Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon box art
Developer(s)	Chunsoft
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Engine	Based on the Mysterious Dungeon games
Platform(s)	Red Rescue Team Game Boy Advance Blue Rescue Team Nintendo DS
Release	17 November, 2005 18 September 2006 28 September, 2006 10 November 2006
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	TBD

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 赤の救助隊, Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon Aka no Kyūjodai) and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 青の救助隊, Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon Ao no Kyūjodai) are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, respectively. These two games were developed by Chunsoft and were published by Nintendo.

This game, featuring the Pokémon characters, and consisting of two versions, is in fact the ninth entry in Chunsoft's Fushigi no Dungeon series (which began on the Super Famicom with the Dragon Quest-based Torneko no Daibōken). As such, it is a semi-turnbased, dungeon crawl; a graphical roguelike. The two versions are compatible with each other through the Nintendo DS dual-slot features, where information may be transferred from one game to the other.

The two versions are mostly identical, with the Blue version taking advantage of the dual-screen features and increased graphical capabilities of the Nintendo DS (thus the team's condition can appear on one screen in Blue while playing in the other, while this screen must be accessed through a menu in Red). The game also begins with six Pokémon exclusive to one version (Lapras, Magikarp, Gyarados, Porygon2, Aipom, and Minun in Blue, and Mantine, Feebas, Milotic, Porygon, Roselia, and Plusle in Red), although the Wonder Mail mechanism allows all Pokémon to be obtained on one single game.

Story

The player awakes one day transformed into a Pokémon in a world devastated by natural disasters, with no memory of having been a human. Having met up with a partner Pokémon, the two discover a Butterfree in distress, having lost its child, a Caterpie in the nearby woods. After rescuing the Caterpie, the partner convinces the player that the two should join forces and form a rescue team. Meanwhile, the player attempts to discover why all this is happening and how to regain human form.

After the partner shows the player around the village, the team embarks on various missions, befriending many Pokémon including Caterpie's friend Metapod, a Diglett and its father, a Dugtrio, as well as two Jumpluff friends after saving another rescue team's leader, Shiftry plus a Wynaut, Wobbuffet and Mankey. The team also grows in numbers, after Magnemite is convinced to join the rescue team after the team had saved its fellow Magnemite friends, and befriends other rescue teams, including a top-ranked rescue team consisting of Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar. The team also makes enemies with another rescue team, Team Meanies, consisting of Gengar, Ekans, and Medicham, who seek world domination under the guise of being a rescue team.

Template:Spoiler Later on, the townsfolk hear of the curse of Ninetales, in which a human had inadvertently grabbed one of Ninetales' tails. Ninetales laid a curse on the human, but the human's Pokémon companion Gardevoir selflessly put herself in the way. The human, however, had fled, abandoning Gardevoir, and had at the same time turned into a Pokémon. It was said that it had caused great unbalance in the world, and Team Meanies' Gengar convinced the townsfolk that the world could be restored if the human was eliminated.

When the townsfolk hear about how the player was a human turned into a Pokémon, the townsfolk and fellow rescue teams turn on the player, believing the player to be that human. The partner, in its unwavering support, flees with the player, marking the two as fugitives. The two make their way to the ends of the world, encountering and defeating Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, while befriending an Absol, who joins the team, before reaching the top of Mt. Freeze. Alakazam and his team, who had allowed the player a head start in fleeing, also reach the top, but before a fight can ensue, they are stopped by Ninetales, who clears the player's name. After the apologies are made, Ninetales would reveal that the world is in a greater danger, caused by the awakening of Groudon. Alakazam and his team proceed to try and stop Groudon, while the player, cleared of all suspicion, returned to their rescue base, where Gengar is accused of making a fabricated story.

Soon, a Wynaut and a Wobbuffet arrive at the rescue base, asking the team to dispatch a group of agressive Mankey. The team does so, but finds that Wynaut could only pay the team a single chestnut, which the Mankey would like to have. The team then convinces the group of Mankey to renovate the player's rescue base, to which Caterpie, Wynaut, and Wobbuffet agree to pitch in. In the midst of the renovations, however, Alakazam's team has gone missing in the mission to stop Groudon. Shiftry convinces three of the best Pokémon, Team Hydro's Blastoise, Team Constrictor's Octillery, and Team Rumblerock's Golem to rescue the top-ranked team. Soon after the base is fully renovated, the three return defeated. Much to Team Meanies' dismay, the team volunteers to rescue Alakazam and its teammates.

When the team reaches the Magma Cavern, however, they find Charizard and Tyranitar defeated, with Alakazam duking it out against Groudon alone. However, when the team reaches there, Alakazam disappears while trying to fend off a Groudon attack. After the team take matters into their own hands and defeat Groudon, they return back to town as heroes. However, their celebration is short-lived, as grave news arrives from the psychic fortune-teller Xatu: a meteor is heading for the world, threatening to destroy it. The only way to stop it, they must ask for help from the sky guardian Rayquaza. But to send Pokémon to the sky requires the combined psychic powers of both Alakazam and Xatu, leaving the team the only ones capable of heading into the sky and seeking Rayquaza's aid.

The night before setting off, the player is through a dream by the spirit Gardevoir that the player is destined to save the world, and that the player willingly turned into a Pokémon as a test of courage, being only told the truth if the player passed the test. Only after saving the world could the player return to human form - yet to do so would be parting ways with the partner, who had stuck beside the player through the hardest of times. Alakazam and Xatu complete the Teleport Gem, allowing the team to reach the Sky Tower. Once there, however, they find that Rayquaza is less than cooperative. The team is forced to subdue Rayquaza in order to force their cooperation, and Rayquaza agrees to use its Hyper Beam to destroy the meteor.

The team reawaken on the ground, surrounded by their supporters, where they find that at least for now, the world is safe once again. Soon enough, the disasters plaguing the world of Pokémon will come to an end. Yet, the player realizes that with peace once again on the horizon, the player must return to being a human and leave the Pokémon world behind. The Pokémon are shocked by the player's sudden departure, and realized that the player had changed all of their lives in some way - none more than the partner. The player, too, feels remorse in their heart - having been forced to leave their partner and their new friends all of a sudden, and wishes to return to the world of Pokémon. At a gathering in front of the now-empty rescue base, the team and supporters are surprised to see the player return in Pokémon form.

The story behind the player and the partner may have ended, but the story of the team that they have formed goes on........

Gameplay

Basics

The game begins with the main character turning into a Pokémon. The starter Pokémon is one of sixteen Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Chikorita, Cubone, Cyndaquil, Eevee, Machop, Meowth, Mudkip, Pikachu, Psyduck, Skitty, Squirtle, Torchic, Totodile and Treecko), determined by a series of questions that determine their personality at the start of the game(a personality test with examples of these questions is located at the Official Pokemon Site. Gender is also vital to determine the starter Pokémon (for example, if the quiz determined a male player to be a Meowth, a female player who had the same answers would be determined to be a Treecko; a FAQ on GameFAQs confirms this). There are also Pokémon exclusive to specific genders. Meowth, Machop and Cyndaquil are exclusive to males while Eevee, Chikorita and Skitty are exclusive to females.

The object of the game is to form a successful Rescue Team. This will start with one partner, chosen from Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip, though the partner cannot be the same type as the Pokemon the player is (so if they are a Fire-type Charmander, they cannot pick Cyndaquil or Torchic to be their partner). Throughout the game, others, eventually all 386 Pokémon, will join.

The game is mission-based with jobs varying from running errands to rescuing a Pokémon. Moves, items and abilities from the RPGs are present for battling, but new items also exist, such as the Blast Seed and the Gravelerock.

There are several dungeons with various geographical builds, and special weather conditions such as fog, clouds, bright sunlight, rain, sandstorms, hail and snow which can enhance or dull the player's abilities. In order of discovery in Red version's main storyline, they can go to the Tiny Woods, Thunderwave Cave, Mt Steel, Sinister Woods, Silent Chasm, Mt. Thunder (to battle Zapdos), Great Canyon, Lapis Cave, Mt. Blaze (to battle Moltres), Frosty Forest (to battle Articuno), Mt. Freeze, Uproar Forest, Magma Cavern (to battle Groudon) and Sky Tower (to battle Rayquaza). After completing the main storyline several other locations appear, including Solar Cave, Stormy Sea (an extra-long dungeon where it is possible to find Kyogre), Unown Relic and Far-Off Sea.

Pokémon cannot evolve until the player has finished the Sky Tower for the first time and has seen the credits roll.

Rescue Team Base/Home

File:Pokemondungonsscreenshot01.gif

Japanese screenshot of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team. The main character is thinking, "I have turned into a Charmander!" He has just awakened in his new form and is being introduced to his future partner, Chikorita.

After the first task in the Tiny Woods, the player's partner will take them to a house that suits their Pokémon type, where they will stay, rest and save while outside dungeons. It has a mailbox for receiving news bulletins and rescue requests, which will come provided it is emptied (the mailbox has a capacity for only eight messages). After the three legendary birds are defeated and Ninetales is met, the player will meet a Wobbuffet and Wynaut who ask them to defeat the Mankeys causing trouble in the Uproar Forest. After they accomplish this mission, three of the Mankeys come to their house to take revenge for the beating, but are instead persuaded to build a proper rescue base in return for horse chestnuts. These can be found in the Uproar Forest - when they are given two or three they will finish the player's base, which will then look like their starter Pokémon.

Kecleon Shop

This is where two Kecleon brothers sell items. The elder, normal-coloured one sells normal items, and his younger purple brother sells TMs/HMs and various orbs. Kecleon will sometimes set up stalls in dungeons. You can take and sell items by leaving them on the floor, and when you leave the carpet the shop is set on, you are asked to pay or receive poké. If you do not pay the poké required, the Kecleon will alert other Kecleon, and the Kecleon will battle you. They are at high levels, and if you lose, all your items in your inventory will become Plain Seeds. However, beating these Kecleon is the only way to add one to your party.

