MONSTER RANCHER 4 FAQ-Walkthrough v1.0 Monster Rancher 4 by Tecmo. Posted/Written by Gregg Sharp for gamefaqs.com A: Things Tecmo needs to fix for MR5. FREEZING MONSTERS: In MR4 you can't unfreeze them. Taking them to the freezer is a oneway deal, all you can do is combine or retire them at that point. Thawing them out would be a good thing. TRADABLE BOOKS: In MR4 you can't trade books with your friends or colleagues in order to try and complete the pages. It counts against your totals to check discs too. This was something from MR3 that needs to be reinstated, being able to compare and trade is a nice conversation starter. DATING GAME?: Why do a number of the char in MR4 remind me of a dating sim? Come to think of it, wouldn't that be an interesting twist to throw into future editions? Some interaction for such things, even just dialogue options, would be interesting. That way you can get the brush off from Yuri and possibly invite Chiho over to your ranch on a day off. FAST FORWARD CUTSCENES: You have to sit through that sequence every time you check a disc and your main character has the same win pose every time. This gets tired really fast. A way of skipping the scenes would be appreciated. USING MEDICINE/ITEMS: You can give your monster items during the Free Time section of the week, but the benefits aren't clear. Being able to give the monster the items before a match or during an adventure would be better. INTERACTION: some more interaction on the ranch would be nice too. Mockruji for example - is on the farm but only speaks during cutscenes. More interaction with the monsters would be nice too. YOU CALL THIS TREASURE?: You have two "dungeons" in MR4. Togle Caverns and Kalagiri Jungle. After the first few times in either you get heartily sick of getting Toy Glasses or Bone. While they can be sold at the Item Shops (requiring a weekend to be blown on a shopping trip) these are otherwise useless. Likewise with Combination Items like STR stone or ACC stone. Sure these give a slight boost (10pt) in a single given stat when combining, but that means diddly on the course of training up a monster and doesn't make up for the difference of one of the monsters that has higher stats when freshly taken from DVD/CD. How about a few healing potions that can be used in a dungeon? Pow. or Acc. potions that permanently raise a stat? (Especially when you have a monster that starts out with a really poor stat like Pipo Ape's Int score.) WHAT THE HECK DOES YOUR ASSISTANT DO? You've got this mysterious assistant but there's no real indication of what they are doing. Why do you have to blow a weekend on a shopping trip instead of sending your assistant off to buy potatos? EXTREMELY SILLY MONSTERS. A problem i have with pokemon and monster rancher and the similar genres. Why does something that looks like a plush toy get a term like 'monster' associated with it? Some of these critters are about as monstrous as a hubcap and have less appeal. Is this a Japanese thing or does someone out there actually like the Koropendora and Pancho? (After all, some people like the Suezo which i've never understood.) A WHOLE NEW WORLD: you *could* add cutscenes as each city unlocks. Something showing off the town/village, some indication of how these monsters are used in everyday life when they're not being managed as fighters. Places with retired monsters too old to fight. Even just having occasional mail in your box (maybe delivered by a postal mocchi or pixie) to indicate a world beyond the ranch/fight circuit. 1.0 Characters CASA___ One of the teachers at Elives School who remembers Phayne. When Vizley is unlocked late in the game she's one of several you can speak with irregularly at the school. CESARE__ Shrine operator for Togle. Father of Rio. Shows up regularly in plotlines to give some expositionary dialogue. CHIHO___ A sometimes flirty waitress at the Bugle Inn in Torble when that unlocks in the game. You can buy Canned Fuel, Honey Toast, Cake here. Sometimes monsters like these specialty foods. CHRIS___ When Vizley is unlocked, you can visit Elives School and the person greeting you varies randomly. Chris is at least better than Lambda. CORTES__ A "Stray Monster Hunter" in Torble investigating the Case Of The Missing Mocchi. CYNTHIA__ The Monster Association worker assigned to Togle. Shows up in the 2nd Week and performs Association functions (Retire/Combine). Later on she says she's a fan. Looks vaguely like Ritsuko Akagi from Evangelion. DENGEL__ A Professor in Torble at the University. Doesn't seem to have a lot to say. DIEHL___ Seems to be the stock 'Aristocrat teen angry snob' type common to some anime (Kuno-Ranma 1/2, Mendo-Urusei Yatsura, etc) and games. Torble, appears when you register. One of Phayne's classmates and apparently not a friend. He has over sixty monsters at his ranch and the latest training gadgets, or so he says. You end up challenging him to be beaten in an official bout. DOELTER__ Announcer at the Torble arena. DOYLE__ Library at Ryuwn. All those Old Texts you've been picking up can be translated here. DUTT_____ Announcer at Togle. FINLAY___ Announcer at Ryuwn. FRANCESCA___ Announcer for the stadium in Vizley. GERAS__ Villain in the Case Of The Missing Mocchi quest. GIULIANO___ One of several potential speakers at Elives when Vizley is unlocked. Doesn't talk much. GRAM__ Tubby classmate from Elives School who became a breeder in Ryuwn. Has a crush on Philia. GUNWALE__ After you get a monster to Grade C, this demented sailorboy gives you his old ship so that you can reach other towns. Apparently has a relationship developing with Yuri. Is it all business? IVORY__ Runs the Item Shop In