Onions are a major part of Pikmin 4’s gameplay to grow your army. The purple one in particular is one of the most useful onions in the game and also the most difficult to acquire. The purple onion in Pikmin 4 allows you to recruit purple Pikmin and throwing it generates a gravity wave capable of doing plenty of damage. This is the first time that the purple Pikmin are getting an Onion of their own. In previous games, they just spawned from violet candy pop buds.
The purple Pikmin (especially in Pikmin 4) have the same power and carry weight ability as 10 regular Pikmin. As powerful as this onion is, acquiring it is quite a task that also includes completing about half the game.
How to unlock the Purple Onion in Pikmin 4?
To get to the purple onion you must first complete the story content of Hero’s Hideaway. Once you’ve done that and rescued Olimar, he’ll give you the Shipwreck Tale quest.
Shipwreck Tale is a mini game in which you’ll have to collect 30 ship parts over the course of 15 days. So yeah, this is a long quest.
Once you’ve found all the ship parts, you’ll unlock Trial of the Sage Leaf quest. This quest involves 10 trials. You’ll have to get to the last trail of the quest to unlock the Purple Onion.
Trial of the Sage Leaf Final Story: The Purple Key
This is the final stage of the trial of the Sage Leaf Quest line. To reach the trial you’ll have to finish 10 Dandori challenges. These are level 5 Dandori challenges which are the toughest ones in the game.
Once you’ve completed the challenges, you’ll unlock the purple onion. But to use it, you must first complete a trial that involves carrying the purple onion around a maze. A max level Oatchi can carry this with ease. So, it would be wise to level up your Oatchi before starting this quest.
As difficult as navigating this maze can be, the real challenge is avoiding Water Wraith that is patrolling the area. Water Wraith is a tough and tricky opponent to face. It can only be defeated by purple Pikmin. You just need to destroy theits stone wheel to render it harmless. So, it will help if you collect them before this quest.
All Purple Pikmin locations
Apart from spawning from the Purple Onion, Purple Pikmin can be collected from these six locations.
- Engulfed Castle in Serene Shores
- Plunder Palace in Hero’s Hideaway
- Dream Home in Giant’s Hearth
- Cradle of the Beast in Giant’s Hearth
- Subterranean Swarm in Primordial Thicket
- Cavern for a King in Primordial Thicket
If you want to stock up on Purple Pikmin before Hero’s Hideaway, you can find them in the Engulfed Castle in Serene Shores. They spawn from a violet candypop bud in the cave.
