Captain Olimar

Olimar
Name	Olimar
Gender	Male
Age	Middle age (multiple decades)
Eye color	Black
Hair color	Brown
Home planet	Hocotate
Known related characters	Wife, son, daughter, Bulbie (pet)
Height	1.9 cm (0.75 inches)
Voice actor	Kazumi Totaka (Pikmin 2 )
First game	Pikmin
Latest game	Pikmin 4

Captain Olimar (キャプテン・オリマー^?), also referred to as simply Olimar (オリマー^?), is the main protagonist of the Pikmin series, and the main character in Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Hey! Pikmin. Olimar appears as a supporting character in Pikmin 3 and even more so in Pikmin 4 with him even being playable in his own side story mode Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, being set right before the events of the game. He is from the planet Hocotate, and while on several missions for his employer, Hocotate Freight, he discovered PNF-404 and on it, he teams up with the extraterrestrial species called Pikmin. He has discovered all types of Pikmin (excluding Glow Pikmin) so far.

In Pikmin and Pikmin 4, he owns and captains a spaceship called the S.S. Dolphin, and in Hey! Pikmin, he owns and captains the S.S. Dolphin II. He has a family back on Hocotate, which includes his wife, son, daughter, and dog. Olimar's writings in his end-of-day monologs, Piklopedia notes, and exploration logs are a major source of information about the world in each game.

Personality and appearance

Olimar has three short brown tufts of hair and wears a light yellow spacesuit decorated with red lines and red gloves. He is 3.9 cm tall with his space suit on, from the feet to the top of the antenna, and 1.9 cm tall without.

Olimar is quite intellectual, as seen in his extensive writings and vocabulary. He is also interested in science and presumably biology, taking notes and commenting on every treasure and enemy he discovers. These notes do contain some errors, likely because he's an alien and cannot fully understand or explain everything on PNF-404. In addition, he may have a knack for engineering as well, as he was once a mechanic and was the one who designed the Bowsprit. Despite this, Olimar is hinted to be relatively gullible (as shown in his log for the Extraordinary Bolt) and prefers his own incorrect explanations over correct ones, as shown in his notes for the Universal Com and the Preservation Door. His favorite color is red, which he associates with passion and emotion.^[4]

Olimar loves his family, but they ask a lot of him financially. This is one of the reasons he enjoys time to himself. He takes his duty as a leader to the Pikmin very seriously, to the point that if a Pikmin extinction happens, he becomes very ashamed and claims that he will not be able to sleep during the night. Olimar is a calm, caring, honest, and responsible person, but he can be sarcastic and salty when annoyed. He was not portrayed as overly greedy in Pikmin 2, but his journal entries in the US version of Pikmin 3 reveal that he has developed a fixating interest in treasure.

According to his journal entry on the Impenetrable Cookie, Olimar has a short temper toward matters of little importance. This is further shown in the Side Stories mission Looking for Louie, where Olimar snaps at Louie but soon feels guilty for doing so. Olimar also writes that he's ashamed of himself for becoming grumpier with age. He mentions that he has always "gotten along with" animals,^[5] which can be seen in his fairly extensive Piklopedia journal entries on the various creatures on the planet. According to his entries on the Paradoxical Enigma and Harmonic Synthesizer, he also considers himself a refined patron of the arts. Overall, Olimar is honest and sympathetic, has no problems questioning himself and his actions, and is fascinated by PNF-404's flora and fauna.

Biography

Warning: the following article or section contains major spoilers.

Plot of Pikmin

Artwork of Olimar being followed by Red Pikmin.

While on an interstellar vacation from Hocotate, Captain Olimar's ship, the S.S. Dolphin, collides with a meteor, sending it hurtling toward an unknown planet. The next day, Olimar awakens on the planet's surface to find the S.S. Dolphin destroyed, and missing 30 of its pieces. On top of this, the planet's oxygen is toxic for his species, leaving Olimar's life-support systems with only enough power for thirty days. Determined to escape, Olimar sets out to retrieve the ship's parts. While wandering around an area known as The Impact Site, Olimar meets odd creatures that he calls Pikmin at their nest, an Onion. Olimar names both after foods from Hocotate that they resemble.

The first type of Pikmin Olimar meets is the Red Pikmin, who are able to produce more of their species with Olimar's help. Olimar finds his ship's Main Engine and commands the Pikmin to bring it back to the S.S. Dolphin's remains, allowing the S.S. Dolphin to at least lift off for the night and avoid the hostile nocturnal creatures that reside on PNF-404.

