(Pikmin is copyright Nintendo)

(All measurements used in this story are of pikmin perspective. EG: one metre would be about the height of the pikmin, excluding stems)

PROLOGUE

They all watched as Olimar and the President lift off, the onions giving off large quantities of light around them as a final farewell. They - the pikmin - were also glowing, chanting their little chant as part of the farewell act. Finally, when the ship left the atmosphere, the onions came back down to the surface. The pikmin had earlier decided to go their separate ways when Olimar had left, so they said their goodbyes to each other, and headed into their onions, with the purples trekking to the Valley of Repose to live in the Subterranean Complex, where they knew they would live peacefully, as they had eventually befriended the Man-at-Legs that lived down there. The whites were also going to the Valley of Repose, but were going to live in the Frontier Cavern, due to conveniently finding a great spot to live in harmony with the other creatures, as they had no need to attack each other. The reds were going to the Wistful Wild, as they liked the challenge of stronger creatures, due to their slightly bigger yearn for fighting, a trait found in all reds and the reason behind why they do more damage. The yellows were headed for the Awakening Woods, which they loved due to the vast amount of high places, especially the towering trees. The blues were staying put - in the Perplexing Pool. The reason for this was obvious: The vast amount of water was a haven for them, plus, they had a score to settle with the Waterwraith that called the Submerged Castle its home, and also wanted to try and find another Smokey Progg, of which they now had a strategy against, as well as also wanting the treasure it released - it's golden pearl-like core, that of which was extreme value to the pikmin due to having enough nutrients to make 100 seeds. The pikmin said their goodbyes to each other, and headed in their destined directions. There was one pikmin, however, that decided stay behind for a little bit. He was a red pikmin, and he was the very first pikmin to have ever met Captain Olimar. He was the seed ejected from the onion when Olimar first discovered it in the Impact Site, and as such was the most experienced pikmin there was. He had seen it all - everything from the simplest Dwarf Red Bulborb, many a time he had gone one-on-one against (and many a time had nearly been eaten by one due to a mistimed throw), to Beady Long Legs (which he swore was harder to defeat the first time Olimar was here, most likely because it was a more mature specimen), to the dreadful Emperor Bulblax, which always chilled him to the bone whenever he thought of one, especially the much more mature one they had faced in the Final Trial. That day was a bittersweet day, where he had dealt the final blow to the hideous beast, but only after getting a distinctive scar along his face, which looked like he had had a knife slashed diagonally across his face, with the thing, straight cut going from the top-left of his face to the bottom-right, caused by one of the rocky protrusions on the behemoths back. This pikmin was one of few to have a name, as only the veteran pikmin had names. His name was Neode, an unlikely name for a red pikmin, but chosen for a reason known only to Neode himself.

"Oi, when are ya gonna get back in the onion?" Shouted another red pikmin, this one being the 23rd pikmin born, and therefore one of the 25 born on Olimar's very first day on the planet.

"Eeh, later. In fact, I'm considering staying here for the night", Replied Neode.

"But you know the blue onion won't accept you in! Besides, the blues are going to live next to the Submerged Castle, for easier access once they have enough numbers...

"Who said I was planning on staying the night in an onion?

"WHAT? You'll never survive the night alone! You'll be eaten at the first opportunity!

"Heh heh heh… just watch me…

The pikmin continued to stare at Neode, arms raised and mouth open ready to continue arguing, but eventually he flung his arms into the air and gave up. "If you die, it's your own bloody fault"

"Meh. Pick me up in the morning. Judging from what I overheard the blues discussing, they're going to have a full day of sleeping in, so you'll be able to bring a full army of 99 pikmin to try and find me"

With that, Neode walked off, only stopping to say goodbye to the other veterans: Volt, the very first yellow pikmin, Aqua, the first blue pikmin, Veno, the first white pikmin, and Sok, the first purple pikmin. Before Neode looked for a spot to stay, he did a quick check of how many pikmin were in the field. He counted 1523, around 300 of each colour, a few more for some, a few less for others. This was the only time the onions allowed more than 100 pikmin on the surface of each region at a time. All others times, the onions restrict any more than a total of 100 on the surface per region, due to survival reasons, in the case the whole group of 100 was wiped out for some reason. Pikmin had the ability to sense the exact numbers of how many pikmin were on the field, and, when standing under the onion, how many were inside it, the exact same way the leaders did. Pikmin could also understand every word the leaders said, even if the leaders couldn't understand them, and so knew the name of every enemy and every region.

