Maturity
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To do: For Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3's multiplayer modes, check if a leaf Pikmin loses a fight to a flower Pikmin. |
Pikmin can be in one of three stages of maturity. The more mature the Pikmin is, the faster it becomes, and the more efficient it is at completing tasks. As such, it is on the player's best interest to keep their Pikmin in high maturity. A Pikmin's stage can be identified by what's on top of its stem, and there are several ways for Pikmin to both increase and decrease in maturity. Three stages exist: leaf, bud, and flower; all Pikmin start in the leaf stage when born.
When stored into an Onion, Pikmin do not lose their maturity, meaning that the player will not lose flower or bud Pikmin between days. When pulling Pikmin out of an Onion, flower Pikmin come out first, then buds, and finally leaves.
The standby Pikmin icon in the first two games makes the distinction between different maturities of Pikmin. Before throwing in Pikmin 2, it is possible to swap out a Pikmin on a leader's hand for one of a different maturity within the same type; this can be achieved by pressing Padupdown / Paddown.
Because a higher maturity is better than a lower one, some rankings in the games use icons based on the Pikmin stems' tops to symbolize their value. For instance, in Mission Mode, the bronze medal has a leaf icon, the silver medal has a bud, and the gold and platinum medals have a flower. Analogously, flowers are sometimes depicted in the series as symbols of evolution or idealism, such as the Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode levels on the grid changing to flowers upon completion.
In Bingo Battle, a Pikmin's leaf, bud or flower is the same color as the team it's on – cyan for player 1, and pink for player 2.
Stages
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- Leaf
The first, basic stage. A simple green leaf sticks atop the stem. Pikmin in this state are slow and not as effective at completing tasks as other maturities. Newborn Pikmin always start off as leaves.
- Bud
The second stage. These Pikmin have a round bud on their stem. Pikmin normally have white buds, but Purple and White Pikmin have magenta buds, and Rock and Winged Pikmin have lavender ones. At this maturity, Pikmin have average speed.
- Flower
The final stage. Flower Pikmin are the fastest, and have a chaenostoma cordatum atop their stems. In Pikmin, flower Pikmin that die in battle have a chance of leaving behind a sprout that appears the following day. The color of a Pikmin's flower is the same as the color of its bud.
Increasing
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To do: For each game, verify what happens if a leaf Pikmin is left unplucked overnight, and check if a burrowed leaf Pikmin early in the day becomes more evolved if the player chooses to end the day from the pause menu. Also, check how long it takes for them to advance in stage while underground. |
The most basic way for Pikmin to increase in level is to let them remain underground for some time without plucking them. As they stay underground, they extract nutrients from the soil[1], which allows them to evolve from their current stage to the next one every few minutes. In the first two games, flower Pikmin can also revert to leaf status if left underground for too long, however. Interestingly, in Pikmin 3, Pikmin will be forced to stay as leaves on the first day.
The other most common way to have Pikmin mature is to feed them nectar. This will instantly set them to flower status if they are on the leaf or bud stages.
Other ways also exist:
- In Pikmin 3, an ultra-spicy spray instantly matures all Pikmin in the party to the flower stage, as well as power them up temporarily.
- Yellow Pikmin that complete an electrode's circuit will instantly flower up.
- If a Mamuta plants Pikmin, they instantly evolve to the flower stage.
- In 2-Player Battle, the flower roulette wheel power will instantly flower up all non-buried Pikmin that belong to the player that used it.
Decreasing
There are some ways for Pikmin to decrease in maturity in the first two games. Pikmin in Pikmin 3 will never lose their stage to a weaker one.
- In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, Pikmin that get knocked down in battle have a random chance of decreasing in maturity. In Pikmin, a Pikmin will only decrease to the maturity directly under the one it is on, but in Pikmin 2, the decrease will happen straight to the leaf stage.
- The Withering Blowhog's breath can revert Pikmin back to the leaf stage.
- In Pikmin, if a flower Pikmin is left underground for too long, it disappears, and reappears some seconds later with a leaf status. In Pikmin 2, they do not disappear, but still revert to leaves.
- In 2-Player Battle, an ultra-bitter spray used against the opponent's Pikmin will bury them and revert them to the leaf stage.
A "rebirth" via a Candypop Bud could be considered a way for a Pikmin's status to revert back to a leaf, and this is true for every game, although technically, the Pikmin that gets tossed in disappears and a new one is born in its place.
In other media
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In the Pikmin Short Movies
The Pikmin Short Movies portray Pikmin changing maturity in ways that do not coincide with the canon games. While at times the change in maturity is mostly a visual gag, there are situations where the evolutions have an impact on the outcome of the story.
In Treasure in a Bottle, the Pikmin outside of the bottle change from leaf to flowers when they come up with an idea. This is likely a take on the cartoon joke where characters that come up with ideas receive a glowing lightbulb on top of their heads.
Near the end of Occupational Hazards, when the Pikmin and Bulborb are falling from the backhoe's bucket, the Pikmin's leaves turn into flowers, serving as parachutes. When Yellow Pikmin touch the backhoe's battery, their leaves turn into buds, which is something that does not happen in Pikmin 3; when they finish the circuit, their buds stay the same, whereas in the third Pikmin game, finishing a circuit rewards all Pikmin involved with a flower status. A Red Pikmin can also be seen evolving into a flower after emerging from the mud, in the scene after the Fiery Blowhog is defeated, but the reason for this is not known. Template:Endspoiler
In addition to this, in the opening to The Night Juicer, some mature Purple Pikmin have erroneously white-colored flowers.
In the Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Pikmin following Olimar start on the leaf stage when plucked, and slowly evolve into buds and then flowers as they stay on the battlefield. This change is only aesthetic, though, although it is the main concept behind event #14: "Sproutage of the Flower Pikmin", in Brawl. To save on performance, Pikmin always stay on the leaf status in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.
In Pikmin Adventure
In the Nintendo Land attraction Pikmin Adventure, Olimar players and Pikmin players may collect blobs of nectar to increase a numeric level. Three drops of nectar are needed to increase one level, and between levels 1 and 4, that player's Pikmin will be in the leaf stage. Between levels 5 and 9, the bud stage, and from 10 onward, the flower stage. Although the maturity itself has no impact on the Pikmin's performance, the numeric level does. The Olimar player also receives an increase in Pikmin number when evolving to a new stage.