Bridge

Bridges are common obstacles. Naturally, their purpose is to help cross a gap, often a body of water. Pikmin are tasked with building the bridge, which cannot be crossed until it is completed. Their appearance, building method, and purpose vary with each bridge type.

Stick bridge
Stick bridges are initially found as a bundle of wood on one side of a gap, which Pikmin can be told to unfurl into a bridge that leads over the obstruction. When being unraveled by Pikmin, a stick bridge grows in intervals that are marked with a cloud of dust. Cloaking Burrow-nits and members of the Mandiblard family chew apart nearby stick bridges and progressively revert them into bundles.

Stick bridges will take longer to unfurl if they haven't been unfurled before. If a stick bridge has been unfurled before but has since been destroyed, unfurling it again will take very little time.

Some stick bridge bundles have gas pipes concealed underneath of them, just like some bramble gates do. Naturally, only White Pikmin can initially approach it, but once it has been unfurled a bit, the poison pipes may be destroyed to allow other Pikmin to assist them in completing the bridge.



Fragment bridge
Some bridges, aptly named fragment bridges, are made entirely of fragments of various objects as opposed to wood. These fragments are mostly of ceramic objects, but can also be shards from objects such as glasses. Fragment bridges are made from varying numbers of fragments and come in several different colors, with some bridges already being partially or fully built when they are encountered. Depending on the bridge, it may or may not be possible to throw Pikmin and leaders from the unfinished bridge to search for the bridge's remaining fragments on the other side. To build a fragment bridge, Pikmin must carry fragments over to it, which they then put into place. Once all fragments are delivered, the bridge is completed. Because these bridges are made of a hard material, enemies cannot destroy them as they can wooden bridges.

Unfinished fragment bridges are usually slanted slightly upwards, but lower into place when completed. This can knock leaders and Pikmin over if they are standing too close, but those on the fragment bridge itself will not be knocked down.

Fragment
Fragments are tiles of broken ceramic or glass objects that are used mainly to build fragment bridges but can be used to construct other objects. Fragments are clustered together in piles, and the Pikmin will carry them to the bridge of the corresponding fragment color. Because each bridge has its own color, fragments from one color cannot be used to build a bridge of a different one. Each bridge can have one or more piles of fragments. Fragments are also occasionally buried in dirt mounds or encased inside crystals. Additionally, fragments can be used to reconstruct other objects such as broken plant pots, which can be used as a platform. Many of the fragments come from nearby broken pots, cups, glasses, and other modern-day objects.

Pikmin will automatically return to the pile of fragments they were assigned to and take another piece from it if there are any left. They will return to the pile's location even if there aren't any fragments remaining. If a Pikmin carrying a fragment is whistled to, it will simply drop the fragment and join the group of the leader who called it over.



Hay
Hay is similar to fragments. Hay normally sits in a tidy stack, and Pikmin can be told to grab chunks off of it one-by-one, like fragments. When they reach the wall that needs to be overcome, which can be recognized by faint strands of hay strewn on the ground around it, they toss their hay on the ground so that it piles up. When the hay pile is completed, Pikmin and leaders can use it as a ramp to climb up.

Pikmin: Attack of the Breadbugs
Bridges return in Pikmin: Attack of the Breadbugs and have the same role as they did in . Piles of fragments used to build them can occasionally be found in the Land of Wonders, specifically the Marsh Territory and the Arctic Territory. Bridges are used to cross bodies of water and cold water, respectively. As bridges are made of fragments, enemies are unable to destroy them.

Pikmin: Infection in Progress
Bridges yet again return in Pikmin: Infection in Progress, and share their role with bridges in . Bridges are made of fragments once more. Bridges are found primarily in The Fungal Forest Navel, Noxious Tundra, Polluted Twilight River, Toxic Wilds, and the Wilting Garden of Infection. Bridges are used to cross and scale ledges in The Fungal Forest Navel, as well as crossing streams and rivers of Polluted Water found throughout every outdoor area.