Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha is an abnormally large mutant Piranha Plant with a ring of petals on his head. His first appearance is in Super Mario Sunshine, and since then has become a common, recurring boss in Mario titles, despite seemingly being destroyed after each encounter. He also consistently appears in sports games and spin-offs, and even featured as a playable character in several sports games. Petey Piranha was thought to be a loyal follower of Bowser, but this was undetermined until Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam showed Bowser directly giving him an order. It has been suggested by bios for Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Party: Star Rush that he is the ruler of his kind, as well as by his Japanese name, Boss Pakkun, as "Pakkun Flower" is the Japanese name for the Piranha Plant. He has multiple special powers and abilities that set him apart from normal Piranha Plants, including spitting Goop, flying using his leaves, and attacking with vines.

Several other "Giant Piranha Plant" characters appear throughout the Mario series, many of which bear a resemblance to Petey, including the Mom Piranha from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy, and the Peewee Piranha from Super Mario Galaxy 2. He also has a paper counterpart, who appears in ''Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Petey Piranha is stationed in Bianco Hills, where he covers the landscape with Goop. While Mario is on the landscape in front of the windmill, where the Polluted Piranha is fought, Petey Piranha shoots Goop at Mario from a very far away distance. When Mario faces him on top of the Big Windmill, Petey Piranha's enormous weight makes the windmill's roof collapse, causing Mario and him to fall into the windmill.

Inside, Petey Piranha attacks Mario by spitting Goop at him, and also headbutting him if he comes too close. However, just as he is about to spray Goop, Mario shoots water into his mouth with F.L.U.D.D., causing his stomach to become filled with water and making him fall to the ground. Mario then Ground Pounds Petey Piranha's belly three times, causing him to dissolve into Goop and give Mario a Shine Sprite. Petey Piranha survives and appears once again in Episode 5, where he is snoozing on a cliff high above Bianco Hills. After Mario wakes him by blasting him with a Poink, Petey Piranha uses his enormous arms to fly and launches an attack from the sky. However, he cannot stay airborne for very long without having to struggle to stay in the sky. Mario uses this against him and sprays water or shoots Poinks at him, both of which cause him to fall to the ground. Then, in the same manner as the previous battle, Mario fills Petey Piranha's belly with water and Ground Pounds it. However, if Mario is able to Ground Pound him, or if he successfully spits Goop, he can take to the skies again. On the ground, Petey Piranha not only attacks by spitting Goop, but also by unleashing Tweesters. After being defeated, Petey Piranha once again dissolves into Goop and is not seen for the remainder of the game.

Most of Petey's attacks have no effect on Mario, but the Goop that he spits out hurts Mario if he stays on it for too long, and it can spawn Swoopin' Stus. However, if Mario ventures too close to Petey during the Tweester attack, he will whack Mario with his wings and damage him.

The player can actually fight Petey Piranha before they complete the first episode of Bianco Hills. Petey is already standing atop the Big Windmill in the first episode, and after the player defeats the Polluted Piranha, the path to the windmill opens, allowing access to Petey. If Mario speaks to the Pianta standing at the windmill, he responds to the fact that he is skipping ahead, asking, "Whuzzah!? Whozat?! What're you doing over here? You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think? Isn't there something else you should do before coming here?" Petey Piranha's second appearance cannot be fought prior to Episode 5, however.

New Super Mario Bros.


In New Super Mario Bros., Petey Piranha is the boss of World 5, the ice world. Many Piranha Plants appear in Petey's castle, a subtle hint that he is going to appear as the boss at the end. When he is confronted by Mario or Luigi, he attacks by flying up high, then dropping from the sky, attempting to crush Mario or Luigi beneath him with a move similar to the Ground Pound. Since the floor is made of slippery ice, after attacking, he slips and falls. Then, Mario or Luigi can attack him. After two hits, he starts his attack by jumping from side to side. If Mario defeats him using a Mini Mushroom, he can travel to World 7 instead of World 6. However, he is forced to Ground Pound him to inflict damage upon him when tiny. Once defeated, Petey Piranha attempts to get up while glowing a bright white light; he soon vanishes, revealing the key.