The following day, Olimar begins exploring the planet in search of ship pieces, discovering additional Pikmin types, including Yellow Pikmin and Blue Pikmin, in the process. Olimar is able to find and recover all of the ship parts on the planet and restore the S.S. Dolphin to normal. Before leaving the planet, he bids farewell to the Pikmin, brings a bottle cap from the planet as a souvenir for his son, and takes notes on the wildlife.

Although this is the canonical ending, it is possible for players to reach alternate endings.

Return to Hocotate

After Olimar's success on PNF-404, he was able to blast off the planet to return to Hocotate, see his family, and return to his normal life. After arriving at Hocotate Freight, he met up with the President and a new employee named Louie. After landing his ship, he learned that the company was in debt, having to pay at least × 10,100 for the loss of a golden Pikpik carrot shipment. Learning that the Dolphin was sold to help pay the debt, Olimar was so shocked he dropped the souvenir for his son. As the bottle cap rolled past Louie, an old ship was able to suck up the rusty bottle cap. Its pod analyzed the piece of salvage to be worth × 100, which lowered the debt to × 10,000. The President commanded Olimar and Louie to return to the Pikmin Planet and collect more treasure as a result.

Paying off Hocotate Freight's debt

As Olimar and Louie were heading to the Valley of Repose, the ship collided with a tree branch, and the resulting impact jolted Louie out of the cockpit, leaving Olimar to search for him. Luckily for Olimar, he found a group of Red Pikmin fighting a lone Dwarf Bulborb. He was able to unite with Louie by using the Pikmin to squash the bag separating them. Before, Louie had discovered a treasure, and with the help of Olimar, they were able to forage it. They then discovered a series of caves, areas, and new Pikmin types.

The search for Louie

After repaying the debt, Captain Olimar blasted off the planet but noticed that he somehow left Louie behind. Alas, it was too late, as he was going too fast to turn around and get him. After meeting the President once again to present him with all the treasures he and Louie found, the debt was fully paid.

Olimar then told the President that there was more treasure on the planet. The President, looking to increase Hocotate Freight's fortune, then decided to send Olimar and Louie back to the planet. Only then did he realize that Louie was missing. The President decided that he would join Olimar to search for Louie and to make their company even wealthier. The two went to the Wistful Wild to start their search and eventually found Louie in the Dream Den, and rescued him after defeating the Titan Dweevil.

Pikmin 3

Olimar asleep in Pikmin 3.

In Pikmin 3, Captain Olimar is present only as a plot element but is a playable character in some Mission Mode stages, as well as being player 2's leader in Bingo Battle mode.

In Pikmin 3, Olimar's unseen voyage is explained through Data Files the player can find throughout the game, as well as the Secret Files. Pikmin 3 Deluxe makes it fully playable as the Olimar's Assignment Side Story.

Due to the President's excessive spending as well as the failure of a new business venture, Olimar is sent back to PNF-404 with Louie in search of even more treasure to repay Hocotate Freight's newly acquired second debt, with Olimar also intending to buy back the S.S. Dolphin. While they explore the planet, Olimar finds the Koppaites' cosmic drive key and takes it with him.

After a period of searching the planet for treasure, Olimar eventually discovers the Formidable Oak, seeing something glittering at the top of it. Thinking it must be valuable gold, he climbs to the top, only to find it is actually a living creature, the Plasm Wraith. The creature eventually obsesses over Olimar, preventing him from leaving, yet doesn't harm him. Because of the wraith, each time Olimar attempts to escape, the Plasm Wraith triggers his suit's auto-sleep feature, preventing him from going through with it.

With help from Louie, Alph, Brittany, and Charlie are able to locate Olimar and subdue the Plasm Wraith just long enough for them to take off with Olimar.

In the Olimar's Comeback Side Story, Olimar and Louie successfully return to Hocotate with the Koppaites' help. However, the President is livid when he learns that the Hocotate Ship was left behind and destroyed, so he sends Olimar and Louie back to PNF-404 in an Escape Pod to recover the ship. Upon their return to the planet, Olimar and Louie reunite with the Pikmin, collect even more treasure as well as the parts of the Hocotate Ship, and return to Hocotate.

Pikmin 4

Olimar's leafling form.

