Pikmin: The Flora and Fauna
Dwarf Bulborb Bisques, A Flavorful, Piping Hot Meal!
Louie stared down at a nearly blank list, the only pages truly filled out were the first one, a drawing of Louie himself with a chef hat sketched haphazardly on top standing in front of a large counter and sign labeled, "The Insect Gourmet". He sighed. When he returned to Hocotate, he would have a show, be famous, but most importantly, show Hocotations the joys and wonders of the ingredients and meals at their disposal, and the foreign but scrumptious tastes this planet had to offer.
In reality, he was still just a spaceman wandering around the huge plains of an unknown planet. Shuffling through the dirt, accompanied only by a trio of Pikmin, he wandered aimlessly, weaving around huge trees and sticks. Olimar had gone off, told him to help harvest for the Pikmin's benefits as to stabilize their population numbers. Louie on the other hand was too busy reflecting on his cooking skills, and to that extent, his stomach, which was far from empty. The idea of food however made his stomach growl almost on a whim.
The three Pikmin following behind him paused, noticing the noise. One of the larger, purple, whiskered of the bunch walked forward curiously, staring at Louie with its large eyes. Louie blinked, shaking his head. If he wanted lunch, he would have to work for it. Fortunately for Louie, that was precisely how the Pikmin system functioned: Find food, take it home. So, Louie, with a refreshed mind and an eager palate, set off quickly through the underbrush of the forest.
The Purple Pikmin blinked, slowly following after him. Two flashes of white sped past it, almost leaving the purple plant organism in the dust. Two skinny, white Pikmin with eyes stained a pink-red dashed ahead, attempting to follow Louie through a bush. A squeak of protest caught the attention of their non-visible ears behind them. Turning around quickly, they noticed the Purple Pikmin stumbling about, attempting to catch up, albeit very slowly. The White Pikmin shook their heads, running back behind their purple cousin, pushing the slower one with a great force, grunting with a bit of an effort. The three Pikmin made haste in their movements, skedaddling through the bushel. The low visibility caused by the leaves proved to be a worthy adversary however, resulting in the Pikmin stumbling, tripping, and rolling (in that specific order mind you) down through the bush.
The three of them smashed into the dirt. Dazely standing up, Louie glanced at them, making a shush gesture with his mouth. The three Pikmin shook their heads, simultaneously, which happened to result in the purple individual knocking the other ones over like miniscule bowling pins. They picked themselves up, bickering like agitated, miniscule bowling pins as a result. Despite Louie's caution, he was not particularly alert. The main tip to that being that he was scribbling rapidly in his list of notes.
Louie occasionally glanced up from his budding list of recipes up ahead of him. In a clearing opposite to them, a collection of what appeared to be Bulborbs shuffled about, sniffing the ground. However, these were miniature in stature, shorter than Louie even. Louie vaguely recalled; these were Dwarf Red Bulborbs, smaller yet similar to their larger counterparts. In one of Olimar's research lectures, Louie vaguely remembered something about them actually being related to "bread" or something. He and the Pikmin around him during the time had dozed off, but now he was filled with a new drive.
Food and taste related theories dance about his head. Mainly, "How do they taste?". Glances at the small beasts had Louie think. These creatures were too small for any substantial steaks, and the taste could be much different than the normal, succulent beast that towered over the spacemen and Pikmin. For the sake of the food culture and his ever curious tastes, Louie slowly approached the creatures as they sniffed the ground.
The White Pikmin appeared somewhat mortified at Louie's daring behavior, only watching as he snuck up on the dozens of Dwarf Red Bulborbs who gathered in front. The Purple Pikmin, instead of standing by shivering, followed Louie, ever cautious in case of an accident. The two whites glanced at each other worriedly. With a frown concealed by their distinct lack of mouths, they ventured forward, ducking behind the Purple Pikmin as it walked in hopes of taking shelter in case things went awry.
Louie sidestepped around one of the miniature bulborbs, clearing his throat. Nodding towards the Purple Pikmin, he gestured a punch with one fist, onto the open palm of his other hand. The Purple Pikmin blinked, nodding, then walked over towards Louie. Louie pointed towards the Bulborb he stood behind repeatedly. Still, the Purple Pikmin did not quite understand what he was getting at, giving him odd stares and shaking its head. Louie resisted the urge to groan in exasperation for fear of his potential lunch turning the tables on him and the Pikmin. Behind the purple organism, the ones bleached of color poked their heads out. Louie arched an eyebrow.
