Submerged Castle

Submerged Castle
Location	Perplexing Pool
Sublevels	5
Treasures	13
Hazards

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies shown are just suggestions.

The Submerged Castle is located in the very back of the Perplexing Pool and is submerged in water, so it is only accessible to Blue Pikmin with the player; even if one manages to get a non-blue Pikmin to come with them as they enter the cave by utilizing the Blue Pikmin to throw the other Pikmin as they drown, they still will not enter. It has been programmed into the game that they cannot enter the cave in any way whatsoever^[1]. All types of hazards are found here, though there are Bulbmin to be found as well. To get all 40 Bulbmin, one must bring a maximum of 60 Pikmin.

The boss appears on all sublevels after 5 minutes of staying in one, making it crucial that the player completes the first four very quickly, as they are unable to properly defeat the creature until the last sublevel. Alternately, the player can attempt to avoid or trap the rampaging monstrosity, or revisit the cave multiple times, taking a small amount of time and only a few treasures on each sublevel.

To get to the cave, one needs to defeat many Yellow Wollywogs and tear down the black gate near the Glutton's Kitchen. After the gate is gone, the player needs to defeat two Hermit Crawmads, Water Dumples and a Withering Blowhog. The cave's entrance is surrounded by undrainable water, which is exactly why non-blue Pikmin can't enter: it was programmed so that the situation would make sense.

There is a total of 690 Pokos worth of treasures here in the US version of the game, and 760 in the European version.

Notes

Ship's dialogs

“Interesting! Deeper sections of this hole seem to be submerged in liquid...

Sadly, I am a delicate piece of machinery that is sensitive to water. You two must go alone.

...Why do you look at me with such scornful expressions? ...I am an expensive machine!

...Fine. I'll go. But this wantonly reckless treatment of company property will be reported!”

Waterwraith

On Sublevels 1-4, the Waterwraith will appear after a being in the level for five minutes. A few key points to remember about the Waterwraith are:

It'll steam around the level on two stone rollers, which will crush and kill any Pikmin in the way, but will also kill most enemies and disable traps. Try to use this to your advantage.
It will not go into small corners or spaces, so you can hide there.
The best way to deal with it is to quickly snag all of the treasures and leave the sublevel before it appears. This means that you must NOT waste any time, so only focus on the treasures. Ignore enemies whenever possible and don't bother bringing back their carcasses.
The Waterwraith is very, very deadly to your Pikmin, so it is vital that you stay out of its way. If you are careless, you could lose every one of your Pikmin.
It follows your active leader, so watch out. However, you may be able to use this to your advantage, much like fighting the Ranging Bloyster.
There is absolutely no way to harm it before sublevel 5, so don't bother trying.
Move quickly and collect as many treasures as you can. Remember, if you forget to get a treasure, you can always go back and get it later.

Sublevel 1

Theme: Concrete
Music: Submerged Castle; Waterwraith (after the Waterwraith appears)
Treasures:
- Bug Bait (inside the Fiery Bulblax)
- Diet Doomer
- Pastry Wheel
- Professional Noisemaker (inside the Waterwraith, but impossible to obtain here)
Enemies:
- Fiery Blowhog × 2 (1 drops from the sky in a dead end)
- Fiery Bulblax × 1
- Waterwraith × 1
Obstacles:
- Fire geyser × 7
Plants and fungi:
- Fiddlehead × 9
Others:
- Egg × 2 (in dead ends)

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			yakushima_4
"Main" object maximum (?)			10
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			2
"Gate" object maximum (?)			0
Dead end unit probability (?)			50
Number of rooms (?)			3
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			{{{ctrratio}}}
Escape geyser (?)			Yes
Clogged hole (?)			No
Cave units file (?)			2_units_gw_l_conc.txt
Lighting file (?)			suityu_light_lv0.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)

Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor

Room with 4 exits and 2 walls	Room with a dead end after U-turn

You have likely already taken note that this sublevel contains many fire hazards; keep in mind that this cave is possible to complete. To kill the Fiery Blowhog, swarm it and blow your whistle when it shakes, then swarm it again until it is defeated.

Now to killing the Fiery Bulblax. You should first find the Bulblax; once you do, throw a Pikmin onto its body or punch it. Blow your whistle once the Pikmin touches the flaming body so it doesn't die but the Bulblax wakes up. Lead it into a nearby pool of water, and the second its flames are put out, use an ultra-bitter spray to keep it there. Once it dies, the Bug Bait will appear.

Search for the other two treasures; the Diet Doomer is usually in the open, as is the Pastry Wheel. Look for the hole and leave. There is also a geyser on this floor, allowing you to escape after having found all treasures. However, there is little sense to doing so, as the level is usually cleared before the Waterwraith appears.

