despite not knowing english and nobody speaks it, the pikmin know how to say their own name...

this theory genuinely makes the story of the game infinitely more interesting, i wish there was a bit more ingame acknowledgement to the seemingly parasitic nature of the onion

If you speak to olimar before you start the sage leaf trials he tells you about a memory involving a white leafling, suggesting he has met the sage leaf at some point, most likely as a leafling.

Alph wasn't turned into a leafling because he landed in water, one of the pikmin was waiting for him to wake up to lead him to the onion.

"The onions make the ships crash so that they can brainwash the castaways and use them as leaders to the Pikmin" The onion seeing 11 year old me lose 80 Pikmin to a bomb rock: 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

one thing i would like to add is that Louie is seemingly reluctant of leaving PNF-404 in both pikmin 2 and 4, with him saying something along the lines of "i kinda want to stay in here" in 4, and in 2 just straight up not boarding the ship despite being there, (although his reaction in the "credits" say it was closer to an accident), but whether Louie wants to stay due to the Onions messing with him or just him liking being the "king of bugs" is unknown to me

I think its interesting to note that Bulbmin have a different but similar method for securing a leader. They are parasites that essentially leafify their main predator, the bulborb, themselves and control all the bulborbs body functions too. I like to think that the dev team studied hard on how insects and other small animals survive to inspire the world of Pikmin

I always found found it weird that the moment you use the knapsack item to sleep in pikmin 2 they instantly try to stuff you into the onion

I think the Sage Leaf may have just overheard the comms between Rookie and the Rescue Corps. He calls the onions “Gems” before switching to the name Rookie is familiar with. Edit: The Red Pikmin near Alph can’t reach him when he crashes because he’s in the water.

Hi! Quick note on the water wraith thing. The yokai Umibouzu (海坊主) uses the same word as the water wraith (坊主) bouzu, you touched on the multiple meanings of this word in the video (which I appreciate as most people miss it) bouzu written with those two kanji characters always means priest/monk. The other kanji in umibouzu (海) means sea. So while I do agree that the water wraith probably isn't connected to the plasm wraith or part of the reason the ships crashed, I don't think it's realistic to claim that there was absolutely no relationship between umibouzu and the water wraith. Considering the structure of the two names are incredibly similar: Umibouzu (sea-bouzu) Amebouzu (rain-bouzu) Yes, ame has the double meaning but since the entire game is in Katakana we can't rule out either meaning. Honestly it's probably intentionally done that way. Also the fact that it's water-wraith and not candy-wraith in the English translation means that the association with rain/water is undeniably there. Additionally, Nintendo has taken inspiration from yokai quite a lot when creating monsters/creatures (Pokémon like drowzee being a shining example) so it's not far fetched to imagine they took inspiration from another one when designing/naming a creature. TLDR: I agree with you that the umibouzu theory isn't likely anymore, but there was definitely some influence with umibouzu in the water wraiths design/name. (Great video btw, this is just me being nitpicky)

Alph also landed in water, so the red pikmin wouldn't have been able to get him anyway. (Also the fact that Alph is awake to watch the Drake fly overhead and crash after him implies to me at least that he wasn't unconscious for very long, if at all)

The limit of pikmins you can carry might be the limit of how many pikmins the Onion is capable of connection to the "hivemind" For example, it's curious that Onions are capable of flight, perhaps the ability to flight could be linked to the knowledge pikmin have over the map? Maybe the onion takes "record" of the area it will land on, and then it connects the pikmin to inform them of routes and stuff This might be why to imprive the limit we need to feed farlics to the onion, it needs to be upgraded to be able to hold control over more pikmins

the "mechanical harp (memory song)" has an entry from olimar that states that he feels like it's "sending me a warning about unexpected troubles in the future...", likely meaning that at pikmin 4 takes place at least before pikmin 3.

here is another thing to look at in pikmin 4 when you 100% the sage cave you have the option to bring the sage with you but he refuses something none of the other leaflings do so the sage could have been on the planet for so long that they are at peace with the planet something that nobody else feels besides louie

In regards to the Sage, he's probably got a universal translator device or something and the translations have to pull from a database of existing terms. Many of the castaways are from different planets and I doubt they all speak a common language.

