Darth Wiki / Tales Of Mystrica

Have you ever wanted to live in a virtual world? Where the natural laws are relaxed a bit, but otherwise it feels just like real-world Earth, albeit more whimsical. This world, called Mystrica, features lots of themed towns and other places to explore, each of which is inhabited by quirky creatures. Additionally, there are other more "civilized" creatures called Mystripets, which can be kept as pets. Mystripets make great travel companions, and can protect you from any danger with their unique powers. Come participate in the revolutionary MMORPG that breaks the boundaries of a screen!

The above is an advertisement for the virtual world of Mystrica. Sounds like a cool place, right? Ah, but there is a little problem. Just recently, a mysterious virus took over Virtualmon, a special creature designated keeper of all Mystrica's administrative data. Since then, all non-Mystripet creatures have been less than friendly, wreaking havoc all around Mystrica. To make things worse, inhabitants suffered the worst fate you can face in a virtual world: being trapped inside it, with no hope of escaping to the real world.

In response to this, Vi Willow, the brilliant inventor who created Mystrica, asked the five Elemental Goddesses for help in protecting Mystrica. In response, they procured five keys, each one containing a piece of their power. These keys had a mind of their own - they appeared in the hands of five individuals, destined to be the guardians of Mystrica.

However, when the Techno Mafia, Mystrica's organized crime syndicate, heard about the Elemental Keys, they wanted to take them for themselves, using the Goddesses' power to take complete control of Mystrica. To do this, they sent fighter robots out into Mystrica, programmed to respond to an Elemental Key. To beef up their defenses, they artificially enhanced some Mystripets to make them even stronger. Already, they have succeeded in stealing one of the keys - the Spirit Key.

But there is hope - and it lies with the fairies that also inhabit Mystrica. Being Mystrica's helpers, they are said to be responsible for instilling a powerful magic inside several locations throughout Mystrica. For years this magic has remained elusive, a secret shared by the fairies and the Elemental Goddesses. Now the Elemental Guardians must harness this magic to purify Virtualmon and restore peace to Mystrica, while preventing the Techno Mafia from obtaining all the Elemental Keys.

...Gee, this sounds like the plot of one of those RPG video games, doesn't it? And if it is, the Elemental Guardians are the heroes of this "game".

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Basically, this unwritten story by troper Lady Tanuki pays homage to Eastern RPG Mon games, offering a more realistic take on the matter. (And who knows, maybe it will be developed into an actual video game someday - for now it's more like a book.) This means there will be nods to RPG elements such as Random Encounters, inns with healing services, and epic Boss Battles. Since this is a Mon game, the Guardians will also have to bond with and train up their Mystripets to fight the evil forces taking over Mystrica.

The story itself will be rather complex and heavily character-driven, each character having their own conflict or motivation. If this were a video game, there would be ten playable ("primary") characters: the five Elemental Guardians, and all five members of a benevolent thieving gang called the Black Cat Bandits, whose goal is to stop the Techno Mafia from taking over Mystrica. There are also a few "secondary" characters who play important roles, including Mystrica creator Vi Willow and the leader of the Techno Mafia.

The written version of this story will contain references to a Pet List, which describes some characteristics of each Mystripet, along with a "Mystripet Tracker" for each of the characters, showing the status of their Mystripets during their journeys. The characters will usually be in groups of four or less; in the video game, a party has a maximum of four members. The video game's story progresses in quests, some of which require specific characters, and some where you get to assign whichever characters you want to two or three simultaneous quests. Secondary characters sometimes accompany the primary characters, having Mystripet teams of their own.

The Mechanics of Mystripets

Mystripets are kind of in between Pokémon and Digimon. (Appropriately enough, this story is the result of a fusion of a Pokemon fanfic and a Digimon fanfic.) Characteristics of Mystripets are as follows:

