Moss
| Moss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Moss |
| Gender | Female |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Green |
| Home planet | PNF-404 |
| Known related characters | Captain Olimar,Louie |
| Height | Unknown |
| First game | Pikmin 4 |
Moss (モス?, lit.: "Moss") is a space dog inPikmin 4. In the game's prologue she is found byCaptain Olimar when he crash-lands onPNF-404 and quickly befriends her, helping him throughout his search forhis ship's missingship parts. After the prologue, Moss is seen accompanied by aleafling-transformed Olimar, and accompanies him duringDandori Battles. Much later on, she accompaniesLouie in the same fashion. She is only ever seen with a leaf on the tip of her tail, much like the one atop aPikmin's stem.
In gameplay, be it during the prologue when the player controls Captain Olimar,Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, or during a Dandori Battle, Moss functions exactly likeOatchi. An exception is how she learns new skills: after the prologue her skills improve between Dandori Battles, and in Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, instead of exchangingPup Drive, she gains skills andgear as rewards for recovered ship parts.
Throughout the story, when she is keeping the player from their mission, she can be fought in various ways like anenemy.
Stats[edit]
| Weight | Max. carriers | Seeds | Value | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7000 |
Personality and appearance[edit]
Moss is fairly similar toOatchi, with some notable differences.
- She is larger.
- Her fur is green.
- Her eyes are brown and are always squinting, instead of fully open. She will still squint if she is near an enemy.
- Her ears are perked upward and forward instead of drooping down.
- Her cheeks are not as firm and droop more.
- Her bark is deeper.
Unlike Oatchi, Moss is seen to be a native of PNF-404, with Olimar speculating that her leafy tail has actually been that way since birth, similar to thePikmin. Despite being born light-years apart from each other, Oatchi and Moss are both stated to descend from the PNF-404 nativeAncient Sirehound, which Olimar believes suggests something deeper about the nature of their universe.
Skills[edit]
Moss's possible skills and controls are identical to Oatchi's, but owing to Moss's different story role, her abilities evolve differently in each game mode.
The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who playsPikmin 4. |
Prologue[edit]
Most situations in which Moss can demonstrate her abilities are not present in the opening prologue, since the story immediately ends once the Porquillon is defeated, but she does have Rush Lv. 3 and a Chomp stronger than Big Chomp Lv. 3 without being able to Bite while in the air.
Dandori Battles[edit]
In earlier matches of Dandori Battle, Moss will use a limited subset of skills. For example, inTrial Run, Moss carries objects along the ground with the equivalent of Buff Lv. 3, but she has reached Super Buff Lv. 3 and learned Swallow byLeafy Showdown.
Olimar's Shipwreck Tale[edit]
In Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, Moss starts at Buff Lv. 2 and slowly gains skills as bonuses for recovering set numbers of ship parts. If Olimar reaches a milestone for acquired parts before meeting Moss, the skills will be retroactively applied once she has joined him.
- 4 parts: Buff Lv. 3
- 7 parts: Super Buff Lv. 1
- 19 parts: Super Buff Lv. 3
- 23 parts: Swallow
As an enemy[edit]
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Appears in | Pikmin 4 | ||
| Scientific name | Folicanis amicaris | ||
| Family | Unknown | ||
| Areas | Hero's Hideaway | ||
| Caves | None | ||
| Night expeditions | None | ||
| Dandori Challenge stages | None | ||
| Dandori Battle stages | None | ||
| Attacks | Captures Pikmin | ||
Hero's Hideaway[edit]
Until Olimar's vault is opened and the entrance toLeafy Showdown is discovered, Moss can be found in theHero's Hideaway. According to the Voyage Log, she appears to be guarding Olimar's bunker. Unlike most enemies, she has a unique map icon.
She will seek out Pikmin (both idle ones and ones in the player's squad), andwhistle for them to put them under hercontrol, much like anAntenna Beetle inPikmin 2. Upon gathering Pikmin, she will try to run off with them; if she does so, she will toss them on a fan which leads to the bunker. These Pikmin then stay lying on the ground on the bunker's table, and need to bewhistled. Despite them not reacting to theIdler's Alert, they do react to theHomesick Signal. The only way to gather Pikmin under Moss's control before she brings them to the bunker is if she takes significant damage, at which point she will let them go and try to escape.
Moss takes damage like any enemy, and can even be damaged by other enemies.[1]. If she takes a lot of damage, she will run off to a corner of the house in a panic, dropping captured Pikmin along the way. Once she reaches the corner, she will fall asleep so she can heal herself. Waking her up some time after this nap will cause her to become active like normal again. Moss cannot be permanently defeated; when her health is depleted she will be incapacitated and begin regenerating her health over a period of exactly five minutes.Collin will inform the player when Moss's health is fully restored so they can plan their activities accordingly.
If Oatchi is around, she will periodically stop to bark at him, even if she's busy taking Pikmin away. Oatchi himself will also bark at her at random. If the player approaches her without Pikmin, she will just continue roaming around, with the occasional bark at Oatchi. She ignoresscrummy bones, and while she will approach and prioritizePikpik Carrots, she will only sniff them and bark at them.[1]
Dandori Battles[edit]
InDandori Battles, she can be knocked out, which teleports her to her team's Onion, but she doesn't need to be roused byOlimar orLouie.
