#pellet posy

[flamefireflower]

◦ ○ The Forest Navel ○ ◦

This one is a bit more experimental, being mostly dark and all that. Hope it's not too hard to look at

[sayosweeti]

First sketches I’ve done of pikmin 🥕

[titleknown]

...Appropos of nothing, a thought, how do you think Pellet Posies from Pikmin taste?

[loverap2]

Fun Pikmin Fact Friday:

Pellet Posies come in all sorts of different colors and sizes.

These include:

Red

Blue

Yellow

Gray

Pink

Purple

White

Cyan

[craftykaname]

I made Pikmin enemies out of food on stream! Livestream VOD

(individual pictures/in-game references below the cut)

Everything is made with chocolate, candy, chocolate cream-filled cookies, and homemade marshmallow/crispy rice treats!

I didn't realize the Beady Long Legs coloring was red because my reference image was greyscale LOL

[post-it-notes7]

I love them

[brainz-invoid]

This was made for a art event on one of the discord servers I am in but I’m really proud of it so I’m sharing it here!

[confetti-critter]

Drawing something from an existing show/whatever is so nerve wracking. I can't draw comics of jyuushimatsu and 🎂 being silly together because I haven't watched ososan in 1 million years and if I make jyuush ooc I'll die and go to jail!!!

[fullmoonfireball]

Pikmin 2 Personality Quiz Translation

quick disclaimer: I am not especially fluent in Japanese, I'm just some shmuck trying their best, so take these translations with a grain of salt. especially since there's some i'm really unsure of here.

feel free to play along with this link! or just scroll all the way down to the "results" section at the bottom if you just want to see the descriptions

Thank you for Accessing [This Page]

Ahh, thank you! You came right away. I'm so happy.

Hey... If you don't mind... I could examine your personality!

View Content

(note: there's some usage of katakana in the paragraph where it typically wouldn't be, notably for the pronouns 'watashi' and 'anata', so I decided to bold those.)

Pikmin Personality Quiz

Q1: What is the most important thing in your life?

Friends

Money

Family

......

Myself

Q2: Of the following 5 colours, which do you prefer?

Red

Purple

White

Yellow

Blue

Q3: Who can you not say no to?

My parents

My lover

My boss

Myself

There isn't anyone (None)

Q4: What word best describes your lifestyle?

Fearful

Perky

Heart-pounding

Voracious

Impulsive

(note: these are all onomatopoeia in the original, so an exact translation would be impossible, or at least unreasonable. hopefully this does the job fine.)

Q5: You're flying in a spaceship. What happens to you next?

I crash

I sleep

I explore an undiscovered planet

I fall

I go back home

(note: "I fall" could equally be "I fail". it's hard to say with so little context, but either way it's not good.)

Q6: How much money do you have saved up?

No more than 100 yen

No more than 1000 yen

No more than 10,000 yen

No more than 100,000 yen

More than that! I'm rich!

(I'm here for translations, not currency conversions, but this would be (in USD, since I'm pretty sure most of you are American even though I'm not): $0.67, $6.67, $66.72, and $667.21 respectively. the fact this was probably made for children really shows here.)

Q7: What's your favourite game?

The leisurely Animal Crossing.

Pikmin, of course.

As expected, it's Zelda.

Obviously Mario, right?

Actually, it's none of these.

Q8: What's your favourite creature?

Pellet Posy

Iridescent Flint Beetle

Bulborb

Waterwraith

Pikmin

Q9: What's your LEAST favourite creature?

Beady Long Legs

Titan Dweevil

Bulborb

Breadbug

Bumbling Snitchbug

(note: this quiz seems to specifically be related to the New Play Control version of Pikmin 2, so the inclusion of the Titan Dweevil isn't QUITE as spoilery as it seems on first glance)

Q10: What's your favourite place?

Valley of Repose

Awakening Wood

Perplexing Pool

Wistful Wild

Inside the Onion

Q11: During a space trip, you're met with an accident, and end up shipwrecked on an uninhabited planet. What kind of planet is it?

A jungle planet

A sandy planet

A mechanized planet

A planet of bugs

It's actually Earth

Q12: If were shipwrecked on an uninhabited planet and could only bring one thing with you, what would it be?

My secret safe

My Game Boy Advance

My passbook

Lunch

A novel

Q13: If you were to start a family in the future, how many children would you have?

None

One

Two

I don't know

A lot

Q14: How would you describe your interactions with others?

Passionate

Cool

Devoted

Easy to get carried away

I don't care

Q15: Seriously, how old are you?

10 or less

20 or less

40 or less

60 or less

What a rude thing to ask!

Check your personality!

(note: if you click this button before answering all of the questions, you will get a popup saying "Q[earliest unanswered number] has not been entered.")

RESULTS

Your personality is [most like]...

The President.

Your strength is that you are honest about your feelings. Your energy as a leader is undefeatable.

However, you should maybe consider other people's feelings at least a little bit.

THIS → is the perfect partner for you!

Your perfect match is...

The President's wife.

She's straightforward about her feelings, more so than you.

She always toys with you.

However, that's because she believes in you.

→ Back

(note: I have absolutely zero confidence in that middle sentence.)

Your personality is [most like]...

Olimar.

A hard-working man who loves his family. He is popular among the Pikmin for his leadership.

However, he's a bit unlucky.

THIS → is the perfect partner for you!

Your perfect match is...

Olimar's wife.

No matter how destitute, she will always support you with great love.

There can be no secrets (such as a certain safe) between lovers or husband and wife.

You two can keep it together and not let the recession get to you.

→ Back

Your personality is [most like]...

Louie.

You're not so good at communication. People tend to misunderstand you, and have no idea what you're thinking.

Maybe you should voice your feelings more often?

THIS → is the perfect partner for you!

Your perfect match is...

Louie's nana.

Her narrow eyes make her look like she can't see anything. But trust me, she definitely sees the real you.

Even if it's hard, please indulge her as much as you can.

→ Back

(note: another really hard phrase to translate on the partner pages, yowch. this time, it was the last line of her description.)

Your personality is [most like]...

The Hocotate Ship.

On the outside, talkative to the point of being a blabbermouth.

But on the inside, actually a bit dry.

THIS → is the perfect partner for you!

