Helper

Arfur Stout manages Arfur's Inn, where he sells helper contracts so that they can manage the garden.

Helpers are characters that are available to assist with some of the jobs that keeping a garden entails. They are not required to manage a garden. You can have up to five helpers active in the same garden at once.

Helpers can be hired at Arfur's Inn, or in Costolot's Store in Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise. Select the type of helper you would like to hire, and place the contract in the garden. Once the helper arrives, it will pick up the contract and start working in the garden.

Helpers will only work part of the day in the garden. The rest of the time they will go home. To increase the amount of time the Helper spends in the garden, you can purchase a Helper Home from Willy Builder.

Helpers will leave the garden if they become unhappy. Getting stuck in the garden, or being whacked with the shovel do not make a Helper happy. Whacking them with your shovel causes chocolate coins to fall out from the helper. If they are stuck for too long, a Ruffian will come to your garden and break the Helper out by any means necessary.

Paying Helpers Chocolate coins increases their happiness. To do so, select the helper and press to bring up the menu. A new option will be available to give coins to the Helper. Giving a helper 5 or more chocolate coins increases their happiness by approximately 25% of the happiness meter. A yellow sun icon will appear on top of happy helpers.

Helpers can be sent home or back to Arfur's Inn. To do so, select the helper and press to bring up the menu. A new option will be available to dismiss the helper. The helper can be sent home for the day or permanently sacked.

Helpers will open gates to get through the garden and may allow piñata to get out.

Naming a helper will unlock an Achievement in Viva Piñata. To do so, select the helper and press to bring up the information. Next press to rename. Enter the new name on the keyboard and select 'Done'.

Sprinkling

Main article: Sprinkling

The Sprinkling will keep garden plants watered the appropriate amount.

• First available for hire at Level 10.
• You can hire a Sprinkling for 440 chocolate coins.
• A Sprinkling's work hours are from 6am to 8pm.
• Hiring a Sprinkling will earn you an Achievement.
• The Sprinkling is the only helper in Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise, and you can only hire one Sprinkling in a garden. She can be hired at Costolot's Store.
• Tip: It is best to plant new plants in the morning when a Sprinkling is in the garden. Plants will dry out overnight once the Sprinkling has left to go home.
• Tip: Once the player has the One Pour Wonder Watering Can, the Sprinkling becomes much less useful.
• Tip: Sprinklings become more happy when sprinkled with water.
• Tip: If you smash with the shovel on Sprinkling, she will drop coins.

Gatherling

Main article: Gatherling

The Gatherling will sell produce dropped in the garden.

• First available for hire at Level 12.
• You can hire a Gatherling for 924 chocolate coins.
• A Gathering's work hours are from 9am to 4pm.
• An unhappy Gatherling will keep a portion of the sale price of the produce for herself.
• Hiring a Gatherling will earn you an Achievement.
• The gatherling can often cause problems by picking up produce that you are growing to attract piñata.
• The gatherling can also cause problems by not picking up produce that you intend to sell.
• Tip: Watering a Gatherling will make her unhappy.

Weedling

Main article: Weedling

The Weedling keeps the Weeds under control.

• First available for hire at Level 14.
• You can hire a Weedling for 440 chocolate coins.
• A Weedling's work hours are from 8am to 5pm.
• Hiring a Weedling will earn you an Achievement.
• You need to direct Weedlings to one of the weeds that you would like them to destroy.
• Weedlings will kill mature weed plants, leaving the head and any new seeds behind.
• Weedlings will not pickup or destroy weed seeds.
• Tip: Watering a Weedling will make it unhappy.

Watchling

Main article: Watchling

Main article: Night Watchling

The Watchling will keep pests (Sours and Ruffians) away from the garden. There is also a Night Watchling available.

• First available for hire at Level 16.
• You can hire a Watchling for 1584 chocolate coins.
• A Watchling's work hours are from 3am to 3pm. A Night Watchling's hours are from 3pm to 3am.
• Hiring a Watchling will earn you an Achievement.
• Hiring a Watchling helps meet the Galagoogoo resident requirements.
• Tip: Sending a Watchling or Night Watchling home for one day will make him happy.
• Tip: Watering a Watchling will increase his happiness. Be aware that watering a Night Watchling will make him unhappy.
• When two Watchlings or Night Watchlings pass each other they start talking to each other but you have to wait until they pass each other themselves, directing them to each other won't work.

Diggerling

Main article: Diggerling

The Diggerling works in the mine, and will dig up various items.

• First available for hire at Level 26.
• You can hire a Diggerling for 2420 chocolate coins.
• A Diggerling's work hours are from 7am to 6pm.
• Hiring a Diggerling will earn you an Achievement.
• For a list of items that a Diggerling may find, see mine.
• Tip: Sending a Diggerling home for one day will make him unhappy.
• Tip: Watering a Diggerling will make him happy.

Cut Helpers

Currently, there are three known helpers to not make it into the final version of the original Viva Piñata game and did not appear as helpers in later games in the series.

There were lizard, insect, and bird experts, who were intended to give information about various species of piñata, but were replaced with the Journal, which displays information about all piñatas the player has discovered, to improve the efficency of getting information. The Lizard Experts may have given help on species such as the Newtgat or Jameleon, while the Bird Expert may have given advice with a Sparrowmint or an Eaglair.

One helper was seen in a trailer planting things, it was a concept design of the Sprinkling.

The artwork for some of these unused concepts have been reused to create minigame characters in Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. Eddie Lizard looks identical to the cut Lizard Expert helper, Carrie Chewdini looks the same as the Postman, and so on.

Unused bird, lizard, and insect expert designs, as well as an unused postman helper and an early design for Storkos.

Helper with a large mask, shaped in the likeness of a flower.

Eddie Lizard.