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Bomb rock

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Artwork of the bomb rock.
Artwork of a bomb rock, from New Play Control! Pikmin.

Bomb rocks (written as bomb-rocks before Pikmin 3) are explosive rocks in the Pikmin games. Upon being activated, a rock's fuse starts going down (represented by a colored wheel), and when it reaches zero, the bomb causes a violent explosion, capable damaging enemies, Pikmin, leaders and some obstacles. In the first and third games, they can be carried by Pikmin, but only by Yellow Pikmin in the former. In Pikmin 2, they are much larger and serve as obstacles instead of tools, with the exception being on the 2-Player Battle stage Hostile Territory, where they can be picked up and thrown by leaders. They can also appear as items in 2-Player Battle and Bingo Battle.

Visually, they look like round rocks with cracks in them, where a yellow and red energy-based flow can be seen. Their sizes span from being a bit smaller than a Pikmin (Pikmin) to being larger than a leader (Pikmin 2); Pikmin 3's size is an in-between of the two other games' sizes.

The explosions can trigger a chain reaction if they hit other bomb rocks. In Pikmin, a bomb rock explosion will instantly make all bomb rocks in the vicinity explode. In Pikmin 2, a bomb rock that gets hit from another's explosion will initiate its countdown, so the chain reaction is rather slow. In Pikmin 3, an explosion triggers a neighboring bomb's explosion in around half a second, resulting in quite a fast chain of explosions.

Uses

A bomb rock exploding in Pikmin 2.
A bomb rock exploding in Pikmin 2.

Bomb rocks can be used in a number of beneficial ways.

Destroying obstacles

In Pikmin and Pikmin 3, there are some reinforced walls that cannot be destroyed with Pikmin attacks like other types of gate. Instead, bomb rocks must be placed, activated, and detonated near them in order to slowly destroy them. Bomb rocks can also be used to destroy other gates, though, although some types are immune. Finally, they can be used to destroy certain other obstacles and objects:

Harming enemies

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If a bomb rock explodes near an enemy, it will damage it, depending on the creature's vulnerabilities. Some enemies can also swallow bomb rocks, to suffer even great damage once they explode inside. To swallow one, an enemy either has to be coaxed into eating a bomb rock lying on the ground, or chomp a bomb rock-carrying Pikmin, depending on the enemy. In Pikmin, the carrier Pikmin will also be eaten and killed, but in Pikmin 3, it merely gets tossed aside while the enemy swallows the isolated bomb rock instead.

The following enemies can eat bomb rocks:

The Emperor Bulblax reacts to bomb-rocks in a different way, in that if they explode on its tongue or inside of it, they will stun it for some time.

Minor uses

  • Bomb rocks in Pikmin 3 can be used to instantly unearth buried fruit.

As obstacles

In Pikmin 2, bomb-rocks cannot be carried by Pikmin, but can be set off by attacking them. They can also spontaneously fall from the ground and instantly activate, and are also produced by Careening Dirigibugs. Volatile Dweevils carry bomb-rocks on their backs, presumably for protection, even though they themselves are killed in the blast. One should never throw Purple Pikmin onto a bomb-rock, as that can cause near-instant detonation, which will likely kill the Pikmin. Bomb-rocks can even be petrified, so one should do that if in peril, but they will not release nectar or spray like many beasts do if destroyed in that state. Petrifying an inactive bomb-rock will also activate it once it breaks free.

Despite being obstacles and hard to control, bomb-rocks in Pikmin 2 can also be used to one's advantage, with the aforementioned uses. Fixed-location bomb rocks are less exploitable, but enemies that can generate bomb-rock explosions can be abused more easily. For instance, one can have a Careening Dirigibug destroy an electrical wire without Pikmin having to be involved.

Controlling

Pikmin

The controls when dealing with bomb-rock-yielding Yellow Pikmin are a bit complex, and varies slightly depending on the console.

GameCube

On the GameCube version of the game, throwing a Pikmin with a bomb-rock will make it stay on the spot, but primed to use the bomb. It is possible to see that the Pikmin is not idle because its stem doesn't glow and its color doesn't become paler. If an enemy is close, the Pikmin will step back and throw the bomb-rock at it. In this state, when called back using the whistle, they'll drop and activate the bomb, and run towards Olimar. If, however, the player wants the Pikmin to join the party without dropping and activating the bomb, they must have Olimar touch the Pikmin directly. Dismissing will cause these Pikmin to go to their own group, but will actually become idle, as seen by their color and stem. In this state, they will also use the bomb when near an enemy, but will no long activate it when whistled.

Wii

In the New Play Control! version, switching to a different Pikmin while holding one (i.e. pressing the B Button on the Wii Remote when holding the A Button on the Wii Remote) will treat Yellow Pikmin as being different from bomb-rock-holding Yellow Pikmin. In addition, Pikmin no longer use the bomb when called to the group, regardless of scenario.

