There will be a dog in Pikmin 4. Well, it’s not actually a dog, but we’ll get to that later. Either way, Orchi is a brand new dog-like companion who will help us in our upcoming adventures. The good boy can swim, he’ll help us fight, he’ll clear our way for us; he’ll help us rescue our victims, and he’ll play tug-of-war as happily as any other dog.
The problem with Orchi, however, is his appearance. At first glance, he’s a cute yellow puppy who’s happy to be here to help. Upon closer inspection, you start to notice that this adorable canine is far from being a real dog; it’s a cute dog. He has no nose, hops around on two legs, and has a tail made of fluffy dandelion seeds. It wasn’t until this morning that we realized “hey, wait, the dog in Pikmin 4 doesn’t have a nose”, so I started digging into Oatchi.
We’ve been calling Oatchi a dog since he was revealed, but as we’ve seen more information, we can only confirm that he’s not actually a dog at all. His strange appearance combined with his canine features is sure to cause some confusion, so, what exactly is Oatchi?
First, we decided to do a nose look at Oatchi to see what he looks like. The first nose I chose was borrowed from Scooby-doo, then I tried others because I couldn’t help myself. Tom Orry of iGamesNews might be wondering what the hell I’ve been doing for the past hour; the answer is to PS various noses onto the Oatchi. It’s interesting.
Despite human expectations of dogs, Ozzie’s array of noses only makes him look more exotic, and I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s definitely better off without them. Still, that didn’t stop me from wondering what the hell this dog-like creature was.
That’s when I decided to figure out what our trusty companion really was, and started digging into Pikmin lore (thanks to Pikmin fandom). Let’s just say that after I’ve browsed wiki page after wiki page, I’ll probably pick up Pikmin 4; the game sounds a bit quirky, but doesn’t seem to be lacking in things to do and discover.
Either way, given Orchi’s alien appearance and dandelion tail, it seems likely that this particular pup is a member of the grub dog family. This family consists of different species including the Bulborb, Bulblax and many other bipedal creatures. Like mammals, they can reproduce and in some cases have fur.
Even with that in mind, the Oatchi doesn’t look like much of a grub dog. He’s just too dog-like, and his ears are a rarity in Pikmin. Either way, this puppy is definitely some sort of cross between a mammal and a plant, like Pikmin itself.
The only other known canine companion in Pikmin is Captain Olimar’s dog Bulby on his home planet Hocotat. Supposedly, the name Grub-dog actually comes from Olimar’s dog, Bulbie, which looks like a Bulborb with eye stalks. So maybe, just maybe, Orchi’s presence has something to do with Bulby or Captain Olimar. Maybe Orchi ended up here in search of life, or something like that. But how did he end up in PNF-404?
When it comes down to it, Oatchi looks kind of weird. However he’s adorable and personally I’d let him crush anyone who slanders him. I think the most likely outcome of this strange companion is that he is an alien from another planet. After all, there’s no one else on PNF-404 quite like him… except for the Green Oatchi who kidnapped the castaway, with livelier ears and a leaf on his tail. He just asks more questions, and I can only imagine there will be more surprises in Pikmin 4.