Neode finally walked off from everyone else, desperate to be alone. Neode liked being alone; he was able to think and work better, and in some cases even fight better - many a time he had killed a creature on his own quicker and easier than a group of 20 pikmin would have. However, he liked the company of the leaders, especially Olimar. Because of this, he felt quite sad to see Olimar and the President lift off in the gleaming gold ship, but happy for them at the same time, working tirelessly to help them. They all did, not just because they saw them as leaders, but because the pikmin WANTED to help. This is because of their ability to feel the emotions of people they see as leaders, and so help people to receive and feel the joy that they feel when they complete their task.

Neode eventually found a small cave on the far edge of the Perplexing Pool, at the base of a long extinct volcano. He ventured inside, and found it to be unusually cosy. He wondering as to why this could be the case, when he realised that he was standing on a blanket of cut grass. Neode wondered as to why there would be an even layer of cut grass inside a cave when he saw something. Or rather, two things.

Eyes.

Giant, white eyes.

Eyes that could only belong to…

Neode ran back outside, as the Bulborb chased him outside. He pressed his back against the wall outside, hoping it wouldn't see him. Luckily, it didn't.

Instead, it yelped.

Neode had only seen this in the Dwarf Bulborbs, and it was used to awaken any nearby Bulborbs. So, as he saw this full grown Bulborb yelp, he couldn't help but wonder why.

He also noticed that its head was slightly larger than usual, but with no visual changed to the jaw, meaning that the top of its skull - where its brain was - was larger than normal. Neode figured that this meant its brain was larger, possibly due to developing a whole new way of hunting and/or killing. Neode then linked the possibility that it could have developed such a better hunting technique that its brain expanded and the yelp.

The sudden slight tremor, the four loud bangs of something hitting the ground, and the creature that came from nowhere that now stood right in front of Neode helped confirm that.

The Titan Dweevil towered over him, slightly moving up and down, its mandibles crossed behind its back. Neode noted that it was fairly smaller than the Titan Dweevil he clashed with in the Dream Den. Although without armour or weapons, and despite its size, it could still kill him instantly with either a single jab of a leg or by picking him up and eating him. Neode considered his options, and decided to run. However, the Titan Dweevil thought otherwise. It jabbed a large leg into the ground, right next to where Neode was running. He turned around to head the other way, and anticipated the Dweevils next move. What he anticipated was correct, and so as another leg jabbed into the ground right in front of him, he jumped, and grabbed into the leg. He instantly started climbing up the leg, intending to reach the body. The Titan Dweevil started shaking its leg in an attempt to fling him off, and when that proved ineffective, it tried using its mandibles to grab onto Neode. He dodged the two hand-like pincers, and quickly looked over to where the Bulborb was, checking to see if it was going to do anything sneaky. It was.

It was holding a dozen bomb rocks in its mouth. Neode stopped climbing and gaped, but quickly continued his ascent, making sure to keep the Bulborb in his vision. He eventually reached the head of the Dweevil, then realised he has no plan. So, he did what every sensible pikmin would do: Grab on for dear life and start whacking. However, he decided he would whack the eyes for maximum damage. He looked to his left before whacking, and saw the Bulborb put all bomb rocks down except one. It held this one on its tongue, and made an odd cry at Neode. No, at the Titan Dweevil. The Dweevil, seeing this as a cue, reached up and grabbed Neode off its forehead, and held him out in front of it. The Bulborb took its chance, and threw the bomb rock. Neode saw the explosive head straight for him, and instinctively put his hands up to protect himself, shutting his eyes in the process.

When he opened his eyes, he saw something he would have never thought to have seen in his life.

He was holding the bomb rock!

He spent a second frantically thinking what to do, before finally deciding that he wanted carnage. So he threw the explosive at the pile of other bomb rocks.

The resulting explosion nearly tore his face off.

