The day icon inPikmin 3.

The mainPikmin games take place over the course of several in-gamedays (日^?, lit.: "Day"). Dangerous creatures roam at nighttime, so exploration onPNF-404generally only happens during the daytime. The number of days spent on the planet is also important in some games: inPikmin,Captain Olimar has 30 days before his life-support systems fail and he's stranded on the planet permanently, and inPikmin 3 the number of days left is determined by how many bottles offruit juice are left, for a maximum of 99 days.Pikmin 2 andPikmin 4 have no day limit, and inNew Play Control! Pikmin, theNintendo Switch port ofPikmin, andPikmin 3, the player is given the ability to go back in time and retry from a certain day of their adventure, through an option in thesaved game selection menu in the case ofNew Play Control! Pikmin and the Nintendo Switch port ofPikmin, or a dedicatedday selection menu in the case ofPikmin 3. A common challenge run in thePikmin games is tocomplete the game taking the least amount of days possible.

TheSun Meter at the top of theHUD indicates the amount of daylight left, so effectively, the time the player has left on the current day. A number on the top right corner indicates the current day. In theStory Mode ofPikmin games, a day lasts between 13 and 18 real-life minutes, depending on the game, version, anddifficulty mode, as explainedhere. Alternative game modes have days with varying lengths. As the day goes by, the lighting in the area changes much as it does on Earth, but enemy behavior and area layout remains constant throughout (save for theSerene Shores inPikmin 4 where the tide changes at noon).

Any important collectible object, such as atreasure, that is moved from its original spot, will remain in the new spot on any following day. InPikmin,Pikmin 2, andPikmin 3, when an enemy is killed, it usually respawns in its original place after some number of days, and if an enemy's corpse isn't brought back to anOnion before the end of the day, the corpse will disappear. InPikmin 4, enemy corpses will remain in the location they were left at every day until brought back to an Onion, and enemies in overground areas do not respawn. Some enemies only appear on certain days. Some of the most notable enemies with this characteristic are theSmoky Progg, which disappears after day 15, theUjadani, which only appear every 30 days, and theGoolix andMamuta onThe Impact Site, that appear on alternating days. For a list of all enemies that appear on exclusive days, please read the list of enemies in the correspondingarea article.

Sunset[edit]

The Sun Meters from the first 3Pikmin games.

When the sunset arrives, all leaders and Pikmin must stop what they are doing, retreat into theOnions and ship, and spend the night in low orbit, due to the fact that many predators become active at night. Additionally, inPikmin 2, theHocotate ship needs to be in low orbit to communicate withHocotate. InPikmin 4, the Onion retreats to orbit, but the S.S. Beagle returns to theRescue Command Post.

Safe Pikmin[edit]

When the sunset arrives, anyPikmin that are considered to be "safe" will be able to board their Onion, spend the night above the surface, and be ready to be picked up the following day. When the day ends, be it normally or from thepause menu, Pikmin will be considered safe if:

• They are in a leader's group.
• They are close to an activated Onion. (InPikmin 3 andPikmin 4, the safe zone's explicit limits are displayed when the sunset begins.)
• They are walking towards their Onion after being told to go inside, inPikmin only.^[1]
• They are close to an undiscovered Onion, inPikmin,Pikmin 2^[2] andPikmin 3 only.
• They are transitioning between sections of the area, inPikmin 3.

It does not matter which Onion the Pikmin is close to, even if the Pikmin's type does not match the Onion's type.

In addition to these, any Pikmin that is buried will stay where they are buried, and will not be harmed over the night. Any other Pikmin that isn't safe or buried will be left behind on the surface and will be eaten by enemies during the night.

