Part 8: Monster Corral

Had another weird adventure today. While watching some street performers in Domina, the young kid organ player, Diddle, left to mail a letter, only to end up accidentally getting himself delivered by the pelican. I helped his partner, Capella, track him down to the nearby highway. Capella found and read the letter Diddle wrote, which upset him a bit. We then found Diddle, who became upset once he found out Capella read his letter. Eventually we found Diddle again and everyone made up. Also, I slew some giant lizard. The End.



Thanks, Li'l Cactus! It's always nice to be home after a long adventure. I think I'll take a stroll through Domina to relax. Until next time!





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Since I took Bud along with me last time, I felt I should let Lisa tag along this time. I didn't really feel like adventuring today, though. I just want to take a nice walk around Domina, take a little break from adventuring.




My new hobby's coming along nicely. I'm discovering all sorts of new fruits and veggies, and Trent's constantly finding new seeds to use.






Looks like Capella and Diddle moved on to another town. Other than that, nothing's really changed. The town's pretty quiet today.



Huh. Well, this is interesting.




That's a beast egg. You never see wild eggs around here...



This is a rare opportunity! Try to catch it!

Wait, what?



Hold on a minute. What's this about an egg? Is it a wild animal?
It's just a baby right now, but someday it will grow up to be a big monster. Of course most monsters hate people, so they try to harm us... But a monster raised from youth learns to protect its master.

You know, it'd be nice to have something soft and cuddly following me around to help me kill things. Perhaps I should learn more about this guy.

You say that's a beast egg?
"Beast" is the type of monster that it will become. You can't really tell exactly what monster it will grow up to be.



But if you look closely, you can tell what class of monster it belongs to. With some practice, you can differentiate between over 10 types of monsters!

I've noticed that certain monsters have certain types. Rabites are beast types, while Chocobos seem to be Aerial-types. Good thing I've been making sure to keep track of this in my beastiary. It could help if I decide to gather several monsters.

Ah, good to know. I'll try to catch it!



You can't just haphazardly walk up to an egg! They are watching you! Go carefully, and try to catch them off-guard.



Carefully?
First of all, don't stand in front of it. You'll only scare the poor thing. When scared, monster eggs run away at incredible speeds! Next, keep your eyes on the egg. That way, you'll be able to tell what the egg is thinking.
And then I have to catch it off-guard, right?
Monster eggs are gluttons. They forget everything once they start munching! And when they're full, they fall asleep. Then they're a lot easier to catch! And try to stay out of the egg's field of vision. They'll thing you've gone away, and you can catch them off-guard.

Ah, I see now. Feed them full of food like fruits, veggies, and meats, hide behind them, and then catch them when they're distracted. Sounds simple enough.

I get it now. I can do this.
Try using this.



Sweet, free crops!

Open the food selection list with the button, and drop it with the button.



I don't see why you need to repeat yourself. I'm not an idiot.




Alright, let's see if I can nab this thing.



It's pretty unavoidable that it'll see me when I approach it. While I could feed it, I feel it'd be a waste of food when I could simply use my wits instead.




Besides, it's not that hard to outwit a baby. I just have to watch where it's looking and constantly stay behind it. Luckily, it's not concerned about Lisa.



I just wait until it's distracted, and... Gotcha!






Well, it's probably on the other side of Fa'Diel now. So much for that.



You don't know Pelican's track record with deliveries, do you?

Well, we'd better head to the corral, too.

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Here we are, in the backyard of your home.



...Wait, how do you know about this place? I've never had any visitors before. Did you grow out of my giant tree?

Monsters will level up when you leave them grazing here. They'll grow up to become reliable partners for your journey. The monster eggs that you caught are in that barn. So let's go take a look at the barn!

So if I want to build up any pets I don't take along with me on my adventures, I should let them graze and practice their combat skills in the open. Makes sense to me. Guess I'll follow him to the barn.



This is where you raise the monster eggs you catch. You might find a monster egg during an adventure. Capture an egg when you find one! You can have up to 5 pets. If you already have 5 pets and you find another egg... You can sell either the egg or one of the 5 pets you already have. Sell the one that you don't really like. Jennifer at the Item Shop will buy the eggs from you. She can be a tightwad, but she's the only buyer around.

By Goddess, you sure are a chatty onion.

I guess I shouldn't have skimped on the barn, as I'd love to have more pets. Then again, I guess Bud and Lisa would be overwhelmed if I had more, as I certainly won't have the time to take care of them all what with my busy adventuring career and all.

Anyway, eggs hatch in a few days. Monsters become attached to their master, and like to follow along. They grow more powerful by gaining experience. They can become great adventuring partners!

So monsters aren't really that different from myself or my battle companions. I bet having them close would also boost morale and other such things, not to mention them having the same attacks as their feral brethren.

Oh yeah, monsters' growth is affected by diet. Try feeding them different food to see what happens. Monsters will only eat when they gain a level. So you must let 'em graze or take 'em out for them to eat.

I learned this from the research I did on plants, but different fruits and vegetables will enhance certain characteristics of monsters, whether to make them more powerful, smarter, or more resistant to nasty attacks. I can only assume that the various meats I've acquired can also accomplish this. Of course, micro-managing their diets could be a pain, and ensuring the one that follows me gains battle experience could be a chore as well. Perhaps this is where that ring I have could come in handy, as it'd let me share what I learn from battles with my little companion.

This is a lot to process. I just hope the onion's out of things to say.



How the monster grows up is up to you.

It's a bit complex, but I think I have it. Overall, it could be fun building up my own little companion to join me and my allies in adventures. I doubt I could handle more than one pet tagging along, though.

This could be fun.




And hey, he's finally done talking. Now I just wait for the guy to hatch, and I can pump him full of love and food to fuel his destruction.

I wonder what it'll be.