Onion
- This article is about the Pikmin nest. For the treasure, see Onion Replica.
Onions (オニヨン?, lit.: "Onion") are the large, round life forms that act as nests for the Pikmin. There are five main types of Onion nests, each with unique coloration corresponding to either Red, Yellow, Blue, Rock and Winged 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. It also appears that the Onions in this game are much more malleable than their Pikmin and Pikmin 2 counterparts in regards to which Pikmin species they will hold. In Pikmin 3, if a new Onion color is discovered, and Pikmin from that new type are left on the landing site at the end of the day, the Master Onion there will accommodate them until the Onions fuse at the end of the day.
In Pikmin 4 it's revealed they are part of the candypop family. Onions merge in this game like in Pikmin 3, but discovered Onions must be manually brought back to the main Onion first. Flarlic can also be brought to the Onion to increase the Pikmin limit.
During the daytime, Pikmin hunt and bring food, such as pellets or slain beasts, to the Onion, which in turn produces new Pikmin seeds. If there are fewer Pikmin on the field than the allowed Pikmin limit, the seeds are ejected and take root in the ground; if not, they are stored inside the Onion, along with any other Pikmin not on the field. Unlike in the area however, the number of Pikmin that can be stored inside an Onion is unlimited, as a general rule. When night falls and all the Pikmin have returned, the Onion folds or sucks in its legs and lifts off from the ground, joining the ship in low orbit.
Each Onion has the main body, shaped like a real world onion, with holes from which three legs come out of. At the top, there is a piece that looks like a Chaenostoma cordatum, used like helicopter blades. In the first two games, these Onions look quite organic and plain, but in Pikmin 3, they take on a more science fiction look.
Behavior
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.
When the Onions are first discovered in Pikmin and Pikmin 3, they are dormant. 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. Onions can hibernate even with the presence of their Pikmin still somewhere on the field. It seems that this dormancy does not hinder their awareness however, as the Red and Winged Onions are seen struggling to dislodge themselves from the traps they are found in. The Winged and Blue Pikmin species seem to have become entirely extinct by the point Pikmin 3 begins, as they are the only two species whose Onions have to sprout more of when they are reactivated.
Onions seem to have some level of sentience, in that if all Pikmin of the same color are lost, the corresponding Onion will produce a single seed the following day to prevent extinction. An Onion can also spit out a Pikmin seed if it detects that the only Pikmin available cannot be reached, as is the case when Louie first finds the Red Onion in Pikmin 2. Captain Olimar notes this on his Olimar's voyage log.[1] In addition, they seem to "awaken" when a leader approaches them for the first time, and are capable of following the ship at daybreak. They know not to suck in leaders that are being carried (and to issue fireworks if that is attempted); except in one circumstance, in the bad ending of Pikmin. In Pikmin 3, the Red and Winged Onions struggle to break free from their respective traps.
Onions appear to require light to function, seeing as in Pikmin 3, the Yellow Onion does not activate until a nearby light source is turned on, even when approached. They also seem to be able to stand in water, as Blue Onions are first found in water in the first three main games.
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.[2] The Onions are named as such because of their resemblance to a vegetable native to Olimar's home planet.[3]
In Pikmin, 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 three 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 five Pikmin types in the game are discovered, the Onion swells up into a more traditional Onion-like shape.
Some of the new Onions also clearly display their Pikmin type's characteristic element upon activation: the Yellow Onion creates a small burst of electricity, the Blue Onion drains out a large amount of water, and the Winged Onion's flower flutters erratically. The Red Onion shoots out some brown particles, which might be flames, but might also be dirt lifting from the ground. The Rock Onion lacks any notable reveal gimmick, but it does shine brightly from the light in the cave, similarly to how the Rock Pikmin shine from reflected light.
When the player has 100 total Pikmin in their squad, the Onions will emit smoke. This smoke has no effect on gameplay.
Pikmin 4
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This article or section is about an upcoming or recently released game. |
In Pikmin 4, the Onion changes appearance once again, now appearing more like a fruit with a speckled texture similar to apples; its petals are smaller and point downwards like the original design. The base of the Onion is now yellow and plastic-like in appearance, and its legs are now green instead of yellow. Like in Pikmin 3, Onions fuse together, however, it's different because the Onion now becomes segmented like a gourd, with each segment bearing the color of a Pikmin type, alongside the fact that the Onions are optional, since any Pikmin can go inside the main Onion even without the Onion supporting that type.
