Mario franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Pokey

Pokey, sometimes called Prickly Pete, (Sanbo in Japan) is a cactus monster that first appears in Super Mario Bros. 2 in the desert levels of World 2. Pokey consists of four green segments that detach when an enemy or object is thrown at him; to completely defeat Pokey, all four segments must be killed.

Other appearances
Pokey also appears rarely in Super Mario World, where he is also prominently featured in the game's opening screen demo. Pokey's height depends on whether or not the player is riding Yoshi. If Yoshi is unavailable, Pokey has four segments (counting his head), allowing the player room to simply jump over him. If the player is riding Yoshi, Pokey has five segments. Yoshi can then easily dispose of Pokey by eating him. Pokey is yellow rather than the light green shade of SMB 2, and has remained this color for most of his reappearances. In the Game Boy Advance port Super Mario Advance 2, if all exits are found, Pokey is redesigned with spiked stone totem pole of blank faces.

Pokeys appear in Super Mario 64 in the desert world. Poison Pokeys appear in both Paper Mario games. They also appear in Super Mario Sunshine, where they are flowers until Mario comes close, then they leap out of the ground. The player must then venture close, causing Pokey to smash down onto Mario if he is not quick. The spikes on his head then stick into the ground, allowing Mario to jump on his head, killing him. A new kind of Pokey, called Skellokey, appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Pokey was at first drawn to appear cat-like. Recently this feature has been replaced by a pink flower crowning his head.

They are more recently featured in New Super Mario Bros., where they are to be mostly avoided. They can be crushed by Mega Mario or destroyed (piece by piece) by Mario when he has the Fire Flower. Removing the head section in this manner kills them instantly. This game also features a character named "Mummipokey", the boss of World 2. It is a gigantic mummified pokey with red eyes (similar to the Skellokeys from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time). Defeating the Mummipokey as Mini Mario unlocks access to World 4. Nintendo Power mistakenly called the Mummipokey a "mummified sandworm" in issue #203.

Pokeys also made an appearance in Super Princess Peach. They behaved in their basic fashion, but the game also introduced an interesting variation of the enemy called the Mad Pokey. It is red in color, and the flower on its head is more sharp and threatening compared to the normal Pokeys. It can also stretch its segmented body to block the player's progress. Peach can only defeat Pokeys by using vibes, or crush them using Poundbrella.

Pokeys have been seen in the demo of Super Mario Galaxy, and it is assumed they will be in the actual game.

Pokeys made occasional appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, such as in "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid", where several Pokey bounty hunters appear to attack Mario, Luigi and Toad.

Cameo appearances
Pokeys have made appearances in the Mario Kart series. Often (such as in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!), these Pokeys are far larger than their counterparts in the Mario platformers, dwarfing the racers.

Pokey made a cameo appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, in the Yarna Desert on Koholint Island, and again in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. Pokey also has a similar family member in A Link to the Past.

In Mario Party 7, the objective of the mini-game "Pokey Pummel" requires the players to whack at the Pokeys until they are destroyed.

Lookalike
A spiked, stone creature similar to Pokey appears in Kameo: Elements of Power.