Ryuwn. Apparently not the chatty type. KARNAB__ FIMBA president for the Nettle Kingdom at least. LAMBDA__ When Vizley is unlocked, this is one of the rotating persons to greet you at Elives School. Angry young man type. LAURIER__ In Vizley there are only two buildings. The Hospital and Elives School. Laurier is always at the Monster Hospital. She sells Vitamin (useful for dieting monsters) and various medicines like Oily Oil (a fatigue reliever for monsters, it just suffers from Silly Name Syndrome.) There seems to be some hostility between Laurier and Talt. LUCIA__ Association worker at Torble. MOCKRUJI__ A spirit tree on the farm that you can only speak to within cutscenes at the beginning of the story. PHAYNE__ Main character. Thrown out of Elives School for reasons that come out after your third city. Has had a bad experience involving a Mocchi. PHILIA__ Classmate from Elives School. Apparently has a crush on Phayne or at least a serious case of like. Top Rookie at Ryuwn where she lives with her grandmother. POLLOCK__ Middle aged pusher of training gadgets. Or builder/salesman of training gadgets. Shows up every so often and will appraise Old Tablets to see if they have training manual directions. README__ Librarian Assistant at Ryuwn. RICHTER__ Teacher at Vizley, Elives School. Possibly insane. RIO__ Your assistant after Yuri returns to her shop. Talks to monsters. Daughter of Cesare. SWIFT__ After Torble and your encounter with Diehl, Swift will show up on *very* rare occasions to sell you effect versions of training gadgets you have gotten through Pollock before. TALT__ Coming from the same island as the boat your character arrived with is this monster veterinarian. Who looks like a girl but has a male pronoun used to refer. Error in translation, crossdressing healer, or victim of Jusenkyo? TEETEE__ A formerly popular breeder whose star has begun its decline and isn't happy at all about that. Initially a rival. VIOLA__ Togle Monster Association, works with freezing and combining monsters. WIT___ Young student/former classmate of Phayne now at the University in Torble. Eventually gives you a Magic Medal so that you can outfit one Training Gadget as a slightly more efficient version. YU___ Carpenter friend of Cesare. Looks like another crossdresser, or victim of Jusenkyo, or someone whose gender was mistranslated. A pair of pink coveralls? The one who shows up to upgrade your house & hut. YURI___ Initially your assistant in running the Ranch, once you get a monster to D Class she returns to run the Item Shop in Togle. 2.0 WALKTHROUGH MR 4 is very linear, so only brief descriptions are used. I: Starting Off You start off with a long involved scene where you have just met TEETEE and neither of you are happy with the situation. CESARE takes you in and sets you up with your first monster and the ranch. GARU is an above average specimen of his type. You can easily get him up to B Class though he's going to suffer age problems beyond that. He's got above average beginner in everything except Int so you can focus on a particular area immediately. Concentrating on Power and Accuracy is the most efficient way of giving him an early edge, as doing a Tornado and Fire Charge combo will take out most opponents until much later in the game. GARU (Garu/Garu) Class E Pow 185 Lif 120 Int 95 Acc 155 Def 135 Spd 150 Attacks: Wild Slash, Tornado, Fire Charge Traits: Sonic Nail, Fire Lore There are the inevitable lessons as one section of the game's commands after another are unlocked. At first you can't even enter tournaments so just concentrate on stat-raising. 2W: Cynthia shows up to name the Ranch. 3W: Cesare moseys in to give you food for the monster. 4W: Another two hints about Rio's ability to speak to monsters. May Wk1: Cesare takes you to the arena and the Association is unlocked. After being shown the arena and another encounter with Teetee, you'll be able to participate in tournaments. Win three and you can get your monster to participate in the Official Cup Battles, which can raise your monster's Grade to the next level. Rio talks to a spirit tree (Mockruji), the spirit tree talks back, and you hear more about Rio's abilities. May 2W: Yuri brings by her monster Meowzer (Mew/Mew) to teach you battle commands. May 3W: Yuri unlocks competitions and tournaments. At this point all you can do is try to train, beat the little fights, and then schedule an Official Cup Battle. It should be fairly easy, your starting Garu is fairly impressive when contrasted to the low level fodder. The first Official Cup Battle is Jul 3W. At that point I had the Garu built up slightly: GARU Grade E Pow 191 Lif 137 Int 117 Acc 155 Def 139 Spd 160 Winning the Cup Battle, your Garu goes to D Class and triggers several events. Your little hut will finally be expanded, allowing you to get more than one monster, and Yuri will head back to her family's Item Shop. Rio becomes your new assistant. Doctor Talt (who looks like a girl but the male pronoun is used regarding) the monster veterinarian is introduced. Following this, you see Pollock the manufacturer of training gadgets. Garu will seem lonely the next morning and Cesare will conveniently explain that the family needs to be bigger. So you're going to need a bigger hut, more monsters, and to start checking discs for an appropriate monster. Yu the carpenter (another guy that looks more like a girl) shows up to expand the house so you can get those other monsters. There's a list in the appendix of available monsters and what DVD/CD unlocks them. Chaos Durahan from the Two Towers DVD is a good choice for a fighter but lousy as an explorer while a Pixie is a good explorer but takes