Investigate the Planet is a Main Mission in Pikmin 4 given by Shepherd. Read on for a detailed walkthrough of Investigate the Planet, how to unlock it, as well as other tips and strategies on how to complete this Main Mission!

How to Unlock Investigate the Planet

Get the True Ending

Investigate the Planet is a main mission to fully explore PNF-404 that will be unlocked after completing Cure Oatchi.

Basically, the goal is to have 100% exploration on all 6 areas—that means collecting all the Treasures, finishing all Dandori Battles and Challenges, rescuing all Castaways (and curing them if they were turned into a Leafling), and gathering all Onions and Flarlics.

How to Get the True Ending

How to Complete Investigate the Planet

Mission Objectives

Rescue All 50 Castaways

This objective includes rescuing the 7 members of the Rescue Corps, which are all found by following the Rescue the Rescue Corps Main Mission, and the other 43 Castaways tied to the Rescue All Castaways Main Mission.

Leaflings rescued from Dandori Battles and Challenges as well as in certain Caves will also contribute to this count, but they will have to be cured first using Glow Sap from Night Expeditions.

Collect All 410 Treasures

You'll also need to collect all 410 Treasures and register them to Schnauz's Treasure Catalog. A lot of these are found in Caves and some of them can be easily missed as they are either held by certain enemies or completely buried.

Whether up on the surface or down on a cave sublevel, don't hesitate to command Oatchi to track the remaining Treasures until you reach 100% exploration!

List of All Treasures and Locations

Obtain All 19 Onions and Flarlics

Lastly, you'll have to search for the 7 Onions (those that allow you to produce additional Pikmin Types) and 12 Flarlics (those that increase your maximum squad size).

The Purple and White Onions that you get from the Trial of the Sage Leaf are not counted as they are not found within the 6 main areas.

Investigate the Planet Mission Unlockables and Rewards

No Particular Reward for 100% Completion

There is no particular reward for completing Investigate the Planet and exploring 100% of all the main areas, though you will unlock almost everything in the game by doing so.

For example, rescuing Castaways and Rescue Corps Officers unlocks all the Main Missions and Side Missions, as well as other features like the Treasure Catalog and the Piklopedia.

Don't worry: if you run out of things to do, you can try aiming for all the Platinum Medals in Dandori Battles and Challenges, relive Olimar's crash landing memories in Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, and pass the Trial of the Sage Leaf!

Post Game Content and 100 Percent Guide

Pikmin 4 Related Guides

All Main Mission Walkthroughs

List of All Main Missions