Your perfect match is...

Mr. Beady Long Legs.

A strong personality that will really shake your heart. Whether it's out of fear or love, your heart will keep thumping.

Once you get over these feelings, a new you awaits...... Probably.

→ Back

(note: because "さん" is gender neutral, this could equally be Ms. Beady Long Legs. hocotate ship yuri, i GUESS.)

Your personality is [most like]...

The Pikmin.

Serious and hard-working. Your strong suit is cooperating with others. The type to thoroughly devote yourself.

But maybe you could assert yourself a little more?

THIS → is the perfect partner for you!

Your perfect match is...

Mr. Bulborb.

It will lead you with a WILD personality.

A big maw awaits you.

Please look forward to some wild kisses.

→ Back

(note: again, could be Ms. instead)

[flamefireflower]

◦ ○ The Impact Site ○ ◦

A little something to get back into posting here :)

One of my favourite areas in the whole Pikmin series. I love the vibes of the Impact Site - it really is unmatched in atmosphere alone.

Also some nature drawing practice ig

[seandwalsh]

The Origins of Pikmin (Part 2)

The following is Part 2 (because Tumblr's text limit sucks) of an adaptation of my first published Pikmin Theory in written form. For Part 1, click here.

The Candypop buds also have a strong connection to Pikmin, converting Pikmin of one species into another matching the colour of the flower and perishing in the process. Olimar questions what benefit the Candypop Bud gains from this relationship, postulating the Candypop Bud is itself a variety of Pikmin, or an evolved Pikmin of some kind.

“This specimen constantly changes colors. When Pikmin are thrown into it, it shoots out seeds that match the flower's coloration the moment the Pikmin landed inside of it. The number of seeds shot out is always greater than the number of Pikmin thrown in. It can be said that this is a completely baffling plant, and many mysteries remain over precisely what sort of relationship it has with the Pikmin. It would appear that the Pikmin gain all of the benefit from the relationship... Perhaps it is simply a different variety of Pikmin to begin with?”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Could this be the next stage in Pikmin evolution? Like the Pikmin themselves, it has many mysteries.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

The sound a Candypop Bud makes when wilting is even a modified version of the sound a wilting Pikmin Flower makes. The Candypop Buds are also clearly related to Onions, with the similarities being so strong it's even been hypothesised that they're merely under-developed Onions. Candypop Buds share the same plant muscle fibres as the Pikmin, Pellet Posies and Onions.

“What looks like the interior of a flower is actually an insectivorous leaf that's developed into an organ. This organ releases a sweet scent from its central pistil, luring small insects into its interior and trapping them. The DNA of those captured organisms is directly absorbed by the plant's cells, which might indicate that this species is attempting to evolve at an astounding speed. But in most cases, the cells essentially self-destruct. The bud then releases Pikmin seeds of the same color, and the plant withers. Muscle fibers extremely similar to those of an Onion were also found in this species, so some could hypothesize that a Candypop Bud is an under- or undeveloped Onion. However, there aren't enough details to confirm this theory either way.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“Pikmin relatives? They [Onions, Pellet Posies and Candypop Buds] have the muscle fibers characteristic of half-animal, half-vegetable organisms, and appear to have some sort of relation to Pikmin...”

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

Most notably, the existence of Pikmin, Onions and Candypop Buds isn't as easily explained as other species on PNF-404.

“No matter what color Pikmin is tossed into the bosom of this flower, it spits out the same number of red Pikmin seeds. The Pikmin, the candypop flowers, and the Pikmin Onions are not easily explained by current theories of the xenobotanical sciences, and thus have not yet been appropriately studied and classified.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

This also extends to the Mamuta, which has an unknown taxonomic family and has not been properly classified.

No, these couldn’t have simply evolved on their own. There’s clear intention here. Someone made the Onions. Someone made the Pellet Posies. Someone made the Mamutas. Someone made the Candypop Flowers. Someone made the Pikmin.

But who...?

Well, I believe the answer lies in quite an unexpected place, Pikmin Bloom. Pikmin Bloom is an Augmented Reality game in which you play as a human who wears a device called a Planter Pack on their back. Planter Packs are backpacks which function as propagators for Pikmin seedlings, allowing Humans to grow and pluck a squad of Pikmin. Once plucked, the Pikmin follow the humans, while the humans send Pikmin out on expeditions to collect objects such as fruit or more Pikmin seedlings. Nectar from the fruit is used to feed the Pikmin and help their flowers grow, before the humans harvest their petals to cultivate a “flower-filled world”.

It’s clear that at this time, Pikmin coexist and have a vital mutualistic or at the very least commensalistic relationship with humans.

I believe the Planter Packs which humans wear in Pikmin Bloom are precursors to the onions, with the Pikmin Seedlings grown within featuring similar patterns to those found on the Onions, as well as an unlockable planter pack strongly resembling the Onion from Pikmin 3.

I think humans engineered Pikmin and their relatives. Pikmin were made to help spread seeds and flowers, with Onions being made to convert Nectar into more Pikmin. Candypop Buds were made to help Pikmin adapt to their environment and Pellet Posies were made to convert nutrients from the ground into solid nectar for Pikmin to collect and reproduce with.

This would explain how Pikmin survived, why there’s a specific cap per Onion(s) in each area, why the onions have mechanical elements, why Rock Onions and Rock Candypop Buds stockpile stone, why Winged Pikmin have wings, why the pellets have human numbers on them and why the Pikmin themselves have a natural tendency to follow and take commands from the leaders.

As for the Mamuta, they would’ve been made to cultivate Pikmin, explaining the aforementioned patterns on their wrists and their instinct to plant Pikmin. They’re described as feeding on seeds and fruit, which contain nectar. This could explain how they can instantly convert Leaf Pikmin and Bud Pikmin into Flower Pikmin with an open-handed smack, somehow transferring the nectar from their diet to the Pikmin.