Felicity Bank and Kangaskhan Storage

The bank is run by a Persian where the player can deposit and withdraw money. The storage building is run by Kangaskhan and is used to store items. Kangaskhan Storage and Felicity Bank are the only places items and money are safe respectively. If the player or their partner faints during a rescue mission or in the dojo, most of the items and all of the money in their toolbox are lost.

Wigglytuff Club

This place is run by a Wigglytuff who loves friends. The player can 'buy' areas from her where their other comrades can stay so they can come and help them on missions. She can also tell the player the Friend Areas of any of the Pokémon they have seen on their adventures.

Gulpin's Link Shop

If the player visits Gulpin, two, three or even four attacks can be chained together. Experience gained is tripled if the enemy is defeated with a Fused Attack. The Gulpin can also reteach moves and unlink moves. The "Link Box" item is necessary for linking moves in the dungeon. Linked moves will be lost over time! The ability to use the linked move will be lost when the PP of one of the moves that has been chained runs out. For example, if a move of 5 PP is linked with a move of 40 PP, the move would get unlinked once it is used 5 times if PP is not restored.

Relearning Moves

Certain Pokemon, like Charizard, don't learn moves when they evolve. Charizard learns Wing Attack when it evolves at level 36, but it doesn't learn it when the player evolves. It can be relearned by going to Gulpin and paying a price. Then Wing Attack can be relearned. (Another way to learn this move is to use an Unfortunate Seed, which will decrease the player's Pokemon's level by one. Then, they can level up again and their Pokemon can learn that move.)

Makuhita Dojo

This place is run by a Makuhita and plenty of volunteers. Teams can train in three-floor dungeons with a single type of Pokémon - Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Fighting, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Poison, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Dark and Steel. The player has to complete a main list before the rest are unlocked. After defeating all the type dungeons they will receive a Bonsly Statue and will be eligible to come up against some teams mentioned in the game: Team Hydro, Team Shiftry, Team Constrict and Team Rumblerock.

Pelipper Post Office

Post missions are delivered by Pelipper from here. Outside the contact post is a bulletin board where missions to take on can be found. You also meet at it when you complete a mission. Inside rescue requests or thank-you letters can be sent to friends.

Pokémon

Mystery Dungeon differs from previous Pokémon games where the player takes on the role of a trainer, and has to 'capture' Pokémon. In Mystery Dungeon, Pokémon may instead join one's team after battling. All 386 Pokémon are available in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team, although like previous versions, these two games have version-exclusive Pokemon. Unlike previous games, the supposedly version-exclusive Pokémon can be obtained through Wonder Mail missions that will make the Pokémon start appearing in the dungeons they normally inhabit.

Another interesting point in the game is evolution. In the older Pokémon games, evolution worked in such a way that Pokémon had to be trained to a certain level, traded to a friend, or have stones used on them to evolve. In these games, natural disasters have prevented the Pokémon from being able to evolve. However, this can still be achieved. When the player has completed the main storyline of the game, they are then able to go to a cave to the north of the town. Then, providing they are alone and their Pokémon meet the level requirements, they will be able to evolve their Pokémon. Link Cables, Stones and Metal Coats can also be found in certain dungeons, which will allow players to evolve the Pokémon that need special conditions to evolve. Friendship has been replaced by IQ, so Pokémon like Pichu will need a high IQ to evolve.

Boss Pokémon

Template:Spoiler Most of the bosses will be Legendary Pokémon. An exception is Skarmory, the first boss. The few Legendary Pokémon that can be friends without fighting are Latias and Celebi. All the Legendary Pokémon can still become allies after some requirements are met. On occasion, a dungeon floor will turn out to be a "monster house", where a massive swarm of Pokémon attacks. These are not real boss battles, but some consider them such. The bosses include (in order): Skarmory, Team Meanies (the enemy Rescue Team consisting of Gengar, Medicham, and Ekans), Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno, Groudon, Rayquaza, then after Rayquaza the player can also unlock in random order: Kyogre, Latios, Entei, Raikou, Suicune, Ho-oh, Jirachi, Lugia, Deoxys, and Mewtwo.

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There are also pokemon that join your rescue team without battling them, and are usually gained after a rescue. The pokemon are: Magnemite, Absol, Smeargle, Latias and Latios(Gained after saving Latias), Gardevoir and Celebi.

Rescue Force Ranks

By running missions, the player can add rescue points to their team to increase its rank. Starting from Normal Rank, they can then progress to Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Lucario ranks. The Lucario Rank is the highest at 15,000 points, and reaching it will earn the player a statue of Lucario next to their rescue base. (Lucario is one of the fourth generation Pokémon who will appear in the newest Pokémon role-playing games, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl) All missions have levels. These levels are E, D, C, B, A, S, and *. The E missions are the easiest to complete and the * missions are the hardest. The level of a mission is indicated at the end of each letter which is delivered by Pelipper. The higher the level of the mission completed, the more rescue points will be obtained for completing that mission.

External links

• Nintendo Japanese official site about Mystery Dungeon
• Chunsoft Japanese official site about Mystery Dungeon
• Chunsoft Japanese official site about Mystery Dungeon in English
• Pokémon Japanese Official site about Mystery Dungeon
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Official site
• Serebii.net Mystery Dungeon page

References

References