Editing The Key

{{Infobox treasure
|image=The_Key_2.png
|size=180px
|icon=The Key icon.png
|hoard_number=196
|series=Explorer's Friend Series
|ntscseries=
|palseries=
|value=100
|weight=1
|max_pikmin=3
|location=Citadel of Spiders
|ntsclocation=
|challenge=[[Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2)#Levels|All]]
}}
'''The Key''' ({{j|あのカギ|Ano Kagi|The Key}}) is a [[treasure]] in {{p2}}, whose name is the only one among the treasures that describes itself exactly. It is a large, golden {{w|lock and key|key}}. The Key is found inside the body of a [[Beady Long Legs]] on the final sublevel of the [[Citadel of Spiders]]. Besides increasing the [[Poko]] total, The Key unlocks [[Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2)|Challenge Mode]], which can be found in the [[Menu#Title screen|main menu]] after the treasure has been collected. It is the only part of the [[Explorer's Friend Series]] that is not found in the [[Exploration Kit]].

In ''Pikmin 2''{{'s}} [[Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2)|Challenge Mode]], this treasure is found on every sublevel of every one of the 30 levels. It is required to make the entrance to the next sublevel – or a [[geyser]] – appear, and is worth 100 Pokos.

{{Notes|journal=y|sale=y|ship=y}}

=== Olimar's journal (Nintendo Switch) ===
{{Transcript|This item came from the personal treasure hoard of a massive Pikmin-devouring spider. The whole cave was crawling with all kinds of fearsome creatures. I decided to name that eerie cave the Citadel of Spiders. The ship can't stand bugs... Whenever I ask it to store a specimen for salvage, it threatens to stage a mutiny!|block=y}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
P2 Artwork The Key.png|Artwork of The Key.
Thumb thekey.jpg|Alrernate scan of The Key's artwork.
P2 The Key Cutscene.png|The Key's discovery cutscene.
P2 The Key Location.png|The Key in the [[Citadel of Spiders]].
P2 The Key Collected.png|The Key being analyzed by the [[Hocotate ship]].
P2 The Key Treasure Hoard.png|The Key in the [[Treasure Hoard]].
The Key P2S icon.png|The Treasure Hoard icon of The Key in [[Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch)|the Nintendo Switch version of ''Pikmin 2'']].
Super Mario World Key.png|A key from ''[[mariowiki:Super Mario World|Super Mario World]]''.
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
*The Key bears a [[Reference|striking resemblance]] to the [[mariowiki:Key|keys]] in ''[[mariowiki:Super Mario World|Super Mario World]]'', which open [[mariowiki:Keyhole|keyholes]] leading to secret stages.
*In his journal entry for The Key, Olimar calls the [[Beady Long Legs]] a "Pikmin-''devouring'' spider", even though the creature cannot devourer Pikmin, only crush them.
*Two [[Unused content in Pikmin 3|unused upgrades]] in ''Pikmin 3'' feature The Key on a pedestal.

==Names in other languages==
{{Foreignname
|Jap=あのカギ
|JapR=Ano Kagi
|JapM=The Key
|Fra=La Clé
|FraM=The Key
|Spa=La Llave
|SpaM=The Key
|Ita=Chiave
|ItaM=Key
|Ger=Der Schlüssel
|GerM=The Key
}}

{{Treasures}}
[[Category:Citadel of Spiders]]
[[Category:Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode]]
[[Category:Boss rewards]]