Petey is the only boss of this game (other than Mega Goomba) who can be defeated in one hit with an item other than a Mega Mushroom, although with Petey, this requires precise timing. The player requires the Star from the Roulette Block. It must be grabbed when it bounces near the platform with the Big Piranha Plant. The player must then quickly run into the door and into Petey's room. When he starts flying, the player should jump into him before the Star's power runs out, and he will be defeated instantly.

Petey can also be defeated quickly with the Blue Shell: since he will be knocked over as soon as Mario or Luigi slide into him with the Blue Shell, he can be quickly and easily damaged.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Petey makes his first playable appearance in a spin-off game in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. In this game, he is an unlockable character, obtainable by completing all side games (excluding the Birdie Challenge) on beginner, intermediate, and expert. His large size makes him the most powerful golfer in the game, capable of hitting the longest distance and launching the ball with a higher trajectory than any other character. This means that he can easily hit over trees, but his shot is the affected by wind more than any other character. When he hits the ball with his club, a golden streak follows the ball, like the tail of a comet. Like the other unlockable characters, his star character is available when he is unlocked.

On the character select screen, Petey is sleeping, while other characters are all doing some sort of exercise/warm-up/stretch. His animations after completing a hole include him flying up high (eagle, albatross or hole-in one), laughing (birdie), doing the "wave" (par), slapping himself in the face, similar to Super Mario Sunshine if he gets hit by Mario (bogey); and spitting Goop before falling down (double bogey or worse).

Mario Golf: World Tour
Similarly to Mario Tennis Open, there is a Petey Piranha Mii costume that players can unlock in Mario Golf: World Tour. It can be unlocked by completing a Costume Challenge in the Cheep Cheep Lagoon course. Additionally, there is also a Petey Piranha-themed golf club and ball available to buy.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Petey Piranha also appears as an unlockable racer in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with King Boo as his partner, hinting that they have some sort of relationship. The pair is unlocked by beating the Star Cup in Mirror Mode. Unlike the other racers who have their own special items, both Petey and King Boo have no special items of their own. Instead, they have the ability to use any special item in the entire game, except for the Green Fireball and the Birdo Egg. Petey Piranha's personal kart, unlocked at the same time as him, is the Piranha Pipes, a vehicle assembled out of the Piranha Plant's trademark, green tubing. As with all heavyweight racers, he can only race in the Heavy karts.

Notably, if Petey Piranha is selected along with King Boo, the camera will be slightly zoomed out during gameplay; this pairing is the only one to do so.

Mario Kart Wii
Petey Piranha was originally going to appear as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii, as there is an unused player mugshot of him, but the idea was canceled for unknown reasons. However, a kart that resembles him, the Piranha Prowler, is available for use by heavy characters, which can be unlocked by placing first in the 50cc Special Cup. If players are driving this kart and get a speed boost, cross the finish line, or get hit by an item, the mouth at the front of the kart moves. Also, Petey makes a cameo appearance on the billboard for "The Mushroom Moon" in Moonview Highway.

Mario Pinball Land
Petey Piranha makes an appearance in Mario Pinball Land. Here, he has a long neck, a more outward mouth, a round body, and no feet. Petey appears as the first boss in the game, in the Grassy Greens Stage. Before Mario can face him, he has to earn enough stars to open the Star Door at the entrance of the windmill. Once he has opened the door, Petey is fought. Mario has to hit the body three times while distracting Petey's head to beat him. Should Mario linger in front of Petey, the plant will snap him up in his mouth and then spit him towards the middle of the flippers, possibly forcing Mario to restart the battle.

The fact that he is fought in a windmill is a clear reference to Super Mario Sunshine, where the first fight with him is in a windmill as well.

Mario Power Tennis
In Mario Power Tennis, he appears as an unlockable character alongside Fly Guy, Paratroopa, and Wiggler. He can be unlocked by beating the two Special Tournaments - Fire and Thunder - in Doubles. In this game, he appears once again as a power character; therefore, his shots travels faster than usual, but he is slower than most other characters. He is also the largest character in the game, giving him a very large reach, but opponents have an easier time hitting him. Also, if he charges up his shot and the opponent hits it, the opponent gets pushed back a little. His Power Shots are Sludge Racket and Piranha Swingback. The first involves swallowing his racket, spitting it up, and swinging it at the ball at a high speed, while the latter involves him spitting a Polluted Piranha near the ball, which then hits it back to the other side of the court, the shot is a Drop Shot. His default Doubles partner is Wiggler, who is a Defense type character, making them an effective team.

