Rock Pikmin

Rock Pikmin
Resistance	Crush, stab
Attack strength	:  Strong (damage values depend, see here) :  Strong
Mobility	Average
Throw	Average
Digging speed	Fast (≈2× the norm)
Carrying capacity	:  1 :  1 :  3

Rock Pikmin (岩ピクミン^?) are a species of Pikmin first featured in Pikmin 3, with the special abilities of crush and stab immunity and a different method of attacking. They resemble small polished rocks with Pikmin eyes and limbs, and have lavender buds and flowers like the Winged Pikmin. The main part of their bodies seem to be a gray texture of graphite that reflects light, whereas their stems, arms, and legs appear to be smooth and gray. When Rock Pikmin are dismissed, their sprouts glow gray. Their ghosts are also shaped like small gray rocks with eyes. Just like all other types of Pikmin in Pikmin 3, Rock Pikmin have an Onion, which later in the story merges with the Master Onion, and are reproduced through collecting nutrients from pellets and corpses. In Hey! Pikmin, like all other types they are found in certain levels and go to the Pikmin Park after a level is done.

Traits and abilities

The Rock Pikmin showing their resistance to crushing.

Rock Pikmin, like most Pikmin types, are immune to specific hazards, in this case crushing and stabbing. When crushed by a large object, they are simply driven into the ground and become partially buried temporarily. When a creature with a sharp proboscis tries to impale them, they are simply knocked back without taking damage. This immunity has been removed in Hey! Pikmin, as proven by the Crystalline Crushblat.

Rock Pikmin have very hard exteriors, which allows them to smash through crystal walls, standalone crystals, and even the armor of larger animals (like the Armored Mawdad and the Peckish Aristocrab's claw). However, they do not sink in water, and are thrown just as far as most Pikmin types, revealing that they do not weigh much.

This hardness causes Rock Pikmin to behave very differently in combat to other types. When thrown towards an enemy or obstacle, they will bounce off and roll backwards. This deals a large amount of damage that depends on the creature, but it can be enough to defeat some smaller enemies, like Dwarf Bulborbs or Skutterchucks, in a single hit. Since they cannot latch onto enemies, they will repeatedly attack enemies and obstacles by charging head-on into them, rolling backwards, and getting up again, doing less damage over time than other Pikmin types due to the lower attack rate, despite the fact that each hit done in this way causes 20 points of damage, more than any type per attack. In the original Pikmin 3, when Rock Pikmin are told to charge, they cause even less damage when they lunge, serving only 10 points of damage, but only on the first hit, as subsequent hits cause 20 damage again.

As such, the best way to attack with Rock Pikmin is to have leaders throw them, which causes more damage than a regular lunge, and to whistle them to get up from lying down faster. That said, if they are thrown at the root of a Burgeoning Spiderwort and not directly on its berries, are told to attack the Shaggy Long Legs's hair, or are attacking another Pikmin in Bingo Battle, they will cling on like the other Pikmin types, and they won't lunge (they will lunge when attacking a leader in Bingo Battle, though).

In Pikmin 3

Discovery

The Rock Onion encased in crystal.

In Pikmin 3, the Rock Pikmin are discovered in the Garden of Hope, and are the second type discovered. They are found in a cave located north of the landing site. Residing in this cave is a Medusal Slurker that contains 6 Rock Pikmin. After defeating it, the player can use the newly-discovered Pikmin species to free the Rock Onion from a large crystal. After propagating some more Rock Pikmin, they can be used to break down the crystal wall outside of the cave and free Brittany. At the end of the day, the Rock Onion will merge with the Red Onion. Interestingly, a few of the Rock Pikmin inside the Slurker will have a bud on top of their stem while others will have the usual leaf.

Required uses

Rock Pikmin are required to be used to complete the following tasks, and there are no glitches or exploits that allow other Pikmin types to do so.

