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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
All upcoming Switch 2 games: 2025 and beyond
Donkey Kong salivating over bananas in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Even in its first year, the Nintendo Switch 2 has a stacked lineup of upcoming video games. A lot of that is thanks to all the upcoming Switch games being backwards compatible on the Switch 2, but there are also tons of brand new Switch 2 titles in the works to really show off your new system. Technically, comparing the Switch 2 vs Switch has a clear winner in the Switch 2, but software is where it counts most. Not all of the best Nintendo franchises are represented quite yet, but you won't have to wait long for most of them. Let's map out what games you can look forward to playing most on the Switch 2 through the rest of 2025 and beyond.

While there is some overlap, you will have to look at the upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, and upcoming PC games separately to get a full picture of all the big games coming out.
Upcoming Switch 2 games 2025

Read more
The best Nintendo consoles, ranked
Nintendo hints that Switch shortages may be on the horizon

Nintendo wasn't the first video game console on the market, but it certainly defined it as what we know it to be today. Starting with the NES and currently anticipating the Switch 2, Nintendo has stacked each of its systems with some of the best franchises in gaming. Nintendo is all over the list of the best consoles of all time, but what about pitting Nintendo against itself? Between the home consoles and handhelds, Nintendo has released more consoles than any other company. Determining what console is superior comes down to a lot of factors, but the most important one is how much fun we had with them. A console could be the most powerful piece of technology in the world, but that doesn't the games more fun or influential. The best Nintendo consoles not only had great games but pushed the medium of games further.
10. Virtual Boy

There should be no surprises here. The Virtual Boy is categorically the worst console Nintendo has ever released. It had a nugget of a great idea but neither the technology nor the games to bring it to reality (or virtual reality, for that matter). The black and red screen alone would be a death sentence for a console you're meant to wear on your face, but that's only the start of this system's problems. It was a headset that couldn't be worn on your head, it had a strange controller, and barely a dozen games ever came out for it. Of the games released, only one or two is seen as great. Every other Nintendo console has at least a small section of the audience that champions it, but not the Virtual Boy.
9. Wii U

Read more
The best Nintendo franchises, ranked
Nintendo music key art that spotlights several different franchises.

With a stable of iconic franchises like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and more, Nintendo has proven that it knows how to make a series that can stand the test of time. With many series beginning back on the NES and still going strong to this day, it is hard to even keep track of every major Nintendo franchise, let alone rank them. Plus, with more upcoming Switch games on the way, Nintendo hasn't stopped experimenting with new franchises that could end up being huge hits. We did the difficult task of looking back through every console generation, from the launch titles to the last games released on every Nintendo system, to compare and rank every franchise.
10. Splatoon

One of the newest franchises to catch on in a big way is Nintendo's take on a third-person multiplayer shooter. That wasn't a combination of words most people ever expected from a Nintendo-developed game, but the concept of spraying ink around as transforming squid kids was fresh, fun, and totally Nintendo. It has a great style that is nothing like anything else from Nintendo, or any other company for that matter. The single player mode in the last two games were great as well. Because it is such a young series and hasn't evolved much from its core, it can't quite overtake the more long-running franchises that have had the time to branch out.
9. Kirby

Read more