While it can be difficult to tell if a Pikmin is considered safe in the first 2 games,Pikmin 3 added some ways to know for sure. A large white circle appears around all activated Onions in the area, indicating that Pikmin within it will be safe. Although unactivated Onions do not show the circle, the safety radius still exists, and if a dormant Onion is activated after the sunset warning period begins, the circle will still not appear, but nearby Pikmin will still be counted as safe. This radius can also be seen on theradar. A small counter will appear on the top-right corner of theHUD to alert the player of how many Pikmin are in danger of being left behind. On theKopPad, what types of Pikmin that are idle are displayed near the top of the map, along with how many. Pikmin icons will also appear larger on the radar when the sunset is approaching, and the icons of those that are at risk of being left on the surface will also appear flashing on the radar. Finally, when the player attempts to finish the day from the pause menu, a warning will show up saying that Pikmin will be left behind, if there are indeed any Pikmin considered not safe when the player tried to end the day.

Phases[edit]

Warning[edit]

Some minutes before the sun is down, a message will appear on-screen warning the player that they need to gather their Pikmin. From here on, themusic changes to a calmer remix. It is also at this point that the KopPad changes, and the Onions get their safety limits shown, inPikmin 3. FromPikmin 2 onward, the normal area music fades out a couple of seconds before this phase begins.

Countdown[edit]

Sometime after the warning, a countdown from 10 takes place (9 inPikmin 4). Each digit takes a few seconds to pass, as explainedhere, and is presented on-screen, slowly fading away to make way for the next one. 0 also appears, and the day doesn't end until after the 0 disappears completely. Interestingly, inPikmin, after the counter reaches 4, the player is no longer able to interact with theS.S. Dolphin or open the radar. Exactly why this feature exists is unknown.

Gathering[edit]

When the countdown finishes, or when the day is ended with thepause menu, one (Pikmin 4) or two (other games)cinematic sequences take place. The first scene starts with all alive leaders and safe Pikmin following the leaders walking up to the landing site in a single group led by the leader who was selected when the day ended. The main leader thendismisses and orders every Pikmin to get on their Onions or ship. In bothPikmin 3 andPikmin 4, if the player does not have any Pikmin in their group, the active leader will not do the dismiss animation and sound. Any Pikmin that is near an Onion (excluding dormant Onions inPikmin 4), but away from the landing site will still climb to their Onion, despite not being shown. Any Pikmin that is buried will remain buried in the same spot and can beplucked on another day. After all the Pikmin have entered their Onion, the leader(s) are beamed into the ship.

A song plays during this scene, and while it is similar in each game, there is some variation. InPikmin, the song is slower, and repeats a section twice, lengthening the cutscene when compared to the later games. InPikmin 2, there are 4 songs that can play during this cinematic:

• If the player obtained notreasure, even if they gatheredPokos fromenemies, a simple and quiet remix of the main "end of day" theme plays.
• If the player has collected some treasures, the regular song takes place.
• A third, more upbeat version of the song will play when the player has collected 15 or more treasures during the day.
• The final theme plays when bothleaders are down or aPikmin extinction occurs. It's a sad and lower-beat version of the main "end of day" theme.

Lift-off[edit]

TheS.S. Drake and the Onion lifting off inPikmin 3.

The second scene shows the ship preparing for lift-off, while wild creatures draw near. If any Pikmin were not considered safe, they'll be shown running towards the ship in an attempt to be saved. However, it is too late, and the wandering enemies will begin to eat them. InPikmin 4, enemies only go to the landing site if Pikmin were actually left behind. The ship then takes off, and thestats for that day are shown. This is when the player maysave the game, and readOlimar's voyage log,mail, theKoppaites' voyage log, or (inOlimar's Shipwreck Tale) a monologue from Olimar. The following is a list of enemies that appear in each area inPikmin,Pikmin 3 andPikmin 4, given that inPikmin 2, the game picks randomly from the enemies that can appear in the area, with more Pikmin left behind resulting in more enemies:

Pikmin

• The Impact Site:Spotty Bulborb
• The Forest of Hope: Spotty Bulborb
• The Forest Navel:Wollywog
• The Distant Spring:Shearwig
• The Final Trial: Spotty Bulborb

