Piranha Plant

"Grawr Charble Grawr! (Hey, what's cooking? YOU ARE!)"

- Piranha Plant

Piranha Plants (also known as Piranhas, misspelled as pirana plants in early manuals) are large, carnivorous plants encountered throughout the Mario franchise. They are seemingly based on s, eating anything that approaches them.

The head of a Piranha Plant is most commonly either red or green with multiple other colors. Originally, Piranha Plants were found exclusively in pipes, darting out and biting anything near. Currently, Piranha Plants can be found both in and out of pipes, and may constantly bite or wait for Mario to approach to do so.

Despite being plants, Piranha Plants have been depicted as being sentient and capable of speech in a few appearances, though unlike several other enemies in the Mario series, they have never been shown forming societies. Piranha Plant characters such as Petey Piranha, Piranha Bean and Dino Piranha, among others, reveal that some Piranha Plants can have animal-like bodies, making them capable of walking. Mom Piranha, Dino Piranha, and Peewee Piranha are all depicted hatching from eggs, suggesting that Piranha Plants may be. However, relatives of Piranha Plants, Nipper Plants, are implied to have a different reproduction method as they are shown to evolve from spores in the Yoshi's Island games.

Super Mario Bros.
The first appearance of Piranha Plants was in World 1-2 of Super Mario Bros., where they were semi-common enemies. They have been strategically placed by Bowser to impede Mario's progress on his quest to save Princess Toadstool. The Piranha Plants inhabit pipes and attack by biting Mario or Luigi if they come into contact with these carnivorous plants. Piranha Plants won't emerge from their pipe if Mario or Luigi are adjacent to or standing directly on top of it, similar to a Bill Blaster.

Piranha Plants can be defeated by shooting them with a fireball, by kicking a Koopa or Buzzy Beetle shell at them, or by touching them while empowered by a Super Star.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
The Piranha Plants returned in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which was the sequel to Super Mario Bros. in Japan, during the second conquest of the Mushroom Kingdom. The game introduced red-colored variants, which were much quicker than the green variety, and can emerge from their pipe even if the player is next to it; they are first seen in the World 4. However, both varieties will not appear if the player is standing directly on top of the pipe. They appear more frequently than in the previous game, and the red variant have been the most common Piranha Plants seen throughout the Mario series since. Additionally, they will pop up in upside-down pipes as well, making Mario or Luigi's way a bit more difficult. The Piranha Plants are first seen to be able to breathe underwater in the game.

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Piranha Plants are found throughout the game, retaining their biting attack. Here, along with being defeated with fireballs, Koopa shells and Starman powers, Piranha Plants could also be beaten with the tail of Raccoon Mario, Tanooki Suit and Hammer Mario's hammers. Several variants of Piranha Plants are also introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, including Fire Piranha Plant, Big Piranha Plant, and Ptooie. Most of these enemies appear in both green and red varieties. While the Red Piranha Plants act identically to the green ones unlike in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, they have an additional layer of leaves which makes them taller than green ones. There are also horizontal Piranha Plants; despite being red, these ones only have one layer of leaves. The remakes of the game gave Piranha Plants in horizontal pipes red leaves. There are also Nipper Plants, juvenile versions of Piranha Plants; and invincible Munchers which resemble Nipper Plants more than Piranha Plants. Additionally, the king of Pipe Land is transformed into a Piranha Plant by Ludwig von Koopa; in later ports of Super Mario Bros. 3, the king is changed into a Yoshi instead of a Piranha Plant.

This is the last main series Mario game where Piranha Plants have green heads; while this aspect was used on Beanstalks in Super Mario World and later games in the series, red has since then been the standard color for these enemies.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 has a sideways variant of the Fire Piranha Plant as well as a red upside-down Piranha Plant with one green layer of leaves, seen in the e-reader level Piped Full of Plants.

Super Mario Land
Piranha Plants are also featured in Super Mario Land, which takes place in Sarasaland. However, the English instruction manual for the physical Game Boy release as well as the Nintendo Power Game Boy Player's Guide refers to them as Pakkun Flower, which is their Japanese name. In addition, it names the variant hanging from above pipes Upside Down (Headstand) Pakkun (逆さパックン Sakasa Pakkun) or Reverse Pakkun, and they are worth 400PTS rather than 100PTS. Since most of the names of the enemies were left unlocalized in the Super Mario Land instruction, the same goes for the Pakkun Flower, that only is a Piranha Plant with its name untranslated rather than a different type of plant. However, the English digital manual for the 3DS Virtual Console release translates the enemies as Piranha Plants. This is the only enemy in this game that originates from previous Mario games that is not a sub-species or otherwise changed.

Super Mario World
Piranha Plants reappear in Super Mario World as enemies once again, attacking Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi by trying to bite them. There is a variant of Piranha Plants that makes its debut here. This variant, the Jumping Piranha Plant, lives in pipes and leaps through the air, attacking anything nearby. Munchers also reappear in this game.

Regular Piranha Plants reappear as rare enemies. In fact, they only appear in one level, Vanilla Dome 3, and there are eight of them. These only hang upside down due to their pipes' position. These can be beaten using fireballs, Starman powers, a Koopa shell, a cape attack or by simply eating them with Yoshi's tongue. The Mario Mania guide specifies them as Piranhas in a Pipe

Jumping Piranha Plants are much more common than their brethren, and therefore they replace them. An upward-facing Piranha Plant was originally going to appear, but didn't make it to the final game. In fact, the right-side-up stem's graphics are overwritten by that of an upside-down Cheep Cheep, using the game's red palette instead of the yellow palette they normally use.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
The Piranha Plants of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins are more or less identical to previous games. In addition, Fire Piranha Plants reappear with a spiky-headed redesign and, in Mario's castle, statues of them appear and attack by periodically charging and shooting balls of fire.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
In Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Piranha Plants appear as semi-common enemies once again; this is the first game to depict them outside of pipes. Normally, these plants are peacefully sleeping, however, if Mario wakes them up, they will try to bite Mario. Also in the DS Version, in the new area at Whomp's Fortress, three Piranha Plants will suddenly appear out of the grass as soon as anyone approaches them for the first time. After that, they will then act like regular sleeping Piranha Plants. All Piranha Plants in this game can be defeated with most attack methods, most easily by walking towards them slowly without waking them up and then punching them. The lips of these Piranha Plants are also inexplicably green; this was changed in the remake, where they had white lips. Additionally, an artwork used in material related to the game, but actually created for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, depicts a Piranha Plant with white lips, so the reason why the SM64 Piranha Plants' lips are green is unknown. Also, when defeated, pink bubbles (the same ones that Mr. I shoots) fly out of its body, though this is purely aesthetic.

In the tiny portion of Tiny-Huge Island, Fire Piranha Plants can be found. In this appearance, they are a bit smaller than normal Piranha Plants, and are seen outside pipes for the first time. They grow once Mario approaches, spit a fireball, and then retreat by shrinking back to an invisible size. Additionally, in the huge part of the island, larger versions known as Piranha Flowers (later Big Venus Fire Traps) make their series debut and are the subject of one of the Power Star missions. Two Fire Piranha Plants can also be found in Bowser in the Sky.

In Whomp's Fortress, a sign in front of one reads: "I'm sleeping because... I'm sleepy. I don't like being disturbed. Please walk quietly." Indeed, walking slowly near the Piranha Plants will not wake them up. When they are asleep, a lullaby plays. It can be heard here.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Piranha Plants are somewhat rare, only appearing in Bianco Hills. These Piranha Plants will attack Mario by popping-out of the ground and spitting black, white-spotted projectiles. They are defeated by spraying water with F.L.U.D.D. inside their bodies until they blow up. In this game, their look is based off their appearance in Super Mario 64, as they have green lips (though oddly enough, most of them lack any form of teeth in their mouths). They also gain a new notable member, Petey Piranha, a Goop-spitting, giant, anthropomorphic Piranha Plant who appears twice as a boss in the game, and would go on to become a recurring character.

Polluted Piranhas, Piranha Plant enemies created from the Goop of the Magic Paintbrush wielded by Bowser Jr., are also fought as mini-bosses in Super Mario Sunshine. After Mario sprays water on the generator, they come out and have to be defeated by shooting water at their mouths. Piranhabons, giant-sized Goop-covered Piranha Plant heads, also appear as obstacles in Bianco Hills coming out of the Goop. If Mario sprays water on them, they are revealed to look like Petey Piranha's head.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants return to their original attack pattern of popping-out of pipes and biting anything nearby. They are also found in the ground now, and if found on conveyor belts, they will move along with it. In New Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants make chomping sounds.

Fire Piranha Plants make their return in New Super Mario Bros., while Big Piranha Plants also make their return from Super Mario Bros. 3; like certain normal Piranha Plants, the latter is exclusively seen outside pipes, as huge pipes do not make an appearance. They now require three fireballs instead of one to die, and release eight coins when they do.

Super Mario Galaxy
Piranha Plants made their appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, trying to bite the player much like they did in New Super Mario Bros., but could be stunned if Mario fired Star Bits at them. They could be defeated by jumping on them, with a Star Spin, or when run into as Rainbow Mario. They must sometimes be defeated to advance further, signaled by a Sproutle Vine growing where they once were. It is also notably the second game that Piranha Plants can be defeated in a single jump, after Super Mario 64 DS.

There is also a new, purple variation called Prickly Piranha Plant that is bigger and it attempts to slam its head into Mario. It can be defeated by hitting round bushes at it or by stomping it after it has slammed its head in the ground.

A Piranha Plant-like alien called Dino Piranha serves as a boss. It would chase Mario around its planetoid once woken from its egg. It could be defeated by Spinning to hit its tail, causing the tail to fly out, then get pulled back in and hit Dino Piranha. There was a separate, much more difficult version called the Fiery Dino Piranha. Fiery Dino Piranha's tail would often be on fire, so Mario could only attack it while its tail had gone out. It also ran faster and left a temporary trail of fire behind it. They both give the player a Power Star if defeated.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Piranha Plants also appear as enemies along with Fire Piranha Plants and Big Piranha Plants, and Munchers and Big Venus Fire Traps make their return. Stalking Piranha Plants and River Piranha Plants also make their debut in this game. However, the pipe-planted Piranha Plants have lost their chomping sound effects from New Super Mario Bros. Piranha Plants can now be defeated with ice balls though their ice blocks cannot be picked up. Additionally, Yoshi can jump on a Piranha Plant without getting hurt.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and they behave just as they did in the predecessor. In Supermassive Galaxy, pipe-dwelling Big Piranha Plants appear, and are invincible. There is now a new species of the Prickly Piranha Plant from the original, known as the Spiny Piranha Plant. To defeat it, Mario or Luigi must hit it with a plant when it slams its head onto the ground, as they cannot be stomped due to its prickles on its head.

The boss of the first galaxy, Sky Station Galaxy, is a baby, giant Piranha Plant named Peewee Piranha, whom is similar to Dino Piranha from the original. He is beaten by first spinning into the eggshell on his backside, then into his exposed rear once the eggshell is broken. After being hit a few times, the shell regenerates, and the player then attack it in this method again, but the boss is faster than before. Also, if the player confronts Peewee Piranha from the front, Peewee Piranha turns around. After hitting Peewee Piranha twice and defeating it, Mario is awarded with the first Power Star in the game. Also, in the Boss Blitz Galaxy, the player has to fight Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha, two bosses from the game's predecessor.

