Octarians are a race of octopus-like creatures and are the main antagonistic species in the Splatoon series. They act as the foot soldiers for DJ Octavio in the series, and are responsible for the kidnapping of both the Great Zapfish in the two games and Callie from the Squid Sisters in Splatoon 2. They evolved into the way they appear now from the octopus over 12,000 years of the human race being extinct. There are many different variants of Octarians, the most prominent are Octolings. Giant Octarians or the "Great Octoweapons", which are mechanized robots created by DJ Octavio himself, were used as war machines against the Inklings in the Great Turf War.
History
Evolution
12,000 years prior to the events of the first Splatoon, humans had gone extinct after the earth flooded with water, leaving sea creatures the last remaining life on the planet. The ancestors of the Octarians began evolving rapidly and in very strange ways, gaining the ability to walk on land, growing limbs and phalanges in a way that made them look identical to humans, but with still many differences.
===The Great Turf War=== Around 100 years prior to Splatoon, Octarians once had a friendly relationship with the Inklings, however, rising sea levels made it difficult for the races to survive, as they could no longer live in the ocean, which caused them both to engage one another in a long and vigorous war known as the "Great Turf War". The early battles of the war ended in Octarian victory, making them the superior race at first, as the Inklings were "unable to wake up early enough in the morning to defend themselves". During the conflict, the Octarians had created giant, terrifying war machines, the Great Octoweapons, which helped defeat the Inklings quickly, however, they were eventually destroyed by the Inklings and the Octarians had ended up losing the war.
Splatoon
In the events of the first Splatoon, the Great Zapfish, the source of power for all of Inkopolis, had turned up missing from the place it usually remains, the Battle Tower. Deducing it as Octarian involvement, Cap'n Cuttlefish, the leader of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon, had believed that the Octarians had come out of hiding after 100 years since the end of the Great Turf War, and that DJ Octavio had kidnapped the Great Zapfish. He had quickly recruited a young individual into the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Agent 3, who he trusted to bring their source of power back safely. During the fight, many different Octarians were encountered, including robotic ones and the notorious Great Octoweapons; the Mighty Octostomp, the Dreaded Octonozzle, the Rampaging Octowhirl, the Ravenous Octomaw, and the Octobot King. Near mid-conflict, DJ Octavio had kidnapped Cuttlefish, leaving both Agents 1 and 2 (who were secretly Callie and Marie; the Squid Sisters) to guide Agent 3 on their mission. After defeating an entire army of Octarians, many Octolings, and four of the Great Octoweapons, Agent 3 had all Zapfish but one; the Great Zapfish, which was used to power the Octobot King; last Great Octoweapon in the final battle with DJ Octavio.