The tragic truth of Glow Pikmin (Cowritten by

The Glow Pikmin were one of two-ish new Pikmin types introduced in Pikmin 4, the latest game in the Pikmin series as of the time of this video. In this video, cowriter ‪@davogato_real‬ and I break down the lore behind the glow Pikmin and reveal why it's probably darker than you think.
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Credits & Thank Yous:
- My AMAZING Patreons/channel members who make this possible
- ‪@davogato_real‬ for helping me get this scripting thing down to a science and for doing half of the hard work of research and writing for this video
- DavoGato again for the thumbnail which ROCKS
- The Cutting Room Floor: tcrf.net/File:Pikmin-GC-Play-...
- Pikipedia for being the absolute best resource for all things Pikmin
- The amazing Pikmin community we have fostered over the last ten years
- The Pikmin franchise by Nintendo, of course
Once again, thank you for watching!
- VE

[@lasercraft32]

What I REALLY find fascinating is that the Glow Sap the Lumiknolls produce is a _direct cure_ for the leafification caused by the regular Pikmin. It has the ability to basically wilt and revert the Pikmin leafling control.

[@VantageEmblem]

The real question: Is Glow sap lethal to regular daytime Pikmin?

[@lasercraft32]

@@VantageEmblem Yonny would probably be eager to test that... I doubt the others would let him though. 🤔

[@skistorm739]

@@VantageEmblem their alive but hard to kill

[@dsur5547]

It’s not a direct cure. Yonny has to create the cure out of the sap using the DNA of the affected species. That’s the whole point of the second act

[@lasercraft32]

@@dsur5547 Well yes... That's true... But the three Koppaites were immune to leafification because they used glow sap as a source of food prior to getting kidnapped. Simply _eating_ the sap was enough to make them immune. Its semantics. You know what I mean when I said it was a direct cure. It needn't always be literal. :/

[@zacharyweaver276]

I really hope the next game goes more into the glow pikmin like exploring the underground activities of the lumiknolls since it's implied they do something underground

[@VantageEmblem]

Yeah I’d TOTALLY love to see them interact or interface with caves in a similar way to the shrines in tears of the kingdom connect up with the lightroots!

[@zacharyweaver276]

@@VantageEmblem yes exactly

[@theinsomniacleader509]

I love these little photon friends They are quite helpful fellows

[@VantageEmblem]

Yes! I love the Glow Pikmin, and it’s always so special when I get the opportunity to use them

[@LudiusQuassas]

Glow Pikmin feel particularly special to me because they seem like the nicest and kindest pikmin type to ever exist. What I'm referring to is the fact that they may have died because of your own doing yet even in the afterlife they still stand by your side and will dedicate their existence to you in a notorious show of unconditional love. They also remind me of the French version of Ai No Uta, where the Pikmin pledge to Olimar that they'll always be there for him, and will watch over him like angels; the last pledge being almost literal in the case of the Glow Pikmin. Whites are still my favourite type, but glowies are an extremely close second. I'll edit this comment once I'm able to watch the video, but I've been waiting for someone to dedicate one to these fascinating and tragic little guys. EDIT: It seems to be that Pikmin have a very Japanese way to perceive duty and resolve. What this video tells me is that if anything, Pikmin have some sort of self-awareness and may feel guilty or incompetent after being left behind, like they weren't good enough for the "Pikmin God", as they see the leaders to be like. They aren't angry at you, but deeply sorry. So they could be meandering ghosts with unfinished business, but their guilt being so crushingly strong that they'll never truly move on to the true afterlife. A very small detail that always caught my attention is the fact that unlike with normal Pikmin where their dying cry consists of descending notes or a descending pattern, when a glow pikmin dematerialises it has an ascending pattern to its cry... it never sounded sad to me. It weirdly sounds joyful, as if they are feeling the sweet release of true death for a second before being brought back to seek closure for their unfinished business.

[@VantageEmblem]

I think you’re really going to resonate with this video, because I absolutely agree with you

[@LudiusQuassas]

​@@VantageEmblem I edited my comment, and now it's twice as long LMAO. Thank you for such an interesting video!

[@_miteo]

@@LudiusQuassas loved your comment!

[@GoldPikmin]

I watched this video with a VC rambling in my ears, but uh... ghosts of Pikmin manipulating/attaching to the energy inside the Lumiknoll. Yeah... I'll go with that.

[@VantageEmblem]

Totally might be it! My question for you - what exactly is the connection between the Lumiknols and the Glow Pikmin?

