wraith89 Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Explorers of the Sky [icon]133[/icon]Introduction So here's another unnecessarily long thread I'm starting because not many of us are paying much attention to the Pokemon spin-off series, myself included. I suppose there really is no point, but for some people who want to take a break from the mainstream series, want a good laugh, or want to see what Pokemon do when there aren't humans around, this game may just be for you! For those who already play this game, many of the things I state here are OBVIOUS, but this is mostly directed towards people who haven't had the chance to look over the Mystery Dungeon series and want to try something else, be you a casual Pokemon gamer, a competitive battler, or someone who hasn't played any of that (though why you would be here in a Pokemon boards is beyond me). [icon]115[/icon]For Parents No there are no swear words in this game, there is no murder or actual violence, and no sexual or mature themes either. Yes Pokemon disappear once you defeat them, but only graphically, as evidenced by boss fights and the following cutscenes. It is assumed they ran away or escaped the dungeon. But if games are harmful or don't want your children addicted, stay away from this game, and in fact, every other video games out there, as most of them, even something as simple as Tetris, can get a person hooked for ages, which is detrimental to one's health, lest they want to end up like me. Now that I got that over with... [icon]040[/icon]Story Pokemon Mystery Dungeon offers a very colourful cast of characters ranging from good guys, bad guys, Pokemon of mysterious natures, and so forth. For mainstream game players, if some Pokemon did not seem so notable to you (perhaps Loudred), or some turned out just annoying or trollsome (like Bidoof) then this game might help remedy your perceptions to some Pokemon. Each Pokemon introduced in this game have very vibrant personalities and are easily recognisable that way. In fact every time I played through this game I could actually "hear" the voices of each Pokemon due to their tone of speech and how they go by. So in terms of characters, this game is INCREDIBLY rich and will hardly disappoint. They even have the lazy Team Slackers (a Slowpoke + Slakoth duo) who will do nothing but laze around! Maybe some of you competitive players might decide to use some of these Pokemon in your own team rosters! . . . No? Aww, and here I thought I could dream. Also, some of the legendaries are assigned a gender when talked to, which is also pretty cool. Though I did see a rescue request with a Bronzong being referred to as "she", which I found quite bizarre, but I suppose it happens. Some characters though, only show up like once (like boss fights) and are never seen again, which is disappointing, especially when they are "notable" Pokemon in something like competitive battling and such, but that's fine. Your player character is a silent protagonist (though (s)he does some talking), and your partner is the talkative sidekick who seems to always talk before thinking, much like the Apostle Peter. But that's always what they do. As many of us may or may not know, the Pokemon you play as is dependent on the result of a personality test, which is pretty fun in itself. There is a wide array of Pokemon, ranging from the starter Pokemon from Kanto to Sinnoh to the famous Pikachu. However, Phanpy, Shinx, and Riolu may ONLY be Male while Vulpix, Eevee, and Skitty may ONLY be female. Some people genuinely follow the personality test, while others look at a guide to manipulate what they get. I took it while I was playing its predecessor Explorers of Darkness and got a Chikorita (Calm type Male) but I decided to play as an Eevee in this game because I just love Eevee. Although Meowth and Munchlax are NO LONGER available as starter Pokemon, they can be chosen as partners. Yes, the player gets to choose their partner Pokemon, though not every one are available, just a select few apparently. After seeing that Vulpix in that list, I couldn't resist and chose the fox immediately. You get to name both yourself and your partner. If your partner wants to "meat you", I think you might be safer without one. The story starts off with a Pokemon (your partner) who watches Krabbies (plural of Krabby?) blowing bubbles in the beach during the evening, which is always nice to look at. This fellow is quite nervous, but he (or she in my Vulpix's case) always wanted to join an exploration team, which are basically a group of Pokemon who go through Mystery Dungeons for the sake of exploring or grabbing treasures, gaining fame, etc. Basically this is what Pokemon do when we trainers aren't around, or something. But with human-like features? Yeah I don't know... they're breaking the lines between human and animal features from Pokemon these days, but if that's the direction they're going, that's where it's going. Speaking of human, you (the player) are found lying on the beach, and the partner Pokemon finds you unconscious and that's where you two meet. Aww. And then you two make fast friends, though you say something; you were a human and all of a sudden you've turned into a Pokemon. What? Yeah... that's the weird part of the story, and I'm not sure if I'm enamoured with the whole human becoming Pokemon concept, but stuff like Yamask were apparently human in their past lives according to the Unova Pokedex. Anyways your partner starts blabbering off and stuff about how he always wanted to be an explorer and says ever since he found this Relic Fragment, some small rock with a mysterious symbol on it, and he shows it to you. Well, that is until these two stinkers come in (Koffing and Zubat) and decides to steal it and run into Beach Cave. Ewww. So you and your partner team up and chase them down your first mystery dungeon (Beach Cave) and find the two evildoers at the end of the cave, basically making them your first boss. So your partner retrieves his Relic Fragment and because you apparently gave him support, both of you decide to go to the famous Wigglytuff's Guild Base and start a life in being an explorer. Once that's done, you get to name your own Explorer Team! Hurray! Yeah well, no, I'm not spoiling the rest of this; it is up to you to find out. As for the story that comes after this, I admit, I felt VERY childish playing through this game. Sometimes the characters were talking for just TOO long, saying things unnecessarily, elongating stuff and playing through many flashbacks and sometimes stating the obvious when you could have figured out what was going on by then. However, since this game is intended to be played by children more than adults, I suppose I cannot complain there. But long dialogues aside, the story will definitely not disappoint. The character development and how each integrate into the story are definitely something to look forward to and it's the story that seems to get people to continue playing, much like Pokemon Black and White I suppose. There's a lot to do with Time and Space like the mascots of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are based off. The Sky Version seems to promote Shaymin in the cover, so maybe Shaymin is involved. Heh, we'll see. [icon]037[/icon]Gameplay Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is of the Roguelike genre, which is basically a turn based game where one needs to navigate through randomly-generated labyrinths (which is why it is called Mystery Dungeon), finding treasures, thwarting hostile enemies (in this case, Pokemon living in these mystery dungeons), and eventually reach their goal, which is usually finding some special treasure or a boss fight. Because of the randomly generated dungeons, there is very little chance of ever finding two mazes ever alike; the floors will be randomly generated as you go in. If anyone is familiar with the game Shiren the Wanderer, this game is a LOT like it, except with Pokemon. As for the actual gameplay... right. Well, as for you regular Pokemon game players; this does NOT follow the mechanics of the actual game quite right. Most of the mechanics in this game you might consider quite unorthodox. In fact, you're bound to see your Squirtle defeating many Exeggutors with Water Gun, or your Eevee smashing Tyranitars with two Quick Attacks. Yeah, base stats and whatever do NOT factor in this game. IVs and EVs? Natures? Forget about it. Just because you got Relaxed Female and got a Vulpix does NOT in any way add Defence and reduce Speed and therefore detrimental. That would be in mainstream Pokemon, but not in Mystery Dungeon. So all your competitive knowledge and stuff? Say goodbye to that. We don't need it! Speaking of Speed, that stat doesn't even factor in Mystery Dungeon, although speed boosting/speed decreasing moves still exist. Those serve a purpose though; if your speed is doubled, you can move two tiles before the slower foes can. It serves as a strategic move and is in no way in any effect of "who attacks first". This isn't Pokemon as you know it. Also, Pokemon also have BOTH of their abilities; meaning Bronzong will have both Heatproof AND Levitate. As for type advantage/disadvantages... No Effect: 0% in Main Series, 50% in Mystery Dungeon Not-Very-Effective: 50% in Main Series, 70% in Mystery Dungeon Neutral: 100% in Main Series, 100% in Mystery Dungeon Super-Effective: 200% in Main Series, 140% in Mystery Dungeon STAB: 150% in Main Series, 150% in Mystery Dungeon STAB moves are more effective than super effective moves... and Ground moves will do damage against Fliers. That's not to say immunities don't exist; immunities stil come in the form of abilities such as Levitate or Flash Fire. However, just by sticking to raw power will get you nowhere; there are also particular items that can be of help. Oh, and Storm Drain and Lightningrod works a lot like its GEN V counterparts; it grants immunity, but it does not raise Special Attack. As usual, dual types have their type weakness/resistance multiplied if two types clash, not added. So you want an evolution? Too bad. In this game, you are pretty much STUCK to your form, meaning NO evolution. Well actually I lied. You cannot evolve until much later in the game, and that is during post-story. Aside from adding + 10 HP/+5 stats, evolution doesn't do much else. Remember, stats are not the same like in regular Pokemon; and any Pokemon can reach a max of 999 HP and 255 Stats I believe with the aids of vitamins (you know, Protein and Calcium and stuff?), except you're not limited to 100 EVs and stuff because THOSE VALUES DO NOT EXIST! This means if you like how a mid form Pokemon looks better than its final form (like those people complaining about Dragonite and fauning over Dragonair), you may as well keep it as Dragonair and say no more. Mind you, there is still the whole movepool issue with that; Dragonite learns more moves than Dragonair so it's always wise to think about whether you want to evolve or not. How to evolve your Pokemon? Not saying anything about it; you shouldn't even worry about it until post-main story. With that being said, base stats did not translate too well to this game. Surprisingly, you'll see Blissey become offensively capable in this game but wonder where half of her HP went. Yes, the game WILL have you fight some legendary Pokemon as bosses. I