In Pikmin 4, Purple Pikmin are incredibly useful thanks to their superior strength and carrying capacity. However, acquiring them in large numbers isn’t immediately obvious—especially if you’re aiming to collect treasure that requires high lifting power. This guide will walk you through an efficient, repeatable method for farming Purple Pikmin quickly using Hero’s Hideaway and the Plunder Palace cave.

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Step 1 – Head to Hero’s Hideaway

To begin, travel to Hero’s Hideaway and locate the Ice Onion. If you’ve already unlocked this area, getting started should be quick. From the Ice Onion’s location, jump on Oatchi and use his traversal abilities to navigate to the Plunder Palace cave entrance. You’ll want to take the route that includes riding the nearby lift and using Oatchi’s jump to reach the destination.

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Step 2 – Enter Plunder Palace – Sublevel 5

Once inside Plunder Palace, skip directly to Sublevel 5. This level contains a Purple Onion that allows you to exchange up to 10 of your regular Pikmin at a time for Purple ones.

Before entering, make sure you bring Pikmin you’re willing to trade. For example, if you’re overflowing on Yellow Pikmin, those make good candidates for exchange. When you arrive at Sublevel 5:

• Toss five Pikmin into the Purple Onion.
• Wait for propagation.
• Whistle them to your side.
• Repeat the process to reach ten Purple Pikmin in one run.

If you’ve unlocked advanced skills such as the ability to auto-whistle newly spawned Pikmin, this step will be even quicker.

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Step 3 – Skip Everything Else and Exit

Once your Purple Pikmin have sprouted, skip the rest of the level and head for the exit. You can run past the giant bread mites and any other enemies—you don’t need to engage them. Use Oatchi’s movement skills or just walk calmly around hazards. If you miss the lift, don’t worry—it cycles quickly. Ride it up, cross the table, and head down to the Purple Onion again if you need more.

When you’ve gathered your new Purple Pikmin, exit the cave and return to the surface. This ends the surface phase and banks your new Pikmin.

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Step 4 – Repeat the Process

Repeat this run as many times as needed until you’ve built up the number of Purple Pikmin you want. From 85 to 95 to 100, the process is linear and repeatable. Just re-enter Plunder Palace at Sublevel 5 and perform the same trade routine.

Tips:

• You can bring different types of Pikmin each time, or just follow the game’s default squad suggestion.
• Avoid using your Purple Pikmin right away to prevent losses. Store them safely until you’ve built a reserve.
• You can always do a few more runs to ensure you’ve got more than enough for any heavy-lifting tasks ahead.

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Final Thoughts

With this method, you’ll never have to worry about running low on Purple Pikmin again. The process is quick—just a couple minutes per run—and doesn’t require you to fight any enemies or solve any puzzles. It’s one of the simplest farming loops in the game, especially once you’ve unlocked late-game mobility and shortcuts.

Now that you know the trick, stock up and make your Pikmin squad as powerful as it can be!