Lubricant

Lubricant is a hazard appearing in a few forms, the most common being oil, but soapy substances, slime, and grease are also forms of lubricant. Lubricant is most dangerous when it forms a puddle on the ground, where leaders and inapt Pikmin can slip in it and slide around on it. Furthermore, some enemies can also secrete lubricant or leave it in their wake, making fighting them tedious. No particular Pikmin are immune to lubricant, although Black Pikmin are commonly thought to have a resistance to lubricant. Oil, when exposed to water, will remain on the surface and still pose dangers to anything passing through. Oil can also be set on fire.

In some games, lubricant, in the form of oil, can also drown Pikmin. It clings to the stems of Pikmin and persists even after they are whistled once, requiring repeated whistling to save them. Sometimes a special method is required to remove oil from a Pikmin's stem.

=In fanon games=

In Pikmin: Wide World
Lubricant is a rare hazard in Pikmin: Wide World, being found most often in Ancient Metalworks and its caves in the form of oil slicks. Lubricant is an easily identifiable rainbow-colored fluid. No particular Pikmin type is resistant to it, and it has the potential to endanger the lives of Pikmin, even aquatic Pikmin such as Blue Pikmin, Blue Bulbmin, and Wollymin. Pikmin that manage to have their stems engulfed by a bead of lubricant will run around in panic before ultimately dying, unless they are whistled. However, unlike other hazards, which are neutralized with a single whistle, lubricant is clingy and requires several whistles to clear from a Pikmin's stem. Lubricant can not only form slippery puddles on the ground, but it also lingers on the surface of a body of water it lands in, which can potentially endanger aquatic Pikmin passing underneath. Lubricant eventually clears up on its own, but fire can be used to clear it immediately, even if it is over water. The source of fire does not matter, so long as it and the oil make contact. Fire is also effective against most enemies that utilize lubricant. Rainfall can accelerate how quickly lubricant disappears. A leader can reduce how much they slip in lubricant by wearing the No-Slip Soles. Although ink may be confused for lubricant at first glance, it is merely a source of panic.

Buttery Breadbugs and Giant Buttery Breadbugs are both covered in a slippery yellow substance that drips onto the ground as they walk. Greasy Jellyfloats are covered in lubricant, which also drips off the creatures. Oily Groinks launch balls of lubricant that splatter upon contact with a surface. Lastly, Slick Dweevils spray lubricant, but only in self-defense.