know you are freaking out, as you are going to be using your "wimpy little guys" against big scary, I don't know, Zapdos. How do you deal with big ol' scary Zapdos then? We use items! What? There are many items we will concern here. What good explorers do is they carry a lot of Oran Berries, Max Elixirs, Orbs, and Seeds. B-b-but... don't Oran Berries give you 10 HP? What's the point to that? Not in this game! It restores 100 HP, making it very useful early throughout the game. Then what are orbs and seeds? Okay, there are many types of Orbs which can do all sorts of different functions, such as Radar Orb which scans for enemies in the mini map or Slumber Orb which puts every enemies in your room to sleep. However, the Orbs ONLY WORK in Mystery Dungeons and will not work in Boss Fights; it will just say "A mysterious power prevented it from working" or something, effectively wasting your turn. Seeds, however, work to your benefit in dungeons and in boss fights. Reviver Seeds are the MOST important seed to carry when going on expeditions. As the name states, it instantly revives your Pokemon the moment (s)he hits 0 HP, but when it is used up, it turns into a Plain Seed, which is basically a space hogger; it does nothing. Heal Seed is like Full Heal from mainstream games; it removes bad status like burn or poison. However, there are seeds you do NOT want to eat. Stuff like Sleep Seed puts you to sleep and X-Eye Seed makes you cross-eyed, which means you're not hitting anything properly. Then why would you carry them? It's simple; it's to put that Zapdos to sleep. How? You chuck the seed at the enemy by selecting it and selecting THROW, not EAT. See how many useful strategies this game has already? These items were primarily designed for boss fights I suppose, as it goes a LONG way in helping your team secure victory. Like those MMOs and whatnot, every Pokemon has a "normal" attack, which is executed by simply pushing A. This move becomes obsolete later though but it is always there as a "last resort" when your actual attacks start running out of PP, or to actually defend yourself against a Shedinja if you have no moves that can hit it. I think many of us are familiar with the techniques + PP system. Basically, the PP is how much an attack can be used. If it reaches 0, the move cannot be used anymore. In this game, every step you make counts as one turn; as you move, the other Pokemon in the dungeon makes a move. You will have to continually access the menu to use techniques such as Tackle, but you can bypass this step and automatically use Tackle by selecting it in the menu and select "Set". This way, all you have to do is push R + A to execute the move, like a hotkey. You can even link two moves, such as Tail Whip + Tackle, for a strategic effect. If you use a linked move, you will execute both moves in one turn, making it quite effective. To link a move, you have to talk to an Electivire in Treasure Town, but all this detail can come later in game. Some attacks work differently. For example, multi-hitting moves are nearly broken as they do colossal damage, but they have poor accuracy. Moves like Pursuit and Uproar does no damage in this game; the former sets you in a state where you counterattack anything that hits you (provided you're not knocked out) while the latter just wakes everyone up and puts you in a "sleepless state". Mirror Move is a broken move which makes you impervious to like everything and reflect back the moves that hit you until its duration runs out. Protect is incredibly broken too; you take NO damage for like a few turns while you can still attack during that state. Moves like Imprison got all of a sudden useful, as it puts a Pokemon in a "Paused state" (basically means they cannot move) for a duration. Bubble can hit anyone from far range, making it a very useful move while you would probably laugh at it in mainstream games. Powder Snow looks weak but in this game it's rather scary because it can hit EVERY FOES in the room, making it a great room cleaner. Area effects and such are of great importance here so it would be wise to know what they do. However, for the most part, many of the moves are alomst similar to their mainstream games counterparts; Iron Tail is still Iron Tail, Tackle is still Tackle, etc. There is another mechanic called IQ. You know how Return and Frustration is based off happiness in the mainstream games for their power? In this game, it is all dependent on IQ. Well, what is an IQ? IQ is pretty much what gives different Pokemon all sorts of different abilities. By eating Gummis, Pokemon can gain IQ points to power themselves up with all sorts of cool abilities. For example, PP Saver is an IQ that works 8% of the time to not use any PP while using a move. Nonsleeper is basically Insomnia; your Pokemon cannot sleep if it has that IQ. Some of the tough later bosses in game has this ability called Intimidator, which basically halts any melee attacks from striking 33% of the time, which is very scary. Most of the IQ skills can be turned on and off depending on the person's preferences. Most of the time it would be beneficial to turn on most of the IQ skills however. You can acquire different Pokemon to be part of your 4-Pokemon team. Sometimes during the dungeon if the LEADER FINISHES off a Pokemon the opposing Pokemon will sometimes ask if you want it to be part of your team. Answering yes will allow you to well, basically in trainer equivalent, catch the Pokemon, even giving them a nickname. You can change around who will stay and who will standby with Chimecho in the guild. There are other ways a Pokemon can join your team, but that is for you to find out. Keep in mind that some Pokemon can NOT be recruited by "normal means" amd will require other ways to get. As for the terrains in each dungeon, it's randomised, as I have said. Sometimes you can even start in the same room as the staircase. Once you go through a staircase you're not coming back down; you will continue progressing through floors. Some of these dungeons have water, which only water Pokemon or flying Pokemon can traverse over, some will have lava which Fire Pokemon can traverse over and others cannot cross over it by normal means. If you somehow do get into a lava and are not a Fire Pokemon, you will get burned, which isn't a good thing. Ghost Pokemon are incredibly annoying as foes; they can go through walls and can attack from the walls while being impervious to any attacks you try to use against them. You will encounter tiles called Mystery Tiles, which are grey blocks with a green arrow on it. These things remove any stat modifications on contact, which is essentially "Haze" in mainstream Pokemon. Later in games you will need to watch out for trap tiles, which are hidden, will activate on contact, and will do some nasty things like turning your Apples into Grimy Foods or putting you to sleep and the likes. There's more! Sometimes dungeons will possess a Kecleon who sells a bunch of items for any dungeon passengers. You can leave some items in some empty shop tiles to sell them to Kecleon. However, if you steal items from Kecleon, you WILL BE SORRY. I know, you mainstream players are wondering how that's even possible, since Kecleon isn't much of a threat in mainstream. Guess what? You're in the world of Mystery Dungeon, where moves like Bullet Seed means serious trouble to Heatran. Kecleon is pretty much uber in this game, and if you steal from him, he will attack you and have his other cronies come in if he fails. In other words; don't do it unless you are looking for trouble. Oh no. PLEASE. NO. And what more troubles can this game present you aside from angry wild Pokemon, obscured trap tiles, and enraged Kecleons? Many of you Mystery Dungeon players will shudder (or cheer) on this word MONSTER HOUSE. A... monster house? You mean where Wraith lives-*gets shot*- may I continue? Okay, good. During the later stages of the game, there can be a room (usually full of gummies) and all sorts of goodies. It looks so tempting to grab them until the music then decides to change drastically and a bunch of Pokemon start falling from the sky with the frightening message "IT'S A MONSTER HOUSE!" In a monster house, a gazillion Pokemon decide to gang up on your poor little team and decide to do... something really bad to them. Yeah... 2-4 Pokemon against like... 16 Pokemon in one room isn't something to look forward to, no sir. They'll usually come with a Pokemon or two with access to moves like Agility, which basically speeds up the whole room (remember speed in Mystery dungeon terms) allowing them to move TWICE, and that is not fun. Sometimes they're jerks and put the staircase in the Monster House room... and sometimes they're even bigger jerks by placing you into a Monster House as soon as you enter the floor. The rewards are usually a lot of goodies like Gummies and of course, large amount of EXP, but sometimes it isn't worth the bunch of Reviver Seeds used up in the progress. Stuff like Petrify Orb or something of that sort can be useful to beat Monster Houses, or a screen cleaning move like Blizzard or Heat Wave works really well too. Other than that, if one is not prepared to face a Monster House, it usually means GG for the explorer. But that's one thing to keep in mind when going inside the dungeon. Of course, there are good things in this game as well. There can sometimes be a hidden stairway that can lead to a Secret Bazaar (only available in Sky version), which is hosted by a Kirlia. There's a Mime Jr. which heals all your Pokemon for 100 Pokés, a Swalot who sells Grab Bags for 100 Pokés (mostly contains Oran Berries but other good stuff are in there too), a Lickilicky who cleans up your dirtied items for 100 Pokés, and a Shedinja who offers escape from the dungeon for 100 Pokés. Or take the staircase to the next floor. So you can clearly see this game is rich in surprises as well. As for Wifi connectivity, if a person gets stuck on a dungeon, one can send a SOS Mail to someone else to rescue them in a dungeon. Ever since Sky version, there were Special Episodes that allowed you to play through the perspective of some other Pokemon you've met in this game. I think that's a pretty cool touch and it allows you to get to know more about each characters. In fact I think that's what made me appreciate Bidoof more and it is pretty fun playing through them. There are 5 in total. [icon]025[/icon]Personality Quiz I think we all know about the whole personality quiz that this game has to offer in the start, which determines your starter. The personality quiz asks some normal questions, but there are some weird questions like "What would you do if a hand stuck out of a toilet?", and one of the choices was "Shake hands with it". Eek! Once you get your starter, the partner offered are never the same type as your starter. For example, if you get a Bulbasaur, the partners offered will not be Grass types. Unless you are using a guide to get a Pokemon, you can try to just play around with the Pokemon that is apparently most like you. But most people just use some guide I've noticed to get the Pokemon they want, such as this one. If you are starting this game and want an easy time, I suggest you grab a Pikachu. It has a good set of IQ, can learn a room cleaning move Discharge and has Agility to help it and its