Editing Throw

{{game icons|p=y|p2=y|p3=y|p4=y|hp=y|pa=y}}

{{game help|p3|Add things that can't be done while holding, and special throws.}}

'''Throwing''' ({{j|投げる|Nageru|Throw}}) is one of the main ways of giving instructions to [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]], the others being [[swarm]]ing, [[dismiss]]ing and [[Lock-on|charging]]. The player can aim where the thrown Pikmin land at, by use of the [[cursor]], and if a Pikmin lands near a task, it will begin working on it; it will remain [[idle]] on the spot, otherwise (in {{hp}} and {{pa}}, the Pikmin will return to the leader). If a Pikmin hits an enemy during its flight, it will latch on to it, if it can, and begin attacking. To throw, the next Pikmin to be thrown must be close enough to the current leader.

Pikmin are thrown upwards at an arc, leaving sparkling particles through their trajectory. The cursor estimates the landing location of a thrown Pikmin, but if there is a wall or object in the way, the Pikmin might bump into it and fall short. This is only true in the first two games, as ''Pikmin 3'' and ''Pikmin 4''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s cursors take into account walls and obstacles, and the line connecting it to the leader changes to a preview arc. One of the traits [[Yellow Pikmin]] possess is the ability to be thrown higher than other types. This allows them to reach ledges otherwise unreachable. The throw arc of [[Purple Pikmin]] is slightly different from the rest: they are thrown faster than the others, so that the apex of their jump is located somewhere above the cursor. When the cursor is reached, the Pikmin loses its horizontal momentum and drops down with a great impact. Besides homing in on [[Enemy|enemies]], when landing, they cause high damage and can also cause the creatures to bounce up, making them unable to move for less than a second, or stun them altogether for a few seconds. [[Rock Pikmin]] have a much lower throwing arc than other Pikmin types, and will bounce off the ground and roll forward when they land, meaning they won't land exactly where the reticle is. [[Winged Pikmin]] can be thrown, though they will not land on the ground like the other Pikmin types do. If a Winged Pikmin is thrown near an enemy, the Pikmin will fly towards the enemy and attempt to latch on.

In ''Pikmin 3'', [[leader]]s can also be thrown. Unlike Pikmin, leaders are unable to latch on to enemies and will always remain idle (unless they are near an enemy, at which point they panic and run around in circles). The trajectory that leaders are thrown through is noticeably lower than the arc of a Pikmin; this is likely to prevent exploits by throwing leaders up to an otherwise inaccessible area. It could also be to show that they are slightly heavier than a Pikmin.

The next Pikmin type to be thrown will be shown on the [[HUD#Standby Pikmin|HUD]]. This reflects the type of the Pikmin closest to the leader in the [[GameCube]] games and their [[Wii]] rereleases, but the group can be reordered in some games. From ''Pikmin 3'' onward, the next type to be thrown only changes when altered by the player.

In the first two games, [[Blue Pikmin]] can also throw drowning Pikmin: if an idle Blue Pikmin finds a drowning Pikmin nearby, it will grab it, carry it near the surface, and throw it to solid terrain. Should the ledge be too high up, it is possible that the Pikmin won't make it to dry land, fall back into the water, and be thrown again, in an endless cycle.{{cite youtube|-IMaXzHzgr4|showing Blue Pikmin constantly failing to throw their partners to safety}} At least in ''Pikmin 2'', a Blue Pikmin's rescue throw is the same as a normal leader throw, which means it can be used to crush [[Dwarf Bulborb|Dwarf Red Bulborb]]s, for instance.{{cite web|https://www.twitch.tv/videos/441917009|Twitch clip|Twitch|published={{date|21|June|2019}}|retrieved={{date|21|June|2019}}}} In ''Pikmin 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[2-Player Battle]] mode, leaders can also grab and throw [[bomb rock]]s.

!colspan="3"|''Pikmin 3''

!colspan="2"|''Pikmin 3 Deluxe'' / ''Pikmin 4''

Before throwing, it is possible to hold on to a Pikmin/leader by keeping the button pressed. While held on, the Pikmin or leader will make a sound indicating that they are ready to be thrown; in ''Pikmin 2'', this sound is repeated several times with varying pitches, until thrown. The leader can move around with a party member in their hand, which can be useful if one wishes to bring a single slow Pikmin with them. In ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'', when a Pikmin is being held onto, all other Pikmin in the group will be organized by type, so that those of the type of the currently held Pikmin are at the front of the line &ndash; this allows the leader to throw several of the same type of Pikmin in a row.

