I stood looking up at the Harlequin Onion. We had all gathered before it—all except the blue, who had taken my advice and stayed away. The sight of the towering entity gave me a peculiar feeling, but I had to push it aside for the time being. "So what's the plan, everyone?"
"It would be good for them to practice on some weak creatures," said the female yellow. "Pink? White? Could you two find some Wood Eaters?"
"Absolutely. But how do you intend to wake the harlemin?" I asked. When this question left my mouth, I felt a sudden jolt of nostalgia. I had almost forgotten that "sleeping in" was once the norm for me…
"That might be tricky," said the red. "We can't exactly go in there, can we?"
"Nope," said the male yellow. "If it's not your color, you can't go in. I've tried."
"What if we screamed really loudly? Would they hear us then?" asked the white.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," said the male yellow. "I've seen the way Leaders summon pikmin from their Onions, so I'll just try it myself and see what happens."
"Good luck?" I murmured, having no idea what he was talking about. The yellow stepped forward, positioned himself directly beneath the Onion, and gazed up at its underside. The Onion responded by shining a soft light on him; the same light that appeared whenever it absorbed pellets and carcasses. At first I assumed that it had mistakenly expected an offering, but then the yellow spoke. "Blacks! Oranges! It's time to come out!"
The Onion's light vanished, and for a moment, nothing else happened. Then an orange came out, followed by a black, followed by another orange, followed by another black. What began as a trickle turned into a cascade, and soon all twenty-or-so harlemin had assembled. "We're here!" said one of the oranges.
"Huh. That actually worked," said the white. "I've always assumed that only a Leader could do that, but I guess I was wrong.
"How were they able to hear him, though?" asked the red. "When I was in my Onion, I could never hear a thing outside of it."
"That's not how it works," said the male yellow. "It's more like someone on the outside gives a signal, and the Onion passes it on to whoever's inside. It makes more sense if you've served a Leader."
"Yeah, anyway. Let's get down to business," said the female yellow. "Pink? White?"
The white turned to me and nodded. "Let's get airborne."
"That's my line," I said with a smirk. I swooped down and lifted the white towards the woods, leaving the other three to brief the harlemin. On the way there, she asked, "Is the blue okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine," I answered. "He just needed someone to tell him that it's okay to sit things out."
"You know, you two are really learning to see eye-to-eye!"
I raised my brow. "Is that so?"
"Of course! He has a lot more faith in you now than he did when you started out, and here you are talking him through his problems. It seems to me like you're having an easier time understanding him."
"I guess so," I muttered, though it was only a half-truth. The blue was a paradox incarnate: The more I learned about him, the harder it was for me to understand him. I almost told her about his suggestion regarding the Harlequin Onion, but I didn't want that clogging anyone else's mind for the day. It would have to wait until the harlemin's training was over.
After a few minutes of floating about, the white pointed and said, "Pink Wood Eaters! Under that flukeweed!"
The so-called "flukeweed" was a curly sprout resembling a fiddlehead. Fittingly enough, its coloration matched both my own and the Crawlers hiding beneath it. Speaking of which… "Why do ya'll call them Wood Eaters?"
"Ever since that one time we built a nest out of twigs, and the Crawlers ate right through it, we swore we would forever call them Wood Eaters as a reminder of our lack of foresight."
"…Really?"
"No, silly. We just like calling them that. Why do you call them Crawlers? Tons of creatures crawl."
"Yes, but Crawler is more fun to say. Besides, Red-eyed Stabbers eat wood, too."
"Pfft, no they don't!"
"Yes they friggin' do! I've seen it with my own eyes!"
We kept arguing as I flew her back to the Onion. With so much weighing on my mind, it felt good to engage in petty nonsense.
Soon, we had returned to the flukeweed with everyone else in tow. The Crawlers remained buried underneath it, and the first thing we had to do was draw them out. "Here's what's going to happen," I said. "Since I'm the one with wings, I'll uproot the flukeweed to expose the Crawlers. After that, you all will-"
"Pink?" the male yellow interrupted. "If you don't mind, could I be the one to lead today? I've got some ideas that I want to use."