[@LudiusQuassas]

@@VantageEmblem I may not be OP and my apologies for sneaking in, but my guess is that Luminknolls are the manifestation of cumulative paranormal activity occurring on landing sites because lots of Pikmin die there at night. Or told in another way, the accumulation of Pikmin souls on landing sites, coupled with my theory of them being ghosts with unfinished business (and it's easy to assume that they aren't necessarily happy to die after being left behind), result in a sort of emotional-paranormal manifestation of the Glow Pikmin's need for resolve.

[@Beardash123]

Theory: Glow pikmin are the ghost of pikmin They probably help you to either save their homes Or they recognize you and want another chance of helping you

[@VantageEmblem]

You’re probably going to really enjoy this video if that’s the theory you have, heh

[@gamingmonitor4734]

It's probably both

[@ShadowRaptor1O1]

Nice find about the Forget-me-not flowers. Originally, I assumed Glow Pikmin were supposed to have Tomato plant flowers, with the joke being that they were NIGHTshade flowers 💀 Something I am surprised you didn't bring up at all was the English Piklopedia notes for the Lumiknoll written by Olimar; he mentions that the Lumiknolls grow in the exact same spots where Onions land, and theorizes that Lumiknolls are an organic structure that shares a symbiotic relationship with the Onions, one that uses its own Pikmin-like agents (Glow Pikmin) to function as decomposes during the night and returns their life essence back into the Earth. Basically, the Lumiknoll is both the beginning and end of the PNF-404 foodchain: - Onions do their daily activities and leave - Lumiknoll is triggered to emerge and begins attracting local wildlife for glow pikmin to swarm, kill and break down into essence - Environment is now enriched with life essence, Pellet posies can regenerate - Lumiknoll recedes and Onion returns to repeat cycle As for the nature of Glow pikmin themselves, I have no earthly idea lmao my best guest is that the Lumiknoll is a fungus, and Glow pikmin could be clouds of spores being given shape and commands by the Lumiknoll through a series of complicated pings and pheromone signals. This signal likely gets somehow interrupted by the Captain's comms equipment and allows for the Glow pikmin nearest to them to fall under their command. I also imagine this is how the Pikmin also follow leaders over Onions

[@VantageEmblem]

Hey! This is such an amazing theory, and I really think there's something here. If nothing else, we have a LOT to learn about the glow pikmin still, especially if we get more details on them in future games!

[@_miteo]

love this theory! "the Lumiknoll is both the beginning and end'

[@jonlevidalkvistagustsson6134]

Perhaps when an onion dies and gets buried it turns into a lumiknoll and all dead pikmin within it and surrounding its area using their recourses to create the glow pikmin

[@VantageEmblem]

I'm curious where the Lumiknolls go during the daytime - maybe they burrow back into the ground? Is that what the crop circles in typical Pikmin landing areas are?

[@jonlevidalkvistagustsson6134]

​@@VantageEmblemMaybe

[@samschofield9452]

if you pay attention, it appears that glow pellet piles are found at night where enemies are found during daytime, with a larger pile meaning that the enemy is harder to defeat or is known to quickly end large groups of pikmin.

[@ChrisHinners008]

0:35 "How the hell am I supposed to eat this?" -Louie, probably

[@dexteradams6515]

As a player who makes a point to NEVER leave any pikmin behind no matter what, some of mine do die in battle but I hate seeing them die alone because I forgot them, the idea of me finding flow pikmin who could be the spirits of left behind pikmin makes me want to cry. I found you guys, and no matter what happened to you before you wont be left behind again.

[@user-vg7io5gi9h]

Well Glow Pikmin are light on the night and they say when you lose a glow Pikmin it turn into a Photon

[@aloe_with_a_flag]

i have a theory: glow pikmin are the dead pikmin you lost before

[@pikminlegion1574]

I do think the different flower shapes aren't meant to be forget me not, since those have more rounded petals, versus the very slender petals on the glow pikmin. Isotoma axillaris seems to be a closer match, though there could be many other candidates for the base flower. I beleive the design is more meant to resemble a star, to match their place in the night expeditions. The yellow color also helps build the resemblance. That said, from pictures, the forget me not does have inner petals that match as well. I think it could be possible, like you said, that an earlier design of the lumiknoll could have incorporated a more flower-like design, which would them make the petals make more sense. The pikmin are the smaller parts of the flower, in a sense, so they would bear the smaller mirror petals from the forget me not. It could be that the beetle-infested termite mound design was then chosen over the old to either be more striking and easier to spot during night expeditions, where the lower light could make it either harder to see, or to distinguish it from the foliage. Or it could have been to make things a little more subtle, since a glowing flower would push these pikmin even further into the supernatural side, whereas this design leaves more up to the player's interpretation. Another possibility I can think of is giving a way to communicate damage. While you do have the health meters, seeing the damage immediately helps make things smoother in gameplay I would also like to say, I do think there is a good chance that if these are the spirits or remnants of perished pikmin, that it could be more than just those left behind. While we can see those at sunset try to return since they are still alive in that moment, it is possible that what remains of any pikmin would try to return to the onion all the same

[@Octopus606.]

the glow pikmin would be so useful in real life even one of then would be good (depending on the size)

[@Is_Mango]

I love how poetic the pikmin series is, it's honestly so beautiful. And then outside players see it as slavery and exploitation...