If the player makes Petey a lefty, his appearance is mirrored. The same goes for Bowser Jr. who also is mirrored as a lefty.

Mario Tennis Open
In Mario Tennis Open the player can unlock a Petey Piranha costume to customize their Mii with by reaching 50 rebounds in the Ink Showdown Challenge difficulty. One can also purchase his racket.

Mario Party Advance
Petey Piranha is mentioned as one of the answer choices to one of Pokeys' riddles in Mario Party Advance — specifically, "What golfs, parties, and rides on a kart?". Mario is the correct answer, however, since Petey never appeared in a Mario Party game at that point.

Mario Party DS
Petey was going to appear in Mario Party DS as the first person who needs help, but he was replaced by Wiggler, and his board, "Petey's Greenhouse", was replaced by Wiggler's Garden.

Mario Party 10
Petey Piranha makes his physical debut in the Mario Party series in Mario Party 10; as the boss of Mushroom Park. He is fought in the boss minigame Petey's Bomb Battle, in which players must toss bombs at him to gain points. Periodically, he will attempt to inhale the bombs and spit them back at players to counterattack; being hit by Petey Piranha results in losing one point.

Mario Party: Star Rush
Petey Piranha makes his second appearance in the Mario Party series in Mario Party: Star Rush. He is fought in the boss minigame, Petey Piranha's Shell Smackdown, where players must grab and throw Green Shells to defeat him.

Mario Superstar Baseball
Petey makes an appearance in the first game of the Mario Baseball series, Mario Superstar Baseball, as a team member of Wario's in Challenge Mode. In this game he is a Power type character, the strongest in the game with a batting stat of 9/10, tied with Bowser. He is also the slowest runner, with a running stat of 1/10, tied with Red Pianta, Bowser and most Magikoopas. In this game, he has good chemistry with Birdo, Donkey Kong, and King Boo, but he has bad chemistry with Princess Daisy, Princess Peach, Noki, and Pianta. He has the ability to Body Check, saving him in tight pinches. He also has the strongest throwing arm in the game (despite the fact that his pitching is only around average), and he cannot get body checked when on a base. Also notable is when Petey is fielding, he does not try to catch the ball with a glove and instead eats the ball if he catches it.

Mario Super Sluggers
Petey Piranha reappears in Mario Super Sluggers again as a Power character. However, unlike in the previous installment, he is available from the start. He also still retains his ability to Body Check, being the only player who can do so. He is also the only player who can perform the Piranha Catch. Unlike in the last game, he is on Peach's team. In Challenge Mode, he appears in Peach Ice Garden in an empty flower pot. If Princess Peach uses her special ability, Petey Piranha appears. To get him to join, the player has to hit the ball into the yellow circle three times. In this game he has compatibility with Birdo, King Boo, Blooper, and Wiggler, but he has bad chemistry with Pianta, Noki, Peach, Daisy, Baby Peach, Baby Daisy and Baby Mario. He also appears on the box's game cover, behind Toad and Toadette.

Like with the predecessor, Petey's highest stat is his batting stat; batting is tied with Bowser and King K. Rool. His fielding is about average, but his pitching skills are rather weak, and he's a slow runner. Oddly, Petey Piranha's stamina is quite lackluster, since he gets exhausted rather quickly while pitching; even quicker than King K. Rool, who also has low stamina.

In both Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, Petey is the only character who does not use a bat/glove or any item at all to hit/catch the ball, as he uses his leaf-like arm when he is batting. As mentioned before, Petey eats the ball while fielding and simply uses his mouth as a glove.

