A year has passed since Captain Olimar and Louie returned from their intergalactic travels alongside the three Koppaites. The Captain and three Koppaite pilots of the S.S. Drake soon became trusted allies and friends, and paved the way for the galactic trade system that now exists between the two species. Olimar and the Koppaites all soon shared their experiences with the Pikmin, which the President of Hocotate Freight came to back up. Now PNF-404, previously thought to be a backwater planet of no merit, is one of the most prominently discussed topics among the Hocotatians and Koppaites. The Hocotatian Government has now sent a group of three adventurers to head to PNF-404 with the newest scientific space ship; the Galactic Exploration And Research Ship, AKA the GEARS. Space expert Commander James Bentley, Zoologist Kyle and Technician Lily now travel the cosmos on their mission - catalog a complete database on all known species of PNF-404, and learn as much about the Pikmin as possible. However, upon entering PNF-404's solar system, a critical event occurs...
“Ship’s Log, one day to GEARS’ landing on PNF-404.” James said, activating the voice recorder. “Commander James Bentley recording. Our journey has been peaceful so far, with only the occasional meteor shower or asteroid field in our way. GEARS has so far taken only extremely minor damage, such as paint scrapes and tiny dents. Thanks to the piloting of GEARS’ new ace pilot, of course.” Lily sighed in the background as beeps came from the computer Kyle was reading a data file on. “The crew has been… well, being honest here, pretty bored the entire trip.”
“Thanks for the resume, Captain Obvious!” Lily said from the background in a teasing tone.
James sighed himself. “Overall, though, we’ve been doing fine. Food supplies are still going strong. We won’t have any need to restock unless GEARS is somehow destroyed. All systems are operating at full functionality, and the crew is doing fine – both mentally and physically. As long as we can spend some time playing games to have some fun. Kyle has been reading over the data files on the various creatures of PNF-404. Not kidding here, Kyle is actually in the process of compiling a massive list on how to make each individual file on the monsters better. And yes, he is going over all 81 files.”
“Should be more!”
“Yes, we know.” James said, smiling at his younger teammate. “Lily has been maintaining the ship’s systems and repairing any of the minimal injuries GEARS has received. Nothing major, though. So that’s good. Uh, back to the main topic – the mission. GEARS estimates we should be landing on PNF-404 in about an hour or so. If all goes well, we’ll be able to begin the mission and find our first specimen by nightfall. The problem isn’t going to come from finding the monsters, though. The problem will be, uh, recovering the monsters and bringing them back to GEARS. Our goal here is to collect as much information as possible, so GEARS will have to scan them. After that, we, uh, won’t need the monsters. The Pikmin can have them, I guess. That is, if we befriend them. According to Olimar, though, they’re almost everywhere, so we, uh, ideally won’t have that hard of a time finding them. I’ll report back in tonight once we land on PNF-404 and get set up. Commander James Bentley signing off.”
James tapped a button on his command console and laid back in his chair, stretching. “Well, this is it, you two. Just an hour, and the mission begins.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so excited!” Kyle said, still looking at his data files. “Each one of the monsters here are so unique and interesting! I can’t wait to get down to the surface.”
"Well, the monsters tried to kill Captain Olimar and those Koppaites. And a ton of Pikmin, too."
"I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited!"
“I’m just interested to see what kind of tech the ancient inhabitants of the world left behind!” Lily said, taking out her tablet and flipping through pictures of various Hocotate Freight treasures. “There’s a ton of tech already brought back from this world. There has to be more!”
“Just remember our mission priority, Lily.” James said. “We can’t get distracted by unnecessary things like-“
KABOOM
All of a sudden, the ship was hit by a heavy explosive blast. The screens flashed to emergency warnings, and the three Hocotatians ran to their screens.
“Status report!”
“Some kind of laser hit us!” Lily shouted. “It took out Hyperspace Engine 2! Working to compensate for the engine loss!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” James said. “Kyle, where’d that blast come from?!”
“Located the source!” Kyle said. “Putting it up on the main monitor! It’s an asteroid we just passed! It has some sort of laser cannon attached to it!”
“We have to get down to the surface of the planet!”
“Commander, the cannon is charging another blast!”
