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Olimar and Pikmin

Toon Link found the small spacefarer in what appeared to be a small garden. He was instructing a few mysterious plant beings to dig up a rock. When they saw him approach, the creatures swarmed the Hylian, making curious whimpering noises. He could barely see through all their flower, bud, and leaf tipped stems. The captain whistled for them to return to him. He patted a red one affectionately on the head.

"Do forgive them," said Olimar said. Toon Link was surprised to hear such a deep voice come from the little man. "They don't normally meet someone close to their own height." Toon Link wasn't sure if that was a compliment or a put down. He cocked his head regardless. "Pikmin are normally much smaller, myself included. Master Hand made us bigger so we'd be easier to see on screen in the Tournament." The captain held up a small pebble. "We are normally no smaller that this pebble. Would you like to see?" Toon Link nodded enthusiastically.

Olimar blew his whistle over the Pikmin. He and the creatures shrank down to the size of the pebble and waved up at him.

Toon Link crouched down for a closer look. He was very excited; he had been able to be that small during one of his adventures. He reached into his Adventure Bag and pulled out Ezlo, placing him on his head. The Minish Cap grumbled at being woken from his nap.

"What do you want boy? I was having a very nice dream about mushrooms," he snapped. For some reason, Ezlo was the only one of the Links' various companions to be with them in this world, and only with Toon Link. Navi and Ciela were purely cosmetic. He was glad for that, he didn't think he could stand the hat and fairy arguing all the time. The young Hylian enjoyed having the hat's company again (and being able to put him away when he got annoying). But he also felt having him here also undermined his poignant words when they parted ways after their Minish adventure just a little bit. Toon Link pointed at the Pikmin enthusiastically. Ezlo craned his neck down and looked at the Pikmin. The little creatures screamed in terror and huddled behind Olimar.

"You want to go down there?" he asked. Toon Link nodded, careful not to move his head too much. The Minish Cap had had a fit when he learned the boy couldn't speak, he'd squawked angrily for over an hour. He'd given the boy a stern lecture about not being willy-nilly with his movements to make up for it. Ezlo shrank the duo, no need for portals here. That would have been very helpful during their adventure together.

Toon Link looked around at the towering grass and trees around him. They seemed…taller than normal at this height. He approached Olimar, who was trying to comfort the Pikmin cowering behind him. He was sure he'd be taller than the plant creatures at least, but it seemed the same as when he was regular size. Was Ezlo malfunctioning?

"What's wrong with them?" Ezlo glowered at the Pikmin.

"They think you're a Burrowing Snagret," chuckled Olimar. "They look a bit like you and like to eat Pikmin." Toon Link cringed as he felt the Minish Cap tighten his hold on his head in anger.

"I am not a 'snagret' sir! I am a Minish!" he scoffed and puffed himself up. "Link, tell this fool how I was a renowned and respected sage. How I had the most magnificent beard and tail of all the Minish!" Toon Link looked up at the hat and shrugged. "Useless boy!" Ezlo squawked and began complaining, pecking him sharply on the head. Toon Link regretted his decision to bring him out as a headache started to grow.

"Um, if I may interrupt," began Olimar. Toon Link was grateful to the spaceman as Ezlo stopped his barrage to glare at him. The Hylian quickly took the opportunity to clamp the cap's beak shut. Ezlo struggled to free himself, but Toon Link kept a firm hold on him. "Would you like to see the Pikmin's nests?" Olimar asked hopefully. Toon Link gave him a tired nod and followed the captain, hands still on Ezlo.

The Hocotatean led them to small clearing where multitudes of Pikmin were bustling about, carrying food and other gatherings from the garden and placing them in various piles. A few lazy Pikmin were lying about, playing and grooming one another. Their Onions stood sentinel nearby. He explained the biology of the Pikmin, the dangerous planet they came from and his harrowing crash landing that caused him to discover the species. He talked about his second trip to help the Hocotate Freight company pull themselves out of debt by searching for treasure on the Pikmin planet, and a third trip that caused him to be captured by a golden Waterwraith-like creature. He also talked about the many creatures that were dangerous to or liked to eat the Pikmin. Honestly, Toon Link could barely understand half of what the captain was saying; he used too many big words. As he talked, various Pikmin would bring him materials they had collected. Olimar would briefly inspect the item and give a brief whistle to send them on their way.

"I would like to show you the Onion's work in action, but all this food is for the Mansion. There's no materials around we can use as nutrients," he said sadly.

One white Pikmin came up to the captain holding a red medallion that appeared to be cracked in half. Olimar took it and inspected it curiously. Toon Link gasped and forgot to hold onto Ezlo when he saw it. The hat cried out what they were both thinking.

"That's a Kinstone!" he screeched. Toon Link didn't know he could find those here! He could barely contain his excitement, he loved Kinstones! They always made good things happen and always had interesting rewards. He quickly pulled out his Kinstone Bag and searched through it. Before long, he pulled out a piece that had the exact opposite crack running down its center. "Let's see what we get," said Ezlo.

The Hylian and Hocotatean clinked their pieces together. It was a perfect fit. The four-leaf clover pattern completed, the Kinstone disappeared in a flash of light. Toon Link knew they'd have to look for the reward, Kinstones never made them appear nearby.

