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Playable Characters: Captains (Main Characters) | Pikmin
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This page lists the playable Captains and associated characters of the Pikmin series.


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    Shared Tropes 
  • A Father to His Men: Just about all of the Captains care deeply about the Pikmin, and not just as a source of manpower. Losing Pikmin carelessly to hazards like bomb rocks or water, or losing a large squad of them, will have the Captain(s) note that they'll need to be more careful, later games like 3 and 4 have the Captains voice their worry or grief mid-gameplay if the Pikmin are in danger or killed, and a Pikmin extinction leaves them outright devastated.
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: Alph, Brittany, and Charlie is similar to the American military phonetic alphabet, which goes Alpha, Bravo, Charlie.
  • Ambiguously Human: Pikmin 4 points to the alien protagonists possibly being descendants of mankind. In Shepherd's family journal, her earliest recorded ancestor talks about having to flee to space to find a new homeworld with their dog companions, and another ancestor talks about having to physically change themselves to live on it. The Ancient Sirehound seems to be the ancestor to all Space Dogs (with it sharing 99.999% of its DNA with Oatchi), and seems to have once been a pet to PNF-404's previous inhabitants (who are all but stated to have been humans). While all these clues point to the various people throughout the series, possibly including Hocotatians and Koppaites, as being post-human descendant species, it's not definitively answered in the game.
  • Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Each Captain's antenna glows in a distinct color, allowing players to easily tell the diminutive figures apart.
  • Hero of Another Story: In Pikmin 3, while the Koppaites are running around collecting seeds for their people, Olimar and Louie are running around collecting treasure for Hocotate Freight, which is once again in debt.
  • Hive Queen: Interestingly, the player characters essentially form a Decomposite Character version of this trope along with the Onions. While Onions actually create new Pikmin, the captains are the ones who are able to actually lead them.
  • Lilliputians: All of the playable characters of the series are less than an inch tall, but are otherwise Human Aliens.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: The three captains from Pikmin 3 fall into this. You have the somewhat naïve and energetic Alph (Nice), the Deadpan Snarker food hogger Brittany (Mean) and the mostly nice but stern Charlie (In-Between).
    • Also factors to the pilots from Hocotate. Olimar is very well intended and, even when turned into a Leafling, gives the new lead a fair chance (Nice), the President, while stern, does tend to have good intentions (In-Between), and Louie has been an outright antagonist at least three times (Mean).
  • Promoted to Playable: The third round of Pikmin 3 DLC lets you play as Olimar and Louie, who are otherwise only NPCs in that game.
  • Science Hero: Both Brittany and Alph are experts in biology and engineering respectively, yet are still heroic captains who command the Pikmin. Olimar is a downplayed example in that he isn't officially classified as a scientist, but his notes on PNF 404's flora and fauna go into great detail about their behaviors and makeup, implying that biology-related science is at least a hobby of Olimar's.
  • Walk, Don't Swim: While Blue Pikmin, Moss, and Oatchi are able to swim, the player characters in their spacesuits go right to the bottom.

Hocotate Freight

    Captain Olimar and Louie 

See the Main Characters page.

    The S.S. Dolphin 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_2191.png

Olimar's beloved ship, that suffers misfortune after misfortune right along with him.


  • Cool Starship: Olimar designed and built it himself, and loves it like it's one of his own children, especially since two of its parts were gifts from his children. This only serves to make its eventual fate in 2 and 4 more heartbreaking. Still, it's a splendid little vessel chock-full of remarkable features for a glorified spacefaring delivery truck, including pollutant scrubbers, robotic drones for repair and defense, various forms of renewable energy, powerful weapons, personal comforts like a tanning bed and massage chair, and (if Olimar's part dealer is to be believed), a truly extraordinary bolt.
  • Honest John's Dealership: It's strongly implied in Olimar's notes that some of the Dolphin's parts don't actually do anything useful and the poor captain was scammed into buying expensive parts for no good reason. However, the Dolphin does manage to avoid being The Alleged Starship by actually working very well… assuming all 25 of its mandatory parts are in place, anyway.
  • Pintsized Powerhouse: When taking the game's scale into account, the Dolphin is about the size of a can of soup, but is capable of FTL travel and also has rather unnecessarily powerful weapons aboard.
  • Sapient Ship: Collecting the Analog Computer part makes Olimar note that the Dolphin is both intelligent and quick to anger.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: No matter what Olimar does, fate seems determined to keep him from his pride and joy. After he worked so hard to rebuild it in the first game, it's repossessed in the second and irreparably destroyed in the fourth. However, the best ending of 4 has it repaired and Olimar is able to leave the planet flying it.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Assuming that it works as advertised, the Dolphin's Nova Blaster can blow stars to bits. Olimar offers no justification for having it other than "it has a strange allure," it's an optional part, and the mandatory Guard Satellite part is noted as being better at defending the Dolphin.

    The President 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikmin_the_president.png

The President (real name Le Chacho) in charge of the Hocotate Freight company, and the boss of Olimar and Louie. A very greedy but nonetheless well meaning person who has some poor working conditions for his employees. He is constantly checking up on the captains' progress so the company doesn't go under.