Super Mario 3D Land
Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. They act like they do in the Super Mario Galaxy series. There is also a new black variety called Inky Piranha Plants, which spit ink that covers the top screen, like a Blooper in the Mario Kart series. These Piranha Plants can also be jumped to be defeated. Fire Piranha Plants appear more often, however, and their fireballs can hit Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and other Piranha Plants.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Piranha Plants appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Whenever Mario touches a Gold Ring, the Piranha Plants turn golden. Whenever the player defeats them when they are golden, the location they inhabited shoots out coins. A new species of Piranha Plant are also introduced, which are Bone Piranha Plants.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Piranha Plants appear in New Super Mario Bros. U. Big Piranha Plants reappear in both their modern and classic forms, and a new ice spitting variety makes their debut. In the level Blooming Lakitus, Lakitus throw spiked eggs called Gūrindai that hatch into Piranha Plants instead of Spinies.

Super Mario 3D World
Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario 3D World. They act similarly to their appearance in Super Mario Galaxy and later 3D Mario games. Potted Piranha Plants are also introduced, which can be picked up and used as items. This Piranha Plant can be used to eat enemies and obstacles, including other Piranha Plants. Another type of Piranha Plant, called the Piranha Creeper, is introduced, which has a long stem and can be defeated by knocking it back into its hole with attacks. Big Piranha Plants also reappear in this game.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
Piranha Plants reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS as enemies that the player can put into the course. If wings are attached to them, they become. Piranha Plants that aren't found in pipes are stationary similar to Munchers. Big Piranha Plants, Fire Piranha Plants, Jumping Piranha Plants, Big Venus Fire Traps, and Munchers also appear in the game.

Super Mario Run
In Super Mario Run, Piranha Plants appear inside pipes, where they will periodically emerge to bite at the player. Like in most Super Mario titles, Piranha Plants will not emerge if the player is standing immediately nearby.

Super Mario Odyssey
In Super Mario Odyssey, regular Piranha Plants do not appear as enemies, and instead are used as flowers in Bowser and Princess Peach's marriage. However, Fire Piranha Plants do appear as enemies, mostly in the Metro Kingdom. The game introduces a new subspecies, the Poison Piranha Plant, which is found in the Wooded Kingdom. They can be captured, but only if they are already stuck chewing on a rock (or possibly on another object), as they eat Cappy if their mouths are vacant. When captured, Mario gains control over them and can spit out poison/fire at will.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Piranha Plants made several appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Here, they posessed the ability to spit fire, possibly assuming this ability from the Pansers of Super Mario Bros. 2, who never made an appearance.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
One Piranha Plant made an appearance in Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas. It bit Raccoon Mario while he was knocked unconscious by Big Mouth's reptile breath tornado move. It attempted to bite Mario again, but it missed, as Mario moved out of the way in time. Their subspecies Ptooies and Venus Fire Traps appear more often.

Super Mario World
A non-antagonistic Piranha Plant named Mama Fireplant appeared, which Toadstool, Yoshi, Mario, and Luigi had to rescue from Kootie Pie Koopa's clutches in a frozen cavern, although ultimately only Yoshi was successful in doing so due to the Porcupinefish in the lair flash-freezing anyone who stepped on them, with Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool needing to be rescued themselves as well.

In Gopher Bash, Cheatsy has his gopher minions replace the crops they had stolen with Piranha Plants, which Yoshi and the brothers end up defeating. Unusually, one is depicted with hair or spike-like protrusions on its head.

In A Little Learning, Hip and Hop put a Piranha Plant in Oogtar's "eggabegga" project only to have the sabotage turn on them and King Koopa when Oogtar inadvertently feeds it fertilizer.

Nintendo Comics System
In Nintendo Comics System, Piranha Plants make occasional appearances, and are depicted with primarily dark green heads atop light green stems. Some Piranha Plants have a pair of eyes, while female Piranha Plants have faces the same color as their stems and dark green lips, while the dark green and spotted portion is made from leaves and acts as "hair." In Piranha-Round Sue, several Piranha Plants, led by Piranha Sue, attempt to steal the Green Gecko Gem and a magic wand in order to depose Bowser, due to several tight restrictions he had placed upon them. In The Revenge of Pipe Ooze! a Piranha Plant gets strangled by Bowser after he calls Lemmy an idiot, while two female Piranha Plants appear as fans of Dirk Drain-Head, of whom Mario was cosplaying as.

Nintendo Adventure Books
After being led astray by a disguised Koopa on his way back to the Mushroom Palace in Double Trouble, Toad becomes stuck in a patch of Piranha Plants. After hearing Toad's yells for help, Mario rushes into the patch to rescue him, and tries to fight off a particularly large Piranha Plant by throwing a rock, which the plant bats aside with a stick, giving its brethren the idea of grabbing some clubs to use as weapons as well. Depending on how the accompanying puzzle is solved, the plants either fight each other after Mario tricks one into bludgeoning another, or they succeed in knocking Mario out with a blow to the head.

In Leaping Lizards, a patch of Piranha Plants, which Morton, Luigi and Toad navigate their way through on the way to Water Land, is growing near the Mushroom Palace. In Koopa Capers, Luigi spots some Piranha Plants among the army of monsters in Wendy O. Koopa's secret camp in the Magma Pits.

In Pipe Down!, Mario and Luigi run through a patch of Piranha Plants if they decide to give chase to Princess Toadstool, who is being forced to venture through the Koopahari Desert by a pair of enchanted basketball sneakers. Later, it is revealed that Ludwig von Koopa has coerced four Piranha Plants (named Ashby, Justin, Scott and Todd) to act as the string quartet in his basketball-based ballet "starring" the princess. If the Piranha Plants attack the Mario Bros. and the princess, Luigi easily defeats them by knocking their pots over. In one the book's bad endings, a pair of Piranha Plants will eat Mario and Luigi if they decide to rush into the leftmost pipe in a chamber.

