Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha (Boss Pakkun in Japan) is a giant male, mutated Piranha Plant. He first appeared as a boss in Super Mario Sunshine, and has become a regular character in Mario spin-offs.

The First Fight
In the past of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Petey Piranha ate Princess Peach and Kylie Koopa at the Koopaseum. Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi went into the Gritzy Caves and fought him to save Peach and Kylie.

On Isle Delfino
In Super Mario Sunshine, Petey Piranha appeared in Episode 2 of Bianco Hills. Actually, he appeared already in Episode 1 and the player was able to skip the first Shine Sprite of Biano Hills entirely by walking straight to Petey Piranha. When Mario faced him on top of the Big Windwill, Petey's enourmous weight made the windmill's roof collapse and Petey and Mario fell into the windmill. Inside, Petey Piranha attacked Mario by spitting Goop at him. Mario, however, shot water into his mouth with FLUDD, and then Ground Pounded Petey's belly three times. Petey Piranha then dissolved into Goop.

However, Petey Piranha appeared once again in Episode 5, where he was sleeping on a cliff high above Bianco Hills. After Mario waked him with Poinks, Petey used his enourmous arms to float and launched an attack on the village from the sky. Mario had to get him on the ground by shooting Poinks at him, and once again had to fill Petey's belly with water and Ground Pound it. On the ground, Petey Piranha not only attacked by spitting Goop, but also by unleashing small tornadoes. After being defeated, Petey Piranha once again dissolved into Goop.

Petey in the Ice World
In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha is the boss of World 5, the ice world. Petey attacks by flying up high, then dropping from the sky, crushing any opponents beneath him with a move similar to the ground pound. Since the floor is made of slippery ice, after attacking he will slip and fall. It is then that he can be attacked. If Mario or Luigi can defeat him using a Mini Mushroom, they will travel to World 7 instead of World 6.

Petey Piranha Returns
Even if he was said to be defeated, Petey reappeared as a boss in Super Princess Peach, under the name Boss P. Plant. Peach had to cry so the water would inflate him and make him fall down and reveal his weak spot: his belly button.

Petey the Putter
Later, Petey started playing sports with Mario and his friends. He first showed up as an unlockable character in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, in which his large size made him the most powerful golfer in the game.

Piranha Racing
Petey also appeared as a powerful unlockable in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with King Boo as his partner. They were unlocked by beating the Flower Cup in Mirror Mode. They both had the ability to use any character's special item. Petey's personal kart is the Piranha Pipes, a vehicle assembled out of the Piranha Plant's trademark, green tubing.

Pinball Petey
There was also a deformed version of him in Mario Pinball Land. It had no feet, a long neck, a more outward mouth, and a round body. Mario had to hit the body three times while ditracting the head to beat it.

Power Player
In Mario Power Tennis, Petey's bulk served him well again, as he was one of the more powerful competitors. His Power Shots were Sludge Racket and Piranha Swingback. The first involved swallowing his racket, puking it up, and spitting it at the ball at a high speed, the latter involved him spitting a Piranha Plant in the Generator near the ball, which would then hit it back to the other side of the court.

Hard Hitter
Petey Piranha also appeared in Mario Superstar Baseball. Here, he had the ability to body check other players, making him an effective character in close plays.

The Daisy Garden
Strangely, two Petey Piranha-like characters appear in the Daisy Garden court as the basket in Mario Hoops 3 on 3 and try to keep anyone from making a slam dunk. It is possible that these are Piranha plants of the same species as Petey, and that Petey is a species and maybe the Peteys Mario has fought before are not always the same, explaining why he always died and came back.

Petey Plays Soccer
Petey Piranha is also an unlockable captain in the Wii game Mario Strikers Charged. He is a Power player, which means he is good at tackling and shooting, but cannot pass or run very well. His Super Ability, Mud Slinger!, causes Petey to spit mud on the ground, which slows everyone but him down. He can use this move up to 4 times in one Super Ability. Petey's Deke also has a wide-range, and is very effective. His Mega Strike is hard to block as well, and it is a very unique move. This is also matched by the fact that he is the final unlockable character in the game, unlocked by beating the Strikers Cup, which is the last cup, which will result in beating Petey as well. The player has to beat Petey in the Stormship Stadium to unlock him.

An Enemy Again
Petey Piranha will also be the first boss in the Subspace Emissary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He captures Peach and Zelda in cages, and prepares to face off against Kirby. Kirby attacks by dragging the cages along the ground, and the more he does this, the weaker the cages become, saving one of the princesses. However, only one can be saved, and it is currently unknown what happens to the one who is not rescued. Petey Piranha may or may not be affilated with the Subspace Army.

Physical Description
Petey could be recognized as a Piranha Plant, but looks a little different from a normal one. According to Mario Superstar Baseball, Petey Piranha got his looks from a mutation of an unknown source, possibly the Shroobs. He has leaflike arms and stubby legs unlike normal Piranha Plants. He also has a ring of flowers around his head (which could be a crown) and is bigger than most Piranha Plants. He has a big button on his belly, which is his weak point. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the first game which portrays Petey Piranha having a tongue in his mouth, and it was afterwards also seen in Mario Strikers Charged and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Personality
Petey is a stereotypical big and strong character with a tiny brain. Even though Petey isn't very smart, he's still very skillful at playing golf. He also seems to like taking naps, and gets frustrated when someone suddenly wakes him up. He is also known for being very hungry, and he seems to be omnivorous. Despite his low intelligence, he seems to want to destroy Mario, but not as bad as Bowser. However, this may be due to the fact that he is simply hungry, and he sees Mario as a nice snack. However, in Mario Power Tennis, in Petey's victory ending, instead of attacking Mario and the others, he simply took the Trophy and flew away. His exact motives towards Mario and his friends is unknown. Petey Piranha appears to have some sort of a relationship with King Boo.

Abilities
Petey Piranha's leaves double as wings, something normal Piranha Plants cannot do. In Super Mario Sunshine he could spit out goop from his mouth. The goop was slippery and enemies spawned from it. He also whipped up tornadoes. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time he could dig though sand and spit out a Piranha Plant seed which would sprout and attack the players. In Super Princess Peach he could make soundwaves, shockwaves and spit nipper plants.

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

Trivia

 * A boss in the upcoming game Super Mario Galaxy, conjecturally named "Prehistoric Piranha", greatly resembles Petey Piranha, but the Piranha Plant Dinosaur is more ghastly and lizard-like.
 * Petey Piranha is offered as an answer to one of Pokey's riddles in Mario Party Advance — specifically, "What golfs, parties, and rides on a kart?" However, Mario is the correct answer.
 * In German-speaking countries Petey Piranha is female and is known as "Mutant Tyranha".