Salmonids

"When smoke rises from the seven rings, The [sic] pinkfish will emerge from the sea, devouring all the creatures of the land."

- A Sunken Scroll about the Salmonids The Salmonids are a race of chaotic and barbaric fish that resides in the wasteland outside of Inkopolis Square in Splatoon 2. They serve as the main antagonist of the mode Salmon Run.

History and behavior
Sunken Scrolls that tells about the Salmonids can be found in the single-player mode. These scrolls indicates that the Salmonids were always chaotic beings, emerging from seas and devouring Inklings. According to the Grizzco employee handbook, during pre-medieval times, a rush of Salmonids would completely destroy cities before more advanced defense maneuvers were created. A migration of Salmonids happens every 70 years, which is seemingly happening during the events of Splatoon 2.

In the game, they are targeted by a mysterious company called Grizzco Industries lead by Mr. Grizz. There, they would send a team of 4 Inklings into the Salmonids territory and task them with collecting Golden Eggs. The reason Grizzco are collecting Golden Eggs are unknown, though the employee handbook claims they are used to support the modern lifestyle.

Salmonids in general are barbaric fighters that attack Inklings without remorse. Lesser Salmonids use cookware such as frying pans and spoons as weapons, while Boss Salmonids uses more advanced weaponry. In addition, they also have a great sense of smell, allowing them to track down Inklings even if they're hiding in their ink.

Lesser Salmonids
Lesser Salmonids are the most common enemy in the mode. They drop Power Eggs when defeated.

Chum
Chums are the most common enemy in the mode. While they're not strong alone, they can become a huge threat when in a group. They wield frying pans as weapons. In the event Salmon Rush, Chums becomes aggravated due to the presence of Glowflys, making them much more faster and stronger, and will group up on a Inkling who is unfortunate enough to have the Glowflys swarmed around them.

Cohock
Cohocks are the biggest, slowest, and strongest of the Lesser Salmonids. Like the Chums, Cohocks uses frying pans as weapon. They are very strong, can deal serious damage to an inkling, and take a lot of damage to defeat. They are the only Lesser Salmonids to appear in the event Cohock Charge, where the sea levels are dropped to reveal a shoreline. The Cohock spawn around the shorelines and the Inklings must fight them and the Boss Salmonids off using Ink Cannons that were provided.

Smallfry
Smallfrys are the smallest and weakest of the Salmonids, but also the fastest. Although they are weak on their own, Smallfry tend to appear in groups and gang up on an Inkling, making them quite dangerous. Smallfrys use plastic spoons as their weapons in battle.

Snatcher
Snatchers are Salmonids that appear when Golden Eggs are left on the ground. They are the only Salmonids in the game to not attack the players. Instead, they are tasked with picking up the Golden Eggs that were left and retreat with them. They can carry up to 3 Golden Eggs. Inklings must splat the Snatcher before it retreats to reclaim the eggs.

Chinook
Chinooks are Salmonids that only appear during the Mothership event. They wear copter hats that allows them to fly. They carry crates that contain other Lesser Salmonids and drop them off on the ground before retreating. Inklings must splat the Chinook before it escapes to retrieve Golden Eggs. In addition, the crates can also be destroyed to prevent other Salmonids to appearing.

Boss Salmonids
Boss Salmonids are strong Salmonids that use more advanced weaponry to defeat the Inklings. The objective of the mode is to defeat the Boss Salmonids and collect their Golden eggs to meet the egg quota before time runs out. Each Boss Salmonids require different strategy to defeat.

Steelhead
Steelhead are very big Salmonids with protective scales. They are the biggest and slowest enemy in the mode. They attack by creating a bomb from the top of their head, then throwing the bomb and exploding it, splatting any Inklings caught within its blast radius. Due to their scales, Salmonids are immune to the Inklings weapons. To defeat Steelheads, the Inklings must shoot the bomb on its head before it fires to make it explode, splatting the Steelhead in the process.

Steel Eel
Steel Eels are very long weapons made up by ink-sprayers that are piloted by a Salmonid at the tail. Due to their great length, Steel Eels and ink a large portion of the territory. Its ink-sprayers will instantly splat any Inklings it touches and block the Inklings attack. Steel Eels with pursue a target until that target is splatted, at which the Steel Eel with pursue another target. Steel Eels and defeated by shooting the pilot.