“There’s no way to escape from the cannon’s range in time!”
“It’s going to hit our generator!”
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
The laser fired from the cannon, streaking straight through the center of the ship. It damaged the main generator that powered the ship, and all systems immediately lost power. Except for the emergency systems.
“WARNING! GEARS CAUGHT WITHIN ATMOSPHERE OF PNF-404! CRASH LANDING IMMINENT! EJECT ALL CREW MEMBERS IMMEDIATELY!” the ship’s automated computer said.
The crew rushed to the three emergency pods, shooting out of the ship. Each of the three pods careened towards the surface, as did GEARS. They fell into the planet’s atmosphere… as a new adventure began.
PIKMIN: EVOLUTION
“…ugh. What…?”
“…what happened? My head hurts…”
“Wait… the commander! Lily! GEARS! Where are…?”
Kyle woke up, sitting up. He observed where he was. He seemed to be sitting on top of some type of object. A crushed, circular object. Kyle slid off the object, looking around. It was strange. He seemed to be in some sort of orange forest.
But then he took his eyes off the beautiful forest to observe what was in front of him.
A tiny Red Pikmin.
Kyle took a step forwards, and the little guy ran away. “Huh? H-hey! I don’t want to hurt you…!” Kyle said, before realizing the Pikmin was out of sight. Cautiously, Kyle decided to follow it.
All he had to do, though, was turn the corner – the Red Pikmin was right there, accompanied by three others. But it wasn’t just standing around. No, the Reds were attacking a Dwarf Bulborb, who threatened to eat them.
Kyle looked over the situation, and remembered Olimar’s notes. “Whistle and they’ll respond to your command. Guide them with the whistle. Throw them to attack. Rush with them all when needed.” Kyle tapped his whistle, then blew it as hard as he could.
The three Pikmin responded, running over to the Hocotatian. Kyle smiled at his accomplishment. The Dwarf Bulborb was headed straight for him, so Kyle had to act quickly. He grabbed a Red Pikmin by the stem and threw it right at the Dwarf. It hit it right over the head, killing it.
Kyle sighed with relief. “Alright, one down. However many more to go.” Kyle turned to look back at the Pikmin. “Hey, you guys are pretty cute. What were you hanging around here for?”
One of the Pikmin pointed up, and Kyle followed its gaze. There, hanging above the object Kyle had woken up on from a branch, was a strange… strawberry…? With a black bottom that had three ends and a flower on top. Kyle immediately recognized what it was from the data files.
“Your Onion! Why’s it stuck up there?” Kyle asked. Then he realized what the Pikmin needed him for. He took one and threw it onto the Onion, then threw on the other two. The Onion was pulled off the branch in just a few short seconds, and thumped against the object before landing in the clearing – in fact, right where the Red Pikmin had been standing just a few minutes ago. The Onion flew up in the air, extending three strange orange-yellow legs and thumping against the ground, now able to hold itself up. Kyle jumped with joy. I’VE ALREADY FOUND ONE SPECIES OF PIKMIN AND THEIR ONION! Kyle then stopped himself as he saw the Pikmin run past him. Curious what they were doing, he followed them. They were carrying the corpse of the Dwarf Bulborb back to the Onion, which the Onion absorbed. It then spit out three seeds. “Oh, right! Onions aren’t just the homes of the Pikmin, they’re what allows the Pikmin to reproduce by absorbing the nutrients from fallen foes and pellets.” Kyle plucked up the three seeds that has just came out, and saw two Pellet Posys nearby – a Red 1 and Red 5. Kyle threw one at the Red 1, and the other five at the Red 5. When both were taken down, the Pikmin took the pellets from the flowers back to the Onion, producing seven Pikmin. Plucking them all, Kyle continued onward. “I have to find GEARS. It’s the only shelter I can get, and my only chance of survival at night.” Kyle then came across some large rectangular roadblock. “Oh, great. Looks like I’ll need twenty Pikmin to push this aside.” Kyle then looked around, seeing an area with a few enemies and Pellet Posys. Two Red 1 Pellet Posys, and three Female Sheargrubs. Exactly what he needed. Kyle threw his thirteen Pikmin into the fray, and the Sheargrubs died quickly. He threw four up to the Pellet Posys so the Pellets would get back quicker, had six Pikmin carry back the Sheargrub corpses, and has the other three charge the wall. Once all seven troops had been plucked and the carrying crew of ten had been called back, he sent the seventeen Pikmin to join the other three in pushing the box.
