Poko

The Poko counter as seen in the opening cinema.

"Money" redirects here. For other uses, see coin.

The Poko is the currency used on Olimar's home planet, Hocotate. Pokos were offically introduced in Pikmin 2; the plot concerned them. Olimar and Louie have to pay a debt of ×10,100 by visiting the Planet of the Pikmin, where collecting treasures can pay off this supposedly immeasurably large sum of money. In comparison, ×100 is more than a year's wage for a Hocotatian. Pokos are oval-shaped, thin, and made of some sort of golden colored material.

In Pikmin 3's Collect treasure! stages, a counter at the top of the screen shows an icon quite similar to that of a Poko.

Hocotate money is mentioned at some points in the first two games. When the final ship part in Pikmin is recovered, the Secret Safe, Olimar states that it is as full as ever, meaning none of his Pokos were lost. Some pieces of mail in Pikmin 2 allude to Pokos too:

• Olimar's son mentions how his allowance has been cut, restored and later doubled.
• Olimar's wife mentions how she finds her husband's "secret cash stash".
• Olimar's wife notes how Olimar's bonuses arrive after repaying the debt, and later, his son mentions how he should give one of the checks to a spammer.
• One of the supposed spammers mentions saving "tons of Pokos" at a website.
• Olimar's daughter mentions how an orchestra play the family went to was supposedly expensive.
• Olimar's children point out how their mother's Poko craze changed their lifestyle to the worst.
• Olimar's wife explains how she "lost a small fortune buying lottery tickets".

Gallery

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  The texture for a Poko in Pikmin 2; it receives filters for its color.

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  The Poko counter in Challenge Mode.

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  The Poko Counter in a Collect treasure! stage.

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  The Poko Counter at the end of a Collect treasure! stage.

Trivia

• Pokos bear a strong resemblance to the coins found in the Mario series of video games.
• The intrinsic value of Pokos fluctuates within Pikmin 2 and across games to Pikmin 3, rather like real fiat money; thus, there is no one conversion value to a real-life currency. It can be determined, however, that one Poko is worth much less than the 2004+ US dollar. For example, the worn gold and copper in the Lustrous Element (assuming it is a typical 1850s gold dollar, at about 1.7 grams or .05 troy ounces) would yield a value in 2004 of around $22.02; meanwhile the high demand for it on Hocotate makes it worth 1000 Pokos. By this "Lustrous Element standard," $2.02 is close to a year's salary for a Hocotate Freight worker.