Mystery dungeon: Difference between revisions

{{outdated|needs=information pertaining to [[Gates to Infinity]] and [[Super Mystery Dungeon]]}}

Dungeons are labyrinth-like structures with 3 to 99 floors that the player must traverse to complete missions and are home to many hostile Pokémon. They change layout every time they are entered, making it impossible to predict how to get through beforehand. Dungeons may also have a set type of [[weather]] effects that remain for a whole floor and reduced sight.

To enter one, a player simply walks to the crossroads near their [[Team Base]], [[Wigglytuff's Guild]] or [[Post Town]], and selects the dungeon they would like to visit from a pop-up menu. Some dungeons, such as [[Beach Cave]] and the [[Hidden Land]], can be visited more directly. Some dungeons are also visited without the crossroads as part of the storyline. Visiting dungeons is required to advance the storyline, as new areas must be accessed through them.

Each time a player visits a dungeon, its floor layout and the items inside it are randomized. Dungeons consist of multiple floors and waypoints, which can be traversed between by using stairs. [[Tiny Woods]] has the fewest floors with 3 (discounting the Explorer Maze of the [[Marowak Dojo]] which has one). The dungeons with the most floors have 99; they are [[Joyous Tower]], [[Buried Relic]], [[Purity Forest]], [[Wish Cave]], [[Silver Trench]], [[Western Cave]], [[Zero Isle South]], [[Zero Isle Center]], and [[Destiny Tower]].

To advance in the dungeon, players must find the stairs which take them to the next floor. Wild Pokémon's levels increase as the player progresses through the dungeon's floors. Dungeons can also contain sleeping Pokémon, which do not move until attacked or a member of the player's party<!--not team because this includes clients--> steps on a directly adjacent tile. Some Pokémon can only be found on specific floors, making it key to know which floors these Pokémon are on if one wants to recruit them.

Some dungeons feature floors that only contain a boss or bosses which the player must defeat. These bosses are commonly [[legendary Pokémon]]; however, they can be other Pokémon, such as {{mdc|Drowzee|2}}. Boss floors usually appear at the end of dungeons; however, in dungeons such as [[Buried Relic]] they appear between full floors, but still take a floor number. Some bosses can only be battled the first time the player explores the dungeon, as part of the storyline; other bosses appear until they are recruited (or every time if they cannot be recruited). Some bosses cannot be recruited the first time the player explores the dungeon. These bosses will have higher-than-usual HP. On these floors, [[Wonder Orb]]s cannot be used and the player cannot be rescued if they faint.

Treasure Floors are similar to boss chambers in that they usually only appear at the end of dungeons, but instead of containing a boss they simply contain one or several items. There is always a warp zone to allow the player to leave the dungeon (or proceed to the next floor if it is not the last floor).

A Golden Chamber replaces a specific floor in a dungeon when a taking a job to find a Golden Chamber. Golden Chambers all look exactly the same, and contain two [[Treasure box|Deluxe Boxes]] in the center which can only be accessed by crossing or removing the water, or moving through or destroying walls. These Deluxe Boxes will contain one of several rare items.

An Outlaw Team floor replaces a specific floor in a dungeon when a taking job to arrest an outlaw team. There are 5 different possible layouts for Outlaw Team floors. Like boss floors, [[Wonder Orb]]s cannot be used and the player cannot be rescued if they faint.

A Challenge Floor replaces a specific floor in a dungeon when accepting a Challenge Letter. There are 5 different layouts for standard Challenge Floors, but legendary challengers ({{p|Mewtwo}}, {{p|Raikou}}, {{p|Entei}}, {{p|Suicune}}, {{p|Jirachi}}) each have their own unique layout. Like boss floors, [[Wonder Orb]]s cannot be used and the player cannot be rescued if they faint.

The Secret Bazaar is a special floor that can only be accessed via Secret Stairs. It can appear in any dungeon in which the Secret Stairs do not lead to a Secret Room. It contains several different kinds of services.

