Dr. Kaminko
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| Dr. Kaminko カミンコ博士 Dr. Kaminko | |
| File:Kaminko.jpg Dr. Kaminko as seen in Pokémon XD | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Orre |
| Generation | III |
| Games | Pokémon XD |
Dr. Kaminko (Japanese: カミンコ博士 Dr. Kaminko) is an eccentric scientist who lives in a run-down mansion located in western Orre and who makes his first and only appearance to date in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, in which he plays a supporting role of moderate importance.
The doctor specialises in generally-useless but sometimes viable inventions, the most important of which being the Robo Kyogre, which takes the player to Citadark Isle after a bit of tinkering done by Makan, and which is, apparently, the only one of them to serve any useful purpose. His other inventions range from being somewhat pointless to potentially harmful, although his eager assistant Chobin idolizes Dr. Kaminko and enshrines his inventions in a video that may be watched in the foyer of the doctor's house, and despite fully knowing their ill effects. Dr. Kaminko's House possesses a foreboding atmosphere, a reflection of his lack of concern for his surroundings and, perhaps, for the well-being of those who use his inventions, many of which seem deliberately designed to lead to the ruin of the user's health or finances. His workroom is rather cluttered and his home is fairly isolated from the rest of Orre, marking him as a sort of recluse with little contact with the outside world.
When focusing on some new invention, Dr. Kaminko becomes entirely oblivious to his surroundings and the goings-on of the outside world, and appears to prefer to work alone with his ideas, for his only aide, Chobin is never actually seen to assist him in inventing anything. During the development of the Robo Groudon, he was denied access to the workroom, which was presumably also the case with the doctor's other inventions.
His house also contains Jovi's Diary, which expresses the thoughts of the player's younger sister throughout the game. Her diary also hints about a secret room in the Pokémon HQ Lab, which may refer to the one in which the Master Ball is stored.
Dr. Kaminko's inventions have been marketed throughout Orre, albeit only with limited success due to their unpractical nature and potentially-harmful side-effects, which may be observed in their users over time. Those that have bought his inventions appear to have done so without knowledge of the invention's intended use, or rather the lack thereof. A man in Agate Village who has purchased a pair of 'unhealthy sandals' did so as he was told that they were a great invention, presumably by Chobin himself, and it may be observed that his health grows progressively worse thereafter. Another man in Pyrite Town believes himself to have been conned after he bought several 'Poké Poles', which, as their name implies, are poles painted in the same color as a Poké Ball, and which have no visible purpose other than, as Chobin guesses, to spread confusion as to their purpose.
Makan is often seen at Dr. Kaminko's house, and the two are shown to be longtime friends, indicating that the doctor may not have been such a recluse in the past as he is at the present, though also showing the limited extent of his present social circle. Beluh, however, has a vastly different opinion of him, and, if the player does not reveal who he is, she will presume the player is here to market one of Dr. Kaminko's inventions and will ask that he leave, revealing that the doctor and his inventions are not well-received by Orre at large, or at least by its more revered denizens. Beluh also initiates a sidequest in which the player must remove a set of faulty translators invented by Dr. Kaminko which render their wearers mute instead, further revealing her already-evident dislike of him.
As many of Dr. Kaminko's inventions have no clear purpose, it may be gathered that he is not concerned with the use to which they are given after they are completed.
Inventions
- Robo Groudon
- Robo Kyogre
- The 'Power-saving refrigerator', an energy-efficient refrigerator that only turns on when someone is in front of it, and which therefore causes food to spoil very quickly.
- The 'unhealthy Sandals' (Japanese: Shuckle Shoes) which, as the name implies, are shoes with raised nubs that cause one to feel dull and listless. This invention was purchased by a man in Agate Village who will wonder at their efficacy.
- The 'power-draining lightbulb', a lightbulb that causes electricity bills to increase greatly by consuming ten times the energy as a normal lightbulb.
- The 'jet vacuum cleaner', which spews very fine particles of dust whenever it is used, resulting in invisible layers of filth that would presumably irritate allergies.
- Translators that mute Pokémon instead of translating Pokémon speech, as was their intended function. This appears to have been his only invention with a remotely worthwhile intention behind it.
- The 'Poké Pole', a useless pole painted red and white in imitation of a Poké Ball and sold to the old man in Pyrite Town's Poké Mart. The old man will tell the player that he believes that he has been conned after realizing its uselessness.
- The 'haunted radio', a radio that is pre-programmed to say "Please help me" early in the morning. This is the only invention that Chobin has figured out, though it doesn't seem to have any useful purpose.
- The 'time-cut recorder', a video recording device that stops taping five minutes too soon and leaves the end of whatever is being recorded to speculation.
Trivia
- Dr. Kaminko and Chobin share the same swirled glasses which is also used in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for a Goomba named Professor Frankly and is also used in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for Fawful. Ironically, all games originated from Japan, where glasses with swirl-like lens are commonly used in games.
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Basement
Dr. Kaminko's basement is full of items and interesting objects. In the center is a generator with no other purpose than to show how Dr. Kaminko gets his power and energy. When entered from the left of his house, there are multiple isolated platforms suspended from the ceiling. In addition to that, the player may grab hold of ropes on the platforms and be mechanically carried to another one. On the platforms, to signify that a method of transportation is available, colored circles mark the "ports" from which one can travel to and from. The player may only be lifted by the ropes if a rope with a hook at the end is dangling in front of the circle to its correspondingly colored circle. This allows access to all platforms with a little bit of creativity. On the platforms are items such as Full Restores and potions. Most notably is Jovi's Diary, which very subtly implies where the master ball is located.
If the basement is accessed from the right side of the house, the player can enter an elevator to arrive below the suspended platforms. There are items there, as well. There are an abundance of scrapped and unsold inventions.
However, despite being an interesting place to visit, Dr. Kaminko's basement has no little significance to the plot.