Pikmin 3

• Tropical Wilds:Whiptongue Bulborb
• Garden of Hope: Bulborb andDwarf Bulborb
• Distant Tundra:Spotty Bulbear andDwarf Bulbear
• Twilight River:Orange Bulborb andDwarf Orange Bulborb
• Formidable Oak: Bulborb

Pikmin 4

• Sun-Speckled Terrace: Bulborb and Dwarf Bulborb
• Blossoming Arcadia:Joustmite andDowny Snagret
• Serene Shores:Peckish Aristocrab andAristocrab Offspring
• Hero's Hideaway:Gildemandwee andTusked Blowhog
• Giant's Hearth: Spotty Bulbear and Dwarf Bulbear
• Primordial Thicket:Moldy Slooch andMoldy Dwarf Bulborb

The enemies in the sunset cutscene ofPikmin have unique "screaming" animations, and the Spotty Bulborbs and Shearwigs have unique eating animations. This phenomenon doesn't appear anywhere else in the main game.

Landing[edit]

Pikmin 4 includes a fifth phase of the sunset, wherein theplayer character andOatchi return to theRescue Command Post to spend the night there. The stats for the day are moved to this phase and are followed by some dialogue between major characters, typicallyRescue Corps members and Olimar. The player character never partakes in this dialogue.

In theSuper Smash Bros. series[edit]

This article or section is a short summary on the Final Smash. SmashWiki features more in-depth content.

InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl,Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Olimar's Final Smash is calledEnd of Day. It shows Olimar jumping into hisship then rocketing off into space as night approaches. The stage below becomes infested with mature Bulborbs that deal heavy damage to foes; following this, the ship crashes and explodes, hurting all nearby enemies. Strangely, Pikmin will be left behind and are immune to the predators, but not to other players.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy[edit]

	Description: “Olimar's Final Smash. Dusk falls, and his spaceship makes a landing. Olimar takes the Onion, with all his Pikmin aboard, and blasts off for the stars. In Pikmin, native life-forms grew active and violent at night, making it lethal to remain on the surface--this is why Olimar would take his Onions and leave at night. This technique breaks the framework of the game. Super Smash Bros. Brawl”
How to obtain: Complete All-Star mode with Olimar.		Type: Final Smash

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy[edit]

This trophy is only available in the Wii U version.

	US description: “On the planet Olimar is investigating, the native creatures become extra violent at night, forcing him to retreat to orbit every evening. His Final Smash works the same way: night falls and Olimar takes to the sky, leaving his foes to the mercy of the wildlife below. Olimar returns when dawn breaks and you can adjust his less-than-safe landing!”
	EU description: “On the planet of the Pikmin, the native creatures get quite violent come nightfall, so Olimar retreats to orbit every evening. That's how his Final Smash works, too: Olimar takes off in his trusty Dolphin[sic], then in come the beasties to take care of the other fighters. When Olimar returns, make sure he touches down, er...safely!”
How to obtain: Complete All-Star mode with Olimar or Alph.		Type: Final Smash	Trophy Box: 92. Final Smashes 3

Skipping to sunset[edit]

This article is astub. You can help Pikipedia byexpanding it. Suggestions: Explain how this mechanic works. Also for each game, also research what happens to the maturity of buried Pikmin, to enemies that are in the middle of eating a Pikmin, etc.

Durations[edit]

The exact duration of a day, the sunset stage, etc. varies between games, between versions, and betweendifficulty modes.

If the Europeanversion ofPikmin runs at 50 Hz, the gameplay speed will be slower (seeframerate), which also makes the day longer.

The following table lists the real-world time that some states last for, in amm:ss format.

The day is measured from the end of the landingcutscene to the start of the sunset cutscene. Half-day is measured from the end of the landing cutscene to the moment the mid-day chime plays. The sunset is measured from the moment the sunset warning appears on-screen to the start of the sunset cutscene. The countdown is measured from the moment the first digit appears on-screen to the start of the sunset cutscene. These times are measured without pausing, and without doing anything throughout the day, to ensure there are virtually no lagframes.