A Secret Room is a special floor that can only be accessed via Secret Stairs. It only appears in [[Mystifying Forest]], <!--[[Spatial Peak]], (guidebook says this, but it does not exist; could be either Spatial Rift or Spatial Cliffs, but its position in the list indicates neither-->[[Mt. Travail]], [[Marine Resort]], [[Lake Afar]], [[Happy Outlook]], [[Mt. Mistral]], [[Shimmer Hill]], [[Lost Wilderness]], [[Midnight Forest]], and [[Zero Isle East]].

Some dungeons may also contain locked doors that can only be opened with [[key]]s. These locked chambers usually contain [[HM]]s or [[Mystery Dungeon evolutionary items|evolution items]].

Hallways are long and narrow areas that connect rooms to each other. They are typically one tile wide, which prevents Pokémon from passing one another without destructing the walls and creating more space or being able to pass through walls. Since the space in hallways is very narrow, items will not spawn in hallways, but can be placed there. Traps also will not appear in hallways, and traps cannot be created here by moves like {{m|Spikes}}.

In dungeons like [[Beach Cave]], where visibility is limited, an illuminated circle will appear around the player, allowing them to see two tiles (one in some examples) in each direction more clearly. If a teammate is battling a wild Pokémon, only the teammate will appear on-screen until the wild Pokémon is in the circle. Hallways are recorded on the floor map only as the player traverses it.

Waypoints are one-room, mezzanine-like floors that connect one part of a dungeon to a deeper part. Waypoints in a dungeon usually indicate that a boss will be present at the end; however, that is not always the case. Waypoints often connect dungeons to a "deeper" or "peak" of the dungeon. A waypoint usually contains a [[Kangaskhan Rock]] (only [[Aegis Cave]]'s waypoint lacks one), most of which have only the saving function available; however, some waypoints such as the [[Crystal Cave]]/[[Crystal Crossing]] waypoint allow item storage as well. Waypoints also have the option of returning to [[Treasure Town]] or [[Pokémon Square]], or to the entrance of the dungeon in [[Special Episode]]s, or when the player is a fugitive, on the guild expedition, or in the future.

Explorers or rescue teams sometimes [[Fainting|faint]] in dungeons. If the leader, original partner (before beating the game), or any client Pokémon faints and is not revived, the entire team is transported out of the dungeon. All of the team's [[Poké]] is lost, along with anywhere between half and all of the team's items (exactly which ones are randomly decided).

==Training mazes==

All dungeons contain [[wild Pokémon]], which appear randomly. Each dungeon has its own unique set of Pokémon, which is based on the area in which the dungeon is located. Most Pokémon found in dungeons fit a theme, usually a type theme. The levels of the Pokémon in the dungeon get higher as the player enters dungeons unlocked later in the game.

All floors are mostly covered by ordinary ground. Normal or ordinary ground tiles may be covered with aesthetic effects, such as grass or rocky terrain, and may be traversed by any Pokémon. Traveling across normal tiles does not produce any side effects, even if they do appear to have extremely rocky terrain. However, this terrain does affect {{m|Secret Power}}, {{m|Nature Power}}, and {{m|Camouflage}}.

==Demo Mystery Dungeons==

There are six Mystery Dungeons that are only accessible in the demo of [[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky]] sent via DS Download Play. These six Dungeons are [[Little Plains]], [[Mt. Clear]], [[Challenge River]], [[Trial Forest]], [[Guiding Sea]], and [[Hidden Shopkeeper Village]]. The demo can be downloaded from a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky game or the {{DL|Wii|Nintendo Channel}}. In these dungeons all Pokémon are male and some of the sounds such as when you pick up items have been replaced with another sound.

 

The Pokémon series {{Wp|List of Mystery Dungeon video games|is not the only series}} to have a Mystery Dungeon game, though it is the most popular. Other series in the Mystery Dungeon line include the Final Fantasy Chocobo series and the {{dqw|Mystery Dungeon|Dragon Quest}} series.