  • Bad Boss: He transitions to this in the Olimar's Comeback side mode in Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Even though they had a very good reason to leave the ship behind, he scolds Olimar and Louie for it and states that he doesn't what to see either of their faces until they get it back. To his credit, he is still incredibly encouraging to his employees and doesn't get terribly mad if they fail a mission.
  • Big Good: Downplayed. He has good intentions, wanting only to have his company be out of debt from Loan Sharks and even going out of his way to help Olimar save Louie while collecting more treasures along the way, but the means to achieve his goals are questioned even by Olimar.
  • The Bus Came Back: After a sixteen-year absence, he returns in the Deluxe version of Pikmin 3 during Olimar and Louie's side story.
  • The Cameo: He appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • Continuity Cameo:
    • In Pikmin 3, Alph and Brittney come across a snowman the Pikmin made of the President, noting it looks a lot like Charlie.
    • In Pikmin 3, the Lucky Marbles in Bingo Battle resemble his head.
  • Cool Old Guy: Has been running Hocotate Freight for over 50 years, and whenever he's not being a Pointy-Haired Boss, he's more than willing to help his employees out, even personally traveling to an uncharted planet to save Louie (and hunt for treasure while he's at it).
  • Demoted to Extra: In 2, he plays a major role in the story in being the one who sends Olimar and Louie to PNF-404, and once the debt is repayed he becomes a playable character from then on out. While Olimar and Louie still make appearances in 3 and 4, the President gets much smaller roles than them and does not even appear in-person in either game. He is only mentioned in the original 3, with his lines being in 3 Deluxe, and in 4 he only makes cameos in some Voyage Log entries.
  • Everyone Calls Him Bar Keep: His real name is Le Chacho, likely a pun on "shachou" ("company president" in Japanese), but it is very rarely mentioned outside of extraneous materials. It does show up in 3 Deluxe, where it's how he signs his letters to Olimar.
  • Greed: He puts making money above all else.
  • Henpecked Husband: He's tough around his workers, but at home, his wife is the one calling the shots; this even gets lampshaded in one of the mails she can send him, where it turns out that the ship reports his activities to her.
    President's Wife: Hey, you think you can loaf because I can't see you? The ship has been reporting everything to me! Are you surprised? That machine knows who the real boss is.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Olimar himself notes that while the boss may have a short temper and odd mannerisms, he's not all bad. The President consistently proves he does sincerely appreciate Olimar's hard work and will even ask him to take it easy if he thinks Olimar is pushing himself too hard. Louie being sent to PNF-404 in 4's timeline was purely because the President tasked him to go find Olimar after they got the distress signal.
  • Mr. Vice Guy: He's quite greedy, sure, but he's more than willing to personally help save Louie (and find more treasure, granted) and for the first half is more concerned about getting out of debt with the All-Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks than making a profit.
  • Older Than They Look: He looks about the same as the other characters, but one e-mail he sends has him state he's been running Hocotate Freight for over 50 years, meaning he could be in his 70's at minimum.
  • Oh, Crap!: His reaction to Louie's report about the ravenous space bunny, and a more positive variant when he finds out that there's more treasure on PNF-404.
  • Mob Debt: Being in debt is bad enough for him, but it only gets worse when he finds out he accidentally took the loan from the All-Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks and they want their money back or bury the President in the swamp. The President spends the first half of the game on the run from the loan sharks, writing letters of his current predicament to Olimar and begging him to hurry up with the treasure collection.
  • Pet the Dog: The President is often overbearing and short-tempered, but there is a soft side that reveals itself every once in a while.
    • In Olimar's Assignment he will happily praise Olimar for a successful mission, even if he only gets a bronze medal.
    • One of the treasure logs in Hey! Pikmin notes that on his first delivery run, the President had Olimar deliver a satchel... To Olimar's wife, since it was a bonus for him and his family despite it being his first day on the job. Olimar notes it's why he stays devoted to him despite his Pointy-Haired Boss tendencies.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: Not horrible, but his treatment of employees is... questionable, and he has dubious management abilities when it comes to Hocotate Freight Company finances. That said, he is still devoted to Olimar and Louie, even personally going to PNF-404 to help rescue Louie.
  • Properly Paranoid: Several letters from him indicate he's running away and living under bridges to dodge the debt collectors, fearing what they'll do to him despite no evidence it will be bad. If you dawdle long enough, they actually will find and kidnap him and threaten to dispose of him in a swamp. You can still take your time, mind you.
  • Reduced to Ratburgers: He subsists of off grass while in hiding from debt collectors once 50% of the debt is repaid, and boasts about being a good grass and root chef.
  • Retired Badass: He claims to have once been a space captain. He comes out of retirement when Louie is left behind.
  • Speaking Simlish: It may be total gibberish, but he is the only character that has full dialogue in Pikmin 2.
  • Tritagonist: He becomes this after the debt is paid and Louie is left stranded on the planet by accident.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In 4, he sends Louie to PNF-404 to rescue Olimar after getting his distress signal. Unfortunately, this action causes the conflict of the second half of 4 since Louie gets in the way of rescuing the Koppai castaways, and then controls the Ancient Sirehound when the Rescue Corps are trying to cure Oatchi, since he wants to stay on the planet. Ironically, though, this same action also prevents Louie from going through with his plan to eat the Golden Pikpik carrot shipment and thus prevents the company from going into debt.
  • Vocal Dissonance: Despite being bigger than both Olimar and Louie, he has a very high-pitched voice.

    The Ship 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hocotate_ship.png

The talking ship with a big ego who is only interested in two things: paying the debt back in full and the President's welfare. Olimar and Louie are seen as lazy bags in his horn. It apparently has a habit of working on advanced material science on the side, and it tends to get snippy whenever the team's finds are more promising than its current project.