teammates move faster in a dungeon. Pikachu is pretty much the "easy mode" of this game. Some Pokemon, as I've stated before, are gender specific. In Sky version, Riolu, Shinx, and Phanpy are Male exclusive while Eevee, Vulpix and Skitty are Female exclusive. If you are a girl and want to play a Riolu for instance, if you really insist, it doesn't quite matter. Just pick male for the sake of Riolu then since I doubt people really use the personality quiz to get their Pokemon most of the time [icon]001[/icon]The Starters I guess from here I'll rate on how useful each Pokemon is and which partner works best for them... or whatever. Of course there's no stopping you from selecting the Pokemon you really like if you really like it. That's what I did, and there's many options for a starter Pokemon. [hgsssprite]001[/hgsssprite] Bulbasaur Type: Grass/Poison Male Personality: Lonely Female Personality: Docile Rating: Good With access to Sleep Powder and some good ranged Grass moves like Razor Leaf, Bulbasaur is a good choice for people who start the game. Keep in mind Sleep Powder becomes less useful after the first major part of the game because of the many Pokemon that carry the IQ Nonsleeper. Good partner for Bulbasaur could be water Pokemon like Squirtle, who can deal with the Fire Pokemon Bulbasaur has trouble with, or maybe Pikachu with Discharge to take advantage of the Sleep Powder. Recommended Moveset - Razor Leaf - Sleep Powder - Bullet Seed - Double-Edge / Sludge Bomb Other options include Leech Seed and Synthesis, but I'd rather the attacking moves in Mystery Dungeon. Razor Leaf is the STAB move of choice for large range and Sleep Powder puts every surrounding Pokemon to sleep, provided it doesn't miss. Bullet Seed is too useful to pass on (use a TM) as it hits multiple times, doing insane damage if they all connect, and Sludge Bomb STAB is a good move as well. Frenzy Plant is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]004[/hgsssprite] Charmander Type: Fire Male Personality: Docile Female Personality: Brave Rating: Good Charmander's a pretty decent Fire Pokemon. It will only turn better once it becomes a Charizard, but unfortunately, you will spend the majority of the game as a Charmander, so no Heat Wave access for you... for a long time. It is in the IQ group C, so it has access to Concentrator and even Nonsleeper! Ember, Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, you name it, this guy has it all. A Pikachu or a Grass Pokemon can serve as a very useful partner to deal with pesky Water Pokemon. Grass Pokemon also work well against Rock and Ground Pokemon Charmander hates. Recommended Moveset - Flamethrower - Dig - Slash - Ember / Fire Fang / Whatever Flamethrower is acquired via TM or Level 34, and since it is a high powered long ranged STAB move, do not pass it up! Dig deals with Rock Pokemon, Slash is some generic normal move and last slot is just a filler. Ember has high PP so you can keep that. Later on as a Charizard, Heat Wave definitely belongs there as it will hit every foes in the room. Make sure you get it (Level 59). Blast Burn is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]007[/hgsssprite] Squirtle Type: Water Male Personality: Quirky Female Personality: Bold Rating: Very Good Squirtle has to be one of the best starters out there. With access to Bubble so early as Level 7 and quite the tankish build, Squirtle will rarely disappoint as a starter. It can learn Protect naturally at Level 22, which is very broken in Mystery Dungeon, and with this guy around, you can be sure that you will not take much damage. Great partners for Squirtle would be someone who can probably take advantage of Squirtle's tankishness, like a Bulbasaur or Pikachu. The former can put surrounding foes to sleep and be useful against Electric or Grass Pokemon Squirtle hates, while the latter can be of help getting rid of large mobs. Recommended Moveset - Bubble / Water Pulse - Protect - Dig / Ice Beam / Blizzard - Water Pulse / Bubble / Ice Beam / Blizzard Yes, Bubble is really good in Mystery Dungeon... probably one of the best moves out there. You will use that move a lot. You can replace it with the stronger Water Pulse, but it has less PP. The decision is entirely yours. Or, you can have both I guess. If Protect works, then it is perhaps the most broken thing out there, so keep that. It'll be very useful against bosses as well. Dig is useful against Electric Pokemon that Squirtle hates so much, and last slot can go to anything really. If you find/purchase the TMs for Ice Beam or Blizzard, you might want it to hit Grass Pokemon and others. Blizzard is especially useful for room clearing, but the chances of you getting this TM is pretty rare, but it's there if you find it. The whole concept behind Squirtle seems to be keeping your distance, and if things go close or fire powerful moves, use Protect. Or something. I don't know. Either way, Squirtle likes its long ranged moves very much. Hydro Cannon is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]025[/hgsssprite] Pikachu Type: Electric Male Personality: Brave Female Personality: Hasty Rating: Excellent The face we all know and recognise, Pikachu is the Pokemon that most people select for Mystery Dungeon, and for a good reason too. Its access to the powerful Thunderbolt at level 26 and dungeon destroying moves like Agility and Discharge make it incredibly potent as a starter. To counteract its Ground weakness, using a Water or a Grass type partner may be a great idea. A Fire Pokemon can also be useful, but sharing that Ground weakness can be painful. Overall, I would recommend Pikachu as either a partner or your starter if none of the other Pokemon appeal to you. Recommended Moveset - Thunderbolt - Discharge - Quick Attack / Dig / Shock Wave - Agility Pikachu's main move will probably be Thunderbolt, which hits every Pokemon surrounding it. There are other options like Shock Wave or Dig if you feel like it, but I think I would prefer Thunderbolt. Discharge is highly recommended and it will make your life easier against those dreadful Monster Houses. This is what Pikachu is well known for and it should be in your moveset at all times once you gain access to it. Quick Attack is useful for sniping foes nearby, but 13 PP can go down pretty quickly. Lastly, Agility will make you slip by dungeons very quickly and is a very good team aiding move. Overall, this is how you play Pikachu's strengths. [hgsssprite]037[/hgsssprite] Vulpix Type: Fire Male Personality: Female Exclusive Starter Female Personality: Relaxed Special Move: Faint Attack Rating: Very Good I've actually selected Vulpix as a partner, but I can already tell this Pokemon is very good as a starter Pokemon should you select her. First off, you should know she starts off with Faint Attack, which is useful due to 25 PP (which is a lot) and never misses. Be wary that once you delete Faint Attack, you can never get it back. She has a lot of utility moves like Will-o-Wisp, Roar, or Confuse Ray, but what makes her very useful is that move Imprison. Imprison is one of the best strategic moves Mystery Dungeon has to offer, as it pauses a Pokemon for a short time. This move alone is what helped me defeat bosses much easier and even beat monster houses by sneaking through the narrow passageway without losing much (I would just eat up a Max Elixir with my Eevee after Quick Attack ran out). What's more, she even has access to EARLY Flamethrower at Level 24, which is extremely powerful and very useful for picking off foes from afar. Good partners for Vulpix? A lot of Pokemon benefit from Vulpix, but who would Vulpix benefit from? Most likely Grass or Water Pokemon who can take care of the Rock/Ground/Water Pokemon Vulpix despises. Overall, I would highly recommend Vulpix as either a partner or a starter. Of course, like all other partners, you would have to micromanage her a lot to get the best out of Vulpix. Recommended Moveset - Flamethrower - Imprison - Quick Attack / Extrasensory - Faint Attack / Dark Pulse / Extrasensory Now this is how you play Vulpix. Flamethrower is her main attack, but don't let it checked unless it is absolutely necessary; its low PP (I believe 12) isn't pretty. Stick with Quick Attack to pick off weakened foes and at least 2HKO them from 2 tiles away. Faint Attack is a 25 PP move and useful for those Sand Veil Sandslashes in the sand or something; it's very useful early on until you find Dark Pulse TM, which hits everyone surrounding Vulpix. Extrasensory is a late move but if you have access to it, it is quite powerful and can even cringe the foe. I've already mentioned Imprison's practicality by now and if I haven't drilled it into your head by now; KEEP IT KEEP IT KEEP IT. She has a lot of other moves, but I think this works the best. That is all. [hgsssprite]133[/hgsssprite] Eevee Type: Normal Male Personality: Female-Exclusive Starter Female Personality: Jolly Special Move: Flail Rating: Average Eevee was my starter, and maybe it's just me, but I found her quite underwhelming. She gets KOd by nearly everything and usually does not do enough damage to justify it back. Eevee is stuck with Tackle until Level 22, when she finally learns Quick Attack and I made the mistake of erasing Tackle for Bite at Level 29, as Bite was even weaker than Tackle from Eevee. Yes, I had it tough, but she has a selling point. Eevee's ability Adaptability comes a long way in boosting her damage. Yes, remember how STAB is the most powerful thing in this game as opposed to super effective damage? How about powering up that STAB even more with an ability? That's Adaptability for you; Eevee's Quick Attack was doing significantly high damage to foes, and I think they had her frailty in mind when they gave her Flail; the lower Eevee's HP is, the more damage Flail will do. And Flail is a STAB move, and I've hit insane numbers early on, even triple digits as early as level 20s! However, watch out when facing ranged fighters and whatnot; Eevee tends to faint very quickly from nearly everything. I even got OHKOd from a Hitmonchan's Mach Punch (albeit critical hit), so fighters are something to watch out for. Later in the game that high damage becomes less noticeable as things begin surviving two Quick Attacks, and it gets more frustrating when it keeps missing; she does not have Concentrator IQ. And once she evolves, she loses Adaptability, making her much weaker than her former self. Be quite cautious when deciding to evolve Eevee; she might be better off as an Eevee for the most part, because evolving will require a radical change in her moveset. But do as you please. Many partners suit Eevee very well, but more often than not, Eevee cannot do much back to help her partner. But Eevee is very potent; do not underestimate her, but I suggest this one for experienced players only (unless you really like Eevee like I do). Recommended Moveset - Quick Attack - Flail - Dig - Shadow Ball I would use Quick Attack as Eevee's main attack as it can pick off targets two spaces away and even cut through corners. When Eevee is in low HP, Flail works really well, doing a lot of damage, so I would keep that. Dig is there so Steels can be destroyed, but even Steel Pokemon can go down to 2 Quick Attacks. Shadow Ball is a far range move and is quite useful for hitting Ghosts and such, especially Shedinja. What's sad