ORIGINAL DATE: 4/13/2023 for PART 1, and 4/20/2023 for PART 2.

KARO NOTES:
A lot of people shared around the first animation I did with Pikmin. And with the Bulborb introduced, it felt like a fine time to introduce the Bulbmin.

It's a very ME move to immediately dive into a bigger story after one tiny story. To make it easier, this one is an ANIMATIC, as opposed to something fully animated. This wound up being a TWO PARTER, since I couldn't fit the idea into a oneweek work cycle. (I used to schedule these bits once per week.)

The story for this one came from the fact that the Pikmin parasite could no longer suppress the Bulborb host's appetite once they've grown, as read in Olimar's notes on the Bulbmin. There was a strong sense of betrayal present, which I thought would make a fun lil' tragedy. Imagine a close friend being overtaken by primal temptations, and having to watch them being taken down.

This is also where Notch the Red Pikmin started becoming more of a recurring character, noticeable for having only three pedals on his stem. Notch would become more of an overachiever, trying to prove the worth of his species. Reds are normally seen as underutilized or overshadowed.