Neode was flung far backwards off the Titan Dweevil, and landed on his back. He got up a few seconds later to discover that the Bulborb had been flung several metres to his right, and was dead, having half of its body blown off and in pieces around it, the other half badly burnt and bleeding profoundly. The Titan Dweevil appeared to suffered major damage to one leg, but was still able to walk fine, as if nothing happened. However, it did have a look of pain in its eyes, and Neode stopped for a moment. He also saw fear and an unwillingness to fight in its eyes. Only then did he realise its true size. It was only about a third of the size of a normal Titan Dweevil, not even as wide as an onion. It was a baby! That's how the smartened Bulborb was able to call it without fuss. Neode stepped forward slowly; arms outspread to show he was not going to harm it. The Dweevil, now realising that its master was dead, just stood there, staring at Neode, uncertain as to what to do. Neode eventually got close enough to touch it, but when he put his arm out, it moved its head back a little. Neode withdrew his arm, and waited for it to settle. Then, he tried again. This time, it moved its head back again, but not as much, and Neode was still able to reach it. Finally, he touched it. The Titan Dweevil stood there, as still as stone, before finally realising that Neode wasn't a threat, and relaxed. Neode then thought he would try something, something the others had done with some other creatures before. He tried talking to it.

"Can you understand me?"

The Dweevil just stood there, unsure as of what to do.

"Nod your head if you can understand what I'm saying"

Again, it stood there, but finally, it nodded, giving a barely audible wail, the signature cry of Titan Dweevils. Neode smiled, this was good.

Then Neode had a brilliant idea. He jumped up onto the Dweevils head, and sat on it. He then asked it to move forward. It did so without argument. Neode beamed with excitement, and told it to move towards the large lake of water in the Perplexing Pool, next to the landing zone. The Dweevil responded with a slight wail, and headed straight towards where it was told to go. It liked this little creature. It didn't want to harm it like the other little colourful creatures like it did. Instead, it just wanted to be friendly. It wasn't mean like that two-legged spotty thing, instead, it was nice. The Dweevil then thought that from that day on, it would protect this little creature, as it had been the nicest creature it had even encountered.

Neode eventually arrived in the water, and noticed that the Toady Bloyster that usually inhabited this part of the water was gone. In its place was a Spotty Bulbear and 10 of its young, feasting on what remained of it. One of the juveniles noticed Neode and his new pet, and barked in surprise. Its 9 siblings and the parents raised their head, and looked at Neode too. The parent stood in front of the carcass and its young, growling. Neode simply looked at them, and then told the Dweevil to move on. Once the Titan Dweevil passed, the Bulbears happily continued eating, although now cautious as to what else could be out there that wasn't usually out at this time of night.

The landing zone, where every pikmin had gathered for the farewell, was now deserted. Neode looked around, and decided that he should find a place to sleep for the night. He spotted a little area to the left, where he remembered there being bomb rocks the first time Olimar was here. Once they got to the small, blocked off area, the Titan Dweevil gave a final wail before burrowing back down into the soil, leaving only the very top of its head slightly exposed. Neode, now used to the position that he was sitting in, quickly gathered some leaves and made a head rest, and laid down on top of his new pet. Before he went to sleep, he realised that once it grew up, it could become intelligent enough to have meaningful conversation with. Then, it would be more than a pet. It would be a friend. The last thing Neode saw before he went to sleep was a small, eight legged spider about the size of his torso, crawling towards him. He wondered whether it was a danger or not, but this thought was cut short as he fell asleep.

The next day, the red onion touched down at the landing zone, with the blue onion flying towards the corner of the Perplexing Pool. The first pikmin to get out was another veteran. His name was Crim, and was the 42nd pikmin born. He was a veteran because of his notoriety as being the pikmin that defied the odds. He had been in the maw of many a Bulborb, had survived a rolling Segmented Crawbster, and had even survived two Gatling Groinks at once, and had defeated both with only a few others to help him, due to careful planning made by Veno, who was also with him, and who is considered to be the smartest pikmin alive. He was also one of Neode's best friends. First, he brought out 98 pikmin. Once they were all out, he checked how many were in the region.

