Pikmin 4 – How To Teach Oatchi To Swim | Tips & Tricks

We all love a good doggo in our games, and whilst Oatchi from Pikmin 4 might be an alien biped, he still manages to be the best boy. The sheer number of things this guy can do is staggering, and the more you play, the more you unlock. There’s one thing Oatchi might struggle early on with, however.

Oatchi, despite being a combat-hardened pup, can’t swim. This makes it difficult for you to move around the world since you have to constantly be careful of Oatchi and his tendency to run head-first into death. You can teach Oatchi how to swim, however, and the earlier you do it, the better.

More Pikmin 4 content: 

Blue Pikmin | Beginners Guide | Every Pikmin Type | Shortcuts | Oatchi Upgrade Guide |

How To Teach Oatchi How To Swim In Pikmin 4

Teaching Oatchi to swim is quite a distressing ordeal. Everyone who has played Pikmin before knows that your mates should avoid water unless they happen to be Blue Pikmin. Oatchi is no exception to this rule as he can’t swim. In fact, if you try, he will slowly start to drown.

Unfortunately, if you want to get Oatchi swimming, you need to trigger a cutscene showing Oatchi beginning to drown. This may seem cruel – and that’s because it is. Thankfully you can save him with a blow of your whistle. 

What the game doesn’t tell you is that this cutscene triggers a timer. After 2 in-game days, you will get a message informing you that Oatchi has learned how to swim. Now you can ride Oatchi on land and water. This is incredibly useful as you can still transport your Pikmin on his back whilst he swims. This opens up all kinds of new locations, so you should get it done ASAP.

Doggy Paddle Level 2

Once Oatchi learns how to swim, you can upgrade his capabilities. Level 2 increases Oatchi’s speed drastically, saving time when moving across water. When you consider how important time management is in Pikmin 4, this upgrade ends up being very useful.

Doggy Paddle Level 3

The final upgrade doesn’t increase Oatchi’s speed, but it does allow him to fight underwater. This can be used to quickly dispatch basic enemies, but also to break objects that reside in the depths. Oatchi becomes an honorary Blue Pikmin, and we love it. 

That’s all we have on Pikmin 4 for now. Be sure to check out our other Guides and Lists for more Pikmin content.