Editing Iron ball

{{game icons|p3=y}}
[[File:P3 Distant Tundra Iron Ball.jpg|300px|thumb|An iron ball next to the [[Yellow Onion]].]]
'''Iron balls''' are objects found throughout {{p3}} that serve as an interactable [[tool]], much like the [[cardboard box]]es. They are very plain metallic-gray orbs with "20 weight" inscribed on them. As the number would imply, 20 Pikmin are needed to push them. Because there is not enough surface area on the object for 20 Pikmin to push it, some Pikmin will go behind other ones and push them instead.

Iron balls are always placed at the top of a slope, so they will rush down a fixed path once the Pikmin have set one in motion. With its momentum and weight, it will break open [[gate|wall]]s, most notably [[stubborn rocks]], which can only be destroyed in this way. This opens entrances and exits to other parts of an [[area]]. Creatures in the ball's path will be killed, allowing the player to defeat enemies in some cases, but Pikmin (that aren't [[Rock Pikmin]] or [[Winged Pikmin]]) are more likely to be [[Crushing|crushed]] if the player does not pay attention. As such, it is not advised to have more than 20 Pikmin [[charge]] at a ball, as some of them may get in front of it while attempting to find a spot to push on.

==Locations==
;[[Distant Tundra]]:
*One is atop the slope where the Yellow Onion is. When it rolls down, it destroys the blockade on the cave's main exit.
*Another ball serves as the "nose" on the snowman figure of [[the President]]. When pushed out, it rolls until it destroys the blocked entrance to the cave with the [[Pyroclasmic Slooch]]es.

;[[Formidable Oak]]:
*The room with the [[bridge]] and [[Arachnode]] has the final ball in Story Mode. When pushed, it rolls down a slope and destroys a [[crystal wall]] down below. If there is a [[bomb rock]] on the path, it will hit that and explode, but if not, it will instantly disappear when it reaches the wall at the end.{{cite web|https://twitter.com/EspyoPT/status/1330648193499951104|Twitter video|Twitter|published={{date|22|November|2020}}|retrieved={{date|8|December|2020}}}}

;[[Formidable Oak Remix]]:
*One stands in the same location in Story Mode. It is next to a [[Whiptongue Bulborb]] and beyond it are many [[Dwarf Bulborb]]s. It disappears at the end of its path similarly to the one in Story Mode.
*Another is near the room where [[Brittany]] starts and 2 [[Orange Bulborb]]s, and destroys a path of Bulborbs and a crystal wall. It disappears at the end of the open room it ends up in, either after defeating the Bulborbs or destroying the [[egg]]s.

;[[Jigsaw Fortress]], layout B:
*At the top of the fortress, right by the Onion, is an iron ball precariously on a ledge. When pushed, it falls down to the second level, then to the third. It then heads right, circles the third level of the fortress and destroys the stubborn rocks shortly before the starting point. It then circles around once more but veers off to the left before the wall's spot, descending to the lowest level. It then rolls a bit more forward and drops at the [[hay]] ledge just before the electric gate. Finally, it proceeds forward for a bit, turns to the left of the building made of blocks, goes over the rim of the stage, stops abruptly after a bit, and then disappears one second later.

;[[Rusted Labyrinth]], layout C:
*At the center of the stage is an S-shaped corridor, going downwards, with two walls of stubborn rocks in the middle. There is an iron ball at the start of the corridor that when pushed, goes down the corridor, breaking both walls, and then keeps going towards the bottom player's Onion, slightly off to the right. It then careens off the rim of that Onion's room and disappears shortly after.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
P3 Iron Ball Close-up.jpg|Closeup of the first encountered iron ball.
P3 Iron Ball Winged Pikmin.jpg|Closeup of an iron ball getting pushed by a group of Winged Pikmin.
Iron Ball Breaking Wall.gif|An iron ball rolling down a slope and destroying an obstacle.
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{Foreignname
|Jap=鉄球
|JapR=Tekkyū
|JapM=Iron ball
|Ita=Palla di ferro
|ItaM=Iron ball
}}

==See also==
*[[Stubborn rocks]]
*[[Boulder]]
*[[Cardboard box]]

==References==
{{refs}}

{{tools}}