Editing Night expedition

'''Night expeditions''' ({{j|夜の探索|Yoru no Tansaku|Night Search}}) are a type of activity that the [[Pikmin 4 player character|player character]] is in charge of in {{p4}}. These expeditions take place at night, when some of the [[enemy|creatures]] of [[PNF-404]] are more dangerous and can enter a frenzied state. Because most [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] are diurnal creatures, they and the [[Onions]] are not available at night, and instead the player has [[Glow Pikmin]] and [[Lumiknoll]]s at their disposal. All [[carry|carriable]] objects vanish at night, and [[cave]]s (including [[Dandori Challenge]]s and [[Dandori Battle]]s) cannot be entered. Night expeditions are necessary because rescued [[leafling]]s need [[glow sap]] in order to be restored back to normal, something that can only be obtained from Lumiknolls at dawn. Hence, the gameplay during night expeditions focuses on protecting the Lumiknolls throughout the night, considering that their light attracts the frenzied creatures and makes them attack.

Each night expedition takes place at one of the previously-visited [[base]]s of a previously-explored [[area]]. After talking to Yonny and choosing to go on a night expedition, a menu will appear allowing the player to choose where to land. Within this menu, the player can know if a given location has already been cleared, the location's danger level, and a comment by Yonny about the sorts of challenges that await them. Locations that have already been cleared can be redone at will, but the player will not obtain any [[glow sap]]. Once the player is ready to go, the game will cut to sunset where the player departs from the Rescue Command Post, arriving at the chosen location at the start of the night.

The first two expeditions forcefully take place in the [[Sun-Speckled Terrace]], at the Ancient Arches and Rugged Scaffold bases respectively. After beating the first two expeditions, you can do every expedition unlocked in any order.

! rowspan="3" | [[Sun-Speckled Terrace#Night expeditions|Sun-Speckled Terrace]]

! rowspan="3" | [[Blossoming Arcadia#Night expeditions|Blossoming Arcadia]]

! rowspan="3" | [[Serene Shores#Night expeditions|Serene Shores]]

! rowspan="3" | [[Hero's Hideaway#Night expeditions|Hero's Hideaway]]

! rowspan="2" | [[Giant's Hearth#Night expeditions|Giant's Hearth]]

! rowspan="2" | [[Primordial Thicket#Night expeditions|Primordial Thicket]]

A night lasts exactly four minutes, or 240 seconds. The countdown to sunrise lasts 30 seconds, the same amount of time as a typical day in ''Pikmin 4''. However, the red zone to indicate the incoming sunrise is actually one minute, instead of a minute and a half.

Throughout this entire process, the player must divide their attention between protecting Lumiknolls, covering all routes of attack, wiping out enemies, and trying to keep their Pikmin numbers up by harvesting more glow pellets. Enemies do not leave corpses at night, but some tougher ones do drop differently sized piles of glow pellets upon death. An unusual case is the [[Puffy Blowhog]], which drops 5 Glow Pellets in Blossoming Arcadia but none in Serene Shores. This makes it the only enemy to drop different amounts of Glow Pellets depending on the area.

The first Lumiknoll will always be accompanied by a blue beacon right next to it, similar to the ones the player can place down with the [[Survey Drone]]. If there is a second Lumiknoll, that one will be accompanied by an orange beacon. A Lumiknoll's [[health]] appears at the top of the [[HUD]] so the player can always keep track of its state. To further help the player understand what is going on, a mini-[[radar]] exists on the bottom-right corner of the HUD. This mini-radar, as well as the main radar, highlight the location of Lumiknolls, enemies, and particularly frenzied enemies (alongside their direction). Lumiknolls and frenzied enemies also appear as colored silhouettes if they're behind terrain. As enemies get closer to a Lumiknoll, [[Music in Pikmin 4#Nighttime Expedition|the music]] becomes more alarming and sinister, taking on a harrowing melody if any is actively under attack.

 

Since gameplay during night expeditions takes place in the exact same locations the player explores during the day, the state of any [[obstacle]]s will be reflected between the day and the night. Obstacles may be cleared both in day and night expeditions, and some obstacles may hinder the enemies as well as the leaders. If no open route exists to allow an enemy to reach a Lumiknoll or Tricknoll, it will not turn aggressive throughout the entire night- even if it is in a location the player can reach. If enemies may reach a Tricknoll but not a Lumiknoll, they will turn aggressive, destroy the Tricknoll, and then return to a docile state while retaining their red eyes and glowing red radar icons. Glow Pikmin that cannot return glow pellets to the Lumiknoll because of the presence of an obstacle will mill around the obstacle until it is cleared, just as daytime Pikmin would.

Disclaimer: This data counterfactually assumes that the Player can have more than 100 Glow Pikmin out on the map.

! Enemy || Pellets dropped

! [[Albino Dwarf Bulborb]]

! [[Bulborb]]

! [[Jumbo Bulborb]]

! [[Bulborb Larva]] nest

! [[Desiccated Skitter Leaf]]

! [[Joustmite]]

! [[Puffy Blowhog]]

! [[Tusked Blowhog]]

! [[Shearwig]]

! [[Water Dumple]]

! [[Toady Bloyster]]

! [[Whiptongue Bulborb]]

! [[Flighty Joustmite]]

! [[Frosty Bulborb]]

! [[Smoky Progg]]

! [[Male Sheargrub]]

! [[Dwarf Bulbear]]

! [[Emperor Bulblax]]

! [[Fiery Bulblax]]

! [[Pyroclasmic Slooch]]

! [[Spotty Bulbear]]

! [[Baldy Long Legs]]

! [[Moldy Dwarf Bulborb]]

! [[Moldy Slooch]]

! Area || Enemies || Pellet piles || Total glow pellets, Pikmin, and Seeds

| 21 Piles (1x5, 5x10, 10x15, 2x20, 3x30)