Icon for the Pikpik carrot from Pikmin 4.
A Pikpik Carrot.

Pikpik-brand carrots, also known simply as Pikpik carrots (ピクピクニンジン?) are a brand of vegetable native to Captain Olimar's home planet, Hocotate. Each Pikpik carrot has two roots at its bottom, resembling legs, and a long green stalk ending in a single large leaf at its top. All seen Pikpik carrots are red, however in Pikmin’s European manual, Pikpik carrots of red, yellow and blue are mentioned.[1] In multiple games, Pikpik carrots are stated to be the namesake for Pikmin, as Olimar noticed a strong resembence between the two.

In Pikmin 2, Pikpik carrots are seen in the in-game Piklopedia. These can be thrown at the Piklopedia's enemies and plants to see their reactions, such as the creature moving or waking up, or eating and attacking the carrots. The creatures will usually treat the carrots like Pikmin. Carrots are also mentioned by Louie in his notes on the Emperor Bulblax.

In Pikmin 3, Pikpik carrots are mentioned by Brittany while on the S.S. Drake. She states Hocotate is famous for the Pikpik carrots cultivated there, and that personally, she dislikes the taste, Alph is very surprised that Brittany even tried one.

In Hey! Pikmin, the S.S. Dolphin II mentions that the Pikmin are similar to pikpik carrots. In the log for Red Pikmin, Olimar mentions that he loves eating pikpik carrots. In the log for the Squirting Squirt, Olimar talks about the time when his son got a box of his favorite pikpik carrot cookies wet by playing with his water gun. In The Night Juicer, one of the Pikmin Short Movies, Captain Olimar is juicing some pikpik carrots, although because of their resemblance to Pikmin, the Pikmin that are observing Olimar during this process get frightened, as they think that Olimar is killing Pikmin; although at the end it all comes out as a misunderstanding.

In Pikmin 4, Pikpik Carrots are available as a usable pack item from The Lab. They can be thrown at creatures to distract them (like in Pikmin 2's Piklopedia), and their bitter taste will briefly immobilize any creature that eats one, in a similar manner to a Mega Rush from Oatchi.. They have no effect on enemies in the Piklopedia, as these pikpik carrots are normal, non-bitter ones.

Golden Pikpik carrots

 
Golden pikpik carrots as they appear in Louie's voyage logs from Pikmin 4.

Golden Pikpik carrots are completely golden versions of Pikpik carrots. These are thought to be very valuable, and at the beginning of Pikmin 2, Louie is instructed to deliver a cargo of them. However, Louie encountered a "ravenous space bunny" which supposedly ate the whole shipment.

In Pikmin 4, Golden Pikpik carrots are briefly mentioned in Louie's voyage logs. In it, Louie mentions that golden Pikpik carrots are his favorite food, and alludes to their rarity. He then references an intent to try to eat some when he is tasked to deliver some, in reference to the plot of Pikmin 2.

As "Pikmin"

Pikpik carrot
 
Pikmin 2 screenshot of the Pikpik carrots acting as Pikmin.
Resistance None
Attack strength Normal
Mobility Normal
Throw Normal
Digging speed Unknown
Carrying capacity 1

Inside the files of Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, there is data for an entirely new species of Pikmin, which are essentially the Pikpik carrots. By editing the files, it is possible to force the games to spawn Pikpik carrots as usable Pikmin.[2]

This is best done in Pikmin 2 by editing the Challenge Mode level files, which have data for the starting number of Pikmin of each type, including a 7th type – the carrots. Internally, the game recognizes the carrots as being a type of Pikmin – this is necessary in order for the Piklopedia's carrot feature to work properly. The inclusion of a configuration file setting to enable Pikpik carrots as party members is however quite mysterious.

Appearance

They look the same as the carrots seen anywhere else in the series: they look like a carrot, naturally, with a stem with a leaf on top, and with two root endings on the bottom. In-game, they float slightly above ground, and are animated in a fashion similar to that of regular Pikmin, except their model only moves and stretches; they don't bend.

In Pikmin 2, their stems always include a leaf, regardless of their maturity or the effects of an ultra-spicy spray, but can have a bud or flower in the same place as the leaf. When idle, their stems glow green, much like Bulbmin, and all of their sound effects match those of regular Pikmin, besides Bulbmin. They do not release a soul.

In Pikmin 3, when idle, their stems glow peach, and their souls are white. When they carry something, the fraction numbers are cream-colored.

Behavior

In Pikmin 2, they can be grabbed, thrown, buried, plucked, and overall, act like all other Pikmin types. However, they bear no resistance to any hazard, nor do they have any other special attribute.

In Pikmin 3, however, they are more limited: they act like normal, but cannot be grabbed or thrown. If they try to attack something, the game freezes. If they deliver an item to an Onion, it does its spitting animation, but no seeds come out.

Other quirks

  • In both games, the code that shows the standby Pikmin type on the HUD ignores these type of Pikmin, so they lack an icon.
  • Although they have no real Pikmin behavior in the Piklopedia, they will still turn around to face the creature, after being thrown. Their front is the opposite side from where the stem droops.
  • When entering the final sublevel, if the active leader bumps against carrot Pikmin while the "FINAL FLOOR!"/"FINAL LEVEL!" text is on-screen, the HUD will present a bud Blue Pikmin on the standby icon.

Gallery

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Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
  Japanese ピクピクニンジン?
Pikupikuninjin
Pikpik carrot
  Chinese
(traditional)
皮克皮克胡蘿蔔 Pikpik carrot
  Chinese
(simplified)
皮克皮克胡萝卜 Pikpik carrot
  Dutch Pikpikwortel Pikpik carrot
  French Carotte Pikpik Pikpik carrot
  German Pikpik-Karotte Pikpik carrot
  Italian Carote Pikpik Pikpik carrot
  Korean 피크피크당근
pikeupikeudang-geun
Pikpik carrot
  Portuguese Cenoura Pikpik Pikpik carrot
  Spanish Zanahoria Pikpik Pikpik carrot
  Russian Пикпик морковка Pikpik carrot
  Danish Pikpik-gulerod Pikpik carrot Name taken from Nintendo's official website
  Norwegian Pikpik-gulrot Pikpik carrot Name taken from Nintendo's official website
  Swedish PikPik-morot PikPik carrot Name taken from Nintendo's official website

Golden Pikpik carrot

Language Name Meaning
  Spanish (NoA) Zanahoria dorada Pikpik Golden Pikpik carrot

See also

References

  1. ^ The night before I left, my wife prepared my favourite soup. This soup is a famous dish on my planet, made with three large onions and hundreds of miniature red, yellow, and blue carrots. – Captain Olimar in the European instruction manual of Pikmin
  2. ^ YouTube video showing Pikpik carrots as Pikmin in Pikmin 3