Proto Piranha

A Polluted Piranha is a large species of Piranha Plant composed entirely of Goop. They appear as enemies in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Power Tennis, and Mario Golf: Advance Tour. Unlike regular Piranha Plants, Polluted Piranhas do not have any teeth.

In Super Mario Sunshine, Polluted Piranhas appear out of Goop Generators in several areas towards the beginning of the game. In order to defeat one, Mario must use F.L.U.D.D. to shoot water into its open mouth repeatedly (if Mario sprays one while its mouth is closed, it merely shrugs the attack off). Once defeated, Polluted Piranhas dissolve into Goop, after which their Goop Generator disappears; Mario cannot wash away a Goop Generator like he can with normal Goop without first defeating the Polluted Piranha inside. Aside from periodically spawning Goobles, a Polluted Piranha does nothing to attack, and will actually retreat back into its Goop Generator if Mario does not spray it.

Polluted Piranhas come in several different colors which correspond to the specific type of Goop. The behavior of these enemies varies depending on the color of the Goop that they come out of; Polluted Piranhas that emerge from pink, yellow, orange, and white Goop cannot spawn Goobles and must be sprayed three times before being defeated, those that come out of brown and white Goop can spawn Goobles and must be sprayed three times before being defeated, and those that come out of black Goop are able to spawn Goobles and have to be sprayed six times before being defeated. The black one blocking Gelato Beach also sends out a large wave of Goobles all at once halfway through the fight. It is also worth noting that the brown one in Bianco Hills is the only one that can be fought multiple times, due to the rest being fought in Delfino Plaza or Delfino Airstrip.

In Mario Power Tennis, Petey Piranha's Defensive Power Shot, Piranha Swingback, involves him creating a Polluted Piranha to hit an unreachable tennis ball for him.

In Mario Golf: Advance Tour, Polluted Piranhas appear in the Mushroom Tourney course along with many regular Piranha Plants. They are found outside of the course itself.