  • The Alleged Car: It splutters most of the time and clumsily throws its passengers out every time it lands. By 3, Olimar is sick of how badly it handles and plans to get enough money to buy the Dolphin back.
  • Blatant Lies: The ship often blatantly admits to stretching (or shredding) the truth in its sales pitches.
  • The Cameo:
    • Appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a trophy, when Olimar enters a stage, and when he uses his Final Smash "End of Day". It's also driven during the Subspace Emissary story mode for a brief moment.
    • A model of The Ship appears in Nintendo Land. Since it's just a model, it doesn't speak. This is lampshaded by saying it's probably best for everyone that it doesn't talk.
    • An item in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U is an explosive shaped after the ship.
  • Clown-Car Base: The storage space of the Ship is impressive for something the size of a soda can, capable of storing hundreds of treasures and creature carcasses, and several hundred Purple and White Pikmin as well. Even with just the Research Pod detached, it doesn't affect its storage capacity, though it does need to empty out its cargo hold in order to escape from a cave with the team.
  • Cool Starship: The ship may have clearly seen better days, but it's still an effective spaceship capable of interstellar travel with tons of cool utilities. Pay off the debt, and it gets a cool plating made out of gold! And it should be noted that it managed to make two expeditions in and out of PNF-404 without crashing either of those times, a feat few other ships are able to attest to.
  • Deadpan Snarker: It likes to make snarky one-liners.
  • Do-Anything Robot: It's a ship A.I., but it also does a lot of stuff that should be outside of its programmed parameters, like using treasures to upgrade equipment. It also seems to be an inventor in its free time, and even comes up with Sales Pitches for the treasures.
    "I am not just a ship... I am an all-purpose support pod!"
  • Drone Deployer: The ship's nose cone can detach from the main body, referred to as the Research Pod, in order to follow Olimar and Louie into caves and help with collecting treasures.
  • Exposition Fairy: Serves as this in Pikmin 2, providing exposition on early game mechanics and giving a heads-up as to what to expect in each cavern.
  • Hidden Depths: Some of the upgrades it can make are apparently things it has been working for a while before arriving on the Pikmin planet, with the treasures it uses simply being used to add the finishing touches. Among the things it has in the works are electricity resistant material and a synthetic sun.
  • Jerkass: It forcibly ejects people from the cabin, whines about storing specimens, lies about treasures to both Olimar and potential customers, is cowardly about entering one of the dungeons, and constantly chastises Olimar.
  • Jerkass to One: The ship always checks on Louie to make sure he's alright and instructs him on how to work with the Pikmin, and is loyal and protective to the President. When it comes to Olimar, however, it's critical of everything the man does and chastises him any chance it gets.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite its rough attitude, it does care for the employees of Hocotate Freight. It urges the captains to rest now and then and, whenever Louie is found after being lost, asks after his life signs and seems concerned about his safety.
  • No Name Given: It's never referred to by name like other ships in the series, simply called "the ship" or "Hocotate Freight ship" - in the Japanese version, however, it's referred to as the "S.S. Dolphin first model," indicating it's an outdated member of the Dolphin's line of ships.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: One of the few times it completely drops its snarky attitude is in the player's first encounter with the Waterwraith, where upon failing to analyze the creature, it glitches out and just repeats "Danger! Danger! Danger!".
  • Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: Despite perpetually being on the brink of debt, Hocotate Freight is able to maintain a sentient AI for one of their ship.
  • Rags to Riches: Gets Gold-Plated after re-paying the debt. But in Pikmin 3, it's back to 'rags'.
  • The Smart Guy: Its role on the expedition of Pikmin 2. It provides vital information on what to look forward to in caves, keeps an eye out for the Captains' vital signs, and incorporates upgrades into their suits. A lot of the upgrade commentary implies it works on scientific projects in its free time, too.
  • Snake Oil Salesman: Its Treasure Pitches reek of this, as it's not afraid to outright make up information for the sake of making a profit.
"You've collected the Crystallized Emotion Series! With a flashy name, you can sell anything!"
  • Snarky Inanimate Object: It has a rather sarcastic personality, and often remarks on its nature as an electronic device.
  • Tin Man: At least Played for Laughs, as the ship will often be heard in the sales pitches lamenting the fact that it can't do things like taste food due to being a machine.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The ship is not happy when you stuff a creature into its hatch as it would only cough out a small morsel of pokos when you stuff one in, and actually berates you the first time you do it. It especially hates bugs, being incredibly relieved when the Beady Long Legs disintegrates, and offering bargains on the Bug Bait treasure just so it can get rid of it.


Koppai Expedition Team

    Alph 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikmin_alph.png

One of the three protagonists of Pikmin 3, Alph is an engineer whose grandfather designed the S.S. Drake. He was presumably brought along since he knows the most about it and in case it needed tune-ups along the way. He gets separated from the rest of the group when the ship crashes on the planet.


  • Affectionate Nickname: Brittany calls him "Alphie".
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: His name comes from "Alpha", the first letter in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Blue.
  • Does Not Like Spam: In Brittany's notes on the fruit they bring back, she'll note that Alph isn't exactly big on a lot of them. Most notably are the Heroine's Tear (a mango), which he appears to be allergic to, and the Scaly Custard (an avocado). He's also not fond of vegetables, and finds it hard to believe Brittany when she states most Hocotatians live a vegetarian lifestyle.
  • The Engineer: Alph's role in the mission. His grandfather designed the S.S. Drake, and Alph learned a lot about engineering from him.
  • Hero-Worshipper: He looks up to Charlie for whatever reason.
  • Kid Hero: He appears to look younger than his two companions and Olimar himself, though whether he's a kid or a young adult is unknown.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: In one of his notes, Alph will mention how he has twelve older brothers, one older sister, and one younger brother.
  • Meaningful Name: Alph is a contraction of Alpha, or "the first". Apart from the brief sequence with Charlie, he is the first captain you control in Pikmin 3.
  • Only Sane Man: Between Brittany's hyper-focus on fruit and wanting to tame several of the planet's creatures and Charlie wanting to punch every enemy he comes across, Alph usually has some of the more down to earth reactions when it comes to the planet's creatures.
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The Blue Boy to Brittany's Pink Girl.
  • Science Hero: Alph's engineering skills are highly praised by both Charlie and Brittany over the course of their adventure, and he's the most resourceful of the Koppaite Crew.
  • Shared Family Quirks: His family seems to share his expertise in engineering, as his grandfather designed the S.S. Drake and his eldest brother Yorke is also a tech expert himself.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of the three playable characters of Pikmin 3, he resembles Olimar the most despite being a lot younger.
  • Rapid-Fire "No!": One of his quotes when running away from an enemy is simply: Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!
  • The Smart Guy: A promising young engineer who takes the most interest in the ship's functions and upgrading it's communication systems.
  • Youthful Freckles: He is implied to be the youngest of the playable cast by a few years, and is also the only one to have freckles.