In Flown the Koopa, while avoiding some Dino Rhinos in a forest, Mario pulls the Mushroom King away from a young and hungry Piranha Plant the bumbling monarch stumbles near.

In the final book, Brain Drain, Iggy Koopa's Synapse Switcher swaps the minds of some traffic officers and Piranha Plants, resulting in widespread havoc on the Fungus Freeway.

Mario Kart series
In the Mario Kart series, Piranha Plants often appear as road obstacles.

Super Mario Kart
Piranha Plants appear in both of the Choco Islands in Super Mario Kart where they sit there, acting as an obstacle. If the player hits the Piranha Plants, they will spin out.

Mario Kart 64
In Mario Kart 64, Piranha Plants return with a different look. They do not come out of pipes, but they are sitting on the ground. They appear to be moving their lips up and down, similar to a sucking motion. The lips are also a yellowish tan color. They appear on Mario Raceway and Royal Raceway.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Piranha Plants appear from within the quicksand pits of Yoshi Desert. If a racer falls into one of these pits, they will get pulled under, followed by the Piranha Plant chewing them repeatedly before spitting them out.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Piranha Plants appear in Mario Circuit and in Yoshi Circuit. Here, they will stay in their pipe. When any driver gets close to them, they will try to bite the driver. Anyone who gets bitten by a Piranha Plant will flip over and the thrower will end up getting dragged behind the kart. Piranha Plants can be stunned by using a projectile such as a Green Shell or a Bowser Shell and they will also get stunned by anyone who used a Star.

Mario Kart Arcade GP subseries
In both Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, the Piranha Plant is one of Princess Peach's special character items. The Piranha Plant's function in both games is that of eating the items of Peach's opponents once it is summoned by her. This Piranha Plant is differentiated by its bright pink coloration (possibly in reference to Peach herself).

Mario Kart DS
Piranha Plants reappear as obstacles in Mario Kart DS. Instead of their biting habits in Mario Kart Double Dash!!, they will sit and breathe fireballs at any driver in Mario Circuit. SNES Choco Island 2 and GCN Yoshi Circuit return and also brought back the Piranha Plants, although in Yoshi Circuit they don't come out of pipes unlike their original counterpart.

Mario Kart Wii
In Mario Kart Wii, N64 Mario Raceway and  GCN Mario Circuit return along with their respective Piranha Plants. Additionally, there is a vehicle called Piranha Prowler. However, this kart is based more on Petey Piranha than an actual Piranha Plant, due to its petals and non-lips on the kart.

Mario Kart 7
In Mario Kart 7, huge versions appear in a course named after the species, Piranha Plant Slide. Ironically, only two appear on this track, one in the underground segment and the other in the underwater segment. and if the player comes near them, they attempt to bite them. Getting hit by a Piranha Plant causes the player flip out. Two more Piranha Plants also appear on the track Music Park. They do the same things, and switch to the opposite side of the track each lap. These plants also bop their heads to the track's music.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
In Mario Kart 8, the Piranha Plant from Super Mario 3D World appears as an item. The Piranha Plant will attack nearby racers and any items on the ground, like Banana Peels, while giving the user a speed boost every time it lunges forward, which will happen either after a few seconds or when the player commands. This is similar to the Chain Chomp item that appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The item is time-based, which is indicated by the gauge in the item box, and a small portion is cut off whenever the plant lunges forward. The Piranha Plant's pot features tiny wheels for it to move. When the player does a trick, the Piranha Plant will spin, doing a trick of its own. If it or the player gets hit with an item or hazard, it will be stunned for a bit.

Piranha Plants are also used in Renegade Roundup, an exclusive battle mode found in the game's Nintendo Switch port, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In that mode, the Piranha Plants have a strobe light on top of their head, and are used by the 'police' players to capture the 'criminal' players on the other team. As either team can be Red or Blue, blue Piranha Plants appear in this mode to match.

Pink Piranha Plants appear in Sweet Sweet Canyon, while normal ones appear in Mario Circuit. The Bone Piranha Plant makes a return from New Super Mario Bros 2 in the track Bone-Dry Dunes and smaller Piranha Plants appear in the returning N64 Royal Raceway. The returning 3DS Music Park and  3DS Piranha Plant Slide retain their respective Piranha Plants and in the case of the latter course, small Piranha Plants have been added in the background. A new species of Piranha Plant known as Raving Piranha Plants appear in the Electrodrome. In Hyrule Circuit, Piranha Plants are replaced with Deku Babas to fit with the theme of the course. A Piranha Plant also appears on the logo of the sponsor Fun Flower.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Piranha Plants are found again in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, where they are seen to behave differently than in past games. They inhabit various locations of Parsley Woods and act just like Munchers, in that they crowd pits and craters and are completely stationary. They are also indestructible and much more dangerous than in past games, since they are capable of instantly draining one of Wario's lives upon contact with the protagonist.

Although never referred to with their English names in Wario Land-related material, these enemies are labeled as "Pakkun Flower" (パックンフラワー) on [[Media:Wario Land enemies (KC Mario).jpg|page 6]] of the KC Deluxe manga, volume 24, which is the Japanese name for Piranha Plants.

Yoshi
Piranha Plants make an appearance as one of the six falling objects in Yoshi. Piranha Plant's sprite in this game is similar to Jumping Piranha Plant from Super Mario World.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Piranha Plants are known as variously as Wild Piranhas, Wild Piranha Plants or simply Piranha Plants , and are drastically changed; instead of being rooted in pipes, Piranha Plants are found planted in the ground. Piranha Plants, instead of attacking at intervals, simply wait in a miniaturized form, growing larger and lunging at a Yoshi if it approached. Also, instead of simply trying to bite Yoshi, they will eat him and then spit him out, causing him to lose Baby Mario and his Yoshi Eggs. They cannot be jumped on or swallowed, so they must be defeated with eggs or by spitting an enemy at them. Defeating them causes their heads to flip backwards, followed by them withering.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island also had a Piranha Plant boss named Naval Piranha, who is grown gigantic in size by Kamek's magic.

