Mushroom Pikmin

A Mushroom Pikmin.

Mushroom Pikmin (キノコピクミン^?, also colloquially known as Puffmin by fans) is the name given to Pikmin that are under the control of a Puffstool. After being showered with spores, infected Pikmin will make a small aggressive sound and will change in appearance and behavior. This Pikmin status only appears in the first Pikmin game – in Pikmin 4, Pikmin are instead controlled when showered with Puffstool spores.

The spores of the Puffstool cause affected Pikmin to morph into a strange form. Their eyes become pupil-less and dead-looking, their skin turns a dark shade of purple and an orange-brown mushroom cap grows on top of their stem. Their type's special physical characteristics, such as the noses, ears and gills are also gone; instead, they receive a small, triangular, slit-like frown.

Behavior

Mushroom Pikmin will follow Captain Olimar when he is in range and attack him while making an unusual sound that resembles menacing laughter. They do minimal damage and can be shaken off if the player rocks  / . Once detached, a Pikmin will lay down for a while, sit down and slowly revert to its original form, after which it'll start obeying Olimar again. If Captain Olimar moves too far from the Mushroom Pikmin or their host Puffstool, they will stop chasing him and dance around the Puffstool.

Mushroom Pikmin will only ever attack Olimar, but normal Pikmin will automatically attack Mushroom Pikmin. When attacked in this manner, the Mushroom Pikmin will either return to normal or simply die, chosen at random. It's recommended to keep them away from regular Pikmin, as it will likely result in a large loss of numbers.

If any Pikmin are left as Mushroom Pikmin after sunset, they will always die (even within the Onion's range). They will not show up in the sunset cutscene, and their deaths will be marked as "Lost in Battle". This can be seen by having Olimar run out of health, wherein all Mushroom Pikmin on the field will instantly turn into ghosts. In the New Play Control! version of the game, however, they will actually revert to their original form and become sprouts.

Mushroom Pikmin each have the same stats as they did before they were infected, including attack power and resistance to hazards (but not speed). If a Mushroom Pikmin strays into a hazard, it will still be unresponsive to the whistle and will almost certainly die. Other enemies will still attack Mushroom Pikmin as they would a normal Pikmin. In The Distant Spring's Challenge Mode stage, Mushroom Pikmin that are buried by a Mamuta will also revert and be planted as flower Pikmin sprouts.

Glitches

A white Mushroom Pikmin next to a regular Mushroom Pikmin.

Main articles: Rebel Mushroom Pikmin and Controlling Mushroom Pikmin.

• If Pikmin are knocked to the ground at the same time they are hit with the Puffstool's spores, then upon standing up, the Pikmin will change into Mushroom Pikmin, but their skin will become a pale version of the color they were before they became Mushroom Pikmin, and their mushroom will glow as if they are idle. These Pikmin will turn upon the Puffstool, attacking it as if they were still under the player's control.

• If Pikmin are left idle by the Puffstool and called at the exact moment the creature inverts its cap (just before it blows its spores), the Pikmin may become glitched Mushroom Pikmin and rush to Olimar's side immediately after. These Mushroom Pikmin cannot be thrown, whistled, or dismissed, although they will carry pellets and go into the Onion. When they finish carrying the pellet or get called out of the Onion again, they will revert to their normal form.

• If a Mushroom Pikmin attacking Olimar gets set on fire, it will burn, and even die, while still attached.

• Mushroom Pikmin can still latch on to Olimar while he is lying down and invincible. They will continue attacking even as Olimar is carried. A large amount of Mushroom Pikmin can be moved back to the landing site this way.

Naming

The Mushroom Pikmin's English name is never stated, but its Japanese name comes from a collection of Pikmin suction cup figurines released in 2002, and is a combination of キノコ^? (lit.: "mushroom") and ピクミン^? (lit.: "Pikmin"). Its internal name is kinoko, which is the Japanese word for mushroom.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	キノコピクミン? Kinoko Pikumin	Mushroom Pikmin

Gallery

• 

  Prerelease photo of Olimar and some Mushroom Pikmin.

Trivia

• These Pikmin were made into stickers, buttons, and plastic figures attached to lanyards and suction cups to promote the sale of Pikmin.
• It normally takes a total of 200 hits from Mushroom Pikmin to take Captain Olimar down.
• When idle via the aforementioned glitch, the Pikmin are white with a bright red mushroom cap that doesn't glow like the other Pikmin.
• Mushroom Pikmin, alongside Bulbmin and Glow Pikmin, are featured on the Japanese "Pikmin Garden" website, being described as "not quite Pikmin".
• Two enemies in Pikmin 4, the Moldy Dwarf Bulborb and Moldy Slooch, are similar to Mushroom Pikmin in that they are controlled by fungi growing on their bodies. These fungi come from the Toxstool, which is related to the Puffstool in that both species (and the Toxstool-controlled enemies by extension) belong to the sporovid family.