though is that most Ghosts take more damage from Quick Attack than from Shadow Ball... but Shadow Ball is still useful. I had Iron Tail at one point, but it became too unwieldly and Quick Attack was doing similar damage. Eevee is one tough mystery. [hgsssprite]152[/hgsssprite] Chikorita Type: Grass Male Personality: Calm Female Personality: Quiet Rating: Above Average Chikorita is the only starter Pokemon that belongs in the Healer IQ group, so you can expect it to be tanky and helpful for healing. It's good at supporting, but it doesn't do much from the offensive. Most of its offensive moves are Grass typed and unlike Bulbasaur, it does not have Sleep Powder. It has access to ranged Razor Leaf however, and Magical Leaf is pretty good... except it has that lackluster 8 PP. Whoops. Having a Water Pokemon starter, is probably the best way to go to deal with those pesky Fire Pokemon, particularly close range Pokemon like Totodile. Overall, it really cannot do much, but nonetheless a friendly support Pokemon and probably better off as a partner than a main Pokemon. Its later IQ skills are very helpful in its survivability. Recommended Moveset - Razor Leaf - Body Slam - Magical Leaf / Energy Ball / Bullet Seed / Giga Drain / Safeguard - Bullet Seed / Giga Drain / Energy Ball / Reflect / Light Screen / Whatever Yeah... I could not really think much. Razor Leaf is probably your best main move for Chikorita as it can pick off foes at a distance. Body Slam is best off for close range attack so Razor Leaf's PP does not deplete so fast. If Magical Leaf's PP wasn't so low, it would be much better to use. Oh well, but it's there simply for emergency purposes. There are tons of other moves which are useful here, such as the almighty Bullet Seed or even Energy Ball for a powerful ranged move or Giga Drain for stealing health. Safeguard is very useful if you suspect troll status moves to fly around, while the screen moves (Reflect and Light Screen) helps reduce damage. This would be quite helpful for that fragile Eevee I've mentioned above. Yeah, that's Chikorita for you. Oh, and don't forget that Meganium has access to Petal Dance, and that move is incredibly powerful, but confuses Meganium. It's probably best left to fight against bosses, but by the time you turn to Meganium, all the major bosses of the game are down... oh well. Frenzy Plant is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]155[/hgsssprite] Cyndaquil Type: Fire Male Personality: Timid Female Personality: Calm Rating: Good Too bad it does not have access to Heat Wave like Charizard. Oh well. But Cyndaquil is still a good Fire Pokemon nonetheless, and like most Fire Pokemon starter not named Vulpix, it is highly tailored for offense. It learns Ember, Flame Wheel, Lava Plume and Flamethrower as its Fire moves, leaving it a lot of good Fire moves to utilise, but it also has Quick Attack, allowing it to cut through corners and snipe enemies 2 tiles away! Not bad at all. It also has Swift to boot, but too bad that thing has 8 PP. You can expect this guy to be mostly limited to Fire moves, so having a partner to take Water Pokemon, such as one of those many Grass starters or the room cleaning beast Pikachu, makes an excellent partner Pokemon. Overall, it is not bad at all and it should be given a chance. I think it might be even better than Charmander, but I could be quite wrong. Charizard is still probably better in the end though due to larger movepool and Heat Wave. It may as well be the best Johto starter in Mystery Dungeon series, I think, as its mainstream title was usurped by Totodile in HGSS. Recommended Moveset - Flamethrower - Lava Plume - Quick Attack - Dig Yeah... there is not much to say here. Cyndaquil gets Flamethrower as late as 37, but that is not all too bad as it has a lot of other Fire moves to play around with earlier on, such as Flame Wheel. It will probably be its main move, but watch out for its PP as it is a measly 12. Lava Plume is Cyndaquil's secondary move and is very useful for targeting surrounding foes as it hits all 8 of them. Quick Attack is for sniping purposes and an auxiliary move, and Dig is to target Flash Fire Fire Pokemon or Rock Pokemon in general. Blast Burn is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]158[/hgsssprite] Totodile Type: Water Male Personality: Jolly Female Personality: Sassy Rating: Above Average An offensive Water Pokemon with a defensive IQ set? Weird, but that's actually quite good. Mind you, I don't believe it is quite the Squirtle, but this guy makes up for the lack of ranged moves for a bunch of close range moves that can be very useful. It has Rage to increase its attack power if it gets hit with the Rage condition. Grass Pokemon come to ruin the day? Try Ice Fang for a size! However, it does not learn much STAB moves; it will be stuck with Water Gun for a long while until Level 41, where it learns Aqua Tail. Don't like that? Might want Water Pulse TM for this guy. A great partner is probably a Fire Pokemon with long range to help for the lack of range Totodile has, such as Charmander or Cyndaquil, and they are especially helpful vs Grass Pokemon. Pikachu the room cleaner is also very welcome. While this guy is not spectacular by any means, I believe it was intended to be played with brute strength, and because of its defensive IQ group, it also has great survivability. This guy is the best Johto starter in the mainstream games, and it is not too bad in Mystery Dungeon either, so give this happy dancing alligator a try! Recommended Moveset - Water Pulse / Water Gun - Ice Fang - Dig - Crunch / Ice Beam / Blizzard Like I said, it somewhat lacks a ranged move. If you do get Water Pulse TM, USE it. If not, this guy will be stuck with Water Gun as STAB for a LONG time. It's not bad, but it's just close range and if everything was close range Totodile would only have close range to defend itself. Okay, maybe you may need to use Sticks or Stones more often than you should, but I suppose it would make a great finisher. Ice Fang hurts Grass Pokemon and some others like Dragons, Dig destroys Electric Pokemon and shields Totodile from a ranged move for the time being, I guess. Last move can be anything... run Crunch for physical strength, I guess, Ice Beam if you find the TM makes a great ranged attack, while Blizzard is a great room cleaner and is very helpful. You will gain access to Agility as Feraligatr though, which is fantastic as a support move. It also gains Hydro Pump later on if that appeals to you, but low PP can be an issue. Hydro Cannon is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [hgsssprite]231[/hgsssprite] Phanpy Type: Ground Male Personality: Relaxed Female Personality: Male-Exclusive Starter Special Move: Ancientpower Rating: Average What's this? A Ground Pokemon that doesn't have access to Dig?! And no, don't suggest Earthquake because that eats up your partners too! Oops. Ancientpower is a useful move however as it can also raise his stats at times. Phanpy is quite sturdy because it belongs in the defensive group, but looking at his movepool, he seems more like a supportive Pokemon than a leader one, although he is only offense. Weird. I like this guy, but I don't know how well he will do. He does gain early level 6 Flail though, and because Phanpy is of the defensive group, it will take a while for his HP to whittle down, so Flail can be helpful. Rollout, if it hits, can be incredibly broken. Because Phanpy hates Water and Grass moves a lot, a good Grass Pokemon makes an ideal partner. Ice Pokemon are trouble for both, so maybe a Water Pokemon with an ice move can be helpful, particularly ones with long range. Overall, I'm not entirely sure how good Phanpy is, as I've never played him, and I cannot judge by how he looks on paper. I just find that lack of movepool to be quite... detrimental, but again, I don't know how good he actually is. Keep in mind once Phanpy is a Donphan (which is WAYYYYY later in the game), he will actually have some good moves like Thunder Fang or Fire Fang via Electivire's Link shop. I suppose this is another "for experts only" Pokemon. Recommended Moveset - Ancientpower - Iron Tail / Endure - Take Down / Double-Edge - Flail I suppose the general idea is to have this guy tank for a partner that has access to Quick Attack or something. I don't know. Either way, this is what I'm seeing. Use your main attack (Take Down or Double Edge) to wittle his health slowly and then start to attack things with a high powered Flail. If worst comes to worst, trigger an Endure (or Protect if you got the TM) to shield Phanpy from fatal blow and strike stuff with a high powered Flail. Auxiliary moves like Ancientpower and Iron Tail are only other options. Ugh. I can't believe he got denied Dig. [sprite]252[/sprite] Treecko Type: Grass Male Personality: Quiet Female Personality: Hardy Rating: Very Good Treecko is a really cool Pokemon. It is definitely a good starter Pokemon to have and belongs to the Speedster IQ group like Pikachu. It has a surprisingly high movepool unlike Bulbasaur and Chikorita and has both ranged and close combat attacks. It even has Agility to support its teammates! A good partner for Treecko would most likely be something that can take a Fire move for it, like a Water Pokemon. The tankish Squirtle comes into mind, or even Totodile because it can fight off foes coming in at close range, which is just perfect for something like Treecko. Overall, this guy has nearly everything, all but a room cleaning attack. This is Mewtwo EX's favourite starter. Recommended Moveset - Giga Drain - Quick Attack - Energy Ball / Bullet Seed - Dig / Detect / Agility This guy has a lot going for it. Mega Drain is a useful move to snag HP off a foe and should be your main attack. Quick Attack is there to pick off foes from corners or two tiles away, whatever it may be. Long ranged grass moves come in the form of TMs. Energy Ball can also be learned at Level 46 and may probably be what you want, but Bullet Seed's uberness cannot be ignored. It does miss a lot however but given the long range you have a lot of chance in using it unless the said foe uses long ranged moves as well. Finally, the last slot can be some other offensive move like Dig, or run Agility to speed up yourself and teammates, or Detect for something akin to Squirtle's Protect. Treecko is quite versatile and I'd say it is very potent. Once it evolves, try its signature Leaf Blade for a size! It also gains access to X-Scissor, Night Slash and even the incredibly scary Leaf Storm! Frenzy Plant is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]255[/sprite] Torchic Type: Fire Male Personality: Hardy Female Personality: Rash Rating: Good Torchic is pretty interesting. Although it learns most of its better moves very late, Torchic does learn them eventually, and it will soar because of that. Its movepool looks barren, but it has an incredibly broken move in its arsenal: Mirror Move at level 37. A good partner Pokemon for Torchic would be someone who can deal with its Water weakness, mostly Grass Pokemon for it can also deal with the Rock and Ground Pokemon Torchic also hates. Something like Bulbasaur comes into mind for putting foes to sleep and picking off waters with its long ranged Razor Leaf. Treecko can also work well with a duo combo of Quick Attack from both Pokemon. Agility helps get