Puffstool
| Puffstool | |
|---|---|
| |
| Appears in | N/A |
| Scientific name | Aspergilla podronis (?) |
| Family | Sporovoid |
| Areas | The Forest Navel |
| Attacks | Possesses Pikmin |
The Puffstool is an enemy in Pikmin 1 that appears to be a huge walking fungus. It has a red capped mushroom head and a tender yellow torso which is vulnerable to swarming. Not much is scientifically known of it, but minimal details are supplied.
The Puffstool will try to run when attacked, but its legs are clearly not made for sprinting and it trips easily, landing on its head with feet in the air. Since the cap is invulnerable to attack, Pikmin must be thrown onto its undersection once it's on the ground. After a few seconds, the Puffstool will right itself up and blow out a purplish cloud of spores which cause a strange change in nearby Pikmin. Affected Pikmin turn purple and grow small brown mushroom caps on their stalks. These Pikmin are known infamously as Mushroom Pikmin.
Mushroom Pikmin will attack Captain Olimar and any unaffected Pikmin. The effect will wear off in a short time, but more instantaneous remedies can also be used. Tossing a single Pikmin next to a Mushroom Pikmin will result in a small scuffle between the two, after which the enslaved Pikmin is knocked back to its senses and rejoins your army; using more Pikmin than necessary will more than likely kill the creature, counting towards your total number of Pikmin lost. A much safer strategy is attract the attention of multiple Mushroom Pikmin with your captain, then shake them off when they attack, instantly curing them without the risk of killing them.
A single Puffstool can be found in The Forest Navel, where it holds the Omega Stabilizer. Once defeated, its cap can be returned to an Onion where it will produce a whopping 30 Pikmin seeds. Two Puffstools can also be found in The Distant Spring in Challenge Mode, allowing a player to make more Pikmin. When defeated, the Puffstool can cause the Crushing Glitch.
To minimize the risk of losing Pikmin, it is necessary to attack only with the captain. The Puffstool has no attacks that could harm Olimar. Note, however, that this may consume at least a quarter of a day.