Chasm of Challenges

The Chasm of Challenges is an optional cave in Pikmin: Connection of the Worlds and is found in The Portal. It serves as the game's "Pit of 100 Trials", only there's actually 101 floors. The way to get to the next level is by killing each enemy, then a Key will drop in a random place.

Accessing the Chasm of Challenges
After you beat the final boss, a landslide will occur right next to the actual portal, and a secret passageway will be opened. This passageway bores right into the neighboring mountain, then splits and winds into a maze. Don't worry-the maze, although it has several floors, is actually quite simple. You just need to get to the top floor (which is the 7th), then find the way onto the outside part. Head away from the entrance of the maze, and you'll stumble upon a thicket of trees. Get your Pikmin, then have them swarm the trees. It's probably going to take awhile to clear even a part of the thicket. But you only need to clear away just a single part-the Chasm of Challenges will be right in front of you. If you're ready, jump into it...

Also, you can now have a maximum total Pikmin of 150 in the Portal for the Chasm of Challenges!

Level 1
Although this is the game's Pit of 100 Trials, it starts out fairly easy. You land in one of two + layouts that are connected. If you head into the other +, you'll see two sleeping Red Bulborbs. When you kill them, a Key will drop. Collect it to go down to the next level...

Level 2
Still easy. Fiery, Caustic, and Munge Dweevils live here. Kill them all to get the Key, then go down to the next level.

Level 3
This just gets better and better. 30 Dwarf Red Bulborbs await you on this level. It's recommended that you take the captains out and beat up all the Dwarves. Collect the corpses if you want, grab the Key, then jump down.

Level 4
Back to the actual Bulborbs. 3 Hairy Bulborbs live on this level, and when you kill them, the Key doesn't drop. Why? Well, a fourth Hairy Bulborb is hiding in an alcove. Sniff it out, then beat it, and the Key will finally drop. Head down to fight a couple Orange Bulborbs...

Level 5
Two annoying Orange Bulborbs are sleeping here, but because they're Orange Bulborbs, you know what that means... Anyway, you're in luck, because they are far apart from each other... making the battle easier. If you have Purple Pikmin, use them to deal with the Bulborbs. Grab the Key then go to the next level.

Level 6
A bit easier than the previous two levels, 10 Dwarf Bulbears live here. You know the drill-kill, collect, then leave.

Level 7
This level is harder. A Spotty Bulbear with six Dwarf Bulbears following it must be fought to obtain the Key. The level is simply a thin, long, "room" made out of dirt, and you have to fight the Bulbear and its followers head on. The Spotty Bulbear actually has the Key this time, but it is suggested that you still kill all of the Dwarves and take it to the Research Pod before you attempt to carry it.

Level 8
A group of ten dwarf bulbears are waiting in an adjacent room. Once half are killed, a Spotty Bulbear will drop down. Once you have defeated all of the enemies, two more spotty Bulbears will drop. Pummel them with purple pikmin and use sprays if necessary. Once they are defeated, the key will drop. Take the bodies of the adults and the key to the research pod and continue on.

Level 9
This level isn't especially hard if you know what you are doing. An Empress Bulblax awaits you, and she is asleep. Pummel her head with Pikmin (preferably purples) and make sure to call them back before she begins rolling. She will drop the key.

Level 10
This level is an expansive rest level. It several large rooms with grass floors, fairly far apart and connected by pipes. The you land with the Research Pod in one of these empty rooms. All of the rooms are accessible via a central room with a raised ledge in the middle with water running off of it into the pipes. The water is too shallow to drown your pikmin. The triangles of land between the streams of water are covered in grass, and several Unmarked Spectralids are flying around them. Two pipes lead from the room you start in, one to the central ledge, and one to the floor. The central ledge has a sort of pond with all the water running from it. You can walk all of your pikmin to an island in the middle, as the water is shallow here, too. Three Queen Candypop Buds await you here, with the key in the middle. The other rooms can be accessed by following the streams into the pipes. The streams will flow into the side of small hills in each room, and the hole they flow into is covered by a white grate. On top of each small hill will be three candypop buds of the same color. There is a room like this for each of the other colors of candypop buds, and once you have used the Queen Candypops, you can use these to equalize your Pikmin squads numbers. Get a lot of Blue Pikmin, you'll see why later. Down the Unmarked Spectralids for sprays and collect the key. A hole will pop up in the room you started in, and a geyser will pop up where the key was before. Once you feel prepared, take the hole down to the next level.

