Postcard

A Pikmin carrying a postcard.

Postcards (ポストカード^?, lit.: "Postcard") are items in Pikmin Bloom. They can be obtained through completing expeditions and mushroom challenges. 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

A postcard collected from an expedition.

The background color of a postcard depends on how it was obtained. White postcards are obtained from expeditions and 1-star scores on mushroom challenges. Bronze, silver, and gold postcards are obtained from 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star scores on mushroom challenges 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 challenge is found at, or it can be any landmark in Niantic's database. A few Pikmin from the expedition or mushroom challenge 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 challenge 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 decors. A Pikmin's size may slightly alter its positioning within a pose as well.

Number of Pikmin	Pose Name	Image	Details
5+	March		One of the two most common poses, as any expedition with 5 or more Pikmin will result in either this pose or Party. Bedsides the number of Pikmin, March can be distinguished from Follow the Leader by wider spacing between Pikmin, and by the third and fifth Pikmin looking at the camera.
	Party		Amongst the most common poses alongside March. This depicts two groups of Pikmin, a trio to the left and duo to the right, hopping and jumping in rambunctious celebratory fashion.
3-4	Follow the Leader		A pose depicting either three or four Pikmin dutifully following after one another in a line, gazing into the camera.
	Ensemble		A trio or quartet of Pikmin leaping across the image in vigorous, dance-like fashion.
1-4	Peek-a-boo		As many as four Pikmin, or as few as one Pikmin, sit just beneath the camera's line of sight, their stems left bobbing in view. Of course, larger Pikmin may not be as subtle in this pose.
1-2	Greeting		A single Pikmin or a pair frame either side of the image with a friendly gesture.
	Stroll		One or two Pikmin are shown, one seemingly wandering whilst the other advances more boldly.
1	Selfie		A single Pikmin engaged in a modern classic. The Pikmin is positioned close to the lens, gazing either into the camera or to the upper-left at the features behind them.
	Classic		The most traditional form of subject-displaying postcard, the Pikmin stands in the bottom-left of the frame, waving heartily as if to say, "Wish you were here!"
	Close-up		Amongst the rarest of postcard poses, this pose depicts a tiny selfie gone wrong. The Pikmin, caught unaware, is shown close to the lens, almost entirely obscuring the location's image.
	Upside-down		Very likely the rarest pose, showing a Pikmin cheekily peeking into the lens whilst hanging upside-down from a ledge above, or perhaps even from the camera itself.

History

The following changes have been made to postcards over time:

Update or date	Changes
44.0	Accompanying the renaming of Challenges to Mushrooms, changed the wording on mushroom challenge postcards from "Challenge clear!" to "Mushroom battle clear!"
May 8th, 2022	Postcards collected on this date only have a special flower-themed pink background and a special carnation stamp, for the Mother's Day event.
June 18th and 19th, 2022	Postcards collected on these dates only have a special flower-themed purple background and a special rose stamp, for the Father's Day event.
October 14th to October 31st, 2022	Postcards collected during this period have one of 3 special Halloween-themed backgrounds and stamps, for the Halloween event.
December 12th to December 31st, 2022	Postcards collected during this period have a special winter-themed background and stamp, for the Mitten Decor event. During the overlap period with the New Year's event, postcards can have either the winter or New Year's design.
December 26th, 2022 to January 15th, 2023	Postcards collected during this period have a special 2023 New Year's themed background and stamp, for the 2023 New Year's event. During the overlap period with the Mitten Decor event, postcards can have either the winter or New Year's design.

Gallery

Event	Postcards		Stamps
Standard
Mother's Day 2022
Father's Day 2022
Halloween 2022
Year-End Holidays 2022
New Year's 2022
Valentine's 2023
St. Patrick's 2023
Easter 2023

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ポストカード? Posutokādo	Postcard
German	Postkarte	Postcard
Portuguese (NoA)	Cartão-postal	Postcard
Spanish (NoA)	Carte postale	Postcard