Artwork of a variety of enemies.

Enemies (原生生物^?, lit.: "Primitive Creature") are the many species present in PNF-404 that pose a hazard toPikmin. There are many types of enemies in thePikmin series, with varying appearances, behaviors, and levels of hostility.Combat against enemies constitutes a major part of gameplay in all mainlinePikmin games.

Enemies have varied attacks, and some take advantage ofhazards to cause damage to Pikmin who are not immune to them. Offensively, enemies either eat Pikmin or hurt them with attacks, both melee and projectile-based, and with effects that range from pushing the Pikmin off to outright killing them. A few enemies are incapable of directly killing Pikmin.

Defeated enemies may droppellets, which can be brought to anOnion to exchange for Pikmin seeds. Defeated enemies that leave a corpse can also be returned to an Onion to also exchange for Pikmin seeds. Additionally, corpses can also be brought back to theResearch Pod and theSPERO in exchange forPokos, or theS.S. Beagle forSparklium. An enemy under the effect of anultra-bitter spray or beingfrozen will vanish when itshealth drops to zero;nectars orsprays then have a chance of dropping instead.

Some enemies contain important items likeship parts,treasures,fruits andcastaways, which they drop when defeated; these will still be dropped even if the creature was petrified or frozen. Most downed enemies will also safely release any Pikmin in their grasp, regardless of any apparently fatal damage caused when the Pikmin was trapped (like theCloaking Burrow-nit's impalement). This allows otherwise doomed Pikmin to be saved.

It is unconfirmed how most of the enemies are named, but it is known in most games that Olimar names them, as he bases theBulborb's name after his dog,Bulbie. The Nintendo Power Player's Guide forPikmin and the Prima Guide forNew Play Control! Pikmin both confirm that Olimar named every enemy fromPikmin.Pikmin 3 is more confusing, however, since the names of enemies are only seen throughlocking-on. It is possible that the Koppaites named them, but its more likely the lock-on is just for the player and is not what the Koppaites actually see. For repeating enemies, it could be theKopPad has the names Olimar created stored inside it, like in theInsect Condo's case.^[1]

List of enemies[edit]

The following is a list of enemies in thePikmin series. Names inbold belong to enemies that are considered bosses or mini-bosses. The enemy categories on Pikipedia can also be browsed, with the main one beingEnemies.

InPikmin[edit]

See also:Pikmin enemies category.

InPikmin 2[edit]

See also:Pikmin 2 enemies category andPiklopedia (Pikmin 2).

InPikmin 3[edit]

See also:Pikmin 3 enemies category andPiklopedia (Pikmin 3 Deluxe).

InPikmin 4[edit]

See also:Pikmin 4 enemies category andPiklopedia (Pikmin 4).

InHey! Pikmin[edit]

See also:Hey! Pikmin enemies category andHey! Pikmin logs.

InPikmin Adventure[edit]

See also:Pikmin Adventure enemies category.

Bosses[edit]

Main article:Boss.

Boss enemies are tougher than standard enemies, but also rarer. They usually have to be defeated to obtain a plot-critical object. WhilePikmin andPikmin 4 have inconsistent distinctions between bosses and regular enemies,Pikmin 2 has 12 clearly-defined bosses that are found at the end ofcaves,Pikmin 3 has 6 very clearly-defined bosses that each hold the item that allows access to the next section of the story,Hey! Pikmin has 9 very clearly-defined bosses fought at the end ofsectors, andPikmin Adventure has 8 very clearly-defined bosses, with the first 4 appearing in every 4th standard challenge, and the last 4 appearing throughout the 6 advanced challenges.

Behavior[edit]

Most enemies roam around in a specific location of thearea, leaving only to chase after or run away from Pikmin orleaders. Some enemies are quite dedicated to their initial spots, returning to them after wandering too far, while others, like theSpotty Bulbear inPikmin 2, will patrol a certain area and can even chase the player all the way to theOnions. The locations in which enemies can be found sometimes depend on their nature. For instance, the fur-coatedHairy Bulborbs are better suited to cold environments, and as such, are commonly found in ice-themedcaves.

Enemies are normally killed by Pikmin attacks, which becomes easier the more Pikmin are attacking. They can also inadvertently kill themselves by ingestingWhite Pikmin, falling off pits, or rarely, by coming into contact with certainhazards. They can even be killed by some of the attacks of other enemies, such as theArmored Cannon Larva's rocks, or theYellow Wollyhop's stomp inPikmin 3.

As threats to Pikmin, enemies can attack in a variety of ways, the most common one being eating them. They can alsocrush them, kill them with ahazard they're vulnerable to, and knock them out with an explosion, among other methods. For some of these attacks, there is a cap on the number of Pikmin that can be affected by it. For instance, inPikmin, aBulborb may only grab and eat three Pikmin at most with a single bite, but inPikmin 2, five can fall prey to the same bite. The exception to this is the enemies inHey! Pikmin, which more often than not, kill Pikmin and damage Olimar by simply touching them.

