Shel-drone
The Shel-drone is a drone in the shape of Sheldon's head that carries a box. It appears in Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians, in which it explores Alterna for any hidden treasures and then delivers them to the Lobby Terminal the next day. An unnamed, identical-looking drone that is presumably the same object appears in Splatoon 2's Octo Canyon, where it provides weapons for Agent 4.
Description
Octo Canyon
Whenever Sheldon requests for Agent 4 to use a specific weapon in non-boss missions, it is delivered in a suitcase by the drone just before Agent 4 begins the mission proper. This drone also delivers a modified Rainmaker in the fourth phase of the final boss battle, Bomb Rush Blush.
Return of the Mammalians
The Shel-drone is stationed on the launchpad next to the Squid Sisters Camp in Future Utopia Island. It becomes available after completing the campaign and exploring 100% of Alterna, but clearing all levels is not required.[1] Once unlocked, it can be enabled once a day for 999 Power Eggs, and will spend the rest of the day searching Alterna for treasure. Once the next day starts, it will deposit the treasure at the Lobby Terminal, and return to the launchpad where it can be activated again.
Chances
After the Shel-Drone has been activated and the day has passed, the player can go to the lobby terminal and select "Get stuff", which will give the player one of the following: [2]
| Treasure | Chance |
|---|---|
| 1 Locker Decoration | 70% |
 1 Food Ticket
|
10% |
 5 Random Ability Chunks
|
10% |
 10000
|
10% |
Receiving decorations from the Shel-drone is the only known way to currently receive duplicates of the Return of the Mammalians-exclusive decorations.
Photo Mode
When using the timer in Photo Mode, the Shel-drone will appear hovering in place while holding a camera underneath, acting as a visual indicator of where the photo is being taken from.
Quotes
Interacting with the Shel-drone for the first time
Agent 2: Oh, that? That's the Shel-drone. I bet you can guess who designed it...
Agent 1: ...Sheldon, right? Anyway, he said that thing can help find hidden items, even here in Alterna. Well, he said a LOT more than that, but you get the gist.- Agent 2: One of the important things he said is that you need
Power Eggs to operate it. So if you have extras, maybe give it a try! - Agent 1: Yep! And it supposedly takes anything it finds directly back to the lobby, so check out the lobby terminal to pick them up.
Gallery
-
Marie introducing the Shel-drone.
-
Text received after retrieving items at the Lobby Terminal.
Trivia
- Photo Mode's timer cannot be used in Alterna, due to the drone that carries the camera is likely the Shel-drone, which is already present at the Squid Sisters Camp in Future Utopia Island.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ブキチドローン Bukichi dorōn |
Bukichi (Sheldon in Japanese) drone |
 Dutch |
Armadrone | From Armada ("Ammo Knights") and drone |
 French |
Cardrone | Shel-drone |
 German |
Arty-Drohne | Sheldon drone |
 Italian |
Armandrone | Sheldondrone. From Armand (Sheldon in Italian) and drone |
 Russian |
Пуш-дрон Push-dron |
Shel-drone |
 Spanish |
Dron | Drone |
 Chinese (Simplified) |
无人机 Wúrénjī |
Drone |
 Chinese (Traditional) |
無人機 Wúrén jī |
Drone |
 Korean |
드론 | Drone |
 Internal |
Msn_Drone [3] |
