Mystery dungeon
- If you were looking for the other uses, see Dungeon (disambiguation).
Mystery dungeons, commonly abbreviated to dungeons, are areas in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. Dungeons are where rescues, jobs and other explorations take place, along with where Pokémon can be battled and recruited. Dungeons can be found pretty much anywhere in the Mystery Dungeon games. To enter one, a player simply walks to the crossroads near their rescue team base or Wigglytuff's Guild, and selects the dungeon they would like to visit from a pop-up menu. Visiting dungeons is required to advance in a Mystery Dungeon game's storyline, as new areas must be accessed through them.
There is a second, much less common type of mystery dungeon known as the training maze, which can only be found in the Makuhita Dojo and its counterpart, the Marowak Dojo.
Mystery dungeon structures
Each time a player visits a mystery dungeon, its floor layout and the items inside it are randomized. Exploring in a mystery dungeon usually counts as one day in a game, however there are a few notable exceptions (such as exploring Mt. Horn, Foggy Forest and Steam Cave for the first time). Dungeons consist of multiple floors and waypoints, which can be traversed between by using stairs. Tiny Woods has the fewest floors so far with 3, and Destiny Tower has the most floors so far with a whopping 99.
Floors
Floors consist of multiple rooms that are interconnected by hallways.
Rooms
Rooms are rectangular-shaped areas that players may traverse through. They may contain Pokémon, items, money, traps, stairs, shops, or all of the above. Other tiles may also be present within a room, but they are usually found towards the walls on the outside. Monster Houses appear randomly in rooms of dungeons that are unlocked later in the game, such as Amp Plains. When a player arrives at a floor, they always appear in a room.
In dungeons like Beach Cave, where visibility is limited, the room will be completely illuminated. All actions in the room can be seen from any point. The hallways leading out of the room can also be seen, and the first tile of each hallway leading from the room is illuminated by the room. When a room is entered, everything in it is recorded on the floor map.
Hallways
Hallways are long and narrow areas that connect rooms to each other. They are typically 1 tile wide, which prevents Pokémon from passing one another without destructive moves like Selfdestruct having been used previously, destructing the walls and creating more space. Since the space in hallways is very narrow, players cannot find items in hallways unless items had been previously thrown in the hallway's direction. Traps also cannot be found here. However, special tiles may line the hallways randomly. Battles conducted in hallways cannot be avoided, unless the player notices an oncoming Pokémon and moves in the other direction.
In dungeons like Beach Cave, where visibility is limited, a slightly more illuminated circle will appear around the player, allowing them to see 1 tile in each direction more clearly. If a partner is battling a wild Pokémon, only the partner 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, and only objects within 1 tile in any direction are recorded without the use of a Luminous Orb.
Waypoints
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. A waypoint usually* contains a Kangaskhan Rock, most of which have only the saving function available*. Waypoints also have the option of returning to Treasure Town or Pokémon Square, or the entrance of the dungeon when Treasure Town or Pokémon Square is inaccessible.
Restrictions
Dungeons may place restrictions on an exploration team in order for them to enter it. The most notable dungeon to do this is Destiny Tower, along with the North, South, East, West and Center Zero Isle dungeons. Restrictions may include, but are not limited to:
- All team members are temporarily reduced to Level 1. (Their level is restored when they leave the dungeon.)
- Only a certain number of Pokémon may enter. If this restriction exists, it is usually in the form of only allowing the team leader and maybe one partner to enter.
- Only the original team leader and original team partner - the two Pokémon who walk around together in Treasure Town and Shaymin Village may enter.
- Only a certain number of items may be brought into the dungeon. Excess items are lost if they are brought in.
- Money may not be brought into the dungeon. Any money brought into the dungeon is lost if this restriction applies.
- Pokémon cannot be recruited in the dungeon.
- An exploration team cannot be bigger than six body stars. This restriction is true in all dungeons.
Fainting
Explorers or rescue teams sometimes faint in dungeons. If the leader, original partner, or any accompanying Pokémon (such as Cresselia in Dark Crater) loses all of their HP, the entire team is transported out of the dungeon. All of the team's money is lost, along with anywhere between half and all of the team's items (exactly which ones are randomly decided). The team is also kicked out and treated as fainted if they stay on any one floor for too long, getting three "warnings" before they
Training maze structures
Training mazes are a second, much less common type of mystery dungeon. While their floors, items and Pokémon are randomized every time they are visited, there are a few special things about them. They otherwise follow the exact same structural "rules" of the standard mystery dungeon.
- Training mazes can only be found in the Makukita and Marowak Dojos.
- Traveling through training mazes does not count as an in-game day, unlike other dungeons.
- If a player faints in a training maze, items and money that were collected inside them are kept rather than lost.
- The dominant type(s) of a training maze may be selected by the player in a manner similar to that of selecting a dungeon to explore.
Pokémon
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. For example, Tiny and Sinister Woods contain many Bug- and Template:Type2 Pokémon in them, because they are wooded areas. Waterfall Cave has many Template:Type2 Pokémon in it, for obvious reasons. However, some dungeons don't have a dominant type, or the area that they are in doesn't have a dominant effect. An example of such a dungeon would be the Final Maze, as the Marowak Dojo does not have a dominant setting, effect or type associated with it. The levels of the Pokémon in the dungeon get higher as the player enters dungeons unlocked later in the game. For example, Amp Plains has higher-leveled Pokémon than Apple Woods, whose Pokémon are leveled higher than dungeons unlocked early on such as Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff.
Dungeon flooring
- Main article: Dungeon tiles
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. Certain groups of Pokémon may be able to move across other types of tiles, however. For example, Template:Type2 Pokémon have the ability to enter, exit and traverse through water tiles freely, while other types of Pokémon must eat a Slip Seed to be able to do so. There are also objects hidden in the floors of rooms, most of which are traps having a variety of potential effects. Stairs to the Secret Bazaar may appear randomly on the floor as well.
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