Hootie the Blue Fish, an indigo, water-based variant that can swim with its propeller-like leaves and has serrated lips instead of teeth, makes its debut in this game, alongside the Wild Ptooie Piranha, a powerful, green Needlenose-spitting variant. The Blow Hard enemy resembles a Piranha Plant, but itself is actually a type of Pokey.

Nipper Plants also appear as enemies in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island; here, Nipper Plants are usually spawned from Nipper Spores, which Naval Piranha is capable of spitting.

Yoshi's Story
The Piranha Plants of Yoshi's Story are shown to be capable of growing to huge proportions, their gnashing heads atop spike-covered stalks. Their teeth also appear to be on their lips. The game has also introduced several other variations of Piranha Plants, such as the flying Piranha Pest and the grounded Piranha Sprouts.

Also, it is revealed that an extremely large area of Yoshi's Island is composed of Piranha Plants; this area is aptly named Piranha Grove.

Nipper Spores also appear in Yoshi's Story, where they are now covered in spikes.

Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Piranha Plants once again appear as common enemies, along with Wild Ptooie Piranhas, Nipper Plants and Nipper Spores, and act just as in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Several new Piranha Plants also appear, such as Ghosts, Bungee Piranhas and Watage Pakkun.

A Piranha Plant boss, named Big Bungee Piranha also appears in Yoshi's Island DS.

Also in Yoshi's Island DS, if positioned in the right place, it is possible to kill the Piranha Plants that are displayed in the Island Museum.

Yoshi's New Island
Piranha Plants return in Yoshi's New Island, acting exactly the same as in the predecessors. Nipper Plants and Hootie the Blue Fishes also reappear.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
Piranha Plants reappear in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World. They crunch air continuously, much like the Piranha Plants that don't dwell Warp Pipes from the New Super Mario Bros. games. When they are hit by a yarn ball, it ties them up which allows a Yoshi to jump onto and defeat them. Like the other Yoshi games, making contact with a Piranha Plant will swallow a Yoshi and spit him out, taking some hearts from his health meter.

Yoshi's Crafted World
In Yoshi's Crafted World, Piranha Plants are found on both Yoshi's path and in the backdrop. They can be defeated by smacking them with an egg. Background Piranha Plants are unable to hurt Yoshi.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Pipe Vault, where they try to ambush Mario by leaping from a pipe. The Piranha Plants of Super Mario RPG have root-like legs, allowing them to walk; despite this, they are found exclusively in pipes outside of battle. Perhaps in reference to their immunity to being jumped on in earlier Mario games, the Piranha Plants in this game are completely immune to Mario's jump attacks.

Later on in Bean Valley, green and purple-colored Piranha Plants named Chewies appear. Additionally, Megasmilax, a giant Piranha Plant, is Bean Vally's boss.

Nipper Plants, renamed Chompweeds, also appear as coin-stealing obstacles in the Pipe Vault and were set to appear as fightable enemies, but were removed from the final game.

There is a Piranha Plant living at Monstro Town in the game.

Tetris Attack
In Tetris Attack, only Naval Piranha appears as a boss and minion of Kamek and Bowser, aiding them in their plot of brainwashing the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island.

Super Smash Bros. series
Piranha Plants appear in all entries of the Super Smash Bros. series, except for Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first game, Super Smash Bros., features 8-bit Piranha Plants in the Mushroom Kingdom stage as obstacles that occasionally come out of the two pipes present there, dealing damage to any fighter that touches them. Super Smash Bros. Brawl features Piranha Plants as Stickers, and in the PictoChat stage, one of the drawings that appears in the background is a Piranha Plant. Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U feature them as trophies. With the inclusion of the Mushroom Kingdom stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the 8-bit Piranha Plants return as obstacles. However, the game also sees the debut of a particular Piranha Plant as a playable fighter.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
A Piranha Plant also appears as a playable DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This makes Piranha Plant the first playable character to be a generic enemy and the first time overall a generic Piranha Plant is playable in any game. It will be available for free for anyone who registers the game through My Nintendo by January 31st, 2019.

In the reveal trailer, various Yoshi are left dazed alongside Luigi, while Mario approaches the Piranha Plant confidently, only for the Piranha Plant to knock him back and then repeatedly bites into the air before showing its splash artwork with the tagline "Piranha Plant Pipes Up!" ("Piranha Plant Joins the Battle!" in the PAL regions).

Its attacks are based around several forms of the enemy, such as transforming into a Spiny Piranha Plant to perform a headbutt for its forward smash, shooting spiked balls akin to a Ptooie, stretching like a Stalking Piranha Plant, being able to spew poison that can induce dizziness to other fighters, similar to a Putrid Piranha, and using its leaves as propellers to fly around like Jumping Piranha Plants. Additionally, its Final Smash involves summoning Petey Piranha. So far, Piranha Plant's other attacks are comprised of bites and pot strikes.

Its various alternate colors reference the various Piranha Plant types throughout the franchise, and to a lesser extent certain warp pipe types. In particular, its default appearance, aside from how it generally is depicted, is specifically based on how they appeared in Mario Party 3. Its green costume is derived from how it appeared in the original Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, with a green warp pipe. Its yellow costume is derived from various Piranha Plants that had a yellow color, including the Pipe Land king's transfigured form, the Wild Ptooie Piranha from Yoshi's Island upon the first strike, and the Glad Piranha Plant from Super Princess Peach, with a magenta pot. The magenta costume resembles an active Piranha Creeper from Super Mario 3D World (but may also resemble Dino Piranha or Peewee Piranha, or even Nipper Plants as they appear in Super Mario All-Stars), with a dark navy pipe. The black costume resembles the Inky Piranha Plant from Super Mario 3D Land (but may also refer to the Pale Piranha from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door), with a red pot. The white costume may resemble the Nipper Plants as they appear in most other games, but with gray spots, alongside a large yellow pipe. The indigo costume with pink lips resembles the Bungee Piranhas from Yoshi's Island DS, Prickly Piranha Plants from Super Mario Galaxy, and to a lesser extent, Mom Piranha when colored blue as well, as her blue-colored Piranha Plants prior to and during her boss fight in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, and was in a goldenrod, metallic pot. Its blue costume is derived from how its sprite appeared in underworld levels in Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, as well as the Frost Piranha from Super Paper Mario, and had a brown pipe.