through the dungeon even faster. Pikachu also works well with that broken Discharge. While it takes a while to get Torchic to be good, you can expect Torchic to be a valuable starter or partner whenever you want a Fire Pokemon. Recommended Moveset - Quick Attack - Mirror Move - Flamethrower / Ember - Dig / Peck / Ember / Slash I know... it takes a long time to learn most of these moves, but bear with it. Quick Attack is useful for cutting corners and sniping foes from 2 tile range, while STAB Flamethrower should not be forgotten. Flamethrower takes 43 levels to learn, however, so Ember is the Fire move of choice to use for the time being, as it has a large amount of PP to use. Mirror Move is learned at level 37, but any techniques used against Torchic will be reflected back, so this move is incredibly incredibly useful and should be there once it learns it. Last slot can go to anything, as Dig hits Rock Pokemon, Peck hits Fighters and whatever. It's up to you. When it becomes a Combusken or Blaziken, it becomes a completely different Pokemon. Use STAB Double Kick when you reach that stage with Torchic; it will be worth using. Blast Burn is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]258[/sprite] Mudkip Type: Water Male Personality: Rash Female Personality: Lonely Rating: Good So I herd u liek mudkipz Mudkip is a weird starter, as it has the traits of Squirtle and Totodile mixed together. Somewhat. Mudkip can learn Protect at level 37 (which is pretty late) but it is useful nonetheless. It lacks a lot of long ranged moves and is stuck with STAB Water Gun for a long time until Level 33 Whirlpool, which is pretty unreliable anyways. However, it does have some annoying moves like Mud-Slap, which can work towards its favour. Mud Sport weakens the impact of Electric moves, which is okay too. However, it relies a lot on TMs, much like Totodile, and unlike the alligator, it is not the defensive type. A partner that benefits from Mudkip is probably a Grass Pokemon who can deal with Mudkip's Electric and Grass foes like a Chikorita or a Bulbasaur. Treecko works well as it can pick off foes with Quick Attack and allow Mudkip to hit things up close. Mudkip's access to Protect is a godsend though. Although it comes kind of late, it will definitely aid it from techniques that would otherwise prove fatal. Mudkip is also surprisingly pretty strong and is the only one in its evolution branch that has access to Hydro Pump. Recommended Moveset - Water Pulse / Water Gun / Hydro Pump - Protect - Dig / Mud-Slap / Ice Beam / Blizzard - Tackle / Mud-Slap / Ice Beam / Blizzard There we have it. STAB Water Pulse is probably your main move. Use Water Gun instead if you have no access to the TM. Hydro Pump comes at Level 42, but once you have it, Mudkip's true power will be revealed! Protect is there because it's just amazing, it really is. The last two slots can go to anything. Keep in mind Mudkip will gain STAB from Dig once it evolves, and you may want to opt for Mud Shot instead at that point, but it is entirely up to you. Blizzard is a screen cleaner and is incredibly useful if you have access to it. Hydro Cannon is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]300[/sprite] Skitty Type: Normal Male Personality: Female-exclusive Starter Female Personality: Naive Special Move: Zen Headbutt Rating: Below Average Great... what do you do with a Pokemon... that can ONLY use NORMAL ATTACKS?! I know you're staring at her movelist and you see her learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam and all the crazy moves that everyone would love to have access to, but you are forgetting that she has this ability Normalize, which turns every moves... into a Normal Attack! Oh how convenient! Everything is STAB! . . . everything is STAB. Uh oh. You've guessed it. Skitty will be quite tough to pull off. Here I was wishing Eevee would get this ability over Run Away, or have Skitty have Adaptability and Normalize because of its superior movepool. Oh well. She learns a ton of moves, but this whole Normalize business can be a bad thing when you meet something like, I don't know, Shedinja. This kitty cat is another Pokemon designed for experts or something, so like... yeah. A partner you ask? Anything that can get rid of ghosts or fighters well I'd imagine. Maybe Vulpix since she has access to Extrasensory and Dark Pulse / Faint Attack. I don't know. Either way, Skitty will be one tough cookie to manage, but you have my respect if you have done it in spite of hardships. Recommended Moveset - Sing - Doubleslap / Fake Out - Faint Attack - Shock Wave / Water Pulse / Blizzard I don't have to explain about Normalize all over again do I? Anyways, Sing puts foes to sleep, and will work well against bosses and stuff if you don't want to resort to more Sleep Seeds. Doubleslap is a hard hitting multi-hitting move and can be useful at times. Since Faint Attack has mass PP and does not miss, it should be Skitty's main attack. Finally, last slot can go to whatever. Shock Wave is a long range never missing attack, Water Pulse hits long range and can cause confusion, while Blizzard is a room cleaner. Fake Out is another good option and should definitely be considered, as it is a Quick Attack that can cause cringing. Again, they're all Normal type moves, so don't expect to hit Shedinja or something. [sprite]387[/sprite] Turtwig Type: Grass Male Personality: Bold Female Personality: Timid Rating: Above Average Turtwig still has what's essential; it learns a lot of moves naturally, and pulls it off really well. Not surprisingly, it is in the defensive IQ group, so having this guy as a partner to a Fire Pokemon can be extremely helpful. It learns Razor Leaf quite early at level 13 and has some good close range moves like Giga Drain. An ideal partner for Turtwig is something that can take Fire Pokemon, maybe a Water Pokemon. Fire Pikachu of course works too as Turtwig covers its Ground weakness and Pikachu can fire off those evil Discharges and use Quick Attack behind Turtwig to finish off foes that Turtwig has not quite KOd. Overall, Turtwig is a pretty interesting starter and a useful one to have around. Recommended Moveset: - Razor Leaf - Crunch - Giga Drain / Leaf Storm - Synthesis / Bullet Seed Here we have Razor Leaf as Turtwig's main attack; it is long ranged and should always be there. Crunch is an auxiliary move and at least beats Shedinja in one shot. Mega Drain is there to steal health from close range, and if Turtwig does not want to use up an Oran Berry or whatever, Synthesis can go in the last slot. Turtwig learns Leaf Storm at Level 45, which is really strong as we all know. If there are Wonder Tiles all around, then you can definitely abuse this move. It also works well against bosses. Frenzy Plant is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]390[/sprite] Chimchar Type: Fire Male Personality: Naive Female Personality: Impish Rating: Good Another Fire starter, and quite a good one. Early on it gets access to a powerful multi hitting move in Fury Swipes (at level 15) and even access to recovery at level 39 in Slack Off. Just like the other Fire starters though, it is quite fragile and it would rather be attacking. It values a defensive Water partner, such as Squirtle, as Chimchar is lacking in ranged moves until Level 41 Flamethrower. Torment is a great boss fighter, and if they used a move that your team particularly hates, it would be a great idea to shut that move down! Overall, an interesting starter and certainly not a bad one. Recommended Moveset: - Flamethrower - Fury Swipes - Torment - Dig Until you get Flamethrower, stick with Flame Wheel or something, but Flamethrower will be the last move to use. Fury Swipes will destroy anything that comes near this guy... well, as long as they all connect. Torment's application is something I've stated above, and it's merely used for boss fights. Dig is for those pesky Rock Pokemon. Of course, once this guy turns to Monferno or Infernape, STAB Mach Punch can replace either Fury Swipes or Dig I guess. Blast Burn is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]393[/sprite] Piplup Type: Water Male Personality: Impish Female Personality: Quirky Rating: Very Good Whoo! Another Water starter with access to Bubble! And it even learns Bubblebeam naturally as well! This penguin is certainly pretty powerful as a starter and it even has the multi-hitting Fury Attack to make it even more potent! It learns Peck and Drill Peck naturally to defend itself against Grass Pokemon, and overall looks like a rather balanced starter. However, it still hates Electric and Grass Pokemon, so an ideal partner would be an offensive Fire Pokemon to deal with those pesky Grass Pokemon, maybe something like Cyndaquil or Charmander, or perhaps a defensive Turtwig to deal with electrics and grassers better. Either combination works. Overall, play by its strengths and Piplup will surely not disappoint. Recommended Moveset: - Bubblebeam - Fury Attack - Drill Peck / Dig / Ice Beam / Blizzard - Dig / Brine / Hydro Pump / Ice Beam / Blizzard Bubblebeam will eventually be your STAB move of choice, though you may want Bubble for more PP, but it is up to you. Fury Attack hurts, but that low accuracy can be off putting, but there will be times many will connect. Drill Peck deals with Grass Pokemon quite well while Dig covers Electric Pokemon. Use Blizzard to clear the room. When Piplup becomes Empoleon, it gains access to Aqua Jet, a water version of Quick Attack, which can be useful. Hydro Cannon is available once your IQ is high enough or Level 75 (I think?) and that is also another worthy consideration, especially against bosses. [sprite]403[/sprite] Shinx Type: Electric Male Personality: Hasty Female Personality: Male-Exclusive Starter Special Move: Quick Attack Rating: Good Finally a good gender exclusive starter that isn't Vulpix! Shinx may start out a bit awkward to begin with, but he is quite all right. He is a bit like Pikachu, except it learns Discharge a bit later at 41, but hey, Discharge is better than no Discharge right? He even has Quick Attack as his special attack, which is pretty good if you ask me. His movepool is a little shallow, but that's all right. A good partner would be either a Grass or a Water Pokemon who can deal with his Ground type weakness, such as the defensive Squirtle or Turtwig. An offensive Treecko with Quick Attack can also work well to finish off something Shinx has not. Overall, not all too bad and is definitely worth looking at. Recommended Moveset: - Discharge - Thunderbolt / Thunder Fang / Spark / Shock Wave - Crunch - Quick Attack Your main electric move should be something like Thunderbolt. If you have no access to that, just use Spark I guess. Shock Wave is good except it has only 8 PP, which is kinda bad. Discharge is the room cleaning move and once you get it, KEEP it. Crunch is an auxiliary move and can actually hit Shedinja and Quick Attack is for corner cutting and hitting something from 2 tile range. [sprite]447[/sprite] Riolu Type: Fighting Male Personality: Sassy Female Personality: Male-Exclusive Starter Special Move: Bite Rating: Above Average He was intended to be a starter in Time and Darkness versions, but apparently that idea was dropped. At least he's back in Sky. I'm a little borderline with this guy, but regardless, he can make a good boss killer