Onion
Here is the page about Pikmin Onions. If you were looking for the treasure in Perplexing Pool, see Onion Replica.
Onions are the large, round life forms that act as nests for the Pikmin. There are three known types of Onion nests, each with unique coloration corresponding to either Red, Yellow, or Blue Pikmin, and only one of each has ever been seen. As of Pikmin 2, subterranean species such as Purple Pikmin, White Pikmin and Bulbmin do not have Onions.
In Pikmin 3, all discovered onions merge together the night after they are discovered, and become a single, universal Onion, greatly simplifying the management of Pikmin types at the beginning of each day.
Onions require light, as in Pikmin 3, the Yellow Onion did not activate until a nearby light source was turned on, even when approached. It also appears that the Onions in Pikmin 3 are much more malleable than their Pikmin and Pikmin 2 counterparts in regards to which Pikmin species they will hold. In Pikmin 3, you discover a new Onion color and leave that new color of Pikmin at your landing site instead of at their home Onion, the Master Onion at the landing site will accommodate them until the Onion Fusion at the end of the day.
Appearance
Pikmin and Pikmin 2
These bulbous plant-hives have brightly colored bodies with a black and white band across the midsection. On the top, there is a big flower, resembling the flowers that Pikmin have. There are concentric circles on the ground in the Onion landing spots in each area, which are never referred to in-game. Three stilt-like legs suspend the Onions out of the reach of hungry predators, and provide access to the inside for Pikmin. In Pikmin, Olimar states that he inspected the Onion's legs, and saw they were covered with tiny little hairs, possibly to help the Pikmin climb out.
Onions have different appearances before they are discovered. They are darker in coloration, have no flowers on top, and are partly buried. When Captain Olimar approaches them, they explode with color, and the flower blooms and spins rapidly, pulling out the legs.
Pikmin 3
In Pikmin 3, Onions appear as small, berry-like objects with three black-metallic "joints". Out of these joints come 3, glowing root-like legs which allow the Onion to stand. At night, the legs completely retract and blue flames burst out of the "joints", allowing the Onion to lift off into the night sky.
When multiple Onions are discovered, they fuse together to become an even larger universal Onion that swirls different colors, depending on the type of Pikmin it holds. When all 5 Pikmin types in the game are discovered, the Onion swells up into a more traditional Onion-like shape. Standing underneath it brings up an "Onion GUI" that allows the player to pick the type and amount of Pikmin they'd like to bring out onto the field. If you hold the Z button while pulling out Pikmin, it will pull out Pikmin equally for all types.
The new onions also display their characteristic element upon activation:
Upon Activation:
Red - Spews Flames
Yellow - Generates Electricity
Blue - Leaks Water
Pink - Flaps Petals Erratically
Grey- Creates a "Thump"
Behavior
During the daytime Pikmin hunt and bring food, such as pellets or animal carcasses, to the Onion, which in turn produces new Pikmin seeds. If there are fewer than 100 Pikmin on the field, the seeds are ejected and take root in the ground, but if not they are stored inside the Onion, along with any other Pikmin not on the field. In the first two games, when night falls and all the Pikmin have returned, the Onion folds its legs and lifts off from the ground, presumably using its flower petals like rotor blades to propel itself into the low atmosphere, where it hovers until daybreak. In Pikmin 3, when it's ready to lift off, it retracts its legs back into its base and lifts off through a jet coming from the same chute it absorbs pellets and enemies the Pikmin gather. If an Onion loses all of its Pikmin, or if no Pikmin are capable of returning, it will produce a single seed the following day to prevent extinction.
When the Onions were first discovered in Pikmin, they were dormant. They had a dark grayish color, were flowerless, and their legs were buried in the ground until Olimar came upon them, at which point they sprang to life and spat out a single seed. It is not known exactly what triggers this hibernation, though it's possible that a loss of Pikmin or food shortage may prompt the Onion to become dormant until conditions improve.
This behavior was examined yet again in Pikmin 3, where all Onions are found dormant. However, it seems that Onion dormancy does not hinder their awareness, as the Red Onion and Pink Onions are seen struggling to dislodge themselves from the traps they are found in. The Winged and Blue Pikmin species seemed to have been entirely extincted by the point the game began, as they are the only two species who's Onions had to sprout more of when they were reactivated. It is unknown exactly what triggers dormancy in Onions, since the Red, Yellow, and Grey Onions were all found inactive despite the presence of their Pikmin still somewhere on the field.
Types
Red Onion
The Red Onion is the first Onion to be discovered in all three games. In Pikmin, the Red Onion is found at The Impact Site, dormant in the ground not far from where the S.S. Dolphin crashed. Once awakened, it will release a single Red Pikmin seed which Olimar can use to harvest nearby red Pellet Posies and spawn enough Pikmin to retrieve the Main Engine. In Pikmin 2, Louie finds this Onion in the Valley of Repose when he falls out of The Ship's cockpit and gets lost. In Pikmin 3 the Red Onion is discovered when Alph comes upon it caught in a branch at Tropical Wilds.
Yellow Onion
The Yellow Onion is the second Onion that the player comes across in the first two games. In Pikmin, it is found dormant in The Forest of Hope amidst several yellow Pellet Posies and free-standing yellow pellets. In Pikmin 2, the Yellow Onion is located in the Perplexing Pool behind a poison gate protected by a Fiery Bulblax, so White Pikmin and Red Pikmin are required to reach it. There are a few yellow Pellet Posies nearby which will not regrow once they've been harvested. In Pikmin 3 the Yellow Onion is discovered in a cave as soon as you get to the Distant Tundra.