There is one major thing that needs to be addressed: Why do glow pikmin counteract the Leafifying process? If Onions are seeking out permanent captains, why do the glow pikmin seemingly go against this process? We know that glow pikmin are not officially pikmin, merely having pikmin qualities... but why is this something they can do? Glow pikmin essentially provide food for the captain but also a natural resistance to infection; an emergency escape and life sustainer. Glow pikmin almost lure captains with an opposite method; rather than trap the individual via brainwashing it instead encourages them to stay by providing them with edible matter in exchange for their services. Its perfect for Louie all things considered. There is a possibility that leafifying is just a last resort for when onions have no other means to keep their captains alive.

my theory has been that Onions are pikmin that have been left in the ground for an *extremely long time,* so they gather nutrients from the ground and become plump enough to store their kin inside and create more pikmin. But without sunlight they become candypop buds, due to not having as much sunlight, they grow their petals to soak up as much as possible but dont get much. Similarly I like the theory that a farlic is an onion that's gotten aged after producing too much pikmin, ready to be recycled into nutrients. as for your theory I think this one goes hand in hand with that one, though isnt exactly evidence for or against it. Just makes sense even given these theories. Though in general it would make sense, why would a pikmin stay in the ground for a very long time? because nobody is around to pluck the seed out of the ground.

this theory makes shepherds pikmin nightmare alot more understandable

The phrase “I am so very tired” is actually in Pikmin 4 in a “secret” log, it just has an image of hero’s hideaway with red text saying the line

The good thing is that, even if we end up rescuing almost all castaways, the onions ALREADY WON long ago. Moss was BORN a leafling dog, which means leafling dogs must be already a part of the planets ecosystem (or at least just dogs as siren hound may suggest) , and seing how she has a natural disposition to lead Pikmin, and remained the 'Captain" of our squad by the end of Pikmin 4, means they are already predisposed to become Pikmin leaders on their own We can even speculate that, space dogs have helped the Pikmin species to tribe already , explaining to outstanding amount of onions and the wild onionless Pikmin we can find in the game, maybe Pikmin are now facing overpopulation, being why we can't start with 100 max Pikmin on the field right away

One thing that happens in Pikmin 1+2 is when you lay down next to pikmin they will immediately pick you up and take you to the nearest onion

I like this theory, think I believe it’s the most probable. Only flaw I’m noticing is that olimar named pikmin after carrots, so unless the carrots are named after pikmin that causes a problem. Maybe the ancient leafling only calls them unions and pikmin because he knows that’s what your character recognizes them as?

I like this theory a lot, I used to believe the Umibozu theory was the reason why many ship would crash on the planet, but this theory really makes more sense. The only thing that I didnt understand is if the Onions are smart enough to knock down ships, brainwash the castaways and communicate to the Pikmin, why dont the Onions simply act as direct leaders to the Pikmin? That would be way more simple than kidnapping castaways

That's a pretty interesting and well thought out hypothesis. I'm curious how all that ties in with the Luminolls. The ability to spawn Ghostly Pikmin, Sap that undoes Leafage, a feral urge to be drank or destroyed by the surrounding wildlife. Could it be a further form of an onion, or perhaps its greatest enemy?

Fun theory yet again! I like this idea that the onions are smarter than they seem on the surface

Good theory, but I'll provide some counter-arguments. I don't think the Pikmin necessarily WANT to leafify people, they just do it in order to save their lives. While not the most concrete evidence, the song Ai no Uta, which is from the Pikmin's perspective, implies that they genuinely love Olimar and will follow him even when he leads them to their death (they even sing this song themselves when you have all pikmin type). Pikmin and their captains essentially work on a symbiotic relationship where they work together in order in ensure the survival of the other. Also the reason Olimar probably says that he doesn't need all the ship parts is because 5 of the ship parts are actually completely optional and Olimar is probably saying that because he's desperate to escape and is willing to leave some parts behind.