Together, the Pikmin pushed it down. Kyle pumped his fist before calling his crew back and moving on. Ahead, he saw a wall made of sand. “Who put this here? Well, we’ve got to break it down.” Kyle charged his Pikmin at the sand wall, and in just a minute it was destroyed. On the other side was a data file, which Kyle picked up. “A data file? Can’t read it yet – need my iCom for that. It’s back in GEARS, I think.” Continuing onward, Kyle exited the long tunnel.
Kyle jumped with joy at what he saw at the other end. He seemed to be trapped in – there was a stone wall impeding his progress to the right, an electric gate up ahead, and nothing to the left – but he didn’t care. He had found GEARS. He ran right over, wanting to check GEARS’ systems as best as he could. “GEARS! I found you, buddy!”
“Hello, Kyle.”
“WAH?!” Kyle exclaimed in shock. Did the ship just… SPEAK to him?!
“Do not be afraid, Kyle.” The ship said, a smaller pod that looked like a squashed pyramid with an eye flying out from the top. It also had a small jet engine on the bottom. “I am the Supportive T-class Automated Research System, also known as STARS. My protocols led to my activation upon your approach, as my protocols state that I am to be activated on the surface of PNF-404 with at least one crew member present.”
“Alright, then. So they stuck an AI into our ship we never knew about.” Kyle said, thinking. “STARS, can I have a damage report on GEARS?”
“The hull has taken damage, but could be easily repaired by our mechanic, Lily. Two of the three hyperspace engines are still operable, but Engine 2 is damaged beyond repair. Same goes for the generator. The ship is running off of temporary emergency power to preserve heat and oxygen, but without a power source we won’t be able to take off.”
“That is VERY bad.” Kyle said, thinking. “If we managed to find a power source, would we be able to take off at the very least?”
“Affirmative.” STARS said. “The two remaining engines could be properly calibrated to bring us into orbit, but we would not be able to use the Hyperspace Engines to return to Hocotate. And we can’t forget about the laser that shot us out of the sky before.”
Kyle looked at the sky. The sun was going down, and the Pikmin were returning to their Onion. “I think it’s best if I sleep here in GEARS. From Olimar’s notes, it seems as if most of the monsters of this world are nocturnal. I don’t want to be out here at night.” Kyle jumped into GEARS, and STARS locked back into where it had been.
“Ship’s log. Day one of PNF-404 Exploration/Research mission. Zoologist Kyle recording. Putting it bluntly, today was a disaster. Just after the Commander recorded the last log, we were attacked by some kind of laser cannon attached to a meteorite. We lost power, and were forced to eject in separate escape pods to avoid the crash landing of GEARS. But that’s not all. I guess I’ll start with the bad news. I have no idea where James or Lily are. The pods all went in different directions. By some miracle, I landed relatively close to the ship. But that still leaves James and Lily out who-knows-where on this crazy dangerous planet. Then there’s GEARS. We got hit twice by that laser – one took out Engine 2, and another took out our generator. This means there are massive holes in GEARS, but that’s the least of my problems. Without Engine 2, I’m unable to safely engage lightspeed. After all, who knows where I’d end up without being able to steer? But of course I’m not leaving without my crew, anyways. Not that I can leave. Without the generator, I’ve only got a week’s worth of emergency power. All non-essential systems have been shut down, including the engines. I doubt I’d even make it a few feet off the ground with just this power. But now for the good news. I’ve got emergency power! Hey, it’s not much, but I can survive off it. At least, for a little while. I’m also not completely alone out here. Apparently the government threw an extra little something we were unaware of into the ship – an AI named STARS. It seems to have a bit of personality, at least, so that’s good. Now for the best part. Right off the bat, I managed to find some Pikmin! Specifically, the Reds. Their Onion is nearby GEARS’ crash site, so I should be able to get them again tomorrow. If Olimar’s notes have taught me anything, Pikmin are the key to survival on PNF-404. So they may just be my only hope of surviving to the end of the mission. Tomorrow, I plan to use the iCom I’ve retrieved from within GEARS to see if I can locate my crew, while raising up the numbers of my Pikmin. I pray they’re safe. I’m coming for you guys!”