“This seems to be a gentle, flower-loving creature, but if angered, it is fierce. Its mighty open-handed smack was so powerful that I feared my helmet might crack open.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“The imbalanced, asymmetrical arms of the mamuta are among its most notable features. Feeding on seeds and fruit, the mamuta is known to actually sow and grow plant species. While other species have exhibited seed-burying behavior for the purpose of storage, the mamuta is the only species so far known to actually cultivate fields of plants.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

What is thought to be the Mamuta’s malformed larval state, the Smoky Progg, is even able to pluck Pikmin out of the ground with some sort of call and is naturally drawn towards the Onions after hatching, with the pearl-like object it drops upon defeat containing enough nectar to produce 100 Pikmin.

“Thought to be a malformed larval Mamuta.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“Trait #2 Mysterious Behavior They head towards Lumiknolls and Onions, but the motive for this is unknown.”

[Source: Primitive Creature Field Guide, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

“The Smoky Progg's body is constantly deteriorating, so collecting a living sample has proven difficult and research into the species has progressed at a glacial rate. However, by examining the genes adhered to the Smoky Progg's eggs, it has been confirmed that they are, in fact, Mamuta eggs! This discovery allows for the possibility that Mamuta that do not develop properly and hatch become Smoky Proggs. If, hypothetically, a Mamuta were to remain aboveground at night and absorb glow sap, that might impact the nutrient levels within its egg's yolk. That change could lead to the embryo's inviability or break down its enzymes, then...maybe...”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Furthermore, there’s clear precedent for biomechanical experimentation by higher beings, most notably with the Gatling Groink and Man-At-Legs found in the Subterranean Complex - beings ostensibly engineered to be used as weapons, albeit with Olimar perhaps not quite picking up on that fact when making his observations:

“This beastly predator's aggressive ejection of high-speed projectiles makes it one of the most fearsome creatures in the ecosystem. Its body seems to comprise of both biological and mechanical components, and represents one of the most evolutionarily advanced specimens ever observed. The chamber within its torso gives it rapid-fire bio-pellet launch capabilities. What appears to be a tail fin is in fact the base of its counter-weight and ammunition cylinder, so immobilizing this appendage will prevent the groink from attacking...at least in theory. Confirmation of this suspicion remains elusive, as nobody has volunteered to test it.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“This species of the arachnorb family fuses with machinery at a crucial point in the maturation process, giving it the ability to fire energy bursts from the launcher beneath its orbular torso. However, the man-at-legs itself is not in control of this weapon. Instead, the mechanical portions of its structure appear to automatically acquire and attack targets. The man-at-legs has a gentle disposition, and as a member of the arachnorb species, it has no natural enemies. It is particularly difficult to understand why this species would develop such awesome offensive capabilities, leading to rumors among the scientific community that it was the machinery that approached the arachnorb and proposed the symbiotic relationship.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“We recently found all sorts of mechanical parts scattered around a cave. The walls and floor were constructed of solid steel. Perhaps it was once a great military fortress? I decided to name it the Subterranean Complex.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

The Careening Dirigibug also seems to be one such creature, perhaps modified from a member of the Scarpanica genus. These creatures are found in the Subterranean Complex, much like the Gatling Groink and Man-at-Legs. They are completely covered by bolted metal plates, have glass over their eyes, drop Bomb Rocks and fly via gas-filled balloons connected to piping. This also explains why they're the only variant of the species found by the leaders - they didn't naturally evolve into their current state and are no longer recognisable as the creatures they're derived from.

“This creature floats effortlessly through the air using gas-filled balloons. Both its appearance and its nature are antagonistic. And it is the only variant of its species in this ecosystem. It may be best to consider the possibility that it somehow wandered into this ecosystem from an entirely alien one. Positive proof does not exist at this point, but that is how the creature is currently classified.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

Scientists in the Pikmin world have even begun to catch onto the odd evolution surrounding and relationship between the Pikmin and their Onions, with one intelligent researcher called Pitunia seeing intention in the Onion's design:

“Ah! You must want to ask about my research. Good, very good. I’m currently working on my hypothesis that the Onion is a biocrafter. The Onion is a biocrafter intentionally created to ensure the propagation and safety of the Pikmin, is it not? To verify this theory, I have dedicated myself to studying the Onion. Do you think my hypothesis that the Onion is a biocrafter is pretty wild? If you’ll humor me for a moment, let’s consider it together. Its symbiotic relationship with Pikmin doesn’t appear coincidental. Durability and flight capability allow it to travel far. Its ejections and production adjustments of Pikmin seem calculated. All mechanics that fit the idea of intentional "crafting". To Pikmin, the Onion is—to put it in terms of our understanding of biology—similar to the concept of a nest. But the fact that the Pikmin themselves are crafted by it far exceeds the function of a nest as we understand it. An Onion can craft different Pikmin based on what other Onions it has fused with. If we consider these blueprints for new Pikmin, it behaves like a crafter right?”

[Source: Pitunia, Oguran Scientist and Research Task Force Recruit, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

This hypothesis has received some pushback from other researchers, though their counterevidence isn't particularly strong and doesn't say anything about the nature of the Onion considering bioengineering from higher beings.

“When the Onion absorbs flarlic, it consistently increases the number of Pikmin that you can take out at once. Maybe the Onion is the one who determines what’s possible and issues its own orders… Wouldn’t that indicate that the Onion has a will of its own? I was talking to Pitunia from the task force. She says the Onion may be artificial or was intentionally created somehow. But if the Onion’s a living entity with its own needs, then doesn’t that align with it being a natural specimen? Isn’t it funny how two individuals can look at the exact same thing and have two entirely different perspectives?”

[Source: Sy, Oguran Scientist and Research Task Force Recruit, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Of course, what Sy isn't considering is that even an intentionally created being can have needs and a will of its own. It seems the leaders and their machinery also seem to have trouble telling natural and manufactured items apart. I think it's likely Pitunia is the one on the right track here...

“This species has some remaining internal organs, but its carapace and eyes are made up of inorganic material. All 19 of its eyes are actually photoelectric sensors that the species uses to precisely locate its prey. The gas emitted from the posterior of its first leg joints includes a chemical substance that, after making contact with another organism's brain, temporarily controls that organism's actions. The Groovy Long Legs uses this natural phenomenon, called the "Endless Dance," to make its prey jump between its legs while it moves around in bizarre rhythms. The entire interaction is seemingly odd for a living organism, but the line between organic and inorganic on this planet is not always clear.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

But why would humans do all of this? What purpose would developing these weapons and horticulturists serve? Well, while details are scarce, it’s clear that something happened to the planet that changed it dramatically from the Earth we know. The natural cycles of the planet’s surface have accelerated, with the tectonic plates even shifting so much by the time of Pikmin 3 that the Pangaea Proxima supercontinent, which shouldn’t occur for another 200 million years, seemingly formed in the span of a few years at most since Pikmin 2.

