Part 10: So what's the deal with gummis anyway?

As previously mentioned, IQ is a stat unique to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Each of our party members has an IQ, which is tracked numerically internally and displayed as a series of stars, or as 'MAX' if we've gotten it as high as it goes. IQ doesn't affect a Pokémon's moves (with a few exceptions, mentioned shortly); instead, it gives access to additional IQ skills. These skills range from the mundane (PP Checker, keeping our partner from trying to use a move that's about to delink or that's out of PP) to the useful (Quick Dodger, giving us a free bonus to evasion) to the amazing (Super Mobile, allowing us to travel over or through any terrain, from water to lava to solid rock!) IQ also takes the place of 'happiness' for things like Pichu's evolution and the effects of Return and Frustration. In addition, a few Pokémon will learn PMD-exclusive moves if their IQ is at least a certain level before they reach level 99. All in all, therefore, a high IQ is good to have.

The only way to raise IQ is to eat gummis. Gummis come in a variety of colors, one for each type. Different color gummis can be more easily found in different dungeons; blue gummis, for instance, tend to appear in watery environments. Jake can use gummis to eat them and throw them at Sheldon or another partner to get him to eat them. Once we get friend areas, we'll also have a menu option to feed gummis to members of our team.

Pokémon have gummi preferences; the gummis they like best (which will give the highest IQ bonuses) are ones of their type. Gummis of other colors are more effective the more that type is against the Pokémon's type. Sheldon, for instance, is a Water type; Electric and Grass attacks are super effective against Water, and Fire, Ice, and Steel attacks are not very effective against Water (neither are Water attacks, but that doesn't matter for this). That means he'll like blue gummis the best, then yellow and grass, then everything but red, clear, and silver.

Dual-type Pokémon like Bulbasaur get to double-dip; the IQ gain is calculated twice for them, once for each type, so they gain IQ faster than Pokémon with only one type. A Bulbasaur fed a pink gummi, for instance, will gain the 'same-type' bonus, because it's part Poison, and the 'super-effective' bonus, because its other part, Grass, is weak against Poison. Similarly, a Pidgey (Normal/Flying) eating a red gummi would get two 'neither strong nor weak' bonuses, not just one.

In addition to raising IQ, gummis are filling (the more IQ gain the gummi gives the Pokémon, the more filling the gummi); if we feed a gummi to a Pokémon outside a dungeon, it will instead gain a random stat boost.

Thanks to GameFAQs' neon_screen for gummi-related information. Now we know! And knowing is half-- what the?



Professor (Ditto, #132) is hugged! Pokémon hugged: 4. Er, sorta. (Thanks, Neeksy!)

Yay! Ditto!

I don't think we're supposed to be here. We kinda broke that wall.

Uhhh, see you next time!