Withdrawing and retrieving
The player can access an Onion's Pikmin by having the current leader stand under the corresponding Onion's beam of light, and pressing the throw button, (
/ 
in the first two games; / 
/ in the third (and 
for the GamePad's Stylus mode). Doing so pauses the gameplay and opens a menu where the player can choose how many Pikmin to retrieve, or how many Pikmin from the current party to place inside.
When Pikmin are told to go inside the Onion, they are dismissed from the group (bomb-rock carrying Pikmin also drop them in Pikmin and Pikmin 3), and begin climbing through the Onion's legs, eventually entering the holes the legs originate from. During this time, they can be whistled back to the group, should the player change their mind, but if not, they will be stored inside the Onion, and the field Pikmin counter will decrease. Requested Pikmin will come out of the Onion from the same holes, and slide down the legs. If the leader is close enough, they will also automatically come to their side. In the case that there are Pikmin of multiple maturities, flower Pikmin will be withdrawn first, until there are no more left, in which case bud Pikmin will be withdrawn, and finally leaf Pikmin. This is not true when Pikmin go inside the Onion – all Pikmin sent inside will go in in a random order.
Storage limit
In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, an Onion can store any number of Pikmin, for all three maturities. In reality, because of hardware limitations, numbers can only hold up to certain values, but these are too large to be reached realistically.
In Pikmin 3, each Onion can hold up to 9999 Pikmin of a given type in total.[4] If the player manages to go over this cap, all of the Pikmin of that type inside of the Onion will be converted to flower Pikmin. In addition, any Pikmin that is inserted into the Onion that would make it go over that limit will simply disappear. If a player has so many Pikmin with them that, at sunset, they would go inside the Onion and reach the cap, then all Pikmin will still go inside the Onion, but the game will register deaths to sunset at the day's report of the excess amount. Whether these behaviors are the result of a glitch or intended is not known.
Types
Red Onion
The Red Onion is the first Onion to be discovered in all four games, and houses Red Pikmin. 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 Hocotate ship's cockpit and gets lost. In Pikmin 3 the Red Onion is discovered when Alph comes upon it caught in a branch at the Tropical Wilds. Pikmin need to be thrown at it, so that it gets weighed down, and eventually freed. In Pikmin 4, it is found by the Rescue Corps in the Rescue Command Post, buried under a mound of dirt. The Rescue Corps initially mistakes it for treasure and has Oatchi dig it out to bring it to the S.S. Shepherd, but the Onion activates by itself before it can be collected.
Yellow Onion
The Yellow Onion stores Yellow Pikmin, and is the second type the player will come across in the first game. 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 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 by Brittany in a cave, as soon as the Distant Tundra is entered. To activate it, the Yellow Pikmin nearby must be thrown at a generator, in order to create a current that lights a light bulb, awakening the Onion. In Pikmin 4, the Yellow Onion is discovered by the main character and Oatchi behind a paper bag in the Sun-Speckled Terrace; the paper bag must be flattened by throwing ten Pikmin on top of it to access the Onion.
Blue Onion
The Blue Onion houses Blue Pikmin, and is the last type to be discovered in the first three games. In Pikmin, the Blue Onion can be found in The Forest Navel in a pool near the landing site. 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, though the player can use a glitch to bypass that.[5]
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 leader 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 five Blue Pikmin. In Pikmin 3, the Blue Onion is located in a pool at the Garden of Hope and can only be accessed after rescuing Louie from the Scornet Maestro at the Twilight River.
For some unknown reason, when landing on an area in Pikmin and Pikmin 2, the Blue Onion seems to hover a bit before landing, therefore landing after the Red and Yellow Onions.
Rock Onion
The Rock Onion is the Onion that holds Rock Pikmin. It can be found in the Garden of Hope, right in the cave next to the area in which Brittany was being held. A Medusal Slurker guards the crystal holding the Rock Onion, and it is holding six Rock Pikmin inside of it. Near the Rock Onion there are 3 crystals, two of which hold 1-pellets, and the last of which holds a Data File explaining how carrying works with multiple types of Pikmin holding the object. The Medusal Slurker can also be carried back to the Onion.