While holding, it is also possible to swap the currently held Pikmin/leader for one of a different type in the party, or even maturity, depending on the games, as outlined [[#Controls|above]].

In {{npcp1}}, if {{button|wii|stick}} is slightly moved while [[Captain Olimar]] is holding a Pikmin, Olimar will start facing the cursor, which will cause the Pikmin to follow behind where he's facing.{{cite youtube|TFhAAgbukCg|demonstrating how Pikmin follow Olimar when the stick is slightly moved in ''New Play Control! Pikmin''.}}

*[[Whistle]] (whistling cancels the throw instead)

While it is not possible to swarm, the player can make the group thinner and longer by holding {{button|gc|c}} in any direction, in the GameCube games. In ''[[New Play Control! Pikmin]]'', holding {{button|wii|padd}} will make the cursor flash to indicate a swarm, but the Pikmin will stay in their place regardless. In ''[[New Play Control! Pikmin 2]]'', nothing happens if one attempts to swarm while holding.

*In the original ''Pikmin'' (but not the ''[[New Play Control! Pikmin|New Play Control!]]'' or the [[Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch)|Nintendo Switch versions]]), thrown [[Yellow Pikmin]] carrying [[bomb-rock]]s will become "ready". When [[whistle]]d, they will drop and activate the bomb-rock. In addition, if thrown next to a [[gate]] or enemy, the Pikmin will in turn throw the bomb at the target.

*Throwing a Pikmin at a [[Pellet Posy]]'s pellet will make it drop it after just one attack in ''Pikmin'', or make it drop instantly from ''Pikmin 2'' onwards (this only works for 1 pellets in ''Pikmin 3'' and ''Pikmin 4''). [[Winged Pikmin]] cannot do this unless thrown at a very specific spot on the pellet.

**[[Anode Beetle]]: makes it flip over and expose its weak point.

**[[Breadbug]] and [[Giant Breadbug]]: [[Health|damages]] it and makes it temporarily drop its object. In ''Pikmin 2'', only Purple Pikmin can do this to Giant Breadbugs. In ''Pikmin 4'', Giant Breadbugs can be damaged by being crushed by the weight of ten Pikmin of any type.

**[[Dwarf Bulborb]], [[Snow Bulborb]] and [[Dwarf Orange Bulborb]]: if the Pikmin is thrown onto the creature's back, it will die instantly. However, in ''Pikmin 4'', 2 Pikmin are needed to be thrown on the back of the Dwarf Orange Bulborb to defeat it.

**[[Dwarf Bulbear]]: in the first game, throwing a Pikmin onto the creature's back deals a large amount of damage to it, but doesn't kill it; in ''Pikmin 2'' and ''Pikmin 3'', it kills them instantly. In ''Pikmin 4'', landing a Pikmin on its back deals one third of its base health.

**[[Dwarf Frosty Bulborb]]: throwing an [[Ice Pikmin]] or [[Glow Pikmin]] onto the creature's back will kill it instantly, other Pikmin types will be [[ice|frozen]].

**[[Honeywisp]]: makes it drop its [[nectar]] (in the first game) or [[egg]] (in the second and fourth games) instantly and fly away.

**[[Iridescent Flint Beetle]], [[Iridescent Glint Beetle]], and [[Doodlebug]]: makes it flip in the air and drop some spoils.

**[[Moldy Dwarf Bulborb]] and [[Moldy Slooch]]: landing any type of Pikmin on the [[Toxstool]] growths deals a sizeable chunk of damage. However, it also releases a cloud of [[poison]] which will affect any Pikmin that aren't White Pikmin or Glow Pikmin.

**[[Female Sheargrub]], [[Male Sheargrub]], [[Shearflea]], and [[Shearwig]]: all [[Mandiblard family|Mandiblards]] die in one hit if a Pikmin is landed directly on its back when grounded. Additionally, Purple Pikmin kill all grounded Mandiblards and other small enemies in a medium-sized range when landing in ''Pikmin 4''. If airborne, Shearwigs dies right away in the first two games. in ''Pikmin 3'' and ''Pikmin 4'', it instead reduces them to ⅓ health and knocks them to the ground.