"Sure, I guess?" I said with a shrug. Whatever he had in mind, it better not have been reckless…
"Excellent! Blacks? Oranges? Surround that flukeweed and start digging. Your prey awaits."
As the harlemin shoveled away at the dirt, I flew aside and settled with the other group members. I heard the female yellow mumble, "This oughta be rich," and I honestly wasn't certain whether that comment should've amused me or concerned me.
Thanks to their combined efforts, it didn't take long for the harlemin to topple the flukeweed and uncover the three Crawlers. Their pale, fleshy bodies wriggled into view as they squirmed amongst the horde. "Now's your chance!" the male yellow barked. "Strike them! Strike them until they're dead!"
The harlemin did exactly that, beating away at the struggling Crawlers until they struggled no more. As the hapless creatures keeled over, I leaned to the female yellow and whispered, "Is this a joke? How is 'strike them until they're dead' even remotely an idea?"
"Knowing him, this is probably just a test run," she whispered back. "He's saving his bigger ideas for bigger game."
Before I could question this further, a black asked, "How did we do?"
"Very good," said the male yellow. "You strike relentlessly, and that's a good trait for a pikmin to have. Your next target won't be so easy, but for now, deliver those corpses to the Onion." Then, as they carried off the bodies, he added, "And don't pluck the sprouts! Let them stay in the ground for now."
"Say, what were those things, anyway?" asked an orange.
"Crawlers," I said.
"Wood Eaters," the white said.
We had given these answers simultaneously, and after exchanging a quick glare, the white said, "Either name works. And you're welcome to make up your own, if you'd like."
"That's something they can worry about later," said the male yellow. "In the meantime, could you two find something slightly more challenging?"
"How about some purple ones?" asked the white. "They're never far from the pink ones, so finding some should be a cinch."
"Yes, that would be perfect."
In practically no time at all, we had located a nest of Crawlers—three purples and one pink. Once the harlemin were ready to begin, the male yellow gave them a preparatory speech. "This hunt will be a little different than the first. Those pink creatures were incapable of fighting back, but these? They can hurt you. Destroy you even. Dangerous prey requires a more tactful approach, so you will not be simply beating it to death this time. Instead, we'll be employing strategy."
"I don't understand," said an orange. "Why would we want to fight creatures like that? Why can't we just hunt the harmless ones?"
"Unfortunately, most creatures are dangerous. Time and time again, you'll find that fights are unavoidable. Enemies will come after you whether you're ready for them or not, so it's best that you be ready."
The orange said nothing else, so the yellow asked a question. "Blacks? Can you sense them underground, by any chance?"
The blacks all shook their heads.
"I see. In that case, stay on your toes when wandering these woods. If you feel a rumbling beneath your feet, start running immediately. These beasts are always waiting to ambush unwary pikmin."
"But this time, we're the ones who're gonna ambush them, right?" said another orange.
"Right. Now, there are four creatures hiding by that sapling. How do you think we should draw them out?"
"By digging?" asked a black.
"Nope! You never want to use the direct approach with dangerous creatures. A pikmin that fights like a beast will fall like one, too."
"Didn't you say they were waiting to ambush us?" asked another black. "If they're hunting us like we're hunting them, then won't they just come out on their own?"
"Correct!" The male yellow replied. "They'll pop out of the ground when they sense you approaching! Now, here's what you can expect to see."
He kneeled down and drew two shapes in the dirt. Both of them resembled Purple Crawlers: one with an open mouth and one with a closed mouth. "These creatures use their long mandibles to grab prey. They can make short work of a pikmin, provided they can get ahold of you first. Now, what do you think is the best way to attack one?"
"From behind?" asked an orange.
"That's right! Whenever possible, it's always best to attack from behind."
"But what if its friends try to help it?" asked a black. "How can we avoid all those 'mandibles' at once?"
The male yellow smirked. "Now that's the kind of question that saves lives. Keep thinking that way and you'll have a bright future ahead of you."
The black blushed slightly, though whether it was out of pride or surprise, I couldn't say.
