Editing Secret File

{{game icons|p3=y}}
[[File:SecretMemoTropicalWilds.png|thumb|300px|A Secret File found in the Tropical Wilds.]]
{{spoiler}}
{{image|We could use some images of the videos themselves.}}
'''Secret Files''', known as '''Secret Memos''' in Europe, are a type of [[data file]]s found in ''[[Pikmin 3]]''. Unlike most data files, these do not give any direct tips or information. Instead, they simply have a picture of some Pikmin with a random number from 0 to 9.

If a player collects all ten of these memos, the numbers they form, in order, will create a secret code. Once they are all collected, the player can then go to a Wii U exclusive website, http://www.nintendo.co.jp/pikpiksecret using the Wii U's Internet Browser, and enter their code to watch one of five secret video exploration logs. Each code is pre-written, and maps to a specific video. If the player wishes to see a different video, they must restart their [[saved game|save file]] from [[day]] 1 and obtain a different combination.

So far, five videos can be seen, although a sixth one exists, but is not accessible through normal means.

==Data file locations==
{{guide}}
There are two Secret Files per area. They are normally found in spots that are hard to find or access, but a few them can be found in relatively easy locations. They are always found in the same place, but the numbers in them depend on the code generated for that playthrough.

===Tropical Wilds===
* In a small pool in the area where the [[Calcified Crushblat]] can be found, between the islands with the [[Candypop family|Candypop Buds]].
* Beside the holed stump that leads to the [[Medusal Slurker]] with the [[Juicy Gaggle]].

===Garden of Hope===
* On the larger set of [[elevator platforms]]. To reach it, first throw two leaders onto the smaller set. Raise the platform by weighing down the opposite side. Have one leader throw the other onto the pile of bricks. From there, destroy the [[electric gate]] if it is not already destroyed. Throw about 15 Yellow Pikmin up to the leader onto the bricks. From there, the leader on the bricks should throw the Yellows onto the platform, weighing it down. One leader on the ground should throw the other onto the weighed down platform. From there, simply throw the Pikmin off of the platform, and it should rise back up, allowing access to the file.
* In the overturned tin can that a [[Peckish Aristocrab]] hides in on the path to the [[Quaggled Mireclops]].

===Distant Tundra===
* On the snow wall next to the landing site. This memo is easily visible, and a leader can easily be thrown to the wall.
* In the cave the leaders originally had to take to reach the [[Vehemoth Phosbat]] is a [[bamboo wall]] that requires [[Winged Pikmin]] to lift. In a structure in the center of the area is a Secret File. A [[Spotty Bulbear]] and [[Dwarf Bulbear]]s are present in this area, so caution should be taken.

===Twilight River===
* In the second river that is reached on the way to the [[Scornet Maestro]] is a stump with a Secret File on top of it. It originally has a pile of [[fragment]]s on it and requires a leader to be thrown over onto it.
* On a ledge near the three [[Orange Bulborb]]s, accessed by throwing a leader off the vine path to the [[Scornet Maestro]]'s tree.

===Formidable Oak===
* In the [[Spotcap]]s behind the [[reinforced wall]] at the beginning of the cave.
* In the area of the cave that must be lit up, a [[dirt mound]] is near a group of [[Candypop Bud]]s towards the end of the cave. The Secret File is inside.

==Videos==
{{todo|Specify where Olimar and Louie are on the maps.}}
The videos resemble major [[cutscene]]s from the game, including the characters talking, and English subtitles appearing on the bottom. Each one is a video log with Captain Olimar or Louie commenting about their expedition, and takes place in a different [[area]].

===Tropical Wilds===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF5hv3f1RDY YouTube video link]}}

This video takes place on the [[Tropical Wilds]]. In it, [[Captain Olimar]] talks about the [[Cosmic Drive Key]]. This video is 42 seconds long.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Olimar's Expedition Log" "- In the Wilds -".'']
*[''The scene shows Captain Olimar facing the camera in front of the waterfall in the area.'']
*"This is [[Olimar]], captain of the [[S.S. Dolphin]]."
*"This is my third visit to this planet. I never tire of hunting for [[treasure]] here!"
*"While searching this area, we stumbled across a [[Cosmic Drive Key|key]] of some sort."
*"I wonder if it unlocks a treasure chest?"
*"Or could it be the key to something else entirely?"
*[''Olimar looks to his left to see Louie, on the beach section, running away from a [[Peckish Aristocrab]], along with a [[Blue Pikmin]], and ending up paralyzed on the ground after being struck by its claw. The scene then returns to Olimar.'']
*"...We'd better be careful."
*"The crabs here are peckish, and we're on the menu."