Interactions[edit]

For the most part, every enemy is its own entity, interacting only with the Pikmin and leaders. Some enemies, however, have passive or active interactions with the environment, other enemies, or miscellaneous objects.

Environment interactions[edit]

• InPikmin 3 andPikmin 4, most enemies will be unable to detect Pikmin and leaders if they arehiding under tallplants.
• InPikmin 2, if anEmperor Bulblax gets close to abomb-rock, it will eat it without needing to be coaxed into doing so.
• The fire on aFiery Bulblax or aPyroclasmic Slooch's back will be put out should it go into water. Both creatures reignite once they leave the water.
• If a member of theMandiblard family touches water, it will steadily losehealth, and if it is near a woodenbridge and not in pursuit, it will begin deconstructing it. This only happens inPikmin andPikmin 2.
• Wolpoles andPuckering Blinnows will start flailing around if they're on dry land, but they are able to swim freely if they're underwater.
• InPikmin 3, theSwarming Sheargrub will drink anynectar that it comes across, which will make it grow in size.
• Pricklepuffs will sit on the ground doing nothing if forced out of water, for example bySerene Shores' tide mechanic.

Cooperation[edit]

Dwarf Bulborbs are often found congregating around aBulborb.

Some creatures keep a bond with others. To maximize the chances of survival, some enemies can be seen next to others, normally of their own species, and oftentimes interacting with them when a fight for survival is taking place.Dwarf Bulborbs andDwarf Bulbears, for example, are often observed clustering around a leader who is eithera larger member of the same species oran adult of the species they are mimicking. When under attack inPikmin, they may scream in order to wake up their larger allies.

Other creatures also choose to follow a leader, normally of their own family. Examples include theBulbmin, who lose all sense of control should their leader perish, theScornets, who obey the command of theScornet Maestro, and theShearwigs, which can be found under the control of aQueen Shearwig, and are otherwise independent.

Hostility[edit]

Hostility between enemies is non-existent, but cases of enemies damaging each other are not. Some enemies may, if inadvertently, hurt others. This normally happens when they try to kill Pikmin or leaders. Not many enemy attacks are made to hurt others, but the following are:

• TheEmpress Bulblax can kill its young by rolling into them.
• AGatling Groink can damage other enemies with its shots (including other Groinks), but not itself.
• TheWaterwraith instantly kills any enemies it rolls over.
• Mostlithopods with boulders can harm other enemies or even the launcher itself.
• TheRaging Long Legs andBaldy Long Legs can stomp on and kill other enemies, particularly on theAngle Maze andTropical Forest, respectively.
• InPikmin 3 andPikmin 4,Yellow Wollyhops can kill or injure other enemies if they land on them.
• InPikmin 3 andPikmin 4,Skutterchucks can harm and kill other enemies if theircrystal nodules land on them. They can even kill themselves.
• TheMan-at-Legs can hurt other enemies with its gun. This is impossible to see without hacks, since the creature never appears alongside other enemies.

As a gameplay element[edit]

In the games, enemy locations are relatively evenly spread, in order to maximize the balance between exploration andcombat, as to not overwhelm the player. More important locations, however, are generally covered by stronger enemies, requiring the player to excel in combat skill if they are to obtain the rewards that lie behind them. Analogously, easier enemies are encountered closer to the landing sites and the first floors ofcaves.

Enemies that are killed do not reappear until theleaders leave, regardless of leaving a corpse. Some enemies do, however, respawn after an in-game day has passed, or after acave is entered and exited, although others might require the passing of some full days before returning. In addition, some only appear in specific days, as is the case with theGoolix and theMamuta onThe Impact Site. Besides respawning, some enemies can actuallyrevive after they've been considered dead, and a few have a naturalhealth regeneration mechanic.

Intelligence-wise, enemies have a very simplistic artificial intelligence system. Some bosses are hard-coded to perform more specific actions and reply to more specific events, but for the most part, enemies can recognize the presence of a Pikmin, when to attack, when to shake Pikmin off, when to return to their home spot, and not much else. On top of that, their path recognition systems are non-existent: when they want to reach a spot, they head directly towards it, with no regard to any walls or obstacles. Most of the time, there are no obstacles in the way (or if there are, they can be slid through), but otherwise, this can lead to them getting stuck behind them, endlessly walking in place.

Enemies also do not take walls into account for their vision, chasing, or animations. They can see prey through walls, they will walk into them if their target is on the other side, and if they are close enough to attack, they can reach Pikmin and leaders through the wall; this is especially notable for enemies with long reach, like theCloaking Burrow-nit. Regardless, theHermit Crawmad has the ability to climb up walls, as demonstrated in tile sublevels with pools, such as sublevel 1 ofThe Giant's Bath.

