Rest sublevel
Rest sublevel, also referred to as rest stop or rest level, is a general term used to describe sublevels in caves in Pikmin 2 that contain no or very few harmful enemies or other hazards, and large amounts of helpful items such as nectar, ultra-bitter- or ultra-spicy spray, or Candypop Buds. A somewhat common exception to the "harmless enemy only" rule is Doodlebugs, two Caustic Dweevils in one case, and Bulbmin found in another. Mamutas can also be found on some, but those help the Pikmin. They can, however, hurt the leaders.
A fair proportion of rest levels contain geysers, and they are most commonly found in long and difficult caves, often before or after sublevels containing boss enemies. Such levels usually contain large amounts of flora, Unmarked Spectralid swarms, Mitites, pipes which act as tunnels, and water low enough for any Pikmin to safely walk through. These areas can be identified by their calm musical theme.
If there is a Candypop Bud and the player has the need to have a full group of flower Pikmin, it's feasible to throw the Pikmin into the flower and wait for them to bloom. This is easy enough with any flower in any sublevel, but doing so above ground tends to be a huge waste of time.
Locations
Valley of Repose
- Subterranean Complex
- Sublevel 4: Has three Ivory Candypop Buds.
- Sublevel 8: Has two Queen Candypop Buds and three Violet Candypop Buds.
- Frontier Cavern
- Sublevel 5: This is the sublevel where the Brute Knuckles is obtained.
Awakening Wood
- Hole of Beasts
- Sublevel 2: 2 Violet Candypop Buds, but they don't appear if the player has 20 or more Purple Pikmin.
- White Flower Garden
- Sublevel 3: Has the Superstick Textile and 3 Ivory Candypop Buds, but they don't appear if the player have 20 or more White Pikmin
Perplexing Pool
- Shower Room
- Sublevel 4: Contains the Arboreal Frippery and several Unmarked Spectralids.
Wistful Wild
- Cavern of Chaos
- Sublevel 5: Has two Iridescent Flint Beetles and three Candypop Buds.
- Hole of Heroes
- Sublevel 5: Has two Iridescent Glint Beetles and several honey-related items.
- Sublevel 8: Has a Bulbmin and two Doodlebugs.
- Sublevel 12: Contains the Lost Gyro Block.
- Dream Den
- Sublevel 9: Contains an Iridescent Flint Beetle, a Glint Beetle, and two Doodlebugs.
Trivia
- There is a total of 11 rest sublevels in the game, distributed in 8 caves, making up 10.47% of all sublevels in the game.
- The only cave with three rest sublevels is the Hole of Heroes and the only one with two is the Subterranean Complex. All other caves containing any have only one.
- The only caves in the game with rest sublevels that contain treasure, is sublevel 5 of Frontier Cavern, sublevel 3 of White Flower Garden, sublevel 4 of Shower Room, and sublevel 12 of Hole of Heroes. When the Pikmin carry a treasure, the rest level's theme seems somewhat upgraded. As such, the player can only hear this four times in the game.