thanks to that one move Reversal. Some of the bosses in this game have that gaping Fighting weakness and that certainly helps his cause. His learnset is rather limited, as it ends at Level 29 with Copycat. Yeah. He does have access to Quick Attack however, which can work to his favour. Since he has that flying weakness (and birds tend to flock up a lot in this game), a Pikachu makes a great partner for Riolu, as it resists Flying moves and can clear up a room with Discharge and has other electric moves to dispose of them. Though Riolu may seem a bit unlikely, this guy has a lot of hidden potential within him, and once he becomes a Lucario, he will learn many more moves to boot, so don't give up! Recommended Moveset: - Force Palm - Reversal - Quick Attack - Bite / Dig This is how you work Riolu. Force Palm is his main form of STAB and should remain so. Reversal is there in case Riolu is low HP, and works really well if you want to destroy a boss quickly or something. Quick Attack snipes enemies from corners or 2 tiles away, and Bite to actually hit Shedinja and Dig for some other uses, I don't know. As a Lucario, you will get a large movepool expansion, and therefore, a lot of moves to choose from, so this does not have to stay this way. No Riolu, you cannot Aura Sphere Now! Also, there is [icon]052[/icon] and [icon]446[/icon], but they are only available as partners and therefore cannot be your main Pokemon (this is for Sky Version). Eevee, Vulpix, Phanpy, Shinx, and Riolu are not available in Time and Darkness versions, and Skitty can be available as both male and female. Meowth and Munchlax are also playable in Time and Darkness as main characters. However, Meowth, Skitty and Munchlax cannot be chosen as partners. [icon]134[/icon]My Playthrough As I've mentioned, I had an Eevee starter and a Vulpix partner. The story got me going a lot and even though the game was incredibly aggravating at many times that I just wanted to throw the DS out the window, it was a fun ride. I'll attach two save files in the end, one after the end of the first part of the game, and the other after the second part of the game. Because Tbird is a troll and named his Vaporeon Violet, which I used to do many times before he did, I named my Eevee Viola and my Vulpix Vixie. Vulpix was infinitely superior to Eevee. She leveled faster, took hits much better, and usually ended up saving my life quite often. The team's name is Team A Minor. I tend to name teams after musical keys. I've had G Minor and E Minor and stuff like that before in other Mystery Dungeon games. I think I ended up like this before I evolved the two... [hgsssprite]133[/hgsssprite] Viola @ Silver Bow - Flail - Quick Attack (SET) - Dig - Shadow Ball [hgsssprite]037[/hgsssprite] Vixie @ Special Band - Flamethrower - Imprison - Extrasensory - Quick Attack Right now Viola is a Level 54 Vaporeon and Vixie is a Level 55 Ninetales. Ninetales was no problem getting used to as it was essentially an upgraded Vulpix, but Vaporeon turned out even weaker than Eevee and was overall very hard to get used to. However, after adjusting her moveset to fit the role of Vaporeon better, it turned out a lot better for the most part. [sprite]134[/sprite] Viola @ Silver Bow - Flail - Water Pulse (SET) - Blizzard - Shadow Ball [hgsssprite]038[/hgsssprite] Vixie @ Special Band - Flamethrower - Imprison - Extrasensory - Dark Pulse Since I cannot execute the double Quick Attack strategy that was more frequent with Eevee + Vulpix combo, I had to adjust it like so. That's to give you an idea of how I play my characters. I might get rid of Flail though as it is much weaker than what Eevee's was. Both of their IQs are around 4 stars right now, so Viola has Multitalent. If I ever want to run through the game again, I might try a Treecko or something. Maybe even the difficult Skitty. As for the Special Episodes, I've completed the first three. I have yet to even start on the last two, but I certainly want to get ahead and beat those too. Particularly the final one. My Wifi access is busted; I cannot perform rescues unfortunately. Maybe some day... [icon]004[/icon]A Quick Look in Treasure Town and Beyond Attention: PEUT ou NE PEUT pas contenir des Spoilers I will not reveal every single major characters, but I'll give you an idea of what the Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon are like. This game is incredibly rich in characters, and even then I haven't mentioned every single one of them. [icon]441[/icon]The Guild[icon]441[/icon] "ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK! TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!" [hgsssprite]040[/hgsssprite] Guildmaster Wigglytuff Sex: Male "YOOM-TAH!" This guy is the guildmaster of the Wigglytuff Guild. Yeah kind of obvious right? This guy is very friendly and all, but... he's really creepy. He's shown to be quite naive at times and he calls everybody friends, even folks that are blatantly evil. This guy sleeps with his eyes open and sometimes during the morning cheers, the guy is sleeping without anybody knowing it! Wigglytuff has an obsession for something called Perfect Apples, and if he is missing a whole day without one, he goes into an outcry, something everyone, particularly Chatot, fears. Wigglytuff doesn't seem too powerful, but this guy is incredibly strong, and the last thing anyone wants to do is to make the Guildmaster angry or sad. Yeah, just don't do it. I think you would rather prefer him in his happy and friendly state. And yet, despite how creepy this guy is, the whole guild feels safer with him around. His best friend and partner is Chatot, the guild's second in command. Though it doesn't look like it, this guy has many connections to some of the important characters in the game. Je ne sais pas ce qui se produit... [sprite]441[/sprite] Chatot Sex: Male Chatot is like the strict professor. He is the guild's second in command and pretty much assumes leadership when Wigglytuff is, well... being creepy or out of commission or something. Which is pretty much all the time. This guy is strict and often delivers harsh punishments to guild members who disobey, such as disallowing dinner to the delinquent. Uh oh. However, it is shown he cares a lot for his guild members, but like those strict professors, he never admits it. Chatot is very knowledgable and knows a lot of things. He calls himself the walking encyclopedia... or something and is often asked for information. He knows Wigglytuff better than anyone else in the guild, though there's a lot of information about Wigglytuff that even eludes him. He is particularly scared of making Wigglytuff angry or sad, because if that happens... things won't get pretty. [sprite]294[/sprite] Loudred Sex: Male "WAKE UP Y'ALL! IT'S MORNING TIME!!" Loudred is... loud. He's very rash and often does stuff before he thinks. That alone got him to get into an argument with a fellow guild member Sunflora. I'm going to assume he's Diglett's partner because he's always around Diglett. He also alerts people on who is entering the guild when Diglett detects the guest's footprint. Anyhow, he's also the guild's alarm clock, going into everyone's rooms and yells to wake up everyone. That's what he does best I guess. He also apparently snores loudly when he sleeps, much to Bidoof's annoyance. But, because of his ability Soundproof, he doesn't take notice to that. Well that's Loudred for you. [hgsssprite]192[/hgsssprite] Sunflora Sex: Female "Oh my gosh! So glad to meet you! I'm Sunflora, an apprentice at the guild! Eek! But does this mean someone else is reading my diary besides me?! Double-eek! Is someone sneaking a peek? Oh my gosh! How horrifying! Eeek!" ~ Sunflora's Diary Entry #1 I can totally picture Sunflora as those jolly upbeat airheaded blonde girls from America or something. I don't know why, she just sounds a lot like them. She tends to go "Oh my gosh!" a lot, but I suppose that's why she's quite sunny. Of course there are times when she gets serious, but usually she's those types that get you excited and is quite amiable. Well, to all except Loudred it seems. However, it seems that Sunflora is one of the stronger members in the guild. Every time I see her in battle, she has all these scary moves like Leaf Storm or Petal Dance and is even asked by Wigglytuff to take on a mission to a cave where Fire Pokemon live, despite the type disadvantage. In spite of her jolly demeanor, there's definitely no underestimating her. [hgsssprite]050[/hgsssprite] Diglett Sex: Male Diglett is in charge of the sentry duty in the guild, where he spots the visitors' footprint and identifies them before they enter that creepy looking Wigglytuff shaped building. He's a rather responsible Pokemon and takes his duty seriously, though sometimes he cannot take on the sentry duty and asks the player to take over sometimes. He is often seen with Loudred, so I'll assume they're partners or something. Diglett is Dugtrio's son. [hgsssprite]051[/hgsssprite] Dugtrio Sex: Male Dugtrio is in charge of updating the Job Bulletin Boards and the Outlaw Bulletin Boards where one can take on duties for exploration and stuff. He is Diglett's father. Wait, rather "they", because Dugtrio refers to himself as "we" or "us" when he talks, maybe because there is three of them. He has this strange obsession with the sea and is always seen in the cape talking to the sea. [sprite]341[/sprite] Corphish Sex: Male "Hey hey hey!!" This guy is rather chill. I really like him, but he doesn't seem to play much of a role in the story, which is disappointing. However he does slip in a few advice sometimes, and tends to say "hey hey hey" at the end of his sentences. He's almost like an older brother of some sort, I guess. [sprite]358[/sprite] Chimecho Sex: Female Chimecho is the cook in the guild and prepares dinner for everyone. She is also in charge of the assembly, where the player can add or put a Pokemon on standby before entering a dungeon. Chimecho is a sweet, caring Pokemon it seems and it is hard to get cross with her. Whenever you hear her bells ringing, it is quite soothing. She sounds to me like a middle aged person, like a "nurse" from the Medieval Times or a caretaker of some sorts, or in more modern context, a maid. [sprite]453[/sprite] Croagunk Sex: Male "Meh heh heh" Croagunk... is creepy. He comes out of nowhere though people don't really mind his presence. When a few guild members were sneaking food for the player and his/her partner when they missed dinner, they said "I don't think anyone saw us... well maybe except Croagunk". The guy is always working around his little Cauldron and says it's something really cool. What is he doing there anyways? Anyways he claims he can graduate from the guild if he wanted to, but he never does because he doesn't want to leave his cauldron. Meh heh heh, Croagunk is pretty cool overall. [sprite]399[/sprite] Bidoof Sex: Male "Yup yup! I have my big dream! I'm surely going to become a first-class explorer, yup!" Bidoof was the newest member of the guild until you (the player) and your partner came in. He's a kindhearted and well meaning Pokemon, but he's a doofus and tends to be a clumsy Pokemon. Because of that he usually feels downtrodden, but he begins to improve over time. I have a soft heart for this guy, because I can somehow relate to him. I know many of you are like "eww Bidoof" but