The shovel is the first and one of the most vital tools in the Viva Pinata series. The first level shovel is given by Leafos, it is visibly damaged and can only be used for the most basic functions. Upgrades to the shovel can be obtained to break open piñatas, dig holes to plant seeds, dig ponds, smash rocks, and chop down trees.
When an object is selected with the Cursor, up to five chocolate blocks are shown on screen near the object, indicating the object's remaining durability. Five chocolate blocks being covered in a metal case indicates that the object cannot be damaged using the shovel, meaning that a handle upgrade is required to damage the object. When the object is struck with the shovel, one of the chocolate blocks are removed showing the object has taken damage. Upgrades to the shovel's handle will increase the power of the shovel's strike, making it possible to destroy strong objects with less hits. The shovel can be held in position for whacking an object, though this does not increase the strength of the impact and the object does not take more damage from the strike.
The shovel can be used to clear the surface of the garden to regular Soil, which is required for some plants such as trees.
A shovel with the Seed Shovel Head upgrade or better can dig small seed holes in the ground that cause plants that are planted in them to grow faster. In Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, the shovel can be used to whack candy into these holes. Doing this five times will unlock an achievement.
A shovel with the Pond Shovel Head upgrade or better has the ability to create ponds, by digging a small hole in the ground. In Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, the shovel can be used to dig a pond in a polygon shape of the player's choice, though there is a limit on the size of the shape used to dig a pond with this method. This can be used multiple times to dig a pond with a larger shape.
Attacking Leafos with the shovel will annoy her, and doing this repeatedly in a short amount of time will cause her to make a threat to give away the shovel, and attacking her again will make her take it away for a few seconds.
Shovel Upgrades[]
At certain levels Jardiniero will upgrade the shovel head or handle.
| Level | Upgrade |
|---|---|
| 1 | Freebie Shovel Head and Handle. |
| 5 | Seed Shovel Head upgrade. |
| 6 | Iron Shovel Handle upgrade. |
| 7 | Pond Shovel Head upgrade. |
| 13 | Bronze Shovel Handle upgrade. |
| 15 | Treecutter Shovel Head upgrade. |
| 23 | Silver Shovel Handle upgrade. |
| 28 | Gold Shovel Handle upgrade. |
Also more upgrades can be bought for the shovel from Ivor Bargain in Viva Piñata and Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise, or from Costolot's Store in Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise.
| Upgrade | Price | Available at Level |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Sniffer | 540 | 12 | Shovel head that detects buried coins in your garden. |
| Dastardos Head | 2,520 | 20 | Shovel head to daze Dastardos while he is in the garden. |
| Platinum Shovel Handle | 1,250 | 30 | Decreases the time it takes to dig a pond. |
Shovel Achievements[]
Once the shovel head is upgraded to max the Super Shovel secret achievement is unlocked.
Once the shovel handle is upgraded to max the Super Strength secret achievement is unlocked.
Gallery[]
| Tools | |
|---|---|
| Shovel | Freebie Shovel Handle · Iron Shovel Handle · Bronze Shovel Handle · Silver Shovel Handle · Gold Shovel Handle · Platinum Shovel Handle · Freebie Shovel Head · Seed Shovel Head · Pond Shovel Head · Treecutter Shovel Head · Dastardos Shovel Head · Chocolate Sniffer |
| Watering can | Freebie Watering Can · Tin Watering Can · Gold Watering Can · Glass Watering Can · Everpour 5000 Watering Can · One Pour Wonder |
| Surface Packet | Grass · Long Grass · Sand · Snow |
| Trick Stick | |
| Seed Bag | Seed |
| Fertilizer Bag | Fertilizer |
| Bait Bag | Bait |
| Gameplay elements | |
|---|---|
| Player | Tower of Sour · Chocolate Coin · Alert · Award · Achievement · Gardener level · Journal · Camera · Concept art · Player Permissions · Training episode · Label · Label Designer · Crate |
| Garden | Weather · Day and night cycle · Fertilizer · Transformation · Candy · Shop · Pinometer · Helper · Piñata Vision · Bouncer Board · Garden Store · Trap · Playground · Just for Fun · Cursor |
| Tools | Watering can · Shovel · Surface Packet · Trick Stick · Seed Bag · Fertilizer Bag · Bait Bag |
| Piñatas | Species · Variant · Wild · Resident · Egg · Cocoon · Sour · Evolution · Romance · Conflict · Fight · Sickness · Wild-card · Happiness Rating · Food chain · Accessory · Costume · Trick · Item level · Reluctance to return |
| Minigames | Great Piñata Paperchase · P-Factor |