These simplicities, however, are required to minimize the development costs and the processor usage, given that more complex path recognition systems could end up lowering the game'sframerate. Another trick to minimize processor usage is to simply not render or recognize any enemy that lies beyond thecamera's reach. These tricks allow the game to run smoothly without severely compromising the game and the enemies' livelihood.

In-game encyclopedias[edit]

A Screenshot of the Piklopedia fromPikmin 4.

Main articles:Enemy reel, Piklopedia (Pikmin 2), Piklopedia (Pikmin 3 Deluxe), Piklopedia (Pikmin 4), andHey! Pikmin logs.

The enemy reel is a special movie at the end ofPikmin. It showcases short clips featuring all enemies in the game, accompanied by a minor description of each.

The Piklopedia is a catalog of creatures inPikmin 2,Pikmin 3 Deluxe andPikmin 4. Each entry shows the creature in action and some notes on it by the leaders, as well as some statistics. The Piklopedia inPikmin 2 allows the player to interact with the enemies, by throwingPikpik carrots, using a free camera mode. The Piklopedia inPikmin 4 further enhances this feature by allowing players to "engage" with enemies, letting the player to fight against them in a simulated environment with infinite Pikmin and items. This allows the player to strategize without worrying about any Pikmin losses.

The Indigenous Life Exploration Notes are a series ofdata files containing a few tips about how some of the more common enemies work, especially bosses. They also have a stylized drawing of the situation they describe.

The logs inHey! Pikmin are similar to the Piklopedia, but do not allow direct interaction with the creatures, and only contain Olimar's notes.

Enemies that reappear[edit]

InPikmin 2's above-ground areas, most enemies take a few days to respawn, but some will do so after entering and exiting a cave. Some of these enemies hold treasures, and if the enemy has been killed but its treasure has not been retrieved, it will ingest the object again when it reappears.

Valley of Repose

• Fiery Bulblax

Awakening Wood

• Unmarked Spectralids x8 (four on aMargaret, four on a nearbyFigwort)
• Female Sheargrubs (before day 11)

Perplexing Pool

• Toady Bloyster
• Skitter Leaves (near theCitadel of Spiders entrance and the black bramble gate leading to theSubmerged Castle)

Wistful Wild

• Orange Bulborb (the one that usually holds a treasure)
• Creeping Chrysanthemum (the one that usually holds a treasure)

Trivia[edit]

• When the player first delivers an enemy to theResearch Pod, a cutscene plays with the Hocotate ship complaining that it's not a treasure, although it's still good for some Pokos. However, if a specimen of this species has already been delivered to anOnion before on the current playthrough, the Research Pod will just accept the enemy like normal without a cutscene. The cutscene can later be played by delivering a new species of enemy that has never been delivered to an Onion.^[2]
• There are 15 enemies that have been present in all 4 mainPikmin games: theBurrowing Snagret,Bulborb,Dwarf Bulbear,Dwarf Bulborb,Female Sheargrub,Fiery Blowhog,Iridescent Flint Beetle,Male Sheargrub,Puffy Blowhog,Shearwig,Spotty Bulbear,Swooping Snitchbug,Water Dumple,Wolpole, andYellow Wollyhop.
  • IncludingHey! Pikmin, only 6 enemies have been present in all the games: theBulborb,Fiery Blowhog,Male Sheargrub,Shearwig,Swooping Snitchbug, andYellow Wollyhop.
• 3 enemies have had different names between games. The Armored Cannon Beetle Larva was renamed to theArmored Cannon Larva inPikmin 3, the Spotty Bulborb was renamed to the Red Bulborb inPikmin 2 and again to theBulborb inPikmin 3, and the Dwarf Bulborb was renamed to the Dwarf Red Bulborb inPikmin 2 and back to theDwarf Bulborb inPikmin 3.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	原生生物? Gensei Seibutsu	Primitive Creature
Chinese (traditional)	原生生物
Chinese (simplified)	原生生物
French	Ennemi Créature primitive	Enemy Primitive creature
German	einheimische Kreatur	Native creature
Italian	Creatura indigena	Native Creature
Korean	원주생물
Portuguese (NoE)	Inimigo	Enemy	Translation taken from thePikmin instruction manual.
Spanish (NoA)	Enemigo Bestia autóctona	Enemy Native beast

See also[edit]

• Pikmin Adventure enemies
• Combat
• Obstacle
• Day
• Health

References[edit]

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

• Pikmin 1
• Pikmin 2
• Pikmin 3
• Pikmin 4
• Hey! Pikmin
• Pikmin Adventure
• Hazards
• Enemies

• Articles in need of Pikmin 4 help
• Articles with things to do