Something just occurred to me. Can the apes swim? Chimpanzees can't swim, I think, but most chimpanzees are not being brain-boosted and sometimes mutated. I just picture a scenario where there's a an unexpected amount of water and Specter has to rely exclusively on Spike to swim him to safety
From what I researched most apes can't swim, not helping is their body shape and density making them far more likely to drown, but like humans if they are inclined, they can learn or be taught to swim and dive. The only problem is that without the instinct to want to swim they are once again more likely to drown before they learn how. Some have been observed to go splash around in the shallows though.
In Ape Escape there are actually quite a few Pipo Ape that can swim that I head canon for Nannersverse that the park decided to start up some water show attractions during the summer months and brought in a trainer to try and get a number of the apes swimming. Some of them learned while others didn't. Probably not enough to go through with the summer attractions plan but would explain the game's number of swimming apes!
Blue would have taken to water like a fish as "Cool Blue" from AE 1 (Who I decided was pre-Vita-Z Blue) can be found swimming around Crabby Beach.
Specter on the other hand would have been attempted to be taught to swim, as the more attractions their star can participate in the better for business that would be. Unfortunately he did not take to water at all and sinks like a rock.
There IS a scenario during the Stupid in Space story line where Spike and Circus!Specter bond for a bit while White tries to get enough power to the Time Station's transporter to get them back to the SARU Station. Spike's ability to help is self described as "Advanced Legos" while Specter is left in a state where he would be... less than helpful putting his fingers in anything electric, so Spike takes Specter around the station to babysit him where mixed signals are had on the ape's part, and when in the training room Specter ends up falling onto the Transport platform sending him into the water net training room.
Spike gets White to get enough power to turn it on again, duct tapes whatever isn't water tight on the peak point helmet and goes in to find the ape. The only way out is the exit at the end and Spike has to coax Specter into letting him swim the terrified ape through the diving sections.
Unfortunately this is a little before Spike actually learns this Specter isn't a different Specter so he spends it treating the ape like a small child or a scared animal then he does... Specter...
And with it being Circus!Specter it doesn't have as juicy of an ego hit as it would Helmet!Specter...
