Chapter 1: Stormy Beach

The sound of a raging storm can be heard as well as some talking. It'll then show some pretty sweet scenery.

The opening does look pretty cool. There's some nice cinematics in the game, actually.

After the storm, it will show you — as the Pokemon you have become — on a beach, nearly passed out.

Uh oh! That doesn't look good!

It will then shift over to your Partner Pokemon, at the Pokemon Guild, nervously approaching it and showing a rock that seems to have some sort of significance. Your partner will then leave, and it will show Koffing and Zubat talking amongst themselves for a bit, and then heading after your Partner.

Looks like there could be some trouble brewing...

On the beach, you'll see some Krabbys blowing bubbles as your Partner shows up. Your Partner will talk to itself for a little bit, and will then notice you passed out on the beach. It will run over to you to see if you are alright, and you will then have that surprising realization that you are now a Pokemon! Oh boy!

You're a Pokemon! And you're talking to a Pokemon!

Your Partner Pokemon will ask for your name, and similarly to when you got to name your Partner, you will have to give yourself a name. The same rules apply: 5 characters total, and you can use English letters if you select ABC.

I know what my name is... what about you?

After inputting your name, Koffing and Zubat will show up and then bump into your Partner, knocking the rock out of its grasp and then taking it for themselves.

Give that back!

They'll then run off, and your Partner will ask if you will help get the rock back. Answer yes, and then you will head off to the first dungeon of the game in pursuit of them.

Beach Cave

Your first dungeon: Beach Cave

If you've played the previous Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, you should be able to figure things out pretty quickly. If this is your first time playing a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, well, why you got the game in Japanese is beyond me, but the controls can be found here in case you don't know what button does what.

Now you are inside of a dungeon and ready for action!

Your goal is to find these stairs and then take them down (or up) to the final floor of the dungeon.

You might pick up some Poke while in here, which is the currency used in the game. Poke look like coins with a P on them. There also may be a scattered Oran Berry or two, which look like a blue berry and will be held by your Pokemon if they touch them. You can use the Oran Berries to restore HP, or if they're held, they'll be used automatically when your Pokemon is close to fainting.

The Pokemon here — which consist of Shellos (Blue), Corsola, and Kabuto — aren't very tough at all. Their attacks should only deal 1 or 2 points of damage to you, so you should be able to practice against them without much worry. Both Corsola and Kabuto are resistant to Normal-type attacks like Tackle, Scratch, and Pound, but those attacks will still do more damage than your Basic Attack and you'll get extra EXP for using them. Try to use those attacks throughout the dungeon, although make sure to leave at least 6 PP left in the attack for the fight in B5F.

It is good to set attacks so you can execute them quickly by holding in L and pressing A. Press Select to set an attack while in the Attacks part of the Menu.

Using attacks rather than just your Basic Attack is a good way to do extra damage and get more EXP, but each attack has only a certain number of uses before you can't use it for the rest of the dungeon.

It's certainly not required to level up at this point, but getting your team up to level 7 is a good goal before getting to B5F to help make the fight down there easier. It's not too bad, though, so don't worry about it if you just want to race through the dungeon.

As it's been said, there are a total of 5 floors here, with the 5th floor being one with a scene in it so no exploring is involved.

When you get to the bottom floor, you'll find Koffing and Zubat down there with no means of escape.

Now we've got you cornered!

After some dialogue, you'll enter your first Boss Battle against Koffing and Zubat!

Boss Battles are new and exciting! Plus the music is a snazzy remix of the Boss Battle theme from the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.

They have about 20 HP each, and should go down in one or two attacks. If your Pokemon has Growl, use that on the first turn while they approach you; otherwise, just stand your ground and let them come to you, otherwise they'll get in a free attack on you.

You can target either of the two Poison-type Pokemon first. Even at level 5, they shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Zubat has Leech Life, which does about 5 - 8 damage (more if the target is a Grass-type Pokemon), and will heal Zubat by a bit as well. Koffing can hit for about 10 damage, although it won't do that too often, and even that isn't too unreasonable.

Koffing and Zubat aren't too tough, don't worry.

After beating them, they'll give your Partner the rock back and will then flee.

You'll then be back on the beach with your grateful Partner, who will say a bunch of stuff and then show you the rock up close.

Hey, that there! That's a cool rock!

A bit later through the dialogue, your Partner will ask you if you want to join an Exploration Team, and you will have the option of saying either Join Exploration Team or Refuse. Think reeeaaaallly hard about this one! (If you refuse, you'll be forced into it anyway.)

After agreeing, your Partner will be happy, and then you'll both give a cheer.

Woohoo!

The scene will then fade away, and you'll be presented with a snazzy cool intro title screen thing, followed by being asked if you'd like to save your game.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Time Exploration Team!