Carry

In the Pikmin games, Pikmin are able to carry objects or living beings. When ordered to handle with an object that can be carried, a Pikmin will grab on to it. Further Pikmin can be issued to carry the same thing, at which point they'll grab a free spot on the object's perimeter to help carry. If it's too heavy, the Pikmin will just stand in place, periodically trying to pull it up, but once enough Pikmin grab onto the object, they will be able to carry it.

When called, the Pikmin will drop the object and come to the Captain's side, regardless of whether they were carrying it or not. If only some of the Pikmin are called, and the remaining Pikmin aren't enough to carry it, they'll drop it to the ground, sigh, and stop in place, unable to continue.

Destination

Depending on what is being carried, the Pikmin can either take it to the ship (or Pod) or an Onion. The Pikmin will follow one of several set paths (normally the shortest, unless it's unavailable) toward the destination. If the only path is blocked by a gate or a gap with a missing bridge, the Pikmin will start walking in a circle in front of the obstacle, waiting for it to be cleared.

Onions

When carrying objects that will be deposited in an Onion, the destination Onion is calculated based on the Pikmin carrying it. The Onion will match the color of the Pikmin type that makes up the majority of the carriers. If the number is a tie, the color will be decided randomly between the tying types.

White and Purple Pikmin don't count for the calculation. As such, only the other Pikmin types can have an influence on the chosen Onion. If only White or Purple Pikmin are carrying it, a random Onion will be chosen (out of all discovered Pikmin types at that point).

When a random onion needs to be picked, it'll be decided every time a tie is generated. In other words, if a tie-breaking Pikmin is added, the color will be the one matching the new majority. If a Pikmin that doesn't break the tie is added, the destination will not change. Hence, the only way to change the color the game picked is by breaking a tie and then creating a new one, or by calling all Pikmin to the Captain's side and ordering them to carry it again, which is the same thing.

Despite Pikmin 3 having only a single Onion, the same rules apply, except the "chosen Onion" just means the Pikmin type that'll benefit from the object.

Examples

The first columns indicate the number of Pikmin of each type that is carrying the object.

Pikmin carrying					Resulting Onion
Red	Yellow	Blue	Purple	White
10	5	–	–	–	Red
4	5	6	7	8	Blue
4	4	2	–	–	Random between Red and Yellow
–	8	8	30	30	Random between Yellow and Blue
–	–	–	1	20	Random between available Onions

Carrying numbers

Example of the carrying numbers displayed in Pikmin 2.

Each object has a weight and maximum number of carrier Pikmin. If the combined strength of the Pikmin is less than the weight, it cannot be carried. If the maximum number of carriers is already met, any new Pikmin will ignore the object. If too many Pikmin are issued to carry a thing at once, and the maximum number is filled, the remaining Pikmin will sigh and become idle. In Pikmin 2, they'll also come to the Captain's side if they're close by. This can also happen if there is a free spot, but the carrying Pikmin are moving too fast or too clumsily; after a while the extra Pikmin might give up on finding a spot.

To find out the minimum strength and maximum number of carriers on a ship part, treasure, enemy or fruit, please visit the appropriate page and read the "Weight" and "Max. carriers" attribute on the infobox at the top-right corner of the article.

The "strength" is the total calculated Pikmin strength, so Purple Pikmin count 10 towards this number, instead of 1 like all others.

On-screen numbers

When something is being carried, two numbers will appear on top of it, one on top of a dash, one below. The number on the top indicates the minimum strength needed to carry the object (i.e. the weight), whereas the bottom number shows the total strength of the Pikmin currently grabbing hold of it.

In Pikmin, the top number is always blue and the bottom one is always red. If the number of Pikmin is sufficient to move the object, the bottom number will be bigger in size, otherwise the top number will.

In Pikmin 2, the numbers are as follows:

• Pale blue when the carriers are stopped, or the strength number is being changed.
• White when carrying something that doesn't go into an Onion.
• The same color as the destination Onion when being carried to one.

In the New Play Control! versions of both Pikmin and Pikmin 2, the numbers are shown the same as they are in the GameCube version of Pikmin 2. In Pikmin 3, the numbers are switched: the bottom number is the number needed to carry the object, and the top number is the number the number of Pikmin currently carrying it, as a regular fraction would be displayed; however, the colors remain the same as Pikmin 2.

When a Breadbug is carrying something in Pikmin 2, the numbers will appear on top of the object. The top number indicates how much strength is needed to push against the Breadbug, and the lower number indicates the current strength applied; this number shows 0 when there are no Pikmin on the object.