This definitely seems like the most likely theory. The Umibozu theory was cool and all, but obviously had some holes it in. With this theory, it sounds not only a possible explanation, but also the _most likely_ explanation. Cause unlike the Umibozu theory, all the details and evidence for this one are explicitly hinted at by the notes and the Captains in-game.

On Onions naming themselves; It's more likely that due to everyone above ground already referring to them as Pikmin and onions, the sage leaf is choosing to use familiar terminology that has already prevailed in the dogma rather than try to influence it to what names he chose

This theory is really interesting and makes a lot of sense!!! It definitely goes with the cute exterior + dark interior the franchise has always had. I'd honestly say this is all likely intended!

I'd like to add something to the "why didn't the pikmin bring an unconscious Alph or Olimar to the onion." Question, and I know it might be debunked since pikmin 4 had a ton of living castaways get dragged to onions, but perhaps it's because the onions in 4 managed to evolve to the point where they didn't need to have a castaway be dead? Anyway, in pikmin 2 there is the five camper sleeping bag, that allows you to be carried back to the base camp by making your captains sleep. The pikmin will carry you back to the ship, but they will put you into the onion. Shortly before entering the onion, your character bounces off the top and fireworks pop out. My idea is in pikmin 1-3, the captain needed to have been dead to become a pikmin. I mean, Leafling olimar was only made into a Leafling after his life support systems failed, and the pikmin carried his body to the onion. He only got the transformation in 4 after the life support systems failed again and he perished, I believe the onion (at least in the older games) could only make a Leafling with a dead captain.

The onion choosing the names is proven furthermore by the fact Olimar was going to call yellow pikmin ear pikmin but then thought it was a stupid name and changed it to yellow. But Louie thought ear pikmin would be a better name further proving the onion wants them to be called yellow pikmin.

Really fascinating theory! If true, I don't think the Onions do this maliciously, Its simply a part of nature on PNF-404 and how they ensure the survival of their offspring like all living things do. PIKMIN 4 SPOILERS AHEAD: It also does raise an interesting question as to how The Ancient Sirehound remained un-pikminified for eons possibly , while Moss, who has lived on PNF-404 her whole life and is likely a more direct descendant of TASH than Oatchi, was born Leafling Pup. Perhaps TASH has lived isolated underground away from Onions for eons, while it's descendants on the surface gradually got Pikminified due to their loyal and protective nature.

This theory answers so much about pikmin as a series. Thank you for your content

Also i think this would explain why the onion keeps changing how it looks - i think it would “camouflage” in a sense to seem familiar to the potential leaders and allow them to lower their defenses in a sense as the onion wouldn’t seem too alien to them

this theory makes me imagine pikmin having a Bugsnax-Style plot twist

As an interesting observation, in Pikmin 2 you could lay down in the grownd to sleep after collecting a cloth glove, it doesnt work for anything but... if you lay in the ground with pikmin around, they will carry you to their onion, if you get abduced by it you wake up before being "eating" by the onion. So i guess thay have to be uncounseous or fainted in order to become a leafing, and that leads me to think that in the first place, the accidents in the ships caused by the onions were meant to kill them near a onion in order to turned them into leafings right away. Interesting

i do wonder if perhaps the pikmin were what drove the possible humans of pnf-404 away where they end up populating new worlds as koppaites, hocatations, etc. and remnants were made like the pikpik carrots engineered to look like the pikmin and the space dogs brought with them and shrunk as well

Good video, good theory, it has some overlapping thoughts with my own Theory on the series. My theory is predicated on the idea that the Onions and the Pikmin are not entirely natural, and were created by a space traveler similar to the captains we see in the series. It was his scientific work, and before he could complete his science and make it off the planet with his creations, he met an unfortunate fate and died on the planet. Olimar, being the first to discover the planet after this tragedy occurs, unknowningly stumbles upon this scientists work. The Onions and the Pikmins recognize Olimar as he is just like the space traveling scientist that created them. That is why they take to him as their leader and follow him. I have more but it be a lot to write

An interesting theory, but it raises an important question: If the Pikmin are looking for a permanent leader, why do they let the captains leave at the end of the game? If having someone to act as a leader for you is so important, and the captains are shown to be very capable leaders, why let them get away and have to start over from scratch? If they can cause ships in space to malfunction and crash, why not just keep causing the ships to malfunction and guarantee the captains remain on the planet indefinitely?

