Captain Olimar, the main character of the previous parts, crashed on a mysterious planet during one of his adventures. A Pickman rescue squad went after him, but he too made an emergency landing. A young squad recruit is trying to save Olimar and help him return home. Pikmin are small, plant-like creatures that can be given commands. Characters of different colors specialize in different actions, for example, red is not afraid of fire, and blue is freezing the environment.