Author Notes - The Blowhog family is kinda interesting thanks to their wide array of elemental attacks. I find it a bit odd that the airborne hogs are in the same genus as the grounded ones (surely the ability to float is enough to seperate that?), but what do I know?
Things got a little confusing for me when it came to the Watery Blowhog, since its Piklopedia entry mentions both that it 'lacks several of the dominant genes necessary' for a flame but that also that 'the hereditary traits of this variant are dominant'. So... ARE ITS GENES DOMINANT OR NOT?! I went with the latter, but geez I really wish they'd pick one.
Oh, and by the way, this is the first (and possibly not last) time that I reference something that is in the code of a Pikmin game, but actually goes unused. You have may heard of a few of these, and I hope to include a couple.
BLOWHOG FAMILY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Peneneffa
Order: Arblodactyla
EMILY'S PERSONAL NOTES
These guys fascinate me. They're all in the same family, yet they spew out different elements? It's incredible! Water, air, fire⦠all we need now is earth and it'll be complete! Can you imagine how awesome that would b-? Oh, I got a little carried away there. Eh, we're keeping it in. It kinda reminds me of when my sisters and I were younger and would role play Captain Planet (for whatever reason), and I was always saddled with 'heart' while my older sisters each got the cooler elements. Granted, I've learned how awesome 'heart' really is, but still.
I just wanna find whoever thought to give Sus loogiens that name. Coming from someone who pokes intestines for a living, that name is way too gross. I don't want to think about this thing sneezing on me whenever it attacks, but that's all that goes through my mind!
If you wanna die, you can take a drink every time the word 'Blowhog' gets said in this page. I tried to remove as many utterances as I could while proofreading, but it's still way too many.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCES
As the name suggests, members of the Blowhog family bear more than a passing resemblance to pigs. They also share characteristics of partially-inflated balloons, of all things, as all members of this family have plumb bodies and snouts which resemble the ends of balloons.
Sus draconus (Fiery Blowhog) and Sus loogiens (Watery Blowhog, originally 'Spitty Blowhog') are nearly identical in appearance. They have light grey skin covered in ridges of a somewhat darker grey, as well as a dark grey line that goes across the lower third of the creatures' body. The darker lines going down their body turn into target-like circles around the snout. They walk upon four cylindrical legs with a single brown toe each, which are much smaller than the plumb body they carry. Their eyes, located on the sides of their bodies, are a pale blue and appear perpetually upset.
The only visible difference between the Fiery and Watery variants is the colour at the tip of their snout. Quite appropriately, the Fiery variants have red snouts while those of the Watery variants are blue. The flames spewed by the Fiery Blowhog are caused by a phosphorus compound which combusts when it comes into contact with air, due to a combination of the air-to-fuel ratio and a chemical reaction within the compound. The compound of the Watery Blowhog lacks flammability due to lacking the correct genes, so it spews out a watery substance that cannot catch fire.
Sus inflata (Puffy Blowhog) resembles a partially-inflated balloon far more than the other members of the Blowhog family. Its body colour alternates in a striped pattern between blue and purple, with the purple stripes being ever so slightly translucent. Small black dots resembling windows on a plane can be seen on the sides of its body, and the back of its body has several spikes jutting out. It has flipper-like appendages on the side of its body, which help to steer it in the air. Occasionally, a band of light will move across its body from the snout to the 'tail'. This sash is caused by an electrified pulse.
Sus decrepitia (Withering Blowhog) shares many of the basic characteristics with the Puffy Blowhog, but has more than enough differences to make the distinction clear. The Withering Blowhog is much rounder in appearance, and has a bright red-and-orange colouring in contrast to the Puffy Blowhog's calm blue and purple. It also has yellow spots on its body, which when combined with the colour gives it a flame-like appearance. Its yellow snout has two short whiskers, one on both sides. Like its Puffy counterpart, an electrified pulse of light will occasionally move across its body.
There exists a subspecies of the Watery Blowhog that appears to be extinct in the wild: Sus loogiens bulla (Bubbly Blowhog). Its appearance from its counterparts differs only in the snout tip. Instead of being red or blue, it is instead an emerald green. It spews a similar substance to Watery Blowhogs, in that it cannot catch on fire, but its air-to-fuel ratio is incorrect resulting in it blowing out bubbles instead of a watery liquid. They are very rare and appear to be nothing more than a birth defect.
