Part 64: This Isn't Smash Bros. Dojo

The Makuhita Dojo offers five new courses now that the credits have rolled, and each one offers Fabulous Prizes!



The first is the Ghost Maze, which offers absolutely nothing but Gastly fights. As previously noted, Ghost Pokémon are annoying to fight; the Gengars know Spite (remove all PP from the last move used), Confuse Ray (cause confusion), Hypnosis (cause sleep), and Night Shade (do fixed damage based on level), all of which are problems for Jake. They also have their usual phase-through-walls issue going.



Even though the maze, like all maze levels, is short, by the time we reach the final fight Agnew's KO'd, Jake's badly hurt, and the only move with PP left is Protect. A little bad luck at this point would end our run.



Fortunately, we just squeeze out a win.

Ah... you have succeeded in your training! You've shown your worth! Without a doubt, you have grown more powerful from your training! Wait... ... Wuh? What, what, what?! Did you maybe... conquer all the training courses? That's... amazing! You! Congratulations! I promised! I promised you a reward for completing the training courses! So... here it is! My Bonsly Doll! Isn't it smashing? Hey?!

We also get a Ginseng for clearing all 17 type mazes.

Don't let up on your training! Keep bettering yourself! May you never lose your drive!



And there's our new statue! There's just one statue to go, and we'll have to earn it with rescue points.



The other four mazes are sponsored by other rescue teams. Team Shifty gives us two floors of Nuzleaf fights in a dense forest...



...followed by a fight against Shiftry and his two Nuzleaf toadies. At our level, this is a cakewalk, and it earns us another Ginseng.



Team Constrictor is a watery maze full of Tentacools...



...with Octillery's team at the end. This fight's a bit tougher; Octillery is sturdier and hits harder, and Cradily has Confuse Ray and Acid to hit us with. Still, we pull through and get another Ginseng.



Team Hydro's maze seems like it's going to be more of the same, with two swampy mazes full of Poliwags.



Then we reach the team itself. Let me be right up front here: Blastoise is a monster. He has a lot of HP, high defense, and will absolutely ruin your day if you aren't prepared for him. He even knows Protect, though thankfully he didn't use it during our fight.



The reason Sheldon is in the team for this battle is that, the first time I tried this fight, Jake got flattened. Note how much damage Sheldon took even with his type protection. Taking Blastoise down first thing has to be your highest priority. Pulling off a win here nets another Ginseng.



That just leaves Team Rumblerock. Two mazes full of Gravelers are just a warmup for Sheldon...



...before the main exercise of Golem and his two Graveler buddies. Sheldon makes this fight a breeze, but frankly, these three are a lot easier to take down than Team Hydro. The only caveat, and it's a big one, is that they know Magnitude, a random but potentially devastating move that hits the entire room, and Selfdestruct, which will do massive damage at the cost of the attacker's life. You'll want to take them down quickly, like we did, in order to earn that last Ginseng.





And that's it for the Makuhita Dojo! We can, of course, come back if we need some quick experience, but we only get the Ginseng rewards the first time we clear the mazes.

Incidentally, if you have Blue Rescue Team and know someone with Red Rescue Team (or vice versa), putting the two in the same DS will allow you to access a special maze containing your friend's active team on the final floor. (I haven't tried this, so I don't know if it's strictly Blue fighting Red, or if you can have Red fight Blue.) That's as close as a 'versus mode' as this game gets.

Next time, it's viewers' choice!