• Fruits
  •  Face Wrinkler (Garden of Hope): A crystal wall directly blocks access to this fruit, and no bomb rocks are present in the area.
  •  Searing Acidshock (Garden of Hope, inside the crystal): This fruit is encased in a crystal, and no bomb rocks are present in the area.
  •  Sunseed Berry (Garden of Hope, near the fragments): Same as the Face Wrinkler
• Enemies
  •  Quaggled Mireclops: The crystal on the head must be destroyed to finish the first phase of the battle.
• Other
  • Brittany: To rescue Brittany, a crystal wall must be destroyed with Rock Pikmin.
  • Northern section of the Garden of Hope: A crystal wall blocks this section of the area with 4 fruits and a boss, but since the wall is so close to the landing site, this wall will not be counted for the items it blocks.

Near-required uses

The following tasks are intended to be completed with Rock Pikmin, but it is technically possible to complete them without Rock Pikmin, by using alternate strategies, exploits, or bomb rocks.

• Fruits
  •  Blonde Impostor: This fruit is encased in a crystal. It is possible to destroy the crystal with bomb rocks.
  •  Dapper Blob (Twilight River): This fruit is encased in a crystal. It is possible to destroy the crystal with bomb rocks.
  •  Disguised Delicacy (Distant Tundra): This fruit is encased in a crystal. It is possible to destroy the crystal with bomb rocks.
  •  Fire-Breathing Feast: This piece of fruit is located inside the Armored Mawdad. Although leaders can defeat the creature by punching it (even with its armor), using Rock Pikmin is much faster.
  •  Searing Acidshock (Tropical Wilds): This fruit is inside a Calcified Crushblat, and while Grey Candypop Buds are nearby, it's possible to avoid using them.
  •  Sunseed Berry (Distant Tundra): This fruit is in a section of the area behind a crystal wall. It's possible to enter the arena from above and use Winged Pikmin to carry the fruit, or to use bomb rocks to destroy the wall.
  •  Zest Bomb (Distant Tundra): This fruit is encased in a crystal. It is possible to destroy the crystal with bomb rocks.
• Enemies
  •  Armored Mawdad: Rock Pikmin are needed to destroy the crystal armor, but the creature can be defeated if leaders punch it. Doing this is very slow.
  •  Calcified Crushblat: Although the creature is covered in crystal, a bomb rock can destroy the crystal. Alternatively, Winged Pikmin can charge at its feet, removing the need to take out the crystal.
• Obstacles
  •  Crystal wall: Crystal walls can be destroyed with bomb rocks, but it is much easier and more efficient to use Rock Pikmin.
  •  Crystal: Like crystal walls, it is much easier and more efficient to use Rock Pikmin instead of bomb rocks.

Recommended uses

Rock Pikmin are not required to complete the following tasks, but they are recommended as they make the task easier.

• Fruits
  •  Scaly Custard (Garden of Hope): This fruit is held by a Peckish Aristocrab, and so Rock Pikmin allow it to be obtained more easily.
• Enemies
  •  Joustmite: This enemy's only attack is stabbing Pikmin, which Rock Pikmin are immune to.
  •  Peckish Aristocrab: The claw can be destroyed to make it unable to eat Pikmin, but this is not necessary.
  •  Plasm Wraith: The crystal Elemental Plasms it releases can be destroyed by Rock Pikmin, but destroying them is not needed to win the fight. Its main attack, where it stabs and eats Pikmin, will not affect Rock Pikmin.
  •  Skutterchuck: With Rock Pikmin, this enemy can be defeated with 2 quick throws, and the type is also immune from being crushed by the crystal nodules.
  •  Yellow Wollywog: This enemy's only attack is crushing Pikmin, which Rock Pikmin are immune to.
  •  Shaggy Long Legs: Rock Pikmin are extremely helpful in this fight as they are immune to being crushed and they can climb up the Shaggy Long Legs.
• Obstacles
  •  Dirt wall: Rock Pikmin are faster at destroying these walls than any other Pikmin type.