Notes[edit]
Dalmo's notes[edit]
Olimar's notes[edit]
“As far as I can tell, Moss has been a leafling pup since birth, and some of her DNA resembles that of the Pikmin. This is the one point in which she differs from Oatchi.
When Oatchi transformed from a standard space dog into a leafling pup, I started to theorize that the Pikmin are, in some capacity, propagating their DNA in other organisms.
The phenomenon in which all those castaways, including myself, became leaflings was very likely caused by being absorbed into the Onion. Perhaps that process was also some sort of Pikmin-ification of the body.
Pikmin-ified organisms can't leave this planet, so the Pikmin may have been motivated to carry out this process in an effort to secure a permanent leader. Of course, this is all a theory...”Louie's notes[edit]
Other information[edit]
- Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #110
Naming[edit]
- Common name: Moss. It comes from her green coat of fur, which resemblesmoss.
- Japanese nickname:モス?, lit.: "Moss". It comes from her green coat of fur, which resemblesmoss.
- Japanese name:イチヨウイエイヌ?, lit.: "One-leaf Domestic Dog".
- Scientific name: "Folicanis amicaris". It is based on "foliage", the Latin for "dog", and the Latin phrase for "you are friendly".
- Internal names:
CHASER. It refers to how she chases the player and their Pikmin down to try to whistle them under her control. - Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | モス? Mosu | Moss |
 Chinese(traditional) | 莫斯 Mòsī | Moss |
 Chinese(simplified) | 莫斯 Mòsī | Moss |
 Dutch | Moss | - |
 French | Moss | - |
 German | Moss | - |
 Italian | Moss | - |
 Korean | 모스 Moseu | Moss |
 Portuguese | Moss | - |
 Spanish | Moss | - |
Gallery[edit]
This article or section is in need ofmore images. Particularly: |
Leafling Olimar and Moss.
Leafling Olimar and Moss standing outside a Dandori Battle cave entrance.
Moss giving therookie Rescue Officer a nasty stare.
Oatchi and Moss, side-by-side.
Moss'sPiklopedia icon.
Moss using her whistle to steal Pikmin from the player.
Moss frozen.
Moss using her whistle in Olimar’s Shipwreck Tale.
Moss being shocked in the Piklopedia.
Moss as seen in the "Pikmin-Summoning Battle" comic.
The frontside of Moss.
The backside of Moss.
Moss before waking up.
Moss waking up in the cutscene.
The cutscene that plays when Moss steals Pikmin for the first time.
Moss running from the player with stolenYellow Pikmin.
Moss resting and healing after being attacked by the player.
Moss lying down before being found inOlimar's Shipwreck Tale.
The cutscene that plays when Olimar stumbles upon Moss.
Olimar throwing aScrummy Bone towards Moss.
Moss licking Olimar after being fed.
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Trivia[edit]
- In Hero's Hideaway, it is possible to cross the main area's ground during daytime without waking up Moss. There are two ways to do this:
- WithCo-op Mode enabled, as well as a couple of Bomb Rocks from the Pebble Pitcher, and theSurvey Drone, blowing up Oatchi several times can pass the cutscene trigger. To do this, the Survey Drone must be activated at all times to prevent the cutscene from activating if Oatchi is on the main area's ground. Oatchi is also not allowed to move and must start at the top level near the Stargazer's Spot base. The Bomb Rocks from the Pebble Pitcher will move Oatchi without having to manually move him, which results in not waking up Moss. Eventually, Oatchi is able to bypass the cutscene trigger. Because Bomb Rocks are used to move Oatchi, they will damage him and lead to him getting knocked out, so it is essential to havegear like Tuff Stuff and Air Armor, as well as the heal skill to regain health when not moving. Additional health fromScrummy Bones can also help, but they are not recommended to use them during the process moving around Oatchi, as this activates the cutscene, despite not moving Oatchi manually.
- A far more easier method is simply having one of theShearfleas located at the beginning attached to any leader. Walking down to the main area's ground while having one attached does not activate the cutscene, allowing the player to bypass the trigger.
- Skipping the cutscene trigger leads to a few notable interactions:
- Although Moss is currently not on the move, she is still treated as a functioning enemy. Oatchi will still bark at her from a distance while she is sleeping. When reaching her sleeping spot by using the fan, she is automatically registered as a new discovery on thePiklopedia, as the player lands directly near her, but only when controlling any leaders, since uncontrolled leaders (at least primarily with the rookie rescue officer) near undiscovered enemies will not register to the Piklopedia. Pikmin and Oatchi will still attack Moss, although their attacks will not deal any damage.Mines andTrackonators also can activate next to her, but they also do not deal any damage.
- After the bunker is unlocked, Moss will disappear from the field. Moss is no longer in her original sleeping spot, but by going all the back near the beginning where the cutscene could be activated, the cutscene will still happen, except this time, Moss is not present. When the cutscene ends or is skipped, she is automatically registered to the Piklopedia, despite no longer being on the field anymore. Regardless if the Dandori battle in the area was completed, Olimar rescued and cured, or completing Hero's Hideaway 100%, Moss can still be registered in the Piklopedia in this way.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abYouTube video documenting Moss's interactions, published on September 17th, 2023, retrieved on October 6th, 2023
- ^YouTube video demonstrating the interactions that can happen after skipping Moss' cutscene, published on July 15th, 2024, retrieved on February 22nd, 2025