��I've recently noted that changes in this planet's environment happen at a very rapid pace. Compared to how it was when I was here before, the Perplexing Pool has changed drastically. Due to frequent tectonic shifts, the region appears slightly different each time I enter it. It could be a natural phenomenon, but it's as if I feel the presence of a guiding hand. ...Maybe it's just my imagination running wild.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“The interior of this hemisphere contains a chip coded with charts detailing a new region. I explored this forest the last time I was here, but it's clear that it has undergone some dramatic changes. The plants and animals have also evolved significantly. I've given this forest a new name... The Awakening Wood. I must begin to form a hypothesis to explain why the forest changed so rapidly.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

Meanwhile, underground caves are constantly shifting and time is significantly slowed due to a powerful magnetic field.

“The powerful magnetic field between the surface and underground can have peculiar, unexpected effects. You can't rely merely on your memory, as familiar areas can often appear foreign. Just focus on gathering all of the treasures, and you'll be all right.”

[Source: Exploring Underground: Subterranean Q & A, Page 26, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Because of a powerful magnetic field deep under the surface, time does not pass underground. When you climb back to the surface, you will return at the exact moment in time that you entered the hole. Time will not have passed.”

[Source: Exploring Underground: Above Ground, Page 25, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Subterranean Time Warp Upon returning to the surface after exploring underground, I noticed the hands of my clock had barely moved at all, and I had been down there for hours! I can only assume that on this planet, time flows differently on the surface than it does underground.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“I calculated the difference. It looks as if about 1/6 as much time passes on the surface as you spent underground. Time seems to move differently in the underground spaces on this planet… I’m not sure how it works, but I suppose that means you can take as much time as you need to explore caves.”

[Source: Collin, Member of the Rescue Corps and Comms Operator, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

The planet in general seems to have warped space-time:

“While exploring this warped land, I got the feeling that time passed faster than usual. Upon researching it further, I realized it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But whenever I touch this object I can feel the space-time continuum bending!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“I was entranced by the longer needle as it spun round and round, and I completely lost track of time. This object doesn't strike me as otherworldly, but whenever I look at it, it's like I can feel the space-time continuum bending around me!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“Case 2 Even when revisiting the same area, the placement and design of the circles shown may change. Could the planet's space-time be distorted...?”

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

In Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 4's Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, we see the Geiger Counter from the S.S. Dolphin frequently activate, producing buzzing and clicking noises, while on the surface of PNF-404, indicating levels of ionizing radiation much higher than those typically found on 21st century Earth.

“Every spaceship needs one of these, but I don't actually know what it's for. Every once in a while, it goes wild and lets out a lot of noise, but I never pay much attention to it, so it doesn't do me much good. I really should read that instruction manual one of these days!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“This noisy gauge is always letting off spontaneous clicks and buzzes. It can be kind of annoying.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

There’s even hints that whatever caused the hole in the Plasm Wraith’s torso, a manifestation of emotional trauma (as it's called in Japanese), or “psychic wound”, is somehow linked to the planet’s evolutionary history:

“This unusual life-form consists of an amorphous body around a hard, cubic core. The body can shift not only into different shapes but into different substances. It reminds me very much of the waterwraith, and at first I wondered if it was also an ectoplasmic incarnation. However, enough others have seen and encountered it to dispel this theory. The creatures living near the plasm wraith must be formed from its gelatinous substance, since they all liquefy upon its death. It's not clear what purpose they serve for the wraith. It's currently unknown what caused the hole in its torso—some sort of manifested psychic wound?—but the search for this cause may lead us down the path to unraveling the history of evolution on this planet.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, October 2020]

It seems as though the most likely answer is a war or similar event which coated the planet in radiation, caused the collapse of the world’s existing ecosystems and the rapid evolution of new species and damaged the space-time continuum. The Pikmin and their companion organisms were produced in an effort to reverse the damage the humans caused and repopulate the planet with plant life. Perhaps the humans weren’t so fortunate and perished not long before Olimar’s initial crash in Pikmin 1, with their creations continuing to inhabit the planet without their guidance - or perhaps they succeeded and continue to inhabit the planet just out of sight, explaining the "guiding hand" Olimar felt changing the Distant Spring into the Perplexing Pool...

“[The areas aren’t] exactly the same, but we intentionally made them look similar to give a sense of déjà vu that you’ve been here before… Like maybe it is the same places, but time has passed and humans have interacted with them…”

[Source: Shigefumi Hino & Masamichi Abe, Directors of Pikmin 2, Nintendo Dream Magazine, May 2004]

“The planet where Pikmin live is a mysterious one that shows a different side of itself with every visit, but this time players arrive in an age with the strongest traces of past civilizations. You'll be seeing plenty of familiar things that will help you feel closer to Pikmin than ever before.”

[Source: Yutaka Hiramuki, Planning Director of Pikmin 4, Nintendo Co., Ltd., July 2023]

Or maybe the humans realised the damage was beyond repair and the planet was inhospitable. Perhaps they left it all behind, survived and have been living on right under our noses…

But that's a topic for another day.

Thank you for reading! I’d like to give a special thank you to Lady Sophie and Ymcan64 for looking over the script and providing some additional points which really solidified this theory. Their help was invaluable. Please check their blogs out.

[descenacre]

Nectar is such a vital and prevalent resource on this planet. Though the Drops and Droplets that fall from smaller enemies can only feed a maximum of a few pikmin, occasionally, I will encounter a Drop big enough that could potentially bloom my entire party!

The problem I've noticed, is when the drop gets to a certain size, the Pikmin get a little greedy and start drinking rapidly-- I have to rush everyone to the nectar before it's depleted in order to take full advantage of it!

Once, a single Candy Pikmin found a Big Drop and finished it all by themselves, to the dismay of my entire party! They don't seem to suffer the same digestive issues after over indulging in sweets, which makes me feel a little jealous... After their drink, their stem morphed, not to a typical flower, but to a round fruit! Could this be the next step in the Pikmin's maturity? Perhaps the Candy Pikmin's growth is greatly accelerated by its incredible metabolism. I wonder what the fruits are capable of, or whether other Pikmin are capable of growing them...

Nectar Weed is a plant made of many individual hair like blades. Unlike the Pellet Posies, they store their nutrients underground in rhizome-like sacs of nectar. They give off a scent that the Pikmin can't seem to resist, even when I try to call them, they seem obsessed with uprooting every last one! Though uprooting them typically yields little to no nectar, I've noticed that if I let the weeds mature overnight, their blades slowly fade to a reddish color, signaling it is at maximum nectar capacity! Ah, to teach this species about the dangers of instant gratification would be as difficult as teaching as much to my own children...

Crystallized Nectar seem to be the hardened remains of what was left behind from droplets of abandoned nectar. It's rather interesting to me that the soft, round shapes the Nectar typically takes becomes lost in such jagged, crystalline forms. The snappy sound emitted as the Pikmin crack them open is rather relaxing, like the crackling of a fire. It'd be nice if there were some way to rehydrate them, but they're rather fragile, and embedded snugly into the surface of the planet.

Occasionally, some nectar may spill into the rivers-- My first instinct would be to believe that the water would simply wash the sugary substance away, or that perhaps the material would sink, being so densely packed with nutrients. Yet, miraculously, it appears to envelop itself in a bubble, and float to the surface! If I throw my Pikmin onto the Nectar Bubble, they'll drink its contents until completely empty, at which point, the bubble bursts with just enough force to propel them straight back to shore! I'm glad that I don't have to worry about waste, when I find Nectar in the water--even non-swimming Pikmin can enjoy a drink!

A rather interesting discovery I've made, is that although normally, the monsters on this planet may drop a Pellet or two, beasts fought by Candy Pikmin seem to drop Nectar instead. Perhaps the Candy Pikmin have some sort of enzyme that can break the crystals down into their liquid form? Furthermore, If Candy Pikmin are eaten, the creature that ate them releases even greater quantities of Nectar! It's...a little unsettling, to imagine the being's insides turned to sugar. All in all, Nectar is a resource that definitely bears more research.

[jeekoftheweek]

the pikmin stage from brawl is so strange it's not clear but I think it's based on awakening wood from pikmin 2, and it features 3 leaf platforms above a platform made of vines and a slope to the left. occasionally pellet posies sprout which can be thrown at other players and onions land on the stage. there is a bulborb that shows up on the right of the screen and acts as a stage hazard. the strange part is the rain that happens periodically and creates flash flood down the slope. weather has never been a part of tye pikmin games before or since

[everydayarsonist]

EverydayArsonist’s Pikmin Headcanons: Part One: The Pikmin

@spoopy-chipster

•Pikmin onions have an odd life cycle. They are formed from seeds deep underground, and if they get enough nutrients, they will become an Onion. If not, they will become a Candypop Bud and either stay underground or burrow up to the surface. If they form into an Onion they will stay underground or burrow up depending on their type. Red, Yellow, Blue, Rock, Winged, and Ice burrow up while White and Purple stay underground. Onions then propagate Pikmin with the help of a leader (supposed to be a Mamuta) and grow and spread seeds. Onions will naturally seek out other Onions over time and fuse with them. Once an Onion has fused with at least two others, it searches for the highest point it can find and lands there, anchoring its roots to the ground and preventing Pikmin from being produced. It uses all the nutrients and energy of the Pikmin within it to create seeds that it showers onto the landscape. For every four seeds that bury themselves and become Onions or Candypop buds, one is a Lumiknoll Seed. Lumiknolls produce Glow Sap out of impurities in the soil around them, making it safe for Pellet Posies to bloom. Lumiknolls lure in enemies with the same electromagnetic signals that Onions use to communicate with Pikmin. The natural energy of a Lumiknoll disintegrates corpses, Turing them into Glow Pellets. Once a Lumiknoll has survived its first night, it creates crystals around it that allow Onions to land and leaves behind a core that activates every subsequent night.

•Pikmin have a hivemind-esque intelligence where they act independently but communicate and share their experiences with their Onion, allowing the species to become smarter over time.

•Pikmin have a very simplistic language known as Pikkish with a few main phrases;

-Howa- Carry

-Whaoh- Fight (Includes digging)

-Wie- Multiply (also used to refer to the Onion)

-Toka- Eaten (used synonymously with “death” as a whole)

-Danor- Time (associated with sunset, sunrise, and optimization)

-Orima- Leader (phrase only used after Olimar’s original crash)

•Glow Pikmin do not act like regular Pikmin or speak their language. Instead, they use a separate language known only as “Nightspeak”;

-Ehu- Grow (meaning carrying pellets back to Lumiknolls or Tricknolls)

-Heuho- Hunt (specifically going out towards enemies)

-Huohe- Protect (specifically protecting a Lumiknoll or Tricknoll. Nobody knows why there is a distinction between Heuho and Huohe.)

-Yiiiii- Glowmob (a command towards the other glow pikmin to form a glowmob)

-Rehoho- Strategy (Tricknoll, or the coming of sunrise.)

•Glow Pikmin do not have a word for “Lumiknoll”

•Pikmin were developed a decade before humanity was wiped out in order to fight the effects of climate change by growing plants across the world. They followed humans around as they walked, planting seeds as they did so. In the final days of humanity, the Onions were developed alongside the Mamutas and placed in the Svalbard Seed Vault. 90% of humans left Earth while the remaining ones were wiped out.

[waxworm]

yo mama so pellet posy

[knotty-pink-hair]

Pikmin Fanfiction

Log 2…“Harvest Area 63: Giants’ Garden”

“You’re not going to hurt it,” Klark said. He had his arms crossed. The squad of 14 rockmin stood next to him. Their beady eyes watched me with enthusiasm.

I reached out and gripped the stem of the single rockmin in front of me. A chill blistered in my chest—it felt wrong.

“I won’t hurt it,” I said to myself.

