Skip to main content

Th best Oatchi skills to unlock in Pikmin 4

Oatchi is your newest and most faithful companion in Pikmin 4. This adorable dog-creature will be by your side for the majority of your adventure to help you and your Pikmin rescue all the Castaways. Unlike the cute, yet expendable Pikmin, Oatchi is one-0f-a-kind and even upgradable! Once you’ve teamed up with one, and progressed far enough to meet Shepherd, you will be able to teach this young pup a bunch of new tricks in exchange for Pup Drive. It might sound complicated, and when you see the list of possible skills and levels you can upgrade, even a little intimidating. Worry not, because we’ll break down the best skills you should unlock for Oatchi in Pikmin 4.

How to unlock skills

We briefly touched on it, but the short version of teaching Oatchi new skills is by spending Pup Drive with Shephard. The option will become available to you after you rescue a Castaway named Russ from a cave and return back to the Rescue Command Post. The main way to earn Pup Drive is to rescue Castaways and Leaflings, with each one awarding you a single Pup Drive, as well as doing Dandori Battles and Challenges. You can also gain a Pup Drive during night expeditions by curing Leaflings with glow sap.

The set of skills you first see is not all that Oatchi is capable of learning. More will become available naturally as you play, such as learning to swim by going in water, or maxing out other skills.

Best skills to unlock

Oatchi doing a rush attack at a pot.
Nintendo

There are 13 total skills Oatchi can learn, and each can be leveled up to a maximum of 3. Here are the ones you should focus on and what they do.

Buff

Oatchi learning the Buff skill.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Buff is, well, a buff! That may not be the most exciting, but it will be the most useful skill to have leveled up early since it will be useful for the entire game. Oatchi starts with this skill, so you only need to level it up. This skill determines how large of an object Oatch can push or carry on its own, starting with the equivalent of 3 Pikmin and ending at 10 at level 3. If you want to really go crazy, you can learn Super Buff after Buff hits level 3. Super Buff increases Oatchi’s strength to equal 20, 30, and even 100 Pikmin if you max it out, but we consider that a bit overkill.

Command

A description of Oatchi's Command skill.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Oatchi is a loyal companion, but you do need to train him if you want to make the most of him. This is where Command comes in, as it lets you give new instructions to Oatchi beyond the initial ability to sniff out rare Pikmin, treasures, or Castaways. At level 2, you can send Oatchi back to your base, as well as call him to your position or to a position you ping on the Radar Map. Go to level 3 and you can have Oatchi act on his own to go wrangle up Pikmin for you!

Big Chomp

Looking at the Chomp upgrade menu in Pikmin 4.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Big Chomp is unlocked after you fully upgrade the regular Chomp ability, but only gets interesting once you start investing in this version. Even just unlocking level 1 of this skill lets Oatchi leap into the air so he can attack airborne enemies, massively improving his combat utility. Further levels just make his bite more deadly, so it’s up to you if you want to max it out, but level 1 is mandatory.

Rush

Oatchi's training menu showing the Rush skill upgrade.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Rush comes in handy in and out of combat, but upgrading it really only helps it be more useful during battles. Getting level 2 shortens how long it takes Oatchi to charge up before actually doing the Rush, making it easier to hit moving targets. Bring it all the way up to level 3 and the power skyrockets to the point where a lot of normal enemies will be taken out in a single hit.

Heal

A description of Oatchi's heal skill.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Heal is the lowest on the list since it’s just nice to have, but not necessary. It just gives Oatchi the ability to passively heal himself over time when out of battle. Each level just shortens how long it takes for him to recover.

Editors' Recommendations

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
Best PlayStation deals: PS5, controllers, headsets on sale
PS5 and DualSense art.

The Sony PlayStation 5 has delivered on next-gen gaming expectations. This can make it difficult to find Sony PlayStation 5 deals, whether you’re shopping for a console, games, or accessories. However, there are some savings to be had if you’ve got your mind on the PS5, and we’ve tracked down the best PlayStation deals currently available. There’s a good discount available on a PS5 bundle, as well as discounts on some accessories, so read onward for more details on how to score some savings with these PlayStation deals.
Sony PlayStation 5 Call of Duty Modern Warfare II bundle — $490, was $540

If you haven’t made the jump from the Sony PlayStation 4 to the PlayStation 5 yet, this bundle is a good opportunity to do so. The PS5 console itself is a significant upgrade over previous PlayStation generations, as it offers faster load times with SSD storage, haptic feedback with the included DualSense wireless controller, and breathtaking immersion with adaptive triggers and 3D audio. This bundle includes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which is one of the most popular PS5 titles and one of the best PS5 games.

Read more
Best video game deals: PlayStation 5, Xbox S and X, Nintendo Switch

Is your backlog of video games running low? Did you just grab a new PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or  Nintendo Switch and need to build up your library? Video game deals are the cheapest way to do it. Below we've pulled the best video game deals available for all three current generation consoles. These are all fantastic games, by the way. Everything listed below appears on our list of the best PS5 games, best Xbox Series X games, or best Nintendo Switch games. You'll find deals on some surprisingly popular titles, too.

Best PS5 game deals
Diablo IV -- $63, was $70

Read more
The best ships in Starfield
Spaceship on planet in Starfield.

It only takes a few minutes of playing Starfield before you're sitting in the pilot seat of your very own starship, The Frontier. As exciting as it is to have your very own ship to travel the stars with, being the default ship means that there's far more potential in future ships. While you could get creative and design your own ship from scratch, there are a ton of ships in the game you can either purchase for Credits or earn as rewards for completing specific quests. Since not everyone is going to take to the ship-building system, these pre-built ships are extremely useful upgrades over your basic Frontier, but tracking down and figuring out which ones are the best is a tall order. Here are the best ships you can buy or earn in Starfield and how to get them.
Renegade III

If you want a ship that can withstand plenty of abuse for either heavy combat or surviving raids, the Renegade III is about as good as it gets. This ship's primary draw will no doubt be its cargo capacity, which is among the best we've found in the game at 4,367. This makes it a perfect choice for all you space-truckers, or outpost builders who never want to run out of materials while on the go. It has a hull capacity of 1,488 and can 500 fuel, but isn't meant for much fighting due to lacking any missiles. You can buy this ship on Neon for 450,000 Credits.
Shieldbreaker

Read more