• Like Digimon (and unlike Pokemon), they are perfectly capable of speaking human language.
• They are classified into Elements, which function like Pokemon types. A Mystripet can have one or two elements.
  • Mystripet attacks are also classified into elements, but they have only one (though some of them do side damage of another element). Like in Pokemon, a Mystripet gets a power boost for attacks of its own element.
    • Unlike Pokemon, Mystripets cannot forget attacks they learn by leveling up. However, they can only remember five tutored moves (these are usually taught by faeries) at a time.
  • There are a total of 14 Elements: Normal, Energy, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit, Thunder, Ice, Plant, Metal, Poison, Darkness, and Light. Like in Pokemon, there is an intricate system of Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors in effect, and if a Mystripet has two Elements, the damage modifiers are multiplied together.
• Mystripets also have a Class, which shows what type of creature they are. Each Class offers a special ability that affects the pet's battle performance, and some attacks only target specific classes. The classes are as follows:
  • Fiend: The "miscellaneous" class for pets that do not belong in any other class. Fiends get an Agility boost whenever their Offense or Defense is lowered.
  • Beast: Mystripets that resemble wild, often four-legged, animals. Beasts get an Offense boost whenever they have a status problem.
  • Cherub: Mystripets with a cutesy or angelic look. When a Cherub is hit by a Melee attack, they sometimes lower the foe's Offense.
  • Reptile: Mystripets resembling real-life reptiles, including dinosaurs. Reptiles cannot be Stunned. They get a Defense boost while frozen, but have all their stats lowered while burned.
  • Dragon: Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Dragons have a higher critical-hit rate than normal, but are more likely to hurt themselves while possessed.
  • Bug: Mystripets based on insects and other arthropods. Bugs have higher accuracy than normal, and self-cure after two turns of being frozen or burned. However, these ailments lower their Defense.
  • Fairy: Fairy-like Mystripets, not to be confused with actual fairies (though the fairies themselves are always this class). They get a slight Magic boost in battle and are immune to Magic-lowering Effect attacks, but take double the usual damage from Metal attacks.
  • Toy: Mystripets resembling toys or other non-machine contraptions. Toys have higher-than-normal evasiveness and take less damage from poisoning, but take more damage from Magic attacks.
  • Machine: Mechanical pets. Machines are immune to all non-Thunder Magic.
  • Bird: Mystripets that resemble birds, whether or not they fly. Birds overcome status problems more easily than other Mystripets.
  • Ghost: Ghostly Mystripets are immune to all Melee attacks, unless they come from another ghost.
  • Mote: Motes are usually either blob-like or based off an elemental essence. When they are hit by an attack of their own element, their own attacks of that element get a power boost.
  • Android: Human-like Mystripets. Negative stat changes will only last three turns on androids.
  • Flower: Also includes mushrooms. They take more damage from Ranged attacks, in exchange for a greater power boost of attacks of their own element.
  • Sea Creature: All sea-dwelling Mystripets. Sea creatures will absorb all Water attacks, which instead restore some of their HP.
  • Mineral: Mystripets made of rock. Mineral pets get a Defense boost whenever they are hit by an attack of an element they are resistant or immune to.
  • Undead: Demonic or zombie-like Mystripets. If Undead pets are KO'd by a Melee attack, they will re-materialize at full HP (but not PP). Healing moves will not work on them, instead causing damage.
  • Relic: Mystripets that resemble ordinary non-toy objects. Relics are unaffected by secondary effects of non-Magic attacks.
• Most Mystripets are part of an evolutionary "family" consisting of multiple stages. When a Mystripet Digimorphs (advances to the next stage), it becomes a new species and may lose or gain a few attacks, and also has higher stats than before. One a Mystripet Digimorphs, it cannot go back to a previous stage.
  • Some Mystripet families branch out, meaning one member will Digimorph into one of two or several Mystripets, depending on certain conditions. Yet a few others do not Digimorph at all.
• Each species of Mystripet has a set of base stats, which is the value of stats at level 1. The stats are HP, Offense (3 types), Defense, Will, and Agility.
  • Each Mystripet also has a certain number of Power Points, or PP. This is the amount of "energy" a Mystripet has for using attacks. Unlike in Pokemon, PP is shared among all attacks, each attack costing a certain amount of PP.
• Mystripets gain stat boosts upon leveling up. The maximum level a Mystripet can achieve is 64.