    Brittany 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikmin_brittany.png

One of the three protagonists of Pikmin 3, Brittany is a botanist who was brought along to determine if the fruit they find on the planet is edible or not. Like Alph, she gets separated from the group when the ship crash-lands, and is found in the Garden of Hope.


  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: Her name seems to come from "Bravo", the second letter in the NATO phonetic alphabet
  • Berserk Button: While getting their food supply stolen is a legitimate problem for everyone, she seems to take an almost personal amount of offense to it.
  • Big Eater:
    • She is described as strong-willed, but gluttonous. Occasionally, she'll mention in her "end of day" notes that she secretly shortens the rations of Alph and/or Charlie every now and then so she can have more to herself. She's also the one to take the most offense to Louie stealing their juice supply. She'll sometimes comment on how having any amount of extra juice at the end of each day is "a little bit of a juice buffer". Even if you have two whole months of juice stocked up, that apparently isn't that much to her.
    • Her notes on the Quaggled Mireclops has her attempting to lick its fruit like head. If her note is anything to go by, this wasn't the first time she tried to lick one of the enemies on the planet.
  • Brutal Honesty: Brittany has a problem with stating things rather bluntly, especially in regards to Charlie. Notably, if you lose a lot of Pikmin and listen to the group talk in the ship the next day, Charlie will feel like it's his fault, and while Alph tries to reassure him it's not, Brittany completely agrees with him.
  • The Cameo: Brittany appears as a trophy in the fourth Super Smash Bros. game. She is also a spirit in the fifth one.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Red/Pink.
  • Cuteness Proximity: Every now and then she'll go off on a tangent during her scientific analyses of the Pikmin to say how cute they are. She also has an unprofessional opinion on the resemblance of peaches and plums to a baby's buttocks.
  • Designated Point Man: She's the default leader that the Pikmin carrying Olimar will follow when transporting him back to the Drake, meaning that she's the one that the Eldritch Abomination Final Boss will most likely be coming after throughout the level.
  • Does Not Like Spam:
    • Despite being a Big Eater and the one most willing to try all the new fruit they bring in, one of the conversations aboard the Drake will have Alph and Brittany discuss Hocotate and its famous Pikpik Carrots, and she'll state that she wasn't big on them before trying one, but then says her position as a botanist forced her to at least give it a chance. When Alph asks her how it tasted, she states it "was rather gross" and she didn't like it.
    • If you collect all the fruit and exhaust the entire juice supply, she'll say that they're in a real pickle. She then says she hates pickles.
  • Fluffy Tamer: Several of her notes has her wishing she could tame several of the creatures on the planet for rather mundane reasons.
  • Hypocritical Humor: She calls out Louie for being a glutton. To her credit, she is a bit lower on the Big Eater scale than him.
  • The Lancer: She fills this role in the Koppai crew, playing as a foil to both Alph and Charlie during group discussions.
  • Like Is, Like, a Comma: Her quote when running low on fruit has her fall into this trope.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Brittany is rude, snarky, a glutton, and enjoys making fun of Alph and Charlie (mainly the latter). However, she is also taking on a dangerous mission to save her planet from starving and does sincerely care for her comrades a lot (albeit leaving most of her niceness for Alph).
  • Maiden Aunt: Brittany will often talk about her 'Auntie Bea' in her notes on the many fruits they discover on the planet, who, from what Brittany describes of her, has traits of this trope.
  • Meaningful Name: Brittany's name starts with B, the second letter of the phonetic alphabet. She is the second captain you control in Pikmin 3.
  • Ms. Vice Girl: She is very gluttonous, but her heart is in the right place.
  • Odd Name Out: Alph's name is very close to his NATO alphabetical namesake (Alpha) and Charlie's name is is flat out the same as his corresponding NATO letter (Charlie), but Brittany's name deviates far from hers (Bravo).
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The Pink Girl to Alph's Blue Boy.
  • Science Hero: She's officially classified as the Koppaite Crew's biologist, and provides notes on not just the creatures on PNF-404, but also the kinds of fruit they obtain for their home planet during the game's events. That being said, her notes aren't exactly as detailed or analytical as one would expect from her position, which she meekly admits.
  • Smart People Wear Glasses: She appears to be the smartest of the three (though Alph is quite the engineer), so of course she wears glasses.
  • The Smurfette Principle: So far the only female playable captain in the series (customizable Rookie notwithstanding)
  • Valley Girl: Though not as bad as some offenders to this trope, she does occasionally slip into this. See Like Is, Like, a Comma above.

