Pikmin Pluck
Pikmin Pluck is Pikmin & Olimar's Standard Special Move. This move involves Captain Olimar quickly pulling a random Pikmin out of the ground. What kind of ground where this move is used has some influence on what type of Pikmin will be pulled out more often. Olimar can have up to 6 Pikmin following him.
Kirby's version combines Pikmin Pluck with Pikmin Throw. The Pikmin that Kirby creates die immediately after landing. [1]
In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, after sowing the Pikmin Seeds, Olimar would be able to pick them immediately, or wait for their flowers to bloom to have Pikmin that were stronger and faster than leafed Pikmin. This ability is reflected in Super Smash Brothers Brawl by a certain mechanic where Pikmin that have been with Olimar longer grow more powerful. It is possible to determine how long Olimar has had a given Pikmin by the vegetation on its head; a leaf signifies a new to fairly new Pikmin, a bud shows that a Pikmin has been with Olimar for some time, and a flower on a Pikmin's head means that it has been with Olimar for a long while. Pikmin with flowers on their heads do more damage in attacks and when latched on after being thrown than do those with buds, and Pikmin with buds on their head are more powerful than ones with leaves. A Pikmin with a flower can do almost twice the damage of one with a leaf.
This means that it can be to a player's advantage to keep his or her Pikmin alive. Care should be taken especially to not use Pikmin Pluck when on the very edge of a stage facing in, which will result in all Pikmin plucked tumbling off the ledge to their deaths, wasting time and giving the player no new Pikmin. Also, careless throwing of Pikmin at airborne opponents off the cliff will result in the death of any Pikmin that miss the mark.