forever to build up to where she isn't KOed in one hit. One morning (Aug W4) Rio will wake you up because of the disappearance of that rolled up section in your farm map, indicating the adventuring mode has been unlocked. You'll be given a brief description of how to use your monsters in adventuring. i used a Monty Python CD to produce an Aero (Pixie/Tiger): Pow 86 Lif 87 Int 159 Acc 138 Def 82 Spd 142 Attacks: Somersault, Raycast Traits: Golden Foot followed by the Two Towers disc to produce a Chaos Durahan: Pow 200 Lif 120 Int 105 Acc 125 Def 180 Spd 95 Attacks: Kick, Gaea Sword, Cut-In-Two, Charge Traits: Super Weapon, Magic Lore note that the one in the book is significantly less powerful than one directly off the DVD. II - TOGLE CAVES: This is the cave complex on the farm itself. Typical dungeon crawl with chests that can be opened for "treasure". In Togle this is mainly items like Toy Glasses and Silver Coins. The items and XP are better in Kalagiri Forest (which unlocks later). The monsters in Togle are class E and mainly annoying. You can get your monsters up to adventuring level 9 without much problem, after that you need the bigger XP from Kalagiri to make a dent in that XP Required field. Each searchable area can only be searched by a particular type of monster that has learned a particular ability. Garu and Antlan pick up Dirt Search fairly soon, required for those patches of bare earth. Pixies develop Water Search and High Search - necessary for lakes/rivers and stone pillars/trees in that order. Garu also pick up Cave Search, for those chimney like outcroppings and tree stumps in Kalagiri. For the first outing, if you can go to the second floor. In the SE section of the map is a chest with an Old Tablet. That will end your adventure safely and trigger another scene with Pollock. Pollock will tell you that he'll give you the Training Gadget as soon as he's done deciphering the blueprints. Liar. He never gives anything away. Your first objective in Togle will be a shrine area (3F) that sets off a dialogue sequence and clues about Rio's strange talents. You'll probably need to level your monsters up to achieve that. At this point you have to balance weekends between adventuring, going into town for supplies, and scheduled battles. Best way to get money and stock up those supplies so you can concentrate on other things is to sell off those items you pick up in the adventures that serve no useful purpose. Nunchaku 250g. Junk Toy 15g. Yarn Ball 25g. Teddy Bear 65g. (Though there's something wrong somehow about beating up a random monster and taking its teddy bear.) Acheiving that first Togle Caverns objective will set off the next sequence in the plot, where training gadgets fail to function and the Official Cup Battles are put on hold. You won't be able to increase the Class level until you get this quest done. Back to the Togle Caves. Your Garu can learn two of the major explorer skills. i'd suggest at least one other monster who can learn useful adventuring skills. Either a Pixie to reach those chests atop pillars or a riding monster like a Zuum or Dragon. This time you'll definitely want to level up a few times. Eventually you'll go to level 5 of the Togle Caves and fight a boss (Shiden of the Raiden). He's not particularly hard if you've got at least two monsters with decent accuracy and attacks. More hints about Rio's abilities, some great problem supposed to hit the fan again, Raiden are unlocked, etc. Once you've beaten the boss, you'll be back at the farm again. Cynthia shows up with a Breeder Ranking card and you'll be able to participate in Official Cup Battles once again. Back to trying to power up your monsters and get through the tournaments. Most likely with Garu as that monster has a head start on the others' development. By the time the Official Grade D came around, i had Garu at: Pow. 274, Lif. 155, Int. 124 Acc. 155, Def. 161, Spd. 185 You'll spot Kelarino, Teetee's Hare, in the lineup. Of course it'll be your last fight in the sequence. Beat her and your Garu becomes Grade C. CESARE shows up to talk to RIO, and POLLOCK shows up to tell you to set your sites on Ryuwn and the FIMBA competition. A boat will pull aside your cliff a week after you've gotten a monster to Grade C. GUNWALE gives you a ship he's apparently outgrown, the "Sardine". Whatever, its needed to get you to Ryuwn and the other cities when they unlock. Now that you've got transportation, you'll need to visit Ryuwn to progress the plot. III - RYUWN You run immediately into GRAM, a classmate from Elives who has a crush on PHILIA who is also here. You'll also run into an officious lout named PIERRE at the Association. His job is to screen out the riff raff. That includes you by the way. He'll make an appointment to see you in a week. Surprise. Pierre throws some sarcasm, some sneering commentary, but no registration your way. After he throws you out, you'll run into Teetee again. It appears Teetee knows Philia and the two don't get along. Teetee knocks over MAURO on her way. Helping Mauro gets Philia reintroduced to Phayne (or whatever you named your character) and your next quest. Back to the Togle Caves for the Healing Mushrooms. After the competition monsters, the wandering ones here are almost embarrasingly easy. There's a mini-boss on 4F with the mushrooms. Bring the mushrooms back to Philia and you get the next quest for your FIMBA licensure. IV - KALAGIRI JUNGLE 1 You have to find the "Junk" in the jungle and bring it back to Ryuwn's Association building. Philia shows up during your first week back from Ryuwn so that she can unlock the "Counter" function. Teetee shows up, issues a challenge, and