Super Princess Peach
Petey Piranha reappears as a boss in Super Princess Peach, defending Bowser's Villa from Princess Peach, and keeping a Toad hostage. In the North American version of this game, he is labeled under the name Boss P. Plant (short for Boss Piranha Plant, a more direct translation of his Japanese name), but in the European release, Petey Piranha is referred to by his proper English name. He is the first boss of the game, being the boss of Ladida Plains. When Peach sees Petey, Petey swallows the Toad, who is trapped in a ball, and Peach has to defeat Petey to rescue the Toad. His attacks send shockwaves, pushing back Peach, shooting Nipper Plants (which can be absorbed for vibe), shooting one shockwave to the left and one to the right (which can defeat Nipper Plants if there are any not defeated by the princess), and if she is using a vibe power, ending it. Peach has to use her Gloom vibe to make a plant grow so that she can leap on a leaf and once again use the vibe to put tears into Petey and inflate him, making him fall and reveal his weak spot: his belly button. Peach has to jump on his belly five times to defeat him. After 3 hits, Petey uses his own vibe, Rage. Petey can bounce around, making Peach's attack tough, and additionally send 2 shockwaves to each side. It is notable that the method of defeating him is very similar to Super Mario Sunshine; however, Peach needs to hit him five times, not three like Mario needs to in Super Mario Sunshine, and when he falls, Peach needed just to stomp his navel. Once defeated, Petey Piranha explodes.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In the Koopaseum of the Mushroom Kingdom's past, shown in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Princess Peach is fed to Petey Piranha by Princess Shroob's orders. Shortly afterwards, Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi enter the Gritzy Caves beneath the Koopaseum to find Petey and save Peach. On their way, they encounter two Shroobs with Kylie Koopa, whom they have suspended by a rope. Petey then emerges from the ground and the Shroobs cut Kylie's rope, feeding her to Petey as well as the princess. But before the Mario Bros. can do anything, he burrows away. Petey acts as the boss of the Gritzy Desert and the game's third major boss.

Unlike the previous bosses due to the bros. already being high on POW, Petey Piranha doesn't have high defense making the battle slightly easier. His attacks include diving into the sand and ejecting rocks towards the Mario Bros. To dodge this assault, they have to look at how Petey dives, and they must jump with the according Bro. Petey starts the battle hovering, but after being hit by multiple attacks, he falls into the sand, being buried up to his head. His other main attack, while grounded, involves going underground and swallowing the sand, trying to drag the Mario Bros. into his mouth. The brothers have to jump up and down to not get consumed. He can also spit out Piranha Pests that have to be hammered away multiple times. After a certain number of turns, he jumps out of the sand and resumes hovering, though the Bros. can knock him out of the air again. He is especially susceptible to fire and ice. Once defeated, Petey Piranha explodes and both Kylie and a Cobalt Star Shard fly out of him, but Princess Peach does not. Kylie explains that when she was eaten, she saw the princess, but Petey spit her out right after swallowing Kylie.

This encounter hints that Petey may have become familiar with the Mario Bros. and Princess Peach before his debut in Super Mario Sunshine. This also hints that Petey may well be considerably older than most other characters like Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser, since they are all babies at this point.

In this game, Petey Piranha has the voice identical to that of a Shrooboid.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Petey Piranha and his paper counterpart, Paper Petey Piranha, both appear as bosses in the fifth installment of the Mario & Luigi series, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Both versions of Petey are fought in Sunbeam Plains.

The regular Petey Piranha appears as the game's first boss‚ and is sent to attack Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario by Bowser after he teams up with Paper Bowser and they kidnap both Peaches. He mainly attacks by ramming towards Paper Mario, flying into the air before slamming onto the ground; creating a shock wave, or by attempting to grab one of the trio using his leaves whilst spinning rapidly before chomping down on them multiple times. Lastly, he also has a chase attack where he will spit balls of Goop at the trio. which they have to avoid by grabbing onto Paper Mario's paper airplane form. If Paper Mario successfully avoids the spinning attack, Petey will become dizzy and will fall over for a short period of time, allowing the group to attack his stomach; where he can potentially cough up some coins or a Goomba whenever a Jump attack is used. Being a plant, Petey Piranha is especially weak to fire-based Bros. Attacks; such as the Fire Flower. Upon being defeated, the trio continue pursuing the Bowsers.