HABITAT
Members of the Blowhog family are typically seen deep underground, in areas such as the Forest Navel. The caverns in which they can be found vary wildly, most commonly earthy floors like the Submerged Castle, but they have also been seen in bathroom-tiled areas like the Shower Room, or even rusted metal like the Cavern of Chaos. However, most of them can also be seen more rarely aboveground.
The Fiery Blowhog is the most plentiful of the Blowhog family members, being seen anywhere between the arctic Valley of Repose to the warm Tropical Wilds. Those found in colder climates have more active fires within their bodies, most likely to help them deal with the cold temperatures. Watery Blowhogs are often found in the same places, but due to their far lower numbers are likely to go unseen. While Fiery Blowhogs can be found by themselves - and often are - their Watery counterparts are hardly ever seen without the Fiery ones being nearby.
Puffy Blowhogs are much rarer above ground than their terrestrial counterparts, preferring warmer climates and thriving in tropical areas. However, they are not uncommon underground. They don't appear in many caverns, but tend to be quite populous in the ones they do live in. Both the Dream Den and the Cavern of Chaos have a 'sublevel' where multiple Puffy Blowhogs live in cramped areas.
Withering Blowhogs, meanwhile, are somewhat common aboveground and even more common underground. Aboveground, they inhabit a wide variety of climates both cold and tropical, and this wide range is no different underground. Whether the cavern is flooded with water or fire or even electricity, Withering Blowhogs find a way to adapt. Their habitats often overlap with their Puffy counterparts, and both species have shown a surprising ability to share the same habitat without much fighting at all.
As previously mentioned, mature Bubbly Blowhogs are seemingly extinct in the wild. However, it exists in very limited amounts in captivity, thanks to be taken care of by people and being safe from predators.
DIET AND DEFENCES
Whether they exhale combustible fluid, a watery substance, or powerful gusts of wind, all members of the Blowhog family have one thing in common - their diet. All members of this family have a diet consisting of tiny bugs who hide within the grass. The only thing that changes is their hunting methods.
Fiery Blowhogs, unsurprisingly, use their powerful flames to finish off their prey before consuming them. They appear to prefer their meat cooked, for those in captivity have shown an unusual aversion to raw meat, though they will eat meat raw if they have to. Hunting grounds of Fiery Blowhogs are covered in scorch marks, due to their habit of burning through the grass instead of searching through the foliage first. The flames never last long before dying, perhaps as an evolutionary trait to prevent forest fires. The fires used for hunting and defense will never combust while inside the Blowhog, since it needs a high air-to-fuel ratio to combust.
Younger Watery Blowhogs may attempt to scorch their prey, but obviously cannot do so without the 'combustible genes'. As they age and learn they can't cook their prey alive, they settle for simply drowning the little bugs instead. They don't mind raw meat as much, but will still prefer cooked meat if given the option. Their method of hunting does far less damage than that of their Fiery counterparts, as they simply wash their prey away into a puddle. However, it is likely their hunting methods will cause erosion in the long-term. Unfortunately, I won't live quite long enough to confirm this.
Puffy Blowhogs generate hydrogen internally to inflate an organ known as the 'flotation bladder' to hover above the ground. It maintains its height by releasing air through the blowholes on the sides of its body. How it can both stabilize the highly explosive hydrogen and generate electricity for the pulse of light simultaneously may forever remain a mystery. It exhales this hydrogen to blow leaves and grasses around, whereupon it will eat any insects revealed. If it is the one being hunted, it can rapidly decompress its flotation bladder and fly away like a balloon with the air let out. It will also lose all this air if it dies, revealing that its body is smaller than 2-3cm in length once deflated.
Withering Blowhogs hunt for prey in much the same way their Puffy counterparts do, but their gusts of wind are simply not as strong. To compensate, they have evolved to combine their hydrogen with a petal-withering plant hormone also internally generated. This will cause any flowers caught in their gusts to lose their petals, revealing any insects that were hiding under them. It's been observed to giggle whenever it succeeds at 'deflowering' plants or Pikmin, but the reason for this is unknown. Beyond them being a bunch of jerks, of course...
The Bubbly Blowhog is rendered extinct in the wild for it has no real means of hunting. It attempts to burn or drown its prey, only to catch them in bubbles instead. These bubbles drift away on the wind, rendering the Bubbly Blowhog unable to eat. Bubbles are also a poor weapon when it comes to self-defence, and so they can only thrive in areas with free food and no predators.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Fiery and Watery Blowhogs can be seen living a solitary life, but are typically seen in small groups ranging between two to (rarely) five. Typically, only one of these group members will be male while the others will almost always be female. Solitary Blowhogs are typically male. In bigger groups, there may be a second male, though this is rare and they appear to be of the same litter. Male Blowhogs of different litters or territories will invariably end up fighting for space, though these fights usually end in surrenders and not with the death of the loser. A male Blowhog, however, will avoid fighting if he can and will allow the intruding male to pass by if he doesn't go near the females.
Puffy and Withering Blowhogs are similar, but their social structure varies in several ways. Solitary life is much more common for them, especially the Puffy Blowhogs, and they thrive much better than their terrestrial counterparts when alone too. When in groups, they tend to be smaller, typically maxing out at two or maybe three in rare circumstances. Unlike their grounded brethen, the airborne Blowhogs will hardly ever attack other males and will live together peacefully. Fights will only break out if a male tries to steal the mate of another, but this is rare for airborne Blowhogs only appear to care about feeding most of the time.
COURTING AND CHILDREARING
Terrestrial Blowhog courting differs from their airborne counterparts. Once any male in a litter reaches sexual maturity, he will embark on his own to track down a mate. They are naturally drawn to the pheromones exuded by a female Blowhog in heat. Any female who appears healthy is a worthy mate to them. When a male finds a female in heat, he will attempt to impress her by demonstrating how powerful his flames or watery substance is, likely to show how capable he is of protecting her and her children. Some males may go through several rejects before finding a female who accepts him.
If the male is accepted, mating proceeds almost immediately. A male will typically mate with all the females in any given pack. A female Blowhog will gestate for approximately six months before giving live birth to a litter between two and six. Both the mother(s) and the father work together to raise their young, with the father doing most of the hunting. Juvenile Blowhogs are named 'Blowlets'. Blowlets mature after six months, and do not have the ability to spew elemental attacks until they are at least one month old. Male Blowlets will leave the pack as soon as they hit sexual maturity, but females may stay by their parents or become their own pack up to a few months later. From there, the cycle repeats - the female Blowhogs wait for a suitable male to court them and have offspring of their own.
It is worth noting that the genes required for combustible fluid appear to be recessive. A pair of Fiery Blowhogs will only ever have Fiery offspring, but Watery Blowhogs can have both Watery and - more rarely - Fiery offspring as well. Though Watery Blowhogs are still a fairly recent evolution as of the time of writing, their genetic make-up is quite robust and thus their population is steadily increasing. In the near future, their numbers will likely outnumber those of the Fiery variants.
Airborne Blowhogs, on the other hand, rarely go searching for a mate of the opposite sex and typically only court when they happen to encounter a capatible specimen. If a male Blowhog encounters a female in heat, he will gently spin his body around in the air to attract her attention. Females are hardly ever choosy, since she is unlikely to find another male willing to breed, and they are all but guaranteed to mate. Much like terrestrial Blowhogs, airborne Blowhogs gestate for six months, though their litters are much smaller at two-to-three.
Airborne Blowlets will be carried on the backs of the adults until they reach the age of four weeks, when they gain the ability to produce their own hydrogen. They continue to float alongside their parents - in an absolutely adorable display, may I add? - until they are six months old, where they will drift away to independence like dandelion seeds on the wind.
OTHER NOTES
Captain Olimar had reported no Watery Blowhogs when he first arrived on PNF-404, though his second expedition was not long after the first. Assuming he didn't just miss them, this means it's likely that Watery Blowhogs evolved much more recently than expected.
Attempts to breed more Bubbly Blowhogs has been met with criticism, seeing as their bubble-making capabilities are considered a defect by many and has led to their extinction in the wild. The Blowhogs themselves have high quality-of-life and do not suffer, but struggle to survive in more natural settings. Many believe the species should be left to die out for their own good, while many others believe that all species should be preserved unless merely living is enough to cause pain. This zoologist has no strong opinions on the matter, but does believe in rescuing any Bubbly Blowhogs spotted in the wild to keep them safe.