"There's strength in numbers," the male yellow continued, "and that rule applies to beasts as much as it does pikmin. The good news, though, is that most creatures are stupid and easily distracted. In situations like this, it would be wise to divert their attention away from each other." He crossed his arms. "Now, having gone over all that, what do you all think is the best way to hunt these things? Don't answer right away. Take a minute or two to discuss it amongst yourselves, then get back to me when you've settled on something."
While the harlemin conversed with one another, I floated over to the male yellow. "Um, Yellow? Don't you think you're going a little fast for them? It's only their second battle, and yet you're making them do most of the thinking."
"That's the idea," he replied. "They can't always rely on someone else to do the thinking for them, so the sooner they learn to rely on their own wits, the better."
"But-"
"Pink, I can teach them to be cunning, or I can teach them to take orders. Which would you prefer?"
I shook my head and backed off, seeing his point but still not agreeing with his pacing. A short while later, the harlemin stopped talking and turned to him.
"Have you come to a decision?" he asked.
"We have," said the black that he had called bright. "We'll step forward to lure out our enemies. Then, when they're all facing the same direction, half of us will go around and strike from behind. That way, they will be unable to protect each other or themselves."
The yellow scratched his cheek. "That's a decent plan, but it needs a few tweaks. First, only a few of you are needed to draw them out, not all. Never send an army when a squad will do. Second, the attackers should get into position before engaging the enemy. Every second counts in a battle, so if something can be done in advance, it should be. Third, it would be best to separate your enemies, instead of making them face the same direction. Beasts are most easily defeated when singled out, and you never know when they might turn their attention to the wrong pikmin."
"I thought you said they were easily distracted?" asked the bright black.
"They are, but the problem is that it works both ways. They can be distracted from an ambush, but they can also be distracted from the distraction. Always keep that possibility in mind when you encounter them."
The bright black rubbed her arm and thought to herself. She then said, "So the first thing we need to do is split up into attack groups?"
"That's right."
"Then after that, we send a few pikmin to draw out the beasts?"
"Yes."
"Who will then lead each beast to a different attack group?"
"You've got it!" the male yellow smiled. "That there is the perfect plan!"
"So how many of them are there?" asked a different black.
I expected the yellow to make them figure it out on their own, but instead he gave them a straight answer: "Four."
"So we'll need four attack teams and four distractors?" asked the bright black.
"Yes. Keep in mind though that in most cases, you won't even know they're around until you disrupt them by accident. If that happens, and you get away, try to count them so you can plan an attack later."
"Understood. Should we begin?"
The yellow nodded. "You should."
The harlemin divided themselves into four groups, which then formed a "quadrant" around the Crawler nest. Once they were in position, one pikmin from each group moved in. They all traveled at roughly the same pace until they converged at the Crawler nest, and when they did, the soil promptly erupted. "Now!" someone shouted.
The scouts hurried back to their respective groups, but the Crawlers didn't respond quite as expected. One Purple chased a single scout precisely as planned, but the other two chose the same target, and of course the Pink merely dragged about confusedly. While the first scout proceeded to lead its Crawler to its demise, the second one resorted to running in circles, uncertain of how to deal with this setback. The remaining two scouts that were not being pursued were quick to respond, sprinting at the Purples from different angles to coax them apart. Their tactic worked—albeit barely, as one was nearly caught by a sudden lunge. While they frantically lured the snapping creatures to the nearest ambushes, the group that was left without a Purple surged forward and descended onto the Pink. Battle cries filled the air as the other Crawlers were swarmed as well, and soon all four lay still.
"We have won!" an orange hollered.
The harlemin waved their stems excitedly, and by the looks of it, not a single one had perished. Once the initial jubilance died down, the bright black came forward and asked, "How did we do?"
"You did nicely," said the male yellow. "Nobody was so much as injured, and that setback was handled fairly well."
"Why did that happen, though? Did we do something wrong?"
"No, it wasn't your fault. Things just don't always go as planned, is all. Thinking ahead is good, but so is thinking on your feet. The more times you do this, the better you'll get at doing both."
