the player controls captain olimar, who can throw the pikmin. pikmin are plucked out of the ground, and they live in a nest called an onion when they are not deployed. there can be up to 100 different pikmin out of the onions at any moment. there are three kinds of pikmin, stronger red pikmin, immune to fire, lighter yellow pikmin, who can pick up bomb rocks, and blue pikmin, immune to water.