I reached back and threw it. The rockmin soared past the pink honeywisp, missing. [a harmless, flying insect that carries an egg]

“Hurry, the wisp is gettin’ away,” Klark snorted. The piebald egg slowly passed over our heads as the creature flew above us.

I whistled the single rockmin back to me; took its stem in my hands once again and pulled back. This time I managed to hit the wisp, and it sped away with a sharp cry. The rockmin swarmed on the dropped nectar. I watched in amazement as several leafheads rapidly bloomed into purple flowers.

“Huh,” I said.

“Well done. Your rockmin is unharmed, and you gave the wisp a concussion.” Klark plucked the rockmin and handed it to me. Looking into its face, I didn’t see any fear.

“I don’t understand why it trusts me.”

“You must not overthink these things,” Klark said. He whistled loudly, charged the squad toward a cluster of pellet posies. The new flowerheads rushed ahead of the leafheads, overtook the stems with violence.

I kept pace with Klark. “The pikmin only met me yesterday. We’ve built no bond yet.”

“Nah, no, don’t need it,” he said. “Pikmin are much simpler than that.” He pointed at his antenna as he jogged. “They think we have stems just like them and that’s good enough. We look like family. They instinctively trust us.”

“But…the antenna glow?”

“All the more exciting to pikmin. Like radiating blossoms.”

We stopped short at one of the large, red boulders [bricks]. Klark tapped on his kopad. In a second, the S.S. Fledgling and the onion soared over our heads, landed nearby. Klark blew his whistle again, signaling. The rockmin ran back and forth from the red boulder wall to the Fledgling, their little arms outstretched to carry clay. We would need them to construct a mound to reach the top of the wall where a cluster of fruits rested—12 to collect all before sunset. The number of enemies over the wall was something like 43.

I glared at the mound. My first battles laid ahead of me.  

We stood and observed the rockmin. Next to us, partially buried, rested another monolithic object left behind from the Giants. It had a metal head and a soft handle [trowel]. When the rockmin completed the construction of the mound, Klark divided the squad into two units. I set my rockmin to excavate the object in the ground. Klark left my side; disappeared into a patch of black corral bells. 

Nearby, Zileke rode atop of Yew holding tight to the dog’s collar. Her squad of yellow pikmin tore away at an electric wall. I flinched watching the sparks fly. I could hear her over the comm system snapping at them to hurry up.

Zileke would be over the red boulder wall before us, which meant I needed to get ahead of her to clear the path. I wished she’d slow down. This was my first day on the field. Was she always going to be like this?

I checked my kopad to track our progress, felt a jolt of fear as I saw a local harvest team encounter a massive enemy. I hadn’t seen any enemies comparable to this size; this beast dwarfed them all. Little by little the dots representing pikmin winked out. Something was eating them.

Total annihilation. That could happen to us.

A rockmin blurred as it shot past my head. I snapped to attention. Klark continued to hurl them toward me. The rockmin impacted on the ground, screamed as foliage suddenly moved; red eyes appeared, and serrated forelegs. One of the leaves wrapped its forelegs around a rockmin, worked its mandibles, and pulled the victim into its mouth with alarming speed. This rockmin, already half-consumed, wailed with deafening desperation; petals flew off its stem in a flurry of violence. I charged forward and grabbed the rockmin by its stem, attempting to wrench it from the creature’s mouth.

Rockmin rained down from above and crushed the creatures—desiccated skitter leaves—causing them to drop stiffly. I fell backward with the single rockmin in my arms. It was reduced to a leafhead once more. Its face was severely scratched so that it could only see out of one eye.

I thought it was trembling with fear as well. It took me a moment to realize it was my own arms that were trembling. The rockmin winked at me as if nothing had happened.

Klark gave me such a look of impatience. He said in an even voice, “Put down the rockmin. Get to your feet. With me, now.”

We stopped at the now completed mound. Klark looked at me, simply motioned with his hand for me to take up the whole squad of 15 rockmin. There was a piece of fruit just beyond us, and I assumed that’s what he wanted me to collect.

I nodded, whistled the rockmin to my side.   

How could I let those skitter leaves sneak up on us? I didn’t notice—damn it. Okay. Move on. Clear the path for Yew and Zileke. You can do this. Eliminate all enemies.

I crossed my arms to stop their shaking. We climbed up the mound and entered a valley with soft, loamy soil. No enemies present. A cluster of dusk pustules [purple grapes] lie on the ground before us. I charged the rockmin toward it.

Klark was frustrated with me. Is that why he commanded me up here on my own? He thinks I’m weak.  

The rockmin stood around the pustules and took turns ripping them from the vine. Hup hup hup they chanted as they marched back toward me each carrying one pustule.

I checked the map on my kopad, taking my eyes off the rockmin, being careful to make sure we were safe. Then I saw a blur of white in my peripheral vision.  

We were ambushed by two whiptongue bulborbs. [large two-legged ladybugs with spindly tongues]  

***

I returned to Klark with only three rockmin and 40% damage to my suit. My helmet contained fractals of hairline cracks from the beasts’ tongues. I hyperventilated, panicked, tried to rip off my helmet. Such a stupid thing to do. Just like when new divers panic underwater and try to remove their masks.

Klark ripped my arms away from my helmet.

“You killed the two whiptongues?” He asked.

“I lost so many pikmin!” I shouted at him, breathless. “No! No!”

He whistled a squad of redmin up the mound to collect the bulborb corpses and the pustules. My three remaining rockmin stood around me, emotionless expressions on their little black faces.

Why didn’t it bother them to see their siblings die? Didn’t they understand?

“Thistle, you’re our security officer,” Klark said calmly. He kneeled and looked me in the eye. “You will see a great deal more of this, of death. Get used to it. Those bulborb corpses will be used to make seedlings. You’ll have more rockmin tomorrow—”

“We had it—we—”

“—and they’ll blindly follow your every command just like the last squad did. They’d follow you right into a pool of water and drown if you commanded them.”

“—didn’t show up on the radar. Why weren’t the whiptongues on the radar—we weren’t ready—I didn’t know.” I swallowed a few times.

Klark deliberated a moment, added, “That’s because I took the whiptongues off the radar before I sent you up.”

I panted, staring wide-eyed at him.

“You what?” I whispered.

