Hocotate

Hocotate, when viewed from space.

To do: Add references, because we need a lot of them here. Care to do so?

Hocotate is the home planet of some of the leaders in the Pikmin franchise, particularly Captain Olimar and his family, as well as Louie. Life on planet Hocotate appears to be similar to that of Earth's, though with some key differences.

Geography

Hocotate Freight's yard and surrounding architecture; note the clouds in the background.

It is a red-coloured planet that possesses a pair of two intersecting planetary rings. Its exact location in the universe has yet to be specified, though it most likely takes place in a different star system from ours, as an incredibly bright star can be seen behind it. In Olimar's voyage log, he explains that his family is probably gazing up at the planet's "pale red moon". Stars are visible from the planet's surface during the daytime, indicating a transparent atmosphere.

From what can be seen, at least part of the planet is desert-like, though the President notes a location known as the "Hocotate Swamp". Hocotate Freight appears to be in or near a built-up area, which suggests that at least some of Hocotate may be densely populated. Olimar's wife mentions "hot springs" in one of her letters, indicating that geothermally heated water exists in the planet's crust. Olimar's family also mentions a beach, suggesting that the planet has at least one ocean.

Life

Hocotatians are around 2cm (0.7 in.) tall. It is uncertain what sort of gas they breathe, but oxygen is known to be extremely poisonous to them; Olimar and Louie must protect themselves while on PNF-404 by wearing a spacesuit. The planet shows some signs of flora growing on its surface, including vegetables such as Pikpik carrots, which the planet is famous for, according to Brittany. Also according to the Koppaites, a Hocotation's diet consists mainly of vegetables, although meat consumption is not unusual.

Bulbie, Olimar's pet, is known to be similar to a Bulborb, and its species take on a role similar to Earthling dogs. Olimar mentions that there are mosquitoes in one of his journal entries.

Technology

The technology is shown to be very advanced, with particles such as Gluons in use (evidenced by the Gluon Drive ship part in Pikmin), a source of endless energy (the Eternal Fuel Dynamo), and a weapon that can destroy objects as large as stars (the Nova Blaster). Also, in Olimar's notes on the Common Glowcap, he mentions a chemical element called "Hocotatium 111", saying it is the reason for the plant's luminescence. However, Olimar's notes in Pikmin 2 strangely say that the technology behind a light bulb (the Stellar Orb) and a match (the Flame of Tomorrow) is completely unknown to his people.

Government

Hocotate is shown to be commercialized; its currency is the Poko, a small coin that resembles those from the Mario series. Items from the Pikmin Planet are considered extremely rare treasures, and can be worth a particularly large amount of Pokos, which enables Olimar and Louie to pay off their company's debt of 10,100 Pokos. For comparison, 100 Pokos is "more than a year's salary". A Mayor of Hocotate is alluded in Olimar's notes on some occasions, though his status in Hocotatian government is unknown.

"Happy Hocotate Savings and Loan" is a Hocotate company with which the President attempts to take out a loan in Pikmin 2 to cover for the lost shipment of golden Pikpik carrots. It is later revealed in one of his letters to Olimar that, instead, he has accidentally taken out a loan with the company just next door, the "All-Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks", which forces him to go into hiding.

Naming

The name "Hocotate" actually comes from Nintendo of Japan's headquarter's address: 11-1, Kamitoba-hokotate-cho. It is pronounced as "Ho-ko-tah-teh", with "ho" as in "horse", "ko" as in "color", "tah" as in "tar", and "teh" as in "ten". To note however is that this pronunciation is arguably canon, given that it is never said canonically in English. The pronunciation can be heard in the following cases, with their reasons for doubt following:

• Palutena in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U says the planet's name in a guidance conversation in Palutena's Temple, but that game is not considered canon.
• Captain Charlie can be heard saying the planet's name in the ending cutscene of Pikmin 3, although the actual language heard being spoken by the characters is unknown.
• In Mission Mode, if the red team (Captain Olimar's team) is one-away from winning, Pikmin will be heard in the background cheering for Hocotate, although it is unknown how faithful Pikmin sounds are to the pronunciation of certain words.

Gallery

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  Official concept art.

• Loan Sharks.png

  The intro cinematic in Pikmin 2.

Trivia

To do: State where the capsule hotel is shown. Care to do so?

• In a possible reference to urban Japan, a building resembling a capsule hotel is shown.