Author Notes - Inspired by two major things. First, Sophisticated Sableye's 'Piklopedia 2', which you should totally read despite the fact that it's kinda outdated and (I suppose) no longer necessary seeing as Pikmin 3 Deluxe FINALLY brought the Piklopedia back. Second, the Extended PokeDex project on TV Tropes (of all websites), which I borrow the format from. Except that's written by a bunch of different people, while I'm the only one writing this.

Also a little bit of inspiration from the speculative biology book 'THE SNOUTERS: Form and Life of the Rhinogrades', a silly book written to be like a genuine scientific paper, detailing the ins-and-outs of a bizarre order of creatures that have evolved to use their noses for everything. Yes, really. You can read it up online, if you want.

I was actually gonna write my own 'Piklopedia 2' years back, but decided against it when the aforementioned Sophisticated Sableye made their own that was better in every way. It was good I didn't do it, since I had no idea what I was doing. Now, I actually have some biology experience under my belt (albeit still not too much). Still, the character I'm using - a Koppaite zoologist named Emily - is reused from said project. I named her so not just to continue the alphabetical theme (Alph, Brittany, Charlie, S.S. Drake), but also because it sounds like 'enemy'.

INTRODUCTION BY EMILY

The mysterious planet - denoted by Koppaite astronomists as 'PNF-404' - is home to a collection of bizarre creatures that have fascinated biologists from all over the galaxy. It contains a wonderfully odd ecosystem, introduced to Hocotate and Koppai by the legendary Captain Olimar of the S.S. Dolphin. He has published notes on the various creatures, alongside recipes written by his colleague Louie. I myself have tried a few of those recipes. That kid's got talent.

Back on topic, this ecosystem has intrigued me. I had to see these interesting creatures up close. So, it was arranged that I visit PNF-404 myself, armed with nothing but Olimar's notes and the Pikmin by my side. At the time of writing this introduction, I have gone through five near death experiences and the loss of at least a hundred Pikmin. And I've been here for a week. Regardless, I have had some fun taking notes on these delightfully strange animals. In fact, I've had so much fun that I needed to write my research down in a paper or my brain would explode.

It doesn't transfer well to my writing, but right now I am so excited just thinking about those creatures that I'm about to break my keyboard by mistake. ... In fact, I just had to get a replacement.

While Captain Olimar's notes are a delight to read, they were not quite as in depth as I would like. So, I'll be adding a few more details from my research to get the full experience. Note that I am not trying to claim that I'm any better. Without him and his brilliant notes, I wouldn't be on this fabulous planet at all. And I'm pretty sure he did a better not at not dying than I do. Though, I'll admit, some of the stuff he did… confuses me. Like, why do the three Flint Beetles have different families, but the same genus? He… he does realise how classification works, right? Granted, I'm pretty sure the 'Flint Bug' family was a translation error, but still!

The creatures will be divided by family for the most part, but the Grub-Dog family was so massive that I had to divide it into four sub-pages. They'll begin with my more casual notes regarding the creature, followed by these sections: Physical Appearance, Habitat, Diet and Defences (what it eats and how it deals with potential predation), Social Structure, Courting and Childrearing, and other notes worth mentioning. After that, I'll publish notes by my fellow Koppaites who also explored this planet: engineer Alph, botanist Brittany, and Captain Charlie. Some of their notes, you may have already read. However, there's plenty more creatures that they didn't find on their initial visit that they now have NEW notes on!

For the most part, I will be releasing these notes in alphabetical order. Organisation is really nice, after all. However, there are certain beasts on this planet that I best save for the end: Mawdad, Aerodentia, Meerslug, Huntinpeck, Mireclops, and Wraith. Those big 'boss' enemies found by the Koppaite crew before me are beasts of their own. And at the end, there'll be a special family that you'll probably see coming. For the species without a known family, such as the Mamuta or those bizarre 'Ujadani' critters, I will either try to allocate them into whatever family I think suits them best or give them their own separate entry.

I will be dropping some of the more technical and scientific terms that Captain Olimar used, so the 'average person' can easily understand it, and will typically use the common names for these creatures for the same reason. Still, I am a scientist, and we learn those big fancy words for a reason. I'll also try to keep the tone of the documents (outside of my personal notes, and those of the previous Koppaite crew) as professional as possible. Of course - as my colleagues can attest to - I'm not exactly a professional person. In fact, I'm certain I was the one sent here because they wanted to get rid of me, but if so the joke's on them because this place is awesome.

Either way, I hope you enjoy reading this paper half as much as I enjoyed writing it. (And maybe my sisters will actually give me credit for once...)

Author Notes - To anyone wondering, I'm using Emily so she can have the chance to be used after that first project went haywire. Don't worry, because the scientific stuff will still be scientific, but it may have a little bit of personality different from what Olimar brought to the table. I'll be developing her character through her personal notes, much the same way Captain Olimar's personality was explored through his journal notes in Pikmin 2.

An important note is how I'll be dealing with the Hey! Pikmin enemies. It's quite simple, really. Any family that is made exclusively of enemies from Hey! Pikmin will not be featured, but if a pre-existing family - such as Mandiblards or Sporovids - has some members exclusive to said spin-off, they will be included. I came to regret this decision almost immediately.

By the way, if Sophisticated Sableye happens to be reading this, thank you for the inspiration! Your notes will prove especially helpful when it comes to the Pikmin 1 exclusive enemies. Oh yeah, we're going there.