In Pikmin 4, Olimar becomes stranded on PNF-404. While meeting with the Pikmin and recovering the parts of his ship, he befriends a space dog named Moss, who helps him in his search. When Olimar recovers the Interstellar Radio with the help of Moss and the Pikmin, he uses it to send a distress signal. While he is ultimately successful in collecting all the parts of the S.S. Dolphin with their help, Olimar discovers that Moss had stowed away in the ship's cargo hold and is rapidly sickening. Realizing that she could not survive away from PNF-404, he tries to return to the planet to save her but crash-lands again. His life support system fails, and the Pikmin take him to an Onion, transforming him into a leafling with little memory of who he is.

When he wakes up as a leafling, Olimar finds a mysterious cave at what is later known as the Rescue Command Post. It is unknown if he entered it. Olimar's behavior as a leafling includes taking Castaways and turning them into leaflings.

One month later, the signal is intercepted by the Rescue Corps, who set off to retrieve him before becoming in need of rescue themselves, leaving their newest recruit to rescue both Olimar and the castaway members of the Rescue Corps. During the mission, the recruit encounters Olimar in his leafling form on several occasions, and Olimar does several Dandori Battles with the recruit.

Olimar is eventually rescued and cured by the Rescue Corps but is forced to return to the planet when the Rescue Corps' Rescue Pup Oatchi begins to get sick in the same way that Moss did. Noticing the leaf that had been growing from Oatchi's tail, Olimar suspects that any organism with leaves like that of a Pikmin is unable to survive away from PNF-404. Oatchi was eventually returned to normal. However, Moss does not respond to the treatment, and Olimar decides to leave her behind, as this is where she was born and raised. The Rescue Corps, accompanied by Olimar, depart the planet for the final time, as the Pikmin follow Moss as their new leader.

Hey! Pikmin

In Hey! Pikmin, Olimar flies on the S.S. Dolphin II until he comes across a shower of asteroids. He tries to dodge them but ends up getting hit, and the ship plummets into an alien planet, landing near a group of terrified Pikmin. After this, Olimar wakes up from the crash landing as the ship's pod assesses his and the ship's situation. After doing so, it concludes that the ship's fuel – the Sparklium supply – is completely empty. The pod picks up Sparklium signals and sends the captain onward, where the two stumble upon a wild Red Pikmin. After it is scared off, and the two continue going forward, Captain Olimar uses his whistle to bring out the Pikmin hiding in the weeds, only to realize there are actually four of them hiding, not just one. Moving forward a bit, the group discovers some Sparklium Seeds. It is at this point that the pod confirms that each seed contains one Sparklium, but Olimar needs 30 thousand to be able to escape. After the ship reassures the demoralized captain, everyone moves further onward, finds some more seeds, and the tutorial level is completed.

Throughout the rest of the adventure, Olimar explores different areas, one at a time, gathering Sparklium Seeds and treasures along the way. There are two primary goals; the first is obtaining 30,000 Sparklium in order to fully power the ship again, and the second is searching for a missing key component of the S.S. Dolphin II, the Sparklium Converter, which is needed to return home. This final piece can be obtained from the last sector, The Final Stretch.

In order to get home, Captain Olimar needs to find 30,000 Pokos and the Sparklium Converter. The ship does not know where the Sparklium Converter is, so the player needs to play through all eight main sectors, gathering Sparklium along the way. Once all eight sectors are finished and the Sparklium count reaches 30,000, the ship detects the Sparklium Converter in a new sector, The Final Stretch. Here, he battles against the fearsome Berserk Leech Hydroe, and after winning the fight, it is revealed that the Leech Hydroe that had taken control of the monster is holding the Sparklium Converter. After its defeat, the creature drops the ship part and then scurries away. The captain recovers the ship part and prepares to go home.

As the ship is setting everything up for the ride, Olimar goes outside to meet the Pikmin for one final time. As he and a group of different Pikmin are frolicking around, the ship's pod calls him over, and he sorrowfully walks away from the Pikmin. At first, they follow him, but after they realize what is happening, they stop and stare at Olimar as he is getting beamed up into the ship's pod. As the ship takes off, the Pikmin all get inside the nearby Onion. The two blast off into space, but the Onion can only follow the ship up so far until it stays behind. The ship keeps going, eventually activates the warp, and disappears.

After this, the credits roll. In the cutscene after the credits, a scene similar to the intro plays out, except instead of Olimar coming face to face with asteroids, he sees Hocotate in the distance. The ending finishes with the S.S. Dolphin II flying towards Olimar's home planet.

In the Super Smash Bros. series

Olimar's official artwork for Smash Bros. Brawl.

This article or section is a short summary on Olimar as a fighter.
SmashWiki features more in-depth content.

Melee trophy

Captain Olimar also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but only as a trophy.