I've always heen interested in how the Umibozu even became a prominent figure in the theory side of Pikmin in the first place.

I was suprised by how convincing this theory is and the level of research is incredible earned a sub

Really solid theory, but I think you need to read the Plasm Wraith entry a little closer. What Olimar actually says is that since the Plasm Wraith reminds him of the Waterwraith, he briefly wondered if it was also an "ectoplasmic incarnation", calling back to his Waterwraith piklopedia entry wondering if it was "the ectoplasmic incarnation of a kind of psychic phenomenon". Now, I don't pretend to know what the heck that means, but I do know that Olimar isn't sure about this classification, specifically stating that his theory "is very difficult to prove". So in summary, he ruled out the possibility of the Plasm Wraith being an ectoplasmic incarnation, but never proved that the Waterwraith _was_ an ectoplasmic incarnation, and also just because the Plasm Wraith isn't an ectoplasmic incarnation doesn't mean it can't be related to one - in fact, considering they're both made of an amorphous gelatinous candy-resembling substance, and both the Plasm Wraith's English name and its Japanese name specifically reference the Waterwraith, I'd say it's quite likely they are related in at least some capacity.

With this video you have convinced me that the onions are influencing the thoughts of the captains, but there is one question I have regarding the Sage Leaf. What are your thoughts on the Sage Leaf hanging out below ground rather than leading the pikmin himself? At first I thought that perhaps it was his old age affecting him, so the hive mind decided to have him train the next generation of pikmin leaders, however (and I may be wrong here) I vaguely recall one of the rescue corps officers saying that leaflingification seemed to have some kind of restorative properties. I can’t seem to find any videos or wikis with all of the dialogue so (again) I may be wrong about that.

I think Louie isn't being controlled because Louie has a obsession with food and he's using the pikmin to get food AND he even considered eating pikmin in pikmin 4.

There's also the fact that the Reds in Pikmin 3 *couldn't* have gotten to Alph because he landed in water deep enough that the Pikmin would Drown.

Maybe that’s why Pikmin act confused during the Formidable Oak act in Pikmin 3, terrestrial pikmin could just use the geyser or flying pikmin could just… yk, FLY to the Drake 🤡 But no… Instead they act confused and don’t know where to go… but are they really confused?? What if they aren’t… what if they are just REFUSING to take Olimar the easy way, cause they KNOW, the moment Olimar is back to safety, both him and the Koppaites will have their opportunity to leave the plantet, living the pikmin behind, therefore losing their potential permanent leaders Meaning this could only be triggered by force, they choose to set a guide, and the pikmin PRETEND to stay loyal to the captains, following Brittany to get through the Oak, but they only do it to prolong the captains’ suffering, gaining time, on a desparte attempt to keep their captains forever

The most mysterious thing is, how Olimar ended up with an application that help him counting and locating pikmins while hocotatian have never met pikmins before and how that device got said data. We know that captains can communicate with their ships but are oinions capable to communicate with the captain's ship or other devices.

Another thing you missed that Reinforces the EMF theory is that birds IRL use electro-magnetic fields for long-range navigation for things like migration.

super interesting watch, really enjoyed the explanations for everything! although i’m curious if anything in games like hey pikmin or pikmin bloom help with furthering this theory :]

This should be the next big pikmin theory because it doesn't have many if any holes

The one thing that confuses me in pikmin 4 is that in some of the water levels they take place in what looks like a museum and by the level lay out something was being tested in it

I really like this theory a lot. I think it explains more than the Unebozu theory

The "I am so very tired" can appear in the Japanese Version of Pikmin 1!!

