Cuttlefish

"This unreasonably attractive gentleman goes by the name of Cap'n Cuttlefish. He's a decorated hero who fought in the Great Turf Wars of legend between the Inklings and Octarians. He now keeps solemn vigil over Octo Valley, watching for any fishy behavior. Though his clothes may be tattered, his heart is pure and nothing escapes his razor-sharp gaze. He also TOTALLY didn't write this post."

- Live from Squid Research Lab

Captain Craig Cuttlefish, more commonly known as Cap'n Cuttlefish, is a main character in the Splatoon series. He acts as a guide for the protagonist, issuing them the Hero Suit and title of Agent 3 in Octo Valley and helping Agent 8 through the Deepsea Metro in the Octo Expansion. He is also the grandfather of Callie and Marie.

Personality and traits
Cap'n Cuttlefish is a decorated hero who fought in the Great Turf Wars of legend between the Inklings and Octarians. He now keeps solemn vigil over Octo Valley, watching for any fishy behavior. Though his clothes may be tattered, his heart is pure, and nothing escapes his razor-sharp gaze.

Cap'n Cuttlefish's favorite food is crab cakes❌/biscuits, as pointed out both by himself and Agents 1 and 2. He is often distracted by them, giving DJ Octavio the chance to escape from his snow globe prison.

Following his first meeting with Pearl, he has taken up rapping as a hobby.

Before Splatoon


Cap'n Cuttlefish was a member of the Inkling military from a relatively young age, and around one hundred years before the events of, even personally knew DJ Octavio. However, the onset of the Great Turf War forced him to battle the Octarians, where he served as leader of an Inkling army division called the Squidbeak Splatoon, alongside Ammoses Shellendorf, Judd, and two unidentified Inkling soldiers. While he was still a second lieutenant, this included battling Octavio during the siege of Arowana Castle. Thanks to Cuttlefish's efforts, he was promoted to the rank of captain and the Inklings eventually won the war. It is unknown what he did between the end of the war and the beginning of Splatoon, but he seems to have changed little.

Splatoon


By the time of Splatoon, Cap'n Cuttlefish could be found poking his head out of a manhole in the corner of Inkopolis Plaza. Upon being met at his shack in Octo Valley by a young Inkling, he explained to them about how the Octarians had returned and stolen the Great Zapfish. As a result, he recruited them as Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon to help take the Great Zapfish back. He assisted Agent 3 during the levels until the Octowhirl was defeated, after which he got kidnapped by DJ Octavio. His former protégés and granddaughters, Agents 1 and 2, took over his role until the final mission. Here, Agent 3 battled DJ Octavio to rescue Cuttlefish and the Great Zapfish. During the final phase of the battle, the two agents revealed themselves as the Squid Sisters and overrode the boss music, allowing Cuttlefish to set himself free as Octavio was defeated.

Replaying the final mission results in new dialogue, describing how DJ Octavio escaped from his snow globe and briefly recaptured Cuttlefish.

Splatoon 2
After the events of Splatoon, Cap'n Cuttlefish disappeared from Octo Valley. While the Squid Sisters initially believed there to be no cause for concern, his disappearance led Marie to discover that DJ Octavio was able to escape. As a result, in, she took over Cuttlefish's role as guide and mentor to the newly-recruited Agent 4. It was later revealed that Cuttlefish went off traveling with Agent 3 for "a research trip to the cape", and as a result, was not seen in person.

Octo Expansion


Cap'n Cuttlefish reappeared in the Octo Expansion. He and Agent 3 briefly clashed with an Octoling before the three of them were attacked, leaving Cuttlefish and the amnesiac Octoling trapped in the Deepsea Metro. Teaming up, Cuttlefish eventually nicknamed the Octoling as Agent 8 and decided to help them retrieve the four thangs and escape to Inkopolis. As a result, he acted as a guide for Agent 8 throughout the tests, remaining on the metro train to give help alongside Pearl and Marina.

During this time, Cuttlefish took part in Marina's chat room under the username of 'CraigCuttlefish'. After learning how the chat room worked, Cuttlefish learned about Pearl and Marina's respective pasts. Cuttlefish was the first to realise that Marina was an Octoling but continued to support her after learning of her defecting from the Octarian military, alongside the other Octolings that escaped to Inkopolis.