Tag battles are unlocked. While alternating visits to the shops for food and scheduling battles, you can adventure in Kalagiri now. Tougher fights, better treasure. Slightly in both cases. One creature found more often in Kalagiri than Togle is the Jack-in-the-Cho. Opening a chest reveals it is a Pancho style monster that attacks you. In Kalagiri it has 130-160 Lif. Occasionally a chest or fight will produce something like a Monster Stone (Fancy, Sprite, Beast) or an Old Tablet (Old, Int, Acc, etc.) but most of the time it's the same old thing. Another pair of Toy Glasses. Whuppee. First time into Kalagiri is much like the first time in Togle Caves - 3F has a shrine with a Gaia Stone and a repeat performance with Rio. Same picture flashing up on the screen. Same immediate cut to the farm. Next time through, explore to your heart's content. Kalagiri ends up being unavailable after this quest for awhile. (Until the next quest unlocks it again.) At this point: Garu Pow. 325, Lif. 165, Int. 124 Acc. 155, Def. 161, Spd. 204 Wild Slash, Tornado, Wild Bite, Fire Spin, Superclaw, Fire Kick, and Fire Upper Traits: Sonic Nail, Fire Lore, Golden Foot, King's Fist, Cave Search, Hyperbeam, Keen Fang, Dirt Search Chaos Durahan Pow. 233, Lif. 137, Int. 116 Acc. 161, Def. 180, Spd. 166 Kick, Swing, Cut-In-Two, Charge, Turn Slash, Midare, and Gaea Sword Traits: Super Weapon, Magic Lore, Heavy Armor, Golden Foot, Genius* * Since Genius increases Int attacks and lowers defense against Str attacks, this makes absolutely no sense for a Durahan but you can't choose Traits. Well, maybe in MR5? Aero Pow. 115, Lif. 134, Int. 210 Acc. 149, Def. 116, Spd. 174 Somersault, Ray Cast, Windylance, Starlight, Fairy Dust, Star Shower, Milky Way Golden Foot, Sniper, High Search, Pheromone, Hyper Beam, Water Search The majority of treasures in either dungeon are lame. Not of use within the game and of little value at trade. Long before this point you're probably sick of getting Toy Glasses. 5F is the area where the boss battle occurs. The "Junk" is preceded by a monster and turns out to be a hook-hand as seen in pirate movies. Save. Take the hook to Ryuwn. Mr K = Karnab. Your test now is to beat Philia. You get upgraded to Grade C, you can enter FIMBA competitions, and the arena at Ryuwn. Cesare asks Yu to stop by and you'll have another ranch expansion on the way. With roughly three years to get a monster trained and up to Class B for combining, this is awfully slow going. No POW up potions? The Official League C will be tough unless you've been levelling up significantly. At the end of which you fight Dodongo - Gram's unique looking Golem with 355 life points. Beat him, get your monster to Grade B. Karnab drops by - your next quest is back to Kalagiri for a missing investigative team. V. KALAGIRI JUNGLE 2 You've got the basics by now of whatever strategy you've adopted for training/shopping/exploring. Some monsters balk at some kinds of training, others thrive on the same regimen. It usually means finding a critter that does well under your style. At some point you'll probably want to freeze or combine one of your younger monsters just so you stagger the ages further out. If you have a bunch of your monsters reach retirement age at the same time it can really play hob with getting any of the plot done. Adding your fourth and fifth monsters at this point will do this, but if you add that fifth monster you can't check any additional CDs or DVDs until you empty a slot. The Yellow and Blue Atlan Rangers that you get from using the Monster Rancher 4 disc as your source disc are surprisingly strong, especially the Yellow. Whether you get Blue (hi int.) or Yellow (hi pow.) depends on which season you visit the shrine. Since i got a TGH Stone from a chest in Kalagiri last time, it gets used on a combining of a Joker and Gaccharing to produce a slightly more favorable WizRing. Lif. 95, Pow. 110, Int. 143 Acc.120, Def. 140, Spd. 133 Pokkorin, Aim Hit Trait: Fire Lore Whatever you go with, go adventuring to gain those additional attacks. Use the two other slots for more experienced monsters in Kalagiri. By the time you get past 4F you should have your newest monster up to level 5 as an adventurer. In the case of the above mentioned WizRing that meant adding Pokkorin and LinLinHat as attacks. Hard Head, King's Fist, High Search and Sniper as Traits. When ready get your three toughest since you've got quite a few levels to get through before a boss battle. 7th floor has the boss, the head with the pirate hook you see in the opening animation. DON is against cyborging monsters, which Rio is also pretty set against. Of course, dialogue gives way to battle. DON the pirate monster (Rio later refers to him as a Nendoro) has 388 hp and some fairly good attacks if he connects. Compared to some of the Official Cup Battles though, particularly B and above? Piece of cake unless he gets lucky. Just try again if he beats you. Cynthia shows up the next day. Karnab is sending you a letter. (What? They've got pixies and other flying monsters but the post is delivered by high ranking human employees?) You need to go to the Monster Association Office in Ryuwn next. Karnab gives you a Monster Rank B, which unlocks the city of Torble. Rio asks Karnab about altered (cyborg) monsters, Karnab pleads ignorance and acts evasive before exiting. Philia shows up and advises you to check Torble for more clues. VI: Torble As soon as you get a free weekend from competitions and shopping, head to Torble. You'll meet WIT right off the bat, seperate, then rejoin him at the University. Teetee shows up as Wit's assistant? Is she pulling a Fujiko (Lupin III