Next Day: Coming soon from @EonVulpix!
Exploration Archive:
Day 1:
Day 2: Coming soon from @EonVulpix!
Day 3: Coming soon from @Eeveechu151!
“Ship’s Log, one day to GEARS’ landing on PNF-404.” James said, activating the voice recorder. “Commander James Bentley recording. Our journey has been peaceful so far, with only the occasional meteor shower or asteroid field in our way. GEARS has so far taken only extremely minor damage, such as paint scrapes and tiny dents. Thanks to the piloting of GEARS’ new ace pilot, of course.” Lily sighed in the background as beeps came from the computer Kyle was reading a data file on. “The crew has been… well, being honest here, pretty bored the entire trip.”
“Thanks for the resume, Captain Obvious!” Lily said from the background in a teasing tone.
James sighed himself. “Overall, though, we’ve been doing fine. Food supplies are still going strong. We won’t have any need to restock unless GEARS is somehow destroyed. All systems are operating at full functionality, and the crew is doing fine – both mentally and physically. As long as we can spend some time playing games to have some fun. Kyle has been reading over the data files on the various creatures of PNF-404. Not kidding here, Kyle is actually in the process of compiling a massive list on how to make each individual file on the monsters better. And yes, he is going over all 81 files.”
“Should be more!”
“Yes, we know.” James said, smiling at his younger teammate. “Lily has been maintaining the ship’s systems and repairing any of the minimal injuries GEARS has received. Nothing major, though. So that’s good. Uh, back to the main topic – the mission. GEARS estimates we should be landing on PNF-404 in about an hour or so. If all goes well, we’ll be able to begin the mission and find our first specimen by nightfall. The problem isn’t going to come from finding the monsters, though. The problem will be, uh, recovering the monsters and bringing them back to GEARS. Our goal here is to collect as much information as possible, so GEARS will have to scan them. After that, we, uh, won’t need the monsters. The Pikmin can have them, I guess. That is, if we befriend them. According to Olimar, though, they’re almost everywhere, so we, uh, ideally won’t have that hard of a time finding them. I’ll report back in tonight once we land on PNF-404 and get set up. Commander James Bentley signing off.”
James tapped a button on his command console and laid back in his chair, stretching. “Well, this is it, you two. Just an hour, and the mission begins.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so excited!” Kyle said, still looking at his data files. “Each one of the monsters here are so unique and interesting! I can’t wait to get down to the surface.”
"Well, the monsters tried to kill Captain Olimar and those Koppaites. And a ton of Pikmin, too."
"I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited!"
“I’m just interested to see what kind of tech the ancient inhabitants of the world left behind!” Lily said, taking out her tablet and flipping through pictures of various Hocotate Freight treasures. “There’s a ton of tech already brought back from this world. There has to be more!”
“Just remember our mission priority, Lily.” James said. “We can’t get distracted by unnecessary things like-“
KABOOM
All of a sudden, the ship was hit by a heavy explosive blast. The screens flashed to emergency warnings, and the three Hocotatians ran to their screens.
“Status report!”
“Some kind of laser hit us!” Lily shouted. “It took out Hyperspace Engine 2! Working to compensate for the engine loss!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” James said. “Kyle, where’d that blast come from?!”
“Located the source!” Kyle said. “Putting it up on the main monitor! It’s an asteroid we just passed! It has some sort of laser cannon attached to it!”
“We have to get down to the surface of the planet!”
“Commander, the cannon is charging another blast!”
“There’s no way to escape from the cannon’s range in time!”
“It’s going to hit our generator!”
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
The laser fired from the cannon, streaking straight through the center of the ship. It damaged the main generator that powered the ship, and all systems immediately lost power. Except for the emergency systems.
“WARNING! GEARS CAUGHT WITHIN ATMOSPHERE OF PNF-404! CRASH LANDING IMMINENT! EJECT ALL CREW MEMBERS IMMEDIATELY!” the ship’s automated computer said.
