Part 68: Fine Grinding Sand (Desert Region)

There are only two reasons to visit the Desert Region: recruiting a handful of Ground Pokémon, all of which can be found elsewhere (but not necessarily at this high a level), or gathering keys, which can also be found elsewhere. So there isn't a whole lot of point to the dungeon, but I committed to visiting each one at least once, and I intend to honor that commitment.



As you can see, it's a barren wasteland of a dungeon, sand and stone everywhere we look...



...though it's not entirely arid.



Not every Pokémon here is a Ground type, either. Shedinja, being part Ghost, could be a problem if not for their criminally low HP and vulnerability to Gravelerocks.



Oh, and there are sandstorms. Boy, are there sandstorms. Fortunately, Sheldon and Cŵn Annwn are high enough level that they can outheal the sandstorm damage.



Unfortunately, Sandshrews have the Sand Veil ability, which raises their evasion in a sandstorm. Get used to seeing this a lot when you're in this dungeon.



Get used to seeing this too if you try to do rescues here. That poor Marill gets sandblasted due to me deciding to noodle about and not run straight over to save him. (The mission isn't failed, though; we can try again on a later trip to the dungeon.)



This Minun, on the other hand, is just too frail to survive long enough for me to reach him.



Which was the insult added to injury, really, after stepping on this Explosion Trap. Sheldon hasn't chowed down on as many gummis as Jake, so he doesn't have the Trap Seer IQ skill yet.



Here you can see a Sticky Trap in action. Sticky items, as previously noted, can't be used until we leave the dungeon...



...or until we use a Cleanse Orb, which washes the entire inventory.



Seal Traps prevent a random move from being used for the rest of the floor. They don't drain its PP, though, unlike Spite.



A bad throw takes a lucky bounce here and saves us from falling victim to another Explosion Trap.



It's an irritating dungeon with little to recommend it, but our trips aren't without reward. Kyouran gets a lift home from the fourth floor, rewarding Team Hugs for rescuing him from the sweltering heat with 800 Poké and a Reviver Seed.



Valerie the Vaporeon may not have chosen the best vacation spot, but at least there's no sandstorm on this floor. Team Hugs gets a red gummi, a blue gummi, and a Persim Band for the job from Fanny the Flareon.



Atsushi here is delirious by the time we find him, mumbling something about martial arts, 'one dan' or something. He's considerably cheered by our arrival, though, and his friend Kai rewards our burning passion with 800 Poké and a Rollcall Orb, which summons all team members to our location (useful if one gets warped away by a trap or lost).



Spikey the Porygon had a GPS error that led it into the desert, and Sheldon is ready with a course correction. For our trouble, we collect a brown gummi, a black gummi, and a Reflect TM.



Slugmo the Slugma can cope with the heat, but the blasting sand particles were making his eyes, er, water. (Lava?) His friend B.E.P. pays us for the rescue with 1000 Poké and a royal gummi.



Norman the Slowbro, on the other hand, is looking a touch shriveled by the time we catch up with him. In his gratitude, he showers us with 1000 more Poké and another royal gummi.



It took two trips, but Hankosha the Marill is eventually rescued. Good old granddad Hankosha the Magikarp pays us with 800 Poké and 10 Gold Fangs (a throwing weapon).



Electron the Minun, similarly, takes two tries, but in the end is reunited with Proton the Plusle. Our persistence is rewarded with a blue gummi, a gray gummi, and a Reviver Seed.



Pool Watcher the Marill holds out long enough for us to take the two steps in his direction when we enter the floor. Waylance the Wobbuffet gives us 1000 Poké and a gold gummi for this thankfully simple task (given the sandstorm on the floor).



Finally, we find Adexia's boyfriend Wallace and... wait wait, I'm sorry.



This does not make sense. The two bribe us with 1000 Poké and a Moon Stone to not report them to the police for violating the laws of physics.



Oh, and Shaezerus rewards us for a trinket we found with a white gummi, a clear gummi, and a Pecha Scarf.



As for new recruits, it took until the second trip to the dungeon, but we pick up Samus the Sandshrew (thanks, Kyouran!)...



...and Kiel the Baltoy (thanks, goatface! And yes, I know that was suggested as a Trapinch name. My mistake.) And that's our trip to Desert Region! Join us next time when-- wait. I think I'm forgetting something...



Ah, there it is. Keys only appear on the 19th and 20th floors of this dungeon, and they're far from guaranteed; it was my fourth trip in that got this one.



And wouldn't you know, I find another on the same trip?



At least that gave me a chance to recruit Ruby the Trapinch! (Thanks, Adexia!)



And the grinding means Cŵn Annwn goes from level 17 to level 24...



...while Sheldon goes from level 41 to level 43...



...and Kiel goes from level 35 to level 36. You know what that means?

-> (Samus came pre-leveled.)

->

->

->

Team Hugs's newest members:

Wait wait wait. Who's that last guy?

Oh, that's Stepp! While you were looking around for keys and stuff, I went off and rescued Team Vector!

Team what now?

Oh, they're nice! There's mister Keiki, he's a Cubone, and mister Travis, he's a Pikachu. I found mister Stepp on the way and invited him to join the team!

Yes, we have one more change on the team: Stepp the Spinarak, who we recruited while rescuing a fellow player of PMD. Sadly, I don't have any footage of the rescue to share; it was a simple run to Silent Chasm to rescue Keiki from evil Poliwags. Jake also gained two levels, one from experience and one from a Joy Seed; hitting level 40 gave us the 'be patient' tactic, which lets us tell our partners not to move if they're badly hurt.

Oh, okay. Well, I feel like I've been sandblasted smooth, so I'm getting some rest. Next time, I think I'm gonna go somewhere wet.

Yeah, I'm gonna get some sleep too. G'night, Sheldon!

Next time on Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Jake finds a sunny spot to curl up!