She tilted her head. "So no suggestions then?"
"Well, there is one thing," he replied. "One of the beasts turned out to be harmless, and yet a dedicated group attacked it anyway. While that was technically according to plan, it would've been wiser to help with the dangerous ones first, then defeat the harmless one last."
"Because otherwise we're dividing ourselves for nothing?"
"Precisely! Now let's get those corpses back to the Onion. Oh, and Pink?" He turned to me. "You think you can find a Demon Harbinger?"
We all watched from a distance as a Demon Harbinger sniffed about. While we were concealed in the shadow and foliage of the understory, the Harbinger was plainly visible in a small clearing, its ivory spots practically gleaming in the sunlight. "I can feel it," said the bright black. "Even with these plants in the way, its shape is so clear."
"What if the plants were blocking your view completely?" asked the male yellow. "Would you be able to sense it then?"
"Yes, I would. In fact, I sensed it much sooner than I saw it."
"Good to know. The ability to fully hide yourself without losing track of your target is very useful for sneak attacks."
"What about us?" asked an orange. "Can our abilities be useful, too?"
"Potentially," he replied. "But that's a matter we can discuss later. For now, let's focus on the hunt." He turned to the Harbinger. "This creature is stronger than the previous one, but also simpler. It moves faster and can withstand more punishment, but it lacks the element of surprise. Very rarely will you be caught off guard by one of these, especially if you're a black pikmin, or are accompanied by one."
"If it's simpler, then can we use the same technique as last time?" asked the bright black. "Send one to distract it, and the rest to attack it?"
"Well, you could certainly use a similar technique. Mobile creatures have an easier time switching targets, so to really throw it off, you'll need several distractors."
She squinted in confusion. "How does that work? Will it be less likely to turn away if there are more of them, or…?"
"No, you're thinking of the distractors working as a unit. What I have in mind is each one working individually."
The bright black frowned. "I don't understand."
The yellow scratched his cheek. "Think of it like… Hmm…" He glanced around until something caught his eye. "Like that!"
He pointed upwards, drawing everyone's attention to a cloud of gnats. They swirled in the open air, their movements hectic and disorganized. "Pink? Could you do me a favor and catch one of those?"
I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, he said, "Don't worry about blowing our cover. As long as you stay in the air, the Harbinger won't pay much attention to you. And if it decides to investigate anyway, you can easily lead it off."
"…Right then."
I ascended from the greenery, and as the yellow had accurately predicated, the Harbinger only offered a brief glance before it went back to sniffing. Initially the gnats seemed oblivious to my approach, but when I tried to grab at them, they parted like mist and regrouped farther away. I tried again and got a similar result, but this time, they amassed right around me! Their noise was faint and their collisions were harmless, but the sheer abundance of stimuli made me wave my arms and shake my stem. The tiny bugs promptly dispersed and reconvened nearby, but at that point I didn't want to try anymore.
The male yellow motioned for me to come back down, but just to be safe, I waited for the Harbinger to turn away before doing so. Once I was on the ground, he began to speak. "Do you understand now?"
"Yes, I do," said the bright black.
"Good. Now demonstrate."
The harlemin murmured to one another, presumably deciding who would do what. When they finished, five of them moved towards the Harbinger while the remaining fifteen-or-so snuck to the side. While the bigger group vanished into the foliage, the smaller group—three blacks and two oranges—ventured into the clearing.
Upon seeing them, the Harbinger jerked its head up and froze, eyes fixed intently on its prey. The harlemin mirrored this response, standing still with gazes locked on their prey. The two predator units maintained their standoff for a few tense moments before the Harbinger approached.
Instantaneously, the harlemin scattered and fled into different parts of the clearing. The Harbinger hesitated for a second before choosing an orange and giving chase. However, it only kept up the pursuit for a short time before a black dashed right across it!
The Harbinger was so startled by this that it stumbled and lost its momentum. Soon after, another black ran in, swatted its backside, and retreated. The Harbinger turned on its aggressor, only for the initial orange to return and repeat the maneuver. Growling, the harried beast decided to charge a second orange that had been standing nearby.
