Candypop Bud

Candypop Buds are large flowers with fleshy petals and are found in all mainline Pikmin games. When Pikmin are tossed into these gigantic blossoms, they spit out new Pikmin seeds which match the color of the flower's petals. These new Pikmin are born in the leaf stage. The Candypop Buds expel the seeds after five Pikmin are thrown in, or a few seconds after the first throw; the exception being the Queen Candypop Bud, which does so after the first Pikmin is thrown.

In, Candypops can transition up to 10 Pikmin in one load, and will wither after 50 Pikmin are thrown in. Both of these numbers were reduced to 5 in the second and fourth games, and in most cases in the third game: Lapis Lazuli Candypop Buds found in the Twilight River Remix can transform up to 10 Pikmin. In Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, and Pikmin 4, using Pikmin of the same type as the flower does not count against this limit, although they will still be reverted to leaf Pikmin and planted in the ground. In Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin holding bomb-rocks will not be taken in by Candypop Buds, merely sliding off the top; the same will happen to thrown leaders in Pikmin 3. However, in Pikmin 3, if a Pikmin holding a bomb rock is thrown in a Candypop Bud, it will spring its petals upwards before wilting away, killing the Pikmin with it without leaving a soul behind. In Pikmin 4, if someone (including Dalmo ) throws a bomb rock or other weapon such as an Ice Blast into a Candypop Bud, the bud will harmlessly spit it back out. The item can then be collected again.

In Pikmin 2, Candypop Buds are never found above ground and only appear in caves, where they will respawn when the cave is reentered. In some caves, Violet Candypop Buds and Ivory Candypop Buds will only appear if the player has less than a certain number of Pikmin. To unlock a Candypop Bud's entry in the Piklopedia in Pikmin 2, the player must throw at least one Pikmin inside and wait for a seed to be spat out.

In Pikmin 3 and, they have a different appearance, consisting of a large bucket-like cup in the middle of the flower, most likely as a "target" for leaders to aim Pikmin at. They also behave slightly differently, as they are always closed, opening only when a leader is nearby, and when they wither, their roots remain in place. Also, if two players throw Pikmin in a Candypop Bud at the same moment in Bingo Battle, the Candypop Bud will spit out seeds for both teams, depending on the number of Pikmin that were thrown in by each of them.

Types
In, different types of Candypop Bud are considered different species. The types in this game are the Crimson Candypop Bud, Golden Candypop Bud, Lapis Lazuli Candypop Bud, Violet Candypop Bud, Ivory Candypop Bud, and Queen Candypop Bud. However, in, , and , all types of Candypop Bud are considered the same species.

Pikmin

 * Red
 * The Forest Navel: One near the pool with the Analog Computer.
 * The Distant Spring: One on a stump near the landing site.
 * The Final Trial: One near the landing site.


 * Yellow
 * The Forest Navel: One is on a plateau outside the Beady Long Legs arena.
 * The Distant Spring: One on an island plateau near the Chronos Reactor.
 * The Final Trial: One is near the landing site.


 * Blue
 * The Distant Spring: One on the beach with the Massage Machine, another on the beach near the Chronos Reactor.
 * The Final Trial: One near the landing site.

Pikmin 2
Pikmin 2 Candypop Bud locations are documented on the articles about each type – Crimson Candypop Bud, Golden Candypop Bud, Lapis Lazuli Candypop Bud, Violet Candypop Bud, Ivory Candypop Bud, and Queen Candypop Bud.

Pikmin 3
Story Mode:
 * Red
 * Distant Tundra: Two near the Pyroclasmic Slooches and three near the Shaggy Long Legs (only on day of first visit).
 * Formidable Oak: One at the end of the cave.

Mission Mode:
 * Formidable Oak Remix: Four near the starting point.

Story Mode:
 * Rock
 * Tropical Wilds: Four near the Calcified Crushblat arena.
 * Formidable Oak: One in the alcove with the Shearwigs, and one at the end of the cave.

Mission Mode:
 * Formidable Oak Remix: Four near the blocked cave exits.

Side Stories:
 * Another Part Found
 * The Ship Restored: Four in the starting area.

