File:Buds Artwork.jpg
Artwork of the three primary Candypop Buds.

Candypop Buds are large flowers with fleshy petals and are found in all three Pikmin games. When Pikmin are tossed into these gigantic blossoms, they spit out new Pikmin seeds which match the color of their petals. These new Pikmin are born in the leaf stage. The Candypop Buds expel the seeds after five Pikmin are thrown in, or a few seconds after the first throw. The exception being the Queen Candypop Bud, which does so after the first Pikmin is thrown.

In Pikmin, Candypops will wither after 50 Pikmin are thrown in, but this number was reduced to 5 in the second and third games. In these two games, using Pikmin of the same type as the flower does not count against this limit, although they will still be reverted to leaf Pikmin and planted in the ground. In Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin holding bomb-rocks will not be taken in by Candypop Buds, merely sliding off the top; the same will happen to thrown leaders in Pikmin 3. However, in Pikmin 3, if a Pikmin holding a bomb rock is thrown in a Candypop Bud, it will extend upwards before wilting away, killing the Pikmin with it without leaving a spirit behind.

In Pikmin 2 Candypop Buds are never found above ground and only appear in caves, where they will respawn when the cave is reentered. Some cave Violet Candypop Buds and Ivory Candypop Buds will only appear if the player has less than a certain number of Pikmin. In Pikmin 3 they have a different appearance, consisting of a large bucket-like cup in the middle of the flower, most likely as a "target" for leaders to aim Pikmin at. They also behave slightly differently, as they are always closed, opening only when a leader is nearby, and when they wither, their roots remain in place. Also, if two players throw Pikmin in a Candypop Bud at the same moment in Bingo Battle, the Candypop Bud will spit out seeds for both teams, depending on the number of Pikmin that were thrown in by each of them.

Notes

Olimar's voyage log

When I throw Pikmin into this flower, they are popped right back out. I have named this very peculiar bloom the candypop bud. It's strange... No matter what color Pikmin I throw in, the ones that pop out match the flower's color!

Reel notes

Could this be the next stage in Pikmin evolution? Like the Pikmin themselves, it has many mysteries.

Members

Crimson Candypop Bud

Main article: Crimson Candypop Bud.

When Pikmin are tossed into a Crimson Candypop Bud, an equal number of Red Pikmin seeds are spat out. Proper planning lessens the need for these flowers, but they are more useful if one is far from the Onions and has a small number of Red Pikmin on hand.

Golden Candypop Bud

Main article: Golden Candypop Bud.

Golden Candypop Buds release yellow seeds when Pikmin are thrown in. While large numbers of Yellow Pikmin are not often needed, use of the Golden Candypop is required to obtain the Chronos Reactor in Pikmin. This particular Candypop Bud is unfathomably rare in Pikmin 2, making only one appearance inside the Glutton's Kitchen on sublevel 3. In Pikmin 3, Golden Candypop Buds often appear near electrodes.

Gray Candypop Bud

Main article: Gray Candypop Bud.

Gray Candypop Buds spit out Rock Pikmin seeds when Pikmin are thrown in. Gray Candypop Buds are uncommon in Story mode, but a cluster of four appears in the southernmost region of the Tropical Wilds, where a Calcified Crushblat awaits. Since only Blue Pikmin can reach the Crushblat, these Candypops are useful to attack the Crushblat.

Ivory Candypop Bud

Main article: Ivory Candypop Bud.

Ivory Candypop Buds produce White Pikmin seeds when Pikmin are thrown in. This Candypop can only be seen in Pikmin 2 and is the only method of obtaining White Pikmin. Many Ivory Candypop Buds are found in the White Flower Garden on sublevel 3 when the player has 19 or fewer Whites, and on sublevels 3 and 4 of the Subterranean Complex.

Lapis Lazuli Candypop Bud

Main article: Lapis Lazuli Candypop Bud.

Lapis Lazuli Candypop Buds produce Blue Pikmin seeds. They're particularly useful if the player has a small number of Blues on hand and needs to carry a heavy object across a lake.

Pink Candypop Bud

Main article: Pink Candypop Bud.

Pink Candypop Buds release Winged Pikmin seeds when Pikmin are tossed in. They can only be found in the Formidable Oak.

Queen Candypop Bud

Main article: Queen Candypop Bud.

Queen Candypop Buds are very unique Candypops. Their petals are white with colored spots which flash from red, to yellow, to blue, and back to red. When a Pikmin of any type is tossed in, nine seeds which match the color of the spots are ejected, giving players an eight-Pikmin gain. These flowers are found only in the specific sublevels of difficult caves, usually after a grueling battle with a boss, sometimes referred to as 'rest stops'.

Violet Candypop Bud

Main article: Violet Candypop Bud.

Violet Candypop Buds spit out purple seeds when Pikmin are tossed in. This Candypop Bud makes its first appearance in Pikmin 2, and is the only way to obtain Purple Pikmin. Many Violet Candypop Buds and Queen Candypop Buds can be found on sublevel 8 of the Subterranean Complex, making it the ideal location for growing more Purple Pikmin.

Maximum Pikmin requirement

Some Violet Candypop Buds and Ivory Candypop Buds will only appear if the player has less than 20 of the equivalent Pikmin type. If the player has 20 or more of that Pikmin type, the Candypop Bud will not spawn, and no other object will take its place. This can be seen, for instance, in the second sublevel of the Citadel of Spiders: the Violet Candypop Bud always appear in dead ends, and if the player is over the maximum Pikmin requirements, there will be an empty dead end in the sublevel.

