Pikmin (species)

File:Red Pikmin OF.jpg

A red claymade Pikmin.

Pikmin are a half-plant, half-animal species of fictional creatures from the video game series Pikmin. Less than 1 cm (0.4 inches) tall, they eat nectar (which matures them into flower Pikmin) and breathe oxygen.

During his journey, Captain Olimar finds these indigenous creatures in their dwellings, called Onions. Pikmin have 3 stages of growth: leaf, bud and flower, adding more strength, endurance, and speed with each form. Pikmin left in the ground as seeds will gradually mature, though this process can be accelerated through the consumption up nectar found throughout the planet. Both Pikmin and Pikmin 2 feature rather lengthy descriptions of Olimar's discoveries regarding the creatures that he and the Pikmin find and defeat, sometimes in slightly humorous pseudo-scientific style.

Olimar uses the Pikmin to defeat enemies, notably their most abundant natural enemy, the Bulborbs, carry objects, demolish walls, push large boxes, and to construct various objects to get around more easily. The number of Pikmin, regardless of color, in the field cannot exceed 100, though at one point, during the development of Pikmin 2, it was stated that the player can have more than 100 Pikmin on the field. Future info on this was not given, so it can be said that developers silently dropped that feature and set the limit back to 100 before the release of the second game. Pikmin in the field are defined as those actively following a Captain, idly awaiting orders above ground, and those planted in the ground. Additional Pikmin over the 100-Pikmin limit are stored in the Onions.

Original Pikmin

In the first game, the Pikmin come in red, blue, and yellow varieties, each with their own advantages and weaknesses. These Pikmin are bred by placing nutritious food pellets or slain animals in the beam of the Pikmin Onion, which results in the Onion producing more Pikmin seeds.

Red Pikmin

Red Pikmin, Pikminicus rufusia, are fire-resistant, and aside from purple Pikmin, the strongest fighters. They can defeat various fire-breathing creatures, as well as fiery 'geysers' which occur in some game areas. Red Pikmin are the only Pikmin with noses.

Yellow Pikmin

Yellow Pikmin, Pikminicus aurumia, are the lightest Pikmin, able to be thrown up twice as high as the others. They are able to carry bomb rocks in the original Pikmin, though in Pikmin 2, they are instead immune to electricity. These are the only Pikmin with ears.

Blue Pikmin

Blue Pikmin, Pikminicus cobaltium, are the only Pikmin able to cross bodies of water. The blue Pikmin can also act as lifeguards by grabbing and throwing drowning Pikmin out of water. Blue Pikmin are the only Pikmin with mouths.

Other Pikmin

In one ending sequence of the original Pikmin, orange, pink, light blue, green, black, purple, white and silver Pikmin Onions can be seen flying up into the atmosphere in addition to the colors listed above. As only purple and white Pikmin are introduced in Pikmin 2, the uses and purpose of the other Pikmin colors are not known.

New species in Pikmin 2

In Pikmin 2, new species of Pikmin are introduced - purple Pikmin and white Pikmin. Not living in Onions of their own, they instead live inside Olimar's spaceship and are bred by throwing a Pikmin into a "Candypop Bud," a special kind of flower, of the corresponding color to produce these new Pikmin seeds. These Candypop Buds are only found underground.

Purple Pikmin

Purple Pikmin, Pikminicus puniceus, are 10 times as strong as other Pikmin. When thrown, they cause a thud, stunning enemies nearby and in some cases even squishing them. A purple Pikmin counts as 10 regular Pikmin for the purpose of carrying objects, yet takes only the space of a single one on the field. They are the strongest and the slowest of the Pikmin. Purple Pikmin are the only Pikmin with hair.

White Pikmin

White Pikmin, Pikminicus niveus, are immune to poison, and when eaten by an enemy, can poison their devourer. Various obstacles, both above and below ground, bellow out foul clouds of purple smoke, and white Pikmin are the only ones that can safely approach and destroy them. Additionally, they can uncover buried treasures. They are the fastest and the weakest of the Pikmin, but they also carry objects faster than other types of Pikmin. White Pikmin have red, pupil-less eyes, unlike those of any other Pikmin color.

Bulbmin

File:Bulbmin.JPG

Bulbmin, Parasiticus pikminicus, are actually parasitic Pikmin that dwell inside of what look like Dwarf Red Bulborbs except for a leaf on their backs. They are encountered only in Pikmin 2, only in underground in caves. Although the mother will attack Pikmin, its children, usually numbering ten, will not. Once the 'mother' Bulbmin is killed, its miniature Bulbmin children will follow Captain Olimar when he calls them. They cannot leave the cave, but can be transformed into regular Pikmin via Candypop Buds. They are immune to fire, water, electricity, and poison. Aside from the immunities, they have no special abilities. They are particularly weak in battle, however, since they can only be used in the caves they are found, they are expendable, so losing a few doesn't cause too much of a loss. When Pikmin are dismissed from the player's active control, the leaf, bud, or flower on top of their head glows. Red Pikmin glow red, blue Pikmin glow blue, etc., but Bulbmin glow green, indicating that the parasitic Pikmin may in fact be green in color.