• Mystripets have a set of attacks that they can learn, and this may change slightly when they Digimorph. Each attack is learned when the Mystripet reaches a certain level, just like in Pokemon. Attacks are divided into General or Specialty:
  • General attacks are regular ol' attacks learned by quite a few Mystripets.
  • Specialty attacks are unique to a Mystripet or family. These can be learned by leveling up, immediately upon Digimorphing, or taught by a fairy.
• In addition to Element, each attack has a type. There are five types of attacks: Melee, Ranged, Magic, Healing, and Effect.
• Effect attacks don't do any damage, but they have other effects, like altering stats or causing status problems.
• Healing attacks recover HP and/or PP, remove status problems, or revive defeated Mystripets.
• Melee, Ranged, and Magic attacks do damage, and each of these types correspond to separate Offense stats. Each Mystripet species has different base amounts of each Offense stat. Defense reduces damage from Melee or Ranged attacks, while Will reduces damage from Magic attacks. Again, each Mystripet species has different amounts of Defense and Will.
• Additionally, each Mystripet has a "default attack" that costs no PP, but is rather weak. The element and offense type of the attack varies by Mystripet class.

Creature Types

• Kept Mystripets: Mystripets owned by people in Mystrica (called "keepers"). Occasionally throughout the game, particularly in areas like Bonding Park and the Mystripet Battle Tournament, the characters find themselves in a battle with other Keepers. In the video game, a rival Keeper has 1-3 Mystripets, typically sent out either all at once or one by one. Just like Pokemon trainers, these Keepers give out a monetary reward upon defeat (video game only).

• Enhanced Mystripets: Mystripets that have been modified by the Techno Mafia. These Mystripets are stronger than their normal counterparts, often displaying unusual abilities as well. However, the Techno Mafia has not found a way to change a Mystripet's Element(s) or Class, so these are always the same as the original species. Some Techno Mobsters have a normal Mystripet or two in addition to the enhanced ones, but others, like head boss Shin, have an entirely enhanced team.

• Rebel Mystripets: These are rogue Mystripets who do not want a Keeper. To show their spite for the way Kept Mystripets live, they attack any Keeper they come across. Most magic spots have at least one kind of rebel Mystripet wandering around in addition to other enemies. Like Kept Mystripets, they may attack alone or in groups.

• T-Bots: Robots programmed by the Techno Mafia to search for and obtain the Elemental Keys. All Robots are Machine class, and while most of them are Metal-element, there are T-bots of other elements as well. Each T-Bot is characterized by a 2-digit number indicating its skill level. Skill level increases with the first digit of the number; the last digit indicates a different variety of robot under said skill level.

• V-Bots: These robots were originally developed by Vi Willow, acting as a mobile police force of sorts all over Mystrica. However, after the lockdown, some of these V-Bots have become corrupt and prone to attack. Like T-Bots, they are all Machine class and have a single Element, although they are more likely to have a non-Metal Element, indicated by a letter in their name. They also have a number which corresponds to their skill level. Vi Willow herself keeps a special V-Bot as a "pet" - the adaptable and element-fluid V-Zero-X.

• Regular Enemies: These are special creatures that lack the intelligence and other programming required for being a Mystripet. (They can't even have two Elements.) Scattered around Mystrica, particularly in uninhabited areas, they seem to serve no purpose other than to provide atmosphere and serve as punching bags for Mystripets. Similarly to Pokemon, they can only speak one word - though rather than their name, it's an onomatopoeic two-syllable word of some sort.

Primary Characters

The Elemental Guardians

Phoebe: The Elemental Guardian of Air. An all-American fun-loving cowgirl type used to the rural life, this ten-year-old is the youngest of the Guardians and also the newest to Mystrica. The lockdown of Mystrica happened while Phoebe was on a school trip there, meaning she and her classmates were trapped there and separated from their families. While she has a habit of complaining about stuff, she is energetic and has a definite Sweet Tooth, and is always ready for adventure.

• Adorably Precocious Child: She's practically forced into this, being around lots of older characters and getting accidentally involved in many adult matters.
• All Girls Like Ponies: At least she does, anyway. Justified, since her family back in the real world owns a horse. Her first regular Mystripet is even based off of a pony.
• Prophetic Name: A phoebe is a type of bird. Birds (usually) fly. Guess what element Phoebe ends up as the Guardian of.
• Rhymes on a Dime: Fooly, Phoebe's Cloonie, does this all the time... justified since she's a clown.
• The Watson: Being a newcomer to the world of Mystrica, she naturally asks a lot of questions the audience would be wondering about as well.