reference)? Whatever, you'll have to visit the Association next week. You meet LUCIA and DIEHL. You end up challenging him to a battle at the arena. This will take place in a cup battle later. Before you leave, stop at the BUGLE INN and speak to CHIHO. Something mysterious is going on with the Mocchi. Now you can return to your ranch. Philia shows up with a Mocchi. Phayne's reluctance to raise a Mocchi is explained. Cue Teetee. Wit wants you to come visit him at the University. Once there, Wit gives you a medal and triggers another visitor to your ranch. First Doctor Talt shows up. Talt checks out your monsters and relates "his" own experiences with a Mocchi. SWIFT appears, and you can get effect (Healing, Magic, Intense, Lucky) versions of gadgets you already have. Since all you have is a Magic Medal, you can sell off one of your training gadgets and buy a Magic version in replacement. After repeatedly utilizing these things, i have to question the in-game commentary about their effectiveness. Which Training Gadget you replace with a Magic variant is up to you. Whatever you think will get your monster an edge in the current fight. For this case i went with the Magic Tub as the defense scores aren't so hot and there are things like the Hare's 'Spring Leap' which can turn your Class C Durahan to a one-hit loss. There's a list of Training Gadgets that i've found in section 5. My monsters at this point are: Garu, (Garu/Garu) Rank B, adventure level 13 Pow. 456, Lif. 193, Int. 147 Acc. 255, Def. 160, Spd. 217 Wild Slash, Cyclone, Wild Bite, Fire Charge, SuperClaw, Fire Kick, Fire Upper, Beam, and Wild Stomp Traits: Sonic Nail, Fire Lore, Golden Foot, King's Fist, Cave Search, Hyper Beam, Keen Fang, and Dirt Search Chaos Durahan, (Durahan/?), Rank C, adventure level 13 Pow. 233, Lif. 189, Int. 126 Acc. 172, Def. 178, Spd. 320 Kick, Swing, Cut-in-Two, Charge, Turn Slash, Midare, Air Slash, Gust, Gaea Sword Super Weapon, Magic Lore, Heavy Armor, Golden Foot, Genius, Wind Lore, Foresee, Lucky Star Aero (Pixie/Tiger), Rank D, adventure level 13 Pow. 160, Lif. 194, Int. 277 Acc. 163, Def. 191, Spd. 174 Somersault, Ray Cast, WindyLance, Starlight, Fairy Dust, Star Shower, MilkyWay, Healing Ring, and Silky Dance Golden Foot, Sniper, High Search, Pheromone, Hyper Beam, Water Search, Hi Counter, Thunder Lore WizRing (Suzurin/Joker), Rank E, adventure level 6 Pow. 120, Lif. 116, Int. 167 Acc. 124, Def. 131, Spd. 141 Pokorin, Pokkorin, LinLinHat, Aim Hit, Hat Attack Fire Lore, Hard Head, King's Fist, High Search, Sniper Since a lot of Pixie attacks are Int based (Starlight, Ray Cast, etc.) that's the stat to concentrate on for increasing damage. Garu and Durahan primarily rely on physical attacks. While many of your opponents in the arena battles are close to a perfect hexagon in well rounded development, it is the ability to react quickly and hit hard that will win more battles. Don't obsess over rounding out your character when the monster's lifespan is as limited as it is. If there was a Life Extension magic or Fountain of Youth in a dungeon, maybe, but with three to four years? Diehl's monster is pretty tough, all right. Sometimes the game seems to be cheating as even with an Acc. of 255 and an attack with an Accuracy score of A - your Garu can't land an attack while every attack from the monster hits and crits. Just reset and try again, this isn't one of those "you can't win" fights designed that way by the programmers. Give it a week or two then return back to Torble and the Bugle Inn. Chiho gives you an update. You also meet CORTES the "Stray Monster Hunter". You also get the Mocchi Doll so that you can investigate further at Kalagiri. Eventually you'll be ready for the Official Rank B Battle in Torble, most likely with Garu. Diehl's monster "Balboa" is a Durahan (Durahan/?) with 333 Lif. There are other, tougher, monsters in the lineup getting to him. If you hit fast with Tornado and follow with two Firespin, a Garu can take him out fast. BALBOA, Rank B Lif. 333, Pow. 351, Int. 234 Acc. 254, Spd. 174, Def. 322 Kick, Swing, Cut-in-Two, Charge, Turn Slash, Midare, Air Shot, Gust, Aura Slash, Gaea Sword Super Weapon, Golden Foot, Thunder Lore After your win, you've got a monster up to Rank A. You're accused by Diehl of cheating, and of collaborating with Wit. He makes a comment about steroids, and you part on poor terms with him. Rio talks about getting Diehl a teacher to show him a better path and Vizley gets unlocked. Class A monsters seem to be well balanced and all stats are right in the 295-350 range. Fights are usually six to eight opponents. You're gonna to power your monster up some before you'll be able to get through this mess, the bar has been upped significantly. Go to Vizley, meet with CASA and finally get details on why Phayne was expelled. "Tome Of Black Arts" sounds more like something out of Lodoss Wars than Monster Rancher, but there's more to the story than was in the official records apparently. You'll also get a scene with LAMBDA, CHRIS, and RICHTER. Before leaving Vizley, pick up a couple of Vitamins at the Hospital. They're expensive at 1000g each but if you need to diet your monsters, that's about the only thing that'll work. When you get back, you'll start another day with a visit from Cynthia. IMa has certified you as a Rank A Breeder and you can take part in competitions in Vizley now. Back to Kalagiri and solving the Mocchi problem. The boss is on the 6th floor (in an apparently empty room) and the wandering monsters are C class. Tough buggers too. You may see some getting up with "Final Guts" three or four times before they finally stay down. GERAS is the Mocchi kidnapper and he has