Mushroom Pikmin

A Mushroom Pikmin.

Mushroom Pikmin (キノコピクミン^?, also known as purple Pikmin and zombie Pikmin in the Player's Guide, and colloquially as Puffmin by fans) is the form Pikmin take on when they get affected by the Puffstool's spores. After getting showered in spores, infected Pikmin will make a small aggressive sound and will change in appearance and behavior. This Pikmin status only appears in the first Pikmin game – in Pikmin 4, Pikmin are instead controlled when showered with the Puffstool's spores.

This form causes some strange changes. Their eyes become pupil-less and dead-looking, their skin turns a dark shade of purple, and an orange-brown mushroom cap grows on top of their stem. Their type's special physical characteristics, such as the noses, ears and gills are also gone; instead, they receive a small, triangular, slit-like frown.

Behavior

See more: Combat#Player opponents.

Mushroom Pikmin will follow Captain Olimar when he is in range and attack him while making an unusual sound that resembles menacing laughter. If he moves too far from the Mushroom Pikmin or their host Puffstool, they will stop chasing him and dance around the Puffstool.

If any Pikmin are left as Mushroom Pikmin after sunset, they will always die (even within the Onion's range). They will not show up in the sunset cutscene, and their deaths will be marked as "Lost in Battle". This can be seen by having Olimar run out of health, wherein all Mushroom Pikmin on the field will instantly turn into ghosts. In the New Play Control! version of the game, however, they will actually revert to their original form and become sprouts.

Mushroom Pikmin each have the same stats as they did before they were infected, including attack power and resistance to hazards, but not speed. If a Mushroom Pikmin strays into a hazard, it will still be unresponsive to the whistle and will almost certainly die. Other enemies will still attack Mushroom Pikmin as they would a normal Pikmin. In The Distant Spring's Challenge Mode stage, Mushroom Pikmin that are buried by a Mamuta will also revert and be planted as flower Pikmin sprouts.

Notes

Pikmin Book

Text

通称	キノコピクミン
和名	-
分類	-
倒したとき	消滅
運搬に必要な数	-
生まれるタネ	-
弱点	-
攻撃方法	しがみつき
振り払い	-
移動方法	歩行
おもな自生エリア	樹海のヘソ（ポケナメコとの戦闘時のみ）

“ポケナメコの胞子にやられてしまったビクミンなので、ピクミンの別種ということではない。体が紫色になってしまい、頭には花ではなくキノコが生えてしまっている。思考回路も胞子に冒されてしまっているため、オリマーを認識することができず、ひたすらオリマーを襲ってくるのだ。胞子に冒されても我を取り戻すビクミンもいるが、ほとんどのピクミンはその後息絶えてしまう。

(Image text:

↑紫色になってしまったピクミンはひたすらオリマーを襲ってくる。)”

Nickname	Mushroom Pikmin
Japanese name	-
Classification	-
When defeated	Termination
Number required for transport	-
Seeds produced	-
Weak point	-
Attack method	Clinging
Shaking off	-
Movement method	Walking
Main habitat area	The Forest Navel (Only when fighting the Puffstool)

“This Pikmin was infected by Puffstool spores, it's not a different species of Pikmin. Its body has turned purple, and instead of a flower, a mushroom grows on its head. Its thought processes have also been corrupted by the spores, so it fails to recognize Olimar and relentlessly attacks him. While some Pikmin infected by the spores manage to regain their senses, most Pikmin perish.

(Image text:

↑The Pikmin that turned purple relentlessly attack Olimar.)”

Glitches

A pale red Mushroom Pikmin next to a regular Mushroom Pikmin.

Main articles: Rebel Mushroom Pikmin and Controlling Mushroom Pikmin.

• If Pikmin are knocked to the ground at the same time they are hit with the Puffstool's spores, then upon standing up, the Pikmin will change into Mushroom Pikmin, but their skin will become a pale version of the color they were before they became Mushroom Pikmin, and their mushroom will glow as if they are idle. These Pikmin will turn upon the Puffstool, attacking it as if they were still under the player's control. When they become idle, the Pikmin are white with a bright red mushroom cap that doesn't glow like the other Pikmin.
• If Pikmin are left idle by the Puffstool and called at the exact moment the creature inverts its cap (just before it blows its spores), the Pikmin may become glitched Mushroom Pikmin and rush to Olimar's side immediately after. These Mushroom Pikmin cannot be thrown, whistled, or dismissed, although they will carry pellets and go into the Onion. When they finish carrying the pellet or get called out of the Onion again, they will revert to their normal form.

Naming

The Mushroom Pikmin's English name is never stated, but its Japanese name comes from a collection of Pikmin suction cup figurines released in 2002, and is a combination of キノコ^? (lit.: "mushroom") and ピクミン^? (lit.: "Pikmin"). Its internal name is kinoko, which is the Japanese word for mushroom.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	キノコピクミン? Kinoko Pikumin	Mushroom Pikmin

Gallery

• 

  Prerelease photo of Olimar and some Mushroom Pikmin.

Trivia

• These Pikmin were made into stickers, buttons, and plastic figures attached to lanyards and suction cups to promote the sale of Pikmin.
• Mushroom Pikmin, alongside Bulbmin and Glow Pikmin, are featured on the Japanese "Pikmin Garden" website, being described as "not quite Pikmin".
• Two enemies in Pikmin 4, the Moldy Dwarf Bulborb and Moldy Slooch, are similar to Mushroom Pikmin in that they are controlled by fungi growing on their bodies. These fungi come from the Toxstool, which is related to the Puffstool in that both species (and the Toxstool-controlled enemies by extension) belong to the sporovid family.

See also

• Puffstool
• Moldy Dwarf Bulborb
• Moldy Slooch