Technical information

Rock Pikmin will deal a different amount of damage to objects, depending on what kind of attack they performed:

• They deal 20 damage when lunging by themselves.
• They cause 10 damage on a charge's first attack.
• There is no set amount of damage when they are thrown, as the game only counts the total amount of direct Rock Pikmin impacts needed to kill a creature (refer to each enemy article's "Technical information" section for more information). When calculating their damage output throughout the different creatures in the game, they cause an average of about 57 damage.

Interestingly enough, when charging towards a gate, a Rock Pikmin will deal the same amount of damage as when thrown.

In Hey! Pikmin

Discovery

In Hey! Pikmin, Rock Pikmin are first encountered in Crystal Tunnels. After getting his main path blocked by a Crystalline Crushblat, Olimar is forced to enter an alternate path that follows a vertical section, with several large sloped crystals that make him and his squad slowly fall downwards. When seeing his path completely blocked by a crystal wall, some Rock Pikmin at the other side spot him and, in a cutscene, break the crystal to help him continue, just before ultimately joining his team. Various other Rock Pikmin can be obtained over the course of the area, and after getting to the end, all of them will migrate to the Pikmin Park, officially unlocking Rock Pikmin.

Uses

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Hey! Pikmin. Particularly: Write a list of the levels requiring Rock Pikmin.

In Pikmin Bloom

In Pikmin Bloom, Rock Pikmin are the seventh and final Pikmin type obtained, and are unlocked at level 23. They can carry 3 weight units on expeditions, and while their running speed is slower than normal, their carrying speed is faster than normal. They are also stronger in mushroom challenges, with a base damage of 5.2. Their seedlings take the strength of 5 Pikmin to carry and 5000 steps to grow.

Notes

Mission Mode tip

“Rock Pikmin are tough and can cause some serious damage if they land on a target!”

Hey! Pikmin logs

“Is the stony part the Pikmin’s body or just a shell it’s using? I suppose it doesn’t matter. They’re very effective against anything with a hard exterior, but I must be careful not to let them fall on me or the other Pikmin!”

Pikmin Bloom description

“Rock Pikmin are as tough as they come. They can break any crystal or glass with ease.”

In the Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Rock Pikmin are not a part of Olimar's moveset in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but they do appear as a trophy.

3DS trophy

	US description: “These Pikmin are made of solid rock, so they can stand up to a lot of attacks and won't get hurt when they get stepped on. They specialize in body blows, dealing a lot of damage when thrown, and they can also break right through glass and crystal. They can't latch on to other creatures, though. But that's OK—nobody's perfect!”
	EU description: “These Pikmin are made of solid rock, so they can stand up to a lot of attacks and don't get hurt when they get stepped on. They specialise in body blows, dealing a lot of damage when thrown, and they can also break right through glass and crystal. They can't latch on to other creatures, though. But that's OK – nobody's perfect!”
How to obtain: Random appearance.		Type: Fighter

Wii U trophy

	US description: “These Pikmin are made of solid rock, so they can stand up to a lot of attacks and won't get hurt when they get stepped on. They specialize in body blows, dealing a lot of damage when thrown, and they can also break right through glass and crystal. They can't latch on to other creatures, though. But that's OK—nobody's perfect! Appears in: Pikmin 3 (08/2013)”
	EU description: “These Pikmin are made of solid rock, so they can stand up to a lot of attacks and don't get hurt when they get stepped on. They specialise in body blows, dealing a lot of damage when thrown, and they can also break right through glass and crystal. They can't latch on to other creatures, though. But that's OK – nobody's perfect! Related Games Pikmin 3 (07/2013)”
How to obtain: Random appearance.		Type: Series Related	Trophy Box: 60. Pikmin

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rock Pikmin appear as a spirit and can be seen being freed in the True Ending cutscene.

Gallery

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  A few Rock Pikmin in the Garden of Hope.

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  Finding the first Rock Pikmin.

