Fire starter

Fire starters are tools in. They are small flaming pinecone-shaped objects that can be picked up and carried around by Red Pikmin. A Red Pikmin carrying a fire starter can then be thrown at an object to burn it, which can destroy dried plants and weaken icy enemies.

Fire starters are connected to objects in areas and caves called bonfire altars. These are found in fixed locations and can either be flaming or extinguished. Each flaming bonfire altar can supply one fire starter at a time.

Mechanics
Red Pikmin carrying fire starters cannot ride Oatchi, and appear separately from other Red Pikmin in the HUD to allow the player to select one to throw. Fire starters have a time limit before they burn up and disappear, but can be thrown an unlimited number of times within this period. The time limit is represented by a circular health wheel above the fire starter, which steadily depletes over time. If a fire starter Pikmin is thrown at the floor, it will drop the fire starter, which can be picked up again by throwing another Red Pikmin at it.

Throwing a Red Pikmin at a bonfire altar to pick up the fire starter on it will mean there is no fire starter on the bonfire altar until that fire starter burns up and disappears. Extinguished bonfire altars can be lit by throwing a fire starter at them, which will light it aflame permanently and make a new fire starter appear on it. Lighting a bonfire altar will also reset the time limit on the fire starter used to light it. Since each altar is responsible for one fire starter, if the player can manage to visit several in time, they can obtain multiple fire starters. The standby Pikmin HUD indicator's health wheel will reflect the fire starter in the squad with the least time remaining.

Uses
The primary use of fire starters is to destroy dried plants when thrown at, in order to open up a path or object that was previously blocked by the plants. The fire starter will not be used up by this, so the Red Pikmin holding it can be called back and the fire starter used again, but it will not reset the time limit.

For combat, fire starters can be thrown at enemies for various effects. Charging at an enemy using a fire starter Pikmin will not work.
 * Frosty Bulborbs, Dwarf Frosty Bulborbs, and Snowflake Fluttertails instantly lose their protective coating of ice if they have it. This makes the fire starter disappear.
 * Frosty Bulborbs and Snowy Blowhogs lose one third of their health if there is no protective coating of ice. This makes the fire starter disappear.
 * Dwarf Frosty Bulborbs lose all their health if they don't have their coating of ice. This makes the fire starter disappear.
 * Freezecakes will simply take no damage and instead freeze the Pikmin. This makes the fire starter disappear.
 * For other enemies, either nothing happens or they are never encountered near fire starters to know.

Throwing a fire starter at frozen hydro jelly or at an ice wall will instantly destroy it. In either case the fire starter disappears, and in the case of the ice wall, it is possible for the Pikmin to become frozen.

Some bonfire altars have hydro jellies on top of them, and the hydro jelly must be destroyed before the altar can be used. If the hydro jelly is frozen, throwing a fire starter at it will melt it instantly but also destroy the fire starter, meaning another fire starter must be used to light the bonfire altar.

Throwing a fire starter at a Fiery Bulblax will reset the time limit on the fire starter.

In cave sublevels with cold air, having a lit bonfire altar will warm up the room and stop Pikmin from feeling cold.

Locations

 * Areas
 * Giant's Hearth: Fire starters are a major mechanic of this area. There are 9 bonfire altars around the area.
 * Olimar's Shipwreck Tale areas
 * Blossoming Arcadia: In Olimar's Shipwreck Tale only, there is a network of 7 bonfire altars around this area.
 * Caves
 * Frozen Inferno: Fire starters are a major mechanic of this cave. 3 bonfire altars are on the first sublevel, 3 are on the second sublevel, 2 are on the third sublevel (one blocked by a hydro jelly) and 3 are on the fourth sublevel (one blocked by a hydro jelly).
 * Cradle of the Beast: 2 bonfire altars are present on the first sublevel.
 * Dandori Challenges
 * Aerial Incinerator: Features 3 bonfire altars.
 * Strategic Freezeway: Features 6 bonfire altars.
 * Trial of the Sage Leaf – 2nd Story: Snow Problem: Features 6 bonfire altars.
 * Dandori Battles
 * Hot Sandy Duel: Fire starters are placed on the northwest and southwest corners of this arena, opposite the players' Onions which are in the east.

In addition, fire starters and bonfire altars appear in the Piklopedia entries for the Frosty Bulborb, Dwarf Frosty Bulborb, and Snowflake Fluttertail.