Super interesting theory. I think the onions/pikmin definitely play some part with the spaceship crashes. Pikmin 2 is the only pikmin game where onions are already active when found and it's also the only game where a ship doesn't completely crash land.

What I think you didn’t mention is also how everyone just kind of survives crashing on PNF-404. Like- most drop from the Atmosphere or worse and while their ships, which are also their only way to leave this planet, get completely wrecked and spread across the land in parts the captains and castaways just kind of don’t get significantly hurt. Almost like something wants them to survive, so they can be used. Sure I know having people die by splattering across the ground in a nintendo game would be a bit macabre but like- having EVERYONE that got reported missing in Pikmin 4 be just fine or a Leafling, instead of being killed by the local fauna or the crash is just very unlikely. Well unless theres something like the onions behind it all.

I haven't totally watched the video yet, so if you say a theory that I do, I apologize. My theory is that the onions can admit in electrostatic pulse that scramble ship radars, almost like some sort of makeshift distress call. The onions only ever crash captains onto the planet whenever they are nearing extinction, so potentially they have such capabilities

Bro just demolished 90% of pikmin myths i believed until I saw this video, holy shit

Awe hecc. I was waiting for this video thinking you were gonna use my theory of pikmin and captains sharing human ancestors (like the dogs do in 4 which i discovered after my suggestion to you cuz 4 wasn't it at the time of that video) and that onions and machine mixed creatures are man made on their last legs of human intelligence before finalizing their own evolution into pikmin, and blah blah blah etc. But ah, i love this video's theory too. It makes perfect sense. After all, what's the only other thing on pnf 404 that can reach a ship's altitude in the upper atmosphere? Onions... emf can interfere with ship functions, and the onion can ram a ship or suck up and eject or ram an object like a meteorite into them. Perhaps this theory can even be fused with mine, because they don't overlap each other. This fusion may even be the missing link as to why the entire planet itself was seemingly stricken from the record. There's another theory for you. "Why is pnf 404, pnf 404 in the first place?" It's not on anybody's maps, among several planets of intergalactic space faring people. I always thought that maybe the onions were a perfect creation, while only the creatures mixed with machines went haywire and turned against their creators... but. What if that's the case with onions too, and they're not so perfect of a creation after all? Maybe humans who stayed in the planet stopped their evolution in the perfect time to retain their human intelligence, with all the survival benefits of being pikmin like. But, being humans, they continued to do human things, like destroy the environment and go to war with each other. (Some onions may have crashed or been deactivated from it which is where we discover them so many years later). The onions, being programmed with the primary directive of "keep them safe and nurture their growth" may have gone haywire itself and done this objective in the most efficient way possible, which was to strip away their human intelligence, individualism, and finish their evolution so their under the onions full control to work and grow together with no more dangerous conflicting interests or selfish desires. The humans that decided to escape, however, witnessed this and didn't have the power to stop it, lest the onions get them too, so they simply erased any evidence of the planet existing and traveled stars away, never looking back. Until that is... "those who forget history, are doomed to repeat it." Time heals all wound. Really what that means, is that given enough time, anything is forgotten or uncared for. No data exists for the planet anymore, including why it was erased in the first place. No cautionary measures to prevent people from repeating history. Thus. There it is. Pikmin games are about a futuristic rogue AI that took its directives too literally and through extreme efficiency goals, created a dystopia, with a tireless urge to continue contributing to it

Great video. I started watching with a very dismissive stance, but you won me over by the end of it!

I think it'd be pretty easy for the Sage Leaf and Olimar to come up with the same names for the Onions and Pikmin. Olimar states the Pikmin looked like pik-pik carrots, and the Onions looked like onions. So I personally think it's possible that the Sage was a Hocotation, and named them for the exact same reasons as Olimar.

You know, as awesome the umibozu theroy is, after watching this video, I'm in love with this new theory and think you're on to something with the onions having something to do with the crashes.

