Water

A group of Red Pikmin drowning.

Water is the most common hazard and obstacle in the Pikmin series, since it is presented mostly through bodies of water that are a part of the terrain itself. Water is a hazard to most Pikmin types, given that they cannot swim nor breathe underwater. The main exception to this is Blue Pikmin, which are unaffected, making this type of Pikmin ideal for underwater tasks. Bulbmin and Glow Pikmin are also water-resistant, but the former type is only found in caves and the latter can only be used either at night or in caves. Winged Pikmin can also fly above the surface, making it possible to traverse bodies of water with them in the group, though they cannot be thrown when the leader is underwater. Ice Pikmin can float on water but they can't attack or carry anything unless they freeze the water first.

Water in and of itself is not harmful to the Pikmin. Some bodies may be too shallow for the Pikmin to drown in, in which case they are completely harmless. Geysers also spew out water with immense force, but all Pikmin types can still ride them. Rain in Pikmin 3 also has no adverse effect on the Pikmin.

In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, leaders, Blue Pikmin, and Bulbmin stick to the bottom of the terrain while underwater, and gravity acts as if they were on land. In Pikmin 3, Blue Pikmin were given the ability to swim, allowing them freedom to move up and down, such as when chasing aquatic enemies. Leaders will always remain on the ground, however, and when they throw a Blue Pikmin, said Pikmin will slowly ascend and descend while underwater.

In Hey! Pikmin, pools of water are recurring obstacles. In order to cross bodies of water safely, Olimar must either not have any non-Blue Pikmin with him, or he must throw the ones that can't swim at Seeding Dandelions. Olimar and the Blue Pikmin can swim in water in this game, and the Pikmin will follow Olimar around and swim back when thrown underwater.

Some enemies can be influenced by water as well. A Mandiblard will steadily lose health while submerged, and certain fiery enemies become extinguished.

As a hazard

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 3.
Particularly: Do Pikmin really follow leaders automatically? It's more likely they waddle to the shore automatically. Research and elaborate.

Drowned Red Pikmin.

Any inapt Pikmin type that touches water will begin flailing at the surface. They will eventually stop and drown, resulting in a Pikmin death. Pikmin in this state might be saved by having them slowly flail towards the leaders, and luring them to dry land. Pikmin in Pikmin 3 will follow leaders automatically, but in the previous games, they must first be whistled. Alternatively, if there are idle Blue Pikmin nearby, they can toss drowning Pikmin onto land in Pikmin and Pikmin 2.

Drawing of drowning Pikmin in the high scores menu of Pikmin 2.

Bodies of water are not the only way Pikmin can suffer from a water hazard. Some enemies have attacks that wet vulnerable Pikmin in such a way that a bubble of water forms around the top of their stem. This is enough to leave them choking and running in panic. If they're whistled in time, they will instantly return to normal, but if not, they will eventually collapse and die. These water attacks will cause damage to leaders as well, and can knock them down.

Some bodies of water may cover the way to an important part of the area, where non-Blue Pikmin are needed. These pools might have a clog, which can be destroyed in order to drain the water, a bridge that can be built and used to cross over, or some lily pads can be taken to ride through and across a stream. Alternately, Winged Pikmin may be used, as they can fly above the surface of the water.

Sources

A White Pikmin choking in a water bubble caused by the Watery Blowhog.

Most commonly, water can be found as natural bodies of water, like lakes or puddles. Some other sources of water exist, and can affect Pikmin that are not Blue Pikmin or Bulbmin.

Watery Blowhog – an enemy that can blow streams of water.
Hydro Dweevil – an enemy that sprays some watery liquid if provoked.
Skeeterskate – an aquatic enemy capable of spitting water from afar.
Goolix – a minor boss in Pikmin with a water-like gelatinous body.
Titan Dweevil – the final boss in Pikmin 2 has a weapon that sprays huge globs of water around the arena.
Plasm Wraith – the final boss in Pikmin 3 can spit out Elemental Plasms that morph into huge bubbles of water.
[icon] Water geyser – an obstacle in Pikmin 4 that spews jets of water.

Immune Pikmin

Some Blue Pikmin underwater.

Main article: Blue Pikmin.