The orange must've wanted this, because he promptly threw a rock that hit it on the snout. This didn't do much damage, but it created enough of a distraction for him to circle behind his opponent. The Harbinger spun around to face him, only to get another rock to the snout.
To be frank, I was quite amused by these tactics. It was very satisfying to see such an obnoxious creature get thoroughly humiliated like this, especially by inexperienced pikmin. I almost didn't want them to kill it because tormenting it felt more deserved somehow, but sadly the fun was not to last. With a sharp rustle, the attack party surged from their cover and went straight for the Harbinger.
The assault did not go as planned. Despite the attackers striking from the rear, the Harbinger was quick to react and darted away before they could overwhelm it. Only two harlemin had managed to latch on, and even then they were hastily shaken off and left dazed on the ground. In this condition, they would've been vulnerable to a counterattack, but the Harbinger never stopped running. It may have realized that there were too many pikmin, or it may have been overwhelmed by the excessive prodding, but either way it soon disappeared into the woods.
"It got away," someone grumbled.
"That's alright. It happens sometimes," said the male yellow. "You all did a great job, especially with keeping it busy. My only advice is that if you're going to throw rocks, you should aim for the eyes. Keeps them stunned longer."
The harlemin all had disappointed looks, but seemed ready to move on regardless. As they reconvened with us, I began to lose myself to thought. Something about that battle felt awfully familiar, but I wasn't sure why.
"Pink?"
The fleeing Harbinger in particular gave me serious deja vu, but why was th-?
"Pink!"
"Huh?" I uttered.
"It's time to find our next beast," said the male yellow. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, scratching the back of my head. "So what am I looking for this time?"
"A Spotted Demon."
My mouth fell open. "You cannotbe serious."
He raised his brow. "Would you prefer it if they learned to fight Demons on their own?"
"No, but their last opponent was a Harbinger. Isn't a full-blown Demon a bit of a leap?"
"Not as much as you'd think. Demons are powerful, but they also sleep out in the open. Getting the jump on one is practically effortless, especially when there are this many pikmin. Besides, I think the harlemin have proven themselves capable."
I crossed my arms. "I don't know about this, Yellow…"
"Pink? I'm gonna have to back him up on this one," said the female yellow. "I know it sounds like a lot, but that's because you've been living in a small group for three seasons. We have to rely on stealth and trickery because that's all we've got, but was it the same when you were with your colony?"
I lowered my stem in resignation. She was right. I had spent so much time outwitting, outmaneuvering and outrunning my enemies that I had forgotten a pikmin's greatest strength: numbers. Six 'min were hardly a threat, but twenty were a force to be reckoned with. And when you combined that with the male yellow's leadership skills… "Alright, I'll find one. But this better be worthwhile, okay?"
He nodded. "It will."
A steady breathing filled the air as we gazed upon our quintessential enemy. Its snores were loud, its form was unhidden, and its coloration was bold. These were the characteristics of a beast that had little to fear.
Or so it thought.
The harlemin stood quietly as they observed their foe. The ground was forebodingly barren with no place to hide, and shadows quivered all around us as a troubled breeze whirled through the canopy. It was almost as if the forest itself was wrought with anticipation. "Now," said the male yellow, "do you have an idea of what you're going to do?"
"It's asleep," said the bright black, "so we'll all attack its backside at once."
"That's a good way to start. But what will you do when it retaliates?"
The bright black thought to herself, then said, "We'll do what we did with the small one. Some of us will distract, others will attack."
"Good. Which body parts will you attack, though? Its backside will be harder to reach when it's up and moving, so you'll have to consider other weak points."
The bright black stared at the Demon. "Its legs look vulnerable."
The yellow nodded.
"Its nose looks sensitive, too."
"That might be true, but it would be almost impossible to strike without falling victim to those gaping jaws," he said. "It's almost never a good idea to attack a creature's business end, even if it looks vulnerable. The risk just isn't worth the reward."
"What about its eyes?" she asked. "You said we should have thrown rocks at the smaller one's eyes, so what about this one?"