    Charlie 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikmin_charlie.png
Voiced by: Takashi Nagasako
One of the three protagonists of Pikmin 3, Charlie is the main captain of this mission. Like the rest, he gets separated from the group when the ship crash-lands. Unlike Alph and Brittany, however, he lands in a completely different region than they do and discovers Yellow Pikmin first. After wandering around for a bit, he stumbles upon a cave that houses some rather bizarre and hostile creatures...
  • A Father to His Men:
    • Despite being the resident Butt-Monkey of the group, it's made clear through his many notes in Deluxe that he genuinely cares about the safety of his crew. He never even bites back at some of the snarky comments made at his expense by his crew. The only time he's mentioned snapping at one of them was when Brittany tried to lick the head of the Quaggled Mireclops, and that was mainly because they didn't know where it had been and/or if it was potentially poisonous.
    • He also is among the three captains who is the most respectful of what the Pikmin do for them. A great example is if the player loses a large amount of Pikmin on one day, where he holds a moment of silence for all of them.
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: His name is the third letter in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
  • The Big Guy: He's notable for being the largest captain of them all in the series (though Pikmin 4 lets players give the Rookie his body type).
  • Butt-Monkey: He's often on the receiving end of the game's humor, especially in conversations between the three captains. Alph and Brittany constantly interrupt his speeches as if they don't even realize he's talking, and Brittany even mentions giving him the smallest shares of food.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Despite being the Butt-Monkey of the group, he isn't afraid to put his foot down in order to keep his crew safe. A notable example is keeping Brittany from trying to taste the Quaggled Mireclops fruit-like head. If Brittany's note on the subject is anything to go by, this isn't the first time he's had to do this, either.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Green. Brittany's comments in the Fruit File claim it goes a bit further than the other captains, because he's painted a lot of his things, from his room to (purportedly) his dog, the same lime green as the Dawn Pustules.
  • Decoy Protagonist: The game sets him up as the protagonist at first, being the first character you play as in the tutorial, and being the head captain of the team. He quickly gets captured by the Vehemoth Phosbat after the level ends however, and doesn't appear until midway through the game after getting rescued, with a lot of the time in-between being taken up by Alph instead.
  • Distressed Dude: For a short period of time, he spends some time trapped in the Vehemoth Phosbat's stomach. Lucky for him, Brittany and Alph come to his rescue.
  • Dub Personality Change: As the Check In text shows, Charlie is a lot more dim-witted and prone to outbursts in the North American English version than he is in the British version.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Charlie actually is considered a great hero on Koppai, and Alph describes him as "one of Koppai's greatest legends". He also does show himself to be a rather competent leader of the crew in the game on several occasions, (getting eaten by the Phosbat aside...) and treats the Pikmin with the most respect of any captain in the series in his notes. Despite this, whenever he's in a conversation with the other crew members, he's often the designated Butt-Monkey.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Charlie might be a hot-blooded and hungry Koppaite willing to take down any creature on PNF-404 to get at the fruit on its surface. However, he considers trying to harvest the corpses of the creatures they kill for food sources to be a bridge too far, especially since he and his crew don't really know where they've been. He may actually have a point with this too, since Louie is a good example of what happens if you go full-blown Extreme Omnivore on an alien planet.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: A lot of his notes on the enemies of the planet mention him trying to take them on with his bare fists.
  • The Greatest Story Never Told: Through Alph; he says that Charlie is a legendary hero who has has successfully completed dangerous operations… all involving rubber ducks. Brittany doesn't think that's very remarkable of him.
  • Hot-Blooded: A lot of his notes mention that he tries to fight several of the enemies on the planet with his bare fist. His notes on the Pyroclasmic Slooch even have him call himself this by name. This same note also alludes that this is also why Brittany holds such a low opinion of him.
  • The Leader: He's the captain of the team.
  • Meaningful Name: Charlie's name starts with C, the third letter of the phonetic alphabet. He is the third captain you control in Pikmin 3.
  • My Greatest Failure: If you lose a huge amount of Pikmin in one day, Charlie will take it the hardest.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: He apparently paints his nails- lime green, according to Brittany.
  • Security Blanket: Takes a rubber ducky with him on every mission because he considers it good luck. For some reason, the rubber ducky gets taken away by Louie when he's rescued. It's enough for Charlie to consider it more heinous than stealing all of their food rations.
  • Swallowed Whole: This is what the Vehemoth Phosbat did to him. He comes out alive after the perpetrator is defeated.
  • Top-Heavy Guy: His body type is a lot more top-heavy than the standard explorer body types, with somewhat exaggerated shoulders.
  • War Hero: Charlie is stated to have been a space ranger in his backstory, and is considered to be a legendary figure on Koppai. His notes on the creatures of PNF 404 also imply he has some skill in preparing battle strategy.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: He first thought the Yellow Pikmin were hostile aliens and tried throwing them away and whistling to scare them off. He soon realizes they are harmless. To him, anyways.

The Rescue Corps

    General 
A crack team of rescuers who have locked on to Captain Olimar's distress signal, heading out to PNF-404 to save him... and crash landing in the process, requiring one of their rookie members to come rescue them.
  • Animal Theme Naming: They're all named after different dog breeds.
  • Character Customization: The color of spacesuit you select for the Rookie will also be the color of all Rescue Corps Members space suits, Oatchi's collar, and will be the highlighting color of pretty much everything attached to them.
  • Cool Starship:
    • The S.S. Shepherd, a big starliner that is the biggest spaceship in the entire series. Repairing it is one of the main goals of Pikmin 4, upgrading its capabilities with sparklium laced treasure in order to improve its radar and unlock new areas to explore.
    • The S.S. Beagle, inversely, is the smallest ship in the series, a pod about the size of the previous games SPEROs and Research Pod. It can follow your character anywhere it's needed, including to new base locations and into caves, and comes equipped with a way to process materials into useful items.
  • Distressed Dude: One of the game's goals is recovering the missing crew members. They're all found in caves, having gone in there to escape the planet's hostile nocturnal wildlife. After Olimar is rescued, it's revealed that Oatchi has developed a condition that prevents him from leaving the planet, and one of the objectives is to find a cure for him.
  • Irony: There is a definite irony in the Rescue Corps needing to be rescued.
  • Keep the Reward: One log in the demo has Shepherd note her father (the previous captain) had this attitude, refusing any rewards for succesfully completed rescue missions. The Rescue Corps is broke as a result. Dingo suggests they sell the treasures they got... so they can make the Shepherd have a golden-plate color. Erma says no, stating it looks better in chrome.
  • Mission Control: The Corps members act as this for your expeditions (mainly Collin and Shepherd), providing you with status updates and commentary on whatever you find in your search for treasures and Castaways.
  • Non-Action Guy: Outside of the Rookie and Dingo, the Rescue Corps stays behind at base while you go out and deal with PNF-404's wildlife. They support you instead by acting as mission control, providing handy upgrades for Oatchi and your suits, and taking care of the Castaways you've retrieved. It's averted for Shepherd and Collin in the Dandori Battle mode, however, where they are available as character options for Player One.
  • No One Gets Left Behind: The Rescue Corps has a policy of never leaving anyone behind, and that includes Oatchi; When he's unable to leave the planet due to his condition on the threat of death, the crew searches for a cure for him.
  • Signing Off Catchphrase: They cap off their strategy meetings with a "Copy that!". The Rookie is usually given the option to either respond with it... or choose a different response in order to annoy the Corps, or just use it when it's not appropriate.