Sublevel 2

Theme: Concrete
Music: Submerged Castle; Waterwraith (after the Waterwraith appears)
Treasures:
- Chocolate Cushion
- Comfort Cookie (inside the Bulbmin)
- Confection Hoop
- Professional Noisemaker (inside the Waterwraith, but impossible to obtain here)
Enemies:
- Bulbmin × 1
- Careening Dirigibug × 1
- Dwarf Orange Bulborb × 3
- Fiery Dweevil × 4 (one drops from the sky)
- Waterwraith × 1
Obstacles:
- None
Plants and fungi:
- Fiddlehead × 9
Others:
- 1 type of gate, with 4000 HP

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			yakushima_4
"Main" object maximum (?)			10
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			2
"Gate" object maximum (?)			2
Dead end unit probability (?)			0
Number of rooms (?)			3
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			{{{ctrratio}}}
Escape geyser (?)			No
Clogged hole (?)			Yes
Cave units file (?)			3_units_h_k_pypes_conc.txt
Lighting file (?)			suityu_light_lv1.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)

Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor

Huge room with waterway and pipes	Room with raised portion	Room with pipe and a depression

This area contains Careening Dirigibugs, Fiery Dweevils and Bulbmin. To ensure safety, kill the Careening Dirigibug by throwing Pikmin at it and then swarming when it falls to the ground. For the Fiery Dweevils, ignore them unless they grab a treasure you are carrying, in which case use the leader's punches to kill it.

The Fiery Dweevils are usually in an open, rusty pipe that is near the exit of a long pipe. Look around for an entrance of a pipe and walk inside (the Waterwraith cannot enter this area). Follow the pipe to a slide-like passageway, where you will go down quickly and fall out, landing near the Chocolate Cushion.

Once that part of the level is complete, you can find the Bulbmin. The parent can be killed by getting close, and then throwing Pikmin onto its back. If you were to swarm it, the adult Bulbmin would most likely get a few mouthfuls of Pikmin. Once they see their leader is dead, the smaller Bulbmin will panic and begin running around; blow your whistle to gain control of them. The game decides the amount of Bulbmin at the beginning of the sublevel depending on your Pikmin amount. The Comfort Cookie will come out of the parent Bulbmin once it is defeated.

Finally, the Dwarf Orange Bulborbs can be killed by just swarming them the old-fashioned way. The final treasure, the Confection Hoop can be found on a ledge guarded by some Dwarf Orange Bulborbs. To get there, walk to the opposite ledge and throw Pikmin over the gap and to the treasure. Throw more Pikmin over, since it is surrounded by the Bulborbs.

The exit is sealed, so you will have to use Pikmin to smash the rock and open the cave to the next sublevel. Getting the treasure back to the Research Pod takes some effort because the Waterwraith is always coming down a small isle that you have to walk through; do your best to try to avoid it and eventualy it will go away. Get the treasure back to your ship and continue on down.

Sublevel 3

Theme: Concrete
Music: Submerged Castle; Waterwraith (after the Waterwraith appears)
Treasures:
- Activity Arouser (US) / Pondering Emblem (Europe) (inside a Withering Blowhog)
- Compelling Cookie
- Professional Noisemaker (inside the Waterwraith, but impossible to obtain here)
- Succulent Mattress
Enemies:
- Anode Beetle × 4
- Anode Dweevil × 3 (1 drops from the sky in a dead end)
- Bulbmin × 1
- Waterwraith × 1
- Withering Blowhog × 2 (1 drops from the sky in a dead end)
- Wollywog × 1
Obstacles:
- Electrical wire × 5
Plants and fungi:
- Fiddlehead × 9
- Ivory Candypop Bud × 1 (in a dead end)
Others:
- 1 type of gate, with 4000 HP
- Egg × 2 (in dead ends)

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			yakushima_4
"Main" object maximum (?)			15
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			2
"Gate" object maximum (?)			3
Dead end unit probability (?)			50
Number of rooms (?)			4
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			{{{ctrratio}}}
Escape geyser (?)			No
Clogged hole (?)			Yes
Cave units file (?)			3_units_f_g_m_conc.txt
Lighting file (?)			suityu_light_lv2.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)

Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor

Room with 4 exits and raised ledge	Room with 4 exits and 2 walls	Room with 5 exits and 2 walls

This level contains electrical hazards, so take caution. Swarm the electrical wires the very second they turn off. If you have Bulbmin, let them work on it instead. The Withering Blowhog is killed the same way as always: throw Pikmin and Bulbmin on it. The Withering Blowhog holds the Activity Arouser, but the Bulbmin holds nothing. For Anode Dweevils, just throw Bulbmin on them, as Bulbmin are immune to all hazards. Defeat the Wollywog in the same way as you would a Yellow Wollywog.