Basic Pikmin abilities

Although Pikmin have special color-specific attributes, all Pikmin are capable of certain basic tasks. These tasks are vital to retrieving ship parts, and often several of these tasks must be completed to retrieve one ship part. One task would open the way slightly, and then allow for completion of the next task, and so on.

Building Bridges

Pikmin can build bridges over ponds and canyons. On the ground, piles of sticks may be found. The Pikmin simultaneously unroll and construct a bridge from this mound of sticks, creating a bridge which both the Pikmin and Captain Olimar can walk on. Pikmin seem to be skilled engineers, as the bridges they create never collapse under weight, although some indigenous creatures (known as Shearwigs) appear to consume wood and will completely destroy bridges over time. However, the pile of sticks will re-appear and the bridge can be re-built.

Carrying

All Pikmin can carry objects, such as the carcasses of defeated creatures, nutritious pellets, treasure, or ship parts. Because of the very small size of Pikmin, almost all objects require many Pikmin to carry them. An average ship part could require 30 Pikmin to carry, and the heaviest ship part in Pikmin requires 50, and the lightest part requires only 10 Pikmin to carry. An average treasure in Pikmin 2 would require 25 Pikmin to carry. The lightest treasure requires only 1 Pikmin, while the heaviest requires 1000, which can only be accomplished using purple Pikmin. Pikmin use pellets and the carcasses of defeated creatures to increase their numbers, so when more than one color of Pikmin is cooperating to carry an object, the Pikmin take it to the Onion that matches the color of the majority of Pikmin carrying the object, not the majority of Pikmin out in the field. For example, if there are 90 red Pikmin and 10 blue Pikmin in the field, but a particular object is being carried by 7 blue Pikmin and 6 red Pikmin, the object will be carried to the blue Pikmins' Onion. Because white and purple Pikmin have no Onion, they randomly bring treasure to one of the other Onions. Ship parts, or in the second game, treasure or berries, are always carried to the ship, never to an Onion. If Captain Olimar is attacked by an enemy or injured by an element on the planet's surface, any nearby Pikmin can carry him back to the ship. It should be noted that, based on hypotheses based on evidence in Pikmin 2, one Pikmin can carry exactly one gram.

Destroying gates

In some places, the way becomes blocked by walls or gates. These gates can be made of wood or stone. Wooden gates can be destroyed with an army of Pikmin; the Pikmin attack the gate until it collapses. Gates can take quite a long time to tear down, although some take longer than others, even if the same amount of Pikmin are working on each. If a gate is made of stone, it must be torn down with bomb-rocks thrown by yellow Pikmin. Some weaker stone gates require three bomb-rocks, but extremely strong gates can require up to nine explosions to destroy. Stone gates do not exist in Pikmin 2, though electrical ones do, and like stone gates, they require yellow Pikmin to be destroyed. The wooden gates can also be quickly taken out with a few bomb-rocks. Stronger gates are darker-shaded than others, whether wooden or stone. Also, poison pipes can be found under some of Pikmin 2's gates.

Fighting

All Pikmin are capable of fighting indigenous creatures found in their surroundings, although certain colors of Pikmin may be better suited to fight certain enemies or to fight in certain areas. Red Pikmin naturally cause more damage with each attack, while Purple Pikmin do the most damage. As a rule, red Pikmin are most effective against land-based creatures, yellow Pikmin are best against flying enemies, blue Pikmin are best against water-based enemies, Purple Pikmin seem most suited for ground enemies, and White Pikmin are most suited for poison or quick enemies.

Threats to Pikmin

Pikmin are small, fragile creatures, and although they can move mountains to help Captain Olimar, they can be killed easily and must be protected. Many things on the planet are a danger to the Pikmin, and great care must be taken to ensure they are not put in harm's way.

Being eaten

Main article: Enemies of Pikmin

Almost all creatures on the Pikmin planet will eat the Pikmin if given the chance. At the top of this list is the Bulborb, the natural enemy of the Pikmin. Large Bulborbs can devour a dozen Pikmin in just a few seconds, which can prove devastating to an ill-planned expedition. The situation Pikmin encounter when dealing with local wildlife is so dire that it is in fact much simpler to number the creatures which do not eat Pikmin, which are decidedly in a minority. Some large creatures, in addition to eating the Pikmin, also stomp on them or squish them until they die. Some enemies' variations on this method include killing Pikmin with projectiles or by stinging them.

Being left behind

This is by far one of the simplest, yet most devastating causes of Pikmin death in the game. The Pikmin follow Olimar, and without his guidance, hopelessly stand around to wait for an order. This is dangerous, as most of the time straggling Pikmin will not pay attention to an enemy sneaking up behind them. Therefore, they very easily can be eaten without Olimar. Leaving Pikmin on the planet at nightfall behind is lethal, as the nocturnal predators will eat them alive. The only Pikmin that will survive being left behind are ones that are still unpicked from the ground. The player may use the radar to find idle Pikmin once he or she collects it.