Mario Party series
Piranha Plants are featured quite prominently in the Mario Party series, often as obstacles in minigames. In Mario Party, Piranha Plants could be planted by players in the Peach's Birthday Cake board; players that stop on the plant's spot lose a Star. In Mario Party 3, Piranha Plants appear in Waluigi's Island and are Waluigi's partner in Duel Mode. In Mario Party Advance, a Piranha Plant is featured in a quest where the player must bring one to a Bob-omb named Bob-omba, and several Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the minigame Go-go Pogo. Until Mario Party 7, the Mario Party Piranha Plants were based on the species' appearance in Super Mario 64, as evidenced by their green lips, which were switched to white in Mario Party 7. In the first three games, most Piranha Plants seen were tripedal; they walked on three leg-like roots.

Mario Party
A legged Piranha Plant chases the solo player in the 1-vs-3 minigame Piranha's Pursuit, and a giant one is found in Tug o' War. Additionally, the minigame Whack-a-Plant involves stomping Piranha Plants which pop out of Warp Pipes. Piranha Plants are also part of the audience in Mario Bandstand.

Mario Party 2
A Piranha Plant that appears in Mario Party 2, appears in Mini-Game Park and is constantly chasing a butterfly without stopping. After the player buys a certain number of minigames from Woody, the Piranha Plant congratulates the player for their hard work and gives the player the minigames Dungeon Dash and Rainbow Run; after the latter, it leaves the Mini-Game Park, never to be seen again. A Piranha Plant can also be seen in the background in Bowser Land next to three red Warp Pipes. Two Piranha Plants can be seen inside glass domes in Space Land. In the minigame Toad in the Box, a Piranha Plant is one of four possible results when hitting the rotating block. If it is gotten, the player will be stunned temporarily.

Mario Party 3
In Mario Party 3, a spiked Piranha Plant appears in the background of the minigame Vine with Me, possibly Naval Piranha. Piranha Plants also appear in the minigame Storm Chasers, where players must water their Piranha Plants by chasing a moving cloud.

A Piranha Plant is also one of the partners in the game's Duel Mode, and is Waluigi's default partner. It has an attack power of 3, one health point, and a salary of five coins. Its ability allows it to occasionally give the player an extra die with a 1-3 on it to roll after rolling. Two Piranha Plants appear in the item minigame Winner's Wheel, watching the player. If the player wins, the Piranha Plants will dance.

Mario Party 4
Although Piranha Plants don't appear in any boards or minigames, or as an item in Mario Party 4, they make a brief cameo in the background of the Option Room, acting as the speakers for the sound test.

Mario Party 5
In Mario Party 5, the minigame Pop-Star Piranhas presents five dancing Piranha Plants. The players must find out the one that is dancing differently from the others. The Piranha Plant Capsule makes its first appearance in this game. Any player who lands on a space containing the capsule loses half of their coins. Two Piranha Plant statues also appear in Bowser Nightmare. In Super Duel Mode, the Piranha Plant is a weapon the player can use. In Triple Jump, a Piranha Plant is located at the 150 foot/50m sign.

Mario Party 6
The minigame Odd Card Out from Mario Party 6 contains cards with Piranha Plants printed on them. Three Piranha Plants appear in the Solo Mode board Thirsty Gulch, dancing similarly to the Piranha Plants in Pop-Star Piranhas from Mario Party 5. The Piranha Plant Orb reappears as an orb that can only be placed on a space. Any player who lands on it will lose half of their coins and give them to the owner of the space. Piranha Plants also appear as obstacles in Mole-it!, where they try to hinder the players' progress by chomping on them. Two Piranha Plant-shaped lamps appear next to Bowser's table in Seer Terror.

Mario Party 7
The Piranha Plant Orb returns unchanged from Mario Party 6. In Herbicidal Maniac, the goal is to shoot down all Piranha Plants before the opponents does. Hitting a mine will result in more Piranha Plants appearing. Three Piranha Plant-shaped fountains appear in the background in the Waterfall Battle game mode. Four Piranha Plant statues appear in the background in Pyramid Scheme. If one team in Wingin' It get's 19m or higher, a Piranha Plant will appear out of the house's chimney.

Mario Party 8
Piranha Plants also appear in Mario Party 8. In DK's Treetop Temple and King Boo's Haunted Hideaway, they act as hazards and take 10 coins from the player, when they land on a particular ? Space. In the minigame Winner or Dinner, they appear as enemies along with Spiny Eggs, biting the players And tossing them out of the oasis. A Piranha Plant is one of the hidden enemies in Specter Inspector.

Mario Party DS
A Piranha Plant acted as the only non-Koopa boss in Mario Party DS. In the first stage of Story Mode, the plant terrorized Wiggler's Garden. After the tiny heroes battled it out, the superstar got to play the minigame Feed and Seed in order to defeat the Piranha Plant. In the minigame, they had to throw Bomb Seeds in its mouth three times. After defeating the Piranha Plant, a Wiggler thanked the tiny heroes and gives them the first Sky Crystal, and the heroes continued their quest for Bowser's Castle.