	Description: “The main character of the game Pikmin, Captain Olimar crash-lands on a mysterious planet after his spaceship malfunctions. In order to get off the planet, he must gather the pieces of his broken ship, but the atmosphere of the planet is poisonous to Olimar. As a result, he has to enlist the help of the native Pikmin. Pikmin 12/01”
How to obtain: Have a Pikmin save file in the memory card.		Type: Other

Brawl trophy

	Description: “Veteran spacefarers in the employ of Hocotate Freight. After crash-landing on an enigmatic planet, Olimar met the mysterious beings known as Pikmin. He enlisted their aid to find his spaceship parts and help him escape. Once home, he found his employer on the verge of bankruptcy. He was sent back to the Pikmin world with his partner, Louie, to repay the company debt. Pikmin Pikmin 2”
How to obtain: Complete Classic mode with Olimar.		Type: Fighter

Smash 4 trophy

Normal, 3DS

	US description: “A veteran spaceship pilot for Hocotate Freight, Captain Olimar partners with Pikmin in Smash Bros. to help him in battle. Olimar is much stronger when he's got Pikmin with him, so keep them plucked and good to go. Pikmin abilities are based on their color—learn what each is best at!”
	EU description: “Captain Olimar, veteran Hocotate Freight astronaut, joins forces with Pikmin again in this game to take on the world. Olimar isn't much of an attacker without Pikmin by his side, so you should always keep some ready. Pikmin have different abilities depending on their colour, so learn how they work to use them effectively!”
How to obtain: Complete Classic mode while playing as Olimar or Alph.		Type: Fighter

Alt, 3DS

	US description: “Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, though! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them in their tracks!”
	EU description: “Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, but still! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them. Just don't forget to replace your Pikmin when they're gone!”
How to obtain: Complete All-Star mode while playing as Olimar or Alph.		Type: Fighter

Normal, Wii U

	US description: “A veteran spaceship pilot for Hocotate Freight, Captain Olimar partners with Pikmin in Smash Bros. to help him in battle. Olimar is much stronger when he's got Pikmin with him, so keep them plucked and good to go. Pikmin abilities are based on their color—learn what each is best at! Appears in: Pikmin (12/2001) Pikmin 2 (08/2004)”
	EU description: “Captain Olimar, veteran Hocotate Freight astronaut, joins forces with Pikmin again in this game to take on the world. Olimar isn't much of an attacker without Pikmin by his side, so you should always keep some ready. Pikmin have different abilities depending on their colour, so learn how they work to use them effectively! Related Games Pikmin (06/2002) Pikmin 2 (10/2004)”
How to obtain: Complete Classic mode with Olimar or Alph.		Type: Fighter	Trophy Box: 62. Space Explorer

Alt, Wii U

	US description: “Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, though! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them in their tracks! Appears in: Pikmin (12/2001) Pikmin 2 (08/2004)”
	EU description: “Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, try throwing them at boxes. They'll grab them and drag them in for you, hitting enemies along the way. Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin-throw can stop them. Just don't forget to replace your Pikmin when they're gone! Related Games Pikmin (06/2002) Pikmin 2 (10/2004)”
How to obtain: Unlock the Olimar trophy and buy it from the store.		Type: Fighter	Trophy Box: 62. Space Explorer

amiibo

A close up of the amiibo.

Main article: amiibo.

In the April 1^st, 2015 Nintendo Direct, Olimar was confirmed to be a part of the Super Smash Bros. amiibo, launching in September 2015 in the US and July 2015 in all other regions. Like other fighters, his amiibo is identical to his main trophy from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

As a Pikmin

Warning: the following text contains major spoilers about the ending of Pikmin.

Olimar as "Pikmar".

Olimar becomes a Pikmin (dubbed by fans as Pikmar or Olimin) in the bad 'alternative' ending of Pikmin, where the S.S. Dolphin fails to take off and crashes on the planet again; Olimar is then carried to the Red Onion by some Pikmin and ejected as a seed consisting of only his head and a small stem with leaf. Judging by the sounds and visual effects, he appears to flourish to his former size similar to the way Pikmin first grow.

This ending is not considered canon with the rest of the series as in Pikmin 2 he is seen proceeding to land on Hocotate in his ship and so must have obtained at least the 25 mandatory ship parts. Olimar in this form is only ever seen buried, so the rest of his appearance is unknown. It should also be noted that the model used in the in-game cutscene only contains a head.