Additionally, his paper counterpart appears as the game's fourth major boss. He is encountered by the trio whilst travelling through Sunbeam Plains in order to progress to Gloomy Woods. He begins the battle by stealing Paper Mario's Copy Block and using it to create copies of himself. The trio must attack the stack of Paper Peteys in order to find the original one, which will take damage. Paper Petey Piranha attacks by ramming into Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario using his copies, and flying into the air before slamming onto the ground; creating shock waves that the trio have to avoid. Finally, he also has a chase attack where his copies will fly ahead of Mario or Luigi and fold up on the ground, the Bros. then have to jump over the Paper Peteys in the correct order to avoid damage, grabbing Paper Mario's paper airplane form if necessary. Once defeated, the group continue into Gloomy Woods. If a Rank-Up bonus is used to increase the maximum number of copies Paper Mario can make; defeating Paper Petey Piranha will become more difficult if fought in the Boss Battle Ring, as it also increases the number of copies that Paper Petey can make.

Despite having his own voice clips from several games, Petey Piranha uses Wiggler's voice clips from Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Two Petey Piranhas appear in the Daisy Garden court as the baskets in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and try to keep anyone from making a slam dunk. They fall asleep approximately every 30 seconds, making dunks possible during that time. If a team dunks three times in the first half without letting their opponents score, a blue seed appears in a ? Panel. If the team takes it and wins the game, a secret court called Malboro Garden is playable, which features plant-like monsters from the Final Fantasy series that move slowly from side to side behind the hoops and breathe out a purple gas that stuns players.

Mario Strikers Charged
Petey Piranha appears as an unlockable captain in the Wii game Mario Strikers Charged. He is a Power player, making him good at tackling and shooting; however, he cannot pass or run very well. His Super Ability, Mud Slinger!, causes him to spit mud on the ground, which slows everyone down but him. He can use this move up to four times in one Super Ability. Petey Piranha's deke involves him rapidly banging his head backwards and forwards to prevent opponents from stealing the ball. In his Mega Strike, Petey is enclosed in a large bud, while a stem sprouts from the ground and takes him above the stage, where he spits the ball at the goal.

He is the final unlockable character in the game, unlocked by beating the final cup, the Striker Cup, which involves beating Petey in the Stormship Stadium stage. Petey is not shown in the opening cinematic of the game. Since Diddy Kong and Bowser Jr. (the other two unlockables) did make brief appearances in that cinema, he is the only character in the game not shown in the opening.

His theme music when he scores a point is calypso. One of his winning animations involves him doing the limbo with his team players, while one of his "losing animations" (sometimes when the opponent scores a point) Petey walks angrily to one of the opponents, eats them, and lets them back out, covering the player in mud. Petey is the only captain to wear a helmet in this game.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Petey is the first boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. After Bowser joins the Subspace Army in its attempts to conquer "this world," Petey and the Ancient Minister lead an attack on the Midair Stadium, where Mario and Kirby are having a friendly brawl. After capturing the spectating Peach and Zelda in cages, Petey blasts Mario away with a cannonball from his mouth before Mario can destroy a Subspace Bomb that has been dropped by the Ancient Minister, leaving Kirby as his only opponent. Petey attacks by swinging the cages at him, as well as jumping into the air and potentially causing damage from the impact of landing. Kirby has to attack the cages to weaken them, saving one of the princesses (attacking Petey himself deals damage to both cages). Petey Piranha has no other attacks beside body slamming the player and swinging the cages around. However, only one princess can be saved, and the other princess is changed back into a Trophy by Wario, who then steals it. Once defeated, Petey Piranha suddenly bursts into flames. Petey also has two stickers depicting him, with both of them being very large. The first is his artwork for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and increases the power of darkness attacks by 47 and is only usable by Ganondorf. The second is his artwork for Mario Strikers Charged and it increases the power of bite attacks by 32 and is only usable by Wario, Yoshi, Pokémon Trainer and Wolf.

Super Mario-Kun
Petey Piranha appears in volume 36 of the Super Mario-Kun, the adaption of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In this manga, he is apparently a mother of the Tongue Piranha children, and he holds a shard of the Cobalt Star in his mouth, as a replacement for a tooth. Petey talks in a sweet, feminine way, making Mario and Luigi comment on how nice he is. Mario and Luigi anger him, however, by attempting to snatch the Cobalt Star Shard. After a fight, however, Petey gives it to the four brothers.