Measuring time[edit]

In the first three games, the Sun Meter displays 13 dots which mark changes of the hour. InPikmin 2, these dots represent times from 7 AM to 7 PM.^[3] InPikmin 3, thefinal results menu shows the player the day number as well as the time of day in which thefinal boss was defeated, making it possible to conclude that days inPikmin 3 start at 6 AM, and end at 6 PM.

First day[edit]

See:Story Mode#First day

The first day of each game's main Story Mode is a bit special in that it serves as a tutorial of sorts. Because of this, some of the game's rules are changed for this day only.

Weather[edit]

A rainy day in the Tropical Wilds.

InPikmin 3, the weather can vary between days. The effects of weather are purely aesthetic. Most areas have 2 weather states, sunny and rainy, while theDistant Tundra has sunny and snowy. Compared to sunny weather, rainy weather has darker lighting,different music, faint splashes on the ground, and makes surfaces more shiny. Snowy weather makes faint snow fall from the sky and also changes the music. The weather has no effect on underground sections of areas.

The weather for a day is set at the beginning of the day while the game isloading, and does not change throughout the day. Generally, the weather is setrandomly, with rainy weather having a 1/4 chance in the Tropical Wilds, Garden of Hope, and Twilight River, and snowy weather having a 1/2 chance in the Distant Tundra.^[4] However, a day can be forced to have a specific weather type, if at the beginning of the day, the amount of progress through thestory is at a specific level, and the player is in a specificarea. (The variable used to track the game progress is also used forobjectives.)

The weather will be forced to be sunny if, at the start of the day:

• It is day 1 in theTropical Wilds.
• Brittany has not yet been rescued in theGarden of Hope.
• The doublebridge has not been built in theDistant Tundra and it is at least the third day in the area (not including day 1).
• Charlie has been rescued but theSandbelching Meerslug has not been defeated in the Tropical Wilds.
• Thedam has not been lifted in theTwilight River.
• The Hocotatian has been saved from the Scornet Maestro butBlue Pikmin have not been obtained in the Garden of Hope.
• TheQuaggled Mireclops has been defeated but the Hocotatian has not been rescued in the Garden of Hope.
• The cave has not yet been entered in theFormidable Oak.

The weather will be forced to be rainy if, at the start of the day:

• TheArmored Mawdad has been defeated but the Data Glutton has not been collected in the Garden of Hope.
• TheSandbelching Meerslug has been defeated but the Folded Data Glutton has not been collected in the Tropical Wilds.
• TheScornet Maestro has been defeated but the Hocotatian has not been rescued in the Twilight River.
• Blue Pikmin have been obtained but theQuaggled Mireclops has not been defeated in the Garden of Hope.
• The cave has been entered in the Formidable Oak.

The weather will be forced to be snowy if, at the start of the day:

• It is day 1 in the Distant Tundra.
• The double bridge has not been built in the Distant Tundra and it is the first or second day in the area (not including day 1).

Daylight[edit]

As time goes by, the daylight changes much as it would on Earth, with the area being slightly foggy during the morning, the most lit during the middle of the day, and darker near the night.

InPikmin, the shadows underPikmin andOlimar point in different directions as the day goes by. At the start of the day, they point to the southwest, at midday, to the south, and near the end, to the southeast. This is similar to sun-cast shadows in real life, given that the sun rises on the east (and hence, the shadows are cast to the west), and sets on the west. In order to avoid rendering too many shadows at once and slowing the game down, Pikmin shadows are completely omitted if there are 51 or more Pikmin on the field.

InPikmin 2, the shadow limit does not exist, but shadows do not change direction as the day progresses and are cast directly under the leaders or Pikmin.