While this theory is very well supported and convincing, I feel I should comment on one of the weaker points you made. At 11:50, you use the fact that the Onions are near where castaways crashed to support the theory. However, I believe this particular piece of evidence can be explained away with a more technical perspective: Game Design. The reason for the Onions being close to your crash site is because you need to learn the main mechanic of the game. Occam’s Razor, the simplest answer is usually the correct one; in this case being a tutorial rather than some malicious instinct to draw in Captains. Regardless, the rest of the theory is very well made, great job!

I always think it is super weird every single time someone crash lands there is an onion of some sort and it’s red

I mean there’s a chance sage leaf could’ve come up with the names Pikmin and Onion himself given they realistically aren’t that creative of names. Pikmin look very similar to Pikmin carrots and onions look pretty similar to onions, so it’s not too far a reach to assume maybe sage leaf is just another hocotation or at least had knowledge of their vegetables.

So something I've thought about is that onions get nutrients to grow more pikmin from 2 main sources, pellets and enemies. Well in Pikmin 4, we find out that enemy corpses contain sparklium, which can be used as a fuel source for a verity of things! So the sparklium that the onion would naturally take in by being fed an enemy could then be used by said onion to preform the tasks it needs to do!

This would also explain why they simply can’t communicate with their home planets on the surface, but can do so flawlessly once they’re far enough into the atmosphere!

Unrelated to the vid. I just had a idea for make a pikmin. Remeber the items from pikmin adventure from Nintendo land on the Wii U? We get those items. You can craft tool boxes with a different amount of tools in it(depending on how much u want) and place it in the field. Throw some pikmin at it and they'll attach it to their leaf. The tool will be hammers. (Pikmin can't be flowered in this state) this will be like a permanent ultra spicy spray. They will do more damage, mine materials faster and build faster(when you get all the materials to a build print, the pikmin will start building it). But there will be catches. They will become one speed class slower(whites are as fast as normal pikmin, normal pikmin will become purple speed, and purples will have ATROCIOUS speed) they will also have reduced throw height the same way as the downgraded speed classes(also they will get the rock pikmins ability to do contact damage. They will still latch on, rock pikmins bash would be buffed and rocks still can't latch on) I'll tell you about the whip in the next make a pikmin

well I don't agree with everything you talked about but it was really interesting ! thanks for the great research job ! The part about the elder leafling was the most convincing in my opinion (I really like this character by the way, it's existence tell so much about the lore). However, I kinda disagree on the "mind controlling" aspect of un-leafed captain. Olimar's idea of becoming a pikmin is just a random thought of a lost captain who's losing it after spending days after days fighting alone with only these flowery dudes as ally and friend, at least in my opinion. Alph say he feel protective toward the pikmin but it's just natural and even make sense in his own personnel survivor view. The fact that the elder leafling and Olimar named onions and pikmins the same name can just be for gameplay reason, at the end of the day, the elder leafling's cave is just one hidden challenge mode. Also, people from different planet seems to communicate and since Olimar named pikmin and onions after things he knows, the elder leafling could just have had the same idea. This could be even supported by the sound pikmin make. An other thing that don't make any sense is the existence of bulbmin. Why would the onion try to infect an hostile creature that keeps it's agressive nature even after infection ? Even though the onion/pikmin seems to be looking for a leader and the fact that it is really likely that onions can be causing the crashes, I think pikmin are just a parasitic species trying to survive and seeing potential in the captains. But this is just my opinion and again your video was really interesting !

Man this theory had me convinced, but then the pikmin website borderline confirmed Umibozu theory

I was hoping the theory of onions being a caste of a greater eusocial pikmin species would take off.

1:15 I don't put too much stock in Smash Bros Melee descriptions, as they are prone to errors. 2:55 Do note that Pikmin 4 is a new timeline, so Olimar is making a lot of these "repeat" observations for the first time. 4:00 I can't believe people think its timeline placement is unclear. It practically beats you over the head with the idea that it's a reboot. 5:13 Did you misspeak here? 5:23 Its placement in the l 20:40 Olimar and the biocrafter lady mention having dreams of the Sage Leaf talking to them, so he is in some way telepathic. It's possible that he learned the names through Leafmar, and then used those names when talking with the player. 21:43 See above: telepathic dreams.