Winged Onion
The Winged Onion[6] is home to the Winged Pikmin. Upon reaching the Twilight River and walking around, the player will get a cutscene showing that the Winged Onion is trapped in an Arachnode web. However, the Onion is located across the River, and a rather large bridge must be build across it to reach the other shore. Once the Onion is freed from the web, it will spit out one Winged Pikmin seed. Near the Onion are many Flukeweeds, which hold 1-pellets, 5-pellets, nectar eggs, and Female Sheargrubs underneath them. There is also a glitch that allows the player to reach the other shore without the need to build the bridge, though it is recommended as it will help with carrying back objects.
Master Onion
In Pikmin 3, the Rock Onion fuses with the Red Onion at the end of the day in which the player discovers Rock Pikmin to form a larger, universal "Master Onion" that holds all Pikmin types. As the player discovers the remaining Pikmin types, their Onions fuse into the Master Onion as well. The Onion menu has been changed as a result, now allowing the player to pick the numbers for all types at once. The majority of one type of Pikmin carrying an object to the Onion will determine which type of Pikmin the Onion produces. For example, if ten Rock Pikmin and five Red Pikmin are carrying a Red Bulborb to the Onion, Rock Pikmin will be produced. This compound Onion is never given an official name, but is commonly referred to by fans as "Master Onion".
The Master Onion returns in Pikmin 4, but with a new design. It also works differently from the previous game, as individual Onions can only be activated upon being brought back to any active base to be absorbed by the Master Onion, and remains completely dormant otherwise.
Other types
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Warning: the following text contains major spoilers about the ending in Pikmin.
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In the best ending of Pikmin, there is a scene where a group of fourteen different colored Onions fly above the atmosphere of PNF-404. It is unknown whether they are trying to follow Captain Olimar, or merely hovering for the night. It is also unknown if these colors refer to Pikmin types that were planned to be included later in the franchise, or if they are random colors picked just to add aesthetic value to the ending cutscene. The following Onions are seen:
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In 2-Player Battle and Bingo Battle
In Pikmin 2's 2-Player Battle and Pikmin 3's Bingo Battle, each player has one Onion in their base. These Onions act slightly different: they can't store extra Pikmin, and leaders cannot take Pikmin out or put them in. They also spit out the same amount of Pikmin lost to enemy Pikmin, without the need of nutrients.
In Pikmin 2, the first player gets a Red Onion, while the second player owns a Blue Onion. In Pikmin 3's the first player gets a cyan-colored Onion that pulses yellow, and the second player gets a pink-colored Onion that pulses orange.
Strategies
The number of Pikmin created when a pellet is delivered to an Onion is larger if the pellet type matches the Onion's. This should be taken into account when ordering Pikmin to carry a pellet, in order to maximize the number of Pikmin obtained.
When the Onion generates Pikmin, in order to save time, like on a speedrun, it is best to withdraw Pikmin from Onions so that the field total reaches the limit. This is because the Pikmin will be expelled as seeds in case there are less than the limit of Pikmin on the field. The process of waiting for the seeds to be expelled and planted, waiting for them to grow stems, and plucking them is quite lengthy. The time it takes to withdraw the Pikmin that cap the counter, and in the case of the new Pikmin being a different type, the time it takes to store them again and retrieve the new Pikmin, is considerably smaller overall. In speedruns, the route is normally planned out so that, whenever possible, the field counter is capped when new Pikmin are generated. Normally, it's also organized so that no time is wasted withdrawing Pikmin just to avoid plucking the new ones.
In Pikmin 2, after the Five-man Napsack has been obtained, the Pikmin can be told to carry a lying leader to an Onion if the player holds 
/ 
. This carries the advantage of having one leader go to an Onion automatically while the player can control the other leader, which increases the multitasking potential. This can also be done in the first game, by holding 
/ 
, but because there is only one leader, the multitasking advantage does not exist. This feature has been removed in Pikmin 3 in favor of the Go Here! command on the KopPad.