once you start playing Mystery Dungeon, I think you'll somewhat grow attached to this guy. Maybe. I don't know, maybe you have NO SOUL. Nah I'm joking. He takes on the role as the guide to the player and his/her partner, and looks forward to assisting his juniors in the guild in any way possible. [icon]113[/icon]Treasure Town Residents[icon]113[/icon] [hgsssprite]115[/hgsssprite] Kangaskhan Sex: Female Kangaskhan is the storage caretaker in Treasure Town. She'll hold your items and allow you to withdraw them as well. Kangaskhan is a nice Pokemon, and calls you "dear" or "honey" or "sweetie" as signs of affection. I can picture her to be a lot like a conservative mother, as her disdain for Team Charm is quite obvious. [sprite]352[/sprite] The Kecleon Brothers Sex: Male for Both (obviously) These two are the merchants in Treasure Town. The green one sells seeds, berries, and gummis while the purple one sells TMs and Orbs. The items they sell are randomised and changes every day. Merchants... I don't like merchants, ha ha. But these two are pretty cool. [sprite]355[/sprite] Duskull Sex: I'm assuming Male, I don't know for sure The Duskull is in charge of a bank, where you can deposit and withdraw money. He's a bit of a creepy guy, as he says "your money will rest here in peace" when you store it in, but it suits his personality really well. [sprite]466[/sprite] Electivire Sex: Male Electivire is in charge of linking moves, which I've probably explained above, for a price of 500 Pokés. He also functions as the move tutor, as he will reteach your forgotten moves. Even Pokemon that evolved from an evolution stone can remember what it forgot when it was its former stage, but that's only if you evolved it by yourself and not recruited at its final stage. [hgsssprite]105[/hgsssprite] Marowak Sex: Male, I think Marowak is in charge of the Marowak Dojo, where one can train their rescue teams to essentially grind. He is rather secluded and lonely by nature, and is very ecstatic once you and your partner shows up as first customers after he has finished renovating the place. [hgsssprite]178[/hgsssprite] Xatu Sex: I'm not sure, I think Male "KWEE-KWEE-KAH!!!" Xatu's a little eccentric, but this is the bird to talk to if you find treasure boxes and it needs to be opened. Xatu has the ability to open boxes but will cost 150 Pokés per boxes opened. Later on in the game, you will probably go to him a lot, second to how much you visit Kangaskhan I guess. [hgsssprite]113[/hgsssprite] Chansey Sex: Female Chansey is the caretaker of eggs, which isn't even available until MUCH later in the game. But nonetheless, she's the one to go to if you want to check out on your egg. She's always a jolly Pokemon singing serenely whenever you visit her. When you check on the egg though she seems a little hyper, as she goes "Is it hatching? Could it be? Is it? Will it?" or something. [sprite]462[/sprite] [hgsssprite]081[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]081[/hgsssprite] Officer Magnezone and Two Magnemites Sex: They're Genderless Species, but they act quite masculine Officer Magnezone is the sheriff of Treasure Town. For the sake of not sounding impersonal, I'll refer to it as male. He makes sure that no one gets past the law and will keep peace in this world. He's the one who puts up wanted posters in the Outlaw Boards. In some missions, he or one of his Magnemites will join up with you to take care of the Outlaw. But... it turns out he's Level 9 when he joins you. I know, that's weird, I would have expected more, but... whatever. [sprite]298[/sprite] [hgsssprite]183[/hgsssprite] Azurill and Marill Brothers Sex: Both Male These two are good boys who go shopping for their sick mother (probably a female Azumarill), who isn't mentioned again after the first encounter. At one point, they lost an important item called the Water Float, and asks for help to find it. Marill is a little inconfident in his abilities and usually relies on you and your partner for help in things like these, even though he tries a lot. [hgsssprite]096[/hgsssprite] Drowzee Sex: Male A rather kind Pokemon it seems, as he offers to help the Azurill and Marill brothers retrieve the lost item. He'll be seen in two parts of the game, once in the beginning and once in the end. [hgsssprite]216[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]217[/hgsssprite] Teddiursa and Ursaring Sex: One of them is Male and the other is Female. I think the Teddiursa is the female one These two are sometimes around the town, but they are usually playing around Luminous Springs, where Pokemon are said to evolve. The two are inseparable. [sprite]288[/sprite] Vigoroth Sex: I will assume Male Vigoroth is an upbeat citizen of Treasure Town, kind of reminiscent of Loudred, but not quite as loud. It's due to his Vital Spirit ability, I guess. He does the advertising job for fun when new shops open. He's a pretty fun guy. [sprite]325[/sprite] Spoink Sex: No Idea. I keep forgetting. Spoink is a regular townsfolk, but one day loses its pearl. Can you help retrieve it? [sprite]324[/sprite] Torkoal Sex: Male Torkoal is the town's elder and is usually found in the Hot Springs. He's really really old and is a slow slow walker. As he is old, you can expect him to be filled with valuable information of legends and whatnot. [hgsssprite]056[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]057[/hgsssprite] Mankey and Primeape Sex: No Idea. These two are usually around Hot Springs. They don't seem to have much of a role in the story however but I'm just putting them here. [hgsssprite]098[/hgsssprite] Krabby Sex: There are many of them, but one in particular talks to you. I don't know its gender. So yeah, they blow bubbles in the beach. They're pretty cool as they walk sideways, just like what you would expect from a crab. One comes by and tells you that sometimes you can find bottles with SOS messages washed up along the beach. How romantic! [sprite]477[/sprite] Dusknoir Sex: Male The Great Dusknoir is a famous and reputed explorer who happens to have become famous overnight... or something. The guy knows a lot and seems to be quite humble. He's very powerful too, it seems, and it looks nice to have such a friend around. [icon]327[/icon]Spinda's Cafe[icon]327[/icon] These Pokemon appear in Sky version only Aha! So it wasn't SCV or anyone who found Project Pokemon! It was Spinda! [sprite]327[/sprite] Spinda Sex: Uh, I think Male. I don't really know. Spinda is in charge of building an underground cafe where one can come in and have a jolly good time. He makes drinks for people out of seeds and berries and gummis and can be either good or horrible tasting. Drinks made out of gummis can raise your Pokemon's IQ and some stat, and sometimes uncover a hidden exploration dungeon, so get drinking! [sprite]360[/sprite] [hgsssprite]202[/hgsssprite] Wynaut and Wobbuffet Sex: The Wobbuffet has a lipstick, so it's female. The Wynaut, I'm not so sure, but seeing how they're both counter Pokemon (wait, Counter? Wow I just made a punny), so it might also be female. Again, not so sure. Wobbuffet always says "That's right!". She can't say anything else it seems. Wyanut does all the talking, and is in charge of recycling items, where one can trade in useless items in their treasure bag or storage and trade them in for goodies like Reviver Seeds or Prize Tickets. Prize Tickets are like a raffle; you get one you can redeem one for a prize. Better ones like Silver or Gold Tickets will be available later in the game. [sprite]214[/sprite] Heracross Sex: Judging his horn, I say Male Heracross is a loner and usually a forgetful Pokemon. He's usually found in the cafe and wishes to have an exploration team one day, as he's a one bug explorer and does everything himself. Later he finds a partner in Zigzagoon. [sprite]263[/sprite] Zigzagoon Sex: I don't know. Maybe Male? Zigzagoon is another regular in the cafe. He later becomes a member of an exploration duo with Heracross. [sprite]417[/sprite] Pachirisu Sex: No idea. Pachirisu is often drinking by Spinda's cafe and one day gives you and your player a gift for being nice or something. [hgsssprite]224[/hgsssprite] Octillery Sex: Sorry, I don't know this one either Octillery is a regular in the cafe, wasting life away by continually giving in items in Wynaut and Wobbuffet Recycling Booth for a Prize Ticket, hoping to win something big. Oh the dangers of gambling! [hgsssprite]122[/hgsssprite] Mr. Mime Sex: Hopefully Male. It's MISTER Mime. I see him in the cafe too sometimes, but I don't know what he is supposed to be. [hgsssprite]215[/hgsssprite] Sneasel Sex: Male This guy is usually around the cafe, but is rather self-centered. He seems to only think of himself and how he will get the big treasure. [icon]007[/icon]Exploration Teams[icon]007[/icon] [hgsssprite]016[/hgsssprite] [sprite]273[/sprite] Team Seedgey A duo team of Pidgey and Seedot. They combined the name into Seedgey! How creative, right? From the looks of it, they are a novice team. [sprite]287[/sprite] [hgsssprite]079[/hgsssprite] Team Slackers Hey. They're a team with zero motivation. Moving is an effort. Talking to them is an effort. Just looking at them is an effort. Reading this monotonous boring paragraph is an effort. They rarely get anything accomplished, if any accomplishment is there at all. Oh what's the point in this? Zzzz [sprite]277[/sprite] [sprite]265[/sprite] Team Tasty A two Pokemon team in Swellow and Wurmple. Wurmple made the name Team Tasty because it's afraid that Swellow will eat it one day. Swellow seems to be oblivious to that fact but Wurmple is incredibly paranoid that it may happen one day. [hgsssprite]198[/hgsssprite] [sprite]353[/sprite] Team Ebony These two girls are a treasure hunting team, but they're often arguing with each other about which treasure to get. Murkrow always wants something shiny while Shuppet wants something that is practical. Therefore the two can never agree with what to do and rarely get anything accomplished. [sprite]261[/sprite] [sprite]261[/sprite] [sprite]261[/sprite] Team Poochy Yeah. A team of three Poochyenas named Team Poochy. Creative. The three are always pouncing about to try to take down outlaws, much like police dogs. [hgsssprite]175[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]165[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]186[/hgsssprite] Team Glee The threesome is always a happy trio, making merry times amongst themselves and others around them. They're rarely downtrodden and talking to them will probably get your spirits up too. I'm going to assume Togepi is their leader. [hgsssprite]069[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]077[/hgsssprite] [sprite]323[/sprite] Team Flame A fire based team... with Bellsprout as their leader. How the heck did this happen? In fact, Bellsprout is awfully scared of fire attacks that it wonders how it will cope with this. Aww. I'm going to guess Ponyta is the female in this team and Camerupt is the male. It seems to be the pattern in exploration teams here. Another strange team, much like Team Tasty. [sprite]335[/sprite] [hgsssprite]123[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]028[/hgsssprite] Team Razor Wind I think Scyther is their leader. Or Zangoose. I forgot, it's one of those two. Either way, these three are a high ranking exploration team who often