Blue Onion
In Pikmin, it can be found in The Forest Navel in a pool near the landing site, and is the third Onion the player discovers. Several blue Pellet Posies are in the immediate vicinity, as well as a free-standing blue 5 pellet. In Pikmin 2, the blue Onion is located in the Awakening Wood; although it can be seen relatively early in the game, it lies behind an electric gate, meaning that Yellow Pikmin from the Perplexing Pool are required to access it. A small pool blocks the only direct path up to the gate, so the Pikmin must be thrown onto a nearby ledge (while taking care not to disturb the Cloaking Burrow-nit lying in wait there). The Captain can then walk around through some water to reach them, and order them to defeat the beast and demolish the gate, allowing him to find the game's first 5 Blue Pikmin. In Pikmin 3 the blue onion is located at the Garden of Hope and can only be accessed after defeating the Scornet Maestro at Twilight River.
For some unknown reason, in Pikmin and Pikmin 2 when landing in an area, the blue onion seems to hover a bit before landing, therefore landing slower than the Red Onion and Yellow Onion.
Master Onion
In Pikmin 3, Onions fuse together at the end of the day to form a larger, universal "Master Onion" that holds all Pikmin types. The Master Onion seems to have a clear sphere of some material (that seems to also stretch) with fluid inside that each Pikmin color seems to live inside the particular color of their type. The more Pikmin types it holds, the more colors it displays on its surface, along with a more elaborate striped pattern on its midsection. Aside from its appearance, it functions the same as a normal Onion from the previous two games. By pressing Z on the Onion menu, an equal amount of each type of Pikmin currently discovered will come out of the Onion. This explains why there is only one landing zone compared to the previous game which had three landing zones.
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At the end of Pikmin, there is a rather confusing scene where fourteen Onions, of colors that have not appeared in a Pikmin game so far, fly above the Planet of the Pikmin. It is unknown whether they are trying to follow Captain Olimar or merely hovering for the night. This could mean that more colors may yet be introduced in a future Pikmin game.
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In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Brawl, the 3 original Onions appear as a trophy and on the "Distant Planet" stage. Here, when a pellet is thrown into one, an item is ejected. More items appear if the pellet and Onion have the same color, similar to the way it works in the Pikmin games. The Onions can also be hit, and will eventually fly away if hit too much. If they are undisturbed, they'll still eventually fly away.
The Onion also has a randomly occurring trophy. The description reads:
"Items considered to be the places where Pikmin are born. As to the actual biology of the process, much is still unclear. Onions absorb the prey that Pikmin capture and use it to produce new Pikmin. In addition, Onions can take in Pikmin and later release them. These organisms are crowned with distinctive propeller- like sets of leaves that spin around, enabling them to fly."
2-P Battle
In Pikmin 2 the red and blue onions appear as bases in 2-P battle. Here they act slightly different: They are under ground, they can't store extra Pikmin and captains cannot take Pikmin out or put them in. It also spit out the same amount of Pikmin lost to enemy Pikmin without nutrients. In Pikmin 2, Player 1 gets a Red Onion, while Player 2 gets a Blue Onion. In Pikmin 3, Player 1 gets a Cyan-colored Onion that pulses yellow, and Player 2 gets a Pink-colored Onion that pulses orange.
Gallery
A Red Onion.
A Yellow Onion.
A Blue Onion.
A Red Onion as seen in Pikmin 2.
A Yellow Onion as seen in Pikmin 2.
A Blue Onion as seen in Pikmin 2.
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A Red Onion as seen in Pikmin 3.
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A Grey Onion as seen in Pikmin 3.
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A Yellow Onion as seen in Pikmin 3.
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A Pink Onion as seen in Pikmin 3.
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A Blue Onion as seen in Pikmin 3.
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Master Onion phase #1
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Master Onion phase #2
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Master Onion phase #3
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The Master Onion in Pikmin 3.
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The Red Onion beginning to absorb the Grey Onion while rising after nightfall. Notice the chute glowing as if it's receiving nutrients.
The Bingo Battle Onions in Pikmin 3.
The Onion's GUI in Pikmin 3.
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The Master Onion seen from below.
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The Pink Onion caught in an Arachnode's web.
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Red Onion with Red Pikmin sprites.
Trivia
- When Captain Olimar first came upon the Red Onion in Pikmin, he was knocked over by one of the legs as it sprang out of the ground. When he finds the other two later on in the game, he is a little more cautious and backs away.
- The coding in Pikmin 2 revealed that the Onions were originally planned to have a "booting up" cutscene, just as they did in the first game. The cutscene was complete with its own animation, music, and dialogue.
- The only flaw is the light coming out is still visible even when the Onion is dormant.
- In the first Pikmin game, if you press down on the D-pad, (2 for New Play Control!) Captain Olimar will lay down, and 4 Pikmin can carry him to their Onion. When Olimar is abducted by the Onion, he bounces off the Onion, and fireworks come out of the flower instead of Pikmin seeds.
- During story mode of Pikmin 3, Onions are discovered as perfectly round and small, but when they fuse together, they swell up into a bulbous shape reminiscent of the original Onion designs.
- The Master Onion could be a result of evolutionary change so Pikmin colonies require less space.
- The Onions in Pikmin 3 (as well as the Candypop Buds) appear to be more mechanical in appearance than their previous incarnations.
- If the player looks up at the Master Onion in Pikmin 3 with the KopPad, one can see what appear to be solar panel-like cells on its petals.
- Alph mentions in a log entry that the swirling colors of the Master Onion may actually be the Pikmin themselves, stored in a simpler, fluid form for easier storage.