To end this short sublevel, take note that the last two treasures, the Succulent Mattress and the Compelling Cookie can be anywhere in the open, usually behind a gate. The Waterwraith will likely have appeared by this time, so try to ignore and break the exit, which is yet again covered in rocks.

There is an Ivory Candypop Bud in one of the alcoves on this floor, but it is best ignored as the White Pikmin will have a harder time following the rest of your group throughout the next sublevel's bothersome puddles and will prove to be more of an obstacle than a helpful unit.

Note: Avoid swarming the electrical wires while a treasure is about to be delivered, as you won't be able to control your leader or Pikmin.

Sublevel 4

Theme: Concrete
Music: Submerged Castle; Waterwraith (after the Waterwraith appears)
Treasures:
- Drone Supplies (US) / Open Archive (Europe)
- Pale Passion (inside the Iridescent Glint Beetle)
- Professional Noisemaker (inside the Waterwraith, but impossible to obtain here)
- Proton AA
Enemies:
- Bulbmin × 2
- Careening Dirigibug × 2 (drop from the sky)
- Iridescent Glint Beetle × 1
- Volatile Dweevil × 5 (drop from the sky)
- Waterwraith × 1
Obstacles:
- Bomb-rock × 10 (drop from the sky)
- [icon] Gas pipe × 3
Plants and fungi:
- Fiddlehead × 9
Others:
- 1 type of gate, with 4000 HP
- Egg × 2 (in dead ends)

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			yakushima_4
"Main" object maximum (?)			25
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			2
"Gate" object maximum (?)			4
Dead end unit probability (?)			50
Number of rooms (?)			4
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			{{{ctrratio}}}
Escape geyser (?)			No
Clogged hole (?)			Yes
Cave units file (?)			4_units_d_j_n_o_conc.txt
Lighting file (?)			suityu_light_lv3.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)

Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor

Dead end with item	Turning corridor	Long corridor	Room with 4 exits	Room with 1 exit and a pipe	Room with 2 exits and a pipe

Room with 3 exits and a pipe

This floor is difficult due to the bomb-rocks and Volatile Dweevils that fall from the ceiling, and the Careening Digiribugs. Take careful steps here, and search for the Drone Supplies and the Proton AA.

There is an Iridescent Glint Beetle running around the place. Throw a Pikmin at it to make it to drop the Pale Passion. In order to make the path safer for your Pikmin, quickly run through the area with a single leader and detonate all the bomb-rocks and Volatile Dweevils. Finish by breaking the hole and then diving on down to the final floor.

As a side note, it is possible for the Waterwraith to get stuck in one of the corners of this sublevel, making collecting everything a breeze, although the creature will still follow you to the next sublevel once you go in.

Sublevel 5

The layout for sublevel 5.

Theme: Concrete
Music: Boss (only when combating); Waterwraith vulnerable (when the Waterwraith is halfway defeated)
Treasures:
- Professional Noisemaker (inside the Waterwraith)
Enemies:
- Waterwraith × 1
Obstacles:
- None
Plants and fungi:
- Fiddlehead × 3
- Figwort (small) × 3
- Violet Candypop Bud × 2 (in dead ends)
Others:
- Egg × 3
- 1 type of gate, with 100 HP

Technical sublevel information
Internal cave name			yakushima_4
"Main" object maximum (?)			4
"Treasure" object maximum (?)			0
"Gate" object maximum (?)			4
Dead end unit probability (?)			0
Number of rooms (?)			2
Corridor-to-room ratio (?)			{{{ctrratio}}}
Escape geyser (?)			Yes
Clogged hole (?)			No
Cave units file (?)			1_units_manh_boss_conc.txt
Lighting file (?)			normal_light_lv4.ini
Background (?)			None
Cave units (?)

Dead end with item	Three-way crossing	Four-way crossing	Turning corridor	Corridor	Long corridor

Circular room with 1 exit	Room with 4 exits

Trivia

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Add video reference to the Waterwraith being damaged in an earlier sublevel. Also, does the creature return if the cave is re-entered?

The cavern contains 13 treasures, a famously unlucky number; this appears to be intended to reflect the cave's nature, and especially that of its boss.
The music is very similar to the music that plays in the "Cave of the Past", the final dungeon in another of Nintendo's popular games, EarthBound. Both of the bosses in these caves were supernatural beings with somewhat unintelligible forms and seeming invulnerability.
An earlier version of the game's English script reveals that this cave was originally intended to be called "The Submarine Castle".^[2]
The Waterwraith is actually programmed to drop the Professional Noisemaker in all sublevels, not just the final one. By using external tools to somehow damage and defeat the Waterwraith in one of these sublevels, it will not appear in any following sublevel.
The cave's file contains a timer for the Waterwraith to appear after 15 seconds on the final sublevel, but it remains unused in favor of having the creature spawn when the arena is entered.