So in Pikmin 4, there are basically three types of Pikmin you have easy access to. These are the Blue, Red, and Yellow ones. You get them via the Onion and can get more from getting the plant parts to grow them. However, if you want Ice Pikmin or other special varieties, you’ll need to do things like find them in the wild or toss Pikmin of a color/type you already have into the appropriate flower to pluck some up for much of the game. Fortunately, Ice Pikmin are the most common kind of “wild” type you can find in Pikmin 4.
Screenshot by Siliconera
How to get Ice Pikmin in Pikmin 4
Editor’s Note: To avoid spoilers immediately after launch, this guide will only cover their locations in the first four areas.
Ice Pikmin are the first type of “special” wild Pikmin you’ll get in Pikmin 4, and the second you’ll collect overall. You’ll get your first few as part of the story and basically can’t miss them, due to the way early caverns appear in maps. Eventually, near the halfway point of Hero’s Hideaway, you can find an Ice Onion to allow you to get Ice Pikmin whenever you want.
The easy way to find Ice Pikmin is to send Oatchi to sniff them out. Once you find them once, you can use Command to ask him to find that type in an area in Pikmin 4. If you are riding on his back, he will automatically take you to a stage with Ice Pikmin you can gather by dropping inside.
Also, after finishing a cavern or exploring and area, it will tell you what sorts of wild Pikmin live inside both on the area exploration selection screen and when highlighting a cavern on the map.
For an easy list, however, the following underground stages in Pikmin 4 are all home to Ice Pikmin you can bring back with you after hopping inside:
- Sun-Speckled Terrace: Aquiferous Summit, Hectic Hollows, and Last-Frost Cavern
- Blossoming Arcadia: Drafty Gallery
- Serene Shores: Seafloor Resort and Subzero Sauna
- Hero’s Hideaway: Doppelgänger’s Den and Frozen Inferno
Last-Frost Cavern is one level and easy to complete, so it is an easy way to safely stock up. However, you only get five Ice Pikmin when you do.
Screenshot by Siliconera
Why do you want Ice Pikmin in Pikmin 4?
Ice Pikmin are great for freezing things. Enemies. Pools of water. If they attack (or are eaten by) an enemy, they’ll temporarily freeze them. You can also freeze water in areas by tossing Ice Pikmin in, with certain numbers required to freeze it over. Finally, some obstacles are basically frozen coils that can only be destroyed by Ice Pikmin.
Pikmin 4 is available for the Nintendo Switch.