Mario Party 9
Piranha Plants appear in minigames featured in Mario Party 9. In Speeding Bullets, they get out of Warp Pipes and can slow down the Bullet Bills when both collide. In Piranha Patch, Piranha Plants grow from normal flower buds and take one point from the players they attack. They also appear as hazards in Wiggler Bounce. Piranha Plants are also found in red Warp Pipes next to Unlucky Spaces where they take the captain down in a cavern with six Mini Ztar Spaces.

The Piranha Plant is also given a constellation, named "Gluttonous Gobbler."

Mario Party: Island Tour
Piranha Plants appear in Mario Party: Island Tour as obstacles that the player must avoid in the minigame Quickest Cricket. Two also appear in one of the scenes depicted in Get Reel.

Mario Party 10
Piranha Plants reappear in Mario Party 10 in the Mushroom Park board, as well as in minigames such as Pipe Sniper. Additionally, Golden Piranha Plants also appear, and Petey Piranha appears as the boss of Mushroom Park; who is fought in the Boss Minigame, Petey's Bomb Battle.

Mario Party: Star Rush
Piranha Plants reappear alongside their gold counterparts in Mario Party: Star Rush as targets in the minigame Piranha Plantemonium.

Super Mario Party
Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario Party in the minigame Miner Setbacks. They can also appear in the Party Plaza, where they block Warp Pipes leading to locked game modes. Kamek removes the Piranha Plants as the player completes requirements.

Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, Piranha Plants are found in Forever Forest. Unlike the Piranha Plants of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, who are firmly rooted in place and unable to move, the Piranha Plants of Paper Mario are shown to be able to move around freely; if a Piranha Plant is alerted to Mario's presence, it will burrow underground and suddenly "burst" to the surface near Mario and try to bite him as the First Strike. The Piranha Plants in this game have yellow teeth.

Two variations of Piranha Plants, the tropical Putrid Piranha and frigid Frost Piranha, are introduced in Paper Mario. The boss of Mt. Lavalava, Lava Piranha is also a gigantic, talking and flaming Piranha Plant.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Piranha Plants also appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They form part of the Audience and also appear as enemies, where four types are found. The first ones to be encountered are known as Pale Piranhas, which are first found in Boggly Woods. Additionally, Putrid Piranhas and Frost Piranhas return from Paper Mario, along with a new, powerful variety, simply called Piranha Plant. These Piranha Plants are colored the same as regular Piranha Plants, besides being the most powerful Piranha Plants in the game, having extremely high HP and attack power, and are not even found in the main story, only appearing in the optional Pit of 100 Trials.

Super Paper Mario
Piranha Plants appear again in the third Paper Mario game, Super Paper Mario. In this game, regular Piranhas appear in Lineland, Gloam Valley, and The Bitlands, but not the Pit of 100 Trials. In this game Piranha Plants have yellow teeth just like they do in Paper Mario as well as the similar variety in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Tippi calls them notorious. The Putrid Piranha and Frost Piranha return as well. The only way to defeat them is by using items. However, as new characters and Pixls are gained, it becomes much easier to defeat them. They are much weaker in comparison to its previous appearances in the series.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star


Piranha Plants reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, having more HP than their previous iterations. They first appear in World 3 as semi-common enemies, but later appear in World 5 as common enemies. Their appearance hasn't changed too much from the previous Paper Mario games, though they have white teeth rather than yellow and their leaves look like those from the mainstream games. Piranha Plants are very resilient in this game, due to having a lot of HP, are able to home in on Mario's direction outside battle, and guard ? Blocks to prevent Mario from getting the stickers. Piranha Plants can attack by biting Mario, as like in the other Paper Mario games. Piranha Plants also have a new attack to spit gas at Mario. The spit attack has low attack power but it can make Mario dizzy. They can also dig underground to dodge attacks for one turn so that way Mario's attacks would miss. Not even a POW Block will damage it in this state. Like the other Paper Mario games, Piranha Plants cannot be stomped on unless an Iron Jump sticker is used; this does not apply, however, if they are soggy, asleep or Crumpled. Fire Piranhas are also seen in this game. They are aided by enemies that have more than 10 HP which are Shy Guys, Snifits, Hammer Bros, Poison Bloopers, Spike Tops and Spear Guys. Two Piranha Plants also aid the third Wiggler Segment.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Piranha Plants reappear in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They appear in Redpepper Crater and Mossrock Theater.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
A few Piranha Plants appear in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on the Bowser Badlands course. They dwell in pipes, and if the ball rolls into their pipe they take it and spit it out, likely causing it to fall into lava.

Mario Golf: World Tour
A Piranha Plant appears in Mario Golf: World Tour in Nabbit's Double Bogey animation. Here, it is hiding in his pouch, so when he jumps in he gets bitten by the Piranha Plant.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Beanbean International Airport, where they interrupt the landing process of the Toad Express. These Piranha Plants must be killed by Luigi's Thunderhand after dousing them in water.

A giant Piranha Plant, which oddly hatches from an egg, appears as a boss in the Beanbean International Airport. This Piranha Plant, named Mom Piranha, had the ability to shoot energy beams and change colors (and weaknesses), and could summon Piranha Plants of the same color. Later on in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, a Piranha Plant named Piranha Bean appears as a mini-boss. Oddly, Piranha Bean had the ability to shrink anything it eats.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Though regular Piranha Plants don't appear in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, two new sub-species of them, called Elasto-Piranhas and Piranha Planets appear. Additionally, Petey Piranha also appears.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
A cell-based variation of the Piranha Plant, the Piranha Plorp, appeared in the Energy Hold in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Two giant Piranha Plants were also located in Peach's Castle, and had to be defeated by Bowser by leaping up to their buds and bashing into them.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Piranha Plants reappear as enemies in the Mario & Luigi series in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. In the field when Mario and Dreamy Luigi are in the vicinity, Piranha Plants spit fire in the direction it faces upon coming out several times before retreating back into the ground to hide for a moment, repeating this process indefinitely on the same spot. If the is used, the Piranha Plants all retreat underground briefly as the gravity transforms.