something called a "Mocchi Radar" which is reading the Mocchi Doll you got from Cortes at the Bugle Inn. Geras' monster is a DeviMadillo Class C with 241 Lif. Pretty good Def. so you'll have to use fairly strong and accurate attacks. Rio finally did something useful while the fight was going on. Geras gets away, and Rio wants you to think about raising a Mocchi. Cortes shows up at your ranch, and indicates he knows Geras and is going after him. Back to training up your monsters. The next week, a Mocchi shows up that Phayne recognizes. Talt explains something. Mocchi are unlocked so you can regenerate them now. With this many hints, go ahead and find a disc with a Mocchi and start it off. It really doesn't matter which variety. To advance the story, you'll need to get a monster to S rank. This probably means you'll need to combine two A rank monsters into a D rank and start all over again the long process of fighting/adventuring/training necessary to get your monster to the point where you can win three A Rank battles and then get through the A Rank Cup. At some point you'll go to Vizley, talk to Laurier and trigger a scene with Talt and Laurier. As far as i can tell, this does absolutely nothing with regard to interactions later or furthering the plot. The A Cup battle is tougher than the boss battles so far. Tougher than the tag teams or competitions to this point. Add to this that the clock is ticking on your monster because it took so long to get to A Rank in the first place... While the opponents shuffle between preset groups, this is a typical opponent: Nashe (Ripper/Lesione) Lif. 341, Pow. 342, Int. 351 Acc. 385, Spd. 377, Def. 352 TRAITS: Water Lore+, Ice Lore+, Whip Tail, Eagle Eyes SKILLS: Tail Claw, Slicer, Ice Pillar, SpinBlade, Dark Gale, Freeze, Hell, Tempest, Spin Sword, Piercing The final fight is against Wit's monster Spartacs who will have not lost any battles. Spartacs (Ripper/?) Lif. 371, Pow. 358, Int. 371 Acc. 435, Spd. 369, Def. 315 TRAITS: Ice Lore+, Wind Lore+, Heart Lore+, Whip Tail SKILLS: Tail Claw, Mute Cutter, Slicer, Ice Pillar, SpinBlade, Phantom, Freeze, Hell, Piercing If there is more than a 100 pt difference between your monster's Acc. and the opponent's - your only chance to really hit and do damage is in a Counter and you've only got a 1/3 chance to land that. Likewise the amount of damage is determined by either Int. or Pow. on attacks and target's Def. Most players i've talked to have their Garu visiting the hospital as a result of this battle. (to be continued.) 3.0 TRAITS______ BIG LUNG - Increases the force of breath attacks like Inferno. CAVE SEARCH - allows this monster to search those chimneys and tree stumps in the dungeon. DIRT SEARCH - allows this monster to search dirt piles in the dungeons. EAGLE EYES - see high-speed opponents and up accuracy. FIRE LORE - Ups Fire and Ice attack strength. Adds a Fire element to skills. FORESEE - Dodge rate increases but so does amount of damage from a successful attack. Which makes absolutely no sense but that's how its supposed to work. GENIUS - increases power of Int moves but makes the monster more vulnerable to Pow moves. GOLDEN FOOT - increases power of moves that use the feet like Somersault. GREAT TONGUE - increases damage from tongue attacks like Lick and i wonder if anyone at Tecmo realizes how silly that sounds. GREAT WING - increases damage from wing attacks like Flutter. HARD HEAD - increases damage from attacks like Head Butt. HARD SCALE - same as Hard Skin. HARD SHELL - same as Hard Skin. HARD SKIN - reduces damage but harder to dodge attacks. Heavy Armor is more of both. HEART LORE - Ups Heart power and adds Heart element to attacks. HEAVY ARMOR - reduces damage but harder to dodge attacks. HI POWER - Allows for easier increases of Pow. Yellow Antlan is the only one i've seen with it. HI RECOVERY - Decrease chance of injuries from K.O. HI SENCE - Allows for easier increases of Int. Blue Antlan is the only one i've seen with it. HI SPEED RIDE - While in dungeons you can ride this monster and get a decreased encounter rate. HIGH SEARCH - Monster can search trees, fountains, and other high places in the dungeon. HYPER BEAM - increases damage from beam attacks. IRON HEART - training hard doesn't tire the monster out as badly, they just get irritated or frustrated instead. KEEN FANG - Increases attack strength of bites. KING'S FIST - Increases power of moves that use the fists like Slap and Judo Chop. LUCKY STAR - Supposedly brings good fortune but i haven't seen any indication of this. MACHISMO - Increases strength of Pow moves but makes the monster more vulnerable to Int moves. MAGIC LORE - Increases Magic power and adds Magic to attacks. PHEROMONE - Increases power of moves that use charm like Fairy Kiss. POWER RIDE - You can ride your monster over dangerous obstacles like thorn barriers. Found in Golems. ROCK BODY - Same as Hard Armor. Found in Golems. SNIPER - increases attack moves that involve throwing or shooting like Smoke Bomb. SOFT BODY - decreases damage from punch or stab attacks. Found in Mocchi. SONIC NAIL - increases damage done by claw attacks like Wild Claw. STRONG HORN - increases damage of attacks done with the horn like Charge. SUPER WEAPON - increases damage of attacks done with the weapon like Midare. SWEET VOICE - increases damage from vocal attacks like Hawaiian, though why does that attack have that name? THICK FUR - identical to Heavy Scale, Hard Armor, and so on. THUNDER LORE - Increases the power of Thunder and Water, lets you add a Thunder element to an attack. WATER LORE - Increases the Water and Earth element powers. Attacks have Water element. WATER SEARCH - This monster can search lakes and rivers when found in a dungeon. WHIP TAIL - increases attack strength of tail attacks like Tail Slap. WIND LORE - Increases Wind & Fire elements. Adds Wind element to attacks. 