Blue Pikmin, Bulbmin and Glow Pikmin are the only types of Pikmin that can breathe underwater. Blue Pikmin and Bulbmin can walk on the floor of bodies of water without a problem, and in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4, can also swim through them. Glow Pikmin float through the water in the same ghost-like manner as they do through air. Bubbles of water that would choke other Pikmin also do nothing to Blue Pikmin, Bulbmin and Glow Pikmin. In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, Blue Pikmin that are pointed to drowning Pikmin will go to them, grab them, and throw them to shore, although Bulbmin will not.

Ice Pikmin

Main article: Ice Pikmin.

To do: Add images of frozen water and floating Ice Pikmin
Care to do so?

A group of Ice Pikmin floating in water.

Ice Pikmin are the only type of Pikmin capable of floating on a body of water. They will follow an underwater Leader as closely as they can on the surface of the water. Additionally, throwing, charging, or dismissing Ice Pikmin will freeze the water, allowing it to be walked upon. The number of Ice Pikmin required varies depending on the body of water. When the Ice Pikmin are recalled, the ice will thaw out after a short time.

Oatchi and Moss

At the start of the game, Oatchi is unable to swim; if he tries, he will immediately begin drowning, bucking all Pikmin on his back into the water. Unlike non-Blue Pikmin, he will not perish if he drowns, instead teleporting back to the last piece of dry land he stood on before he fell into the water.

After some time passes, three days after Oatchi has grown up, Shepherd will inform the player character about her breakthrough with Oatchi's fear of water, unlocking the Doggy-Paddle skill.

Once Oatchi has acquired this skill, he can freely swim on most bodies of water, transporting both player and Pikmin. Upgrading Oatchi’s Doggy-Paddle allows him to swim faster and eventually dive a short distance to perform certain tasks underwater, such as carrying or fighting.

Moss can swim by default in Olimar's Shipwreck Tale and does not need to learn how to Doggy-Paddle.

Enemies and water

To do: Add Pikmin 4 enemies, if any cases apply
Care to do so?

For the most part, enemies are not affected by water, but some exceptions exist:

Fiery Bulblaxes and Pyroclasmic Slooches will lose their fire if they enter water. The Fiery Bulblax will reignite if it leaves the water, but Pyroclasmic Slooches need to touch another Slooch's fire trail.
Members of the mandiblard family in Pikmin and Pikmin 2 will lose health at a steady pace, as long as they are underwater.
Wolpoles and Puckering Blinnows will swim freely in water, but will begin flailing around if they find themselves on dry land.
If a Mockiwi falls underwater, it will quickly lose all its health and drown.
Young Yellow Wollywogs hop around on land, but swim when in water.
Large Splurchins can slowly move underwater, but can't move at all when they're on land.

Reflection effect in Pikmin

The water in Pikmin has a faint reflection of the walls and leaves on the trees. This effect is actually obtained by having the walls duplicated and inverted under the ground, as well as having a white "bowl" with the shadows of the leaves. The ground texture underwater is then made translucent. Effectively, when looking at the water, the player is not seeing the reflection of objects high above, they're actually seeing through the ground, into a textured surface.

The reflection "bowl" underground at The Forest of Hope.
This image shows how the effect works, by showing how the ground is translucent.

Trivia

In Pikmin 3, Pikmin under the effects of ultra-spicy spray will drown faster.

Glitches

There are a few glitches related to the water in the series:

Pikmin:
- Drowning reset
- No drowning
- Throwing non-Blue Pikmin underwater
- Drowning Pikmin that are called to Captain Olimar can go through gates as if they didn't exist. This can be seen on the gate that bars access to the Armored Cannon Beetle. This has been fixed in New Play Control! Pikmin.
Pikmin 2:
- Drowning reset
Pikmin 3:
- Drowning cutscene glitch

In the Super Smash Bros. series

This article or section is a short summary on water attacks.
SmashWiki features more in-depth content.

A few attacks in the Super Smash Bros. series are considered "water" attacks, and carry some special properties. Blue Pikmin are completely immune to water attacks, and will not suffer damage nor will they flinch, if hit by one. Unlike other Pikmin types, when Blue Pikmin attack enemies, their attacks do not have their element's properties, meaning that Blue Pikmin attacks are not considered water-based.

Some stages have pools of water in their layout – if the water is deep enough to swim through, then doing so with non-Blue Pikmin will have them begin losing HP until they die. Red Pikmin will instantly perish, a trait that is original to Smash. Shallow water does nothing to these Pikmin.