Bulblax Kingdom

The Bulblax Kingdom is a cave in the Awakening Wood in, and is typically the third cave entered in the area. The name refers to the cave's boss, the Emperor Bulblax. Various other grub-dog enemies appear in the cave, as well as other enemy families. In this cave, there are worth of treasures.

How to reach
There are two methods of reaching the Bulblax Kingdom. The method you use depends on personal preference.
 * Beyond the White Flower Garden is a poison gate. Destroying it reveals a pair of scales that may be used to reach the ledge where the Chance Totem is found. From here, a squad of Yellow Pikmin can be used to reach the electric gate guarding the cave.
 * If Blue Pikmin have been discovered, they can be used to destroy the clog near the landing site, revealing a regular gate that can be destroyed to allow both leaders and all Pikmin to reach the ledge and get to the electric gate.

Although there is water to be found in this cave, Blue Pikmin are not required to collect any treasure, and water hazards are not indicated in the cave's preview window. Your squad should thus exclude Blue Pikmin. Of the other types of Pikmin, Purple Pikmin should be brought in great numbers to defeat the Emperor Bulblax, and a considerable amount of Red and Yellow Pikmin should be brought to make use of the Candypop Buds. Keep in mind that enough Red Pikmin to carry the Gyroid Bust should be on hand.

Sublevel 1



 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Bulblax Kingdom
 * Treasures:
 * (inside Orange Bulborb)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 4
 * &times; 2
 * Obstacles:
 * None
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 1
 * &times; 1 (if max Pikmin requirement is met)
 * Others:
 * None

This first sublevel should be rather easy, as long as you have brought plenty of Purple Pikmin. Find the Orange Bulborb that possesses the Crystal Clover, making sure you deal with the smaller Dwarfs when needed. There is always one of the two Orange Bulborbs in an alcove near the ship's pod's site, but its back often faces the wall, so you'll need to be cautious and defeat it quickly with your Purple Pikmin if it has the treasure.

Deal with the other Bulborb(s) if you want or need to. There is also a Crimson Candypop Bud that you may use, but you probably shouldn't use it, because you'll need to conserve your Yellow Pikmin for sublevel 4.


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

Sublevel 2



 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Soil 3
 * Treasures:
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 2
 * Obstacles:
 * &times; 6
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 2
 * Others:
 * None
 * None

The second sublevel isn't very hard at all. There are two Fiery Dweevils that can be easily taken out by a group of Purple Pikmin. Make sure to whistle any Pikmin that catch on fire. Then you should destroy the geysers with your Red Pikmin and throw the Pikmin up onto the ledge that holds the Tear Stone. After retrieving the treasure, find the hole to enter the next sublevel.


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

Sublevel 3



 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Soil 3 (alternate)
 * Treasures:
 * (fully buried)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 8
 * (group of 10) &times; 0 - 1 (from eggs)
 * &times; 3
 * Obstacles:
 * None
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 6
 * &times; 1
 * Others:
 * &times; 1

This next sublevel is a little more difficult, but still simple. There are three Withering Blowhogs that will try to deflower all of your Pikmin, but if you keep your distance and throw Purple Pikmin, you'll weigh them down immediately, and then you can swarm them with more Pikmin, or pound them with more purples.

There are a significant number of Female Sheargrubs that will get in your way, but there are no Male Sheargrubs, so these are a negligible threat. The Olimarnite Shell will be buried completely underground, and if you haven't brought any White Pikmin to this cave, or just want more, there is an Ivory Candypop Bud in one of the abnormally shaped alcoves. There is one egg to use if many of your Pikmin got deflowered, but you can get more nectar in later sublevels. After the sublevel has been scavenged, move on.


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

Sublevel 4

 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Soil 1
 * Treasures:
 * (inside Iridescent Glint Beetle)
 * (inside Wollywog)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 5
 * &times; 3
 * &times; 1
 * (group of 10) &times; 0 - 3 (from Honeywisps)
 * &times; 1
 * Obstacles:
 * &times; 2
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 8
 * &times; 2
 * Others:
 * None

This sublevel is a lot harder than the earlier ones because it is jam-packed with electrical wires and Anode Beetles, and requires you to engage in close-range combat. There is also a Wollywog. The goal is to collect the two treasures, the Unknown Merit and Crystal King. The Unknown Merit is held by the Wollywog that will fall from the sky, so be cautious when moving. The Crystal King is held by an Iridescent Glint Beetle.

First you will want to take your Yellow Pikmin and have them destroy the electrical wires, then have your Purple Pikmin flip over and defeat all of the Anode Beetles. If you haven't spotted either treasure-bearing enemy, use the Treasure Gauge to scout them out. When you see the Iridescent Glint Beetle, throw a Purple Pikmin on or near it to topple it over and make it drop the treasure. If you don't get its treasure and it burrows back into the ground, it will reappear somewhere else in the sublevel.

