Shrewd Possessor

The Shrewd Possessor (Scornful Possessors in PAL version) is the fourth boss Luigi faces in the Nintendo 3DS game Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. He is first encountered in the Secret Mine's Workshop where he is seen trying to harass a Fuzzball. When Luigi faces the Possessor, he will take control of the frozen ground below him, in an attempt to escape with the Dark Moon piece, causing Luigi to chase it down the pit. The Shrewd Possessor holds the fifth Dark Moon piece.

Appearance

The Shrewd Possessor as an icy monster.

When possessing ice, the Possessor resembles a large, icy face with a big jaw and two gray eyes.

When not being shielded by ice, the Shrewd Possessor is thin, white, multilayered skin ghost. This Possessor has four horns: two horns that curve outward and a horn on each of those horns that protrude sideways.

Battle

Luigi battling the Shrewd Possessor.

The Shrewd Possessor will not directly attack Luigi. Instead, it will spiral down the Frozen Pit clockwise while shielding itself with ice sheets. If Luigi destroys the ice shield, it will stop spinning and attempt to eat Luigi.

While not possessing the ice, the Shrewd Possessor will try ramming his face into Luigi three times. Unlike the previous Possessors, this Possessor travels randomly through portals. After its third charge, it will be stunned momentarily. It is possible for Luigi to stun it and start capturing it before it can attack.

Unlike previous battles, Luigi will be sitting atop the Bomb Sled. The Possessor will protect itself with ice sheets. These sheets must be destroyed using the machine. Each time a bomb is used, the Bomb Sled overheats slightly, and the Possessor moves down further. The Possessor is invincible even if it's hit with a bomb. The only way to damage the Shrewd Possessor is to destroy all the ice sheets protecting him. This will cause him to fly into a rage and attempt to eat Luigi. During this time, his mouth will be open. If a bomb is shot into the Possessor's mouth before he can hit Luigi, the bomb will destroy the ice protecting the boss and reveal his true form. If the Possessor's charge comes in contact with the machine, it will significantly overheat. If the Bomb Sled overheats, Luigi automatically gets a Game Over. If Luigi takes too long destroying the ice sheets or keeps missing, the possessor will fully rebuild the broken ice sheets. The Bomb Sled will not cool down from this. With each phase change, though, the machine goes back to normal and the Shrewd Possessor will get an extra sheet of ice protecting his face. Repeating this process three times will earn Luigi a victory.

Gallery

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  Luigi launches a bomb into the mouth of the Possessor.

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  The Shrewd Possessor attempts to ram into Luigi.

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  Luigi vacuums the Possessor and obtains the Dark Moon piece.

Ghost Container description

This possessor turned into a huge icy monster and tried to escape with the Dark Moon piece by tunnelling down through the Secret Mine. I thought Luigi was a goner for sure!

Trivia

• When Luigi is watching the Possessor in the workshop for the first time, he doesn't have the Dark Moon piece in him. This could either be an accident, or King Boo hadn't given him the piece yet.
• The theme that plays during the battle is an altered version of the song in the trailer for the game
• The Possessor's name is a pun, as shrewd means piercingly cold.
• Even after being caught, in the bonus mission, if the player peers through the workshop window again, the possessor will be seen attempting to kill the Fuzzball again, but it'll never notice the player. For some reason, the Workshop can't be entered even there's nothing to block the door.