[@VantageEmblem]

Yeah - it's the tragedy of superficial readings of Pikmin. Everyone has a knee-jerk reaction to it, but the lore is actually really meaningful and special when you get into it

[@sandwich_bubbles47]

Regardless of if it does or does not have canon evidence for it, I WANT the Glow Pikmin to be the ghosts of Pikmin that have perished. Although it does make me… feel disappointed in 4’s writing because MANNN you just KNOW if this was 1 (or even 2) they would draw attention to that and make it GUT WRENCHING! Olimar talking about how he views the glow Pikmin as a sign of forgiveness from the Pikmin he couldn’t save, stuff about their unending loyalty, etc.

[@VantageEmblem]

On one hand I definitely agree, but I also think on the other hand, now that we have Glow Pikmin thanks to 4, there’s an opportunity to really go deep into this sort of thing in a future game, should they return

[@sandwich_bubbles47]

@@VantageEmblem I hope so. I really do.

[@ethanbutlin2472]

I had been thinking about Glow Pikmin a while back, and realized something interesting. In particular, I had been thinking about what Glow Pikmin themselves are made out of. Given that the Lumiknoll requires Glow Pellets to create Glow Pikmin, and also requires them to create Glow Sap, it is feasible that they are made of Glow Sap itself, giving these potential Pikmin souls a body to inhabit, but also does so for a double purpose. Ever wonder where those piles of Glow Pellets come from? Well, what if the ingestion of Glow Pikmin is directly putting this Glow Sap into their bodies, degrading them slowly into nutrients from the inside out. A bit Grim, but possible, considering that Glow Pikmin are able to convert enemies into Glow Pellets in the field, possibly through a similar process.

[@VantageEmblem]

It’s true, I didn’t talk about it in this video but yeah, enemies just dissolve at night for the most part, it’s kind of strange to think about haha

[@Smgk551]

The Lime pikmin is kinda floaty things that glow with electicity

[@A_Mother_Fan]

Hi love your videos cep em coming

[@VantageEmblem]

Thank you so much for your support! And yes, I plan to keep them coming weekly!

[@gelogelo318]

Not gonna make it. Got school during this time. But I will watch afterward.

[@VantageEmblem]

Excited for you to see it! (Good luck with school stuff~)

[@Twig_the_Blue_Pikmin]

This makes me love them even more, poor babies...

[@VantageEmblem]

They're such a precious Pikmin type, I love them so much

[@canalso5806]

theory: glow pikmin are dead Bulbmin

[@VantageEmblem]

I mean, they ARE immune to all of the elements 🤔 (Would bulbmin be immune to the cold?)

[@josemarin-rw5xq]

​@@VantageEmblem I would say Bulbmin inmunitys would change, as bulborbs cant breathe under water or resist poison, i would say it would be inmune to fire, gloom and mud

[@canalso5806]

expanding on my teory: glow pikmin may be bulbmin who had escaped to the surface but when they got exposed to the night sky, they got so much bulborb energy (whatever makes the eyes of the bulborbs glow red in the night) that the pikmin that was inside them evolved in to the glow pikmin while destroying the bulborb flesh in the process.

[@VantageEmblem]

Can’t say for certain, but we don’t have bulbmin in 4 and yet we have glow Pikmin in 4 that serve the same purpose!

[@ExGanonMain]

That makes sense or they are the pikmin parasite

[@ChrisHinners008]

0:04 moss is a dog, so they don't count. Oatchi is a dog, so they don't count. You cannot control the leaflings, so they don't count

[@Gamerman-lu9bs]

What about the purple and white pikmin STILL IN THE SHIP at the end of pikmin 2?

[@Egg12761]

Imagine the president checking the ship's storage and finding a bunch of corpses.💀💀

[@sheepamoo8719]

Pik W video. I agree with your theory but I want to maybe add on something that the glow pikmin are sort of like spirits of pikmin that stick around instead of passing on to the afterlife. Like maybe they died early but have friends who are still alive who help the player. So instead of spiting the player, they help the player because they want the player to stay alive for their friends. Or maybe I'm reading too much into this and they are just funny green things that come out of a sand castle and they are just helping the player because it is instinctual

[@VantageEmblem]

I think there's totally room for this interpretation, but we really have no idea the mechanics of "death" in the Pikmin world other than everything having a soul that "escapes" from their body (most every enemy and Pikmin type does, anyway) There's definitely an argument to be made that glow pikmin are all Pikmin that die and/or are left behind, but there's a case to be made where glow pikmin are only those who choose to remain in limbo between life and death I think, as far as nintendo's concerned, these semantics about the in-betweenness of life and death don't matter so much as the fact that they are ghosts, but it's *really* fun to talk about!

