S.S. Drake

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The S.S. Drake.

The S.S. Drake (ドレイク^?), simply referred to from the Koppaites as the Drake, is the main ship in Pikmin 3. It was built by and named after Alph's grandfather. Much like the other ships from the Pikmin series, it serves as the main storage unit for all the gathered objects found by the captains. Its other purpose is to transport the captains from place to place. Charlie is its captain and Alph is its engineer.

Appearance

The Drake is very different from the S.S. Dolphin and the Hocotate ship in design, as it appears to be more technologically advanced. The cockpit is also different in that it is capable of holding more people, and may also be used as an access hatch. The Drake has a base from which four legs protrude, containing green lights, a hydraulics system and several other hidden mechanisms.

Directly on top of the base is a round body, featuring red lights and several other unique characteristics. It holds the three captains, has a long antenna attached to the top, and harbors a small satellite from which a blue beam emanates, to help collect and analyze objects. It appears to have a world map on the back side.

Background

Soon after the discovery of PNF-404, the Drake was designed and built by Alph's grandfather (also named Drake) exclusively for the heroes' mission. It then picks up Alph, Brittany, and Captain Charlie before initiating a warp-drive sequence to PNF-404. As they arrive at the planet, something goes wrong as the Drake attempts to enter the atmosphere, and it ejects the three occupants onto the surface below, each landing on different locations on the planet. During the crash, the Drake loses an important mechanism, the Cosmic Drive Key.

Charlie awakes in a snowy world, where he discovers Yellow Pikmin. However, his side of the story is cut short as he is soon abducted by the Vehemoth Phosbat.

After landing in a pool of water, Alph regains consciousness to see a damaged Drake overhead, struggling to land safely. The sight startles him enough to wake him up fully, and he begins exploration of the surrounding area alone. Eventually, he comes across the Red Pikmin and their Onion, and using their help, is able to recover his KopPad and relocate the Drake, which was able to land safely.

Cosmic Drive Key

The Cosmic Drive Key, held by Olimar.

The Cosmic Drive Key is one of the most valuable parts of the Drake. It is necessary in order to achieve warp-speed, a maneuver needed to go from Koppai to PNF-404 and vice-versa.

When the S.S. Drake crash-lands on the planet, the Cosmic Drive Key is lost, a fact that becomes clear after Alph finds the ship. During the time it takes the Koppai explorers to travel around, Captain Olimar finds and keeps the key, hoping it is some sort of treasure. Throughout the game's story, both the Koppaites and Olimar mention the key, either by dialog or data files, respectively. After Olimar is captured by the Plasm Wraith and some time after, released from it by the Koppaites, he joins the explorers and hands them the key he found, enabling the group to leave PNF-404 and return to their own planets. Template:Endspoiler

Quotes

Obtaining first fruit Drake: "Recovering..." Alph: "Oh! There's an incoming transmission from the Drake!" Drake: "Analyzing the recovered plant!" Drake: "Large quantities of Piktamin U detected!" Drake: "This is a seed-bearing fruit, making cultivation on Koppai possible." Drake: "Juice from this fruit is safe for consumption by crew members." Alph: "I'll add a Fruit File to the KopPad, where we can store the results of our analysis." Alph: "But I don't know much about plants at all." Alph: "I'll ask Brittany to write reports later, since she's the botanist." Obtaining a new fruit "New Fruit Recovered" Obtaining a fruit "Analyzing..." Obtaining Data Glutton Drake: "Recovering..." Alph: "We're receiving a transmission from the Drake!" Drake: "Analyzing recovered item!" Drake: "An ancient communication device used on this planet." Drake: "It contains technology unknown to Koppai and is emitting a signal even now." Alph: "If I integrate this device into the Drake's communication system, I should be able to boost our signal's strength!" Alph: "Looks like it's going to be an all nighter for me!"

In Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U

Drake in the background of the Garden of Hope arena.

The Drake appears in the background of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Pikmin-themed stage, Garden of Hope. It doesn't have any other function on the stage other than decoration. It is in the spot where a Waddlepus and a Burgeoning Spiderwort are in Pikmin 3.

Gallery

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  The Drake analyzing fruit.

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  The S.S. Drake analyzing a Burgeoning Spiderwort berry.

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  The Drake in a landing site, along with the Onion.

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  A damaged Drake flying past Alph as he awakens.

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  Alph and the Drake.

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  The world map menu in Pikmin 3.

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  The S.S. Drake flying low through the Distant Tundra.

Trivia

• It is possible that the the name "Drake" is a reference to the famous navigator, Sir Francis Drake.
• Some fans also speculate that the S.S. Drake is named after the canceled "Character D" that was supposed to be a leader in the game. Seeing as Alph was "Character A", Brittany was "Character B", and Charlie was "Character C", it's possible that Drake was the name for Character D, but the name was moved to the ship as a reference.