We stared perplexedly at the "trapmin" before us. Never before had I seen a pikmin that didn't have a leaf, bud, or flower. The... thing on the trapmin's stem could've been seen as two "leaves", but even that felt like a stretch. If anything, it resembled the mouth of a Flower Imposter.

"Welcome back, everyone," said one of the trapmin. "I see you've brought some new faces."

"Indeed," said the male yellow. "This is their second day with us."

"Speaking of faces, where's the blue pikmin's? I don't suppose he's been...?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's alive and well. He just needs to be alone right now."

I gave the yellow a questioning look. He must've known what I was thinking, because he responded by asking,

"Why don't you two ask the trapmin about themselves?"

My friend and I glanced at each other.

"Well..."

I felt something lightly tugging my arm. It was the white pikmin.

"Don't worry. They don't bite," she said softly.

"If they're going to ask about us, what do you say we ask about them too? We've never seen red pikmin before," said the trapmin. The three others behind it nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough," I said.

"First off, what are those pikmin..."

I paused because it felt really weird calling them "pikmin".

"...doing back there?"

Several of the trapmin were clinging to a Spice Plant, striking away at the berries. As far as I knew, spicy berries were useless without a Leader around.

"Ah! They're collecting berries for defensive purposes," it answered.

"Defensive purposes?"

"Do you go by he or she?" my friend asked, cutting me off before I could pursue the matter further.

"...Neither," it said.

"What?" we both said.

"We've been over this already with your friends. Whatever 'sense' you might have, we lack. None of us are he, none of us are she, we just... are."

My friend and I were speechless.

"I wish you two could see your faces right now," it said, laughing. "It's alright. I reacted the same way when I first heard of these "Onions" your friends used to ha-"

"Heard?! What do you mean "heard"?! Do you not have an Onion of your own?!" my friend replied in an outburst. The male yellow motioned for him to lower his voice.

"We don't."

"Then what do you sleep in at night?" I asked, more curious than ever now.

"In hiding places? You and your friends don't sleep in an Onion either, if I'm not mistaken."

"Well, yeah, but what I meant was..."

"Red," said the male yellow. "They don't have anything resembling an Onion."

I turned my attention back to the trapmin and re-examined it from head to toe. The weird mouth-like plant, the orange and green coloration, the lack of an Onion... I couldn't even call it "he" or "she".

What was I looking at? Was it even a pikmin?

"Look!" said the white, pointing at the trapmin who were harvesting berries. They were now on the ground with their fruit, bashing it to pieces. Once they had finished, each trapmin scooped up a piece of berry between its "leaves" and snapped them shut.

My expression must've been hilarious.

"...Um...?" is all I could bring myself to say.

"They're using their traps to break down the berry bits," said the trapmin.

"I can see that, but why are they putting them inside their... "traps"?" I asked, the trapmin's name suddenly making sense to me.

"That's what I was referring to! They're using their traps to break down the berries, so they can use them to-"

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" somebody screamed. A trapmin came sprinting from the distance.

"Perfect timing," said the male yellow, much to my confusion.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" it kept repeating. Various trapmin emerged and gathered around the one I had been speaking with. I could only watch as they confabulated amongst themselves.

"None of you seem phased by this..." said my friend, referring to the yellows and the white.

I hadn't even noticed. Despite the fact that we were "under attack", they were all very calm.

"Pay close attention. This is going to be quite the sight," said the female yellow.

A large figure was approaching from the distance. Soon enough, it was clear that it was an Orange Demon, confirming my suspicion about the Orange Harbingers from before. The trapmin must have disturbed it from its slumber, which isn't very hard to do...

Instead of running, most of the trapmin formed a blockade, while the remainder stood further back. The frontliners opened their traps and released a red mist, causing them to glow brightly.

"Is that...?" my friend asked.

"Spicy mist?" I finished.

I was certain that only Leaders could spray mist, but these trapmin had pulled if off themselves. Those who had been affected by the mist scurried frantically around the Orange Demon, greatly confusing it. Its eyes darted here and there, trying unsuccessfully to track the movements of the frenzied lights. Every time it attempted to strike, it was met with the dusty ground.

The Demon was so distracted by the display that that didn't see the non-glowing trapmin closing in. Together, they sprayed a gray mist at its legs, coating them in a crusty material. The Demon immediately came thundering to the ground, frantically wiggling its limbs.

"Bitter mist..." I mumbled.

Two additional trapmin sprinted forward and leveled their mouths at the Demon's nose, blasting each nostril with a green mist. The beast roared loudly and sprang to its feet, breaking out of the bitter crust, and fled back in the direction in came. The trapmin cheered.

"What was that last mist?" I asked.

"Sour mist. Everything hates the way it smells, including us. Only the trapmin can stand it."

I didn't know how to respond, and neither did my friend. The trapmin I was speaking to returned.

"So anyway, what are your powers?" it asked. It was like it had already forgotten what just happened.

"Fire doesn't kill us, and we're better at fighting than other pikmin... except maybe purples."

"There are purple pikmin too?" It sounded very curious.

"Yes. They're the biggest pikmin of all," said my friend.

It didn't ask any more questions, and we fell silent again.

"Have you two seen enough?" asked the male yellow.

"Yeah, I think so," I said. My friend didn't reply.

The male yellow bid the trapmin farewell, and we proceeded on our way back home. However, I couldn't help but feel confused.

"So what was the point of all that?" I asked the yellow.

"The point is that they don't have an Onion, but survive just fine regardless. Serving an Onion isn't part of being a pikmin."

"But then again, there aren't too many pikmin that shoot mist..." said my friend, raising a good point.

"Yes, but there also aren't too many pikmin who are shock-proof and go higher when thrown. We're all different."

"You know, I just wondered. How do the trapmin multiply, exactly?" asked the white.

"...I have no idea. I've been meaning to ask them that myself," said the male yellow.

"Hey, hold on," said my friend. "If the trapmin are so talented, then why don't we live with them? Doesn't that sound safer?"

"Sure it does. I mean, we could just laze around all day in trapmin turf, assuring ourselves that they'll protect us from predators. But what if something were to happen to the trapmin? By then, we would've already forgotten how to take care of ourselves, and then it's over. Better to learn how to rely on yourself than to rely on others."

"I'm guessing that's how you feel about the Onion?"

"Precisely."

I gazed at him as we continued to walk. He was much less vehement than the blue, but I still found it hard to agree with him.

My concentration was broken when my friend whispered something to me.

"I don't know what those trapmin are exactly, but they're definitely not pikmin. Agreed?"

"Agreed..." I muttered.

Once again, the trapmin were conceived by V Rex.