**[[Skitter Leaf]] and [[Desiccated Skitter Leaf]]: throwing a Pikmin onto either one of the creature's back will instantly kill them.

**[[Unmarked Spectralids]], [[Red Spectralids]], [[White Spectralids]], and [[Yellow Spectralids]]: the creature instantly dies. Interestingly, Unmarked Spectralids die in one hit even though they have the same amount of health as a Dwarf Bulborb.

*When a [[Blue Pikmin]] is thrown at the [[Goolix]]'s larger core, while the creature is stretched, the two cores will slam against one another, and all Pikmin attacking the smaller core will scatter around. The damage dealt to the beast will be respective of the amount of Pikmin on the smaller core; the more Pikmin, the higher the amount of damage.

*A Pikmin that is thrown at the [[Armored Cannon Beetle]] or [[Horned Cannon Beetle]]'s blowhole while it's sucking in air will become trapped in it and make it overheat, exposing its weak point. After the Cannon Beetle covers its weak point again, the Pikmin will come out unharmed.

*The shockwaves made by a Purple Pikmin landing after being thrown will make a [[Waterwraith]] temporarily vulnerable. In ''Pikmin 4'', Purple Pikmin can also be thrown directly at the Waterwraith to make it vulnerable.

*A thrown Purple Pikmin can destroy rocks fired by [[Armored Cannon Larva|Armored Cannon Beetle Larvae]] and [[Decorated Cannon Beetle]]s in ''Pikmin 2''.

*In {{p3}}, Rock Pikmin thrown at [[crystal]]s deal more damage to them than just running into or charging at them. This is no longer the case in {{p3d}}, where Rock Pikmin attacking or charging crystals deals the same amount of damage as being thrown at them.

*In ''Pikmin 3'', any kind of Pikmin thrown directly at a [[Grub-dog family|grub-dog]]'s eyes will cause it to recoil and spit out any Pikmin it may have started to eat.

*When enough Pikmin are thrown onto the tail of a [[Crusted Rumpup]] or the [[Ancient Sirehound]], it will stun them, exposing their weak point on the tip of the tail (Crusted Rumpup) or the stomach (Ancient Sirehound).

[[File:Swarm trick.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The swarm trick done with [[frame]]-perfect precision.]]

The method for the ''New Play Control!'' games is quite a lot harder than the GameCube way, as it is harder to position the fingers so that both {{button|wii|a}} and {{button|wii|padd}} can be pressed, especially without releasing the Nunchuk; it is also hard to maintain a steady cursor while two fingers are pressing on the Wii Remote repeatedly. Finally, it is hard to maintain two different button rhythms at once. As such, an alternate strategy is normally used instead. Because the leader can move independently of the cursor, the latter can be held on the target, and the player can focus on moving the leader through the group. Care should be taken in order to keep the cursor from deviating from its intended place, though. One way to stop the cursor from leaving its spot on the screen is to place the Nunchuk hand's wrist in front of the [[Wii]] Remote's sensor.{{cite youtube|Wi0SQHvNv6c|demonstrating how one can cover the infrared sensor on the Wii Remote to stop the cursor from shaking about}} A better method is to simply move in circles while throwing. It's not quite as effective, but it still increases throw speed.

In ''Pikmin 3'' and ''Pikmin 4'', a Pikmin of the standby type will instantly move towards the leader's hand.

In ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'' on the GameCube, if the leader is moving while throwing the Pikmin, the leader's speed is added to the Pikmin throw's speed. Hence, if a leader is running forward while throwing a Pikmin in the same direction, it will land much farther than normal. This trick can be used to throw Pikmin to places where they were not meant to reach. An example would be over the [[cardboard box]] at the southwest of [[The Forest of Hope]], throwing Pikmin from the western side over the box and onto the eastern side, where they can push it without the need for Blue Pikmin on the nearby lakes.

By using the aforementioned trick to throw at longer distances, one can make non-Yellow Pikmin reach ledges they shouldn't be able to normally.{{cite youtube|79o04GEvocI|showing how the high ledge glitch can be used to get non-Yellow Pikmin up high ledges}}{{cite web|http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Pikmin2_BestEnding_310|2:25 of part 4 of a speedrun|Speed Demos Archive}} This glitch is only possible in ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'', as well as their ''New Play Control!'' and Nintendo Switch ports.