Why the Onion transforms him instead of turning him into true Pikmin seeds is unknown. However, it is worth noting that the Pikmin silently watch as he is spat out and cheer as he begins to grow, indicating that they expected the transformation to occur. In-game, when Pikmin carry Olimar to their Onion, he is not affected in any way and merely bounces off the alien mother-ship. As such, the process may be controlled by the Pikmin themselves. A similar process occurs in Pikmin 4 when Olimar is turned into a leafling, and even occurs in very similar if not identical circumstances.

Profiles

ID badge description

“A hard worker and family man who often sacrifices his time off to support his family. He also seems to be a magnet for bad luck.”

Pikmin personality test

Text

“あなたの性格は…

オリマーです。

家族を愛するはたらき者。リーダーシップがあり、ピクミンからしたわれる人気者。

でもちょっぴり不幸属性。”

Translation

“Your personality is…

Olimar.

A hard worker who loves his family. You have leadership skills and are popular among Pikmin.

However, you have a bit of bad luck.”

Pikmin Garden bio

Text

“ホコタテ運送の宇宙飛行士

キャプテン・オリマー

出身星ホコタテ星

ホコタテ運送のベテラン宇宙飛行士。冒険家になるのを夢見ながら、家族のため休日返上で荷物を運んでいる。なぜかトラブルによく巻き込まれてしまう。

関係者妻、息子、娘、チャッピー（ペットの宇宙犬）

趣味気ままな一人旅

夢冒険家になること”

Translation

“Hocotate Freight Astronaut

Captain Olimar

Home planet: Hocotate

Veteran astronaut of Hocotate Freight. While he dreams of becoming an adventurer, he works on holidays to transport cargo for his family. For some reason, he often gets into trouble.

Related persons: wife, son, daughter, Bulbie (pet space dog)

Hobbies: carefree journeys alone

Dreams: becoming an adventurer”

Naming

Olimar's name is derived from Mario, as "Louie" is from Luigi. In Japanese, Olimar (オリマー Orima) is an anagram of Mario (マリオ Mario). Olimar also shares Mario's red color scheme and big nose.

In Pikmin, Olimar is internally named navi, which is probably short for "navigator".

Names in other languages

Olimar

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	オリマー^? Orimā	An anagram of "Mario"
Chinese (traditional)	歐利瑪 Ōulìmǎ	Olimar
Chinese (simplified)	欧力马 Ōulìmǎ	Olimar
Dutch	Olimar	-
French	Olimar
German	Olimar	-
Italian	Olimar	-
Korean	올리마 Ollima	Olimar
Portuguese	Olimar	-
Spanish	Olimar	-

Captain Olimar

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キャプテン・オリマー^? Kyaputen Orimā	An anagram of "Mario"
Chinese (traditional)	歐利瑪隊長 Ōulìmǎ Duìzhǎng	Captain Olimar
Chinese (simplified)	欧力马队长 Ōulìmǎ Duìzhǎng	Captain Olimar
Dutch	Kapitein Olimar	Captain Olimar
French	Capitaine Olimar	Captain Olimar
German	Captain Olimar	-
Italian	Capitano Olimar	Captain Olimar
Korean	캡틴 올리마 Kaeptin Ollima	Captain Olimar
Portuguese	Capitão Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Spanish	Capitán Olimar	Captain Olimar
Russian	Капитан Олимар Kapitan Olimar	From English name
Czech	Kapitán Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Danish	Kaptajn Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Finnish	Kapteeni Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Hebrew	אולימר Olimar	Olimar
Hungarian	Olimar kapitány	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Norwegian	Kaptein Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website
Polish	Kapitan Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from the official Polish Facebook page
Swedish	Kapten Olimar	Captain Olimar	Name taken from Nintendo's official website

Gallery

Pikmin

Frontal artwork of Olimar.
Artwork of Olimar walking.
Artwork of Olimar whistling.
Artwork of Olimar finding a Blue Pikmin sprout.
Artwork Olimar pulling out a Blue Pikmin.
Similar artwork of Olimar pulling out a Red Pikmin, from the New Play Control! Pikmin manual.
Artwork of Olimar throwing a Blue Pikmin.

Pikmin 2

Clay artwork of Captain Olimar.
Alternate viewing angle.
Clay art of Olimar throwing a Blue Pikmin. It mirrors one of the Pikmin artworks above.
Alternate version with a White Pikmin instead of a Blue Pikmin.
Clay artwork of Olimar with Louie.
Clay artwork of Olimar facing Louie.
Clay artwork of Olimar plucking a Blue Pikmin.
Alternate viewing angle.
Version with background.