InPikmin 3, all objects cast shadows, and these shadows change direction throughout the day, but remain mostly directly below objects to allow depth to be judged more easily, only elongating very near thesunset. The direction of shadows corresponds with the location of the sun, which can be seen in the sky with theKopPad camera. The compass direction where the sun rises and sets varies between areas and segments. This is because different segments are rotated by varying amounts in the radar compared to their orientation within the area's model, which causes the direction of north to vary between segments. In segments where compass directions are not rotated relative to the area's model, the sun rises in the south, moves through the west of the sky, and sets in the north. Other segments have the sun rise and set in different directions based on their rotation.

• 

  Animation demonstrating the daylight as a day goes by, inPikmin.

• 

  Same as the previous animation, but forPikmin 2.

• 

  Daylight passage inPikmin 3.

Badges[edit]

InPikmin 3 Deluxe, there is abadge the player can gain from spending days on PNF-404:

• New Horizons: Complete day 1 in Story Mode.

• 

  New Horizons. The badge shows the S.S. Drake crashing onto PNF-404.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  The sunset inPikmin 2.

• 

  Red andRock Pikmin being left behind.

• 

  Lots of Rock Pikmin being left behind.

Trivia[edit]

• The sunsetcutscenes cannot be skipped in the USversion ofPikmin, but they can in the European version, as well as allNew Play Control! and Nintendo Switch ports.
• In theWistful Wild at sunset, aGatling Groink can shoot at and damage the leaders. They cannot be incapacitated with this method, however.
• The End of Day trophy description inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl is worded in a way that makes it sound like Olimar uses theOnion, with all of hisPikmin on board; neither of these are true, as Olimar uses theHocotate ship and some Pikmin can get left behind. This is the case for both the Final Smash and thePikmin series mechanic.
  • Similarly, the European trophy description inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U incorrectly claims that Olimar uses theS.S. Dolphin during his Final Smash, when in reality, it is the Hocotate ship.
• InPikmin 2, there is a small delay before the day time continues, when unpausing the game. By repeatedly pausing and unpausing, one can gain a slight bit of time.^[5]
• InPikmin 2, the text for the message "Hurry! Gather your Pikmin!" changes color depending on how much time is left. From 10 to 7 it is white, from 6 to 4, yellow, and from 3 to 0 it is a reddish orange.
• InPikmin 3, if the Master Onion was in the process of beaming up something while the sunset cutscene starts, the effects for the beaming will remain throughout the cutscene, until it sucks in its "legs".
• InPikmin 3, if all leaders become unconscious while the safety zone rings are visible, they will stay visible throughout the sunset cutscene.
• InPikmin 3, thanks to the KopPad, it is possible to watch the sunset.^[6]
• In the North American instruction manual of theGameCube version ofPikmin, the "Go to Sunset" option in thepause menu is instead labeled as "Wait until night".

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	日? Hi	Day	Day counter displays English name.
Chinese (traditional)	天 Tiān	Day	Day counter displays English name.
Chinese (simplified)	天 Tiān	Day
French	Jour	Day
German	Tag	Day
Italian	Giorno	Day
Korean	일 il	Day	Day counter displays English name.
Spanish	Día	Day

Sunset

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	日没? Nichibotsu	Sunset
Chinese (traditional)	日落 Rìluò	Sunset
Chinese (simplified)	日落 Rìluò	Sunset
French	Coucher du soleil	Sunset
German	Sonnenuntergang	Sunset
Italian	Tramonto	Sunset
Korean	일몰 ilmol	Sunset
Spanish	Ocaso	Sunset

See also[edit]

• Area
• Day selection menu
• Night expedition

References[edit]

Hazards
Fire Water Electricity Poison Ice Battle Sunset Crushing Stabbing Explosion
Other hazards

• Pikmin 1
• Pikmin 2
• Pikmin 3
• Pikmin 4
• Hazards
• Gameplay

• Stubs
• Pages that need images