Captain Alph (キャプテン・アルフ) is one of three explorers in Pikmin 3. He serves as the engineer of the ship, the S.S. Drake, which his grandfather, also named Drake, designed. He is very kind and positive in character, and greatly respects Captain Charlie.
He has blue-colored hair similar to Captain Olimar's in shape, an average sized nose and freckles on his cheeks. Unlike certain characters, his eyes are always open, much like when other characters such as Olimar or Louie are surprised. He is by far the shortest of all the playable leaders. Like all other leaders, he wears a bulky space suit with a large life support system on his back, and a round helmet topped with a beacon. His suit's details are the same shade of blue as his hair.
Personality
He is kind, positive, and possibly a little absent-minded (based on an early conversation with Brittany, in which he forgets about retrieving the Cosmic Drive Key and saving the Captain). He shows both respect and concern for both his team-mates and the Pikmin. He is a skilled engineer, being able to use both the Data Glutton and the Folded Data Glutton to upgrade the Drake's communication range. According to one of Brittany's Voyage log entries, she had "never seen him so excited!" in regards to them retrieving the Data Glutton. He may also be considered quite talkative, as most of the Voyage Logs are written by him.
His personality seems to stay mostly the same between versions, with most of his dialogue retaining the same meaning even if changed.
Biography
Alph was born the fourteenth youngest to fifteen siblings. Growing up he spent a lot of time with his Grandfather Drake, who was also an engineer. Watching him work was what inspired him to become an engineer as well later in life. He also enjoys writing poems as a hobby, with two of his poems being readable in the North American release of the game in the form of Voyage Log entries (only one is readable in the European version, as the other was turned into a "normal" Voyage Log).
At the start of Pikmin 3, the S.S. Drake crashes into PNF-404, leaving the trio separated. Alph lands in the Tropical Wilds, alongside the S.S. Drake. There he meets Red Pikmin, and with their help is able to recover both his KopPad and the S.S. Drake. From then on he must find and rescue his other two crew members while also collecting fruit and tracking down the Cosmic Drive Key.
Quotes
Non-Specific
Collected a new fruit
"We have some new kinds of fruit!"
No fruit collected
"Today we collected...nothing."
Juice consumption (alone)
"Look at this! A whole day's worth of food all to myself!"
"(Sorry, Captain! Sorry, Brittany!)"
Juice consumption (when separated from Brittany)
"Sorry, Brittany, but you'll have to hold out for one more day."
Decent supply of juice
"Our supplies should be sufficient to keep us going for a little while."
Low on juice
"Uh-oh... We're running out of supplies. We'd better find more edible matter soon!"
Reached target location
"I'm here and awaiting orders!"
"I've arrived! So, what now?"
"Here at last! Over!"
"Arrived and awaiting orders!"
Pikmin are suffering
"Oh, no! Poor Pikmin!"
"We're losing Pikmin!"
Pikmin are suffering (other location)
"Oh no! We're losing Pikmin somewhere!"
Attacked by enemy
"Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no! "
"I need orders!"
"I'm under attack here!"
Carrying something large
"It's huuuge..."
Found a place to throw Pikmin across
"Aha! If I throw them from here, they should make it across!"
Finds ledge
"Getting up there's going to be a two-person job."
Lily pad
"I think we can hop on that lily pad."
Scripted
Waking up from crash
"It's a miracle! I'm alive, and I seem to be all in one piece."
"Just as the SS Drake was about to land, we lost control and had to make an emergency escape."
"I got separated from the other two team members in the commotion."
"I hope the other two are safe! I need to find them, and the SS Drake too!"
Alph was the only character playable in the E3 2012 Pikmin 3 demo.
Alph's name appears to be short for "Alpha", the term used for the letter A in the phonetic alphabet. This makes sense as "Charlie" is used for letter C in the phonetic alphabet, and Brittany's name is similar to "Bravo," which is the letter B; her name's initial, A, is also the same letter of his prototype name (Character A), just like Charlie and Brittany.
Alph is the Technical expert of the crew, which is explained by his grandfather designing the S.S. Drake.
According to Brittany's fruit notes, Alph is allergic to the Heroine's Tear (a mango), and the Scaly Custard (an avocado).
Brittany often adressess Alph as "Alphie" and encourages him in a way that implies that she feels protective of him, like a mother. However, some fans interpret this as romance.
