Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha (ボスパックン, Bosu Pakkun, Boss Pakkun) is a character in the Mario series, first appearing as the primary boss of Bianco Hills in Super Mario Sunshine. He is a boss in Super Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and New Super Mario Bros., and a playable character in spin-off Mario games like Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! & Mario Superstar Baseball. A drastically different Petey is found as a boss in Mario Pinball Land. In a trailer for Super Mario Galaxy, a large, dinosaur-like creature with arms and a head resembling Petey Piranha's own can be seen. It also appears to have a long, vine-like tail.

Characteristics
Petey appears to be a larger, much more powerful version of a Piranha Plant, which, according to Mario Superstar Baseball, is the result of mutation. Whereas normal Piranha Plants usually grow from pipes, Petey seems to have grown his leaves and roots into foot-like and arm-like appendages. He can walk and flutter. Petey wears white-spotted red briefs. Petey's head is framed with petals. Although Petey does not speak, he makes growling, drooling, and licking noises. Petey frequently vomits mud-like Earth Goop, a substance similar to that of Shadow Mario's paintbrush, which can make the ground slippery and generate goop-based monsters. When defeated, Petey turns into the goop and melts away.

Appearances
Petey Piranha has reappeared in several games as a boss. Petey appears as a boss in Mario Pinball Land, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Super Princess Peach, New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Sunshine. Like former Mario villains Wario, Donkey Kong, King Boo and Birdo, Petey has also made a habit of appearing in other Mario franchises as a playable character.

In Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Petey is a major boss. He is seemingly a pet or accomplice of the alien Shroob race and even swallowed Princess Peach and Kylie Koopa, but they were both spat out later. Unusually, it shows that he is capable of digging through sand and diving from platforms. Unlike his sports-title appearances, he doesn't seem depicted as a power-character, although he retains his powers of flight. His goop powers do not come into play in this game, but he has a swallow attack and can spit what appear to be Piranha Plant seeds that swing from long cords at the brothers. Although some speculate he was brought to the Mushroom Kingdom by the Shroobs, this seems unlikely as he is obviously not destroyed by the baby tears (this is arguable, as the Shroobs themselves possibly weren't destroyed either), so it may merely be possible the Petey Piranha today is related to the Petey Piranha of the past. Apparently, back then, Petey Piranha wasn't aware of what Isle Delfino was, or his future propulsion into the cast of regulars.

In sports games, Petey frequently uses his large size and his bizarre digestive system to his advantage. 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. In Mario Power Tennis, Petey's bulk served him well again, as he was one of the more powerful competitors. His special attack involved swallowing his racket, regurgitating it, and spitting it at the ball at a high speed. Finally, Petey had the ability to body-check other players in Mario Superstar Baseball, making him an effective character in close plays.

In Mario Pinball Land Petey has a longer neck (The most obvious difference), no feet, a drastically changed head shape, and the petals only exist on the top of his head, instead of completely circling it. This has led people to question whether this is a real "Petey" or just a large Piranha Plant posing as Petey for attention.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Petey was paired with King Boo. The two were formidable racers, in spite of Petey's lack of eyes. They had the ability to use any character's special item. Petey's personal kart is the "Piranha Pipes," a vehicle assembled out of the Piranha Plant's trademark green tubing. It's interesting to note that in the Dry Dry Desert course, a pit contains a giant green and purple Piranha Plant. It has an appearance similar to Petey and has green lips in a similar manner.

In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Petey acts as the hoops in the Daisy Garden court. Dunks are only possible when he is asleep.

In a new trailer for Super Mario Galaxy, a large, dinosaur-like creature with arms and a head resembling Petey Piranha's own can be seen. It also appears to have a long, vine-like tail.

Petey Piranha appears as a playable captain in Mario Strikers Charged. He is a strong attacker and shooter, and his super ability allows him to spit goop onto the stadium. During his mega strike, Petey is able to grow a massive flower out of nowhere and go into it, it then opens up and he spits multiple balls.