A Close Look at Zero Isle

Introduction

So you have beaten Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness, Time or Sky, and you then find yourself unsure what to do next in the game? Zero Isle is the place to go! While you certainly do feel like a boss after you have saved the world from the corrupted "Primal Dialga" and the crumpling Temporal Tower or Darkrai's cunning plot to create a world of perpetual darkness, nothing makes you feel like a real Mystery Dungeon pro than completing the extremely hard dungeons in Zero Isle. In this article you will be more informed about the enigmatic and mysterious Zero Isle, and you will also receive some tips on how to beat the different dungeons so you can get the treasure at the end and, more importantly, brag to your fellow friends and Smogonites.

The 5 Dungeons of Zero Isle

Zero Isle, being the legendary place that it is, has 4 separate mystery dungeons: north, south, east, and west. Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky also has a 5th part of Zero Isle: the centre. All of these dungeons are exceptionally harder to finish than an average one because they all have certain conditions which make them harder to play.

Zero Isle North - This part of Zero Isle has 75 floors! This makes it a very long mystery dungeon when you compare it to some of the storyline mystery dungeons, such as Concealed Ruins (30 floors) and Mt. Travail (20 floors). The good thing about this part of Zero Isle is that it has no restriction on the party Pokemon's level; however, I highly recommend training your Pokemon up or using Joy Seeds and Golden Seeds to boost their level because, while the Pokemon in Zero Isle North start off at around level 50+, they can end up as high as 90 once you delve deeper into the mysterious and unpredictable dungeon. Additionally, the Pokemon you use can not gain experience points, which makes it extremely hard to beat the dungeon unless your Pokemon are at a seriously high level.

Zero Isle East - This mystery dungeon has a very unique set of rules that are like none other in the Mystery Dungeon games (except Zero Isle West). All of your Pokemon's levels are dropped to level 1 until you leave the dungeon and you are only allowed to carry 16 items, so use your item slots carefully! Don't worry, unlike Zero Isle North, this mystery dungeon has 40 floors—which, don't get me wrong, is still a lot, but is much less than the whopping 75 that its northerly cousin has. It is also possible to get experience points, so battling a lot of wild Pokemon is recommended so you can start strengthening your level 1 Pokemon.

Zero Isle South - This mystery dungeon would have to be the single hardest one ever created, and anyone who is able to beat it deserves to be praised endlessly. Firstly, you start off at level 1 just like Zero Isle West and East. However, what makes this part of Zero Isle a serious challenge is the fact that you are not allowed to bring in any items, Poke (money), or teammates, and that it has 99 floors! During the later floors, wild Pokemon can have their level as high as 98, which is very painful to face considering that you have to start the dungeon at level 1. Zero Isle South could quite possibly be the hardest challenge to beat in any Pokemon game, and it demands a very high level of skill to complete.

Zero Isle West - The west side of Zero Isle is almost identical to the east in that you have to start off level 1 and grind your way through 40 floors. The main way that these dungeons differ is that Zero Isle West doesn't allow the player to bring in any items. This makes Zero Isle West quite difficult to beat and you will surely be missing the Reviver Seeds you would absolutely love to have in your treasure bag. Another noteworthy characteristic of Zero Isle West is that Castform, oddly enough, can appear on any floor except the last one.

Zero Isle Centre - This mystery dungeon is only available in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, but like all other dungeons in Zero Isle, it doesn't fail in making a player bring out their skill. Zero Isle Centre has no limit on the party Pokemon's level, and the Pokemon traveling within it cannot gain experience points, much like Zero Isle North. However, it does differ from Zero Isle North, as the Pokemon in the dungeon are a much higher level with pretty much all of them being in the 90s and a lot of them being 99. If it makes you feel a bit better, there are known to be level 5 Togepi and Clefairy that frolic around in Zero Isle Centre that are really a treat to KO. The dungeon also has 50 floors, which is high, but at least it's not something like...I don't know...99?

Tips to Help You!

Moves - The proper choice of moves for your Pokemon can really help you have an easier time in these dungeons. Firstly, moves that hit all enemy Pokemon in a room, such as Silver Wind, Blizzard, Earth Power, etc. are very good to have. They are really useful when a lot of enemies are crowding you in one room, and are also a very good help against "monster houses," which are otherwise almost impossible to beat. Given the way that turns work in the Mystery Dungeon series, moves that boost Speed are really good because they give you two turns in a row. The best of these moves is Agility, which has great distribution and not only boosts the user's Speed, but all of the other Pokemon in your team's Speed as well! Finally, moves that you can fire off at long range are quite useful because, if your opponent doesn't carry a long range move itself, it will be unable to attack back until they are close enough, giving you a free attack or two. These moves include Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and BubbleBeam.

Items - Good use of items is another thing that can help you beat Zero Isle. For the dungeons where you are permitted to bring in items, Reviver Seeds are probably the best item and you should have a plentiful supply of them, because they revive your Pokemon or teammates when they faint. You should also have a few Apples or Big Apples so you can prevent your Pokemon from fainting due to hunger. Usually, there are quite a few Apples lying around in dungeon floors, so you don't have to bring too much with you, but it's still a good idea to bring 2 or 3. Max Elixirs are pretty handy so you can regain lost PP on your Pokemon and your teammates' moves. Like Apples, you can usually find a few of these on the floors of Zero Isle.

What to Watch Out For - Monster houses are the main thing that you have to watch out for. A lot of times, you could be doing very well in a dungeon when a monster house comes up and you find yourself with no Reviver Seeds left and a fainted team. In case you are lucky enough to have never encountered one of these, a monster house can occur at any time, and it involves a lot of wild Pokemon dropping down from the sky in a room. The number of Pokemon that drop down is enough to easily overwhelm any player that isn't ready for it; that's why having moves that hit all enemies in a room is amazing to have because not only does it make monster houses easier to deal with, but the number of Pokemon you KO will give you heaps of experience points. If you find an item like Foe-Hold Orb, which inflicts all enemies on the floor with a petrified status, it would probably be a good idea to keep it just in case you come across a monster house, because it will make the monster house much more manageable. Kecleon are also another thing worthy of looking out for, because some Kecleon have very useful items you can buy off them. I am warning you: do not try and rob the Kecleon! Trust me, he will KO your whole team. You may also find some mysterious locked doors in some floors of Zero Isle. If you are lucky enough to find a Key on the floor it would be a good idea to keep ahold of it, because they can unlock locked doors for you, revealing lots of cool items.

Conclusion

There you have it! I have hopefully informed you about Zero Isle or at least improved your knowledge about it. I hope this article gives you the tools you need to conquer Zero Isle so you can feel like a real Mystery Dungeon professional and, of course, brag about your achievements to your friends.

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