Caterpillar

Caterpillar
Alignment	Bad
Appears in	Rayman 2, Rayman 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Location	The Fairy Glade, the Cave of Bad Dreams, the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava
Portrayed by	{{{portrayed by}}}
Resistance
Attacks	Contact
Sex	{{{sex}}}
Species	Nightmare of Polokus
Relatives	{{{relatives}}}

• This article is about the enemies in Rayman 2. For other types of caterpillar, see Caterpillar (disambiguation).

We can no longer even keep track of all the sinister results provoked by the arrival of the pirates: disturbances in overall harmony, the proliferation of piranhas, giant spiders and caterpillars, etc...

—Manual, Rayman 2

Caterpillars are enemies encountered in Rayman 2 and the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3.

Description

Caterpillars are Nightmares of Polokus. Two distinct types of caterpillar are known to exist: The big ones and the small ones.

The body of the caterpillars are composed of multiple segments joined together in a line, like their real-world counterparts. Those segments appear as round puffs of darkness. On their head, they have malevolent-looking yellow eyes.

In Rayman 2

In the time leading up to the events of this game, caterpillars were among the Nightmares of Polokus who managed to escape the Cave of Bad Dreams after the destruction of the Heart of the World by the Robo-Pirates.

Rayman confronts them in the Fairy Glade, in the Cave of Bad Dreams, in the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, in the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava and beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava.

Caterpillars often move in swarms; each caterpillar has a unique route which it patrols endlessly, unless it catches sight of an intruder. They move by crawling and leaping. They produce strange sounds, similar to the hissings of a snake. They attack Rayman by jumping on him, but they cannot survive a single shot from his magic fist.

Caterpillars are sometimes found emerging from cracks in stone walls or floors; in these cases, any caterpillar killed by Rayman is quickly replaced by another.

In older versions of Rayman 2 there were also pink caterpillars. These were supposed to be friendly, in the sense that they would not attack Rayman.

• 
  A caterpillar.
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  A swarm of caterpillars in the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava.
• 
  A caterpillar is used to symbolise the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava in the Hall of Doors.
• 
  In the Dreamcast version, the eyes of the caterpillars are less malevolent-looking.
• 
  A pink caterpillar, a leftover of older versions of Rayman 2.

In Rayman Revolution

Boss Chenille.

In Rayman Revolution, the PlayStation 2 version of Rayman 2, a new boss named Boss Chenille is introduced. It looks just like a normal caterpillar, but with some significant differences: whereas they are a purplish-black in colour, Boss Chenille is blood-red; Boss Chenille is also somewhat larger, and it eyes are identical to the baby caterpillars' ones.

Boss Chenille is found in a room in the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava. It is summoned by Rayman performing a Rain Dance on what looks like a greyish version of one of the Magic Spheres' bases. When this is done, it emits a beam of light towards another such base. When Rayman shoots it, it too emits a beam of light towards another base. After shooting several more bases, the beam of light has finished its circumnavigation of the chamber; a door opens, and Boss Chenille enters.

When Rayman strikes Boss Chenille with his magic fist, a red baby caterpillar splits away from its body. When the hero shoots it, it splits into five black baby caterpillars. When they are killed, Boss Chenille's health meter decreases. As the battle wears on, the segments of Boss Chenille's body slowly disappear; by the end, it resembles an enormous red version of one of the baby caterpillars. When this final form is defeated, Boss Chenille vanishes for good.

The first clue as to Boss Chenille's identity is its name; Chenille is the French word for Caterpillar, while the name Boss implies that it may possibly be a leader. And during the battle, Boss Chenille spawns baby caterpillars from its body. All of this led to speculation that Boss Chenille may be the progenitor or ‘mother’ of the caterpillar species, in addition to the speculation that it is their leader.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3

Caterpillars are also seen in various levels in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3; unlike those in Rayman 2, these caterpillars do not die when hit, but rather, their eyes turn red, and they shrink to the size of a baby caterpillar and fall to the ground, where they remain, trembling. They can then be picked up by Rayman as if they were kegs, Magic Spheres or plums; however, this action serves no practical purpose within the game. These caterpillars splatter if they fall into lava or spikes, or if Rayman picks them up and throws them into a hard surface or other creature. If left lying on the ground for a while, they can recover themselves.

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  A caterpillar in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3.
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  An injured caterpillar, lying on the ground.
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  Rayman picking up an injured caterpillar.
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  Caterpillars splatter when thrown.

Trivia

• Caterpillars bear resemblance to the Buzz Rockets of Rayman M, and may have inspired their design.