Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX is perhaps the most unusual Pokemon spin-off series of all time, although the mechanics are fairly similar.
You play as a Pokemon and alongside your partner Pokemon, you are set out on a task to rescue all those that need saving.
This is where interest is lost for a lot of fans; it can be hard to follow along with the game and the combat is the same throughout the game.
Nevertheless, since it is a Pokemon game, after all, there are some core components that fans should take note of before playing.
Let's go over all the basic game mechanics of Mystery Dungeon DX!
Be sure to watch our wide variety of Pokemon content here!
Base Stats
Opposed to the standard Pokemon game where each Pokemon has specific EVs or IVs, Pokemon in the Mystery Dungeon series simply have base stats.
These stats can be altered with supplements such as Gummis, health drinks, Sitrus Berries, and various other consumables.
Non-HP stats can be raised to a maximum of 255; HP can be raised to at most 999 according to Bulbapedia!
One of the most important base stats to take into consideration is your Pokemon's Travel Speed - this determines how fast it can move in a dungeon and may be essential if you are in need of a quick escape!
Evolution
Evolution does not occur as it does in the traditional Pokemon games, instead, it must be manually done and can be a strange process if you do not research beforehand.
Another weird note about evolution with Mystery Dungeon is that just because you are evolving your Pokemon does not mean it will be stronger.
Pokemon do not get stronger but can learn new moves not previously available.
Read More: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX: Evolution, How To Evolve Your Pokemon And Partner
Type Matchups
Much like any other Pokemon game, the standard Pokemon type matchups are in full effect in the Mystery Dungeon series.
If you are not familiar with the type matchups be sure to give it a brief overview beforehand!
One aspect to note about the attack types is the super-effective and not very effective moves.
Super-effective moves deal 1.4X damage and not very effective moves deal 0.7X in Mystery Dungeon!
Attacks
All Pokémon have a standard attack which deals typeless damage. This regular attack does not expend PP when used.
Pokémon may also have up to four special attacks in addition to their regular attack. The standard attack was much more powerful and dealt damage according to the usual rules using Attack and Defense stats.
Special attacks may be linked together, wherein the linked moves are done in succession (in which case one PP is taken from each move). Moves can be linked at the Gulpin Link Shop.
Abilities
For the most part, abilities are similar to the core series. However, some abilities differ:
- Different activation - Trace will only activate when hit by an attack, and the copied Ability is randomly chosen, while Truant only activates if a Wonder Orb or a special move is used.
- Minor changes - Torrent, Blaze, Overgrow, and Swarm will double the power of Water, Fire, Grass, and Bug-type moves, respectively, when the user has reached ¼ of their total HP. Static, Effect Spore, Flame Body, Cute Charm, Poison Point, Rough Skin, Arena Trap, and Shadow Tag only affect adjacent Pokémon, even if the move normally makes contact (e.g. Quick Attack, which can attack from 1 square away).
- Changes to suit the environment - Intimidate reduces the opposing Pokémon's Attack by 20%, while Huge Power and Pure Power will have a 1/3 chance of dealing 50% more damage.
- Entirely changed - Speed Boost increases Travel Speed by one level every 250 turns while Swift Swim and Chlorophyll use the same attack twice in one turn while it is raining or sunny, respectively. Run Away is activated at low HP and inflicts the Run Away status, forcing the Pokémon to avoid attacking and travel aimlessly.
Read More: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX: Tier List, Team Tier List And The Best Starter Pokemon
Status Conditions
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon introduced its own series of status conditions, of which any number may occur at once.
These range from:
- Conventional statuses (Paralysis, Poison, etc.)
- Pseudo-statuses (Confusion, Attraction, Flinching (here called Cringing), etc.).
- Two-turn attacks (i.e. SolarBeam or Sky Attack)
- Low-priority moves (i.e. Counter, Endure, or Vital Throw)
- Moves whose effects last multiple turns (Mist, Safeguard, Charge, Perish Song, Taunt, Encore, etc.).
Most statuses are temporary, but Burn and Poison remain permanent.
All status conditions are removed upon entering the next floor of a dungeon.
Pokémon may be affected with both Sleep and Paralysis, and (much like in the TCG) other status ailments may replace previous ones. For instance, a Poisoned Pokémon may become Paralysed instead.
Pokémon will never attack themselves while Confused. However, they may move or attack in a random direction (including hitting teammates).
Mystery Dungeon introduces a new, exclusive status called hunger. When a Pokemon's belly drops to zero, a Pokemon will lose 1HP for every step they take until they faint or have eaten.
Read More: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX: All Changes, New Features And Differences From The Original
Experience
Similar to other Pokemon games, you gain experience for every Pokemon you defeat while going through the dungeons.
As you progress your Pokemon in levels you will have the option to learn moves, so be sure to choose your moves wisely!
Items
Much like in the Safari Zone of the core series games, where the player is able to toss Bait or throw a Rock (or Mud) at Pokémon, throwing items in Mystery Dungeon deals damage.
The player is able to stock up to 99 units of a throwing item in a single item space in contrast to other items, where multiple items take up multiple spaces in the item list.