Shallow Land

This is the third area in Pikmin: Distant Planet. You unlock it after you find the Mechanic's Sensor. It is an odd area, almost like a big cave above-ground without a ceiling. It's a large clearing in the forest on the World Map. Actually, it is the area around the edge of the entrance to The Forest Navel from the first canon Pikmin game! That would explain the odd surroundings. The ground is mostly rocky with sand and reservoirs, similar to the terrain of The Forest Navel. Incidentally, the underground portion of the area where the dungeon entrances are located has similar types of terrain that The Forest Navel did, as well as the same music. Half of the time, there will be rain of varying intensities in this area, causing flooding and mudslides, and water flowing in different directions through set pipes and reservoirs. It's a chaotic sight, but a lot of fun to explore in. White Pikmin can be found in one of this area's dungeons.

Area Layout
The ship lands by a small pond. There are pellet posies growing in this reservoir, but cannot be harvested without Blue Pikmin. Two paths lead away from the landing site. One is a stick wall, the other is a rock wall. At first you can only break the stick wall. It leads to a ramp that slopes down into a sandpit. There's a bundle of sticks to build a bridge here, but it leads only towards the blocked off middle path. You could get there by walking normally, but build the bridge anyways. Here there are various enemies, as well as an odd contraption blocking one of the three paths ahead. The path on the left leads up a short slope to the entrance of the Metalwork Maze. The one on the right leads to a poison wall. You obtained White Pikmin from the dungeon nearby, so break down the wall and it will lead to a rusty metal gutter that winds around the pond with the pellet posies that you started by, but on the opposite side of the barrier. The path is blocked at the end by an electric fence. Take it down with Yellow Pikmin to arrive in a section with more reservoirs. There are different levels of water here, and numerous bridges that seem out of place, as well as another machine that is a different color. Take your time to build each of them nonetheless. There's a poison fence here as well, so break it and you'll be out in a wide open space filled with enemies. There's another strange machine like near the Metalwork Maze blocking a path. You can't do anything about it for now. However, the entrance to the Ominous Oven is at the end of the wide space. When you return to the Shallow Land with Cyan Pikmin you can break down the rock wall near the landing site. It serves as a shortcut to the wide space. Near the Ominous Oven is a second rock wall to destroy. Behind it is some kind of canyon path with the entrance to the Fuming Cavern on the other side. But all kinds of scrap metal and cinderblock barriers are in the way. To clear them, go back to the Metalwork Maze area and go up the slope towards the dungeon. There is a small trail here that leads to the edge of that canyon. There are boulders positioned all along the canyon, so have Purple Pikmin trigger each one to clear the path. Then you can go back and take on the dungeon. The last dungeon here is the hardest and most difficult to figure out. Make sure you have Blue Pikmin before attempting this. On a rainy day, both of the odd metal contraptions blocking the two paths will finally come into play. These machines consist of two parts: A huge, impenetrable sheet that blocks the trail, combined with a bucket hanging at the opposite end. When the bucket is filled with rainwater, the weight of the water in the bucket lifts the sheet for the day, opening the path. Go down both of these paths with Blue Pikmin (although others work as well) and you'll find switches somewhere at the end of each path. Hit them to activate the final machine near the tons of "useless" bridges. It'll open the cover of the final bucket. However, you can't do anything about that last one until it storms. Once the cover is open, a stormy day will fill the final bucket with enough rainwater to pull open the super-heavy sheet. Beyond that point is a cavernous chamber with an opening in the ceiling where a gigantic bucket hangs overhead. Periodically, whenever that bucket fills with enough water it will tip over, sending a merciless cascade of water down into the chamber, flushing everything out. Also, there is a rock wall down in that chamber. So, you need to lead Cyan Pikmin through the rain, using the gutter as a quick shortcut due to the rushing water. From there, the bridges you built will provide safe passage over floodwater as well as shelter from the rain. Then, time it perfectly so you can run into the chamber right after the bucket empties and take down the wall before the water flushes you out. Then, put together an evenly-mixed squad carefully through the rain the way you came and enter the Black Canyon back there!

Weather Stats

 * Scorch: 0%
 * Sunny: 50%
 * Misty: 0%
 * Rainy: 30%
 * Storm: 20%

Dungeon

 * Metalwork Maze
 * Ominous Oven
 * Fuming Cavern
 * Black Canyon