The crew rushed to the three emergency pods, shooting out of the ship. Each of the three pods careened towards the surface, as did GEARS. They fell into the planet’s atmosphere… as a new adventure began.
PIKMIN: EVOLUTION
“…ugh. What…?”
“…what happened? My head hurts…”
“Wait… the commander! Lily! GEARS! Where are…?”
Kyle woke up, sitting up. He observed where he was. He seemed to be sitting on top of some type of object. A crushed, circular object. Kyle slid off the object, looking around. It was strange. He seemed to be in some sort of orange forest.
But then he took his eyes off the beautiful forest to observe what was in front of him.
A tiny Red Pikmin.
Kyle took a step forwards, and the little guy ran away. “Huh? H-hey! I don’t want to hurt you…!” Kyle said, before realizing the Pikmin was out of sight. Cautiously, Kyle decided to follow it.
All he had to do, though, was turn the corner – the Red Pikmin was right there, accompanied by three others. But it wasn’t just standing around. No, the Reds were attacking a Dwarf Bulborb, who threatened to eat them.
Kyle looked over the situation, and remembered Olimar’s notes. “Whistle and they’ll respond to your command. Guide them with the whistle. Throw them to attack. Rush with them all when needed.” Kyle tapped his whistle, then blew it as hard as he could.
The three Pikmin responded, running over to the Hocotatian. Kyle smiled at his accomplishment. The Dwarf Bulborb was headed straight for him, so Kyle had to act quickly. He grabbed a Red Pikmin by the stem and threw it right at the Dwarf. It hit it right over the head, killing it.
Kyle sighed with relief. “Alright, one down. However many more to go.” Kyle turned to look back at the Pikmin. “Hey, you guys are pretty cute. What were you hanging around here for?”
One of the Pikmin pointed up, and Kyle followed its gaze. There, hanging above the object Kyle had woken up on from a branch, was a strange… strawberry…? With a black bottom that had three ends and a flower on top. Kyle immediately recognized what it was from the data files.
“Your Onion! Why’s it stuck up there?” Kyle asked. Then he realized what the Pikmin needed him for. He took one and threw it onto the Onion, then threw on the other two. The Onion was pulled off the branch in just a few short seconds, and thumped against the object before landing in the clearing – in fact, right where the Red Pikmin had been standing just a few minutes ago. The Onion flew up in the air, extending three strange orange-yellow legs and thumping against the ground, now able to hold itself up. Kyle jumped with joy. I’VE ALREADY FOUND ONE SPECIES OF PIKMIN AND THEIR ONION! Kyle then stopped himself as he saw the Pikmin run past him. Curious what they were doing, he followed them. They were carrying the corpse of the Dwarf Bulborb back to the Onion, which the Onion absorbed. It then spit out three seeds. “Oh, right! Onions aren’t just the homes of the Pikmin, they’re what allows the Pikmin to reproduce by absorbing the nutrients from fallen foes and pellets.” Kyle plucked up the three seeds that has just came out, and saw two Pellet Posys nearby – a Red 1 and Red 5. Kyle threw one at the Red 1, and the other five at the Red 5. When both were taken down, the Pikmin took the pellets from the flowers back to the Onion, producing seven Pikmin. Plucking them all, Kyle continued onward. “I have to find GEARS. It’s the only shelter I can get, and my only chance of survival at night.” Kyle then came across some large rectangular roadblock. “Oh, great. Looks like I’ll need twenty Pikmin to push this aside.” Kyle then looked around, seeing an area with a few enemies and Pellet Posys. Two Red 1 Pellet Posys, and three Female Sheargrubs. Exactly what he needed. Kyle threw his thirteen Pikmin into the fray, and the Sheargrubs died quickly. He threw four up to the Pellet Posys so the Pellets would get back quicker, had six Pikmin carry back the Sheargrub corpses, and has the other three charge the wall. Once all seven troops had been plucked and the carrying crew of ten had been called back, he sent the seventeen Pikmin to join the other three in pushing the box.