After you get that, look for the Wollywog. Once it lands on the ground, get out of its view (so it won't jump) and throw purples onto its head. Once you are finished, you may transform 10 of your Pikmin into Purple Pikmin with the two Violet Candypop Buds located in the alcoves of the cave, though one or both might not appear through no fault of the player, as detailed here and here. If this happens, you may want to reset the console to restart the sublevel, and see if they will appear then. Remember, you're going to need many Purple Pikmin in the future, and more urgently, for the boss.

There are also two Common Glowcaps that each hide a Honeywisp. They are especially useful to you if many of your Pikmin were deflowered on the third sublevel. If you return here, the Iridescent Glint Beetle will still appear, but you won't have a radar to find it and it won't appear again if you miss the chance to get its nectar and sprays.


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

Sublevel 5

 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Bulblax Kingdom
 * Treasures:
 * (partially buried)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 4
 * (group of 10) &times; 0 - 2 (from eggs)
 * &times; 1
 * Obstacles:
 * &times; 4
 * Vegetation:
 * (small brown) &times; 1
 * Others:
 * &times; 1 - 2

This part of the cave will get extremely dark, unless you have the Solar System. This cave's pathways will start to make diagonal and other strange paths. In here, there is a small spiny shaped object peeking from the ground, which is the Anxious Sprout, this area's only treasure. It is partially buried in the ground. To get it, you will have to navigate the area carefully, defeating an Orange Bulborb and Dwarf Orange Bulborbs along the way.

Be careful, bomb-rocks are prone to fall here, along with two eggs. There are several dead ends, but this sublevel is rather small, so it shouldn't take long. However, if you're not careful, your Pikmin could meet an untimely demise. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to have a leader scout the area solo and let the bomb-rocks fall without any Pikmin nearby. After you collect the Anxious Sprout, you can move on.


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

Sublevel 6

 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Bulblax Kingdom
 * Treasures:
 * (partially buried)
 * (inside Orange Bulborb)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 5
 * &times; 3
 * (group of 10) &times; 1 (from the ground)
 * (group of 10) &times; 0 - 2 (from eggs)
 * &times; 2
 * Obstacles:
 * &times; 2
 * &times; 5
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 2
 * &times; 1
 * Others:
 * &times; 2

This sublevel has more enemies than any other in this cave, including Fiery Dweevils, Orange Bulborbs, and Dwarf Orange Bulborbs. The Colossal Fossil is located in one of the alcoves of this cave along with a falling bomb-rock, so send a leader in first to activate the bomb while no Pikmin are nearby.

The Eternal Emerald Eye is held by one of the Orange Bulborbs. Lead in with a pack of Purple Pikmin and defeat every enemy. Be noted that in one of the alcoves, a swarm of Mitites will appear from the ground, but be careful; a bomb-rock may fall in the same area. If that happens, wait for the bomb to detonate, as it might kill the Mitites for you. After you take care of everything, you might want to use the Violet Candypop Bud and the two Crimson Candypop Buds. Note that due to how sublevels are generated, the Violet Candypop Bud may not show up, as detailed here and here. After your reconnaissance, move on to the last sublevel of this cave.


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

Sublevel 7



 * Theme: Soil
 * Music: Boss (only when combating)
 * Treasures:
 * (inside Emperor Bulblax)
 * Enemies:
 * &times; 1
 * Obstacles:
 * &times; 12
 * Vegetation:
 * &times; 7
 * (small brown) &times; 8
 * Others:
 * Gate with 4000 HP &times; 1
 * Gate with 4000 HP &times; 1

The Emperor Bulblax, the final boss of the first Pikmin game, returns in this sublevel, though if you've played the first game, be aware that this boss is much easier in Pikmin 2. Before fighting the boss, destroy the fire geysers in the way. Then, rapidly throw Purple Pikmin at the boss's protruding eyes in the ground, which should take out most of its health. If not already defeated, finish the battle using the strategy linked above. Once defeated, the boss will drop the Forged Courage, an item that will grant you the Scorch Guard, an armor making your leaders' suits to be impervious to fire.

After collecting the upgrade, destroy the gate on the far side of the boss arena to reveal a room where the upgrade will be used. Despite the presence of water in this room, Blue Pikmin are not required. Go to either side of the room and throw your Red Pikmin up on the ledge. Then lead your leader up the narrow strip of land rising up that is dotted with fire geysers. Now that you have the Scorch Guard, you needn't worry about trying to cleverly dodge when those geysers release fire. Call the Pikmin you tossed up, and have them start carrying this sublevel's other treasure, the Gyroid Bust. Don't worry, they won't carry it into the water. After you get the final treasure in this cave, exit via the geyser.


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