The Perplexing Pool is the third and largest area discovered in Pikmin 2 of the four areas in the game, the last being Wistful Wild. It is the most aquatic area in Pikmin 2, with a lot of lakes spread across its length, with two of the holes being submerged, making Blue Pikmin a necessity in these areas. The level contains four holes, seven treasures, and a variety of beasts. Yellow Pikmin are also discovered in this area. The Perplexing Pool is considered a representation of Summer, due to the amount of water (a common Summer activity is swimming) and cicada sounds that can be heard in the background throughout the area.
The area is noted to bear a number of striking resemblances to The Distant Spring in the first game, for which reason it can be confidently considered to be the same area of the Pikmin Planet. Despite the similarities, there are some various differences: for example, large parts are missing in the later version, and obstacles such as bridges and gates have been changed. The size of the lake to the west has been changed as well. Also, the small piece of land in the south is now the entrance to the Shower Room and the drain to the lake. The Submerged Castle, located in the farthest reach of the Perplexing Pool, near a Seesaw Block puzzle with the Massage Girdle at the top, is the hardest dungeon in the area, so be careful.
General Layout[]
The Perplexing Pool is a complex area, with a wide variety of terrain types. Parts of the area are like a beach, while others are grassy and there are circular wooden structures around the area. It is the most aquatic area in Pikmin 2 with multiple lakes spread across its length and two of the caves being submerged, making Blue Pikmin a necessity. Its layout has a close resemblance to The Distant Spring of the first game, though it does have some changes. At one point, Olimar points out how much the area has changed since his last visit, indicating that it actually is The Distant Spring. There is a big concrete area where there were only small islands and water in the original, there is no water in the middle of the area, the Shower Room is where the Massage Machine originally was, the Submerged Castle is where the Chronos Reactor was, most of the gates are gone and there are a trio of Burgeoning Spiderworts in the area ā a pair in the middle of the area and a lone one in the water.
Yellow Pikmin[]
Yellow Pikmin are found here in Pikmin 2. You must navigate around the stumps and use the scales to get to higher elevation. Alternately, if you are skilled enough, you can throw your Pikmin onto the ledge near the bridge to the right of the large stumps, then carefully guide them to building the bridge. Should any Pikmin fall in the water, quickly whistle them back to you. If you wish, you can bypass the Fiery Blowhog. Then, you must fight a Fiery Bulblax with Red Pikmin. After killing the Fiery Bulblax, you have to have your White Pikmin break down a bramble gate with poison pipes inside. The yellow Pikmin are on the other side of this gate.
Changes Over Time[]
Additional enemies appear after Day 30. Beady Long Legs appears east of the landing site. It carries no treasure, but instead will drop a great number of 1 pellets, which makes it a quick, effective way of raising more Pikmin, as by now, many should be skilled enough to defeat it with ease. After Day 10, Dwarf Bulbears will appear. Then, after Day 30, a Spotty Bulbear will appear, making it similar to the Distant Spring from the first game. However, the Perplexing Pool has only 1 Spotty Bulbear whereas the Distant Spring has 6 of them.
Treasures[]
- Gherkin Gate
- Impediment Scourge
- Aquatic Mine
- Fortified Delicacy
- Onion Replica
- Optical Illustration (NTSC) / Abstract Masterpiece (PAL)
- Massage Girdle
Caves[]
Enemies[]
- Toady Bloyster x 1
- Shearwig Ć 11 (3 of them replace a Yellow Wollywog on Day 11)
- Skitter Leaf Ć 5
- Wogpole Ć 5 (only once, disappear after you defeat them [near Shower Room entrance])
- Withering Blowhog Ć 1
- Fiery Blowhog Ć 1
- Fiery Bulblax Ć 1 (only once, disappears after you defeat it)
- Spotty Bulbear Ć 1 (after Day 30)
- Dwarf Bulbear Ć 6 (appear after Day 10)
- Yellow Wollywog Ć 6 (one of which is replaced by a trio of Shearwigs on Day 11)
- Water Dumple Ć 7
- Swooping Snitchbug Ć 2
- Beady Long Legs Ć 1 (after Day 30)
- Ravenous Whiskerpillar Ć 3
- Hermit Crawmad Ć 2
- Honeywisp Ć 3
- Mitite Ć ?
Plants[]
- Pellet Posy (Yellow Pellets disappear after being harvested)
- Burgeoning Spiderwort x3 (One spicy, two bitter)
Trivia[]
- The Perplexing Pool was originally going to be called "The Perplexing Spring". This probably would be a reference to The Distant Spring
- While walking through the Overworld, translucent cicada calls can be heard. In the evening, they are replaced with evening cicadas .
- As said earlier, The Perplexing Pool has a lot of the same features as The Distant Spring. An example of this is the Repair-Type Bolt puzzle being reused for The Perplexing Pool. Another example is the hollowed out tree stumps, which made their first appearance in The Distant Spring, also the ground textures and the circles marking base in Pikmin.
- The section of the map where Yellow Pikmin are first found has three circles of dappled light on the ground, tinted red, yellow, and blue. This section was originally the landing site of the map as seen in an early trailer and the Onions would respectively be located on the same spots as these circles.
- Every cave in the Perplexing Pool represents some part of a house:
- The Citadel of Spiders is the foundation,
- The Glutton's Kitchen is the living spaces,
- The Shower Room is the bathroom,
- The Submerged Castle is the piping.
- If the Perplexing Pool is visited on the fourth day - the earliest possible day it can be unlocked - a trio of eggs can be seen falling from the sky if a Leader or Pikmin wander near the Beady Long Legs's spawn point. This is the only case in the overworld where an object (other than the aforementioned Beady Long Legs) can fall from the sky, since all other objects that fall do so in caves. If one opens the game files to look at the definition that creates those eggs, they can find a comment reading ććććæćć“ļ¼ļ¼©, lit.: "Question egg 3I".
Gallery[]
Main article: Perplexing Pool/Gallery.
Perplexing Pool |
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Click on a location |
TBA