Together, the Pikmin pushed it down. Kyle pumped his fist before calling his crew back and moving on. Ahead, he saw a wall made of sand. “Who put this here? Well, we’ve got to break it down.” Kyle charged his Pikmin at the sand wall, and in just a minute it was destroyed. On the other side was a data file, which Kyle picked up. “A data file? Can’t read it yet – need my iCom for that. It’s back in GEARS, I think.” Continuing onward, Kyle exited the long tunnel.
Kyle jumped with joy at what he saw at the other end. He seemed to be trapped in – there was a stone wall impeding his progress to the right, an electric gate up ahead, and nothing to the left – but he didn’t care. He had found GEARS. He ran right over, wanting to check GEARS’ systems as best as he could. “GEARS! I found you, buddy!”
“Hello, Kyle.”
“WAH?!” Kyle exclaimed in shock. Did the ship just… SPEAK to him?!
“Do not be afraid, Kyle.” The ship said, a smaller pod that looked like a squashed pyramid with an eye flying out from the top. It also had a small jet engine on the bottom. “I am the Supportive T-class Automated Research System, also known as STARS. My protocols led to my activation upon your approach, as my protocols state that I am to be activated on the surface of PNF-404 with at least one crew member present.”
“Alright, then. So they stuck an AI into our ship we never knew about.” Kyle said, thinking. “STARS, can I have a damage report on GEARS?”
“The hull has taken damage, but could be easily repaired by our mechanic, Lily. Two of the three hyperspace engines are still operable, but Engine 2 is damaged beyond repair. Same goes for the generator. The ship is running off of temporary emergency power to preserve heat and oxygen, but without a power source we won’t be able to take off.”
“That is VERY bad.” Kyle said, thinking. “If we managed to find a power source, would we be able to take off at the very least?”
“Affirmative.” STARS said. “The two remaining engines could be properly calibrated to bring us into orbit, but we would not be able to use the Hyperspace Engines to return to Hocotate. And we can’t forget about the laser that shot us out of the sky before.”
Kyle looked at the sky. The sun was going down, and the Pikmin were returning to their Onion. “I think it’s best if I sleep here in GEARS. From Olimar’s notes, it seems as if most of the monsters of this world are nocturnal. I don’t want to be out here at night.” Kyle jumped into GEARS, and STARS locked back into where it had been.
“Ship’s log. Day one of PNF-404 Exploration/Research mission. Zoologist Kyle recording. Putting it bluntly, today was a disaster. Just after the Commander recorded the last log, we were attacked by some kind of laser cannon attached to a meteorite. We lost power, and were forced to eject in separate escape pods to avoid the crash landing of GEARS. But that’s not all. I guess I’ll start with the bad news. I have no idea where James or Lily are. The pods all went in different directions. By some miracle, I landed relatively close to the ship. But that still leaves James and Lily out who-knows-where on this crazy dangerous planet. Then there’s GEARS. We got hit twice by that laser – one took out Engine 2, and another took out our generator. This means there are massive holes in GEARS, but that’s the least of my problems. Without Engine 2, I’m unable to safely engage lightspeed. After all, who knows where I’d end up without being able to steer? But of course I’m not leaving without my crew, anyways. Not that I can leave. Without the generator, I’ve only got a week’s worth of emergency power. All non-essential systems have been shut down, including the engines. I doubt I’d even make it a few feet off the ground with just this power. But now for the good news. I’ve got emergency power! Hey, it’s not much, but I can survive off it. At least, for a little while. I’m also not completely alone out here. Apparently the government threw an extra little something we were unaware of into the ship – an AI named STARS. It seems to have a bit of personality, at least, so that’s good. Now for the best part. Right off the bat, I managed to find some Pikmin! Specifically, the Reds. Their Onion is nearby GEARS’ crash site, so I should be able to get them again tomorrow. If Olimar’s notes have taught me anything, Pikmin are the key to survival on PNF-404. So they may just be my only hope of surviving to the end of the mission. Tomorrow, I plan to use the iCom I’ve retrieved from within GEARS to see if I can locate my crew, while raising up the numbers of my Pikmin. I pray they’re safe. I’m coming for you guys!”
Next Day: Coming soon from @EonVulpix!
Exploration Archive:
Day 1:
Day 2: Coming soon from @EonVulpix!
Day 3: Coming soon from @Eeveechu151!
