Learn some early game tips for Pikmin 4 with our beginner's guide. Here you'll find tips and tricks to manage your PIkmin efficiently, use Oatchi effectively, and make the most of your exploration!

Beginner's Guide: Essential Tips and Tricks

Early Game Tips
Know Your Pikmin Command Oatchi Effectively Rescue Castaways in Caves Collect Everything You Can Watch the Time Use Gear and Items Move Your Base Always Practice Dandori

Know Your Pikmin

You'll encounter several types of Pikmin while exploring, and knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each one can help you manage them efficiently.

For example, Red Pikmin are great for fighting creatures and are resistant to fire, but they can't cross water or reach high places. You can have three types of Pikmin at a time, and bringing the right ones should make exploration a breeze.

All Pikmin Types: How to Get More Pikmin

Bring More Pikmin by Collecting Flarlic

You'll start the game with a limit of 20 Pikmin to lead while on the surface. As you keep exploring, you'll eventually find a white bulb called Flarlic. Each collected Flarlic raises the cap by 10, allowing you to bring more Pikmin!

All Flarlic Locations

Find Onions to Produce Other Pikmin Types

Colored bulbs called Onions will appear throughout your exploration. Bringing these back will let you produce the other types of Pikmin from pellets or defeated creatures. Note that the Pikmin type depends on the ones that brought it! You can tell by the color of the numbers while it's being transported.

Increase Pikmin with Pellets, Defeated Foes, and Wild Pikmin

You can increase the number of Pikmin in the Onion by collecting Pikmin Pellets, defeating foes at the surface, and recruiting wild Pikmin within caves. This will come in handy when you increase your max Pikmin limit or lose some Pikmin to enemies.

Command Oatchi Effectively

Oatchi is your new loyal companion in Pikmin 4! He can help you ride to reach new places by jumping and swimming and can sniff out treasure and Castaways. Not only that, this Rescue Pup can act as a second captain for the Pikmin!

There's always something to do while you're out exploring, and since Oatchi can do so many things, using him is key if you want to multitask in the game. Remember to use Shortcuts to make commanding him easier.

Oatchi Guide - Everything You Need to Know

Train Oatchi at the Command Rescue Post

Every rescue you complete adds to Oatchi's Pup Drive! You can use these points to gain or level up Oatchi's skills to better help you as you explore this unknown planet. Talk to Captain Shepherd to train Oatchi and choose skills depending on your own Dandori playstyle.

How to Train Oatchi

Rescue Castaways in Caves

As a Rescue Corps member, your main task is to save the Castaways that crashed on the planet. These Castaways can be found in Caves, where you'll need to solve puzzles and beat creatures to rescue them.

Rescuing also builds up Oatchi's Pup Drive, which will make the best boy even better!

List of All Cave Locations and Maps

Collect Everything You Can

There are plenty of resources for your Pikmin to collect, and bringing them back to the ship is always helpful. Collecting treasures gives Sparklium, which opens up new parts of the world for exploration and unlocks more items at the Lab. Raw materials can be used to make gear or construct bridges to make exploring easier.

List of All Treasures

Watch the Time

Time is limited for every day of exploration, so it's best to do as much as you can before the sun sets. Cut the time spent carrying objects by moving your base around or enhance your Pikmin with nectar or an Ultra-Spicy Spray. Make it a priority to have your Pikmin be busy with a task to make the most of the time.

Day Length - How Long is One Day?

Save Your Pikmin For Another Day

Don't expect to clear out everything in a map in a single in-game day. Make sure to round up any busy and idle Pikmin before night falls or else you'll lose them!

Rewind Time if You're Struggling

New to Pikmin 4 is the ability to rewind time without having to restart the day. Beginners can use this feature if they're losing too many Pikmin or aren't satisfied with how long they're doing a task.

How to Rewind and Save Your Pikmin

Use Gear and Items

Gear and Items will help you throughout your exploration. You can access them through the Lab after rescuing Russ. Note that some gear can be accessed immediately, but others will require special conditions like taking fire or ice damage.

Prioritize Getting the Charging Horn

The Charging Horn orders selected Pikmin to charge when you press the X button and costs only 20 Raw Materials. This is helpful when it comes to delegating Pikmin to collect treasures, defeating enemies, and the like.

The Lab - Best Gear and Items

Move Your Base

Bring your base closer to you to explore more areas faster and efficiently. This makes carrying Raw Materials, treasure, and defeated enemies to the S.S. Beagle easier.

Always Practice Dandori

Dandori is the art of strategically making plans or arrangements. Since you're always on the clock in Pikmin 4, you'll need to have an idea of what to do next to make the most of your exploration. Using gear like the Survey Drone can help you line up tasks.

Mastering this will surely help you beat the Leaflings' Dandori Battles and Challenges with ease!

Use the Radar Map Pins

Place pins on the Radar Map by pressing the Y button while the map window is open. You can place up to 3 pins on the map. This marks places to explore next, areas to go back to, or items to pick up so you can better practice the Dandori way.

How to Use the Map

Pikmin 4 Related Guides

Pikmin 4 Walkthrough Top Page

All Pikmin 4 Guides

All Pikmin 4 Guides
Pikmin Types	Onions	Areas
Caves	Bosses	Piklopedia
Treasures	Oatchi	Night Expeditions
Main Missions	Side Missions	Characters
Gear	Items	Dandori Challenges
Dandori Battles	Olimar's Shipwreck Tale	Trial of the Sage Leaf

All Tips and Tricks Articles

All Tips and Tricks Articles
Multiplayer Guide	Beginner's Guide
Character Creator Guide	Demo Guide
How to Save Your Game	How to Get Sparklium
Best Gear and Items	How to Transfer Save Data
How to Rewind and Save Your Pikmin	How to Increase the Max Pikmin Limit
Recommended Shortcuts	All Flarlic Locations
How to Get Nectar	Best Settings
How to Use the Map	Day Length - How Long is One Day?
How to Solve All Obstacle Types	How to Make Pikmin Flowers Bloom
Pellet Number and Color Guide	How to Freeze Water
How to Cross Water	How to Build Bridges, Walls, and Stairs
How to Get and Use Raw Materials	How to Recover Health
Game Length - How Long to Beat	How to Swarm
Night Mode and Expeditions	How to Get More Pikmin Fast
How to Avoid Pikmin Death	How to Get the True Ending
How to Solve the Bunker Code in Hero's Hideaway	What Does the Screw in the Ground Do?
Is There a Day Limit?	How to Get Through Mud
How to Cure Leaflings	How to Get Glow Sap
Rescue Command Post Guide	Post Game Content and 100 Percent Guide
Completion Rewards	What Happens When You Get Game Over?
Do Enemies Respawn?	How to Unlock Leafling Look
Where to Find Moss	-

All News Articles

All News Articles
Direct Trailer and Gameplay	How to Preload
All Pikmin 4 Editions	Everything We Know
All Merchandise and Toys	Available Platforms and Consoles
Pre-Order Guide	Will Pikmin 4 Have Bingo Battle
How to Claim All Demo Rewards	amiibo Support and Compatibility
Should You Play Pikmin 3 First?	When Does Pikmin 4 Take Place?
Are Bulbmin in Pikmin 4?	Is There New Game Plus?
Will There Be DLC?	-