Captain Olimar
Captain Olimar, commonly called Olimar, is the main protagonist of the Pikmin series. He discovered the Planet of the Pikmin and the Pikmin species. He works at Hocotate Freight and owns and captains his ship, the S.S. Dolphin, in the first Pikmin game. He has a family (wife, son and daughter) on Hocotate. According to the notes on the Worthless Statue and the Priceless Statue, Olimar has a father who may seem useless to him and a mother who is rumored to be deceased. In-game, Olimar monologues some notes in Pikmin; in the second game, they are replaced by the Ship's notes.
Biography
An unexpected adventure
Captain Olimar was going to take a vacation away from Hocotate and relax from work for a few days. As he was flying his personal ship, the S.S. Dolphin, a meteor was heading towards him. Having little notice, Olimar's ship collided with the meteor, causing the Dolphin to fall and start to burn as it was crashing down to an unknown planet. This planet was infested with giant plants and oxygen; a gas highly poisonous to his species. Olimar was thrown head on onto the control panel, falling unconscious as the ship crashed on the ground, and he was thrown out of his unusable spacecraft.
From shipwrecked to shipshape
Fortunately for Olimar, he was able to regain consciousness from his crash, but he became hopeless, as his ship was stuck in the ground and 30 of its pieces were dislodged. While he was exploring an area he called the Impact Site, he met odd creatures called Pikmin at an unoccupied Onion. The Red Pikmin were able to reproduce more Pikmin, so Olimar was able to find some useful helpers on the planet. Utilizing the Pikmin's many talented deeds, he was able to find the Dolphin's Main Engine which had fortunately landed in the same area as he crashed. The Pikmin helped him find and retrieve it back to his ship, letting the Dolphin at least lift off. As he was looking for more parts, he discovered more Pikmin, including Yellow Pikmin and Blue Pikmin in two different areas. The wildlife he encountered intrigued him; they were nothing like he had ever seen. The creatures were no match for the Pikmin he commanded, for the Pikmin defeated them and took their bodies to their Onions, in order to produce more Pikmin. Luckily for Olimar, he was able to find at least 25-30 ship parts on the planet and restore his ship's damage. Before he left, he took a bottle cap from the planet as a souvenir and took notes on the wildlife.
Olimar's possible failure
Should Olimar fail to get all 25 mandatory parts by day 30, he will suffer a poisoning from the oxygen. He will try to fly off, but his ship will crash. His Pikmin will then bring his body to an Onion, which now turns him into a seed that grows to have Olimar's head, along with a stem and leaf. This, of course, is not canonical with the real storyline.
Return to Hocotate
After Olimar's success at the Pikmin planet, he was able to blast off the planet to return to Hocotate, see his family and return to his normal life. Deciding to land at Hocotate Freight, he met up with the President of Hocotate Freight 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 Pokos for the loss of a golden Pikpik carrot shipment. Learning that the Dolphin was sold to pay the debt, Olimar was so shocked he dropped the souvenir for his son. As the bottle cap rolled past Louie, an old ship commonly referred to as "the Ship" was able to use its Research Pod to suck up the rusty bottle cap. The Pod analyzed the piece of salvage to be worth 100 Pokos, which lowered the debt to 10,000 Pokos. The President commanded Olimar and Louie to return to the Pikmin Planet and collect more treasure.
Paying off Hocotate Freight's debt
As Olimar and Louie were heading to the Valley of Repose, Louie fell out of the cockpit and Olimar had to search for him. Luckily for Olimar, he found a group of Red Pikmin fighting a lone Dwarf Red Bulborb. He was able to unite with Louie by using the Pikmin to squash the barriers. Before, Louie had discovered a treasure, and with the help of Olimar, were able to forage it, dubbed the Courage Reactor and start their adventure. They then discovered a series of Caverns deep underground, which housed many treasures and even some new Pikmin species. As they were able to make movements in Awakening Wood and Perplexing Pool, the debt lowered to a small amount. In the end, Olimar and Louie were able to pay the debt. Olimar blasted off the planet, but noticed that he somehow left Louie behind, but at too late a time to go back and rescue Louie immediately.
The search for Louie
After meeting the President once again to present him with all the treasures he and Louie found, the debt was fully paid. The President also said that he would join Olimar to search for Louie. The two went to the Wistful Wild to start their search and find more treasure, to make their company wealthier than ever before. They both were able to find Louie in Wistful Wild, in the Dream Den, on top of a gigantic Titan Dweevil. Olimar and the President were able to rescue Louie, although there are hints that Louie was, in reality, controlling the Dweevil.
Traits and abilities
- Olimar is able to control Pikmin, using his whistle as a means of command. The Pikmin quite possibly see him as a leader and a hero.