Once Agent 8 collected the four thangs, Cuttlefish joined them to escape when the Telephone reformed into a blender, trying to kill them. Agent 3 saved them, knocking themselves out, and as Agent 8 tried to escape, Cuttlefish stayed behind to care for Agent 3. However, the Telephone eventually awoke again, capturing Cuttlefish and brain-washing Agent 3 to try and kill Agent 8. After saving them, they joined Agent 8 in escaping to the surface, meeting Off the Hook in person. As the Telephone revealed itself as Commander Tartar, using the NILS Statue to destroy Inkopolis, Cuttlefish stayed behind on Marina's helicopter as the "hype man", looking after Agent 3 as the rest of the group defeated Tartar by using Pearl's Princess Cannon. With the threat neutralized, he eventually joined Agent 8, Agent 3, Pearl and Marina and returned to Inkopolis.

Cuttlefish later returned to the Deepsea Metro train, wanting to check on everyone there, and continued to help Agent 8 during their tests. He also briefly encountered Marie in Marina's chat room. Despite not telling her exactly where he was, he promised to return for her soon.

Trivia

 * He is the oldest known Inkling character with a confirmed age in the Splatoon series.
 * In the first trailer for Octo Valley, Cap'n Cuttlefish appeared to be found in a walled-in area of Inkopolis Plaza.
 * This area is similar in appearance to the alley Spyke is found in.
 * In the main hub of Octo Valley, the player can ink Cap'n Cuttlefish; he will eventually shake off the ink. However, it takes a considerable amount of ink to completely cover him, suggesting that he may be more resilient than the average Inkling, despite his age and frail appearance.
 * His cane is one of many Bamboozlers used by Inkling soldiers in the Great Turf War. However, he has never been seen to use it for its original purpose in-game, only as a cane. Interestingly, he is shown to be using it in credits art.
 * On the corner of his shack, Cap'n Cuttlefish has taped up two small photographs of his grandchildren, one of Callie and one of Marie.
 * His shack appears to be filled with books and Zapfish dolls, along with pictures of Octarians in the front.
 * During the initial tour of Inkopolis upon starting the game for the first time, he is referred to as a "creepy old dude".
 * The Cap of Legend is modeled after Cap'n Cuttlefish's signature hat.
 * The Old Timey outfit, including the hat, clothes, and shoes, is modeled after Cap'n Cuttlefish's outfit in the Octo Expansion.
 * At the beginning of the Octo Expansion, he is seen saying "I'll take your stunned silence as a YES!" to Agent 8. This mirrors Marie's "I'll take your awkward silence as a yes" to Agent 4, which in turn mirrors Cuttlefish's own "I'm gonna take your silence as a yes" to Agent 3.
 * According to The Art of Splatoon, Inklings can preserve their bodies by sun-drying, which explains Cap'n Cuttlefish's long lifespan. In the Octo Expansion, it is confirmed that Inklings lose ink and become drier with age.
 * One of Cap'n Cuttlefish's rap lines in the Octo Expansion refers to himself as being 130 years old.
 * In the Octo Expansion, the wallpaper on his phone is a picture of young Callie and Marie; the same photo from a Sunken Scroll found in Splatoon.
 * Cap'n Cuttlefish states that he has cuttlebones in the Octo Expansion. However, this may just be a figure of speech, since Inklings are supposed to have no bones, and Cap'n Cuttlefish himself is shown to be an Inkling and not an actual cuttlefish.
 * Session 5 of Marina's chat room reveals a picture of Cap'n Cuttlefish from the past when he was a second lieutenant. This is the only known picture of Cap'n Cuttlefish before he was a captain.
 * When Cap'n Cuttlefish is kidnapped in Octo Valley, replaying previous missions also has his dialogue missing.
 * He also does not peek out of the manhole cover in Inkopolis Plaza when this happens.
 * In the Russian localization of the Octo Expansion, he is called Трилобит (Trilobite) by Pearl. This is a reference to the extinct mollusks Trilobites and have the same meaning as English nickname (Old Dude).

Names in other languages
Craig Cuttlefish

Cap'n Cuttlefish