Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha (Boss Pakkun in Japan) is a giant, mutated male 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 Bianco Hills entirely by walking straight to Petey Piranha. When Mario faced him on top of the Big Windwill, Petey Piranha's enourmous weight made the windmill's roof collapse and he 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 Piranha'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 Piranha 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 Piranha's belly with water and Ground Pound it. On the ground, Petey Piranha not only attacked by spitting Goop, but also by unleashing small tornadoes. After being defeated, Petey Piranha once again dissolved into Goop.

Petey Piranha Returns
Even if he was said to be defeated, Petey Piranha 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. This makes this appearance extremely similar to his Super Mario Sunshine appearance.

Petey Piranha in the Ice World
In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha was the boss of World 5, the ice world. He attacked by flying up high, then dropping from the sky, crushing any opponents beneath him with a move similar to the Ground Pound. Since the floor was made of slippery ice, after attacking slipped and fell. It was then that he could be attacked. If Mario or Luigi could defeat him using a Mini Mushroom, they would travel to World 7 instead of World 6.

Petey Piranha the Putter
Later, Petey Piranha 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 Piranha 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 Piranha'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 distracting the head to beat it.

Power Player
In Mario Power Tennis, Petey Piranha'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. Petey will reappear in Super Mario Stadium Baseball.

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 Piranha, and that Petey Piranha is a species and maybe the Petey Piranhas Mario has fought before are not always the same, explaining why he always died and came back. However, as it has been constantly hinted that there is only a single Petey Piranha, he probably, if not a species, is defeated and later somehow revived.

Petey Piranha 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 Piranha to spit mud on the ground, which slows everyone but him down. He can use this move up to 4 times in one Super Ability. Petey Piranha's Deke 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 Striker 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 after blasting Mario away with a canonball (before Mario could destroy the Subspace Bomb). Kirby must attack the cages to the weaken them, saving one of the princesses. However, only one can be saved, and the other princess will be changed back into a trophy by Wario, who will then steal the trophy. Petey Piranha may or may not be affilated with the Subspace Army.

Physical Description
Petey Piranha could be recognized as a Piranha Plant, but looks a little different from a normal one. According to Mario Superstar Baseball, Petey Piranha got his looks from a mutation of an unknown source, possibly the Shroobs. He has 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 Piranha is a stereotypical big and strong character with a tiny brain. Even though Petey Piranha 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 Piranha's victory ending, instead of attacking Mario and the others, he simply took the Trophy and flew away. His exact motives towards Mario and his friends is unknown. 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 and whip up tornadoes with his leaves. The goop was slippery and enemies spawned from it. 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 Piranha 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, named Dino Piranha, greatly resembles Petey Piranha, but 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 seeing that Petey never appeared in a Mario party game.
 * In German versions of games, Petey Piranha is female and is known as "Mutant Tyranha".