go to punish outlaws with their sharp claws (or scythes in Scyther's case). While not in combat, the three are rather chill. [sprite]435[/sprite] [hgsssprite]109[/hgsssprite] [hgsssprite]041[/hgsssprite] Team Skull They're rotten, they're nasty, they're stinky, they're out there to cause trouble! And they can be tough bullies too, and very little want to mess with this trio. Skuntank is their leader and together with Koffing can create a nasty obnoxious gas combo enough to knock almost anyone down. Chaw-haw-haw. [hgsssprite]067[/hgsssprite] [sprite]303[/sprite] [sprite]286[/sprite] Team Frontier (Note: Sky Version only) The exploration team Spinda hired to explore different areas, these three are always prepared to discover new places and alert other exploration teams. Machoke is their leader, but he seems a little dull in the head. He's all brawns and little brains. Mawile is more calm and collected, usually the role of the female member in exploration teams I guess. Breloom is rather like the chill guy and... uh, yeah stay away from those effect spores. [hgsssprite]024[/hgsssprite] [sprite]461[/sprite] [sprite]452[/sprite] Team AWD (Team MAD in Japanese) They're quite the sinister team. Weavile is their leader, referred to as Lady Weavile from the other two buffoons, who are both male. They plunder for treasures and have a huge interest in this nowhere land called Zero Isles. Ever heard of it? No? Then get lost. [sprite]308[/sprite] [sprite]428[/sprite] [sprite]282[/sprite] Team Charm "Strength! Knowledge! Beauty! We're Team Charm!" An obvious rip-off of Charlie's Angels, these three all female exploration team is of the Master Rank, making them extremely popular. The three have apparently not lost a treasure hunt yet. Lopunny is their leader, and is the vain one who cares a lot about her beauty. Medicham is the brawns member and seems to get angered easier than the other two. Gardevoir is the collected and brainy one. Gardevoir just looks way out of the other two's league though, but there needs to be a force of stability I guess. Strange thing is, she's higher leveled than her leader Lopunny. While many of Treasure Town's residents absolutely adore them, it seems Kangaskhan is the only one who isn't too fond of them. You're probably upset about this pink font too. Personal reasons aside, my dislike for them overall (well, I don't truly dislike, but a bit of resentment) is because they messed up my save file. During my time with Team Charm, they destroyed my save file when I accidentally didn't quicksave in Aegis Cave and all my money and items were lost that time, resulting in a LOSS in my records, when I clearly did NOT lose. I was able to get away with turning off the DS without quicksaving in other dungeons, why not Aegis Cave? [sprite]475[/sprite] [sprite]407[/sprite] [sprite]464[/sprite] Team Raiders Apparently a lot more famous and more powerful than Team Charm even, this team is legendary. Gallade is their leader. [icon]352[/icon]Buy or Rent? And may we interest you with this TM? All yours for only 6500 Poké! If you ARE interested in playing this game at all, definitely buy. Renting is just too short unless you plan on just completing the main story, because there is just way too many post-game content and a lot of Wifi connective activities to spread the fun around. I really wouldn't consider the "Rent" option. If your friend has Explorers of Sky (doesn't seem to work with Time or Darkness versions), then you can use DS Download Play to get a taste of what it's like. Or so I see from the main menu; I don't really know how the DS Download Play works. [icon]253[/icon]Closing Words Well, I don't know what else to say. I know many of you are mainstream Pokemon players, and haven't really tried these spinoff games much because they're hardly like the mainstream Pokemon games. I know it's weird to see Pokemon personified and with human-like traits rather than animal-esque traits. Yes, it really is. It's true that you won't see Quick Attack destroying Tyranitar in two hits in the actual game, but if for some reason you get, well, tired of the competitive battling or want to try something else, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is always available for you to try out. I have a love-hate relationship with this game but it did entertain me for quite a while, so you can definitely try it out if you really want to. To me it's all about the story and character development... that's all games are for me. I suppose that is why it enamoured me so. Pokemon Mystery D.sav Pokemon Mystery D.sav Edited August 13, 2015 by Alpha 2
evandixon Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Just skimming this inspired me to play it again (and I never thought that Pikachu would be a good partner for Riolu. I'll have to try that sometime), although with the forum skin I am using (HeartGold), the colored text can be hard to read. Random: About Mr. Mime, you never know what its gender is. I had a friend who was looking for one, and turned it down the first time because it was a female MISTER Mime. [Edit] In case anyone reading this doesn't know any French at all, "PEUT ou NE PEUT pas contenir des Spoilers" = "May or may not contain any spoilers"
wraith89 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Posted June 11, 2011 Oh. I'm terribly sorry about the clashing between the text and the forum skin. I suppose highlighting the text you read will be the remedy to such problems. Which starter did you play with by the way? Since I did not play a lot of these Pokemon, I'm only rating them by how they look on paper (for some at least) and not by true experience, so some of this can be quite wrong as a person's experience can vary a lot. It would be great if you can get me some insight, especially on things like Riolu, which seems to be very popular as a starter. Yes, you are correct about the French, and yes, Mr. Mime can be both male and female. But whatever it is, I won't know, but MD tends to make Pokemon the gender that it looks more like. BTW, the Save files attached were converted by your save converter, but I cannot advertise.
evandixon Posted June 11, 2011 Posted June 11, 2011 Oh. I'm terribly sorry about the clashing between the text and the forum skin. I suppose highlighting the text you read will be the remedy to such problems. Which starter did you play with by the way? Since I did not play a lot of these Pokemon, I'm only rating them by how they look on paper (for some at least) and not by true experience, so some of this can be quite wrong as a person's experience can vary a lot. It would be great if you can get me some insight, especially on things like Riolu, which seems to be very popular as a starter.Yes, you are correct about the French, and yes, Mr. Mime can be both male and female. But whatever it is, I won't know, but MD tends to make Pokemon the gender that it looks more like. BTW, the Save files attached were converted by your save converter, but I cannot advertise. In Explorers of the Sky, I tend to use Riolu as mine (partner varies save file to save file), and I find that the moveset is rather limiting, so you might want to find TMs, preferably ones that give a good balance of types. I like Iron tail and Shadow Claw, in addition to a fighting move (Force palm, Focus blast, etc.). However, finding these may be somewhat challenging, so it might not be the best one to start out with. You will want to play the last two special episodes. The team Charm one doesn't seem as impressing as it actually is, but you will now what I mean when you finish it (it is better than the Sunfora one), but you will one to finish the very last one.
wraith89 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Ah okay. I don't like it when anything is reliant heavily on TMs, but such is some of the Pokemon in this game. Eevee definitely needed a lot of TMs, that's for sure, and Vulpix could stand on her own. My favourite so far is the Igglybuff one. Not for the gameplay of course, but for the story; it is always about the story for me. He definitely has the best story in MD I've ever seen so far. The Bidoof one was also very good and very touching and the Sunflora one was very enjoyable. Why I'm not so intent on continuing with Team Charm, I really don't know. Maybe because I don't really like Team Charm much... but since it has Gardevoir... I can live with it. I'm planning on finishing it, as it looks like the last two episodes are incredibly long or something. The last episode is definitely something I want to finish; that's the one I really want to know what happened. As they always say, save the best for last. All right. I'll load up the game now and finish off Team Charm's story EDIT: It was a bit short, but it wasn't half bad. At least Wigglytuff showed up. Unfortunately Gardevoir was the least capable in battling of the three It seems Medicham was the best of the three ironically despite being the lowest level, and Lopunny is a troll but workable. I still liked Sunflora's episode slightly better, and Igglybuff's is still top. Time to play the 5th and final episode. Edited June 11, 2011 by wraith89
zigazav Posted June 21, 2011 Posted June 21, 2011 You CAN re-fight legendary pokemon battles! re-fighting them is how you get them on your team. dialga & palkia have a 100% recruitment rate! But you haveto beat them twice to get them on your team, oh, and Shaymin is in MD 2 explorers of sky, in fact, there's a whole village of them! you can get there some point after you beat primal dialga and beat the game.
Fusion14 Posted December 21, 2012 Posted December 21, 2012 Wow. This answers A LOT of questions I had about this game. I have EoD and EoT but this one looks just barely buyable. I'll get it for the extra story and new partners. I'm going to be a Shinx with vulpix as a partner. You probably didn't do this but after the main story is over (you know because you cant use any other freaking Pokemon other than you and your partner for a LONG time) I recruit the final two members to my team and use a wonder mail generator to bring them up to level with me and my partner with golden seed rewards (only because I don't have all the time in the world to grind) but after that I don't use any more level up seeds. I'm not a cheater. Oh and if you were interested, my team in PMD EoD is: Leader is Meowth, Partner is chikorita, other recruit is a Houndour, final recruit is an Eevee (Vaporeon to complete my elemental triangle). 1
wraith89 Posted December 22, 2012 Author Posted December 22, 2012 Erm, I believe you are allowed to use up to 4 Pokemon even in the main story. You are just not allowed to change the first two Pokemon of course, but you are welcome to use up to extra two.
evandixon Posted December 22, 2012 Posted December 22, 2012 Erm, I believe you are allowed to use up to 4 Pokemon even in the main story. You are just not allowed to change the first two Pokemon of course, but you are welcome to use up to extra two. There's some missions you can't use other members on (the expedition and temporal tower are the ones that I can think of immediately). But for the most part, yes.
CorniFan Posted May 26, 2018 Posted May 26, 2018 Even though I know a lot how these games play already, it was fun reading a whole report on how they work and stuff xD Nicely writen
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