Klark replied, “You need to overcome the shock of all this. You know what your job is. And if you like, I will send you back to Koppai and your juice plant. Maybe you’re better suited for that.”

My rapid breathing caused steam to fog up the inside of my helmet.

“No—no, I will not do that,” I said, though it turned into a growl.

“The reason I tested you, Thistle, is because there are certain circumstances where enemies may not appear on your radar. Technology is fallible. You need to be prepared for the unexpected. It’s as simple as that, and I don’t care that it’s your first day. Understand?”  

I nodded, kept my mouth shut. My mind raced with images from the attack: the blur of the pink tongues cutting through the air, the wet sheen of the bulborbs’ massive eyes. I had made eye contact with one of them, felt this awful stiff feeling on the surface of my skin, of hair standing up on my arms, some kind of animal instinct within me feeling the closeness of death.

Klark observed the redmin as they marched by carrying the two enormous whiptongues. Their spindly tongues dragged on the ground.

Hup hup hup the redmin chanted.

“Heavy bastards,” Klark said. He gave me a moment to get my breathing under control; my kopad chirped over my spiked cortisol levels. Then Klark pointed toward the redmin. He was singling out an individual, but through the cracks in my helmet it appeared to be multiple redmin. It followed behind the others, kept stopping to look around, to look at us, as if it was thinking.

“You see that?” Klark asked me.

“Yes. Is it confused?” I asked and got to my feet.

“Mmm,” Klark mumbled. “I want Axiom to look at that one. Something’s not right there.”

My legs still trembled. A blurry memory of last night passed through my mind—the one redmin sitting beneath the onion, staring at our ship.

Had I dreamt that?

***

Back at basecamp, Yew slumbered on the floor next to our dining table. Zileke sat on the couch applying an ointment to her abdominal muscles. Her half-drank juice bottle rested next to her. Klark was outside setting the perimeter motion sensors.

“Already need a new helmet, huh?” Zileke asked. I noticed a bruise on her side.

“Yes,” I said quietly. Are you going to antagonize me now?

“Pssh. Tough break. Sorry to hear it.” She popped the cap back onto the ointment. “Glad it wasn’t me though.” Zileke took a brush from the counter and sat on the floor. She ran it through Yew’s fur, and the fat lump rolled onto her back. “Don’t go breathing in too much oxygen, Thistle. You might turn into a leafling,” she said without looking at me.

We said nothing for several minutes.

Then I said to her, “My transport ship went through an electric field before we landed here. We briefly lost control of everything. Is that what causes all of the castaways on this planet?” Zileke nodded, kept running the brush over Yew’s belly.  “Don’t they know that? Why does it keep happening?”

She shrugged. “A little electric field isn’t going to scare off rich citizens from traveling where they want to. They just have to pay taxes to the Rescue Corps to come and get them. Easy.” She pulled a bramble from Yew’s fur, but the dog did not react whatsoever. “None of our problems are their problems, Thistle. You know the rich families on Koppai don’t experience famine. There is always juice for them. And there are always harvesters to collect that juice.”

She eyed the gloves I was wearing. I slid them off my hands and drank deeply from my bottle—freshly squeezed juice from the dusk pustules.

A reward after so much death.

I remembered the rockmin I pulled from the skitter leaf’s mouth. Had I saved it only for it to be eaten later by the whiptongue? From the mouth of one beast to the mouth of another.

Maybe Klark was right. I shouldn’t think so deeply about these things.

I stood up, one hand on my head. I began to walk toward the sleeping quarters when Zileke spoke over her shoulder.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Klark wants to juice all of the harvest before turning in for the night.”

I turned around and looked at her.

“Hey,” she said. “It’s in accordance with crisis procedures. If I die, Klark dies, you die, you know, whoever is left needs to juice the fruit for pickup. Otherwise, people starve back at home. Even if you’re dead, there’s work to be done. Get it?”

I nodded, came back, and sat at the table again.

“Zileke?” I said.

“What?” She looked up at me. Yew also opened her eyes and looked up.

“We are visiting the S.S. Sentinel in a few days to meet Axiom.”

She pulled a clump of fur from the brush. “Yes, it’s another part of crisis procedures. You need to know how to run night expeditions and collect glow sap in case too many teammates eat shit.” She gave Yew’s belly a smack. “You’ll make cure vials with Axiom’s apprentice Vivette. You know there have to be procedures for this type of scenario. If everyone around you is turned into a leafling and…incapacitated…you’ll need to produce and administer cure.” She snorted. “Trust me, if we ever got to that point, you should just hunker down in the ship and wait. Let the Rescue Corps deal with it.” She took a long drink from her bottle.

“Mmm, that’s not what I wanted to ask you about,” I said quietly.

She stopped short, licked her lips. “Eh? Then what do you want to know?”

“Have you noticed the one redmin behaving strangely? How can Axiom help it?”

A pause.

“Oh, not this again—it’s just a pikmin!” She shouted. “They don’t behave strangely. They listen. They work. They make a lot of little noises. Klark is on his bullshit don’t listen to him.” She paused, drained the rest of her juice from her bottle. “I don’t want two of you filling my ears with conspiracy theories. This kind of work is already conducive to insanity.”

She called for Yew, and they both disappeared into the sleeping quarters. I picked up her bottle and mine to wash them in the sink. Outside the window, Klark stood in the moonlight with his hands on his hips staring up at the onion.

How on earth does he know one specific redmin is acting strangely? How can he tell it’s the same one every time? They all look the same.

“We’d have to mark it somehow,” I said to myself. Tie a ribbon around its stem or give it a collar. Something like that. I went to my sleeping quarters to rifle through my belongings.

***

I stood next to Klark, half-asleep, with a giant empty bottle in my arms. He clicked away on a screen. A green zest bomb [lime] dropped into the feeder tube and then the pusher crushed it against the juicing cone. Green pulpy liquid poured into a bottle and then another, filling them. The aroma of citrus flooded the room. My mouth watered.

“Thistle,” Klark said firmly.

I flinched. “Ye-yes?” I asked.

“I said put that bottle over there. I over-estimated. We won’t need it.”

“Okay.”

