Captain Olimar swarming his group of Pikmin, in New Play Control! Pikmin 2.

In some Pikmin games, the player has the ability to swarm their squad (also known as moving the group,^[1] marching,^[2] and Form Line^[3] and unofficially known as C-Sticking) around the current leader.

Only the Pikmin and Oatchi can be moved around; if another humanoid leader is in the current squad, they remain in their place. When the Pikmin or Oatchi are told to move, they become organized in a roughly circular shape, that becomes elliptical the more the group is moving; the distance to the tip of the group depends on the movement order's intensity.

Controls

Pikmin Pikmin 2	Tilt
New Play Control! Pikmin New Play Control! Pikmin 2	Point at a location with the cursor and hold
Pikmin 1+2	Hold while tilting
Pikmin 4	Hold  / while tilting  / (only possible after obtaining the Lineup Trumpet)

The farther the stick is tilted or the farther the cursor is, the farther the group spreads in that direction.

Uses

There are three main ways to issue orders to Pikmin: by throwing them at the object, by moving the group so that they touch it, or by dismissing them on to it. While the group is being moved manually by use of the aforementioned controls, they will interact with objects they touch. The Pikmin must be touching the object for the task to begin, whereas by throwing or dismissing, the Pikmin only need to be near the object.

The other main use of swarming is to prevent the Pikmin from getting close to unwanted areas, such as hazards or sleeping mature Bulborbs.

In Pikmin, when traversing a tight pathway where the Pikmin might fall off, such as the ramp that leads to the top of the moved cardboard box in The Impact Site, the Pikmin can be told to compress into a tight group by rapidly spinning the direction of the swarm. Quite a bit of dexterity is required in order to group the Pikmin and move through the path, so it is recommended that only a few Pikmin are taken at a time.

Swarming can also be used to group the Pikmin closer to the leader, which allows the player to throw Pikmin much more rapidly. If the group is not moved, the Pikmin to be thrown will have to travel from the group to the leader's hand, which costs some time; moving them so that they're always next to the leader reduces this delay.

Swarming and subsequently dismissing Pikmin will create a larger interval between the groups, aiding in separation and helping avoid accidental whistling of unneeded Pikmin.

If the rookie Rescue Officer in Pikmin 4 has Oatchi in their squad but is not currently riding him, swarming will make him move and interact with objects as he does when pointed individually. If swarmed together with Pikmin, Oatchi will always be at the edge of the group, farthest from the leader.

Formation

Normally, the Pikmin and Oatchi just move as a group towards the direction pointed, but still close to the leader.

In New Play Control! Pikmin, if there are 20 or fewer Pikmin and the order is issued at full length, the Pikmin will form a straight line. In Pikmin 2 and New Play Control! Pikmin 2, this happens for 34 or fewer Pikmin. In Pikmin and Pikmin 2 for the Nintendo Switch, the groups are always spherical and elliptical. In other releases of Pikmin and Pikmin 2, if a leader is holding a Pikmin, any directional input from will move the Pikmin group into an ellipse behind the leader, lined up in throwing order. This is especially useful for crossing narrow gaps (such as the ithmus leading to the Burrowing Snagrets in the Forest of Hope), or, due to how your squad will automatically return to normal formation once you stop swarming, baiting enemies such as the Hermit Crawmad and Wollyhop.

Appearance

Visually, there are no effects in the GameCube games, but in the New Play Control! and Nintendo Switch versions, some arrows are cast from the leader to the cursor; the cursor also flashes yellow and oscillates in size.

In terms of audio, a small fanfare plays whenever the group is swarming, which varies by game. In Pikmin, the fanfare is short and played by an oboe. In Pikmin 2 it is slightly longer, and the instrument varies by leader: Olimar's fanfare is played through an oboe, Louie's is played through a clarinet, and the President's is played through a bassoon.^[4] In Pikmin 4 the fanfare is played by a trumpet and incorporates the main Pikmin motif.^[5] The fanfare plays faster the farther the order is issued. In addition, for the New Play Control! rereleases, if the Wii Remote's speaker is not mute, this fanfare will play through it as well as from the television. Bizarrely, in Pikmin 2, the closer the movement direction is to the area's North, West, South, or East, as indicated by the radar, the faster the "maximum speed" is.

Glitches

• In Pikmin, if the player begins plucking while swarming, the fanfare will keep playing until Olimar stops plucking.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	隊列移動? Tairetsu idō	Moving troops
French	Déplacer le groupe de Pikmin	Moving the Pikmin group	Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual.
Portuguese (NoE)	Mover o grupo	Moving the group	Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual.
Spanish	Agrupar	Grouping

See also

• Charge – the replacement for swarming in Pikmin 3.
• Music article sections on the swarming fanfare
  • Pikmin
  • Pikmin 2
  • Pikmin 3

References

• Pikmin 1
• Pikmin 2
• Pikmin 4
• Controls
• Gameplay