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  Alph throwing Rock Pikmin at a crystal wall to break it.

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  Rock Pikmin breaking a large crystal.

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  A Yellow Wollywog failing to defeat any Rock Pikmin.

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  A Rock Pikmin buried after being crushed.

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  The Medusal Slurker holding some Rock Pikmin.

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  Rock Pikmin viewed from the KopPad.

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  Artwork of the Rock Pikmin from the Official Nintendo Magazine.

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  Concept art of the Rock Pikmin in Pikmin 3.

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  A group of Rock Pikmin in an E3 2012 screenshot.

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  A Rock Pikmin constellation on the day selection screen.

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  The data file explaining Rock Pikmin's crystal-shattering hardness.

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  The data file explaining Rock Pikmin's power upon impact.

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  The data file explaining Rock Pikmin's immunity to crushing.

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  The three stages of a Rock Pikmin.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Pikmin 3 artwork.

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  Artwork of Rock Pikmin walking.

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  Another concept art for the Rock Pikmin.

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  A Rock Pikmin shaking after leaving the water.

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  In-game sprite in Pikmin Bloom.

Trivia

To do: Describe the "crunching" sound better, and note which enemies make the noise and which do not. Care to do so?

• In the happy ending of the first Pikmin game, there are four black or gray Pikmin Onions flying above the planet's atmosphere. These could quite possibly be Rock Pikmin Onions, even though the Onions' appearance in Pikmin 3 has changed.
• In Pikmin Adventure, the Knuckle Seed resembles the ability of Rock Pikmin: a straight and strong impact shot.
• Rock Pikmin release "cracking" particle effects for when they hit breakable objects.
• The stem on a Rock Pikmin's head droops lower than on other Pikmin types.
• Rock Pikmin are the only main Pikmin type not to be utilized by Olimar in the Super Smash Bros. series in any way.
• As seen in this trailer, Rock Pikmin originally had four looks. In the final game, all Rock Pikmin look exactly the same.
• Rock Pikmin make a different sound when eaten: there is a much more noticeable crunching sound. This is easy to hear in the Garden of Hope because a Bulborb is near the landing site.
• Rock Pikmin glow bright red when they are on fire, unlike other Pikmin types.
• Even though they supposedly have a solid body, they still stretch and twist when plucked or when they shake off water.
• After being thrown, Rock Pikmin bounce a little when landing, but this is not the case when they are thrown on a lily pad, an elevator platform, or a cardboard box. This is likely to stop them from falling off.
• Rock Pikmin have bigger leaves, buds, and flowers than other Pikmin types. Purple Pikmin also have this quality.
• Rock Pikmin are the only main Pikmin type to have less than 2 official plushes. Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, and Blue Pikmin have 19 plushes, White Pikmin have 5, Purple Pikmin have 4 and Winged Pikmin have 2, as of July 2022.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	岩ピクミン? Iwa Pikumin	Rock Pikmin
Chinese (traditional)	岩石皮克敏	Rock Pikmin
Chinese (simplified)	岩石皮克敏	Rock Pikmin
Dutch	Rots-Pikmin	Rock Pikmin
French	Pikmin roc	Rock Pikmin
German	Fels-Pikmin	Rock Pikmin
Italian	Pikmin roccioso	Rock Pikmin
Korean	바위피크민 Bawi Pikeumin	Rock Pikmin
Portuguese (NoE)	Pikmin Rocha	Rock Pikmin
Spanish	Pikmin pétreo	Rocky Pikmin
Russian	Каменный пикмин Kamennyy pikmin	Rock Pikmin
Czech	Kamenný Pikmin	Rock Pikmin	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Finnish	Kivi Pikmin	Rock Pikmin	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Hebrew	פיקמין אבן pikmin even	Stone Pikmin	Used in official media
Hungarian	Kő Pikmin	Rock Pikmin	Name taken from Nintendo's official website

See also

• Crush
• Stab
• Purple Pikmin
• Crystal