In Hey! Pikmin
In Hey! Pikmin, there's only one Onion and it's present since the beginning of the game, fully developed. It does, however, not have any impact on the gameplay as it can only be seen in cutscenes, Pikmin Park, and the results screen. Interestingly, this Onion contains colored swirls for all main Pikmin colors, including purple and white, which do not appear in the game and are the two types of Pikmin that do not have an Onion and can only be grown with Candypop Buds.
Notes
Dalmo's Notes
Hey! Pikmin logs
Badges
In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, there is a badge the player can gain from use of the Onion:
- Gardener: Sprout 1,000 Pikmin in Story Mode.
Gardener. The badge shows all five types of Pikmin from Pikmin 3.
In the Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the three main Onions appear on the Distant Planet stage, and in the case of Brawl, as a random trophy too. On the arena, when a pellet is thrown into one, items are ejected. The higher the number on the pellet thrown, the higher the amount of items that will appear, with even more items appearing if the pellet and Onion have the same color, similar to the way it works in the Pikmin games. The Onions randomly land and fly away, but can be forced to leave early if hit several times. In Brawl, a Red Onion also appears as a sticker.
Trophy information:
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Description:
“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.
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Naming
- Common name: Onion.
- Japanese nickname: オニヨン?, lit.: "Onion".
- Japanese name: ピキノシガンバナ?.
- Scientific name: Lillium pikminporta. Lillium is similar to lilium, Latin for "lily". Pikminporta is a combination of "Pikmin" and possibly portāre, Latin for "to carry".
- Internal names: Unknown.
- Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
オニヨン? Oniyon |
Onion | |
 Chinese(traditional) |
歐擬蛹 | Onion | |
 Chinese(simplified) |
欧拟蛹 | Onion | |
 Dutch |
Ui | Onion | |
 French |
Oignon | Onion | |
 German |
Zwiebel | Onion | |
 Italian |
Cipolla | Onion | |
 Korean |
오니용 Oniyong |
Onion | |
 Portuguese (NoA) |
Cebola | Onion | |
 Portuguese (NoE) |
Onion | - | Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual. |
 Spanish |
Cebolla | Onion |
Gallery
Pikmin
Artwork of a Red Onion.
Artwork of a Red Onion releasing a Pikmin seed.
Artwork of a Yellow Onion.
Artwork of a Blue Onion.
Renders of each Onion color, from Pikmin's models.
A Red Onion in Pikmin.
Olimar first sees the Red Onion.
Pikmin 2
Clay model of a Red Onion.
Clay model of a Yellow Onion.
Clay model of 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.
Pikmin 3
A Rock Onion trapped inside a large crystal.
Red Pikmin looking at their Onion.
- Inactive yellow onion.jpeg
An inactive Yellow Onion in Pikmin 3.
The Winged Onion caught in an Arachnode's web.
A Blue Onion trapped under a Flukeweed in Pikmin 3.
Master Onion phase #1.
Master Onion phase #2.
Master Onion phase #3.
Master Onion phase #4.
Screenshot of the Master Onion in its second phase.
The Bingo Battle Onions in Pikmin 3.
The Onion menu in Pikmin 3.
The Master Onion seen from below.
The Master Onion in a promotional Pikmin 3 video, released on May 17th, 2013.
An animation showing two Onions merging.
The Red Onion beginning to absorb the Rock Onion while rising after nightfall. Notice the chute glowing as if it is receiving nutrients.
The data file explaining Onions generally.
The data file explaining how to work an Onion.
The data file explaining Onion merging.
Pikmin 4
The Red Onion from Pikmin 4.
The Master Onion from Pikmin 4 with Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, and Blue Pikmin.
The Master Onion from Pikmin 4, seen from above.
The Onion menu from Pikmin 4 with only 3 Pikmin types available.
Other
Red Onion e-card pack.
Yellow Onion e-card pack.
Blue Onion e-card pack.
Trivia
- When 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.
- In Pikmin, attempting to take out more Pikmin from a Blue Onion than are in it results in the erroneous message "There are no blues Pikmin to take out." The message should be, "There are no blue Pikmin to take out."
