I love the Shellcakes. From the moment I laid eyes on them in the Pikmin 4 demo, I knew they’d be a personal favorite of mine. Let’s take this moment to appreciate their lore.
Specimen 1: Scorchcake (conchcrustus emberio)
Apparently, it's a bivalve, like clams and oysters. It's also a predator, primarily targeting small plantlike creatures such as Pikmin, as well as eggs. However, it doesn't eat them. Instead, it squashes its prey so their nutrients seep into the ground. This allows moss and microorganisms to grow in the soil, which it then feeds on. To speed up this growth, it secretes a flammable oil and ignites it, somehow acting as fertilizer. It can also ignite this oil as a self-defense mechanism, setting its own body on fire. According to Louie, it smells and tastes quite good when cooked. Red Pikmin are the best choice to fight these, just remember to call them back since all shellcakes can actually kill pikmin even after they die by falling on them.
Specimen 2: Shockcake (conchcrustus ampero)
This one is a similar case, but it lacks the natural fertilizer. Instead, it can generate an electric charge with its muscular organs. The glowing bulbs on its body conduct this charge to paralyze prey and make it easier to crush. According to Dalmo, it can zap away shoulder stiffness and fatigue. It tastes slightly bitter and is best sautéed in butter. Yellows are the obvious choice here, but for some reason, there's only one of these in the entire game, and it's not given any kind of special attention beyond guarding a random base location in a random cave. Their design is interesting to me, as the electric nodes on its shell don't look natural. Perhaps it's part mechanical, similar to the Man-At-Legs or Gatling Groink.
Specimen 3: Freezecake (conchcrustus kryonae)
This species dwells in freezing climates, where food is scarce. It has evolved the ability to emit frigid air from its shell, freezing its prey to store for later use. Ice Pikmin are immune to their freeze, but likewise Freezecakes can't be frozen themselves. That's kind of all there is to this one.
Conclusion
Shellcakes are far from the strangest creatures Pikmin has to offer, but I wish we had a bit more info on these lil guys, and that they were more common in the game. All shellcakes are currently found underground and in small quantities. Notably, all shellcakes can crush Rock Pikmin, as being burned, shocked or frozen disables the Rock Pikmin's crushing immunity.
Perhaps the next Pikmin game will expand on these goofy goobers. Staying in the elemental theme, there's still no poison or water-based shellcake. If they're feeling really spicy, maybe a Gloomcake? That could make for a fun boss fight.
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