42 Pikmin challenge

A 42 Pikmin challenge is a challenge run of Pikmin 3, in which the Story Mode must be beaten with only 42 Pikmin, the minimum possible amount. The game can either be minimally finished or completed to 100% with this amount.

Although the heaviest object, the Wayward Moon, requires 20 Pikmin to carry, and no obstacle requires more than 20 Pikmin to pass, more than 20 Pikmin are necessary to finish the game. This is because the player is limited to how many Pikmin of a type are initially obtained or how many are needed to get out of a situation in which no other types can be reached (usually in places where that type is first found). The use of Candypop Buds makes growing more Pikmin unnecessary in many cases, though they are not readily available in others.

A 7 day run of this challenge can be done, but collecting all 66 fruits requires 11 days. A 10 day run is possible with 46 Pikmin, as extra Blue Pikmin must be grown to obtain all submerged fruit in the Garden of Hope. Otherwise, the player will need an extra day in the Garden of Hope after using a Blue Candypop Bud in the Tropical Wilds.

Requirements

 * 20 Red Pikmin to move the cardboard box in the Tropical Wilds in the day 1 tutorial.
 * 6 Rock Pikmin obtained from a Medusal Slurker in Garden of Hope. Any number of Rock Pikmin can be used to break crystals and crystal walls.
 * 5 Yellow Pikmin. While the iron ball in the cave where Yellow Pikmin are first found requires 20 Pikmin to push, it is possible to go out of bounds and escape the cave without them. Yellow Candypop Buds can be found elsewhere in the Distant Tundra to gain more Yellow Pikmin to complete electrodes with. Note that it is possible to skip activating the Yellow Onion, and as a result complete the game with 37 Pikmin remaining, though the 5 Yellow Pikmin given to the player are still used. While up to 30 Yellow Pikmin are obtained with Charlie in the day 1 tutorial, these Pikmin do not count and are never seen again after Charlie is captured.
 * 10 Winged Pikmin to lift the dam blocking the lily pads in the Twilight River. No Winged Candypop Bud is found until Formidable Oak, so 10 must be grown. This amount is sufficient for lifting any bamboo gates and clipboards.
 * 1 Blue Pikmin obtained from the Blue Onion when it is first discovered. The heaviest fruit that requires Blue Pikmin is the Crunchy Deluge in Twilight River, which needs 10 Blue Pikmin to carry. However, Winged Pikmin can be thrown into Blue Candypop Buds in the Tropical Wilds to obtain this amount.