Maws
Maws are large Salmonids that lurk underneath their ink. They use their sonar to detect prey, then pursue them. Maws mostly stay submerged in their ink, only popping out when attacking, and is capable of swimming up walls. A Maw will relentlessly pursue its victim until they are splatted, at which the Maw will seek out another victim. Any Inklings that are caught by Maws are instantly splatted. To defeat Maws, Inkling must place a bomb in the area it's about to pop up, causing the Maw to swallow the bomb and explode. Maws can also be defeated by shooting at them, but takes more time and effort.

Flyfish
Flyfish are smallfrys that pilots an ink-jet which have 2 missile launchers. Flyfish attacks by firing up to 8 missiles that lock on to the Inklings. With the exception of the special Sting Ray weapon, Flyfish are immune to the Inklings attack. To defeat a Flyfish, Inklings must throw their Splat Bombs into the missile launcher while the Flyfish is firing. Once both of the missile launchers are destroyed, the Flyfish plummets to the ground and crashes.

Drizzler
Drizzlers are Salmonids that uses a big metal umbrella as shields. With the exception of the Sting Ray, the umbrella will block the Inklings attacks. Drizzlers first find a place to land, and once they're on ground, they fire a missile that, if left alone, will create a inkstorm that damages the Inklings. The Drizzler will be vulnerable to the Inklings weapons during that time. The missiles that the Drizzler shoots have metal casing, but comes off right before it creates the inkstorm, allowing the Inklings to shoot the missile and send it back to the Drizzler, splatting it in one hit. Drizzlers can also be splatted by shooting it when it's exposed.

Scrapper
Scrappers are Salmonids that drive an vehicle while leaving a trail of ink. Scrappers are slow, but will pursue a Inkling relentlessly. Scrappers can bump into Inklings, making it harder for them to deal with other Boss Salmonids, and may even bump them into water, which dissolves Inklings. Scrappers are splatted by shooting at them by their behind. Their front is protected by the vehicle (except for the Sting Ray, which ignores the armor), but shooting at the front enough can stun the Salmonid and leave it vulnerable.

Stinger
Stingers are Salmonids snipers that are on top of a tower of cooking pots. Stinger tend to spawn and remain close to the shoreline. They attack using laser that have very long range and are capable of firing through walls. This makes Stingers a huge threat from a distance. The Salmonid is immune to the Inklings attacks, so to defeat it, Inklings must shoot at the pots, knocking them away and causing the Stinger to fall on the burner.

Goldie
Goldies are Salmonids that, as they name suggest, have shining bodies. Unlike the others Boss Salmonids, Goldies don't use any of the more advanced weapons, and instead uses a frying pan, just like Chums. However, they are stronger and faster, and will get even faster as they take more damage. In the Goldie Seeking event, Goldies hide in one of the gushers, which forces the Inklings to try to find the Goldie by shooting the gushers. They only appear during the Fog, Salmon Rush, and Goldie Seeking events, and are the only Boss Salmonids to appear during the latter two.

Griller
Grillers are Boss Salmonids that only appear during the Griller event. They are armored vehicles that relentless pursue an Inkling until they are splatted, at which point the Griller will pursue another Inkling. A Griller's target is determinated by a laser pointed at them, and any Inklings that touch its ink are instantly splatted. In addition, Grillers are also accompanied by Smallfrys that ride in the Grillers. Grillers have an exposed tail, which the Inkling must shoot at to stun them. When stun, more tails will be exposed, which must be shoot at to destroy the Griller.

Mothership
The Mothership is a Boss Salmonid that only appears during The Mothership event. As the name implies, it is a large ship that the Salmonids uses as a last resort. Chinooks will come out of the Mothership and drop of crates containing Lesser Salmonids. Inklings must splat the Chinooks before they escape to receive Golden Eggs in this event. During the event, the Mothership will approach the basket containing the eggs and attach its nozzle to it, sucking up the Golden Eggs. Inklings must shoot at the nozzle to push it back. This is the only point in Salmon Run where it is possible to lose collected Golden Eggs.