Before starting I would like to say that most of this text was copied from another post that absolutely nobody saw aside from me so thats why I'm posting it because I'm sure people will pay more attention to

the game is actually an indirect sequel, why you ask?

simple

indirect sequel- An indirect sequel is set in the same world as the original work but has no direct connection to it, aside from possible mentions or even possible returning characters but aside from that it doesn't have a direct connection to the original work.

and before you say, the game has evidence of being an alternative timeline,

thats why the game is an indirect sequel because it doesn't have connection to the original story but is part of it, now as for the so called evidence.

Pikmin 4 is before Pikmin 3 because...

1.) The music box that plays Pikmin 3's main theme makes Olimar feel a sense of dread for things to come. This would only make sense if Pikmin 3 has yet to happen,

2.) Koppai has yet to run into its food crisis, yet it is impending. This is explicitly stated in conversation by the Rescue Corps,

Pikmin 4 is before Pikmin 2 because...

1.) Olimar has dreams that imply that Hocotate Freight is financially stable and has never run into debt before (this is more clear in the Japanese version) and the notion of Louie causing the company to fall into debt is enough to make him laugh,

2.) Louie states in his last voyage log that he's looking for an opportunity to binge on golden pikpik carrots,

Pikmin 4 is after Pikmin 1 because...

1.) Olimar says in one of the piklopedia treasure entries that he once had a crash landing due to a meteor in the past, which seemingly is referring to Pikmin 1's crash landing. You'd think if he were talking about the Pikmin 4 crash, he'd speak a little more presently; I don't think we are ever actually told why Olimar crashed in Pikmin 4.

Edit: I learned olimar crashed because of a meteor but this doesn't prove anything because he got hit by meteors on hey pikmin

However...

The most contradictory evidence seems to be strictly relating to how Olimar refers to the world around him. Most prominently, his piklopedia entries seem to indicate encounters he shouldn't have had up to the point of Pikmin 4. Bulbmin and purple poison dweevils exist in Pikmin 2 and are mentioned by Olimar in Pikmin 4, but evidence strongly suggests Pikmin 2 hasn't happened yet (we know now that pikmin 2 did happened). Likewise, he mentions the Shaggy Long Legs, which he also should not have encountered until Pikmin 3(we know that pikmin 3 also happened). However, these may be instances of "Burrowing Snarrow" moments, where Olimar is mentioning things he encountered off-screen at some point. Who discovered what creature at what point seems to be of zero consequence to the writers. For example, the thing people latch onto, is how he seems to act as if he's discovering the Pikmin for the first time, but I find this to be a narrative tool more than anything so the writers don't need to spend much time detailing the events of Pikmin 1 in order to establish that he's the one who discovered the Pikmin.

and if anyone is wondering which are the olimar and Louie logs here there are:

"Last night, I dreamt that one of my subordinates made a terrible mistake that put the company on a huge debt, to big for hocotate freight to pay back quickly, this is why I never take on debt, anyways when I waked up I burst into a fit of laughter." "olimar"

"my favorite thing in all space to eat but rare to come by, if I did find some, I'd devour them to my hearts content, I I'm just waiting for the next right delivery job."

"Louie"

all the hate/problems seems to come from people not reading the dialogue and spoilering themselves on the modes in the game and making assumptions about the plot (especialy the retcon thing) but the dialogue clearly indicates that it's just coincedently a similar adventure to the first time. Olimar just has REALLY bad luck and the similar cutscenes were just a nod to the first game for those who played it, but there's no reason to believe Olimar wouldn't coincedently say "Bye" to the pikmin the same way as before. Only difference is NOW we know what would've happened with the bad ending. He woudln't have died like we believed, he would've just turned to a Leafling, effectively saving his life and making that scene a lot less traumatic.

This, and further, there's plenty of reason to believe Alph, Brittany and Charlie woudln't want to return. They did their job, they're heroes, and likely wanted to retire after a harrowing (and possible traumatizing) experience like that. Plus it seems some time has passed since the events as the reason for the new explorers isn't a famine, but rather preventing a future one with the population growing from the abundance of new food Alph, Brittany and Charlie brought back.

and finally yeah, there's NO problem with expanding families. Everyone acting like there can literally only be those three Koppites. We just now found out there's several more planets/people so I don't get why everyone's complaining.

Also there is pikmin garden who is an official Japanese page And this page said pikmin 1 and 3 happened before 4 or at least stated that as they talk about PNF-404 directly.

Also It's funny everyone keeps saying Pikmin 1 was "retconned" but I don't see it that way, as Olimar admits that the reason his ship blew up this time is because he crashed into a meteor during his test run after repurchasing it from whoever repossessed it in Pikmin 2. He recognizes the pikmin immediately, as one of the first things he says is "I'll use the pikmin to help me" wheras in Pikmin 1, he had no idea what the pikmin were and was relieved they were willing to help him, naming them Pikmin after the carrots from his home.

In fact, I almost see all this "Pikmin 4 retcon" thing as just people looking for reasons to bash the game. Though I think you're on the money about it possibly taking place after Pikmin 3, in PIkmin 3 Deluxe, there's dialogue that indicates Pikmin 3 did happen before Pikmin 4 as the reason he and Louie were on PNF-404 in Pikmin 3 is to repurchase the assets they lost when the President first got into the debt, including the SS Dolphin.

So yea pikmin 4 placement is actually obvious but people want the game to be a Zelda for some reason

The games order is

Pikmin 1>pikmin 2>olimar's assignment>pikmin 3>olimar's comeback>pikmin 4>hey pikmin.

