Part 22: Day 8 - Hugs Team Base

Morning, Jake! Let's keep up our good work today!

Jake! Sheldon!

Hunh? Who's that?



Oh, if it isn't Caterpie! Long time no see!

Please! Please help my friend!

What's wrong?

I was playing with my friend Metapod... But Metapod got lost in the woods... He's still lost out there...

Oh, I see, I see! That does sound bad! Kekeke!



Hey! Not you again!

Have no fear! We're here to save your chum Metapod.

Hey! Caterpie came to us for help!

Keh! You think you can do this rescue with your amateur-level skills?

What?!

It doesn't matter who does the rescuing, see? The guy that does the rescuing gets to be the hero.

Listen, Caterpie. How about we do this? How about you give the reward to the team that brings back your chum first?

But I... I don't have any money...

Oh, don't you worry about that, my little friend! I'm sure we can persuade your parents to reward us with interest afterward, kekeh!

Oh, yeah. You can even join our team. There's an offer you can't refuse. When you join us, Caterpie, we'll let you be a big wheel in Team Meanies, kekekeke!

That's the deal, Sheldon. The first to rescue wins! Come on, move! Let's get this done, already!



...

Don't worry. We'll save mister Metapod first!

Jake! Let's roll, and quick!

...What should I do? I don't have any money, and... I don't want to join those Meanies... Please, Jake, help us...

We race into town to sell off our loot from the last dungeon, use the Return TM on Jake (replacing Growl), and buy some new Friend Areas! Specifically, we pick up:



Peanut Swamp (Marsh),



Flyaway Forest (Eastern Forest),



Jungle (Jungle),



and Mushroom Forest (Western Forest).



With that business taken care of, we swing past the Power Plant to grab Edison... and we're off!





This is it. Metapod is lost in these woods. Gengar's crew should have a head start on us. We'd better hurry.



If Pokémon Mystery Dungeon has one weakness, it's that the randomly-generated dungeons get pretty samey after a while. Sinister Woods does have a few things we haven't seen before, though.



With a new dungeon, for instance, come new Pokémon, one of whom we manage to recruit.



Pinocchio (Sudowoodo, #185) is hugged! Pokémon hugged: 13. (Thanks, Rooleerooo (art) and Neeksy (name)!)

Pinocchio joins the party at level 7, but in the course of the twelve floors of Sinister Woods reaches level 13. He's not the only one to get some levels; Edison goes from level 7 to level 10, While Jake and Sheldon each go up a level (to 13 and 14, respectively).



Sinister Woods is the first dungeon to feature darkened corridors. While we can see the layout of rooms and corridors anywhere on screen, items and enemies can only be seen in a limited radius. Only certain floors of the Woods feature this little nuisance, thankfully, and the rooms themselves are well-lit.



This is also the first place we see water tiles. Water tiles can't be traveled over except by Pokémon that can swim, fly, or hover, unless we have an IQ skill that explicitly permits us to venture water-ward. They do not, however, block attacks or line of sight. We'll need to keep a close eye on our group once we start seeing special terrain like this; sometimes they get confused when some of them can move onto a square while some of them can't, and one gets left behind. If he falls too far behind, he may lose track of the leader and start wandering the floor randomly trying to find him.



We also find some new items. Max Elixir, shown here, fully restores the PP of all of a Pokémon's moves and is vital for long dungeon delves. We also find a Scanner Orb, which marks the locations of all items on the current floor on our minimap, saving time while we explore the level. New colors of gummi also turn up: gold (for Psychics), brown (for Ground types), and clear (for Ice types). Eating some of the gummis he finds along the way gives Jake the Status Checker IQ skill, another one that's only functional on non-leader Pokémon; if a Pokémon is already (for instance) poisoned, he won't try to poison that target again.



Finally, as promised, here's the One-Room Orb in action. It makes collecting the loot on a level much easier, so when we find one in our travels, we'll be sure to use it.

Next time on Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: we rejoin our adventurers, and the plot, as they reach the end of their journey!