Decomposing Citadel

Decomposing Citadel is the first level on Pikmin: Ultimate Doom. This is the area where the effects of the Breakdown are most evident. Olimar and Louie were assigned to clean up the area for treasure excavation. There are many bug-like enemies here such as the Beady Long Legs, Angry Dweevils and Decorated Cannon Beetles. This area is large in size and has three caves. Found here is Red Pikmin and their onion. This area is completely littered by Lilas.

The player may wish to explore all of the area at first, but can not pass a certain point from the landing site due to a flooded pond. When Blue Pikmin are acquired, the player can destroy the classic drain corks in the pond basin. But beware; the flooded pond is full of Infected Amphitubers.

Points of Interest
At the entrance to Titan's Denizen, there is a massive tree stump with a single metal rod protruding from it. The deep scorch marks on the bark and metal suggest that there were fire fights here thousands of years ago. If you command your Pikmin to attack the giant stump it actually reveals a strange metal object with deep scorch and rust marks on it. Attempting to attack this object repels your Pikmin a good distance away. If left idle, Pikmin nearby this object seem to be drawn to this strange artifact.

After the Beady Long Legs is killed, a small clearing opens up nearby. Inside is a large rod made of some wood/metal hybrid material with a vibrating aura around it. When Pikmin are ordered to unearth it or attack it, they panic as if a Mitite was attacking them. Also, every two minutes this strange staff lets out an electric charge, killing all Pikmin save yellows nearby. Caution is suggested when examining this artifact. The nature of this artifact suggests that it is man-made, but no further research can continue about these artifacts, under a strange automatic order from Hocotate.

Caves

 * The Basement
 * Dead Den
 * Parasite Pit
 * Titan's Denizen

Day 1
When the player first visits this area, the words Decomposing Citadel appear on the bottom of the screen, slowly fading into ashes. The Trailblazer sits atop a fairly higher up hill, with rotting tree roots nearby. Surrounding the landing site in an oval is a shallow pond of brackish water, making passage only viable for Blue Pikmin. Not too far away from a small cliff next to the landing site, a strange circular pattern of white grass separates the burned ground from the healthy grass, and a hibernating Red Onion is burrowed in the center of this circular area. Olimar and Louie approach the Onion and predict that it will spring to life. Instead, it sits there, motionless. Olimar notes this strange anomaly and attempts to awaken the still mothership. Louie grabs the lower rim of the Onion and uses all the strength he can muster to partially lift it out of the ground. His space suit flashes a blue color and a metal cycling sound can be heard. Olimar jumps up and gets on the other side of the Onion, lifting also. It lifts up even higher, and together they lift it as much as they can. Olimar’s suit glows red while Louie’s suit glows blue and a button prompting the player to rapidly tap “A” is shown above Olimar’s head. When it is tapped enough, a button prompting the player to rapidly tap “B” is shown above Louie’s head. When that is tapped enough, both button prompts are shown and the player taps both for about four seconds, successfully uprooting the Onion. The two Hocotanians’ suits quit glowing and the Onion plops on the ground, still dull red. Its legs do not unfold and it awkwardly falls at an angle, resting on uneven ground. Olimar makes a curious sound and Louie sighs, just as the Onion’s flower starts spinning. Louie’s eyes partially come out but then recede as the flower stops spinning. Louie turns away just before a small tree stump pops out of nowhere next to the dormant Onion. Louie spins around in shock whilst Olimar creeps over to the tree stump. A single vine breaks through the sturdy bark and whips around Olimar, tightly grabbing him. He struggles as Louie paces around, and more tree stumps unearth themselves. Many vines form together to wrap around Olimar, who is already covered in vines. Most of the tree stumps recede and Olimar sinks into the ground. A few of the remaining tree stumps smack Louie as he sprints away, effectively scaring the heck out of him. He finally reaches the Trailblazer and types a distress message to the space station, closing the boarding ramp and turning off all of the ship’s lights in total fear. Back at the Onion, vines pull the Onion’s legs back into the dirt, returning it into the state it originally was before the unsuspecting Hocotanians arrived.

A day later, Louie is sitting in the dark, cold ship still shaking. He gets a message saying to deal with it himself. He gulps as he carefully walks over to the armory pod. He punches in a code and it unlocks the pod, readying it for his use. He pulls the pod bay door up, stepping inside with reluctance. The door closes and Louie is surrounded with mechanical arms. His space suit is fitted around him, every part of it locked in place. His cryptic-looking helmet is lowered down onto his head, fitting perfectly. It locks with a shrill squeal and his breath fogs up the helmet’s visor. It automatically clears and he reaches over to the titanium-plated console to unlock the door, but it won’t accept his code. Soon the console retracts into the wall, locking Louie inside the pod. Louie makes a curious sound and paces around the small capsule for a room. Finally he walks over to the steel door and pushes as hard as he can on it. The dim room glows deep blue as he struggles to open the door. He then decides to try and ram the door, slamming it open and knocking him down. His visor gets a tiny crack on the bottom left, and he gets up. As he brushes himself off, his suit’s blue glow fades. Rushing over to the exit room, he grabs a small device in case he needs it and tries to open the boarding ramp. It won’t open, and he walks over to the emergency power switch, pushing it. Orange tungsten lights flash on, blinding Louie for a second. He puts his hand up to his visor while his vision returns to normal, and sees a strange figure in front of him. Naturally he freaks out and backs up quickly, gripping the device. The silhouette turns out to be a familiar sight- a Red Pikmin! Louie sighs with relief and walks over to the Pikmin. It has its leaf primed for combat, shuddering with fear. As the metal-clad Louie stomps closer to the Pikmin, it shakes harder. Louie flinches in confusion for a second but then realizes he needs to take his helmet off. He checks to see if the ship’s life support systems are online. It is online, so he takes his helmet off by twisting three separate locks on three neck locations. Holding the helmet with one hand, he extends the other arm out to the cowering Pikmin. The Pikmin makes a squeal of joy and jumps on Louie’s arm, dancing around. Then the Red Pikmin jumps off and signals to go outside. Louie sighs and puts his helmet back on. He opens the boarding ramp to see a group of four other Red Pikmin, and nods with triumph.

Louie and the five Red Pikmin venture out of the landing site, the Pikmin signaling towards the now-active Red Onion. Louie makes a curious noise and treks on. Now the player can control Louie and the Pikmin, guiding them to the Red Onion. A squad of three Dwarf Red Bulborbs sniffs the area between the landing site and the wild Onion, each Bulborb relatively far away from the next. Dealing with these classic foes will be easy, especially since they are unable to harm the Pikmin on Day 1. Once every Bulborb is slain, take them back to the Red Onion. The Red Pikmin will drop the carcasses around the Onion in a circular format. Then a tree stump will appear, summoning vines that grab the carcasses and stuff them into the Onion. Louie flinches at these vines but they do not attack him, rather they disappear. With now 17 Reds, Louie can weigh down the grey tree stump separating the wild Onion’s site from a small outcropping with the entrance to The Basement. Before the player goes into the cave he/she should get the three Red Pellet Sacs and return them to the Red Onion, totaling the amount of Pikmin to 24. Then, when Louie approaches the cave’s entrance, he throws down a rope and rappels down it, Red Pikmin climbing down also.

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When Louie returns from the Onion's leg he carries Olimar to the Trailblazer and gets inside. He sets Olimar down and plants the device on his back. Olimar's armor stops glowing and he slowly gets up. Louie jumps for joy and Olimar nods. They look out onto the pink horizon, ashes falling, and the Red Pikmin staring at them. Olimar shakes his head and orders Louie to follow him. They dismiss the Red Pikmin into the Onion and get back inside the Trailblazer, prepping for a nighttime launch. They blast off into orbit with the Red Onion closely following below.

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Day 2
Olimar and Louie land in the Trailblazer, and they suit up offscreen. Right after they exit, a voice is heard from behind them. "Hello, Commander Olimar and Captain Louie! I am Trailblazer Thinker 22-01, or just "Thinker". I will be your guide in this journey to collect all of the valuable artifacts from the surface and clean the caves of infection! I can provide you both information immediately via the Space Station, and I can talk to you through your helmet communications. With the detailed readout of a single Red Pikmin, I can now calculate how many are needed to clear caves, kill beasts, and carry treasures. Once you acquire the many other types of Pikmin, as noted in your own research notes, Olimar, you will need to take one of each kind to the Space Station for testing." Before Thinker could finish, Olimar interrupts.

"Do you know what happened to the Red Pikmin that the scientists took?" Olimar looked up at the ship.

"Yes, in fact I do. It is still under research right now. The current topic is the Red Pikmin's mind. I can feed you the data yielded by the experiments if you'd like."

"No, that's not necessary, Thinker. I'll be on with the day now. Louie, lets go." Louie nodded at Olimar and they began the day.

The player now can access the Red Onion and take out the Pikmin that he/she propagated the previous day. It is significant to note that the amount of Pikmin is the same as Day 1 minus one Pikmin, ergo the Pikmin currently in Hocotanian captivity. The player can choose to collect the two treasures (Impudent Foil and Didactic Staff) available for capture or enter Dead Den to clean it up. The day/night system is still akin to Pikmin 2's, which means technically the player can completely waste his or her time here. It is up to them to continue the story.

As the player approaches Dead Den, Thinker will provide some dialogue. "(Bzzrt sound) This cave system requires Red Pikmin and a count of at least twenty. I would also advise you not to freak out about the mutated life down there, it really is the pits of the planet's crust that received the most infection from the breakdown. I can detect an anomaly from down there, which means a powerful species lives at its lowest level. Proceed with caution, brave leaders." When Thinker stops talking, Olimar drops a rope down the entrance hole and slides down, followed by Louie and their Pikmin squad.

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After two treasures and cave
After collecting Impudent Foil and Didactic Staff and clearing Dead Den, Thinker talks to the leaders. "Good news! The space station has uncovered a biological pattern in that Red Pikmin's head that points to a new geographical location of interest! It is closer to the planet's equator, a tropical and sunny area. It has a nice waterfall and is teeming with life. My calculations predict that you will feel more at ease over there than here, even though there is more work to do here. For now, we go, to Crystal Falls!" Then the day ends and they blast off into orbit.

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Return
After clearing Sand Fortress the player can choose to first clear this area or Crystal Falls. If the player returns to the citadel, they will notice a significant change.

Olimar and Louie troop out of the Trailblazer to find a big surprise. A massive storm cloud covers the area and makes it dark. This triggers nocturnal creatures to be awake and all enemies 5% faster. Once the captains uncover the final treasure, it gets stolen by a large silhouette. The figure assumes the form of a blue and white armored spider called Arachnoidus. The full fight can last for a very long time, and since the storm cloud is overhead other enemies will be alert. The day progression is paused in this glum stormy area for now, so having enough time for the fight will not be a problem. Being prepared is the key to winning this struggle. Once the armor-clad spider is slain, the treasure (Scarred Trifle) drops along with a big blue sword hilt with a USB port, Techcalibur.

Thinker chimes in about this shiny weapon-tech. "(bzzrt) Faint electronic signal detected! Storage space spanned. We don't know how to read this digital format, but we found something."

If the player has already completed Crystal Falls, making a total of three completed areas, the trailblazer alerts an anomaly with the Exolance and Techcalibur. They link together to become whole, and there is a set of coordinates pointing to the next area.