4.0 ATTACKS: Attacks are grouped by overall type, sub-breeds don't have any variation. Damage is modified by various Traits (see 3.0 Traits) Attack: short/mid/far range; cost to pull off move, damage to target's life, damage to target's guts, critical hit rate, accuracy rate. The letter scores work the same way as monster grades. S,A,B,C,D,E. For example Golem's Atomic Punch is very effective to deal damage, but good luck trying to land an attack. ANTLAN____ Fire Punch; Mid, 17, Life C, Guts E, Crit E, Acc D Smoke Bomb; Short, 13, Life E, Guts E, Crit E, Acc C Scissors; Mid, 27, Life C, Guts E, Crit E, Acc D Whirlwind; Far, 32, Life E, Guts B, Crit D, Acc C X Blade; Short; 22, Life B, Guts D, Crit B, Acc C Punch Rush; Short; 25, Life C, Guts C, Crit E, Acc C Tail Sting; Mid; 32; Life B, GUts E, Crit E, Acc D Lightning; Far, 35, Life C, Guts C, Crit C, Acc D Crescent; Mid; 35, Life B, Guts E, Crit B, Acc D Meteor; Far, 49, Life C, Guts C, Crit C, Acc C DURAHAN____ Kick; Short, 17, Life D, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C Swing; Short, 14, Life C, Guts E, Crit E, Acc S Cut-in-Two; Mid, 20, Life A, Guts E, Crit D, Acc E Charge; Mid, 22, Life B, Guts E, Crit E, Acc B Turn Slash; Mid, 30, Life A, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C Midare; Short, 48, Life S, Guts D, Crit C, Acc A Air Shot; Far, 29, Life D, Guts C, Crit D, Acc A Gust; Mid, 32, Life A, Guts E, Crit S, Acc D Aura Slash; Far; 40, Life S, Guts E, Crit D, Acc D Gaea Sword; Far, 37, Life S, Guts D, Crit C, Acc D GARU_____ Wild Slash; Short, 14, Life D, Guts E, Crit E, Acc C Tornado; Mid, 24, Life E, Guts C, Crit D, Acc C Wild Bite; Short, 22, Life D, Guts E, Crit B, Acc C FireCharge; Far, 30, Life B, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C SuperClaw; Short, 24, Life A, Guts D, Crit D, Acc C Fire Kick; Mid, 31, Life B, Guts D, Crit E, Acc A Fire Upper; Mid, 28, Life C, Guts D, Crit B, Acc C Beam; Far, 32, Life E, Guts B, Crit E Acc A Wild Stomp; Mid, 38, Life C, Guts C, Crit S, Acc D Golden Arm; Far, 40, Life S, Guts D, Crit D, Acc C GOLEM__ Flick: Short; GUTS 10; Life D, Guts E, Crit B; Acc A Slap: Short; GUTS 16; Life C, Guts D, Crit C; Acc C Megaton Kick: Short; GUTS 20; Life A, Guts E, Crit D Acc E Fist Shot: Far; GUTS 24; Life A, Guts E, Crit A, Acc A Rock Attack: Mid; GUTS 27; Life B, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C Atomic Punch: Short; GUTS 32; Life S, Guts D, Crit B, Acc E Magnifist: Far; GUTS 24, Life D, Guts C, Crit D, Acc A Spin Punch: Mid; GUTS 48, Life C, Guts C, Crit C, Acc A Meteor: Far; GUTS 50; Life A, Guts C, Crit B, Acc:B MOCCHI:___ Slap; Short; GUTS 17; Life C, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C Hip Attack; Mid; GUTS 14; Life D, Guts E, Crit E, Acc S Licking; Short, 20, Life B, Guts E, Crit D, Acc D Stretch; Mid, 22, Life D, Guts E, Crit E, Acc C Kororon; Far, 30, Life A, Guts E, Crit D, Acc C Head Butt; Short, 48, Life A, Guts D, Crit C, Acc D Mocchi Bullet; Far, 29, Life D, Guts E, Crit D, Acc A PetalWhirl; Mid, 32, Life B, Guts E, Crit S, Acc D Gotcha; Short; 40, Life A, Guts C, Crit D, Acc D PIXIE__ Somersault; short, 10, Life C, Guts D, Crit E, Acc A Ray Cast; short, 13, Life E, Guts D, Crit B, Acc C WindyLance; mid, 24, Life B, Guts D, Crit C, Acc D Starlight; far, 25, Life D, Guts C, Crit D, Acc C FairyDust; mid, 42, Life D, Guts B, Crit E, Acc C Star Shower; far, 50, Life A, Gus D, Crit D, Acc D Milkyway; mid; 32, Life D, Guts A, Crit E, Acc D HealRing; far; 55, Life E, Guts E, Crit E, Acc E SilkyDance; Short, 28, Life E, Guts B, Crit E, Acc C Fairy Kiss; Short, 17, Life E, Guts A, Crit E, Acc D SUZURIN__ (Bell-type) Pokorin; short, 10, Life D, Guts D, Crit D, Acc A Pokkorin; short, 20, Life A, Guts E, Crit E, Acc D LinLinHat; short, 24, Life B, Guts C, Crit E, Acc A Aim Hit; Mid, 12, Life E, Guts D, Crit D, Acc A Hat Attack; Short, 40, Life A, Guts B, Crit C, Acc D Aim Boom; Far, 32, Life A, Guts E, Crit E, Acc D Dizzy; Mid; 26, Life D, Guts A, Crit E, Acc D RingX3; Far; 32, Life E, Guts S, Crit D, Acc C Share Pain; Far; 58, Life S, Guts A, Crit E, Acc D ZUUM__ (Lizard) Tail Whip; Short, 19, Life D, Guts E, Crit E, Acc B Tackle; Mid; 23, Life C, Guts E, Crit D, Acc D Fireball; Far; 26, Life D, Guts D, Crit E, Acc C Jump Kick; Short; 22, Life C, Guts D, Crit B, Acc D Tail Slap; Far, 38, Life B, Guts D, Crit C, Acc C Charge; Mid or Far, 50, Life A, Guts E, Crit D, Acc B Tear Bite; Short; 38, Life A, Guts D, Crit C, Acc D Break Shot; Short, 42, Life A, Guts B, Crit D, Acc B Spin Tail; Mid; 33, Life B, Guts E, Crit D, Acc S 5.0 TRAINING GADGETS__ Basically exercise equipment, though in the game they're powered by "geonyte" which figures into the first quest. The basic level 2 equipment is easy to come across within Togle Caverns. Finding level 3 is much more spotty. AID KIT - Effect. monsters recover from injury or illness faster. ARTEMIS STA - Focus increases when monster trains within the 3x3 radius of the statue. BOOK - Level 2. doubles Int. increase rate, doubles tiredness rate and decreases fullness. FLYING TARGET - Level 3. doubles Acc. increase rate. -1 on Lif. Double decrease in Tiredness and Fullness. LIFE BLADE - Level 2. Doubles Lif. increase rate, doubles tiredness and decreases fullness. PHONOGRAPH- Level 4. Triples Int. increase rate. Adds Lif. Decreases Def. Increases Tiredness and decreases fullness rate x3. PITCHING MAC- Level 3. Doubles Spd. increase, decreases Pow. Fatigue x2. Fullness -2. ROCK - Level 