I placed the bottle on an open shelf next to the refrigeration units. Klark pushed past me and retrieved a half-filled bottle of juice left over from a tremendous sniffer [pear]. He fitted it into the machine and let the remainder of the bottle fill with the last of the zest bomb. The resulting liquid was electric, cloudy green.

We loaded the bottle into the fridge. I imagined Aster back at home putting her chapped lips to it, drinking deeply. I’d rest my head on her shoulder, breathing her in. She’d take some of her ivory ribbon and thread it through my hair. She liked my hair better when it was down, she’d say, and I’d mumble something about shaving it all off so it wouldn’t get in my face.

“But if you shave off all your hair, you’ll be ugly,” Aster would say.

“I was ugly when you met me, first of all,” I’d say. That always made her laugh.

She was asleep by now. I hoped she remembered to submit for additional rations next month for the twins. I always had to do it; she’d never remember to do it.

“Thistle,” Klark said.  I flinched again. “Let me talk to you a moment.”

We walked to the kitchen and sat down. I tried to sit upright and appear alert despite my exhaustion. I hoped like hell this conversation wouldn’t take long. I was afraid I’d nod off in the middle of him talking.

“Recount to me the day’s work,” he said. “Everything completed after the whiptongue attack. Be brief.”

I did as he asked. Construction of two bridges over lakes. Elimination of all 43 enemies in the harvest area. Collection of 12 treasures. Sparklium converted to fuel—fuel gauge at ¾ full. Discovered and logged coordinates of two caves. Received communication from adjacent team KoCo Freight 3433 to supply 212 units of raw material. Supply run approved. Scouted basecamp boundaries for enemies. Provided security for Zileke to complete pup training—Yew learned skill Swim II. Team reported back to basecamp.

I waved my hand.

“Sunset, juiced the harvest. I will file an incident report for my helmet,” I added.

“Hmm,” Klark offered.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a spool of ivory ribbon.

“I can tie some of this around the redmin’s stem so we can keep track of it.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t think that will work?”

“It will untie it. Tried that three different ways already.”

I folded my fingers together.

“I’m surprised it would do that.”

“Hmm.”

“Is it sick?”

“Could be.”

“So then Axiom will look at it?”

“He might observe it for a few days before performing an autopsy.”

“Oh.”

“Most likely a fungal infection in the brain affecting neural activity. It hasn’t tried climbing at all, but I suspect cordyceps.”

I shivered.

“Thistle,” Klark said. This time he looked me in the eyes.

“Yeah.”

“This isn’t easy for me to say, but you’ve surprised me. I had you sorted out in my mind. Now I’ve had to change my initial impression. You know, new recruits face their first battle and depending on their reaction, I can immediately tell if they will make it as a security officer.” He leaned back in his chair. “Your interaction with the desiccated skitter leaves concerned me. They were even able to sneak up on you.”

“Ehh,” I offered.

“And you seemed afraid of hurting your pikmin, which is an inherent risk of harvesting. Then you went up to get the dusk pustules, and you faced off against the two whiptongue bulborbs. The battle went poorly. Twelve rockmin lost. You were emotionally incapacitated and did not retrieve your prey or fruit.”

It sounds awful hearing it all laid out like that.

He paused. “And yet I was astonished at your rebound from the incidents of this morning. You completed excellent work for your first day. That feral way you have about you came back out. All of the enemies you faced after the whiptongues did not cause you to hesitate. You engaged, you commanded your rockmin. I feel as though I’ve seen two different recruits today.”

Oh.

He paused again, picked up the ribbon to admire it. “Zileke and I will escort you to the S.S. Sentinel for your five days of training. During this time, Axiom will observe the redmin. I will expect you to euthanize it when the time comes. This is usually how these things play out. Can’t have infection spreading to the onion.”

“Okay,” I answered. “How do I—”

“You’ll feed it some medicated nectar and then wait for it to fall asleep. Its heart will stop within a few minutes of consumption.”

We both walked to the sleeping quarters. We said goodnight. I stood in the doorway to my room for a long time thinking about the day, remembering the bruise on Zileke’s ribs. Yew had kicked her when they’d been in the water training for Swim II. I had guarded them during the time, observing them now and again, and I could tell the dog had a fear of diving. She hated putting her head underwater—a necessary skill for Yew if she was to keep advancing. Zileke appeared to be in denial of this and went on swimming beside Yew, talking to her, giving commands. I thought it was a waste of time, but I knew better than to give my opinion.

I took a shower, nearly fell asleep standing upright.

Back in my sleeping quarters and wrapped in a towel, I stood in the middle of the room dripping onto the floor. A sense of malaise had set in. Aster theorized my bouts of discomfort meant I was murdered in a previous life.

I didn’t like the idea of living numerous lifetimes and facing starvation in each of them. 

I laid in bed staring at my cracked helmet that rested on the bedside table, thought of the duplicating images of the redmin.

***

That night I dreamt I was a pikmin. I ran with the others in my squad, heard the sharp cry of the charge horn as we rushed toward a pile of gold. Some of us collected it, ran it back to the S.S. Fledgling while some of us faced off against some unknown enemy. It was a bloated, furry thing with two legs or sometimes six; a long neck, a white head with a false mouth. The real mouth was at the base of the neck, hidden in the fur. Keratin plates on its back flapped up and down in a hypnotic display. The horn sounded out: charge the enemy! Charge the enemy!

My squad cheered as they advanced, myself among them, the sound of our breathing loud and steaming in this cold place; and I looked up at the creature, felt fear sharply lodged in my chest, but a hysteric fervor ignited my being, our victory was certain. And as the front line latched onto the beast’s fur, beginning to climb, there was a hot release of gas from its body; this hit our faces, and stopped me dead in my tracks; too quickly, instantly it seemed, the beast teetered backward, its belly bloating and stretching the skin to translucence, and the abdominal cavity burst open flooding the battlefield with hot viscera. Pikmin slid, collided with each other, screamed hysterically as the wave of acidic blood washed over them and began dissolving their bodies. In only a few seconds, the battlefield went quiet as the last of the survivors—all molten scarlet bodies—collapsed and went still.

And I felt the heat of all of it on my skin. I panted, my breath rising in this cold place. I was alone. When the body of the beast collapsed in its own entrails, I peered into the open abdominal cavity. I could hear something inside, something chewing.