal physical strength that rivals or even surpasses that of Bowser. This is especially evident in sports games when comparing his stats to other characters, and in Mario Power Tennis the power of his swings causes all opponents (even larger ones like Bowser, Wiggler and Donkey Kong) to be knocked back a bit. Petey's physical strength is also evident in games such as Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and Mario Tennis Aces, since he can perform body slams that release shockwaves, or use very strong Zone Shots that are capable of breaking Mario's racket. Lastly in Mario Tennis Aces, Petey exhibits the ability to summon tornadoes that require the player to dodge them, similarly to his appearance in Super Mario Sunshine.

Also, in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Petey can burrow into and out of sand without effort, freely summon wooden blocks, spit out Piranha Plant seeds that sprout and attack the players; in Super Princess Peach, he makes sound waves, shock waves and spits Nipper Plants.

When Petey Piranha hits the ball with his club in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour it shoots across the course with 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 tip of his arm.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Petey is able to breathe fire.

Gender
Petey has a different gender depending on the region. In English language versions, the Piranha Plant is male as his various bios refer to Petey Piranha as a "he" as well as in-game by a Pianta in Super Mario Sunshine, his first appearance. In French, however, Petey is female and her name is "Flora Piranha", derived from "Flora", a female name. In German, there seem to be inconsistencies about Petey's gender. For example, the plant is referred to as male in the trophy description of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but is referred to as female in the character description of Mario Strikers Charged. In Italian, Petey is male, derived from Pipino, an uncommon Italian name. In Spanish, he is male in most games but female in New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis, sharing her French name. In the Japan-exclusive Super Mario-kun, Petey is depicted as a female, a mother of several Piranha Plants.

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Kersti refers to Petey Piranha as an "it". His trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl also refers to him as an "it".

Mario Super Sluggers
Good Chemistry: Birdo, Blooper, King Boo, Light Green Mii, Wiggler Bad Chemistry: Baby Mario, Noki, Pianta Collectible Card Info: ''As one of the biggest players on the field, it comes as no shock that Petey Piranha has one of the top three charge shots in the game. He brings the heat on the mound as well, but has surprisingly low stamina.''

Mario Power Tennis

 * Type: Power
 * Doubles Partner: Wiggler
 * Defensive Power Shot: Piranha Swingback
 * Offensive Power Shot: Sludge Racket

Gallery


Trivia

 * Prior to a generic Piranha Plant becoming playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Petey Piranha was the only playable Piranha Plant.