===Garden of Hope===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-aDbJBEHUc YouTube video link]}}

This video occurs on the [[Garden of Hope]]. Captain Olimar mentions the company's debt, in it. The video lasts for 40 seconds.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Olimar's Expedition Log" "- In the Garden -".'']
*[''The scene shows Captain Olimar facing the camera.'']
*"This is [[Olimar]], captain of the [[S.S. Dolphin|SS Dolphin]]{{sic}}."
*"This is the third time that I've set foot on this planet."
*"Our company, [[Hocotate Freight], is up to its eyeballs in debt - courtesy of our beloved [[The President|president]]."
*"We've come here in search of [[treasure]] to help us repay that debt."
*[''Olimar looks to his left to see Louie running around a [[Red Bulborb]] and two [[Dwarf Red Bulborb]]s. One of the two [[Red Pikmin]] following him gets eaten by the Bulborb. The scene then returns to Olimar.'']
*"Needless to say, the local wildlife isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for us..."

===Distant Tundra===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AdfBE5Xivs YouTube video link]}}

This video is on the [[Distant Tundra]], and in it, Olimar talks about how his company had to cut some costs. The video is 56 seconds long.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Olimar's Expedition Log" "- In the Tundra -".'']
*[''The scene shows Captain Olimar facing the camera, while on the section of the area that acts as the landing site during gameplay.'']
*"This is [[Olimar]], captain of the [[S.S. Dolphin]]."
*"This is my third visit to this planet. Hunting for [[treasure]] here never gets old!"
*"Unfortunately, I'm absolutely freezing, even with my space suit on."
*"It's doing a terrible job of keeping out the cold."
*"It wouldn't surprise me if [[The President|the president]] of [[Hocotate Freight|my company]] got our space suits from some retail outlet."
*"Hocotate Freight's new venture has been an utter failure, and our earnings have suffered as a result."
*"Now it looks like we're even cutting corners with our space suits."
*[''Olimar looks to his left to see Louie and some Pikmin running around two [[Bearded Amprat]]s. Louie gets shocked, and some of the Pikmin get eaten. The scene then returns to Olimar.'']
*"Shocking, to say the least."
*"I really should've held on to that Anti-Electrifier..."

===Twilight River===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI95Xrb8pBg YouTube video link]}}

This video has Olimar on the [[Twilight River]] explaining how the [[data file]]s are scattered about the [[area]]s. It is 48 seconds long.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Olimar's Expedition Log" "- At the River -".'']
*[''The scene shows Captain Olimar facing the camera.'']
*"This is [[Olimar]], captain of the [[S.S. Dolphin|SS Dolphin]]{{sic}}."
*"This is my third visit to this planet. Hunting for [[treasure]] here never gets old!"
*"My explorations have taken me far and wide."
*"Somewhere along the way, a number of my [[data files|notes and memos]] went missing."
*"There must be some sort of bug in my file management software."
*"Once we get back to Hocotate, I'll try to convince [[The President|the president]] to invest in an upgrade..."
*[''Olimar looks to his left to see Louie and some Pikmin running around a swarm of [[Scornet]]s. The scene then returns to Olimar.'']
*"Maybe he can upgrade Louie while he's at it."

===Formidable Oak===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7e5Z-cf624 YouTube video link]}}

The video takes place in the [[Formidable Oak]], and in it, Olimar talks about the golden object he saw &ndash; the [[Plasm Wraith]] &ndash; and about how Louie was reluctant to go on the oak. The video is 38 seconds long.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Olimar's Expedition Log" "- At the Oak -".'']
*[''The scene shows Captain Olimar facing the camera while on the arena where the [[Plasm Wraith]] is fought in-game.'']
*"This is Olimar, captain of the S.S. Dolphin."
*"This is my third visit to the planet. Hunting for treasure here never gets old!"
*"While surveying this area, I came across something gold and shiny."
*[''Louie appears behind him, sneaking from right to left.'']
*"It's got to be worth a fortune!"
*"My perpetually mute colleague Louie actually spoke up against coming here for some reason..."
*[''As Olimar is finishing the previous sentence, a growl and faint footsteps are heard. Louie looks around, frightened, and then dashes off in a hurry from where he came.'']
*"Speaking of which... I haven't seen him in a little while."
*[''Olimar looks around as the stomping becomes louder.'']
*"Where's he disappeared to?"
*[''The stomps intensify and another growl is heard.'']

===Louie's log===
{{dablink|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cj_QMRvpWc YouTube video link]}}

This log is not yet accessible via any Secret File code, and has not been officially released by Nintendo. It was found on the website by analyzing the page's source code. In it, Louie explains how he got captured by the [[Koppai]] explorers, but managed to sneak off with their fruit. The video is 37 seconds long.

====Transcription====
*[''Title card: "Louie's Expedition Log" "- With the Treasure -".'']
*[''The scene shows Louie facing the camera, in front of the dormant [[Quaggled Mireclops]]. He has a [[Wayward Moon]] to his right.'']
*"Louie here, crew member of the [[S.S. Dolphin]]."
*[''Louie sniffs the air.'']
*"I was briefly captured by some Koppaites."
*[''Louie sniffs some more as the Mireclops behind him opens up and begins rolling his tongue around.'']
*"But I managed to make off with all their [[Fruit|food]] and [[treasure]]."
*[''Louie cracks a smile, jumps to the Wayward Moon, and caresses it.'']
*"The treasure on this planet smells absolutely divine!"
*[''The Mireclops knocks its own leg with its tongue and then hides it again. Louie turns around to look at the Mireclops's crystal.'']
*"What was that?"
*[''Louie faces the camera in confusion, and as the scene fades, noises can be heard indicating that the Mireclops had opened its mouth again.'']

==Mistakes==
A few [[Mistakes in the Pikmin series|mistakes]] exist within these videos.

===S.S. Dolphin===
On the subtitles, the [[S.S. Dolphin]] is spelled like that on all but two of the videos, which have the spelling "SS Dolphin". This is the spelling used in the European [[Region|version]] of ''Pikmin 3''<ref>{{transcript|Curse this stupid ship! It may once have been a top-of-the-line vessel, but the way it criticises my piloting skills really gets on my nerves. I can't wait to get my beloved old SS Dolphin back! I need to find plenty of valuable treasure and pay that debt off as soon as possible!|[[Olimar's Log (Exploration Notes)|Olimar's log]] entry #1, European version.}}</ref>, but not anywhere else. Whether the intended spelling is with the periods or without is debatable, but the fact that the writing differs between videos seems to be the result of some mistake.

More importantly, Louie says that he is a crew member on the S.S. Dolphin, on the unreleased video. This cannot be true, as the only time the Dolphin is usable is before Louie even joins [[Hocotate Freight]] &ndash; at the start of ''Pikmin 2'', the S.S. Dolphin is sold right away, and all through ''Pikmin 2'' and ''Pikmin 3'', the [[Hocotate ship]] is used instead. It even becomes clear that the Hocotate ship was the one used in ''Pikmin 3'' because it can be seen, totaled, on the outer rim of the [[Quaggled Mireclops]]'s arena. It is possible that the writers for the video meant to say the Hocotate ship and not the S.S. Dolphin.

===Olimar looking at Louie===
Although unimportant in nature, there are some mistakes involving the way Olimar looks towards Louie on the first four videos. In them, Olimar always looks to his left to see Louie in some dangerous situation. Given the points where Olimar and Louie are, it is actually physically impossible for Olimar to see Louie at his left, on some of the scenarios.

*On the [[Tropical Wilds]], Olimar is in front of the waterfall (facing the west), and Louie is on the beach area (to the north). Aside from the immense distance between the two parts of the map, and the fact that there are a few walls in-between, Olimar would have to turn to his head ''right'' in order to see the beach section, not to the left.

==See also==
*[[Data file]]
*[[Easter egg]]

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp53Hy4Rg1E Video guide for the location of the memos, on YouTube]
*[https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk-X8ZsIg Shigeru Miyamoto's post on Miiverse with the reveal of the code's function]

==References==
<references/>

{{Exploration Notes}}
[[Category:Secrets]]