User:Kettleonwater/PNF-404's asteroid

The asteroid as shown in the opening cutscene of Pikmin, shortly before colliding with the S.S. Dolphin.

A lone asteroid (or in some cases, an asteroid field) orbits somewhere around PNF-404. It is solely responsible for many events of the Pikmin series, most often involving complications involving crash landings.

In Pikmin

In Pikmin, the asteroid is directly responsible for the entire events of the game. While Captain Olimar is cruising through space in the S.S. Dolphin, he collides with the asteroid, causing his ship to crash and putting the entire plot of Pikmin in motion. The asteroid is not seen again after Olimar's successful ascent from PNF-404.

In Pikmin 2

In Pikmin 2, the asteroid makes an appearance in the opening cutscene of the game, shortly after Olimar and Louie space-warp to PNF-404 in the Hocotate ship. Olimar recoils in panic upon seeing the asteroid for a second time, but the Hocotate ship quickly manages to manouver itself around the asteroid, narrowly avoiding a second crash landing. However, the manouver complicates the landing of the ship, and after some turbulence, causes Louie to crash land in the Valley of Repose. The ship and Olimar land unscathed, and the events of Pikmin 2 follow.

After gathering all of the debt, Olimar leaves Louie behind by mistake, and returns to PNF-404 with The President, with no mention of the asteroid.

In Pikmin 3

In Pikmin 3, the asteroid does not appear directly, but ambiguously in the opening cutscene. In it, the S.S. Drake is seen to hit a point of impact midway through the landing sequence, which causes a crash, and Alph, Brittany, and Charlie are all ejected onto the PNF-404. The cause is described in the cutscene as something going "horribly wrong"; this cause is never elaborated on.

The European-only text of one of Alph's voyage logs seemingly confirms the asteroid (or at least an object) as the cause of the crash, as it caused dents in the S.S. Drake.

In Pikmin 4

In Pikmin 4, the asteroid is central to the story, being the direct cause of not only Olimar's crash, but all members of the Rescue Corps, presumably along with the many castaways and leaflings present on PNF-404, as they have all said to have crash landed. Multiple asteroids are seen in space after the player's successful rescue of Olimar and the Rescue Corps, and the force of the S.S. Shepherd causes them to disperse. As such, they are not seen again upon re-entering PNF-404 due to Oatchi's sickness.

Louie is said to have landed on the planet by himself, and did not crash land.

In Hey! Pikmin

In Hey! Pikmin, instead of a lone asteroid, Olimar accidentally warps into an asteroid field, and the S.S. Dolphin II crashes into two asteroids simultaneously, which immediately causes him to crash land. Like Pikmin, the asteroids are not seen again after Olimar's successful ascent from PNF-404.

Trivia

• If counting the object from Pikmin 3 as the asteroid, counting Louie's brief crash landing from Pikmin 2, and counting each time Olimar crashes individually, then the asteroid(s) have caused no less than:
  • 23 individual ship crashes, and 56 individuals to crash.
    • Olimar has crashed into the asteroid in every game except Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, making a total of 3 ship crashes.
    • Louie crashes as a result of the turbulence indirectly caused by the asteroid in Pikmin 2.
    • Alph, Brittany, and Charlie all crash in Pikmin 3.
    • In Pikmin 4 alone as a result of the asteroid(s):
      • The six members of the Rescue Corps and Oatchi in the S.S. Shepherd;
      • Yorke, Don Bergman, Nelle and their ship;
      • The TV crew consisting of Frisé, Vonda, Muggs, Wolfgang, and their ship;
      • The researchers consisting of Chet, François, Pitunia, Sy, Osa, Kit, Twyla, Sammy, Komo, Ren, and their ship;
      • The Satella Travel tourist group consisting of Chewy, Sheeba, Keesh, Kaia, Mika, Molly, Lapi, Boris, Horatio, Santi, and their ship;
      • The Tulbo Real Estate group consisting of Chowder, Kayz, and their ship;
      • The telecom company group consisting of Alpin, Fawks, and their ship;
      • Individual space travellers consisting of Schnauz, Dalmo, Corgwin, Jin, Puddle, Kingsly, Bernise, Grace, Dash, Patch, Beaux, and their ships.
• The only times in the entire Pikmin series that ships have landed on PNF-404's surface without crashing are:
  • Olimar and The President's revisit via Hocotate ship in Pikmin 2;
  • Olimar and Louie's two landings in Pikmin 3, once via Hocotate ship and the other via an unnamed pod;
  • The player's landing via an unnamed pod in Pikmin 4;
  • and the player and the Rescue Corps re-landing via the S.S. Shepherd after noticing Oatchi's sickness, also in Pikmin 4.