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. [1]
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
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.
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.
Speed
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To do: Find out more about this, as well as how the speeds are calculated, |
In Pikmin 2's files, White Pikmin have a carrying speed number set to 3.0, Purple Pikmin to 0.6. However, this value isn't an actual speed multiplier, but maybe a speed adder.
List of 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.