Spray
A spray is an item in the Pikmin games, discovered by Captain Olimar in Pikmin 2. They can be collected and used at any time, each with a different beneficial effect. There are two known types of spray, Ultra-spicy and Ultra-bitter.
Ultra-spicy spray
- Main article: Ultra-spicy spray.
This is obtained from red berries and is to be used on Pikmin. It has the effect of temporarily enhancing their strength and speed, and their leaves, buds or flowers glow red. This makes Pikmin more effective at fighting, building, destroying and carrying for the 40 seconds it lasts.
Ultra-bitter spray
- Main article: Ultra-bitter spray.
This is obtained from purple berries. It affects enemies and not Pikmin (excluding 2-Player Mode). When used, it encases any enemies in the path of the spray in stone for approximately 9 seconds; this is often enough time to kill or severely weakened the beast. If an enemy is killed while still petrified, it crumbles without leaving behind a carcass to produce more Pikmin, instead dropping nectar or sprays.
Obtaining sprays
In Pikmin 2, it is revealed that a species of plant called the Burgeoning Spiderwort produces berries that can be used to the captains' advantage. Both types of sprays can be made by returning 10 of the correct color of these berries to the ship, which then creates a spray from them. The two known berry colors, purple and red, produce the two kinds of sprays.
Sprays can also be found wherever nectar is, in the form of red or purple concentrated drops, each of which counts as one full spray. These drops can be found by breaking eggs, defeating petrified enemies, fighting Doodlebugs, Iridescent Glint Beetles and Iridescent Flint Beetles, squishing the secret Wistful Wild bugs, or defeating red Unmarked Spectralids or any petrified enemy.
Interference
When a captain is hit by an enemy, bomb rock or something else while absorbing a concentrated dose of spray, he stops absorbing it, and it shrinks and disappears. Worst, the spray does not get collected, so it important to be careful when trying to get a spray.
Techniques
There exist techniques to collect sprays more efficiently by abusing the game's mechanics:
Prototype spray
In demo images of Pikmin 2 from before its release, there was a red spray, likely the Ultra-spicy spray, but also a yellow spray shown in the image as the bottom command on the D-pad. No exact information has been provided as to whether these were sprays at the time and if they did what the current sprays do now.