With the added distance of the trick comes added throw strength, which, when used towards a wall, can be enough to propel the Pikmin high enough to reach a high ledge. The Pikmin must scrape the wall a bit during the ascending part of their jump in order to make it. The exact amount of contact with the wall depends, and some surfaces (especially when they aren't perfectly vertical) work better than others.

 

In ''Pikmin 2'', Purple Pikmin are especially more likely to make it up these ledges. This is because while other Pikmin have the peak of their throw arc be midway between the leader and cursor, a Purple Pikmin's throw arc has the peak be at the cursor. This means they are thrown farther by the leader, even though normally they don't go any farther than the cursor since they stop mid-air to pound. This stop can't happen if the Purple Pikmin is thrown against the wall, though the extra speed will still be used, to great effect.

Interestingly, there are a few ways to throw [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] even higher or further, in {{npcp1}} and {{npcp2}}. It depends on the type and the way the Pikmin is thrown. The following tricks do not have any known uses at the moment, however. Also, they do not work in ''Pikmin'' nor ''Pikmin 2'', only the Wii ports.

 

 

 

 

In {{p3d}}, if the player is repeatedly pressing the throw button quickly enough, when they run out of Pikmin of the current standby type and the next type is [[bomb rock]]s, the game will quickly swap to the next type over instead. Possibly as a result of this, if the player holds a non-bomb Rock Pikmin, then swaps types while holding until they select bomb rocks, throwing that Pikmin and then quickly pressing the throw button again will make the game swap to the next type, causing the player to hold or even throw a non-bomb Rock Pikmin.{{cite web|https://twitter.com/EspyoPT/status/1333845362050625536|Twitter video|Twitter|published={{date|1|December|2020}}|retrieved={{date|1|December|2020}}}} Care should be taken as to not throw unarmed Pikmin into an active bomb. Giving a small pause between the next throw, or simply swapping to bomb rocks without holding a Pikmin allows the player to throw several bombs without this risk.

Interestingly, [[maturity|flower]] Pikmin twirl after they reach the apex of a throw arc in {{p1}} and {{p2}}, and this results in them falling slower. It also results in the Pikmin losing some horizontal momentum, and ending up closer to the leader compared to a leaf or bud. [[Purple Pikmin]], regardless of maturity, do a pound instead and no twirl.

In ''Pikmin 3'', leaders and Pikmin cannot be thrown while standing on an enemy corpse. This is likely to prevent the player from going [[out of bounds]] by using the corpse to reach higher, normally inaccessible areas. However, they can be thrown while standing on a [[pellet]], although this is difficult because the leaders will automatically slide off of the pellet.{{cite youtube|-A1tsYfNw28|of a speedrun where leaders are thrown from a pellet|published={{date|4|November|2020}}|retrieved={{date|10|July|2023}}|m=40|s=0}}

! Type

| [[Purple Pikmin]]

| [[Yellow Pikmin]]

| Other Pikmin

In the ''[[Super Smash Bros. series|Super Smash Bros.]]'' series, Olimar's forward-special move is called "Pikmin Throw". When used, the next Pikmin in line is grabbed and instantly thrown forward, where it may land on the ground and rejoin the group some seconds later, or latch onto an opponent, where it will cause damage until it falls off. The type of Pikmin determines the damage caused and the throw arc. Yellow Pikmin are thrown at a higher arc, Purple Pikmin are thrown a very short distance, and White Pikmin are thrown very fast and far. [[Red Pikmin]] cause strong fire damage, [[Yellow Pikmin]] cause electrical moderate damage, [[Blue Pikmin]] cause regular damage and [[White Pikmin]] cause high poison damage. [[Purple Pikmin]] do not latch on, but instead, knock the opponent away.

Only the Olimar player can throw Pikmin in ''Pikmin Adventure''. When they have a Pikmin nearby, they will grab it and toss it right away. To toss a Pikmin, the player must tap on the target on the GamePad. If the Mii Pikmin are stacked atop the leader, they can be thrown all at the same time by the latter.

*In ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'', Pikmin in mid-throw retain their position and velocity when a cutscene is triggered. In ''Pikmin 3'' however, cutscenes often involve a leader speaking in a paused world; these cutscenes behave differently than most, and when gameplay resumes, thrown Pikmin still retain their position but not their forward velocity. They fall to the ground idle, which can put the player at a disadvantage if they were combating an enemy before the cutscene started.