Pikmin: A Retelling

Day 1: Crash Landing

A dull ringing had become the first thing to grab my attention, coupling itself very well with a pounding headache and the faint alarm of my spacesuit as I came to. I could only manage a slight, sharp intake of breath, feeling winded from the drop into the atmosphere of this strange planet. My ship had been horribly damaged, the hull no longer present to have kept me inside upon impact. I had been flung a short distance away, on my back and struggling for air after having briefly fainted.

My eyes were squinted as they focused on the clouds above. I was doing my best to try and relax, even if it had to be forced. In my current panicked state, I'd have no chance of even standing up properly in the next few hours. Beginning to control my shaky breath, I let my hands wander carefully across the short, thin foliage beneath me. Even through the thick gloves of my suit it felt soft and almost moist, showing signs of recent rain. I could feel pressure rise from my chest as I made these observations, and soon I was able to bring myself to a sitting position.

I let my head turn to look at my beloved S.S. Dolphin, almost immediately regretting this decision. The engine was visibly missing, as well as the Radiation Canopy, the Geiger Counter, and at least 20 other parts. I felt my heart sink into my chest a little. Those parts could be just about anywhere on this planet, and I only had 30 days before the oxygen on the planet would suffocate me to death. As much as I tried to relax, doing so was difficult with this knowledge swarming my attention.

As soon as I had regained enough of my balance to stand, I began to wander toward the field like area in front of me in hopes of finding something to keep my mind occupied, at least until I could come up with a plan. Even if I somehow found and reinstalled my engine, there was no way I could leave this planet and get home in one piece. I decided that for now, I'd need to take it one step at a time and find the engine before even thinking of anything else. Without that, I wouldn't be able to even leave the surface of the planet..... and I certainly wasn't keen to find out what lurked here at night.

Continuing forward, my attention was drawn to a strange brown mass that had partially buried itself into the ground. Instinct told me to back away and pretend I'd never seen it, but curiosity won the battle for my focus as I got closer. My eyes scanned over the odd pattern that rested at the bottom, almost obscured by the grass surrounding the object.

I took another step and attempted to bend down to examine it closer, but my thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a faint popping sound above me. I shifted back a step and looked up, noticing that a flower had suddenly bloomed from the top of the object. Before I could even think to back away further, the entire structure burst from the ground and sent me tumbling back. 

Sitting up with a groan, I took a new closer look at what almost appeared to be a kind of ship. I've decided to call it an onion, given its oddly reminiscent shape. It had brightened in color to a vibrant red that rivaled the glow of my helmet's antennae. A strange, small ball of the same color had spewed out from the top of the flower, burying itself far into the ground and sprouting up a leaf.

Curiosity once more tried to pull me closer, but this time I let my instinct take over and backed away even further without bothering to stand. Whatever this ship was, it certainly held capacity for some kind of life.... but hostile or not was now the most important question. If I could avoid it, I wasn't going to let myself fall prey to the creatures here with no chance of escape or recovery. Making even one wrong move without being able to depart to the sky could easily mean death here.

Again I stood, carefully weighing my options. Surely whatever this onion had spat out couldn't be that large, and if it were hostile, it would likely be able to escape the ground in the same way the onion did and attack regardless of if I were to disturb it. After reassuring myself once more with a hand to my chest, I approached and wrapped the other around the stem of the strange red plant. 

I yanked my hand back almost immediately, eyes wide and focusing on my gloves. Even through the thick material, I could have sworn I felt it begin to throb, as if in reaction to my presence. It took me a moment of focus before I could convince myself once more to wrap my hands around this strange foliage. With one swift pull, I managed to dislodge it from the ground and send it a short ways behind me.

A strange red creature now stood behind me, looking similar in shape to myself... albeit a bit thinner. It had a protruding yet thin nose that rested between two semi-large eyes, both of which were staring right at me. The leafy protrusion that I'd pulled it out with was swaying back and forth, and despite the creature lacking a mouth, it was making a soft, chittering sound at me. It came closer as I backed away, though its gait was in no way hostile, nor did it come close enough to attack had it wanted to. It kept a short yet respectable distance from me and tilted its head to the side whenever I stopped moving. I assume it must have been examining me much in the same way I was examining it.

I couldn't really help but smile, finally distracted enough from my dilemma to calm down. This creature seemed to at least be somewhat friendly, even if only for the time being. It looked much like the pikpik carrots my wife would cook into my favorite soup. Just the thought brought both fond memories and hopes of returning to Hocotate, and as I continued to stare at this fascinating creature, I began to become more and more hopeful. Surely the onion could create more sprouts, and with a large number of them, it'd be entirely possible to both locate and recover all the parts of my ship.

"I believe I shall call it a pikmin."