Naval Piranha

“Go home and cry, babeh!”

—Naval Piranha, Tetris Attack

Naval Piranha is a recurring Piranha Plant boss. She started out as a normal Piranha Plant, but was altered by Kamek's magic during the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. She grew to gigantic proportions, with long thorny stalk and two secondary Naval Buds. As her name suggests, Naval Piranha inhabits the water. In battle, she spits out Nipper Plants; it is unknown if they could grow into large, water-dwelling plants like Naval Piranha.

Another Piranha Plant boss that is similar in appearance to Naval Piranha appears in Paper Mario. It is called Lava Piranha, and in accordance with its name, it inhabits lava instead of water.

History

Yoshi series

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

File:NavalPiranhaPlant.gif

Blue Yoshi battling Naval Piranha.

Naval Piranha is the boss of World 3 in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and reprises the role later in the GBA remake. After being magically enlarged and enhanced, she battles the Blue Yoshi, who throw eggs at her only weak point which is her large and bandaged belly button (with the "X" band-aid). After being hit with enough eggs, Naval Piranha is defeated.

Kamek looking shocked at what happened to Naval Piranha.

A famous trick, exclusive to only this boss, is that Yoshi can beat her before the fight even starts. If Yoshi stands on the very edge of the ledge Naval Piranha is rooted to (or jump from the water and aim) without triggering the scene, he can simply throw an egg at her "unmodified" form to defeat her in one hit. A surprised Kamek then approaches, shouts "OH, MY!!!" and flies away, thus Yoshi clears World 3.

Tetris Attack

In Tetris Attack, Naval Piranha, allied with her Naval Buds, is in the tenth level and the last boss of Easy Vs. mode. She frequently uses hearts in her dialogue, and calls Yoshi "Babeh." She appears in place of the Dragon from the original game, Panel de Pon.

Yoshi's Island DS

During the introduction to Yoshi's Island DS, Naval Piranha makes an appearance alongside the other castle bosses in the game as the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island are recapped.

Yoshi's Woolly World

“Wake up, Naval Piranha it's supper time! The main course is Yoshi! Bon appétit!”

—Kamek, Yoshi's Woolly World

Naval Piranha as she appears in Yoshi's Woolly World.

Naval Piranha reprises the role of a boss in Yoshi's Woolly World, in this case being the boss of World 4. After being enlarged by Kamek's magic, the monstrous plant jumps to a pipe in the background, and calls forth its Naval Buds. Shy Guys will then throw bombs at the foreground; which Yoshi must swallow and spit out at the mutant flower's open mouth, causing it to swallow the bomb and reveal its weak spot: its belly button. Yoshi must ground-pound it to deal damage. Then, the Naval Buds will create a series of attacks that Yoshi must avoid. Repeating the process two more times will end the boss battle.

The Super Mario World 2 reference, with Naval Piranha being prematurely shot again.

Similar to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island; Yoshi can throw a Yarn Ball at the sleeping Piranha Plant before triggering Kamek's appearance. This causes a slightly different scene, but Naval Piranha cannot be skipped and must be fought this time in order to progress to World 5.

Naval Piranha reappears in level 4-S, where she chases Yoshi through an auto-scroll level. Yoshi can throw a Yarn Ball at Naval Piranha to make her disappear temporarily, though this does not stop the auto-scrolling and she will reappear after a few seconds. It is controversial as to whether this is the same Naval Piranha as the one fought in the boss level; as she has red vines as opposed to the boss' green vines. If Naval is able to gobble up the Yoshi traversing the level, it is a one-hit knockout.

Naval Piranha also reappears in the Boss Tent she is fought the same way; however, she attacks faster making it harder to hit her.

Mario Party Advance

Naval Piranha makes a reappearance in Mario Party Advance. At the Bowser Lab, choosing to see the "scary monster" unveils Naval Piranha. Afterward, Bowser has the player face her in the minigame Koopa Kurl. After winning, the player gets to keep the minigame. The end of game credits say she now lives and thrives in the desert.

Gender

Like Birdo and Vivian, Naval Piranha has had some controversy surrounding her gender in the past.Template:Refneeded In the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Naval Piranha's gender was not mentioned, and since there was no visible evidence that she was a female, most players referred to Naval Piranha as a "he". Later appearances, however, have stated that Naval Piranha's gender is female. While this may sound strange at first, some species do have separate male and female plants; these are known as dioecious plants. Other Mario plant individuals with definite genders include Petey Piranha and Hayzee.

Trivia

• Naval Piranha's name has a double meaning, referring both to her aquatic area and the large belly button she grows.
• Naval Piranha and Raphael the Raven are the only world bosses in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island to use the extended variation of the boss theme.
• Not including Baby Bowser, Naval Piranha is one of the only two bosses from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island that make an appearance in Yoshi's Woolly World, the other being Burt the Bashful.
• In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, it is possible to defeat Naval Piranha without Kamek enlarging her. Enter the boss room with at least one egg. Drop down to the ledge on the platform below and don't move any further as this will trigger the fight. Aim an egg at the Piranha Plant at the end of the platform and hit it. Kamek will be shocked and Yoshi can move on without fighting her. Additionally, in Yoshi's Woolly World, you can the exact same thing but Kamek won't fall for Yoshi's tricks a second time.