    The Rookie 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/you_walking.png
Default appearance and appearance used in promotional materials.
A Rescue Corps rookie who goes to the planet to rescue their fellow Rescue Corps superiors and Olimar.
  • Character Customization: Their name, apparent gender, and physical appearance are customizable by the player.
  • Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Their name is decided by the player.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: Oatchi the Rescue Pup is, alongside the Pikmin, one of their main allies. Shepherd and Collin express surprise at how trusting he is of them, as he usually only listens to the captain.
  • Heroic Mime: Other than responding with short answers, they don't say much.
  • Player Character: They are the protagonist of 4 and the first customizable avatar to be the main character.

    Oatchi 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1280px_oatchirender.png

A Rescue Pup that accompanies your captain in Pikmin 4, serving as an indispensible companion that can help the Pikmin carry treasure, destroy obstacles, be ridden on in order to cross dangerous terrain, and even act as a second captain.


  • Amplified Animal Aptitude: Once the player gains the ability to play as Oatchi, he proves to be just as intelligent as any of the captains, being able to whistle and even throw Pikmin.
  • Armless Biped: His body structure, much like the Grub-dog family, is a big body with only two legs to stand on.
  • Attack Animal: Oatchi can attack enemies alongside Pikmin, and his bite can be upgraded to deal more damage.
  • Badass Adorable: Adorable, excitable, and not afraid to throw down with the toughest of creatures.
  • Big Friendly Dog: Big in comparison to the Captains and the Pikmin. He's big enough that you and all of your Pikmin can ride on him, and he's perfectly friendly. He actually starts off smaller than the player character before hitting a growth spurt after the second in-game day.
  • Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": He's a "dog", which in the Pikmin universe appear to be bug-sized waddling heads with only two legs and an antennae shaped tail. He at least has a fair amount of "dog" qualities to him, such as barking, a great sense of smell, and the friendly demeanor dogs are known for. When discovering a treasure that's a photograph of two real dogs, Collin remarks that they remind him of Oatchi, despite real life dogs being a seemingly unknown species to any of the Captains.
  • Canine Companion: The Rescue Corps' big, friendly and capable canine member.
  • Expy:
    • He's a animal helper introduced in the fourth entry of a game that did not have them before. Characters ride on him, giving them unique movement options. He lacks a long tongue, but he can swallow things whole for transportation. Olimar in the intro to Pikmin 4 rides a similarly green-colored dog-creature. Just as Olimar is based after Mario, Oatchi is based off Yoshi. Even the name rhymes!
    • He's also essentially a reskinned Bulborb that's been Promoted to Playable.
  • Foe-Tossing Charge: Oatchi can use Rush to charge forward. This can be done to break obstacles, knock objects loose, move against conveyor belts, and instantly cover enemies with all of your Pikmin.
  • Good Counterpart: As part of the callback behind the naming convention of Bulborbs, Oatchi very much resembles them in body structure and can attack via bites. Unlike the Grub-Dog family though, Oatchi is friendly and helpful.
  • I Got Bigger: He starts off small by the intro sections, but after two days undergoes a growth spurt overnight, which helps him do and learn more actions.
  • Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Downplayed. While he doesn't look exactly like Moss or the Ancient Sirehound, it is quite strange that his species evolved in such a way to be nearly identical to them despite coming from very different and distant planets.
  • Mythology Gag: All the way back in the first game, Olimar notes that the Grub-dogs (the family the Bulborbs fall under) resemble his dog, Bulbie. While this may not be his dog, Oatchi does indeed resemble a Grub-dog in body structure, as a waddling head with two thin legs.
  • The Nose Knows: His main job is sniffing out missing castaways, but he can be charged with sniffing out other things like treasures and stray Pikmin.
  • The Noseless: Despite having no visible nose on his snout, Oatchi must have nostrils at least, given his tracking aptitude.
  • Plant Person: Non-humanoid example. Oatchi winds up growing a leaf on his tail while he's on PNF-404 as he adapts to the climate. This poses problems for the Rescue Corps, as his transformation means he won't survive outside of PNF-404's atmosphere.
  • Power Up Mount: The player and the Pikmin can ride on Oatchi to jump over small ledges and cross bodies of water after he learns to swim.
  • Precious Puppy: He's extremely cute and loyal before and after he loses the 'puppy' part after an overnight growth spurt.
  • Rapid Aging: At the very beginning of the game, Oatchi is about the same size as the explorers. However, after one of the first nights, Oatchi grows twice his size overnight. According to Shepherd, this is quite common for his breed, as it's a sign that he's fully grown.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: He's an adorably friendly dog-shaped alien puppy, and he has plenty of idle animations that even have him playing with the Pikmin.
  • Team Pet: For the Rescue Corps, though he's just as valuable a member as the humanoid crew.
  • The Strength of Ten Men: Literally. Oatchi is as strong as three Pikmin by default, but his strength can be upgraded to match that of five, ten, twenty, thirty, or even one hundred Pikmin.