Winged Pikmin

In Pikmin 3, if an object is being carried by Winged Pikmin, it'll be transported in the air. However, Winged Pikmin can carry objects alongside ground-based Pikmin, but only if the combined strength of the Winged Pikmin does not equal or exceed the weight needed. In other words, if the strength of the Winged Pikmin is enough to lift the object, they will do it. Should this happen while grounded Pikmin are carrying, those will remained grabbed onto the object in mid-air for some seconds before eventually letting go and falling to the ground. The maximum number of Winged Pikmin that can carry an object is the same as the maximum number of grounded Pikmin.

Because Winged Pikmin grab objects in a different spot, and because of the rule that stops grounded Pikmin from carrying an object if too many Winged Pikmin are carrying it, the real maximum can be determined with this simple equation, where TM is the True Maximum, M is the normal Maximum of carrying spots and N is the number of Pikmin Needed to begin carrying the object:

For a practical example, while carrying a Spotty Bulbear's carcass (12 Pikmin needed to start moving, 25 maximum carrying spots), 25 grounded Pikmin may carry it alongside 11 Winged Pikmin. If a 12th Winged Pikmin is added, the Winged Pikmin will begin carrying the corpse in mid-air, and soon after, the grounded Pikmin will let go.

Paths

The game calculates which path the Pikmin should take by examining all possible paths that reach the destination, and discarding those that are blocked. A path is considered blocked if a bridge within is unbuilt, if an uncleared gate is in the way, or if any other obstacle is blocking the path. In the case of multiple possible paths, the shortest one is picked. If the only available path is blocked, the Pikmin will follow it as far as they can, until they reach the obstacle, where they will move around in a small circle, waiting for it to be cleared. Should the chosen path contain water, the Pikmin will carry it until they reach it, where they will let go of the object. Some Pikmin may come in contact with the water regardless, so caution is advised.

The paths in-game are consisted of interconnected waypoints forming a graph. These points are not visible to the player, nor are the paths in-between. Whenever the Pikmin begin carrying an object, they move to the nearest waypoint on the map. Once there, they follow the calculated path, walking in a straight line from waypoint to waypoint, until they reach their destination.

Should the closest waypoint be on the other side of the wall, the Pikmin will attempt to go for it regardless. This can lead to them getting stuck behind the wall.

Pikmin 2

The game files in Pikmin 2 contain extra data for each waypoint, besides the coordinates. It's believed that this is the radius, although it could also be a preference index, with some values influencing the Pikmin's path choices more than others. If it is a radius, then it must represent the minimum distance to the point in which the object must be, in order to be considered "on-path". The Pikmin will only carry the object to the next waypoint if they are following a path, otherwise, they should get closer to the closest waypoint.

The following is a graphical representation of the path graphs in Pikmin 2. Please click on the images to see a higher resolution version.

• 

  Valley of Repose

• 

  Awakening Wood

• 

  Perplexing Pool

• 

  Wistful Wild

Oversights

In some places in Pikmin 2, Pikmin can carry lying leaders up walls. This happens if the closest waypoint is on the other side of a slanted wall. Normally, it's possible to regain control of the leader and stand on top of the climbed surface, which can allow the player to go out-of-bounds or skip obstacles.

Some oversights also exist in the form of missing or incorrect waypoints, most of them for paths under bridges. Instead of moving out from under the bridge, the Pikmin walk into the bottom of the bridge and become stuck. For a list of oversights, please read the following page: Oversights.

Speed

To do: Find out more about this, as well as how the speeds are calculated, based on the different types and maturities the group of carriers is consisted of. Care to do so?

In Pikmin 2's files, White Pikmin have a carrying speed number set to 3.0, Purple Pikmin to 0.6. The real purpose of this number has not been discovered yet, however it is known that it is not a multiplier.

In Pikmin 2, any Pikmin carrying a leader will move at the fastest carrying speed possible, regardless of how many are carrying, their type, maturity, or whether they're spicy or not.

Objects

Pikmin are able to carry the following:

• To the ship:
  • Ship parts
  • Treasures (Research Pod as well)
  • Fruit
  • Burgeoning Spiderwort berries
• To Onions and the Research Pod:
  • Enemy corpses
  • Pellets
  • Captains when lying down (Napsack required in Pikmin 2)
  • Cherries and Marbles in 2-Player Battle games
• To create objects, in Pikmin 3:
  • Bridge fragments
  • Pieces of hay
  • Grapes from the Dawn and Dusk Pustules

Trivia

• In Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, if Pikmin are carrying something, the music will change to a slightly more upbeat and cheerful variation. In Pikmin 2, this only happens if they're carrying a treasure, and if the player is near them, however.