[@Greengamer649]

From the beginning I thought glow pikmin were going to be called ghost pikmin (I didn't watch any trailers for pikmin 4)

[@zacki102]

theyre like weird... colonial organisms. Like they can all merge into one entity. Like if their weird ghost.... cores?? seeds? idk can all work together Im guessing the photon is like a panic mode nucleus that retreats to the luminol. Like if they're sort of just a weird collection of seeds which are all able to sort of... uh project? some kind of external body and need to recharge if that body is destroyed.

[@Muffib4448]

One wierd thing is that you can still turn glow pikmin into other types with candypop buds so maybe they turn into glow seeds to be taken into caves and once the player leaves the cave they search for candypop buds and are those wild pikmin we find

[@untoages]

One thing to connect the dots on regarding the forget-me-not flowers and the “underworld pikmin” thing - in Greek mythology, the souls of the undead only continued to exist in the underworld so long as they were “remembered” by those who were still alive. Perhaps these two details are a direct reference to that concept, thereby validating the theory that they’re undead pikmin.

[@patrickquinones2533]

I honestly hope that all Pikmin who die come back a a glow Pikmin it makes me feel better for my mess ups.

[@VantageEmblem]

Honestly same. Maybe they become glow pellets?

[@devilcinderella]

i love this and support this theory! glow pikmin are so darling. it really reframes their use to me, as i felt like using them would be cheating, but they are eager to be helpful even after death! it makes me wish i used them more when i played…

[@olimar12345]

Good video!

[@VantageEmblem]

Thank you!

[@_miteo]

loving this therory!

[@enderskeloton]

Quick qeustion what are star bits and why do they make glow pickmin grow

[@scribbleslol1566]

I think that glow bits are the pikmin who died too far away from the lumiknoll and crystallized so they could be brought to it by other glow pikmin

[@3D-B0Y]

Just another reason as to why Glow Pikmin are tied for my favorite Pikmin along with Rocks

[@VantageEmblem]

YES they've got your back

[@eslib2]

Glow pepper pikmin flowers look like jalapeno/pepper flowers

[@josemarin-rw5xq]

Yo vantage, also i would like to ask you for recomendations to start a YT channel

[@VantageEmblem]

Set a schedule for yourself - I have found my channel is most successful when I’m keeping to a schedule! Posting consistent videos really helps! Also, don’t be too hard on yourself about the quality at first, it’s better to get stuff out than to not make things at all, and you’re going to learn a LOT along the way!

[@josemarin-rw5xq]

@@VantageEmblem I dont understand correctly the term of schelude, but okay, thanks for the recomend!👍

[@franck4727]

They are the goatmin, so powerful

[@user-vg7io5gi9h]

But the Pikmin that are left Behind they say each soul flew back to the Onion and when you make a nother Pikmin they re the same Pikmin that die

[@Egg12761]

Teori: glow pikmin are fiddlebert

[@MondoVeedo]

I love pikmin. ❤ 💠🌼🌸

[@VantageEmblem]

Me too! (Thank you for watching this video!)

[@Bighaid91]

W😊 video

[@VantageEmblem]

I’m really proud of this one!

[@joseacosta2345]

I found my lore :D

[@VantageEmblem]

Good sir Glow Pikmin! ~ This is your lore, you own it

[@Lushplushbros]

Everyone watching this like this video

[@barrywade3774]

Glow Pikmin die. I lost a good number in the final boss battle where there is no luminal around, on my first play through.

[@VantageEmblem]

It’s expressly stated in game that they don’t die - if you look at their “death” animation, they turn into photons and go back to the lumiknoll rather than into the typical spirits. They don’t count towards the death counter either, whether in a cave or in night mode. You can certainly lose them from your squad mechanically, but they’re not dying, at least narratively

[@barrywade3774]

@@VantageEmblem “… no lumiknoll …”

[@VantageEmblem]

@@barrywade3774 that’s what I’m saying, though. Even glow Pikmin made from glow seeds which are used in caves, where there aren’t any lumiknolls around, expressly do not count towards the death counter

[@discordaltaccount8156]

Glow pikmin are actually pikmin revived from fiddlebert

[@VantageEmblem]

The truth was right in front of me how did I not see it

[@eightcoins4401]

I think you need to keep away from pastures. Your video was cow-ritten

[@aloe_with_a_flag]

i have a theory: glow pikmin are the dead pikmin you lost before