Story Mode:
 * Yellow
 * Distant Tundra: Two in the Spotty Bulbear cave, and three in the Vehemoth Phosbat arena.
 * Formidable Oak: One in the alcove with the Shearwigs, one near the first electrode, one near the second electrode, and one at the end of the cave.

Side Stories:
 * Another Part Found

Story Mode:
 * Winged
 * Formidable Oak: One near the second electrode, and one at the end of the cave.

Mission Mode:
 * Thirsty Desert Remix: Three near the water.
 * Clockwork Chasm (Battle Enemies!): One near the starting point.

Side Stories:
 * Team Monster Hunt: One near the Armored Cannon Larva, and one near where the hay pile leads to.

Story Mode:
 * Blue
 * Tropical Wilds: Four near the Calcified Crushblat arena.
 * Formidable Oak: One in the water under the clipboard, and one at the end of the cave.

Mission Mode:
 * Beastly Caverns (Collect Treasure!): Two inside a cave, near the entrance.
 * Twilight River Remix: Two on the north side, across the river. These ones can produce 10 Pikmin instead of 5.
 * Beastly Caverns (Battle Enemies!): Two outside the cave, in the center.

Mission Mode:
 * Purple
 * Thirsty Desert (Collect Treasure!): One on a raised plateau.

Bingo Battle:
 * Blooming Terrace: Four on the raised plateaus near the middle.

Mission Mode:
 * White
 * Thirsty Desert (Collect Treasure!): Three near the water.
 * Tropical Forest Remix: Ten throughout the level.
 * Thirsty Desert Remix: Three near the starting point.
 * Beastly Caverns (Collect Treasure!): Three in the deepest part of the cave.

Pikmin 4

 * Blue
 * Seafloor Resort sublevel 4: One to the left of the starting location, and one to the right on an island.

Caves:
 * Ice
 * Drafty Gallery sublevel 2: One behind a dirt wall opposite a pile of Gold Nuggets.
 * Frozen Inferno sublevel 2: One behind the Chillyhop and the fallen-over jar.
 * Frozen Inferno sublevel 3: One near the Zest Bomb.
 * Cavern for a King sublevel 6: One near the hole to the next sublevel and one on a high island accessed by a floating platform.

Dandori Challenges:
 * Ice-Cross Course: One on a brown platform near the Sunsquish, and two more on the opposite side of the stage that are reachable by jumping past the Birdy Bed.


 * Rock
 * Kingdom of Beasts sublevel 4: One near the exit. Only appears if you have 5 or less Rock Pikmin.
 * Kingdom of Beasts sublevel 5: One near the landing point. Only appears if you have 5 or less Rock Pikmin.

Caves:
 * Winged
 * Below-Grade Discotheque sublevel 3: One on a high platform. To reach it, ride the first fan up, walk onto the pushed-over box, jump onto the closest Bouncy Mushroom, and the next fan will take you there.
 * Below-Grade Discotheque sublevel 4: One on a high platform accessed by a geyser.

Dandori Challenges:
 * Aerial Incinerator: One near the starting point, two on a southern platform near a swarm of Shearwigs, two behind dried plants in the northwest, and two more near the Time Marker on the same platform as the switches.

Caves:
 * Purple
 * Engulfed Castle sublevel 5: Two in the landing room.

Dandori Challenges:
 * Hefty Haulway: One in an alcove in the flat room containing a Lesser Spotted Jellyfloat, and one next to the Dawn Pustules behind an electric gate.
 * Oasis of Order: One that needs to be freed from toxic sticky mold on the other side of a strait.
 * Trial of the Sage Leaf:
 * 8th Story: Crowded Kitchen
 * 9th Story: Turf Turmoil
 * Final Story: The Purple Key

Caves:
 * White
 * Subzero Sauna sublevel 1: One in a hydro jelly in the room with the Chillyhop.
 * Subzero Sauna sublevel 2: One in a big metal pipe sticking out of the ground.

Dandori Challenges:
 * Toggle Training: Two behind a red gate.