- He can pluck or pull out Pikmin sprouts when he stands next to them (or by whistling after obtaining the Pluckaphone).
- Olimar can launch a punch attack to weaken enemies (or a three punch combo after obtaining the Rocket Fist).
- Olimar has an interest in science and presumably biology, taking notes and commenting on every treasure and enemy he discovered.
- He has three short brown hairs and wears a beige spacesuit, decorated with red lines and red gloves. He measures 1.9cm tall, and 3.9cm tall with his space suit on.
- He loves his family, but they often ask a lot of him when it comes to financial matters. This is one of the reasons he enjoys time to himself.
- He designed the Bowsprit, for the S.S. Dolphin.
- It is referred to that Olimar has had conflicts with space pirates.
- Though Olimar does not get much of a chance to express his emotions in-game besides his notes (given that he is never heard talking, in the Hocotation language or not), he seems to be a slight megalomaniac if one takes the time to study his notes. For example, in the notes for the Pilgrim Bulb, he fantasizes about becoming the "Supreme Flower Commander" of Hocotate.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Main article: Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Olimar is a playable character in the Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He commands his Pikmin in battle, and is almost entirely dependent on them. Olimar is able to pluck new Pikmin from the ground at any time, and he can have up to six with him at once. The Pikmin, as in the original series, are fragile and can be defeated easily, but each of the five colors have special unique properties (for example, the Red Pikmin are stronger than average and have fire-based attacks, as well as resistance to flame). Olimar’s Final Smash is called End of Day, during which he leaves the arena via his spaceship as night falls. The players left behind are attacked by feeding Bulborbs, and can be further damaged when Olimar's ship returns and explodes on impact. Although Olimar's Pikmin are left behind too, they go unharmed.
Trophy Info
A veteran spacefarer 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.
In other games
Pikmin 3
Olimar has been confirmed to make an appearance in Pikmin 3, along with Louie. This duo appears exclusively on the Bingo Battle mode, and at the moment, it is not known if they have any role in the game's main story mode.
Super Smash Bros. 4
On the 12th of July 2013, Captain Olimar and the Pikmin have been confirmed to return in the Super Smash Bros. series' latest installment, Super Smash Bros. 4. From what can be seen in the shown snapshots, his moveset is identical to that of Brawl's. Rock and Winged Pikmin haven't been shown on any of the snapshots, at least so far. Interestingly, in order to update Olimar's model, the spacesuit was given a whistle much like the ones Alph, Brittany and Charlie have.
Behind the scenes
- 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 was supposed to make a cameo appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The captain was to come in and taste the player's coffee. However, this never occurred, as the scene was canceled. He was also planned to call Mario "Marlio" (an anagram of "Olimar") and somehow mistake Luigi for a beast.
- In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the player can get trophies of Pikmin and Olimar if (s)he has a Pikmin save file on the memory card.
- In Yoshi's Island DS, a baby similar in appearance to Olimar is present in a few scenes.
- One of the key items in Super Paper Mario, the Helmet has a large resemblance to Olimar's helmet. It even includes an antenna with a red light beacon.
- Although not seen, the player can get a message from Olimar in the Wii game Animal Crossing: City Folk, which reads: "I found this odd little hat on my travels. It looks just like one of those cute little creatures I've met in outer space! Have fun wearing it! - From Captain Olimar.". When the player finishes reading the letter, they get an item called the "Red Pikmin Hat", which looks like a Red Pikmin's stem with a leaf. A "life size" model of his ship has also been released.
- Although Olimar is just 2cm tall in the Pikmin games, he is much bigger in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Gallery
- PikOlimarPluck.jpg
Olimar pulling out a Blue Pikmin sprout.
- PIkOlimarThrow.jpg
Olimar throwing a Blue Pikmin.
- Pikmin 080109b-l.jpg
Olimar and the five Pikmin types as they are seen in Brawl.
The Pikmin hat in Animal Crossing: City Folk.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
オリマー? Orimā |
An anagram of "Mario" |
 Dutch |
Olimar | - |
 French |
Olimar | - |
 German |
Olimar | - |
 Italian |
Olimar | - |
 Spanish |
Olimar | - |
See also
External links
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Captain Olimar • Louie • The President • Alph • Brittany • Charlie • Pikmin 4 player character |
| Rescue Corps | Oatchi • Collin • Shepherd • Russ • Dingo • Yonny • Bernard |
| Ships | S.S. Dolphin • Hocotate ship • S.S. Drake • S.S. Dolphin II • SPERO • S.S. Beagle • S.S. Shepherd |
| Other | Castaway • Leafling • Minor characters • Moss • Pikmin |