Editing SPERO

{{game icons|p3=y}}
[[File:SPERO2.png|thumb|125px|A SPERO.]]
'''SPERO'''s ({{j|無人探査機スパロウ|Mujin tansa-ki Suparō|Unmanned probe Sparrow}}) are intergalactic unmanned probes built and launched by the [[Koppai]]tes. Their function is to search out planets that harbor edible matter; in the case of the Koppaites, this means [[fruit]]. Many SPEROs were built, yet only one of the last few dispatched actually managed to find [[PNF-404|a planet]] with suitable food.

Besides being plot devices, SPEROs serve a purpose in [[Mission Mode]] and the [[Side Stories]]. They are used as a storage device for the [[fruit]]s, treasures and [[enemies]] collected in [[Collect Treasure!]] stages, comparable to the [[Hocotate ship|ship's]] Research Pod in underground areas in ''[[Pikmin 2]]''. Besides that, it can collect [[Burgeoning Spiderwort]] berries and bring [[Louie]] back to consciousness when he is carried to one, meaning that it can appear in Battle Enemies! stages as well. In some Side Stories stages, it can also collect [[ship part]]s. It does not have other functions besides collecting, and stays in one location throughout the mission.

In the [[Side Stories]], [[Olimar]] and [[Louie]] use a SPERO to collect treasure, meaning that they may be used by Hocotatians as well as Koppaites.

==Locations==
As stated above, a SPERO appears in all Collect Treasure! stages in [[Mission Mode]], near the starting point of one of the leaders. It also appears in the following Battle Enemies! stages:

*[[Tropical Wilds Remix]], at the starting point
*[[Garden of Hope Remix]], at the starting point
*[[Fortress of Festivity]], slightly to the north of the starting point
*[[Beastly Caverns]], at the center, near the Blue Onion
*[[Forgotten Cove]], at the center, near the Master Onion
*[[Clockwork Chasm]], at the starting point

==Naming==
"SPERO" is pronounced like "{{w|sparrow}}", as proven by the introduction [[cutscene]] in {{p3}}. As such, both the SPEROs and the [[S.S. Drake]] appear to be named after birds. Because the name is written in all caps, it is most likely an acronym, albeit an unknown one. Interestingly, SPERO also means "I hope" in Italian. Given the probes' mission, it seems fitting.

===Names in other languages===
{{foreignname
|Jap=無人探査機スパロウ
|JapR=Mujin tansa-ki Suparō
|JapM=Unmanned probe Sparrow
|ChiTrad=史帕羅
|ChiTradR=Shǐpàluó
|ChiTradM=Sparrow
|ChiSimp=史帕罗
|ChiSimpR=Shǐpàluó
|ChiSimpM=Sparrow
|Fra=SPERO
|FraM=-
|Ger=SPERO
|GerM=-
|Ita=SPERO
|ItaM=-
|Kor=스패로우
|KorR=Seupaerou
|KorM=Sparrow
|Spa=SPERO
|SpaM=-
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
SPEROs.png|SPEROs searching for other planets with edible food for Koppai, from the game's introduction [[cutscene]].
Pikmin 3 SPERO artwork.jpg|Official art of the SPERO from one of Nintendo's magazines.
P3 Tropical Forest Remix 4.jpg|A SPERO in [[Tropical Forest Remix]].
P3D Flower Garden Start.jpg|A SPERO in [[Flower Garden]].
</gallery>

==Trivia==
[[File:SPERO texture text.png|thumb|200px|Part of the SPERO's texture, showing the Koppaite text.]]
*The lens frame at the front of the SPERO has [[Koppaite text]] on it that reads "Automatic Ultrascope". This is a [[reference]] to the Automatic Ultra Scope, the Japanese name of a toy periscope released by Nintendo in 1971.{{cite web|http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/06/nintendo-automatic-ultra-scope-ultra.html|Nintendo Automatic Ultra Scope / Ultra Cope|beforemario's blog}} The text is too small to read normally, but can be seen on the device's texture.

==See also==
*[[Research Pod]]

==References==
{{refs}}

{{characters}}

[[Category:Ships]]