Interestingly, only the Pikmin inside the cave and the Pikmin inside the Hocotate ship count toward this limit. This means that Pikmin sprouts in an overworld area, including the area the cave is in, will not count. The game will only check for the requirement at the start of the sublevel.

The following sublevels have Candypop Buds that do not appear if the player has 20 or more of the equivalent Pikmin type:

Since the only Candypop Buds affected by this are in early sublevels, this limit likely exists to stop players from easily obtaining a large number of Purple Pikmin or White Pikmin by repeatedly entering and leaving the same cave.

Relations to the Pikmin family

Olimar notes in the enemy reel that Candypop Buds could be the next step in Pikmin evolution[1], and in his Piklopedia notes that Candypops could be the same species[2]. This theory is further cemented by the fact that Candypop Buds occasionally emit the same sparkles that come from the top of Onions, use similar sounds to the Pikmin[3], and the buds in Pikmin 3 use the same texture for leaves as the Pikmin do.

Technical information

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name pom
HP N/A
Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name pom
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 99999
fp01 マップとの当り Unknown (related to slopes) 30
fp02 ダメージスケールXZ Horizontal damage scale 0.1
fp03 ダメージスケールY Vertical damage scale 0.1
fp04 ダメージフレーム Damage scale duration 0.35
fp05 質量 Unknown (weight?) 0
fp06 速度 Move speed 0
fp08 回転速度率 Rotation acceleration 0
fp09 テリトリー Territory radius 1
fp10 ホーム範囲 "Home" radius 1
fp11 プライベート距離 "Private" radius 75
fp12 視界距離 Sight radius 0
fp13 視界角度 FOV 0
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 0
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?) 0
fp21 攻撃可能角度 Unknown (shock attack max angle?) 0
fp22 攻撃ヒット範囲 Unknown (attack hit range?) 0
fp23 攻撃ヒット角度 Unknown (attack hit angle?) 0
fp24 攻撃力 Attack damage 0
fp25 視界高 Unknown (height visibility?) 0
fp26 探索高 Unknown (exploration height?) 0
fp27 ライフの高さ HP wheel height 0
fp28 回転最大速度 Rotation speed 0
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 60
fp33 マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定 Collision processing radius 55
fp34 ピクミンとのあたり Pikmin damage radius 15
fp35 石化時間 Petrification duration 1
fp36 ヒップドロップダメージ Purple Pikmin drop damage N/A
fp37 地震気絶確立 Purple Pikmin stun chance N/A
fp38 地震気絶時間 Purple Pikmin stun time N/A
ip01 振り払い打撃A Shake mode 1 – hit count 0
ip02 振り払い張付1 Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement 0
ip03 振り払い打撃B Shake mode 2 – hit count 0
ip04 振り払い張付2 Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement 0
ip05 振り払い打撃C Shake mode 3 – hit count 0
ip06 振り払い張付3 Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement 0
ip07 振り払い打撃D Shake mode 4 – hit count 0
Specific properties
ID Japanese comment Property Value
ip01 吸い込みピキ数(pom) Number of Pikmin a non-Queen can convert 5
ip02 吐き出し回数(pom) Number of times a non-Queen spits Pikmin 1
ip11 吸い込みピキ数(pop) Number of Pikmin a Queen Candypop Bud can convert 1
ip12 吐き出し回数(pop) Number of times a Queen spits Pikmin 1
ip13 吐き出し倍数(pop) Number of Pikmin a Queen spits 9
fp01 開花時間 Unknown (flowering time?) 1
fp02 色換え時間 Color change interval, for Queens 2.6
fp03 白黒出現率 Unknown (Purple and White incidence?) 0

Naming

The name of the plants' family is derived from "candy", given their intense colors, and "pop", referring to the way they spit out Pikmin seeds. Members of this family use the word Flora as the genus in their scientific name, which is simply the English word "flora".

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
  French Fleur Cracheuse Spitter Flower
  German Königinblumen Queen Flower
  Italian Cromanvillea From "bougainvillea", a genus of flowers that resemble Candypops, and the greek root "chromo" which means "color"

Gallery

Trivia

  • In sublevel 5 of Glutton's Kitchen, a Queen Candypop Bud may fall from the ceiling. It is possible to notice that it has a green root. There are also several Candypop Buds in sublevel 6 of Bulblax Kingdom. Here, if the camera is zoomed in, and if the Candypop Bud is distant enough, the root might be visible.
  • In Pikmin 3's Japanese guide book, the colors used to describe the pink and rock Candypop Buds translate roughly to "Slate" and "Amaranth", respectively. Slate is a dark gray, polished substance, while amaranth is a plant that has pinkish flowers. Despite this distinction of color, no version of Pikmin 3 makes no distinction of names, and the new Candypop Buds were not given any official name in any dialect, to date.
  • In Pikmin, Candypop Buds are technically bosses. As such, approaching them will change the area's music to the battle variant.

See also

References

  1. ^ Could this be the next stage in Pikmin evolution? Like the Pikmin themselves, it has many mysteries. – Captain Olimar in the enemy reel entry for the Candypop Buds.
  2. ^ This specimen constantly changes colors. When Pikmin are thrown into it, it shoots out seeds that match the flower's coloration the moment the Pikmin landed inside of it. The number of seeds shot out is always greater than the number of Pikmin thrown in. It can be said that this is a completely baffling plant, and many mysteries remain over precisely what sort of relationship it has with the Pikmin. It would appear that the Pikmin gain all of the benefit from the relationship... Perhaps it is simply a different variety of Pikmin to begin with? – Captain Olimar in Olimar's notes for the Queen Candypop Bud
  3. ^ YouTube video about sound effect trivia in the series (at 01:04)