In battle, Knucklotec slams his fists into the ground if one of his fists hits a sheet of ice on the ground, he briefly writhes in pain.
Defeating him also creates a smaller sand flow where his head stuck out on the desert surface, leading straight down into the arena where he was fought which then becomes inhabited with Chinchos, a lone Coin Coffer and a Power Moon. He is the cause of the ice in the Sand Kingdom, and when he is defeated all the ice melts away. When he appears, he is distraught over the disappearance of the kingdom's Binding Band, and starts attacking Mario after erroneously assuming the latter to have stolen it, not realizing Bowser did beforehand. He is encountered when Mario enters the sand flow directly beneath the Inverted Pyramid. Mario can walk on top of him in this state and Ground Pound him, where he will twitch and sometimes make a growling sound. Knucklotec can be first found in the desert, with the top part of his head sticking out from the ground and his Multi Moon plainly visible. He is based on the real-world Olmec colossal heads, and has several similarities to the Eyerok from Super Mario 64, due to both being ancient stone guardians found underground in desert areas, having giant floating hands, and speaking in broken grammar. Knucklotec is the guardian deity and second boss of the Sand Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey.