Research Pod

''Treasure! Treasure! Treasure! Money! Money! Money! Money!''

—The Research Pod, Pikmin 2.

When underground in caves, the [Ship|Hocotate Ship] dispatches its nose cone, known as the Research Pod, and sends it down to support Olimar and Louie/[President|The President] on their underground expedition. Anything that the [(species)|Pikmin] pick up will be carried to the Pod and stored in its hull until the player exits the cavern. On leaving a cave via a geyser, the treasure worth of these is added to the total.

If the player chooses to leave by selecting the option in the pause menu, the Pod will drop all [Hoard|treasures] and creatures that were collected and return to the surface with the captains and Pikmin. This also happens automatically if all Pikmin die or both captains suffer too much damage, and cannot be stopped without resetting the game. The discarded treasures will be returned to the locations they were found in.

The Research Pod makes an appearance in the [Short Movies|Pikmin Short Movie], Occupational Hazards, where it can be seen talking in pieces of scrap metal sent by the Pikmin. It is also shown near the end of the short where it analyzes the remains of the wrecking machine and shows it's price.


 * Interestingly, the sounds the Pod makes are taken from the [Drake|S.S. Drake] from [3|Pikmin 3]