The two White Pikmin pretended to throw something. When Louie's confused stared did not let up, one of the White Pikmin sighed, grabbing the other by its antenna, flinging its friend with its own might, who landed farther away safely, returning back like a boomerang that used legs.
Louie understood. He picked up the Purple Pikmin, which felt somewhat like a heavy frying pan in his opinion, and flung it overhead. The Purple Pikmin seemed to hover above the Bulborb for a second, then came down, crashing into the creature, knocking the wind out of it in an instant. The Bulborb made a sound akin to the air hissing out of a tire, then squeaked weakly, falling down on the ground in a toppled heap. Louie grinned happily at the prospect, then pointed towards the defeated cretin.
The Pikmin just stared at Louie again. A bead of sweat dripping down his face, he started humming, making a sound like a trumpet, wondering how he would explain to the Pikmin what he wanted done. As if on order, the Pikmin then assembled, reaching for the defeated enemy, picking it up using their little hands. They hoisted it upwards, then began walking in synchronized formation, back towards the spaceship.
Louie grinned gleefully, the Pikmin were quite handy. Despite his earlier protests, he was quite glad to see them working in formation, all for the sake of food, like he did. It was almost gratifying. However, a new challenge arose in his mind. How would he get past the rest of the Bulborbs?
He looked around carefully. Strangely, the clearing was… Clear of threats. All of the other Bulborbs were gone. Louie quickly searched around the forest. Nothing in sight except for bushes and trees. Satisfied, Louie marched alongside the Pikmin. He paused. A growling noise was brought to his attention. Assuming it was his stomach, he pat his spacesuit, and continued on. Another growl. Louie gulped, it came directly from behind him this time. Turning around carefully, his eyes expanded and he began sweating. Now he knew why the Dwarf Bulborbs had fled. Or at least, "momentarily retreated".
Swiftly, Louie cleared his throat, approached the working Pikmin, and added his hands underneath the Pikmin's. Confused, the little soldiers turned around. Soon after, together, the four of them hustled back with the deceased Bulborb, stomps and shadows signaling that there were at least fifty more coming, including a behemoth.
Hours had passed. A collection of Bulborbs laying down, a big, regular Red Bulborb retreating over the horizon had been collected and stacked in a pile next to the Onions and the ship. Louie sat next to the metal tin can he and Olimar used, a tired looking Olimar standing nearby, counting all of the corpses as the Pikmin joyfully hummed, bringing the deceased carnivores back to their homes for food.
While Olimar tiredly counted over and over, Louie and his small squad of three enjoyed sipping out of a mahogany bowl, filled with a saucy red liquid blissfully mixed with a white cream and a collection of red, white polka-dotted morsels sticking out.
Louie wrote while he and the other gobbled down the meal, one of his arms retracted into his suit, equipped with a ladle while he balanced the bowl in his lap, writing with his right, the Pikmin sipping from the bowl as well. "For a blissful bisque, mince the entire beast finely and stir in with heavy cream," He chewed momentarily, "Artichoke hearts, and a pinch-"
One of the Pikmin working hard on feeding its Onion sneezed suddenly, frightening others passing by.
"A pinch of black pepper." Louie wrote, "Heat slowly until piping hot. Mmmmm… Rich and creamy!"
Next to him, Olimar wiped the nonexistent sweat off of his helmet, staring at the amassed pile of food that the Pikmin gladly carried. He briefly reflected on his own efforts to add.
Speaking of which, two Pikmin carried a solitary pellet of sorts, colored yellow with a number one curiously imprinted on the top.
"What would I do without you, Louie." Olimar thought.
A crash was heard. Olimar blinked, spinning around quickly. Louie's space helmet seemed to have "bisque" spilled on it. When the Pikmin attempted to wipe it off, the could only feel the glass. Louie sipped some of the liquid off of the inside of his helmet, giving a thumbs-up to anyone who might be watching.
Olimar briefly pondered whether or not he wanted to retract that statement.
AN: Goodness, I have a bit on my plate. And it isn't bisque, let me tell you, I'll be honest, I'll be updating this story irregularly as I have a few others that I need getting done as well. But I'll be sure to update it as long as I keep playing the game, as I'm playing Pikmin 2 side-by-side as I'm writing to make sure I get the Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard details correct.
But before I go, I'd like to thank those who reviewed! Thanks Piston24 and Nyxy of ZeroFoxGiven for reviewing! I want to thank both of you… For liking this story. Seems a bit trivial, but with the amount of work on my plate, (there it is again) it helps to know people enjoy the content I put out!
Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to toss Pikpik carrots in the Piklopedia, see you.