Mario Sports Mix
Petey Piranha appears in Mario Sports Mix on Daisy Garden, as an NPC. During a basketball match, Petey reprises his role from Mario Hoops 3-on-3, acting as the hoop, and during a dodgeball match, Petey stands on the side of the playing area and will spit Goop that will act as obstacles to the players. Petey stars in his very own party game called Feed Petey, where players try to feed as much fruit to him within the time allotted.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Petey appears as the boss of Rumble Volcano in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. This is his debut in the Paper Mario series. Like the other bosses, he gains power from a Royal Sticker that he took and ate from a tribe of Spear Guys who described him as gluttonous. Upon first sighting Mario and Kersti, he swallows Kersti whole, forcing Mario to go after him. Presumably during this time, he also ate several Koopas and stickers. Once found, he immediately attacks Mario.

He mainly fights by flying with his leaves before slamming down on Mario. He can also spit out a ball of goo at Mario which can sometimes cause him to gain the "soggy" status effect. After losing HP, he uses his leaves to spin around rapidly to attack Mario but doing so makes him dizzy. Sometimes, Mario gets dizzy if he is hit by this attack. If Petey is attacked during his dizzy state; his weak point (his belly button) becomes exposed, which leaves him vulnerable to serious damage from Jump attacks. Once his belly button is attacked, he spits out Kersti, as well as several Jump stickers, and a Dry Bones. Petey has 300 HP. When he has 100 HP left, he begins a more powerful attack when he bites Mario three times. Each time he bites Mario, he deals 7 damage. Once he is defeated, he explodes into confetti and reveals the Green Royal Sticker.

This is the first, and so far, the only appearance of Petey's in which he speaks intelligible language, albeit one line and under the influence of a Royal Sticker.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
In Paper Mario: Color Splash, there is a character called Petea Piranha that has the same appearance of Petey Piranha, with the addition of a tea bag label, and similar moves as well. In the Japanese version, his actual name is Tea Piranha (「テイーパックン」), compared to Petey's name, Boss Piranha (「ボスパックン」), and some localizations indeed maintain this distinction, with the Italian version using a direct translation of the Japanese name and even using different gibberish language for him mainly based on various spellings of tea in Italy. Petea first emerges folded up like a tea bag when Mario and Huey attempt to squeeze the Teapot, engaging the two in a boss battle. According to the game's instruction manual, some Snifits who were having tea in Plum Park stuffed Petea Piranha into the teapot, which they stole from Dark Bloo Inn. He is also the one responsible for poisoning the water in Plum Park. If Mario attempts to jump on Petea Piranha, he will counter the attack by swallowing Mario, damaging him in the process. However, Mario can hit him with an hammer when he's stunned or use the Lemon Thing card (or a replica) to make him fall, leaving him vulnerable to Jump attacks.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Petey appears as the boss of World 5-7 and World 8-3 in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, and can also serve as an ally for the player. His main attribute is Wood, and his sub-attribute is Light. Petey Piranha's skill, Giga Piranha Drain, can transform all Orbs into Fire, Wood, and Heart Orbs. His Awoken Skill increases the amount of HP that gets restored whenever Heart Orbs are cleared.

Petey Piranha's strongest stat is his ATK, and he also has above average HP while his RCV is below average. The player can acquire Petey Piranha by using six Fire Flowers to transform a Fire Piranha Plant.

Unlike with most other games, Petey Piranha is treated as a generic enemy in this game, so he can still appear as an enemy, regardless of whether or not he's in the player's party.

Physical appearance
Petey Piranha is certainly recognizable as a Piranha Plant, but he differs starkly from a typical one. According to Mario Superstar Baseball, he got his looks from a mutation. Petey is characterized by a remarkably large head and a comparably small body. He has a round, protuberant belly and a large belly button, but it's only visible if his stomach is inflated with a great quantity of water. Additionally, he has leaf-like arms and stubby legs, both of which grant him mobility beyond his pipe-dwelling "cousins". He also has green lips, which are similar to the lips of the old Piranha Plants but now contrast the white lips of the new Piranha Plants. He wears red pants with white polka dots, matching the coloration of his head. His most distinguishing feature is a ring of yellow petals with orange rims around his head, resembling a crown or a mane. In his first appearance, these petals have an iridescent quality, becoming a vibrant, fiery orange or a shiny white (with pinkish rims) depending on the angle of the light, but this trait is no longer present beyond Super Mario Sunshine. Petey is also of a much greater size than normal Piranha Plants, easily standing six times Mario's height, though when depicted with a sprite or encountered in sports and spin-offs, he's smaller. Mario Superstar Baseball is the first game to portray Petey Piranha with a tongue, which was also seen in every game following. While his size varies between games, the official height chart shows Petey being 12'9" tall (3.9 m).