    Erma Shepherd 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shepherd.png
The captain of the S.S. Shepherd, and Oatchi's owner and trainer. She leads the team on the expedition to save Captain Olimar, and aids you by training Oatchi and upgrading his abilities.
  • A Father to His Men: She's quite protective of her troops, ensuring rescued members are alright when retrieved, and she makes it priority number one to rescue all the Rescue Corp members.
  • Commonality Connection: She bonds with Olimar over their shared adoration for dogs.
  • Cowardly Lion: She's introduced cowering away from a trio of Bulborb Larva,note  and cowers behind Collin when first meeting the Pikmin, but she's the otherwise competent leader of the Rescue Corps.
  • Didn't See That Coming: A minor one, but seeing Oatchi being commanded by the Rookie than just her. Although, she was planning to find someone who could do well with Rescue Pups.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: She was saved by a Rescue Pup when she was a kid, which inspired a love for the creatures and made her take up the role of a trainer. Oatchi belongs to her, and she's plenty happy to give him more training to improve his capabilities.
  • Heroic Lineage: The current Captain Shepherd is the 99th descendant in a long line of Shepherds, all of whom have served as members of the Rescue Corps.
  • Last-Name Basis: She is known as Shepherd throughout the Corps, but some Rescue Journal entries reveal her first name to be Erma, as the current captain in command.
  • The Leader: She's the leader of the Rescue Corps, but the player is the one who gets into the action.
  • Only One Name: Inverted, she's one of the only known characters with a first and last name. Her ancestors also get the same treatment.
  • Punny Name: German Shepherd; a dog breed. Can also be read as "I'm a shepherd", which is a pretty apt description for how Captains command herds of Pikmin with a whistle.
  • Sarcasm-Blind: Tends to take the less serious comments of her squad (especially Collin, and to a lesser degree Dingo) seriously.
  • The Smurfette Principle: She is the only woman on the Rescue Squad, aside from the Rookie depending on how the player presents them.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's implied to be scared of the Pikmin. The first meeting with the Red Pikmin has her cowering behind Collin the entire time, while one after-expedition dialogue has her suffer from a nightmare about them invading the S.S. Shepherd. It doesn't stop her from working with them in Dandori Battles, though.

    Collin 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collin_29.png
The Rescue Corps Comms Officer and mechanic. He's the first castaway you find, aiding you by managing your daytime explorations.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He's not overtly sarcastic, but he tends to make some remarks under his breath to express annoyance at his situation.
  • The Engineer: Not to Alph's level, but he's the one doing most of the repairs on the S.S. Shepherd.
  • Exposition Fairy: Fitting his job as the Communications Officer, he's usually the one explaining game mechanics and nudging the player on what to do next.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: Every time a Leafling is brought to the S.S Shepard, Collin will always try do identify who it is before curing them, even though it never works.
  • Famous Last Words: He quotes the trope verbatim when going to check on the smoke billowing S.S. Shepherd. He survives.
  • Jack of All Trades: He picked up a lot of odd jobs in order to pay for college before he joined the corps, meaning he can do a little bit of everything.
  • Meaningful Appearance: His appearance is similar to that of a ventriloquist's dummy, fitting for someone whose job is relaying messages throughout the Rescue Corps.
  • Mission Control: He acts as this for the player, being the one in charge of helping the rookie set out on expeditions and filling them in on the latest developments.
  • Punny Name: Collie. It also sounds a lot like "calling," which is apropos for a communications officer.
  • Straight Man: In the end-of-day conversations, he usually tends to play the straight man to offset the quirks of the others.

    Russ 
The Rescue Corps' resident scientist, found in a cave in the Sun-Speckled Terrace. He enables the use of Raw Materials for building bridges, making items, and upgrading the Rookie's gear.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: He loves to build and show off various gadgets for making exploration easier. Shepherd tries to dissuade him from doing the latter on the Rescue Corps.
  • Opaque Lenses: His character model has completely opaque glasses.
  • Punny Name: Russel Terrier.
  • Signature Laugh: "Kee-hee!"
  • The Smart Guy: He's got his research role for a reason, after all, where he figures out how to convert Raw Materials into things other than clay for upgrades and items, meaning he discovered that it can be transmuted into metal, chemicals, and edible matter at least.
  • Voice Changeling: At one point, Russ creates a gadget that can have him perfectly mimic anybody's voice, which he gleefully use to insult Shepard using Collin's voice. Shepard is so unimpressed that she immediately bans any further usage of it.

    Dingo 
The Rescue Corps ranger, found in a cave in the Sun-Speckled Terrace. He specializes in solo missions and can lend a helping hand during certain Dandori trials and battles.
  • Dirty Coward: He left Bernard behind to be transformed into a Leafling when they were trying to escape. Though he does regret it and he tries to own up about it to Bernard... then it turns out Bernard doesn't even remember the incident and instead was miffed at him for eating his pizza.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Not quite to the extent of Louie, but Dingo has become rather infamous among the Rescue Corps for his willingness to blindly drink just about anything he sees lying around, something Yonny exploits by deliberately leaving his chemicals and tinctures around the S.S Shepherd and recording what happens to Dingo when he drinks them.
  • Filching Food for Fun: He has a habit of grabbing any drink he sees and drinking it without considering if it belongs to someone else. Yonny takes advantage of this by feeding him some of his concoctions to experiment on him.
  • Fiery Redhead: He has short spiky red hair with a hotblooded personality to match.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: Inverted. He's not that fond of Oatchi compared to the rest of the Rescue Corps, stemming from an incident in his youth where he got chased around by a Rescue Dog when he was being rescued.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his Miles Gloriosus and Dirty Coward tendencies, he'll help you out in person if he sees you struggling with certain challenges. He's also the first one to suggest using all the treasure the Rescue Corps collected to buy Olimar a new ship.
  • Mad Bomber: Downplayed as he's more of a coward than insane, but his go to "strategy" for completing Night Expeditions that prove too dificult for the Rookie is to unload as many Bomb Rocks as possible against anything that moves until everything is dead, no Glow Pikmin required.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Tagging him in to solve a Night Expedition is never shown onscreen. All you get to hear are a variety of cartoonish sound effects as he blows up everything in sight. It's to the point the Glow Pikmin apparently don't even notice he's there.
  • Punny Name: Subverted; rather than a play on a dog breed name like most of the new characters, he's flat out named after the dingo.