Both games

Pikmin holding bomb-rocks will not interact with objects when the group is moved, and when called to the yellow Onion, Pikmin yielding bomb-rocks will drop the explosives on the ground without igniting them.

Curiously, when a Yellow Pikmin throws a bomb-rock, it'll warn nearby Pikmin to rejoin Olimar in order to stay away from the blast. However, if one throws a bomb-rock-holding Pikmin next to a group of idle Yellow Pikmin, and calls the bomb-rock-yielding Pikmin back with the whistle (i.e. make it drop the bomb-rock), it will not call the idlers.

Pikmin 2

In the 2-Player Battle stage Hostile Territory, bomb-rocks can be picked up and thrown by a leader, which can be used to defeat enemies, or deal a serious blow to the opponent's Pikmin count. To perform this, one merely needs to run into a bomb-rock for around one second, at which point it'll be picked up. Players can then press A / the A Button on the Wii Remote to throw it (the distance is around twice as far as the reach of the GameCube game's cursor), or B / the B Button on the Wii Remote to drop it in place. In both cases, the bomb-rock will be activated. In every other point in the game where bomb-rocks are found, they can be activated by being attacked, provoked (in the case of Volatile Dweevils), or dropped (in the case of Careening Dirigibugs).

Pikmin 3

Controlling the way Pikmin behave with the bomb rocks is much simpler in this game compared to Pikmin – a Pikmin will always keep hold of its bomb until said Pikmin is thrown, in which case it will drop the rock exactly where it landed. When dismissed, any bomb rock-wielding Pikmin will separate from the group of their color, making it easier to get only the bombers. Idle bomb rock Pikmin will not automatically throw their bombs at enemies, like they would in Pikmin, though they still cannot interact with other objects, not even by charging.

Locations

Pikmin

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Bomb-rocks are usually found inside tin cans, pipes, or large animal skulls.

Story mode
Challenge Mode

Pikmin 2

Story mode
Challenge Mode
2-Player Battle
  • Hostile Territory: Many bomb-rocks are littered here. Interestingly, captains can pick up bomb-rocks and use them.

Note: a Volatile Dweevil can appear in any 2-player stage as a roulette item.

Pikmin 3

Story Mode
  • Tropical Wilds: Bomb rocks appear very frequently here. They are found in the following locations:
    • 2 are found directly west of the landing site, inside of a dirt mound.
    • 2 are found near the waterfall to the east of the landing site, inside of a dirt mound, and 1 is found exposed next to them.
    • 3 are found in the northern section of the Shaggy Long Legs arena, inside of a dirt mound.
    • 3 are found in the cave containing a Medusal Slurker that holds a Juicy Gaggle, inside of various eggs.
  • Distant Tundra: A pile of 10 bomb rocks is found within a cave filled with Dwarf Bulbears, Fiery Blowhogs, and one Spotty Bulbear. They are intended to help defeat the Bulbear, but can cause a devastating explosion due to the amount of bomb rocks in the pile.
  • Twilight River: Four are found on top of a can near the Puffy Blowhog, but they require either Yellow Pikmin or Winged Pikmin to reach them due to their height.
  • Formidable Oak: Three are found in a dirt mound enclosed by a crystal wall near the start of the cave complex. Another three are located in another dirt mound, this one behind a dirt wall in the portion of the first room that contains the fragments.

Mine

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Mines are Bingo Battle exclusive explosives that attach to anything. They act similar to bomb rocks in the way that Pikmin carry them, and they can explode. This item is most commonly obtained from a roulette spin, which can be caused by retrieving a Cupid's Grenade, but can also be found on layout C of the Jigsaw Colosseum. When the "mine" roulette wheel item is used, a mine spawns near the player's group, and at that point, the player can issue a Pikmin to pick it up. The Pikmin can then be thrown at the ground, a wall, a fruit, or anything else, and where it touches, the mine will stick. From this point on, the mine will be armed, and will detonate whenever a leader nears by. If there is a mine on a fruit or any carriable object, and that object is brought to an Onion without the mine blowing up, the explosive will slide off and fall on the ground.

The mine resembles a metal barrel with a light on top. This light is green when the mine is unarmed. When it sticks onto something, the light will turn yellow, and two yellow lighthouse-like beacon lights will spin around its equator. A "boop" sound can also be heard every second or so. When it detects movement nearby, the light and beacons turn magenta, it beeps faster, and after three seconds, it explodes.

Glitches

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In places where a bomb-rock falls near Mitites, such as sublevel 6 of Bulblax Kingdom, there is a chance of it being launched back into the air if it lands on one, landing somewhere else on the level.

In Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin will sometimes fail to pick up bomb-rocks, and will instead perform their "picking up" animation repeatedly. Whistling them and having them try it again is usually enough to fix the issue.

Technical information

In Pikmin 2, bomb rocks cause 500 points of damage. While the values for Pikmin and Pikmin 3 are not exactly known, observation indicates that the bombs are just as strong in Pikmin, and are even stronger in Pikmin 3.

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name bomb
Global properties (List)
ID Japanese comment Property Value
s000 friction(not used) Friction 0.5
s001 wallReflection Unknown (wall bounce speed multiplier?) 0.5
s002 faceDirAdjust Unknown 0.25
s003 accel Acceleration 0.1
s004 bounceFactor Unknown (bounce when it hits the ground?) 0.3
fp00 ライフ HP 4.5
fp01 マップとの当り Unknown (related to slopes) 25
fp02 ダメージスケールXZ Horizontal damage scale 0.2
fp03 ダメージスケールY Vertical damage scale 0.25
fp04 ダメージフレーム Damage scale duration 0.35
fp05 質量 Unknown (weight?) 0.5
fp06 速度 Move speed 30
fp08 回転速度率 Rotation acceleration 0.1
fp09 テリトリー Territory radius 300
fp10 ホーム範囲 "Home" radius 30
fp11 プライベート距離 "Private" radius 30
fp12 視界距離 Sight radius 700
fp13 視界角度 FOV 180
fp14 探索距離 Unknown (exploration radius?) 0
fp15 探索角度 Unknown (exploration angle?) 0
fp16 振り払い率 Successful shake rate 1
fp17 振り払い力 Shake knockback 0
fp18 振り払いダメージ Shake damage 0
fp19 振り払い範囲 Shake range 0
fp20 攻撃可能範囲 Unknown (shock attack max range?) 30
fp21 攻撃可能角度 Unknown (shock attack max angle?) 15
fp22 攻撃ヒット範囲 Unknown (attack hit range?) 90
fp23 攻撃ヒット角度 Unknown (attack hit angle?) 15
fp24 攻撃力 Attack damage 10
fp25 視界高 Unknown (height visibility?) 50
fp26 探索高 Unknown (exploration height?) 0
fp27 ライフの高さ HP wheel height 35
fp28 回転最大速度 Rotation speed 10
fp29 警戒時間 Unknown (warning time?) 0
fp30 警戒ライフ Unknown 0
fp31 ライフ回復率 Regeneration rate 0
fp32 LOD半径 Off-camera radius 25
fp33 マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定 Collision processing radius 25
fp34 ピクミンとのあたり Pikmin damage radius 25
fp35 石化時間 Petrification duration 1
fp36 ヒップドロップダメージ Purple Pikmin drop damage 10
fp37 地震気絶確立 Purple Pikmin stun chance 0 (0%)
fp38 地震気絶時間 Purple Pikmin stun time 10
ip01 振り払い打撃A Shake mode 1 – hit count 1
ip02 振り払い張付1 Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement 1
ip03 振り払い打撃B Shake mode 2 – hit count 2
ip04 振り払い張付2 Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement 2
ip05 振り払い打撃C Shake mode 3 – hit count 5
ip06 振り払い張付3 Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement 3
ip07 振り払い打撃D Shake mode 4 – hit count 10
Specific properties
ID Japanese comment Property Value
fp01 敵へのダメージ Enemy damage 500
fp02 爆風範囲高さ+- Unknown (vertical explosion radius?) 50
ip01 ダメージリミット Unknown (max damage multiplier?) 1
ip02 誘爆リミット Unknown 15

Gallery

Trivia

  • It is suggested that Red and Blue Pikmin could once carry bomb rocks along with the Yellow Pikmin in the original Pikmin, as seen in some unused files. All Pikmin gained this ability in Pikmin 3.
  • If a Pikmin is holding a bomb rock when it is called to the Onion, it will leave it beneath the Onion's pillar of light.
  • Bomb-rocks in Pikmin actually shrink and disappear if they touch the water. This can be seen on The Forest Navel where, on the southernmost point of the map, there is a tube with bomb-rocks. If Olimar lies down next to the one outside the tube, closest to the water, he will begin sliding towards the lake and drag the bomb-rock with him.
  • In Pikmin 2, if a bomb rock in a cluster of bomb rocks explodes off-screen, it will not activate the others. This is because off-camera objects have special behaviors.
  • The bomb rocks' look may have been inspired by the real life cypress cones.
  • Pikmin holding bomb rocks in Pikmin 3 will not roll when dodging, but will walk faster to keep up with the dodge.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Flag of France French Bombe rock Bomb-rock
Flag of Portugal Portuguese (NoE) Rocha-bomba Bomb-rock Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual.