Every Type of Pikmin in the Pikmin Franchise

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A complete guide to each Pikmin’s unique abilities & weaknesses

Co-authored by Devin McSween

Last Updated: July 15, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Pikmin Types & Abilities
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• Unofficial Pikmin
|
• What are Pikmin?
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• Video
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• Tips

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Pikmin are the cute sprout-like mascots of the Pikmin franchise, who help you achieve tasks and take on enemies as you play the games. There are several different kinds of Pikmin, though, and they all have different strengths and abilities that make them useful as you play! In this article, we’re going over the 9 main types of Pikmin that appear in Pikmin 1 through Pikmin 4, as well as some related (but unofficial) types, and explaining what the Pikmin actually are.

A Visual Guide to Every Pikmin Type

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There are 9 types of Pikmin: Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Purple, Rock, Winged, Ice, and Glow. Each one has unique abilities that make it useful for fighting certain enemies, navigating different terrain, or surviving specific hazards. For example, Red Pikmin are fire resistant and deal more damage than other types.

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Section 1 of 3:

The Pikmin Types and Their Abilities

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   Red Pikmin These are the first Pikmin you usually meet, who have a red body and a sharp, pointed nose. Their nose gives them especially strong attack power, which is 1.5x more than most other Pikmin, making them excellent warriors. The Red Pikmins’ other special ability is their immunity to fire and heat. Otherwise, they have average speed, throw height, digging speed, and carrying capacity.

   • Best for: Attacking enemies, navigating hot areas, dealing with fiery objects or enemies
   • Weaknesses: Deep water, electricity, poison, ice, average abilities besides attack
   • First appearance: Pikmin
   • Appears in: Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom
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   Yellow Pikmin Yellow Pikmin are usually the second Pikmin type you encounter, and they’re notable for their large ears. Their ears enable them to be thrown farther, which makes them helpful for collecting hard-to-reach objects, treasures, and fruits. Starting in Pikmin 2, they’re also resistant to electricity, so they’re the best ones for fighting electrified enemies! And beginning with Pikmin 3, Yellow Pikmin can also conduct electricity (which makes them flower) and are able to dig faster than other Pikmin types.

   • Best for: Throwing, dealing with electrical enemies and obstacles (Pikmin 2+), creating electrical circuits (Pikmin 3), digging (Pikmin 3+)
   • Weaknesses: Deep water, fire, poison, ice, average abilities besides throw height
   • First appearance: Pikmin
   • Appears in: Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom
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   Blue Pikmin Blue Pikmin are another staple in the franchise, and they have unique frowning mouths, which are actually gills. This gives Blue Pikmin the special ability to breathe underwater, as all other types will drown in deep water. Luckily, idle Blue Pikmin will also rescue any drowning Pikmin they see! Plus, they’re resistant to water, which can make them especially useful for fighting water-based enemies that can soak and drown other types.

   • Best for: Navigating water and underwater areas, fighting water enemies (though other Pikmin types can fight them, too)
   • Weaknesses: Fire, electricity, poison, ice, average abilities (attack, speed, throw height, digging speed, carrying capacity)
   • First appearance: Pikmin
   • Appears in: Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom
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   White Pikmin White Pikmin are a smaller Pikmin type that have large, red eyes and a pink flower. These little guys are resistant to poison, which makes them extremely helpful when dealing with poisonous enemies, objects, or areas. They’re also poisonous themselves, so if they get eaten by an enemy, they’ll deal great damage (though the Pikmin will die). The White Pikmin’s small size also makes them the fastest in the series, and their eyes allow them to locate completely buried treasures.

   • Best for: Navigating poisonous areas and attacking poisonous enemies, running and carrying things quickly, finding buried treasure
   • Weaknesses: Below average attack power (Pikmin 4), harder to obtain (only obtainable through white Candypop Buds), deep water, fire, electricity, ice
   • First appearance: Pikmin 2
   • Appears in: Pikmin 2, Pikmin 4, Pikmin Bloom (plus, the non-story game modes in Pikmin 3)
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   Purple Pikmin Purple Pikmin have thick, hefty bodies and weigh 10x more than other Pikmin types. This makes them slower than other types, but much stronger. They have the strength of 10 Pikmin, requiring fewer Pikmin to carry objects, and the same increased attack power as Red Pikmin (1.5x more than most other types). Their heaviness also creates shockwaves that can stun enemies when they’re thrown, keeps them upright in windy conditions, stops them from tripping as much, and prevents them from getting trapped in bubbles.

   • Best for: Carrying objects, attacking and stunning enemies, navigating windy areas
   • Weaknesses: Slow speed, low throw height, harder to obtain (only obtainable through purple Candypop Buds), deep water, fire, electricity, poison, ice
   • First appearance: Pikmin 2
   • Appears in: Pikmin 2, Pikmin 4, Pikmin Bloom (plus, the non-story game modes in Pikmin 3)
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   Rock Pikmin As the name implies, Rock Pikmin look like gray stones with a purple flower shooting from their head. Their solid bodies give them an immunity to being crushed (only on soft surfaces, like dirt or sand, though) and stabbed by enemies. While they don’t attack enemies like most Pikmin, as they can’t latch onto foes, they deal the most damage. They slam into enemies when thrown or simply charge into them by themselves. Plus, their solid bodies enable them to smash through glass and crystals.

   • Best for: Attacking enemies, dealing with enemies that crush or stab, dealing with glass and crystal walls or obstacles
   • Weaknesses: Can’t latch onto enemies, deep water, fire, electricity, poison, ice, average abilities besides attack power
   • First appearance: Pikmin 3
   • Appears in: Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom
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   Winged Pikmin These cute Pikmin have wings, pink bodies, and big blue eyes. They have the unique ability to fly, which makes carrying objects a breeze. They easily overcome obstacles (like water and pits), evade enemies, and can even take shortcuts. And in Pikmin 4, Winged Pikmin have an above-average throw height. However, because they’re small, they’re not very strong attackers.

   • Best for: Carrying objects over obstacles, evading enemies, navigating dangerous areas and terrain
   • Weaknesses: Below average attack power, deep water, fire, electricity, poison, ice
   • First appearance: Pikmin 3
   • Appears in: Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom
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   Ice Pikmin Ice Pikmin have light blue, crystal-like bodies and the ability to freeze. When they attack (or get eaten by) enemies, they completely freeze them and prevent them from moving (though enemies take less damage when frozen). Ice Pikmin also freeze over water and mud when they’re thrown into them, allowing other Pikmin types to walk on top. These guys are also immune to ice and cold temperatures, making them the best Pikmin for dealing with icy foes and areas.

   • Best for: Incapacitating enemies, dealing with icy areas, obstacles, or enemies, navigating water or mud terrain
   • Weaknesses: Below average attack power, very vulnerable to fire, deep water, electricity, poison, difficult to obtain (initially only found in caves)
   • First appearance: Pikmin 4
   • Appears in: Pikmin 4, Pikmin Bloom
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   Glow Pikmin Glow Pikmin are little green guys who don’t have legs and instead float over the ground. You can only use them at night and underground, though they’re extremely useful in these scenarios! Glow Pikmin are immune to fire, electricity, water, poison, and ice; can’t die from falling or dropping into any abyss; and can teleport directly to you, no matter the distance. They can also fuse into a glowing ball called a Glowmob that stuns enemies.

   • Best for: Completing night expeditions, navigating the underground, stunning enemies, dealing with hazards (like fire, water, etc.)
   • Weaknesses: Can only be used at night or underground, their home (Lumiknolls) is vulnerable to attacks, average abilities
   • First appearance: Pikmin 4
   • Appears in: Pikmin 4
   • Fun fact: Unlike other Pikmin types, Glow Pikmin do not come from an Onion and aren’t plucked from the ground. Instead, they are created by their dirt nest, the Lumiknolls.
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Section 2 of 3:

Unofficial Pikmin Types

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   Bulborb Pikmin or Bulbmin Bulbmin are a parasitic type of Pikmin that have infested a Bulborb, a common enemy in the franchise. You can only use them inside caves, and they require you to defeat the adult leader before the followers can join your squad. They’re great to have because they’re immune to fire, electricity, water, and poison, and they can’t trip. Otherwise, Bulbmin have average stats (attack, speed, etc.) and can still be crushed or stabbed.

   • First appearance: Pikmin 2
   • Appears in: Pikmin 2
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   Mushroom Pikmin or Puffmin Regular Pikmin turn into Puffmin when they get infected by the spores of a Puffstool, an enemy in some of the games. They turn purple, and a mushroom grows on the top of their stem. Most importantly, they turn on you and attack only you (not your fellow Pikmin). Puffmin can’t be cured and must be defeated.

   • First appearance: Pikmin
   • Appears in: Pikmin
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   Leaflings Leaflings are humans that were put through an Onion, the life form that produces Pikmin. So, humans who go through the Onion essentially turn into human-Pikmin hybrids. The humans become covered in colored leaves, obscuring their face, and grow a sprout on top of their heads. Leaflings can be cured and returned to their full human appearance, which is a main plot point in Pikmin 4.

   • First appearance: Pikmin 4
   • Appears in: Pikmin 4
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Section 3 of 3:

What are Pikmin?

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1. 
   Pikmin are plant-animal hybrids and the main gameplay feature in the games. Pikmin are the plant-animal creatures that your character finds on the planet they’re exploring. They’re curious and kind, following around the player to help them with tasks (like collecting important objects and defeating enemies). They’re named for the fact that they’re picked out of the ground—most Pikmin types begin as seeds that fall from Onions and mature into sprouts just below the ground.

   • Pikmin have 3 main life stages that correspond to their stem appearance and influence their speed. If the Pikmin is kept in the ground, it will mature through the stages, so you can choose which type you pluck:
     • Leaf Pikmin are the first stage and the slowest, and have a leaf on their stem.
     • Bud Pikmin are moderately fast and have a bud on their stem.
     • Flower Pikmin are the last stage and the fastest, and have a fully bloomed flower on their stem.
     • Note: If you pluck a Leaf of Bud Pikmin, you can turn it into a Flower Pikmin by giving it nectar.
   • As the main character, you can make your Pikmin complete several different actions. You can throw them at objects or enemies, tell them to swarm around you, order them to charge toward an object or enemy, or dismiss them so they become idle. If they’re trapped or facing a hazard (like drowning or an enemy), you can whistle at them to call them back to your side.
   • Pikmin are friendly with each other. When they’re idle (i.e., not completing a task), they’ll “talk” to each other, wave, dance, hum, play games, and even groom one another.

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Tips

• In one of the end scenes of Pikmin, several different colored Onions are shown flying toward the planet PNF-404 that didn’t correspond to Pikmin in the game, but showed up in later games, including pink, purple, cyan, and lime-green Onions. There are also black and orange Onions, which haven’t shown up in any Pikmin game to date. So, it’s possible that this is an Easter egg hinting that there are more types to come (but, it could equally just be an aesthetic choice for the scene!).
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