NOTES FROM OTHER RESEARCHERS
Fiery Blowhog -
I notice that it needs a moment to inhale something from the planet's atmosphere before exhaling fire. Its internals must be remarkable to stand up to the flames it produces. (Though of course, a Red Pikmin's externals can withstand the same heat.) If we could reproduce the process, it could be a great, renewable source of rocket fuel for our ship's engines! - Alph
I thought they'd be my favourite fauna. The idea of running into one in a frigid field or after getting soaked was nice. But it turns out they don't have a setting on those snouts below "roasted alive". Scratch another brilliant idea. - Brittany
Be careful, or this one'll cook your goose. I don't know whether that's a nose or a mouth shooting those flames, and I don't care. What's important is that me and my troops are long gone when the fire hits. - Captain Charlie
Watery Blowhog -
Holding large amounts of water inside itself isn't as eyebrow raising as spewing fire, but I consider this to be the better design overall. Water is more easily and safely stored than flammable gas, and it has uses other than attacking. Despite this difference, it's vulnerable to the same trick: having the right type of Pikmin. - Alph
Alph tried to convince me this animal has all kinds of uses. "It could be a shower," he said, "or a spaceship wash, or an emergency fire control system." I told him we had all those things already, and it was like someone rained on his parade. - Brittany
The water this one spews isn't too bad if you ask me, but the Pikmin don't do so well in it. (At least, most of them don't.) That's what a captain is there for: to be an umbrella to the downtrodden! - Captain Charlie
Puffy Blowhog -
Most of its defence mechanisms aren't dangerous to Pikmin, but they do make it hard to kill. The streams of air it blows will scatter your Pikmin, so be sure to regroup quickly if there are other enemies around. As you might expect from something so inflated, it's very light and easily weighted down by lots of Pikmin. That's the best chance to dash in with a charge. - Alph
Can you imagine attaching a gondola to the underside of this thing? Drifting gently through the air, not a care in the world...because I'd use the spikes on its back to crush my enemies! It's so perfect! - Brittany (Emily's Notes: Wait, you have enemies?!)
This inflatable fella has some powerful lungs to make itself lighter than air. But I won't be outdone! HWOOOOAH! Hrm, no go. I blame the space suit. It's cramping my style. - Captain Charlie
Withering Blowhog -
This version of the Puffy Blowhog isn't as hard to deal with, but yet even more annoying. Its breath won't scatter Pikmin nearly as much, but deflowers them and makes them lose the motor skills associated with Flower Pikmin. And I hate that little giggle so much... - Alph
Here I was, trying to make a lovely little flower garden, until one of these came along and wrecked it! Even worse, the guy LAUGHED at me! Not a big fan at all. Oh, and can someone PLEASE tell Alph what 'deflowered' actually means? - Brittany
Some soldiers just aren't made for killing, but that doesn't make them useless. Not at all! Take this soldier as an example. Its gusts can't kill its opponents, but it ensures that they will be weakened. When you're in a war, help is help no matter what! - Captain Charlie
Bubbly Blowhog -
Sometimes, models are just defective. This doesn't mean they're not worthy of existing, obviously! But this poor guy ends up attacking with bubbles instead of anything that could really protect it. I feel really bad for it... and so, we must protect it ourselves! - Alph
Now THIS is a Blowhog I can get behind. Instead of burning my butt off, this one simply fills the air with bubbles. Compared to the other variants, it's much more peaceful and lovely. I love getting caught in the bubbles on purpose so I can... wait, NO, DON'T GO THAT WAY! - Brittany
I don't like the term 'defective'. It's simply mean. No soldier is 'defective'. All that matters is finding a way to be effective no matter what's holding you back. Frankly, I think 'defective' people are held back more by society than their 'defect'. - Captain Charlie
Author Notes - I was saying that my Pikmin had been 'deflowered' or 'deflowerised' for years before I found out what it actually means. I, however, do not care about its proper meaning, and continue saying 'deflowered' out of habit. Plus, what else am I supposed to say? De-petalled? The only alternative is 'desirewolfed', but I don't wanna rip of Chuggaaconroy, do I now?
According to 'The Cutting Room Floor' website, the Watery Blowhog was originally going to be called the 'Spitty Blowhog'. As for the BUBBLY Blowhog (which probably made all of you go 'huh?), there is an unused green-tipped variant of the Blowhog in Pikmin 3. Its model and AI for a bubble-spewing Blowhog can be found in the code, but the creature itself never actually appeared. Just thought I'd reference a little bit of unused data, since I simply couldn't help myself. Don't be surprised if I do it again. (If it turns out the Bubbly Blowhog is fake, I don't care and am keeping it in anyway).
