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Pikmin 2

Perplexing Pool

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Perplexing Pool

The landing site of the Perplexing Pool.

High Definition overhead map of the Perplexing Pool.

Treasures 7
Caves 4
Pikmin discovered Yellow Pikmin
Requirements Collect the Geographic Projection
Music Perplexing Pool

The Perplexing Pool (まどいの水源?, lit.: "Spring of Madness") is the third area in Pikmin 2, set in a sandy wetland. It contains four caves and seven overground treasures worth a total of Poko × 560 in the US version and Poko × 520 in the European version. It is unlocked by retrieving the Geographic Projection from the Awakening Wood. Yellow Pikmin are discovered in this area. Its terrain is based on The Distant Spring from Pikmin.

The Perplexing Pool slowly becomes more dangerous as days pass: More enemies will appear, and ultimately, a Beady Long Legs and a Spotty Bulbear will spawn after the thirtieth day. Completing the area before this point is recommended.

Layout

 
File:PP texture.png
Map of all treasure and caves, along with the location of the ship, in the Perplexing Pool.

The Perplexing Pool is a complex area, with a wide variety of terrain types. Parts of the area are like a beach, while others are grassy and there are circular wooden structures around the area. It is the most aquatic area in Pikmin 2 with multiple lakes spread across its length and two of the caves being submerged, making Blue Pikmin a necessity. Its layout has a close resemblance to The Distant Spring of the first game, though it does have some changes. At one point, Olimar points out how much the area has changed since his last visit, indicating that it actually is the Distant Spring.[1] There is a big concrete area where there were only small islands and water in the original, there is no water in the middle of the area, the Shower Room is where the Massage Machine originally was, the Submerged Castle is where the Chronos Reactor was, most of the gates are gone and there are a trio of Burgeoning Spiderworts in the area – a pair in the middle of the area and a lone one in the water.

Yellow Pikmin

 
A view of where the Yellow Pikmin are located.

In Pikmin 2, Yellow Pikmin are discovered in this area. The player must navigate around the stumps and use the scales to get to higher elevation. Alternately, if they are skilled enough, they can throw their Pikmin onto the ledge near the bridge to the right of the large stumps, then carefully guide them to building the bridge. Any Pikmin that fall in the water can be easily whistled back. The Fiery Blowhog in the way can be bypassed. Then, the player must fight a Fiery Bulblax with Red Pikmin. After killing the Fiery Bulblax, White Pikmin must break down a bramble gate with poison pipes inside. The Yellow Pikmin are on the other side of this gate.

Caves

Image Name Sublevels Treasures Hazards
  Citadel of Spiders 5 11    
  Glutton's Kitchen 6 14  
  Shower Room 7 14          
  Submerged Castle 5 13          

Objects

Treasures

Enemies

Vegetation

Obstacles

Tools

  •   Bridge × 3 (all three are long bridges)

Others

Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard

 
Map of the area as it appears in the Piklopedia.

The Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard version of this area, which can be accessed by placing the ship's icon on top of the area and entering the archives, is similar to the in-game Perplexing Pool, but with the critical difference of having a large, round, open arena as the landing site, instead of a rectangular closed-off room. That circular region is also surrounded by an irregular beach of sand, surrounded by scrap metal. The following differences can also be noted:

  • There is a crack to the southwest of the landing site, indicating the presence of a clog.
  • There is a large metal tube protruding off the ground in the water, to the southeast of the landing site, instead of two plastic tubes.
  • The sand plot near the Chronos Reactor from The Distant Spring is present, and the nearby block with a Golden Candypop Bud, also from The Distant Spring is also present, but sunken into the ground.
  • In-game, there's a square dead-end to the right of the Submerged Castle's entrance that has a stone block on one of its walls. This block is absent on the Piklopedia version.
  • Part of the original landing site from The Distant Spring is present, but it's mostly covered up by sand, except for part of the Red Onion's original spot.
  • The tree in the Yellow Pikmin discovery site is not present.
  • The stone block buried to the northwest of the landing site is not present.
  • The wooden structures near the Glutton's Kitchen's entrance and the Optical Illustration are not present.
  • The large stone ramps at the north that provide a one-way access from the lake are absent on the Piklopedia version.
  • The ground at the western river and the center of the area is at the same level, so it is possible to walk from one to the other at will. In the in-game area, the center's terrain is higher.
  • In-game, there is a gap to the northeast of the landing site that requires a bridge to cross. It is absent in the Piklopedia variant.
  • In-game, there is a flat stump found to the west of the Glutton's Kitchen entrance. The stump is cut much higher in the Piklopedia version.
  • The stone structures that have the Gherkin Gate on top of it have a jut from the The Distant Spring present, the left ramp is wider, and the spot where Pikmin could be thrown to collect the treasure is more rectangular.
  • The structure that previously had the Repair-type Bolt in the The Distant Spring lacks the second sand ramp leading out of the water and the walls preventing Pikmin from exiting the wall's top from the left side.
    • The pillar that had the ship part itself is not smaller in this version, so the mapping around that pillar isn't skewed as a result.
    • A leaf present in the background is also placed over the pillar, instead of being further from it.
  • Most of the trunks at the north of the landing site don't have walls, or have lower walls than in-game.
  • The inaccessible area to the south of the Shower Room entrance is a lot more detailed than shown in-game.
  • The moss texture used on the stone structures in the area is much cleaner than shown in-game.
  • The shadow projection used in the area is overall much darker than shown in-game.