- Unused content in Pikmin 2 reveals that the Onions were originally planned to have a "booting up" cutscene, just as they did in the first game. These cutscenes can be found almost entirely finished inside the game.
- If, on a day where Olimar or Louie finds an Onion, a cave is entered after whistling the wild Pikmin, the Onion will be at the landing site when the cave is left.
- It is possible to whistle the Pikmin as they are exiting the Onion. While mostly aesthetic, this can be used to bring a Pikmin to the party slightly faster than normal. In the GameCube and Wii versions Pikmin, the Pikmin will rarely react to the whistle, while in the Switch version, and all versions of Pikmin 2, they'll react to it almost every time.
- If the player looks up at the Master Onion in Pikmin 3 with the KopPad, they can see what appears to be solar panel-like cells on its petals.
- When the Master Onion in Pikmin 3 receives nutrients from a second type of Pikmin while already producing seeds from a first type, it will not produce more than one type of Pikmin at once. It will finish producing the first type of Pikmin before moving to a different type.
- In Pikmin 2, one can hear idle Pikmin noises coming from the Onions. The Hocotate ship also produces Pikmin noises if it contains at least one Purple Pikmin or one White Pikmin.
- Onions in Pikmin 3 are much more berry-like and Alph mistakes them for fruit.
- In Hey! Pikmin, Olimar mentions climbing into the Onion to entertain himself.[7] It is actually impossible for the player to walk inside an Onion, and it is unknown how Olimar can even fit in it.
- The Onions in Pikmin 3 have colorful swirls that represent each available Pikmin type. These swirls follow specific patterns and movements, looping roughly every ten seconds.
- The Onions are discovered in entirely new scenarios in each game. In Pikmin, they were found half-buried in a hibernation state, while in Pikmin 2, they were all active with their respective Pikmin hunting for food. In Pikmin 3, the Onions were in trouble and required rescuing from the leaders. In Hey! Pikmin, the Master Onion is fully available from the start (though technically has no function).
- Pikmin is the only game to show the Onions in hibernation.
- The difference between the hibernation of Pikmin and activity of Pikmin 2 is meant to represent the Pikmin's newfound independence after Olimar's intervention.
- Hey! Pikmin is the only game to have the Onion readily accessible from the start, and already in the Master Onion form, but also have no function in-game.
- In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, if there are no Pikmin in the Onion, it won't animate, emit smoke, or emit any Pikmin noises.
- In Hey! Pikmin, the Onion lacks the decorative band around its body.
See also
Notes
- ^ “When all of one color are lost, the Onion instinctively puts out new seeds... How does it know to do this? What a mysterious life-form!” – Captain Olimar in his logs about a partial Pikmin extinction
- ^ “When I inspected the Onion's legs, I saw that they were covered by tiny little hairs. It was kind of disturbing.” – Olimar in his voyage log
- ^ “It resembles a vegetable on my home planet that we call an Onion. I shall call this an Onion too.” – Olimar in a monolog about the Red Onion
- ^ YouTube video demonstrating the Onion's 9999 Pikmin limit in Pikmin 3, published on September 2nd, 2019, retrieved on September 14th, 2019
- ^ YouTube video explaining how to get Blue Pikmin early in Pikmin 2, published on January 8th, 2018, retrieved on April 9th, 2020
- ^ “Save the Winged Onion!” – Title of a day where the player has discovered but not saved the Winged Onion in the day selection menu
- ^ “I amuse myself by pretending to be a Pikmin and climbing up into the Onion or burying myself in the dirt.” – Captain Olimar in his notes on the Anti Routine Screen
| Pikmin | |
|---|---|
| Types | Red Pikmin • Yellow Pikmin • Blue Pikmin • Purple Pikmin • White Pikmin Rock Pikmin • Winged Pikmin • Ice Pikmin • Bulbmin • Glow Pikmin |
| Biology | Candypop Bud • Idle • Maturity • Onion • Flarlic • Pellet Pikmin extinction • Trip • Sprout • Seedling • Soul • Squad |
| Abilities | Carry • Dig • Dodge • Fight • Hide |
| Controls | Charge • Dismiss • Swarm • Pluck • Throw • Whistle |
| Other | Decor Pikmin • Leafling • Mushroom Pikmin • Pikpik carrot |
