Postcard

Postcards are items in. They can be obtained through completing expeditions and mushroom battles. Postcards will contain the photo and name of a nearby location. Some of the Pikmin in the player's squad will be overlaid on the photo. The player can store up to 400 postcards initially, with storage expansions available in the shop. When the limit is reached, the game will prompt the player to either purchase a storage upgrade, manage the postcards in their collection, or agree to stop receiving postcards until more storage space is made available. Postcards can be viewed and discarded in the postcard menu.

Postcards can be sent to friends, and the player can select a Pikmin to carry the postcard. After being sent, both Pikmin and postcard will travel for 12 hours before appearing in the recipient's garden, regardless of the distance between players. Another postcard cannot be sent to the same friend for 24 hours after a postcard is dispatched. Once a player receives a postcard from a friend, the selected Pikmin will be holding a rolled-up envelope. Tapping on it will unveil the received postcard, along with some information about who sent it. After receiving a postcard, it can be found in the player's postcard menu with the messenger's Mii located on the bottom-right corner. If the receiving player has not sent a postcard to the sending player in the past 24 hours, the game will then show a prompt offering the option to send a reciprocating postcard.

Expedition Postcards
Postcards can be obtained from expeditions when an expedition appears near the location of a Wayspot on Niantic's Wayfarer map (the same online map that Big Flowers and Mushrooms get their locations from). While the effective range for this to occur is unknown at this time, it is likely the radius is either the same or double the size of a Big Flower's radius. As long as a player doesn't already own a copy of a location's postcard, it is likely one will be brought back with a nearby expedition's bounty. This limitation applies to expedition postcards even if a held copy originates from another player. However, if a postcard is being delivered to another player, the sender can obtain a new copy of the same postcard while the delivery is taking place. In this scenario, should the sent copy not be received before the three day time limit expires, the original postcard will be returned to the sender's inventory. In this manner, a player may obtain additional copies of the same expedition postcard.

Mushroom battle postcards do not suffer these limitations. However, if a player does not already own a copy of a mushroom's postcard, they can obtain one from a nearby expedition.

Design
The background color of a postcard depends on how it was obtained. White postcards are obtained from expeditions and 1-star scores on mushroom battles. Bronze, silver, and gold postcards are obtained from 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star scores on mushroom battles respectively.

The left two-thirds of a postcard contains a photograph of a location. This location can be a point of interest that a Big Flower or mushroom battle is found at, or it can be any landmark in Niantic's database. A few Pikmin from the expedition or mushroom battle will be placed on top of the image in various poses. The name of the landmark in the photograph is in the top left, and below that in smaller text is the name of the general area the landmark is in, such as the town or suburb.

The right third of a postcard is mostly empty for expedition postcards, but in mushroom battle postcards it contains extra information. The name of the type of mushroom is shown in bold black text, then the text "Mushroom battle clear!" is shown in green italic text. Below that, a number of star icons based on the result of the challenge is shown, and below that, the exact score is written in gray.

In the top right of all postcards, there is a stamp. There are 4 stamp designs and the one on the postcard is randomly chosen. One design has a banana, one has a blueberry, one has a strawberry, and one has a pair of cherries.

Poses
In addition to a photo of its location, a postcard's image features the Pikmin sent to its originating expedition or mushroom battle. The maximum number of depicted Pikmin is 5, those being the first Pikmin selected for the respective task. Which pose the Pikmin take is dependent upon how many Pikmin are sent to the expedition or mushroom battle that yields the postcard. Note that Rock and Winged Pikmin do not always share the same posing as other colours. This rule can also apply to certain inflexible Decor costumes. A Pikmin's size may slightly alter its positioning within a pose as well.

History
The following changes have been made to postcards over time: