Pikmin Pluck is Olimar's Standard Special Move, and his most important attack. 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. This works by rapidly pressing B, if there are no opponents near him. Olimar can't pluck anymore Pikmin once the "B" button is pressed, unless one or more Pikmin are gone.
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 change the vegetation on their stem. 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.
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, unless one uses Pikmin Order shortly afterwards (there is a brief period of unresponsiveness from Pikmin after they are plucked, which ends when they touch the floor or after they drop below it) to call them back to Olimar. Also, careless throwing of Pikmin at airborne opponents off the cliff will result in the death of any Pikmin that miss the mark.
Tips
- If Pikmin Pluck is used near a ledge (One that results in a death) only White and Purple pikmin will land on the stage, while the red, blue, and yellow pikmin fall off. Good if one is wanting those two types only.
- A continuous stream of plucked Pikmin can be used to "fill up" Cook Kirby's pot, creating huge numbers of items. Not only is this useful for Team Brawls, but also if Captain Olimar is against Kirby; he can stop himself from being pulled in, so once the pot contains the maximum of 25 objects, the Final Smash will end and Olimar will remain unharmed.
Trivia
- In Pikmin 2, Captain Olimar was not actually able to pluck Purple or White Pikmin, as they did not have their own Onions. He would have to throw one of his Red, Yellow or Blue Pikmin into an ivory candypop bud or a violet candypop bud to create a White or Purple Pikmin respectively.
- This is the only move that Kirby is unable to copy perfectly. Instead, Kirby combines Pikmin Pluck with Pikmin Throw. The Pikmin that Kirby creates are chucked forwards, collide with opponents, do damage based on colour (Red 1%, Yellow 2%, Blue 3%, Purple 4%, White 5%), and die immediately after landing. [1]