Drowning

Water is found in many of the caves and above ground, and is sometimes wielded by enemies in the Pikmin world. Since only blue Pikmin can swim and breathe in water, red, white, purple, and yellow Pikmin encounter serious trouble in the water. Red, white, purple, and yellow Pikmin drown when they enter the water, although they do not die instantly. Captain Olimar and blue Pikmin can act as lifeguards, calling or throwing drowning Pikmin to safety. Pikmin drowning would generally be considered poor control on the player's part, as it is preventable: nearby blue Pikmin will attempt to toss drowning Pikmin to shore and whistling to drowning victims will encourage them to wade out of the water towards the captain. If they are close to shore, chances are they will make it back alive. Some enemies squirt water at Pikmin as a method of attack. This forms water bubbles around the Pikmins' heads, causing the Pikmin run around uncontrollably. They can be rescued with the call of the player-controlled captain's whistle.

Burning

Only red Pikmin are immune to fire, so other Pikmin should not go anywhere near it. Unlike water, fire kills Pikmin nearly instantly, although in Pikmin 2 the player is given about 7 seconds to save them, so extreme care should be used in areas that contain fire. Fire is usually spewed out the ground via small holes in the ground. To make matters worse, there are some enemies in the Pikmin world that use fire as a primary means of attack. Large numbers of red Pikmin can be used to take these enemies down. However, as with drowning, burning Pikmin are snapped back to their senses when whistled to, and they manage to put out their own fires if the player is quick enough.

Poisoning

Only white Pikmin are immune to poison gas. When other Pikmin go anywhere near the gas clouds, they run around uncontrollably trying to get away from the gas clouds surrounding their heads. Whistling to them will make them get rid of the gas around their heads, thus saving them. Poison gas is generated by small pipes sticking out of the ground, and some enemies use poison as a means of attack. However, unlike fire geysers and the electric traps found underground, which turn on and off every few seconds, the poison pipes continuously emit gas without stopping. This means that only White Pikmin can only destroy the pipes.

Electrocution

This is one of the most dangerous hazards. Any non-yellow Pikmin that touches something that is discharging electricity will die instantly. Electricity can be found on small electrodes underground, which arc electric beams between each other every few seconds. Also, some gates in the game continuously discharge electricity, so only yellow Pikmin can take them down. Many dangerous enemies also use electricity to their advantage.

Explosions

Bomb rocks are usually found laying randomly on the ground. Though in caves, they can fall from the ceiling. Yellow Pikmin can wield bomb-rocks, which are used to blow things up. Pikmin are no exception, and no color of Pikmin can survive a blast from one of these rocks. Captain Olimar can also be injured by these explosions, although not as grievously as the Pikmin. Olimar will sustain serious injuries from an explosion, but all Pikmin will be killed instantly. Bomb-rocks have a blast radius, and it is the player's responsibility that no Pikmin are in the radius. Care must be used that no other bomb-rocks are in the vicinity, as these will explode as well if too close to another explosion. Even worse is that some enemies use bomb rocks for their benefit by creating and then throwing them or detonating bomb rocks themselves. Once a player is more experienced with handling these volatile rocks, one may try throwing them at enemies. Bomb rocks can only be wielded by yellow Pikmin in the first Pikmin game, and in the second Pikmin game, bomb rocks exist only as an added hazard.

Spores

While exploring in the Forest Navel in the first Pikmin game, Captain Olimar finds that one of his ship parts in located inside of a giant mushroom-shaped creature called a Puffstool, which runs when attacked. When vulnerable and cornered by an army of Pikmin, the mushroom creature releases spores which have strange effects on the Pikmin, changing their color to purple (but not the same as the purple Pikmin in Pikmin 2), morphing the leaves on their heads into mushroom caps, and causing them to attack Captain Olimar. However, after a short while the parasites die, causing the Pikmin to revert to normal. Pikmin killed during this state never get the chance to revert to normal, and so killing them should be saved as a last resort.

Behavior

In general, Pikmin exhibit regular behavioral patterns. Pikmin are found in two states above ground, active and inactive. Active Pikmin display a more robust color, and follow the player-controlled captain. Active Pikmin obey the Captain's commands unquestioningly. Inactive Pikmin, such as those who have fallen behind or are dismissed by the player-controlled captain, display more muted colors, although the Pikmin in the 2nd game do not show this muted color trait, and mill about. If a task presents itself, they will attempt to help without being prodded by the player-controlled captain. For example, if Pikmin are carrying an object and happen to pass by a group of inactive Pikmin, the inactive Pikmin will run over and attempt to assist the Pikmin carrying the object.

Pikmin are social creatures, seemingly interacting with other Pikmin of all colors if left alone, but focus their attention entirely on Captain Olimar when called into active duty. Pikmin naturally form groups within their own color, but cooperate readily with Pikmin of another color. If allowed to separate into groups during periods of inactivity, they separate along color lines, but do not object to being placed all together.