Hocotate ship
"Treasure! Treasure! Treasure! Money! Money! Money!" – The ship
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- "Ship" redirects here. For other uses, see ship (disambiguation).
The Hocotate ship (usually called simply the ship) refers to Olimar's new rocket in Pikmin 2. Unlike the S.S. Dolphin, the Hocotate ship is capable of speech, (replacing most of Olimar's in-game speech), and takes on the role of giving advice throughout the game. Olimar makes his opinion of its personality being pompous and quirky known in his notes. Once the President's debt is repaid, the ship is upgraded in appearance. The ship is presumably destroyed by the Quaggled Mireclops in Pikmin 3.
Capabilities
The Hocotate ship can store Pikmin and treasures, and will house both White Pikmin and Purple Pikmin once they are found. Unlike the Dolphin, the captains cannot check how many treasures have been collected using it, nor can they restore their suit's damage meter. Standing in the green light and pressing A / 
before Purple Pikmin have been found does nothing. The ship has two cockpits, and is capable of deep space communication, sending a report each night to Hocotate and receiving mail. To do this it must be in orbit around PNF-404. The ship can dispatch a Research Pod for traveling underground.
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 The ship once the debt has been repaid, shown here in the Perplexing Pool. |
Research Pod
When the captains go underground, the ship dispatches its nose cone, known as the Research Pod, and sends it down to support them. Anything that the Pikmin pick up will be carried to the Pod and stored in its hull until the player exits the cavern. On leaving a cave via a geyser, the treasure worth of these is added to the total.
If the player chooses to leave by selecting the option in the pause menu, the Pod will dispose of all treasures and creatures that were collected and return to the surface with the captains and Pikmin. This will happen automatically if all Pikmin die or both captains suffer too much damage, and cannot be stopped without resetting the game. The discarded treasures will be returned to the sublevels they were found in.
After the player pays off the debt and the ship is upgraded, a scratching noise can sometimes be heard when near the equally-upgraded research pod.
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File:Research Pod.jpg The Research Pod after the debt has been paid. |
Sales Pitch
When one complete "series" of treasures has been collected, the ship's Sales Pitches become available. This is an advertisement for the treasure as if it were a product.
Example (Superstick Textile):
"The latest must-have item for all ship emergency-repair kits, this miracle fabric is a lifesaver! Its adhesive power is so great, once it's applied, it can never be removed... Not even surgically!"
Pikmin 3
In Pikmin 3, the ship makes a small appearance in the Garden of Hope, just outside where the Quaggled Mireclops is fought. It is out-of-bounds, but it can be reached by throwing captains on a split log, then throwing a captain onto the ledge. It is heavily damaged and stuck to the ground. The Koppaite leaders assume that this was the Quaggled Mireclops' doing. In a nearby Data File, Olimar mentions that the ship was once a top-of-the-line product, but he hates it anyway because it insulted his piloting.
In other games
Pikmin Adventure
In the Nintendo Land attraction Pikmin Adventure, the ship is the goal point in every level.
Monita's Notes
"This is the ship that Olimar piloted during his legendary employment at Hocotate Freight. This one doesn't actually speak, though, which is probably best for everyone."
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The ship also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. During the beginning of a match, Olimar enters the stage in the ship and jumps out to pluck three Pikmin. When Olimar uses his Final Smash, "End of Day", he hops in the ship while Bulborbs cause damage to his opponents. Olimar then crashes down back on the stage, sometimes further harming his opponents. In the Subspace Emissary, Olimar's ship is seen along with a number of other airborne vehicles in the attempt to enter Subspace as well as the beginning of the level Outside the Ruins. In the Great Maze section of the Emissary, it appears in the background as part of the level's scenery. The ship also appears as a trophy and a sticker.
- Trophy description
"A battered old spaceship used when Hocotate Freight first opened. Its appraisal gauge analyzed garbage Olimar brought home and found it to be valuable. With his new ship sold off to pay company debts, Louie and Olimar flew this one back to the Pikmin world to find more treasure. The ship's removable research pod accompanied the adventurers when they ventured underground."
To obtain the ship's trophy, it must be collected in a certain cube in the Subspace Emissary level Outside the Ancient Ruins.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS
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An item that looks like the ship appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. However, it is not the real ship, and rather a bomb disguised as it. When used, it lifts off, and then drops unexpectedly, causing it to explode and damage anybody but the launcher. The ship also returns in Olimar's Final Smash.
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy has two planets shaped very similarly to the the Hocotate ship, one located in the Space Junk Galaxy and the other in the Ghostly Galaxy (the latter cannot be accessed). It is likewise a red, rusted color.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
A "life-size" model appears in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and can be collected from a fortune cookie. Oddly, it is named "S.S. Dolphin".
Gallery
The ship.
- Ship 2.jpg
The Angel seen on the ship's side.
Trivia
- Although the rocket doesn't have an official name, it is identified as "Dolphin 1" in the prototype version of the game's script.[1] Similarly, its internal name in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's files is "Dolfin".