Crimson Banquet

The Crimson Banquet  is a fruit in  and a treasure in. It is a.

In Pikmin 3, it appears once in Story Mode, in the Tropical Wilds, and is held by the Sandbelching Meerslug, the boss of the area. Upon defeating the boss, it will regurgitate the whole fruit; however, it smashes into many chunks upon hitting the ground. If all 6 pieces of this fruit are carried back to the S.S. Drake, the total amount of juice will equal three full bottles, the highest total any fruit can give. (This amount is limited to one and one-half in Ultra-Spicy mode.)

In Pikmin 4, it once again appears only once in Story Mode, this time in an alcove in the Serene Shores.

Collecting the fruit


The Sandbelching Meerslug holds the only Crimson Banquet in the game. After its defeat, it drops the massive fruit, which breaks into 6 smaller pieces. These chunks include:
 * 1 small chunk, which takes a single Pikmin to carry and gives 0.1 bottles of juice,
 * 2 pieces that take 5 Pikmin to carry and give 0.2 bottles of juice,
 * 2 pieces that take 8 Pikmin to carry and give 0.5 bottles of juice,
 * and 1 particularly large piece that requires 15 Pikmin to carry and gives 1.5 bottles of juice.

In total, the fruit weighs 42 units, the most of any fruit, though it can be carried with as little as 15 if multiple trips to the arena are used. The fruit will be counted as collected when all pieces have been retrieved.

If the battle with the Meerslug takes up most of the day, you may want to hold off on collecting every piece, as the pieces that you do not carry back will remain in the Meerslug's arena. Whether there is more time left during the day or not, it is still advised to send the Folded Data Glutton ahead, as it is of higher importance than the fruit.

With the many loading zones needed to take the melon back to the Drake, and the many pieces to carry back, it can take a long time to retrieve the Crimson Banquet. As such, try to make sure the route is clear of all obstructions and enemies, destroy the reinforced wall near the landing site, and have as many Pikmin as possible carrying back the fruit.

Collecting the treasure
The Crimson Banquet is in an alcove below the sandcastle, under the castle's northwestern wall, near the first base in Serene Shores. It is blocked by two hydro jellies partially submerged in water during high tide, making the treasure much easier to collect during low tide. Because it has a weight of 100, it is recommended to use 10 Purple Pikmin during low tide. Otherwise, 100 Pikmin would be needed, with only Blue Pikmin and Winged Pikmin able to collect it at high tide. Oatchi can lower this requirement by upgrading his buff skill, and can carry the treasure entirely on his own with super buff level 3. He can carry it during high tide as well if he has doggy-paddle level 3. Note that approaching it during low tide will result in an Armored Cannon Larva appearing next to it, which should be dealt with before the treasure is retrieved.

Glitch
There is a rare, but rather harmful glitch that can occur while retrieving the Crimson Banquet in Pikmin 3. If the pieces are left overnight in the area just before the Sandbelching Meerslug arena, there is a possibility that one of them will not appear on any of the following days, making it impossible to collect all the pieces.

Trivia

 * This is the only fruit that must be collected in parts to have the parts vary in size and weight.
 * Although the part that takes 15 Pikmin to carry appears to be more than half the fruit, the weight of that part is less than half of the overall weight.
 * The Crimson Banquet is one of two fruits in Pikmin 3 that can produce three cups of juice, the other being the Wayward Moon, another fruit dropped by a boss. Coincidentally, both are part of the melon family.
 * It is the only fruit found just once in Pikmin 4 (not counting Dandori Challenges). It is also found just once in Pikmin 3 (not counting Mission Mode), making it the rarest fruit found across both games' story modes.
 * The Crimson Banquet is mentioned directly in a loading screen tip exclusive to the Hefty Haulway Dandori Challenge. The tip recommends that the player focus on transporting the heaviest and most valuable treasures in the stage, particularly this one.