Dry Seabed

Dry Seabed is the first area visited by Olimar and Louie on their trip to PNF-404 in Pikmin 2.5. Veterans of Pikmin 2 should recognize this area as the Perplexing Pool, albeit with no water whatsoever, and much more of a desert-esque aesthetic.

The First Day
Louie, after being ejected from the ship when it hits a dead tree in its descent, lands on a sandy hill near where the Submerged Castle was in the Perplexing Pool. Inhabiting that hill is a large number of Sheargrubs, both male and female, which pop out of the ground and scare Louie. Running further into the desert, he comes across a Red Onion, which ejects a Pikmin sprout from the top when Louie approaches. He also notices a paper bag-like object that requires 20 Pikmin to weigh down, which he cannot depress yet. He plucks the newborn Red Pikmin, and uses the nearby Pellet Posies to raise his numbers. He then goes back to the Sheargrub anthill to defeat the small beasts, and raises his total number of reds to 16.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the paper bag is Olimar and the Hocotate Ship, who attempt to ascertain Louie's whereabouts. Olimar looks around the area and notices 5 Red Pikmin fighting off a Dwarf Yellow Bulborb; he calls them to his side with his whistle and assists them in defeating the small grub-dog. The ship then remarks that Louie is nearby, and that him and Olimar must combine their strength to flatten the barrier that is in their way. While walking over to the paper bag, Olimar spots a small object buried in the sand; an Energizer brand D battery. The Ship states that this could be a kind of valuable treasure, which could help repay the debt! However, it requires 20 Pikmin to lift it, which Olimar does not have in his squad at the moment. He continues on to the paper bag.

While on the opposite sides of the bag, Olimar and Louie combine their efforts and Pikmin numbers to flatten it, and are finally reunited. Their first order of business is to bring back the treasure, which the Ship dubs "Hope Reactor". Satisfied with their performance for the day, the two Hocotatians board the ship and leave the surface for the night, with the Red Onion following closely behind.

Trip to the Underground
After the first day on the planet, the game becomes a bit more open-ended. However, you are encouraged to build up a considerable amount of Red Pikmin with everything you can currently do in the Dry Seabed. After the first day, a whole new sector of the area, as well as two aboveground treasures, await you. In this new area is a suspicious-looking hole that leads to the first cave: Forgotten Hole. This is where the captains must go to progress in their mission. Once Olimar and Louie spelunk the whole cave and come back with the Spherical Atlas as well as the burly new Purple Pikmin, they can travel to the next area, Waterfall Lake. Since there is not much left to do here for now, the captains journey to the new area...

Day 1 to Day 5

 * Female Sheargrub
 * Male Sheargrub
 * Sandy Burrow-Nit
 * Dwarf Yellow Bulborb
 * Yellow Bulborb

Day 5 Onward
COMING SOON-ish

Aboveground Treasures

 * Hope Reactor

Caves

 * Forgotten Hole
 * Underground Oasis
 * Geode Grotto
 * Tile Pool
 * Barren Bastion