Personality
Petey Piranha is a big, tall, and strong character with limited intelligence. He does, however, exhibit the ability to acknowledge his own clumsiness, such as when he slaps his face in humiliation once he is back on his feet after taking damage in Super Mario Sunshine. Petey also has a sense of humor, as shown when he skips daintily to home plate when achieving a home run in the baseball games. Often taking naps, he gets frustrated when someone suddenly wakes him up, a trait that is similar to other Piranha Plant enemies that attack when awoken. He is also known for being very hungry and appears to be omnivorous. Despite his low intellect, he frequently aims to destroy Mario; it may also be that he simply attacks anyone who gets in his way, or he is hungry and thinks Mario would be a good snack. Petey is not always aggressive, though, and has been shown to be passive in games like Mario Power Tennis and other sports games.

Abilities
Petey Piranha has unique abilities that normal Piranha Plants cannot perform. His leaves, for example, double as wings, granting him the ability to fly. In Super Mario Sunshine, he whips up Tweesters with his leaves and headbutts the player if they come within range. These attacks normally cause no damage, though at times Mario may get knocked back far enough to lose health. Petey's main attack involves spitting out large quantities of brown Goop, which create Swoopin' Stus and occasionally small Piranha Plants. Mario is damaged if he is in the Goop too long and/or slips. This ability of Petey's is not exclusive to Super Mario Sunshine as he can still spit Goop in later appearances, making it somewhat of a trademark of his. Another one of Petey's main traits is his phenomenal physical strength that rivals or even surpasses that of Bowser. This is especially evident in sports games when comparing his stats to other characters, and in Mario Power Tennis the power of his swings causes all opponents (even larger ones like Bowser, Wiggler and Donkey Kong) to be knocked back a bit.

Also, in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Petey can burrow into and out of sand without effort, freely summon wooden blocks, spit out Piranha Plant seeds that sprout and attack the players and in Super Princess Peach, he makes sound waves, shock waves and spits Nipper Plants.

When Petey Piranha hits the ball with his club in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour it shoots across the course with 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 tip of his arm.

Gender
Petey has a different gender depending on the region. In North America and Great Britain, the Piranha Plant is male as his various bios refer to Petey Piranha as a "he" as well as in-game by a Pianta in Super Mario Sunshine, his first appearance. In French, however, Petey is female and her name is "Flora Piranha", derived from "Flora", a female name. In German, the plant is also female, derived from the word "Piranha-Pflanze", which is a feminine word. And from her name "Mutant-Tyranha", which is derived from the words "Tyrann" and "Piranha", and when pronounced, sounds almost like the female name "Tanja". In Italian, Petey is male, derived from Pipino, an uncommon Italian name. In Spanish, he is male in most games but female in New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis, sharing her French name. In the Japan-exclusive Super Mario-Kun, Petey is depicted as a female, a mother of several Piranha Plants.

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Kersti refers to Petey Piranha as an "it". His trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl also refers to him as an "it".

Mario Super Sluggers
Good Chemistry: Birdo, Blooper, King Boo, Light Green Mii, Wiggler Bad Chemistry: Baby Mario, Noki, Pianta Collectible Card Info: ''As one of the biggest players on the field, it comes as no shock that Petey Piranha has one of the top three charge shots in the game. He brings the heat on the mound as well, but has surprisingly low stamina.''

Mario Power Tennis

 * Type: Power
 * Doubles Partner: Wiggler
 * Defensive Power Shot: Piranha Swingback
 * Offensive Power Shot: Sludge Racket

Trivia

 * Petey Piranha being the boss of the 5th world in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, encountered in a volcano in a tropical jungle, mirrors how Lava Piranha is the boss of the 5th chapter in Paper Mario, and is encountered in the volcanic Mt. Lavalava of the tropical Lavalava Island. As well, both characters are Piranha Plants.