Gallery

Other images

  • In the Piklopedia, the layout of the Perplexing Pool is slightly different.

  • Texture of a wireframe depicting an early version of the Perplexing Pool, used as a part of the Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard's backgrounds.

  • Altered version with an added black background, allowing for easier viewing of the wireframe.

  • Official overhead map.

  • High definition overhead map, taken with in-game screenshots.

  • Overhead view of the full area model, including non-playable sections.

  • Carrying paths in the Perplexing Pool.

  • Wolpoles, Captain Olimar, Louie, and Blue Pikmin in an early version of the Perplexing Pool. The Shower Room can be seen ahead. Also note the Male Sheargrub, which never appears in the final version of the level.

  • A different image of the early Perplexing Pool.

  • A map of the Perplexing Pool.

  • The pattern for The Distant Spring laid on a map of the Perplexing Pool.

  • The texture used for the radar.

Trivia

  • The section of the map where Yellow Pikmin are first found has three circles of dappled light on the ground, tinted red, yellow, and blue. This section was originally the landing site of the map as seen in an early trailer and the Onions would respectively be located on the same spots as these circles.
  • The Perplexing Pool was originally going to be called "The Perplexing Spring".[2]
  • While walking through the area, bear cicadas, nii-nii cicadas, and min-min cicada calls can be heard. In the evening, they are replaced with evening cicadas.
  • If the Perplexing Pool is visited on the fourth day - the earliest possible day it can be unlocked - a trio of eggs can be seen falling from the sky if a Leader or Pikmin wander near the Beady Long Legs's spawn point. This is the only case in the overworld where an object (other than the aforementioned Beady Long Legs) can fall from the sky, since all other objects that fall do so in caves. If one opens the game files to look at the definition that creates those eggs, they can find a comment reading ハテナタマゴ３Ｉ?, lit.: "Question egg 3I".

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
  Japanese まどいの水源?
Madoi no Suigen		 Spring of Perplexity
  Chinese
(traditional)		 圍聚水源
  French (NoA) Source troublante Perplexing spring
  French (NoE) La Source Troublante (GameCube version)
Source Troublante (Wii and Switch version)		 The Perplexing Spring
Perplexing Spring
  German Die Mythische Quelle (GameCube and Switch version)
Mythische Quelle (Wii version and Switch version's loading screen)		 The Mythical Spring
Mythical Spring
  Italian Sorgente sconcertante Perplexing spring
  Spanish (NoA) El Arroyo Desconcertante (Wii version)
Arroyo Desconcertante (Switch version and Wii version's area selection menu)		 The Disconcerting Stream
Disconcerting Stream
  Spanish (NoE) El Arroyo Desconcertante (GameCube version)
Arroyo Desconcertante (Wii and Switch version)		 The Disconcerting Stream
Disconcerting Stream

See also

References

  1. ^ “I've recently noted that changes in this planet's environment happen at a very rapid pace. Compared to how it was when I was here before, the Perplexing Pool has changed drastically. Due to frequent tectonic shifts, the region appears slightly different each time I enter it. It could be a natural phenomenon, but it's as if I feel the presence of a guiding hand. ...Maybe it's just my imagination running wild.” – Aquatic Mine's entry in Olimar's journal
  2. ^ Pikmin 2/Early English Script on The Cutting Room Floor


 

This article was a featured article from March 30th to April 18th, 2008.

 
Perplexing Pool
 

Click an object

  Gherkin Gate   Impediment Scourge
  Aquatic Mine   Fortified Delicacy
  Onion Replica   Massage Girdle
  Optical Illustration (US) /   Abstract Masterpiece (Europe)
  Citadel of Spiders   Glutton's Kitchen
  Shower Room   Submerged Castle
Pikmin 2 areas
Valley of ReposeAwakening WoodPerplexing PoolWistful Wild 

Click an area on the image

Normal areas

Valley of Repose • Awakening Wood • Perplexing Pool • Wistful Wild

Unused areas

newtest

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