Explorer's Cave

Explorer's Cave
Sublevels	2	Ultra-bitter sprays	2
Red Pikmin	50	Ultra-spicy sprays	2
Yellow Pikmin	0
Blue Pikmin	0
White Pikmin	0
Purple Pikmin	0
Bulbmin	0

The following article or section contains guides. The strategies shown are just suggestions.

The Explorer's Cave (こてしらべの洞窟^?, lit.: "Preliminary Test Cave") is the first level in Pikmin 2's Challenge Mode and is automatically unlocked with the mode. It is an easy area and introduces Challenge Mode to beginners. Only Red Pikmin are available for its two sublevels, the second one being the only with any enemies for the player to fight.

Sublevel 1

The first sublevel of the Explorer's Cave.

• Theme: Soil
• Music: Concrete 1
• Time: 100 (200 seconds)
• Starting Pikmin:
  •  Red Pikmin × 50 (leaf)
• Treasures:
  •  Lustrous Element × 1
  •  Mirrored Element × 1
  •  The Key × 1
  •  Unknown Merit × 1
• Enemies:
  • None
• Obstacles:
  • None
• Vegetation:
  •  Clover × 4
  •  Figwort (small brown) × 3
  •  Figwort (small red) × 2
  •  Horsetail × 1
• Others:
  • None

An extremely small sublevel, devoid of anything besides treasures and plant life. The Key is in the open, unguarded – if completing the level is your only concern, grab it and move on. Otherwise, spend a few moments gathering all the treasure to improve your score before continuing. Given the size of the sublevel, it shouldn't take long.

Generate sample map →

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			ch_ABEM_tutorial
"Main" object maximum (?)			0
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			4
"Gate" object maximum (?)			0
Dead end unit probability (?)			0
Number of rooms (?)			1
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			0
Escape geyser (?)			No
Clogged hole (?)			No
Cave units file (?)			1_units_cent3_tsuchi.txt
Lighting file (?)			normal_light_cha.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)
Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor
Circular room with 4 exits

Detailed object list
The game spawns these "decoration" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
1	Clover	4	None	Plant spots
2	Horsetail	1	None	Plant spots
3	Figwort (small red)	2	None	Plant spots
4	Figwort (small brown)	3	None	Plant spots
Then it spawns these "treasure" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
5	The Key	1	None	Treasure spots
6	Lustrous Element	1	None	Treasure spots
7	Mirrored Element	1	None	Treasure spots
8	Unknown Merit	1	None	Treasure spots

For details on how objects are spawned, and how some may fail to spawn, see here.

Sublevel 2

The second sublevel of the Explorer's Cave.

• Theme: Soil
• Music: Soil 1
• Time: +100 (+200 seconds)
• Treasures:
  •  Lustrous Element × 1
  •  Mirrored Element × 1
  •  Omniscient Sphere × 5 (inside Dwarf Red Bulborbs)
  •  The Key × 1 (inside Red Bulborb)
  •  Unknown Merit × 1
• Enemies:
  •  Dwarf Red Bulborb × 5
  •  Mitite (group of 10) × 0 - 3 (from eggs)
  •  Red Bulborb × 1
• Obstacles:
  • None
• Vegetation:
  •  Clover × 2
  •  Figwort (large brown) × 2
  •  Figwort (large red) × 2
  •  Figwort (small brown) × 2
  •  Figwort (small red) × 2
  •  Horsetail × 2
• Others:
  •  Egg × 3

This sublevel features a few rather weak enemies. The Key is inside the Red Bulborb. If you're aiming for a pink flower, use your sprays. Hitting the Red Bulborb with a dose of ultra-bitter spray, then spraying ultra-spicy spray on your squad will allow them to kill it extremely quickly with no risk of losses, at which point the Dwarf Red Bulborbs are easy pickings. Once the enemies are dead, you can safely carry anything you need.

If aiming for a high score, you'll need to kill every Dwarf Red Bulborb – all five of them drop Omniscient Spheres. Breaking the eggs to flower your squad is recommended if you're going to be carrying treasure back, but be careful if Mitites spawn; with no Purple Pikmin, you have no effective way to kill them.

Generate sample map →

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			ch_ABEM_tutorial
"Main" object maximum (?)			7
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			3
"Gate" object maximum (?)			0
Dead end unit probability (?)			100
Number of rooms (?)			1
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			0
Escape geyser (?)			Yes
Clogged hole (?)			No
Cave units file (?)			2_MAT_mid1_nor2_tsuchi.txt
Lighting file (?)			normal_light_cha.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)
Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor
Room with 6 exits	Room with long dead end

Detailed object list
The game spawns these "main" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
1	Red Bulborb	1	None	"Hard" enemy spots
-	The Key	Carried inside entry with ID 1
2	Dwarf Red Bulborb	5	None	"Hard" enemy spots
-	Omniscient Sphere	Carried inside entry with ID 2
3	Egg	1	None	"Easy" enemy spots
Then it spawns these "decoration" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
4	Clover	2	None	Plant spots
5	Horsetail	2	None	Plant spots
6	Figwort (small red)	2	None	Plant spots
7	Figwort (large red)	2	None	Plant spots
8	Figwort (small brown)	2	None	Plant spots
9	Figwort (large brown)	2	None	Plant spots
Then it spawns these "treasure" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
10	Lustrous Element	1	None	Treasure spots
11	Mirrored Element	1	None	Treasure spots
12	Unknown Merit	1	None	Treasure spots
Then it spawns these "dead end" objects:
ID	Object	Amount	Fall method	Spawn location
13	Egg	2	None	Dead ends

For details on how objects are spawned, and how some may fail to spawn, see here.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	こてしらべの洞窟? Koteshirabe no Dōkutsu	Preliminary Test Cave
French (NoA)	Grotte de l'explorateur	Explorer's cave
French (NoE)	Grotte de l'explorateur	Explorer's cave
German	Höhle der Entdeckung	Cave of Discovery
Italian	Grotta dell' Esploratore	Explorer's Cave
Korean	맛보기 동굴 Masbogi Dong-gul	Trial Cave
Spanish	Cueva del Explorador	Explorer's Cave