Level 11
This level contains three adult Bulbmin with no smaller ones following them. Once defeated, the Key will drop.

Level 12
This level is completely covered in water except for a small island in the middle, and the water level is rapidly rising. The Key on this level is very far away from the Research Pod, and is larger and heavier than normal. Unless you have thirty Blue Pikmin, you're in big trouble, and there is nothing you can do about it. Once the level rises high enough to completely cover the island, an alternative, normal-sized key will appear. Once the Key is collected, jump down the hole.

Level 13
Surprise! Not only is this maze-like level completely covered with fire hazards of various sizes, which are on the floor and the walls and spurt horizontally, vertically, diagonally, in circles, or randomly, but the key can only be accessed by going east through a long series of circular rooms with rotating fire spurts and hallways with alternating flaming hazards everywhere, and the hole that opens up (which has a clog on it) is opens up can only be accessed by going down the to the opposite side of the sublevel, to the west! Timing is everything, and it is suggested that you take only one Pikmin, carried by a leader, to get the key, leaving the rest behind at the only safe area, the one with the Research Pod. This level takes some quick thinking, but you still need to be careful, as some parts require you to take your time. Chances are you will have to call back your Pikmin to keep them from burning to death several times.

Level 14
This level contains a Crimson Candypop Bud and three Fiery Bulblaxes. Once two of them are defeated, the key will drop in behind the third. carefully have the Pikmin take the key back to the Research Pod and take the hole down to the next level.

Level 15
This level has an Umber Candypop Bud, and a Teal Candypop Bud in the first room. Break down the gate to find an Icy Bulblax alongside two fiery ones. Defeat them both and the key will drop. Take the key and go down the hole to the next level.

Level 16
This level has a Dual Candypop Bud in the first room. You probably don't have any Burgundy Pikmin, so use it with Red Pikmin and Blue Pikmin. The other room is a lake of Lava with four Icy Bulblaxes on unevenly spaced "islands". Lure them into the lava to melt the ice around them and use your combined Red and Blue Pikmin to defeat them. The key will drop on one of the islands, and once it is carried back, the "Dual Pikmin" will split up and a hole will open up right next to the Research Pod. Go down it to the next level.

Level 17
This level is completely covered in tall grass, except for a small patch below the Research Pod.. The entire place is rigged with falling boulders, bomb-rocks, and patches of quicksand which are very hard to see because of the grass. Dwarf Bulborbs and Volatile Dweevil are also hiding, so watch out! Send one of the leaders out, setting off traps off as they go. Then. with the same leader, take a Tan Pikmin and a Red Pikmin to the opposite side of the level. Throw the Tan Pikmin ahead of where you walk to prevent the Red Pikmin from having any quicksand accidents. Once on the other side of the level, throw the Tan Pikmin up onto the nearby ledge and have the leader by the Research Pod take all of the other Pikmin to the grassless spot under the Research Pod. have the Red Pikmin attack what looks like a geyser clog. Once it breaks apart, a huge jet of flame will burst out, setting fire to the grass and burning it away, drying up all of the quicksand and killing all of the enemies in the process. The key, which was before cleverly hidden and and unable to be seen, can now be easily found lying on dry ground, along with a useful Queen Candypop Bud. Have the Red Pikmin disable the giant Fire Geyser, take the key, and go down the hole that opens up.

Level 18
This level is empty, except for two Violet Candypop Buds and the key. Use the Violet Candypop Buds first. Move one of the leaders up the long, winding, passageway up to where it splits off. Scout each of the passageways it splits off into so they appear on the map and then return to the place where they converge. Have the other leader have the Pikmin carry the key back to the Onion. A bunch of Volatile Dweevils will land all around the Research Pod! Although running might work, chances are you would lose several Pikmin. Instead, pause and check the map to see which of the passageway split-offs the hole appeared in (it's random) and switch leaders, taking the one up by the junction to the hole. Jump down it before the Volatile Dweevils can destroy the other leader and your Pikmin Squad.

Level 19
The first room of this level contains a two Dual Candypop Buds. Use them to Combine your Blue and Purple Pikmin. The next room has three Emperor Bulblaxes. Defeat them with your Blues/Purples, which shouldn't be too hard if you stun them enough and fight them one at a time. The key will drop from the last one once it is defeated, and then you can take it to the Research Pod and go down the hole to the second rest level.

Level 21
At first sight, you'll know this is a very dangerous level- one filled with lava. Hopefully, you brought some Burgundy Pikmin with you to clear this level. A maze (the passageways are thick with lava on the sides) awaits you. Grab the Burgundy Pikmin and go to the end of this maze. 3 Fiery Bulblaxes and 10 Dwarf Fiery Bulblaxes are ready to fight here. Ultra-Bitter and Ultra-Freezing Sprays are recommended here. After they are beat, an island close to the start of the maze rises out of the lava, and the Key drops there. Throw a single Burgundy Pikmin (making sure it's flowered) to the island, and the Pikmin will carry it right into the lava. It will reappear on a suspicious slope, unharmed. The cave that appears is at the end of the maze, in a corner.

Level 22
Your second snow level- but this time, there's ice as well. Go out with only your captain and bomb-rocks will fall. The aftermath of the explosions will melt the ice, make a crater, and throw dirt everywhere. The water will mix with the dirt, making dirty water, which will flow into the small craters. At the end, an Icy Dumple waits. After it's died, the Key will drop close by. However, if some bomb-rocks haven't fallen yet, they will now, and instead, giant bomb-rocks will fall, making a bigger mess. If you happened to see a Dual Bud, you'll regret using it. But don't worry! It'll infinitely fall from the ceiling after disappearing. Throw in the right combination (which is Brown Pikmin + Blue Pikmin) and it, finally is gone. Now, grab the Key. Once the hole opens up, your combined Pikmin will split into it's two original forms. Find the hole and leave.

Level 99
Ready for your final boss? This time... it's a horrible Giga Bulbear!! However, the strategy for killing this Bulbear behemoth is the same as in Pikmin: Sinister Incinerator. Also, the layout for the level is the same, so if you've played PSI, then you're not in much trouble. It will drop the Key when defeated. Head down to the final level of the Chasm of Challenges...

First Visit
Finally, the anticipation of getting to the very bottom of the Chasm of Challenges has dropped. The layout is similar to that of the first floor-the level is made of + pieces, only there's 9 connected making a giant square-like level. 15 Queen Candypop Buds are waiting to be used here, and 2 of all the other colors of Candypops are here too. Also, 10 Iridescent Flint & Glint Beetles are ready to pop out of the ground. 5 Maumutas and 20 Honeywisps also occupy this level. Last, but not least, 200 Unmarked Spectralids are flying around. Take your time to perfect your army and gather Sprays if necessary. The Key will always be in a random place. Get it to open the escape geyser.

Second Visit and After
When you fall on the level, the Research Pod will inform you of something here that wields ancient power that it didn't detect before. Anyway, if you grab the Key, the geyser will open. However, when you near the geyser, you'll notice there's red electricity in front of it. This is harmless; pass through it and something will activate. Go to the center of the giant room and there will be a red circle with an X on it. You have to throw at least 50 Pikmin on top of it and it'll go down. Four more circles will appear with X's on them. However, they are different colors: pink, blue, purple, and green. One captain has to go on these circles, however a certain captain has to go on a circle. The pattern is the captain's beacon must be the same color as the circle. For example: Olimar goes on the pink circle, while Louie stands on the blue one. Stand on all of them and a strange machine will appear right out of the ground in the middle of the room. The geyser will also move to the right of where it originally was, revealing a weird door. Have your Pikmin swarm the machine and it will activate. It will shoot a laser towards the strange door. It will open revealing a circular path. Once you go beyond the door, the circular area will "collapse", leading to a lower section of the level. Go to the bottom of this passageway, and the secret hole will be in view, in an alcove. Get ready to meet an entirely new species of Pikmin...

Level 101 (SECRET FINAL FLOOR)
WARNING: THE SECRET PIKMIN IS MET HERE. YOU WILL SPOIL THE GAME IF YOU CONTINUE TO READ.

The true final floor. The level design is simple-just a circular room with a strange Candypop Bud in the middle. This is the Power Candypop Bud, the last you'll meet in the game. Toss some Pikmin in the Candypop and seeds will be ejected. Pluck them, and you'll finally, after a series of trials, meet the Ultima Pikmin! These Pikmin are resistant to everything (save being eaten by enemies and falling into an abyss), and have the strength of 15 Pikmin but are as White Pikmin The geyser is already active, so don't worry about finding the Key.