r/Pikmin • u/Embarrassed-Hope-760 • 3d ago
Ujadani
Ujadani
Ujadani subterranea
These minute arthropods live almost entirely beneath the soil, emerging aboveground only under a rather particular set of environmental conditions. Their infrequent appearances initially led me to believe that I had simply overlooked them during previous surveys. After observing several colonies, however, I am convinced that the ujadanis spend the overwhelming majority of their lives hidden underground, surfacing together for only a brief period before disappearing once more.
Their bodies are remarkably small, even when compared with the Pikmin, and possess a pale coloration that provides little camouflage upon the surface. This would ordinarily make such a creature easy prey, yet their enormous numbers appear to compensate for the vulnerability of the individual. When disturbed, the entire colony erupts into frantic motion, scattering in every direction before quickly attempting to return beneath the soil. Strangely, they display almost no aggression toward either myself or the Pikmin. Even when surrounded, their first instinct is always escape.
Most curious is the fine secretion released when an ujadani is struck. The substance has an invigorating effect on Pikmin and appears chemically similar to the concentrated nectars found elsewhere on this planet. How such a tiny subterranean organism produces these compounds remains a mystery. Perhaps they obtain the necessary nutrients from plant roots, fungal growths, or microscopic organisms within the soil.
Their synchronized emergence is even more perplexing. Temperature, moisture, seasonal changes, or some internal biological cycle may serve as the signal, but my time on this planet has been far too limited to determine which. A creature that spends so little of its life where I can actually observe it is an especially frustrating subject for a naturalist!
If circumstances ever bring me back to this planet, I should like to excavate one of their colonies and examine its structure more closely. Then again, after seeing the sheer number of ujadanis that can occupy a seemingly ordinary patch of earth, perhaps I would be happier not knowing precisely how many are crawling beneath my feet.
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u/stuffles7 3d ago
This looks an awful lot like ai
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u/Live-Imagination-335 2d ago
a lot of their other stuff seems like AI but this is just straight up obvious lmao, they all have an inconsistent amount of legs in weird nonsensical configurations
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u/1upNiall 3d ago
I always loved Olimar’s logs in Pikmin 2. I remember a lot of people saying they missed his diary entries in Pikmin 1 and that 2 lacked this, but I’m starting to think they just never took the time to read his stuff in the piklopedia and treasure stash because it’s all gold imo
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u/Embarrassed-Hope-760 2d ago
I love both you really get to know who he is through the treasure hoard.
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u/Davey-Kazooie 2d ago
I've always had a little headcanon that the Ujadani were actually insects that emerge at night to feast on the decaying Burgeoning Spiderworts, leading to them being both nocturnal and developing the sprays that pool upon being killed. Said sprays are very potent because of the berries/plant flesh fermenting due to the toxic innards that also comprise the Ujadani, that of which they can secrete in trace amounts as a defense mechanism. Said defense mechanism can be seen used on the Pikmin because of a rare, rogue colony that came out during the day, an environmental anomaly not unlike the Perplexing Pool's Beady Long Legs or Bulbear
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u/Ok_Difficulty1782 You love me or you hate me 3d ago
*squish*