Half an hour? I know what il be watching!

great theory, puts a lot of context into these games. the only thing that i'm left wondering is why the onions let the castaways leave when they're done with what they're dong.

Just putting this here: Amebouzu (Waterwraith) "Because there are few sightings of these creatures, and their nature makes them hard to believe that they are living things, some say they are a type of "psychic phenomenon" or a "hallucination" created by the fear of the witnesses. The name comes from the legendary monster ``Umibozu'' that causes ships to sink" -Pikmin Garden JP website report 07

Thw wraiths are smokey progs or mamuta variants who evolved in caves probably...the plasm wraith look made of sparklium

loving your content!!! (omg pls be careful with that green bg and black font its kinda bad 😭

Here are some possible flaws in some of what I heard in the video: Crashes coorelating to onion locations leading to a causation conclusion. Not only is this a basic fallacy, but we don't know anything about the areas where there were not crashes, including how common onions are in the wild vs near crash sites. In Pikmin 1 olimar only found 3 onions but we see many more in the game's end, for example. Sage leafling name for Pikmin despite never meeting Olimar also strikes me as being a combination of video game logic plus interstellar communication requiring universal translators, as a standardized language across such a wide span of space is implausible, and the translator could easily have made an entry for Pikmin from olimars notes, then translated the leafling's own word to describe them into the now familiar word the rescue corps uses.

The “ame” in “amebouzu” can mean “sweet” or “candy” and probably is a reference to Olimar thinking the water wraith looks like candy (amezaiku most likely).

What if moss’s original owner was the sage leaf? It’s possible from them both being there for a long time (given from the sage leaf looking old and talking about young him, and moss being much bigger than oatchi).

I'll have to replay the entire game again, or find a video of the dialogue, to confirm my memory, as I distinctly recall Olimar saying he had gone in the Sage Leaf's cave after he became a leafling as part of the scene after 100%ing the Shipwrecked Tale. (Yes, it only happens after you get 30 parts in the Shipwrecked Tale.)

For 17:55, I also wanna propose the idea of, despite the maximum of Pikmin being on field being 100, it may not inheritantly be a naturally-occuring capability Onions have from the start. With Pikmin 1-3, we see the Onions capable of maxing out to 100 fairly quickly & easily, but it's possible those may be encountered as older, more mature onions or those already ripe with nutrients & energy. (And minor detail, but starting Pikmin 3, onions fusing with one another to create some kind of... "Master Onion", let's say.) As starting Pikmin 4, we need to build up that capability with newly-introduced flarics. If I recall right, an onion absorbing a flaric adds an extra 10 Pikmin capable of being on field. What I propose, & wanna imagine may be an occurrence, is onions need flarics (specifically its nutrients) to grow themselves, as well as their personal strength & skill of this electromagnetic property. Possibly for a greater range, but for this case, on how well they can spread their guidance to Pikmin until they fail them. 'Cause perhaps they can already go past what the game's limits might be, but given they don't have the strength or nutrients to back it up, the onion will naturally lose Pikmin by the end of the day. So let's say a onion capable of handling 40 on-field Pikmin decides to expel 60, it will likely lose them as it isn't capable or strong enough to handle that many Pikmin yet (which may also explain Wild Pikmin, those who have separated too far and/or lost guidance of their onion). And to spitball some thoughts here, it seems 100 is already a number Onions may stop at. Either because they reach a natural peak in size & strength, and/or to avoid sending a plethora of Pikmin out to overexploit resources. And it's something practiced with the captains as well, since even they can't force out more than 100 Pikmin. What's also interesting to point out, once reaching that 100-max, any flarics received past will cause the onion to expel nectar & Ultra-Spicy spray, likely expelling excess nutrients it does not need (but Pikmin and/or Captains may make use out of).

My theory is that the pikmin once had like I had à head pikmin that they followed around. And since the captains are so much taller than them they mistake their I antenna for a leaf This is further backed up by the fact that Olimar specifically states that he wonders why the pikmin don't attack him.