Maximum Pikmin requirement
In Pikmin 2, some Violet Candypop Buds and Ivory Candypop Buds will only appear if the player has less than 20 of the equivalent Pikmin type. If the player has 20 or more of that Pikmin type, the Candypop Bud will not spawn, and no other object will take its place. This can be seen, for instance, in the second sublevel of the Citadel of Spiders: the Violet Candypop Bud always appears in dead ends, and if the player is over the maximum Pikmin requirements, there will be an empty dead end in the sublevel.

Interestingly, only the Pikmin inside the cave and the Pikmin inside the Hocotate ship count toward this limit. This means that Pikmin sprouts in an overworld area, including the area the cave is in, will not count. The game will only check for the requirement at the start of the sublevel.

The following sublevels have Candypop Buds that do not appear if the player has 20 or more of the equivalent Pikmin type:
 * Violet Candypop Bud:
 * Emergence Cave, sublevel 2
 * Frontier Cavern, sublevel 1
 * Hole of Beasts, sublevel 2
 * Citadel of Spiders, sublevel 2
 * Glutton's Kitchen, sublevel 2
 * Shower Room, sublevel 2
 * Ivory Candypop Bud:
 * White Flower Garden, sublevel 3
 * Bulblax Kingdom, sublevel 1
 * Snagret Hole, sublevel 2
 * Shower Room, sublevel 1

Since the only Candypop Buds affected by this are in early sublevels, this limit likely exists to stop players from easily obtaining a large number of Purple Pikmin or White Pikmin by repeatedly entering and leaving the same cave.

Pikmin discovery requirement
In general, Candypop Buds of a specific type will not spawn unless the corresponding Pikmin type has been discovered. In Pikmin, it is possible to go to The Forest Navel and The Distant Spring without discovering Yellow Pikmin or Blue Pikmin, and this causes the Golden Candypop Buds or the Lapis Lazuli Candypop Buds, respectively, to not spawn. Similarly, in Pikmin 3, Candypop Buds will not spawn if their respective type of Pikmin has not been discovered.

However, there are some exceptions in Pikmin 2. Purple Pikmin and White Pikmin are discovered after throwing Pikmin inside of a Violet Candypop Bud and an Ivory Candypop Bud, respectively. Therefore, the game must spawn Violet Candypop Buds in Emergence Cave sublevel 2 before Purple Pikmin are discovered and Ivory Candypop Buds in White Flower Garden sublevel 3 before White Pikmin are discovered. For some reason, if the player skips discovering Purple Pikmin in Emergence Cave by utilizing glitches, then other Violet Candypop Buds will still spawn. If it were possible to never encounter Red Pikmin, Crimson Candypop Buds would also still appear. On the other hand, until White Pikmin are discovered, the only Ivory Candypop Buds to spawn are the White Flower Garden sublevel 3 ones.

Relations to the Pikmin family
Olimar notes in the enemy reel that Candypop Buds could be the next step in Pikmin evolution, and in his Piklopedia notes that Candypops could be the same species. This connection is further cemented by the fact that Candypop Buds use similar sounds to the Pikmin, and the buds in Pikmin 3 use the same texture for leaves as the Pikmin do. In Pikmin 4, Onions and Flarlic are identified as part of the candypop family which all Candypop Buds belong to, further strengthening the ties with the Pikmin.

Trivia

 * In sublevel 3 of the Citadel of Spiders and sublevel 5 of Glutton's Kitchen, a Queen Candypop Bud may fall from the ceiling. It is possible to notice that it has a green root. There are also several Candypop Buds in sublevel 6 of Bulblax Kingdom. Here, if the camera is zoomed in, and if the Candypop Bud is distant enough, the root might be visible through the bottom of the ground.
 * In Pikmin, Candypop Buds are technically bosses. As such, approaching them will change the area's music to the battle variant.
 * In Pikmin, if the player manages to get to The Distant Spring without unlocking Blue Pikmin, the two blue Candypop Buds in the area will never appear, preventing the player from transforming Pikmin into Blue Pikmin without having activated the Blue Onion.
 * There is an unused Candypop Bud-like object named  in Pikmin 3 files . Pikmin that are thrown in die, and new seeds do not come out.