Pikgem

The Pikgem is a species of crystalline Pikmin that is made of a particular precious gemstone and typically resembles Bulbmin.

=In fanon games=

In Pikmin Forever
Pikgems are a type of Pikmin in Pikmin Forever that are noncanonical to the story but appear in Challenge Mode. They resemble crystalline Bulbmin, and come in twenty-five types. Pikgems are immune to all hazards, and only die from explosions or by falling into pits. Pikgems have average running, swimming, and carrying speeds, but have the attack strength of Purple Pikmin; in essence, they are ideal Pikmin for completing a particularly difficult stage.

Pikgems are first mentioned when the Peculiar Gemstone, a hidden faceted gem in story mode, is brought to the research pod or the KHA Lander. The pod or lander analyzes the gem and concludes that it is alive and comes from an alternate dimension, and speculates about crystalline lifeforms living in that dimension. This analysis unlocks Challenge Mode. In Challenge Mode, fifty out of the one hundred stages have another gem or semiprecious stone in them that, when collected, will yield five Pikgems of the particular gemstone's type. Thus, up to two hundred and fifty Pikgems can be collected, and at any time they can substitute for any type of Pikmin. Their leaves or petals will turn the color of the Pikmin they substituted, and they will thus gain the substituted Pikmin's extra abilities. For example, the Yellow Pikmins' ability to conduct electricity. Once deployed in a Challenge Mode stage, Pikgems can not be used again, no matter if they die or not. They also can not be converted using candypop buds.

There are no differences between the colors of Pikgem other than to signify what gem or semiprecious stone unlocked them. Just as there are twenty-five types of Peculiar Gemstones, there are twenty-five colors of Pikgem, meaning a maximum of ten Pikgems of each color are seen: