Dark Mountain Cave

The Third Dark Spore
Perhaps you noticed that there was one more cave to finish off in the Mountain Springs. You won't be able to reach it without Green Pikmin, which you should be able to locate on the way to the Quicksand Temple in the Ancient Wetland. Once you have discovered all Pikmin types, make your way through the acid-stained shores to reach the blocked-up spring. Break it loose and the warm, cleansing water will wash away the acid and clear the way for your Pikmin troops to reach the third of the Dark Caves at the end of the area. This is the first cave which threatens you with every element, so you need mixed forces. Puzzles are not necessarily tougher here, just the battles. In this way, it's more like a classic Pikmin 2 dungeon. The boss fight on the final floor is all about strength and force as well.

Floor 4

 * Leafy Candypop Bud x 3
 * Treasure x 1

You land on the top of a grassy hill on this rest floor. It has a few Leafy Candypop Buds if you think your Green Pikmin supply is running low. The question is, where is this floor's treasure? It is buried inside of the hill, but White Pikmin can't dig it out from where it is positioned. Instead, you need Purple Pikmin. You'll notice that there are strangely-shaped rocks that look like they are supposed to be parts of a dial around the hill. The truth is, they can be moved by Pikmin if you have enough Pikmin pushing each from the same side in either direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise. Choose a side and stick with it- it will take the power of 50 Pikmin at least for each of the "dial" sections, adding up to the power of 200 Pikmin. Their combined efforts will shift the whole dial, causing the room to shake. the hill will be leveled, revealing a treasure resting in the very center. You can take it and leave, or continue onwards.

Floor 6

 * Gatling Groink x 2
 * Lighter Shearwig x 9
 * Rocket Beetle x 14
 * Bomb-Rock x 20
 * Fire Vent x 8
 * Oil Spill x 1
 * Treasure x 2

This place is a war zone, and it will only get worse the longer you spend in it. The enemies here, as well as the Bomb-Rocks all have qualities that will quickly agitate the Oil Spill and turn it into an inescapable death trap for any Pikmin that gets caught in it. First off, seek one of the groinks and dispatch it to find one of the floor's treasures. The other treasure is in a rather obnoxious location given the way this floor is shaped. Basically, it takes place in a really big room that has two raised plateaus across from each other with a big oily puddle in the middle of them. There is a ramp that leads right up to the top of the plateau where the treasure is buried, but you can't get White Pikmin up there due to the oil in the way. Plus, that puddle's going to ignite sooner or later anyway. First off, take a captain through there and have them wait on the treasure plateau so that captains won't be blocked from entering at a later point once it lights up. Now take your other captain and go up the other ramp on the empty plateau. Fortunately, this ramp is not blocked by the oil. From this plateau, run and toss a few White Pikmin over the flaming/oily depths below and hope they make it to the plateau with the treasure. From there, your previously-placed captain can command them to dig up and retrieve the treasure.

Floor 8

 * Shady Candypop Bud x 3
 * Web x 5
 * Treasure x 1

This rest stop is a fantastic place to add on to your Black Pikmin numbers. The webs do unfortunately make it a bit of a hassle to navigate. However, don't just get rid of them recklessly- climb up them slowly with one captain and find your way to a raised ledge against a wall. Once you're up there, have the other captain toss some Yellow Pikmin your way. There is a treasure up here, blocked by a web. Now's the time to cut away that web by having the other captain use Black Pikmin to attack the web from the ground. After the treasure is yours, use the Candypop Buds (unless you have enough Black Pikmin already) and either escape using the geyser or brave the last two floors ahead.

Floor 9

 * Emperor Bulblax x 1
 * Acid Pool x 8
 * Key x 1
 * Treasure x 1

Oh. Not good! There's an Emperor Bulblax here, and it will be very difficult to defeat without Green Pikmin thanks to the acid haphazardly scattered about the place. If you are very, very slick with how you navigate your Pikmin, it is possible to bring down this opponent with Pikmin of other colors. It is necessary to defeat this monster to progress because it releases a Key to the next floor. The treasure, incidentally, is buried right where you woke the boss up. Use White Pikmin to dig it up and then continue to the final floor.

Floor 10 (Final Floor)

 * Empress Bulblax BOSS
 * Bulborb Larva x ???
 * Falling Rock x ???
 * Treasure x 1

The boss here is no stranger to the Pikmin series but has a few distinct differences in this game. For one, it can sustain even more damage in battle. It is also accompanied by many more Bulborb Larvae. The boss attacks by rolling back and forth after being woken up, which causes boulders to drop from above. Move your Pikmin out of the way of the shadows, and call them back to make sure the boss doesn't roll over them. To make matters worse, the boss can now make Bulborb Larvae appear en masse through two different strategies. First off, it may turn the end of its body around to face your group and then shoot a few Bulborb Larvae in your direction. Secondly, it may stop moving in order to roar upwards. This causes Bulborb Larvae to burrow out from the ground all over the place. After lots of damage has been taken, the boss will discharge MANY more larvae with its shooting attack, and it seems that more boulders drop when it rolls around as well. Once the boss is defeated, take care of any remaining larvae before transporting the treasure back to the pod and taking the geyser out of here.

Wildlife

 * Bulborb Larva
 * Chemical Chrysanthemum
 * Dwarf Bulbear
 * Emperor Bulblax
 * Fiery Bulblax
 * Gatling Groink
 * Leafy Candypop Bud
 * Lighter Shearwig
 * Purple Bulborb
 * Shady Candypop Bud
 * Shearant
 * Rocket Beetle
 * Territorial Breadbug
 * Wollywog
 * Empress Bulblax BOSS

Portal- Kombat  *Sysop*