"Good question. Hitting it in the eye would momentarily stun it, but you probably couldn't throw a rock that high. Throwing other pikmin would be more effective, but that takes practice, so let's just disregard the eyes for now."
She raised her brow. "Other pikmin?"
"You may not realize it, but your body is much more aerodynamic than it looks. If you throw a pikmin in just the right way, it can actually travel farther and higher than a lighter object. But again, it takes time to get the hang of. For now, just focus on the legs and backside."
"Got it."
The harlemin began to mobilize, but there was a glaring reluctance in their movement. Instead of aggressively rushing the Demon, they slowly and methodically crept towards it. Were they trying to be sneaky? Or were they intimidated?
The male yellow said nothing about this, so I decided to remain silent as well. Gradually the harlemin drew closer to the Demon, but once they were within ten paces of it, the blacks abruptly froze. The oranges looked back at them in confusion, and after what I assume was a hushed discussion, they turned tail and started heading back to us.
"What's going on? Why are they coming back?" asked the red.
"Maybe they're too afraid?" I replied.
"No, something else is happening," said the female yellow. "Notice how the blacks stopped first? They must've sensed something."
"I agree," said the male yellow. "White? Can you see anything out there?"
"No, I cannot," she said, looking side-to-side. "What about you? Can you hear anything?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Nothing but the wind."
"I can't hear anything either," said the female yellow.
"How is that possible?" I asked. "We know that something is out there, but it can't be seen or heard?"
"Well, it's not like there are any plants around," said the female yellow. "I can always hear the footsteps of large beasts, but without anything to rustle against, a smaller creature could go undetected."
"That still doesn't explain why I can't see it," said the white.
"Here's an idea! How about we ask the blacks what we're dealing with, instead of speculating about it?" said the red.
"…Good plan," I muttered.
We all motioned for the harlemin to move faster, and they responded accordingly. Once they caught up to us, the male yellow asked, "What's wrong?"
"There's another beast nearby," said the bright black. "And it might be after us."
"Where is it? I can't see it for some reason," said the white.
"Did you try looking up?"
The white did just that, and after a few seconds, she said, "Oh! There it is!"
The rest of us looked up as well, and what we saw mystified us. "What is that thing?" I asked.
"I don't know," said the white. "I've never seen anything like it."
Halfway towards the canopy was some sort of floating creature. It was too high for me to make out its form, but I could plainly see an assortment of bright colors. "Should I check it out?"
"Don't," said the male yellow. "If something happens to you up there, we won't be able to come to your rescue."
"What should we do then?"
"It's definitely getting closer to us," said the female yellow. "Whatever its intentions are, I doubt they're friendly. Let's call off the hunt and head back."
"Seconded," said the white.
The male yellow sighed. "Alright everyone, let's go back to the Onion. We'll try this again another day."
Just as we turned to leave, something hit the ground behind us. We looked back and saw a hard, spherical object covered in cracks. My stomach turned as it blazed with light and shook with sound. "RUN!"
We dove behind a root just as the bomb-rock exploded, blasting dirt and smoke over our heads. "Is everyone okay?" asked the white.
"Yeah, I think so," I replied, looking both ways. "That bomb-rock must've come from that floating creature. You think it has more?"
"I don't care to find out," said the male yellow. "Let's get out of here before… Aw, crap."
"What is it?"
"I can hear the Demon stomping around. That explosion must've woken it up."
"That doesn't matter," said the white. "I'll keep it busy while the rest of you escape."
"No way! You're not staying behind with that floating thing around!" I snapped. "Who knows what else it's capable of?!"
"You did the same thing with the Leviathan!"
"I didn't have a choice!"
"I don't have a choice either!"
"Uh… Everyone?" said the bright black. "We've got trouble."
We all looked up as a shadow was cast upon us. Hideous lemon-colored eyes stared down at us as the creature descended like some demonic angel. Its skin was a metallic shade of green, and protruding from its back was a colorful cluster of sacs. With a revolting gnashing sound, it threw its lanky arms into its mouth and pulled out another bomb-rock.