In battle, a Piranha Plant may spit a large fireball or a Fly Guy at Mario, who must jump over or idle under these respective objects to avoid taking damage. Piranha Plants may spit out Nipper Spores that become Fiery Walking Piranhas who assist them in battle from the background. While the Fiery Walking Piranhas are still alive, a Piranha Plant can spit a fireball towards them, which will bounce the fireball about until each Fiery Walking Piranha has touched the fireball, and the last one to touch it sends the fireball towards Mario, who must hammer it at the Piranha Plant to avoid taking damage.

Piranha Plants are weak to Fire attacks, and thus take critical damage from the Luiginary Flame.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Piranha Plants don't appear themselves, but Fire Piranha Plants and their new paper variant do.

Super Princess Peach
Piranha Plants appear as rare enemies in Super Princess Peach. They act like how they did in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They could be defeated with Perry or by using Rage, but could not be jumped on or picked up. Getting too close or attempting to jump on it results in Peach being swallowed and chewed on temporarily before being spit back out. There is also a new variety of them called Glad Piranha Plants, normal and Glad Ptooies, and normal and Sad Nipper Plants also appear in Super Princess Peach. There was also a reappearance of Petey Piranha, although he was called "Boss P. Plant" (short for "Boss Piranha Plant") in the American version of the game's glossary.

Mario Superstar Baseball
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Piranha Plants appear as obstacles in the Yoshi Park, where they will eat any nearby balls and spit them out in a random direction. Piranha Plants also appear in the Piranha Panic minigame, where players must hit colored Piranha Plants with eggs of matching colors. Purple Piranha Plants can be hit with any egg.

Mario Super Sluggers
Piranha Plants reappear in the next installment, Mario Super Sluggers. Here, they reside in Yoshi Park again. This time however, they can take a ball, go in the pipe, and transport it to another part of the field. They can also stun any fielders who make contact with the Piranha Plants. Piranha Panic returns, except that the player must pitch the right balls into the Piranha Plants in order to score points and avoid getting stunned by it.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Piranha Plants reappear in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. They can be defeated by having turnips thrown at them, landing on their heads, or spinning into them.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
Piranha Plants, along with Fire Piranha Plants, reappear in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, debuting in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! in Area 4-5. They return in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars in Level 5-6, and also Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge in Level 4. They do not generate fireballs, but if they receive a fireball from a Fire Piranha Plant, they spit it back shortly after, behaving just like their fire-shooting counterparts in this case. They are fixed to a surface and can destroy the Minis at a single touch, but can otherwise be defeated with Hammers, a Slope Slide or if hit by shooting a Mini from a Cannon.

Captain Rainbow
A single Piranha Plant also appears in the game Captain Rainbow in the garden of Lip's house. After Birdo, it is the second Mario series character appearing in the game, but it only has a minor role. The fairy Lip takes care of the Piranha Plant.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Piranha Plants appear as common enemies in this game that can also serve as an ally for the player. It's main attribute is Wood, with no sub-attributes. It's skill Piranha Drain turns all Water Orbs into Heart Orbs. It's awoken skill Wood Boost raises the ATK of all Wood attribute team members whenever a horizontal line of Wood Orbs is cleared.

It's HP and RCV are low and it's ATK is below average. The player can transform a Piranha Plant into a Fire Piranha Plant by using four Fire Flowers on it. If the player instead uses four Poison Mushrooms, it will transform into a Bone Piranha Plant instead. Because the Piranha Plant is treated as a generic enemy, it can still be battled, even if the player has one in their party.

Play Nintendo
A Piranha Plant named Izzy is a co-host of The Play Nintendo Show, along with Andrew Trego. Izzy is a voiced puppet who remains within a Warp Pipe during the duration of the show, whose two leaves serve as arms. He has a role in providing comic relief and hosting supporting segments for the show, such as "Izzy News". Andrew says that Izzy gets a bit snappy before lunch.

Nintendo Monopoly
A Piranha Plant appears as a utility in Nintendo Monopoly. It costs $150, and takes the place of the Electric Company.

Big Brain Academy
In Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS, the silhouette of a Piranha Plant appears under the 3-Star difficulty of the "Get in Shape" minigame.

The Legend of Zelda series
Piranha Plants also appear as semi-regular enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. Manhandla, which debuted in the first game, are boss monsters which were said to be four-limbed, jumbo-sized variants of Piranha Plant. More conventional Piranha Plants also appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which contained a few other Nintendo cameos. Piranha Plants are also very similar to Deku Babas, which first appeared in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Sonic Lost World
Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Yoshi's Island Zone DLC for Sonic Lost World. They more resemble how they appear in Yoshi's Island, with extremely large heads compared to their stems. The only way to defeat them is to kick a Shy Guy into them.

Animal Crossing series
Piranha Plants appear in the Warp Pipe furniture item in the Animal Crossing series.

Minecraft
In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, Piranha Plants appear on Rose Bushes. Piranha Creepers and Nipper Plants also appear.

Lego City Undercover
The player can grow a Piranha Plant in Lego City Undercover. The Piranha Plant will shoot fireballs at the player.

Super Mario Galaxy trading card description
''An old enemy of Mario, these large carnivorous plants live in pipes, just waiting to munch on anyone who might try to jump into their territory. These hungry plants can be either red, green, or a larger purple. Mario can stun them by throwing Star Bits at them or kill them by jumping on their heads.''

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Super Mario Run

 * Notebook bio: "This dangerous plant hides in pipes. It's kind of shy, so it won't come out if you're nearby."

Gallery


Trivia

 * In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the chomping noises the Piranha Plants make is Petey Piranha's voice sped up. They also make the same sound as Petey Piranha gets hit by an item or falls down the kart when they get hit by an item.