I know I left a comment pretty much one-for-one like this on the other video, but nonetheless I adore this theory. It's so much better and well put-together than the umiBozo theory

After reading some comments about the 5 man napsack in Pikmin 2 i came to the conclusion that the pikmin think its their chance to transform the leader into a leafling but when they get there they are like "god dammit he aint dead yet"

25:53 Actually 🤓☝️ The castaways and leaflings weigth 3 But that question could have another answer, that the onion was stuck in a plant and the pikmin couldn't reach it without a leader

What I wonder now is why Onions don't use their EMPs to sabotage ships trying to leave the planet.

Omg you were so close to getting platinum during Dandori challenge

I believe Olimar forgot his time as a Leafling. I might be wrong, but during post game, Olimar tells the crew that his memory as a Leafling is hazy. It’s possible then, if I’m correct, that Olimar just doesn’t remember the Sage or the White and Purple Onion. He was also the one to point out the Sage’s cave after you finished his missions. I remember he also talked about what it was like as a Leafling, but I don’t remember his answer, other then it being rather interesting (ironically much like Olimar, my memory is generally not good)

Seems to me we may have been misatrributing the wraith's aggression in previous games. In Pikmin 4, when I went to grind out Purples for that one treasure, I realized that I couldn't do it without either using a candy pop or repeatedly resetting the day - my playthrough had completely stripped the final area of all enemies. All wildlife. Pikmin with a leader are HUGELY detrimental to the planet's ecosystem, and thus it stands to reason that the wraiths may have been evolving to drown / crush / capture the commanders, to preserve life on the planet by essentially cutting off the Pikmins' "intelligence".

The real question is where do the glow pikmin and glow sap fit into this? These pikmin effectively produce the cure to one of the most important parts of pikmin evolution. Even if it could be said that the glow sap isn't meant to cure the leaflings the fact that they produce the glow sap in the first place, as well as their mysterious nature in general, warrants looking into. I think there could be some interesting answers to be found.

There are a few moments where some extra unneeded proofs you provide dont work as well as the rest, since its hard to gauge when something is done purely for gameplay sake and has or not any lore significance, even if the overall theory is very solid and much more plausible than the wraiths being involved, i think the most interesting point and thing that would really strengthen your theory is mentioning that there is already a major connection between onions and the spaceships, which is i think the most headscratching detail of the video since it's kind of bizzarre at first glance: the Onions are literal spaceships themselves.

lmao what if the waterwraith's rollers are like used to flatten out sheets of candy. that'd be pretty funny

your dandori is so amazing i give you platinum

Small problem with the "Seemingly altered mind-state" for Pikmin 1. The times when Olimar mentions how he might not need all of his ship parts references the fact that he does not need all 30 of his lost parts in order to successfully leave the plant. 25 of the parts are necessary while there are only 5 that are not required. Finishing day 30 without collecting all 25 required parts causes the bad ending where Olimar dies. Finishing day 30 while collecting all 25 required parts while missing one or more of the optional parts gets you the good ending where Olimar escapes earth. Collecting all 30 parts plays the true ending where the Onions see Olimar off. Also, why is it that Olimar can willingly go unconscious in the first and second games, be dragged to one of the Onions by 1 to 4 pikmin, get vacuumed up by the Onion only to bonk against it like a bread bug?

So Pikmin are just Plant Borg? I’ll be right back, just gotta go chop some onions.

Now I Think The Water Wraith is Just a Boy Wraith and the Plasm Wraith is Just a Female Wraith.

I kinda feel like the only flaw in the initial stages of this theory is that the nova blaster can operate independently of olimar but the only other flaw is that the guard satellite would make an alert yet didn't

I'm pretty sure that Olimar leafing did meet the sage leaf because how would olimar have found the trial of the sage leaf in the first place.

If true no wonder why the pikmin always give their leaders a heartwarming goodbye. They want you back so that their species can propigate

In pikmin 2 if you drop on the floor the pikmin carry you to the onion