3. doubles Pow. increase rate, -1 to Def. high decrease on Tired and Fullness. RODEO - Level 3. double Lif. increase, -1 to Int. and -2 to Fullness and Tiredness. SANDBAG - Level 2. doubles Pow. increase rate, doubles tiredness rate and decreases fullness. STONEHENGE - Level 3. doubles Int. increase rate, -1 to Spd. -2 in both Tired and Fullness. TARGET - Level 2. doubles Acc. increase rate, doubles tiredness rate and decreases fullness. THUNDER MAC - Level 4. Triples Spd. and increases Int. Decreases Acc. Tired x3 Fullness lowered x3. TRAMPOLINE - Level 2. doubles Spd. increase rate, doubles tiredness rate and decreases fullness. TUB - Level 2. doubles Def. increase rate. Doubles tiredness rate and decreases fullness. WONDER WELL - Effect. Lowers stress level of monsters. HEALING ________. As the original training gadget but it also reduces the monster's stress. INTENSE ________. As the original object but the item also increases focus. LUCKY __________. As the monster trains, money is generated. MAGIC __________. As the original object but the magic increases the effect. APPENDIX: Monsters Unleashed. Note that some monsters have stronger stats and attacks if you take them fresh from the DVD/CD as opposed to their book stats. PS Final Fantasy VII#1 = Mocchimonk (Golem/Mocchi) Final Fantasy VIII#1 = MocchiMonk (Golem/Mocchi) Final Fantasy IX #1 = Moose (Garu/Hare) Final Fantasy IX #2 = Munitan Final Fantasy IX #3 = Sueko (Pixie/Suezo) Final Fantasy IX #4 = BakuRoller (Roller) Monster Rancher 2 = Devi (Mocchi/?) Ogre Battle = Eared Mew (Mew/Hare) Spyro:Yr of the dragon = SanzinCho (Pancho) Xcom Ufo Defense = ArmorCho (Pancho) PS2 Ape Escape 2 = Piyo Ape (Ape/?) Arc the Lad:Twilight = Fairy Hare (Hare/Pixie) Dead Or Alive:Hardcore = Kasumi (Pixie/?) Dragonball Budokai = Goku (Garu/?) Fatal Frame = Miku (Pixie/?) Final Fantasy X = Nightsickle (Ripper/?) Final Fantasy X-2 = Mogi Ico = Anquiloden (Raiden/Dillo) LOTR:2 Towers = Mogi Kingdom Hearts = Dolaine (Atlan/?) Monster Rancher 4 = Atlan Ranger (3 kinds) OPM Demo Disc 10/2003 = Jell (Jell/Jell) OPM Demo Disc 12/2003 = Garu (Garu/Garu) Dreamcast Skies of Arcadia = sealed (Mocchi/Hare) Record of Lodoss War = Henger Evolution = DarkCell (Jell/Joker) DVD Big O, volumn 1 = Queen Roller (Roller/Ogyo) Big O, volumn 2 = AlohaSaurian (Zuum/Plant) Chobits #1 = Ripperslime (Jell/Plant) Detonator Orgun = Jell Dual vol 3 = Haktak (Naga) Dual vol 4 = Ryulon (Ryuon) Fellowship/Ring extnd #1= Pancho Fellowship/Ring extnd #2= Moose (Garu/Hare) Fellowship/Ring extnd #3= Rhinotank Fellowship/Ring extnd #4= Koroball Finding Nemo disc 2 = Mischief (Pixie/Ducken) Gatekeepers vol 1 = Freebird (Mogi/Raiden) Gatekeepers vol 2 = MochiPlant Gatekeepers vol 3 = KoronCho (Pancho) Ghostbreakers = MumMew (Mew/Pixie) Phantom Quest Corp = SuzuriCho (Pancho) Pilot Candidate vol 1 = Zabel (Garu/Zan) Pirates of the Carib (1) = (Mocchi/Tiger) Pirates of the Carib (2) = (Mocchi/Ducken) Princess Nine:1st Inng = Mogi Princess Nine:Dble Hdr = Rhinotank Star Wars II flscrn #1 = Ripperslime Star Wars II flscrn #2 = Rhinotank Terminator 3, disc 1 = Green Suezo (Suezo/Plant) Terminator 3, disc 2 = Rubberabby (Hare/Koro) Two Towers fullscreen #1= Joker Two Towers fullscreen #2= Chaos Durahan (Durahan/?) Vandread: Enemy Engaged = Owlbeard (Dragon/Raiden) Vandread2: Survival = Suezo Vandread2: Sacrifice = PanQuiche (Mogi/Garu) Vandread2: Revelations = Mogi Vandread2: Final Asslt = Joker Xmen 2 disc 1 = Henger Xmen 2 disc 2 = Henger CD Abbot & Costello:Who's on = Pod Dog (Tiger/Henger) Ayako Lister:Japanese Koto= Shidao (Garu) Bach's Greatest Hits = Plauna (Ogyo) Bananarama: Greatest Hits = Salamander (Zuum) Bond: Shine = RedHotBaku (Baku/Dragon) Brooks & Dunn:Greatest Hit= locked Doctor Demento: Very Best = Zuum Fleetwood Mac: Rumors = Jelaydon (Beetle/Shin) Karen Ashbrook:Hills Erinn= Eval (Antlan/Shin) Lynrd Skynrd: All Time Grt= Pixie (Pixie/Pixie) Megumi Hayashibara:Bertemu= MiniOgreKoro Monty Python Insnt Rec Col= Aero (Pixie/Tiger) Stray Cats: Best of = locked (Raiden/Garu) Transiber Orchestra:Attic = Jet (Gitan/Shin) Weird Al: Greatest Hits 2 = Mew HIDDEN MONSTER: Take one of the Atlan Rangers (produced off the MR4 disc) and combine with a Chaos Durahan and you'll get the Dark Ranger. Special monsters: There are certain monsters you cannot make through combinations and must get through discs. They usually have a unique look, relating to the disc they have been spawned from. Name Type Media Disc Ambush Henger/??? DVD AI: Artificial Intelligence ChaosDurahan Durahan/??? DVD Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (Special Features Disc) ComedyKoro KoroPendora/??? DVD Simpsons Season 1 (Disc 1) Devi Mocchi/??? PlayStation game Monster Rancher 2 Dino Zuum/??? PlayStation game Monster Rancher 1 Dolaine Antlan/??? PlayStation2 game Kingdom Hearts Drividillo Madillo/??? PlayStation2 game Midnight Club 2 Drividillo Madillo/??? PlayStation2 game Gran Turismo 3 FakeGraffiti Zan/??? DVD The Simpsons Season 2 (Disc 1) Goku Garu/??? PlayStation2 game Dragon Ball Z Budokai GuanYuDuck Ducken/??? PlayStation2 game Grand Theft Auto 3 Guanyuduck Ducken/??? PlayStation2 game Grand Theft Auto Vice City HipMew Mew/??? DVD Cowboy Bebop: The Movie Joker Joker/Joker CD Silent Hill 3 soundtrack Kagemusha Duran/??? PlayStation2 game Omnimusha 2 Kasumi Pixies/??? PlayStation2 game Kasumi Miku Pixe/??? PlayStation2 game Fatal Frame MushTan Plant/??? PC game Most computer games Nightsickle Ripper/??? PlayStation2 game Final Fantasy 10 Kirin Zumm/??? PlayStation2 game Dynasty Warriors 4 PandiBaku Baku/??? DVD Shrek (Disc 1) Phoenix DVD Dragon Ball Z Majun Buu- Defiance White Mocchi Mocchi/??? DVD Ice Age