Magenta Den

The Magenta Den is located in the Highland Field and is the first dungeon in the game, serving as a tutorial dungeon to help familiarize the player with dungeons. To find it, build the stick bridge up the ledge near the landing site that leads to the Burgeoning Spiderworts and its mold. There's a rock formation nearby here that looks out of place. Have Pikmin swarm it and the dungeon entrance will be revealed! It's the beginning dungeon, and has only three floors, no hazards, and not even a final floor boss to do battle with. What it does have, however, is a patch of Violet Candypop Buds on the final floor so Purple Pikmin can be discovered! There are a couple of treasures and weak enemies to be found here as well.

Sublevel 1

 * Dwarf Yellow Bulborb x 5 (one falls from the ceiling)
 * Treasures x 1

The first sublevel is fairly small. The Research Pod lands in one corner of this small chamber with four corners and a circular center. In another corner is a hole leading to the next floor, and in another corner is a treasure. The last corner has nothing in it, and if approached, a Dwarf Yellow Bulborb will drop from the ceiling. The circular center of the room is watched by four other Dwarf Yellow Bulborbs. They are easily finished off if a Pikmin is thrown directly on top of them. Taking back their bodies is possible, but in this game, corpses aren't worth any Pokos; it's all about the number of treasures collected. It's just to keep them out of the way.

Sublevel 2

 * Dwarf Yellow Bulborb x 8
 * Male Sheargrub x 8
 * Key x 1

This is a much bigger floor. The starting point is on one side of the room, and on the other side there is a key. There is no exit in sight, but a few Dwarf Yellow Bulborbs stand in the center of the room. Be careful, as they're teamed with Male Sheargrubs that will inevitably pop up while battling the Dwarf Yellow Bulborbs. Advance cautiously and no Pikmin should be lost. Sheargrubs are easily dealt with if they're swarmed. After the key is taken, it is found that it isn't a treasure, and in fact, it disappears as soon as it is collected, oddly opening a hole to the next floor. Be on the lookout for keys underground when the way forward isn't apparent.

Sublevel 3

 * Honeywisp x 3
 * Violet Candypop Bud x 2
 * Geyser x 1
 * Pressure pad x 1 pair
 * Treasures x 1

The Research Pod descends right next to a pair of Violet Candypop Buds, allowing access to ten Purple Pikmin! They have great strength and can budge huge objects to carry or to push out of the way, both abilities of which are used to finish this floor. Check the walls of this room. One portion of the wall sticks out in a sphere. Have the Purple Pikmin swarm it with a few Red Pikmin as well. It'll turn out to be a big rock lodged in a tunnel. They'll give a mighty heave and it'll roll out of its socket and down a tubelike passageway into a bigger chamber, smashing into another rock and shattering both rocks. The wreckage will crumble away to reveal a big and heavy treasure. There are a few Honeywisps here, so use this chance to make as many flower Pikmin as possible before bringing back the heavy treasure. It doesn't fit into the tube, so look around this chamber. On two sides there are a pair of pressure pads sticking up that need more than fifty Pikmin on each. Press them both down at once using Purple Pikmin and the tube will widen, allowing the heavy treasure to make it back to the Research Pod. Collecting it will give access to the Treasure Gauge, a very useful upgrade that detects treasures and keys, and pings with increasing frequency to alert leaders of their proximity to those objects. There's a geyser in the room where you found the heavy treasure so hop on and escape. The first cave is now complete.

Wildlife

 * Dwarf Yellow Bulborb
 * Honeywisp
 * Male Sheargrub
 * Violet Candypop Bud