His heart sunk as he realised that there were only 99 pikmin on the field, the 98 he called out and him. Hoping to find any clue as to what happened to Neode, he sent 80 to search every corner of the Perplexing Pool they could access, in groups of 20 for in case they encountered any creatures that could pose a threat. He then led the remaining 18, and started looking. He spent the whole day looking, but found nothing. However, in the dying minutes of the day, one of the pikmin in his group spotted a small, closed off area that was barely visible unless you knew it was there. Crim recognized it as a place where bomb rocks were when Olimar was looking for his ship parts. The group walked over to it, and saw that something had been there before. Dirt was turned up in an X shape, leading to suggest that something with 4 legs had been buried here. The first thought that came to Crims mind was an Arachnorb or a Dweevil, but the size was too big for a normal Dweevil but too small for something like a Man-at-Legs. Crim knew that there wasn't any Man-at-Legs around for ages, but there was a large population of Beady Long Legs around here. However, they didn't burrow in the ground, so what could have caused it? Crim was pondering what creature it could have been when a pikmin in his group snapped him back to reality.

"Um, sir, it's sunset. We need to head back to the onion before it gets dark…"

Crim took one final look around, sighed, and slowly shook his head.

"…You're right. Let's go."

He started walking back to the onion when he felt a pat on the back. He turned around and saw one of the pikmin standing there, pity in his eyes. Crim stared at him, nodded, and then continued walking.

As the onion started to take off, Crim couldn't help but feel that during the whole day, he was watched by something. Something small, yet powerful. He had a cup of nectar to clear his mind, and fell asleep soon after, thinking about what could have happened to Neode.

Back on the surface, Neode watched the onion take off. He had been watching them the whole day, but did not wish to expose himself. He took a look at his body, now vastly different from what it was, and the spider that was hugged around his back, the legs wrapping around the top of his torso and pointing towards the centre of his chest. He grabbed hold of his stem, and looked at what once was his flower. In its place was a multi-coloured flower, the petals glowing but still able to be seen easily, giving off a small amount of light. Neode learned earlier that day that he could control the colour (its default colour was light blue, but he could change it to literally any colour) and even make it now glow at all. When it wasn't glowing, it was still shiny, but black, the same colour as his skin. He was still thankful that his physical form didn't change; only added on to. Finally, he tapped his forehead, where a single metal disc made of six curving parts was. He opened it up, still wondering what it did. Whenever he opened it, he felt tremendous power going to his forehead, yet he had no idea how to use it. Neode tried and tried to do something, but nothing happened. Finally, he gave up, but just before he closed the metal disc, he remembered the huge explosion from last night, due to the many bomb rocks going off at once. Suddenly, small light particles started appearing from nowhere and condensed at his forehead. He felt a slight pressure in his head, which soon started to get bigger and bigger, as if he was holding onto something that was getting stronger. He finally couldn't take it anymore, and tried to release the light.

What happened was not what he expected.

A large beam (about 2 or 3 metres in diameter) suddenly shot from his forehead. The beam ripped through whole tree stumps before eventually fading out, leaving everything with charcoaled walls from where the beam passed through. Neode stood there, awestruck, for about 10 seconds, before suddenly realising that that gigantic beam of destruction had taken its toll on him, and he fell backwards, nearly unconscious. The Titan Dweevil (Neode had named it Titanic earlier) looked down at him, confused and slightly worried. It poked its master with one of its mandibles, and Neode just put an arm into the air, motioning for Titanic to leave him be, and proclaimed that he was alright. Titanic, now understanding that its master was okay, backed off a little, and buried itself into the ground. After a few minutes, Neode slowly sat upright, looking out of the cave that was once the home of the brainiac Bulborb, and that he now called home. He realised just how lucky he was, to have such power, and to even have a Titan Dweevil under his command! He felt the spider around his chest shift slightly, and continued to very slowly absorb into his skin, as it had been doing all day. Neode eventually thought that it would stop shrinking around him, and that then it wouldn't be so bulky and could even be in line with his skin, so that it would be as if it wasn't there at all. He also wondered what the spider had done, and why. All he remembered was that the spider shoved some kind of glowing white orb into his body, and then jumped at him. During that time, Neode had been able to get a quick look at its features, and they were fairly similar to what he had now. Neode also wondered if the spider could be of any use. Deciding to think about it in the morning when he wasn't so fatigued, he decided to get some sleep. But before doing so, he got up, and walked to the entrance of the cave, and shouted:

"I AM NEODE, THE MOST POWERFUL BEING ON THE PLANET!"

Neode was satisfied with what he said, and so with that, he went back inside, and laid down to sleep. Little did he know that in several years' time, he would become the centre of chaos.