"Time for a treasure hunt everyone! Look for chests or beanstalks," Ezlo declared. Olimar ordered several groups of Pikmin to search the area. Some climbed tall sticks and grass; others began checking under roots and leaves. Toon Link and Ezlo looked near a cluster of rather tall mushrooms under a tree. The young Hylian wondered if the prize was even in this area. During his journey, he'd found them all over Hyrule. For all he knew it could be on the other side of the Mansion grounds since no marker had shown up on his map. Just as he was about to have Ezlo unshrink him, the Minish Cap cried out.

"Look!" he exclaimed and pecked the boy's head. Toon Link turned and couldn't believe his eyes! There, fluttering serenely next to a flower was a Joy Butterfly! He'd only ever seen three of them, and each time they'd made him able to use some of his items faster. He wondered if it would have the same effect here too. He swiftly rushed over to it and reached out to grab it when he heard tiny war cries from above. He had just enough time to look up for the sound right before he saw several winged Pikmin dive-bomb the creature. It landed on the ground with a thud, pitifully trying to flap its wings to rid its attackers. The two Hylians could only watch in silent horror as a purple Pikmin delivered the finishing blow.

Their enemy defeated, the Pikmin cheered and raised tiny fists in the air. Two yellow Pikmin retrieved the now lifeless butterfly and began carrying it back to one of the Onions. Toon Link was mortified. They had utterly destroyed such a rare, harmless creature and were happy about it! In anger, he pulled out the Deku Leaf (his items shrank with him) and blasted the closest group of Pikmin with a strong gust. The Pikmin rolled all the way to the other side of the clearing landing in a heap looking very confused. Olimar came up to them, grinning.

"Aren't Pikmin survival strategies wonderful?" he said proudly. "They've gotten quite good at handling Spectralid's. But I've never seen one that looked quite like that. Why did you blow those Pikmin away?" Ezlo rounded on him.

"That Joy Butterfly was exceptionally rare!" squawked Ezlo angrily. Olimar suddenly felt like he just lost out on a very large profit. "Your weeds destroyed that poor beast!" Olimar looked at the angry Hylians in confusion.

"Destroyed? No, the Pikmin always recycle predatory species into nutrients in their Onions." He led them back to the Onions right as the Pikmin deposited the butterfly on the ground in front of one. The butterfly was sucked up by the Onion's beam of light. It hummed for a moment before spitting out several Pikmin seeds. They gently fluttered down to the ground and yellow Pikmin stems sprouted leaves where they fell. Olimar walked over and plucked one of the sprouts; out popped a yellow Pikmin with a high pitched 'hi!'

"See?" said Olimar. "Even though the Pikmin defeated the creature, it found new life as members of their species." He plucked the rest of the sprouts and they gathered around him. "There's no need to be upset. Just as Pikmin are food for many species, so too are they for the Pikmin. Out of loss comes life, for both Pikmin and predator." Toon Link and Ezlo looked at each other; the captain had a point.

"What you say is true," said Ezlo. "I just wish it wasn't so…gruesome." Toon Link had to agree with him there.

"As we all do," said Olimar sagely. He whistled for the newly plucked Pikmin to join a group constructing a small bridge over a stream with ceramic tiles. They watched the colorful creatures carry fragments back and forth like a line of ants. As they watched, Olimar talked about some of the endearing habits of the Pikmin and Toon Link knew he couldn't stay mad at the little fellows. They were actually kind of cute.

He realized he hadn't related his adventures to Olimar, so occupied were they with the Pikmin. He was about to bring it up to the captain when an Arwing sped by low overhead. The aircraft created a huge blast of wind, knocking over Olimar and all the Pikmin, sending them flying. Toon Link quickly equipped the Iron Boots and held on to Ezlo tightly. He closed his eyes at the dust that was kicked up. As the gale subsided, he opened them and saw the Pikmin on the bridge had blown into the water! The poor creatures were thrashing about crying in terror. Toon Link whipped out the Water Rod, saving a cluster while several blues ran in as lifeguards. But they weren't able to save all of them, and a fair amount of Pikmin spirits floated away. Toon Link felt horrible. What if he had done the same with his Deku Leaf?

Ezlo tried to console the young Hylian.

"At least you managed to save some of them Link," he said lightly. Olimar had recovered and rounded up the Pikmin around him. He returned to the Hylians and saw the boy's glum expression.

"Yes, it is sad when you lose so many like that," he said tenderly, in his most fatherly voice. "But it's just one of the many parts of the Pikmin life cycle. We can always help the population rebuild." The Pikmin he had saved jumped off the pillar of water and ran down the unfinished bridge to him. They lifted the young Hylian up, cheering and he yelped in surprise. He thought he heard Olimar quietly say 'they never do that to me' in a jealous tone.

"See my boy? They're grateful for your assistance!" Ezlo said merrily. The Pikmin cheered a few more times before setting him down. He smiled at the creatures; glad they weren't mad at him. Olimar suggested they help him pluck some new Pikmin and headed off towards the Onions.

Toon Link and Ezlo followed the captain, the Pikmin humming along behind them.

End Notes

Ezlo is a hat, so I am free to count him as an item.

There are no items to find in the grass in Breath of the Wild so I worry about what happened to the Minish. I hope they're ok.

Olimar you should have just used blues to build the bridge and this wouldn't have happened.