Another thing to add is that if the game is an alternative timeline it would hurt the narrative of the game more than everyone thinks of, because if the game is an alternative timeline of 1 not only hurts sales for the original trilogy on the switch but it would made the past games prequels despite being an alt timeline because the other games have to happen in order to get to pikmin 4 because olimar mentions to many things that wouldn't make sense to be in pikmin 1 in the first place, like the winged, rocks, purples and whites having logs despite non of them appearing in the shipwreck tales, same with bulbmin appearing in a piklopedia entry despite also not appearing in the shipwreck tales.

If the game was prequel to 3 it would basically made 3 useless as well as 4 because it means olimar was in the planet FOOR times despite olimar mentioning he was there for the third time in pikmin 3 and olimar mentions he wants the dolphin back in pikmin 3 and he couldn't had got it after 2 because he didn't even had it in the post game of 2 despite the debt was payed off, as of pikmin 3 happens to be just olimar and Louie were on PNF-404 in Pikmin 3 is to repurchase the assets they lost when the President first got into the debt, including the SS Dolphin and to repay another debt stated multiple times during olimar's assignment.

Now I can see how the iffy wording in the demo's opening and various other things might have most people believing that Pikmin 4 takes place before Pikmin 2 and/or is an alternate continuity. But thinking that is stupid and doesn't make sense for a numerical series continuation. So let's go through every point of contention that points to "it's a reboot".

1: Why does he call PNF-404 "an unknown planet" if he's been there before?

Firstly, it's important to note that PNF-404 was named by the Koppaites, and not Olimar. It didn't have a proper identifier until Pikmin 3, and Olimar didn't start calling it that until after the events of 3. Secondly, the planet is very visually diverse, so Olimar very well couldn't have identified it on sight. The only reason he identifies it as such is because he travels back to it whenever he goes treasure hunting, so he presumably has the coordinates or whatever. Thirdly, as shown in Hey, Pikmin!, there are other planets that are inhabited by Pikmin that aren't PNF-404, so Olimar can be forgiven for not assuming it's the same planet, and for assuming he had no options until he re-encountered the Pikmin on the planet that he had no way of verifying was the same one he had already been to. Fourthly, even though we know that the planet featured in 4 is in fact PNF-404 because of [spoilers], Olimar was likely more focused on, y'know, his ship crashing rather that "oh, I wonder what the planet I'm about to smash violently into is named?".

2: Why does he have the Dolphin from the first game and not The Ship or the Dolphin II?

Firstly, it is common knowledge by this point that Olimar planned to re-buy the original Dolphin after he repaid Debt 2 in P3(I already pointed this before). Secondly, it is established in that same log that he dislikes The Ship and prefers his original one. So even though him and Louie restored The Ship to working order in the side stories, he probably didn't want anything to do with it after he got the Dolphin back. As for the Dolphin II, there isn't a single clearly-defined answer. Maybe Hey, Pikmin! takes place at the very end of the timeline, maybe something unmentioned happened to the Dolphin offscreen, maybe the Dolphin II is the Dolphin with a Ship-of-Theseus style revamp because it became outdated and unfit for modern travel, or maybe Olimar is just being a dad and collecting spaceships the way human dads collect cars.

3: Why does he only have the 3 primary types of Pikmin in the prologue?

There's never been a defined order in which Pikmin are encountered, and the game never says he got the Interstellar Radio as the very last part, because if he did, he would have just left then and there instead of being stranded for a month and getting [leafed](wait olimar shipwreck story exist nvm but my point still stands).

4: Why does the voyage log have him talk about things as though it were his first time experiencing them, mixed in with totally new information?

The voyage logs aren't dated nor are in numerical order, they could very easily be from across Olimar's various expeditions. Who cares if they aren't worded exactly like they are in the previous games? Does that mean every single game takes place in its own contained universe? I don't think so. Another thing to add is that, olimar doesn't really talk like everything is new. Is just not logical for someone to rewrite every single study you wrote of things differently. And in olimar's adventure (shipwreck tale) he was probably trying to make the story interesting with some stuff he said on pikmin 1 because he is telling the story to a new recruit and is common knowledge that people tend to make a story interesting when they are telling it.

5: BUT PIKMIN 2 WAS DREAM!! LOG SAYD SO!!!

The log makes it pretty clear that Olimar is referring to the idea that Louie ate the golden pikpik carrots being preposterous, because he has no idea that it actually happened. Not the concept of debt. When he says "this is why I never take on debt", he doesn't say "I've never taken on debt ever". It's pretty clear he means "willingly", because every time he takes on company debt, he does it because he was commanded to, and not because he wants to. Plus, he's recounting a dream, of course the details are going to be vague(I already talked about this).

6: BUT BAD ENDINGGGG o_0

Oh shut up, strawman I made for the purposes of this self-indulgent rant. Yes, the bad ending of Pikmin 1 serves as an explanation as to how leaflings get created, and it is likely that Olimar is in fact [spoilers], it is NOT a continuation of 1's bad ending, or a Zeldian timeline split, or anything like that. Because I don't know about you, but I've played Pikmin 1, and I don't remember any judgy-eyed green space dogs in it. Nintendo has never done any kind of historical revisionism with their franchises, or at least not to this degree.

Feel free to discuss any other sticking points, I will be happy to refute them. I don't care if this comes across as copium or just me being an exuberant jerk, I stand firmly by my beliefs.