Mammoshka

Mammoshka is a boss in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Found near the top of Mount Pajamaja, this mammoth-like creature acts as a guardian for the mountain, and it is battled by Mario and Luigi in their journey to the mountain's summit. Its name is a pun on "mammoth" and "mamushka" (an alternate, erroneous name for Matryoshka dolls), both of which form its basis.

Mammoshka appears to be a mammoth-like creature with a body made out of bricks and a white "X" on the top of its head, indicating its weakness to jump attacks. Its eyes change color depending on the boss's mood; for example, its eyes turn red when it is mad.

History
Mammoshka first appears when Mario, Luigi, Big Massif and Lil' Massif reach a point near the pinnacle of Mount Pajamaja, where it is found sleeping. Big Massif and Lil' Massif both manage to creep around Mammoshka without waking it up, leaving Mario and Luigi to try doing the same. While they tried doing so, Luigi ended up sneezing and woke up Mammoshka, forcing Mario and Luigi to battle it while Big Massif and Lil' Massif fled to the area ahead. A more powerful variant of Mammoshka called Mammoshka X is fought in the Battle Ring.

Battle
In battle, Mammoshka can attack by shoving a giant snowball at either Mario or Luigi, who have to hit it to the other brother. After each brother hits the snowball at least once with the Hammer, the snowball disappears. If a brother gets hit by it however, he is caught on the snowball and sent rolling off-screen inside it, where the player needs to press either or  depending on which brother it is with the right timing to jump and break free properly. Taking too long results in Mammoshka ramming the snowball into a nearby pit with the brother in it, damaging him. The player can tell who Mammoshka will attack if it hits him or not. If it does hit, it attacks Luigi, whereas if it does not, it attacks Mario.

Mammoshka can also go into the background and ram the cliff-side to summon an enormous rock, which it throws towards Mario and Luigi. The brothers must simultaneously hammer the rock as it falls towards them, knocking it back into the air; if only one brother hits the rock, it will fall on the other brother and damage him. After several hits, the rock will fly back at Mammoshka, damaging it (or breaking off its helmet). If the Mario Bros. get hit with the rock they will take large damage and may get dizzy.

Mammoshka can also chase Luigi off-screen, warping around to appear from the right side in line with Mario. If Mario jumps over Luigi, they both avoid taking damage; if he fails to dodge, they'll both get trampled by Mammoshka. If Mario jumps right on top of Luigi, they both avoid damage and Mario damages Mammoshka in turn.

Another of Mammoshka's attacks is to chase Mario and Luigi down the mountain, trying to suck them into its trunk while gradually moving side-to-side. If Mario and Luigi dodge its attacks, it eventually ends the chase, but if one brother is sucked in, he instantly takes a large amount of damage and possible POW-Down status; Mammoshka will then shoot the brother out towards the one remaining, who has to then jump over him as he flies down the screen. If the other brother lands on the trapped brother during this shot, the trapped brother takes additional damage. Mammoshka may perform a fake-out with this shot; the real attack comes when the trapped brother's head and arms are visible on the end of Mammoshka's trunk, and the fake-out occurs when only the trapped brother's legs are visible.

During the battle, some Block Monolifts may appear to aid Mammoshka. These enemies carry different helmets inside blocks of ice on their heads, and if they're not defeated within one round, they give Mammoshka a helmet, a spiked helmet, or a pail to protect it from Mario and Luigi's jump based attacks, its weakness. The headwear can be destroyed by jumping on it or by countering its rock or Luigi-chase attacks, although if it is the spike helmet, only the rock attack or the use of the Dropchopper can destroy it.

When Mammoshka's health is low, its armor starts to crack, revealing a smaller, pale blue-colored version of itself underneath. Mario and Luigi then chase the boss as it flees down the mountain, jumping on its head to continue breaking its armor. With proper timing ("A" for Mario, "B" for Luigi), Mammoshka's outer shell gradually shrinks to nothing, revealing its true form, a small, pink fur-covered mammoth. After one last jump to its head from Mario or Luigi at this point, Mammoshka is defeated.

If the player fails to jump on Mammoshka during the final section of the battle twice, it will jump into another outer shell and resume the battle. However, it will not restore any health after doing this, so one more hit will break its shell again.

Trivia

 * The encounter with Mammoshka is similar to the one with Trunkle - they are seen asleep at some point, they are in a similarly shaped room, Big Massif and Little Massif at the other end of the room resemble the also similar looking Toads on the other side of the room, both of them attack Mario and Luigi upon sight after waking up, and Trunkle's desert themed environment parallels Mammoshka's ice themed one.

Mammoshka