    Bernard 
The Rescue Corps pilot. He was initially with Dingo before an encounter with a Leafling caused them to separate, leaving his fate initially unknown once Dingo is rescued.
  • Ace Pilot: Shepherd hired him specifically because he could back up his boast about being the fastest pilot in the galaxy, delivering a package for her in two days less than everyone else. He's even noted to have performed a 20,000 hour flightnote  on his own.
  • Bait-and-Switch: After being rescued, it seems like he's being overly sarcastic about Dingo abandoning him by heavily enunciating several key words which freaks Dingo out. Turns out he's actually angry about his pizza getting stolen and not only has no idea about what Dingo did, talking to him afterwards reveals he just normally talks like that.
  • Forced Transformation: He's one of the Leaflings that has to be rescued through Dandori Battle and then cured.
  • Punny Name: Bernard as in the dog breed St. Bernard.
  • Suddenly Shouting: Random words in his sentences will be capitalized. Sometimes it's for emphasis, but other times it just seems to be a tic.
  • Tranquil Fury: Implies that he knows Dingo abandoned him to save his own skin and frequently gives subtle jabs towards the ranger for it. In reality, it was because Dingo ate his pizza. He really didn't realize he was abandoned by Dingo.
  • Unknown Rival: One of the castaways, Santi, has a grudge against him due to constantly running into each other throughout their life, including being born in the same hospital. He doesn't seem to notice this, and thinks of him as the other half of the "Dynamic Duo" they used to be when they worked together as pilots.

    Yonny 
The Rescue Corps doctor, who Shepherd said can figure out how to save castaways from their Leafling transformations. He allows access to night expeditions once rescued.
  • Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: He has green hair and his main role in game is working with the green Glow Sap.
  • Bookworm: Shepherd notes he's an avid reader, and has a massive collection. The problem is he exclusively reads paperbacks, which take up space, and once tried to bring in 27 shelves full of them into the S.S. Shepherd.
  • Creepy Good: His Mad Scientist tendencies can make him pretty off-putting, but he's ultimately dedicated to curing the Leaflings of their condition. Leave the planet with some Leaflings left to be cured, and he'll lament the fact before lift-off.
  • Evil Laugh: Apparently lets out sinister sounding laughs when working on experiments. The Rescue Corps just pretend not to hear it.
  • Mad Scientist: His colleague Russ is an eccentric, but Yonny's borderline Nightmare Fetishist dialogue pushes him even further than his fellow scientist. He's still wholly benevolent, if rather off-kilter.
  • The Medic: He's the team's doctor, and figures out a way to cure Leaflings using Glow Sap.
  • Mission Control: Yonny's usually the one guiding you through a Night Expedition alongside Shepherd.
  • Punny Name: Yonny is named after the dog breed papillon. It also sounds like "yawn-y", which is fitting as he handles the Night Expeditions.

The Castaways

    General 
Olimar's distress signal didn't just reach the Rescue Corps. Dozens of people from all walks of life have managed to pick it up alongside his Voyage Log, and decided to come to PNF-404 to explore the planet for their own purposes. You can probably guess what happens next.
  • Ambiguously Related:
    • Schauz's appraisals are remarkably similar to the Hocotate Ship's way of speaking and his notes on the Citrus Lump mirrors Olimar's comparison of it to the president's head, whereas Schnauz thinks it looks like the face of "a shrewd friend", suggesting he wrote the appraisal AI used on the Hocotate Ship.
    • Nelle the veterinarian from Koppai is mentioned to be related to a famous botanist, who is heavily implied to be Brittany. It's pretty likely that she is related, considering that her co-worker Yorke is stated to be Dr. Drake's grandson and mentions his thirteenth younger brother who is adept with machines (meaning he's Alph's older brother) and she also resembles Brittany a fair bit. Don Bergman slightly resembles Charlie, at that, but he isn't directly mentioned to be related to him. However it is mentioned how he had a rivalry with someone who went by the nickname "Ducky", which could have been Charlie (considering his love of rubber ducks and general duck motif).
  • Character Customization: Puddle acts as the venue for changing the player's appearance after the initial ID creation at the beginning of the game. Eventually after rescuing enough Leaflings, he offers a cosmetic option to play as a Leafling.
  • Distressed Dude: They've all crashed on PNF-404, and are now in need of rescuing. Most of them have hidden themselves in caves to escape the nocturnal wildlife, with the exceptions being those who have already been leafyfied and wander the surface near their own caves.
  • Friend to All Living Things: Dalmo is this without a doubt. To quote his bio: "he loves animals, and they love him". Receiving Olimar's message encourages him to travel to PNF-404 to meet alien animals, and many of his Piklopedia comments have him gush over the planet's creatures.
  • Monster Compendium: Dalmo unlocks, hosts, and updates the Piklopedia after you rescue him.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Dalmo fawns over all of the animals in the Piklopedia, no matter how gross, creepy or dangerous they are.
  • Punny Name: Almost every name is some sort of pun or reference to a dog breed.
  • Sidequest: They're the main source of these in the game, and will reward you with material for completing them. Kingsly and Francois are unique in that their sidequests (Bloom and grow 300 Pikmin respectively) are repeatable, giving you an easy source of material in the event you happen to exhaust your supply.
  • Skewed Priorities: The response these people had to someone sending a distress signal while stranded on a dangerous planet was to come in throves to visit. Some groups are a bit better about this, like researchers who would want to investigate an uncharted planet, but while someone is currently already stranded there?


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