Day

To do: This article has a lot of fuzzy numbers. Use exact times. Care to do so?

The Pikmin games take place over the course of several days. Dangerous creatures roam at nighttime, so exploration on the Pikmin planet only happens during the daytime, from 7 AM to 7 PM. In Pikmin, Captain Olimar has 30 days before his life-support systems fail and he's stranded on the planet permanently, and in the New Play Control! version, it's possible to go back and redo any day. In Pikmin 2 there is no day limit. In Pikmin 3 the number of days left is determined by how many bottles of fruit juice are left, and the player is also given the ability to restart from a previous day. A common challenge run in the Pikmin games is to complete the game taking the least amount of days possible.

The Sun Meter at the top of the HUD indicates the amount of daylight left, so effectively, the time the player has left on the current day. A number on the top right corner indicates the current day. In real life, a game day lasts around 13 to 16 minutes, varying slightly per game. In Pikmin's Challenge Mode though, every area has its own duration. As the day goes by, the lighting on the area changes much like it does on Earth, but enemy behavior and area layout remains constant all throughout.

Any objects that are moved from their original spot will remain in the new spot on any following day. When a smaller enemy is killed, it respawns in its original place on the very next day. This is not true for larger enemies like Red Bulborbs, which take more days to respawn. Some enemies only appear in certain days. Some of the most notable enemies with this characteristic are the Smoky Progg, which disappears after day 14, the Ujadani, that only appear every 30 days, and the Goolix and Mamuta on The Impact Site, that appear in alternating days. For a list of all enemies that appear in exclusive days, please read the list of enemies on the corresponding area article.

Sunset

The Sun Meter in each Pikmin game.

When the sunset arrives, all leaders and Pikmin must stop what they're doing, retreat into the Onions and ship, and spend the night in space, due to the fact that many predators become active at night.

Phases

Countdown

Some minutes before the sun is down, the ship will warn that the player needs to gather their Pikmin. During this time, the music changes to a calmer remix. After some seconds (around 42 in Pikmin, around 32 in Pikmin 2) a countdown from 10 takes place. The time interval between two digits is around 3 seconds in both games, totaling for around 36 seconds in Pikmin, and around 30 seconds in Pikmin 2, until the countdown reaches 0. In Pikmin, after the counter reaches 4, the player is no longer able to interact with the S.S. Dolphin. In Pikmin 3, the warning instead comes 2 circles from sunset on the Meter. In Pikmin 3, there is a small counter that will go near the top of the screen, alerting the player of idle Pikmin. On the KopPad, what types of Pikmin that are idle are displayed near the top of the map, along with how many. The Pikmin that are working or idle also appear flashing on the KopPad.

Gathering

When the countdown finishes, two cinematic sequences take place. The first shows the captain dismissing and ordering every Pikmin to get on their Onions or ship. All Pikmin under the control of a captain and idle ones near the ship and Onions will climb safely into their respective Onion or ship. Any Pikmin that are buried will remain buried in the same spot, and can be plucked on another day. Any Pikmin that is near an Onion, but away from the landing site will still climb to their Onion, despite not being shown. After everyone is apparently gathered, the captain(s) climb on board of the ship.

During this cinematic, a song plays that's a bit different in both games. In Pikmin, it's a bit slow, and has a part that repeats twice. The cutscene also takes a bit longer. In Pikmin 2, there are 4 songs that can play during this cinematic:

• If the player obtained no treasure, a simple and quiet remix of the main "end of day" theme plays.
• If the player has obtained some funds, the regular song takes place.
• A third, more upbeat version of the song will play when the player has collected 50 or 90% of the debt.
• The final theme plays when both leaders are down or a Pikmin extinction occurs. It's a sad and lower-beat version of the main "end of day" theme.

Lift off

The S.S. Drake and the Onion lifting off in Pikmin 3.

The second cinematic shows the ship preparing for lift off, while wild creatures draw near. If any Pikmin were left behind, they'll be shown running towards the ship in an attempt to be saved. However, it is too late, and the wandering enemies will quickly dispose of them. The ship then takes off, and the stats for that day are shown. This is when the player may save the game, and read the Voyage Log or mail. The following is a list of enemies that appear in each area in Pikmin and Pikmin 3, given that in Pikmin 2, the game picks randomly from the enemies that can appear in the area, with more Pikmin left behind resulting in more enemies:

• The Impact Site: Red Bulborbs.
• The Forest of Hope: Red Bulborbs.
• The Forest Navel: Wollywogs.
• The Distant Spring: Shearwigs.
• The Final Trial: Red Bulborbs.

• Tropical Wilds: Whiptongue Bulborb.
• Garden of Hope: Red Bulborb.
• Distant Tundra: Spotty Bulbear.
• Twilight River: Orange Bulborb.
• Formidable Oak: Red Bulborb.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

This article or section is a short summary on the Final Smash. SmashWiki features more in-depth content.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Olimar's Final Smash is called End of Day. It shows Olimar jumping into his ship then rocketing off into space as night approaches. The stage below becomes infested with mature Bulborbs that deal heavy damage to foes; following this, the ship crashes and explodes, hurting all nearby enemies. Strangely, Pikmin will be left behind and are immune to the predators, but not to other players.

Trophy description

"Olimar's Final Smash. Dusk falls, and his spaceship makes a landing. Olimar takes the Onion, with all his Pikmin aboard, and blasts off for the stars. In Pikmin, native life-forms grew active and violent at night, making it lethal to remain on the surface—this is why Olimar would take his Onions and leave at night. This technique breaks the framework of the game."

Daylight

To do: Make a Pikmin 3 animation and confirm the Pikmin 3 claims. Care to do so?

As time goes by, the daylight changes much as it would on Earth, with the area being slightly foggy during the morning, the most lit during the middle of the day, and darker near the night.

In Pikmin, the shadows under Pikmin and Olimar point to different directions as the day goes by. At the start of the day, they point to the southwest, at midday, to the south, and near the end, to the southeast. This is similar to sun-cast shadows on planet Earth, given that the sun rises on the east (and hence, the shadows are cast to the west), and sets on the west.

In the first game, in order to avoid rendering too many shadows at once and slowing the game down, Pikmin shadows are completely omitted if there are 51 or more Pikmin on the field. In Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, this limit does not exist, but shadows do not change direction as the day progresses, and are cast directly under the leader or Pikmin.

• 

  Animation demonstrating the daylight as a day goes by, in Pikmin.

• 

  Same as the previous animation, but for Pikmin 2.

Gallery

This article or section is in need of more images. You can help Pikipedia by uploading some images.

• 

  The sunset in Pikmin 2.

Trivia

• The sunset cutscenes cannot be skipped in the US version of Pikmin, but they can in the European version.
• In the Wistful Wild at sunset, a Gatling Groink can shoot at and damage the leaders. They cannot be knocked down with this method, whoever.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Portuguese (NoE)	Dia	Day	Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual.

See also

• Hazards
• Area