Gon: The Elemental Guardian of Fire. Originally from Japan, he and his family moved to Mystrica soon after it was launched. This meek computer geek is well-known for his just-out-of-bed appearance, sense of humor that is sometimes good and sometimes not, and casual manner of speaking. At the time the story starts, his little sister Ari has just gone missing, and he is determined to find her throughout the adventure.

• Butt-Monkey: He provides comic relief throughout the story, often by acting awkwardly surprised at odd things happening. Also, if a T-Bot or some other enemy attacks, chances are good that he'll launch the first attack and get immediately retaliated against by said enemy, often accompanied by his Mystripet flying right into his face. There's also a notable moment in Harbora when he gets punched by a cranky pirate for no reason, followed by a "why me" remark.
• Friend to Bugs: The first Mystripet he gets is a bug, his favourite animal is the dragonfly, and quite a few of his Mystripet choices in the video game version are also bugs.
• Hero-Worshipper: He has a tendency to excitedly praise the other protagonists whenever they do or say something cool.
• Mr. Exposition: Whenever the Guardians enter a new place or encounter a new enemy or Mystripet, Gon has a habit of explaining details about it, sometimes with the aid of the web feature of his Scanner. Occasionally Yamiko or Ashleigh will play this role as well, particularly in their hometowns (Mayville and Talmiroc, respectively).
• The Pollyanna: He acts awfully cheerful for someone whose little sister has been captured by the Big Bad.

Yamiko: The Elemental Guardian of Water. This shy teen with an innocent and girly fashion sense lives a tumultuous existence, plagued with intense mood swings and tendency to frequently get sick. These are thought to come from a curse cast upon her by her great-grandmother, which she can overcome by defeating her ghost in a battle. She also is stuck in a Love Triangle, which drives most of her sub-plot.

• Beware the Quiet Ones: She's the quiet and reclusive one among the Elemental Guardians... until she's provoked into a fight or someone insults her father.
• Combat Sadomasochist: Lorraine, her Sinistress, definitely qualifies. In battle, she prefers to slowly cause as much pain as possible to the opponent, and has a habit of laughing when hit by an attack.
• Consummate Liar: She better be, for she practically relies on her lying skills to keep her relationship with Lupin a secret to all non-Black Cat Bandits, especially Remy.
• Cute Ghost Girl: Lorraine. Complete with a sweet and melodic voice. Kind of unsettling given her sadistic personality.
• Meaningful Name: Her name is Japanese for "child of darkness". While she ends up with only one Darkness-element Mystripet (and that's only at her third stage), the name does fit with her Dark and Troubled Past, the most painful of moments occurring when she was a child.
• Paint It Black: Inverted; she was born with black hair, and was shy and moody as a child. When she grew older and her personality turned darker, she dyed her hair crimson. This is especially symbolic in that when she takes her hat off (the hat itself representing her confusing identity), one can see the black roots of her hair... meaning the shy and moody version of herself is exposed.
• Pimped-Out Dress: As it is a staple of Elegant Gothic Lolita, this is to be expected; hers is of the short purple and black and frilly variety that shows a tiny bit of thigh on top of her stockings, with the top half frequently being covered by an equally frilly thick shawl.

Ashleigh: The Elemental Guardian of Earth. This young-ish woman is the oldest of the Guardians, acting as the mature Team Mom of the group. Serious and conservative, she tends to interpret things through a pretty narrow mindset, closely following her Catholic faith. She is a musician who used to perform at a church, and thus takes on the important role of "recording" the hidden magic of Mystrica in the form of a song.

• Born in the Wrong Century: She has hints of this, given her old-fashioned and modest fashion sense, and her polite and conservative nature. She would have fit in quite well in Western society around the turn of the century, or in Civil War-era America.
• Heaven Seeker: Her whole faith revolves around this, much to Merlin's delight.
• Musical Theme Naming: Her Harmonique, a Mystripet with a musical instrument theme, is named Ludwig - as in von Beethoven.
• Regal Ringlets: She curls her hair, giving her a more refined (and also uptight) appearance.
• The Conscience: She fulfills this role, providing moral guidance to the other Guardians. The usual recipient is Phoebe or Yamiko, presumably because Gon is too awkward and aloof to deserve it. Naturally, she also has quite a negative opinion of the Black Cat Bandits and their thieving tendencies.

Ari: The Elemental Guardian of Spirit, and Gon's little sister. She's even more of a computer geek than Gon is, often shutting herself in the computer room for hours on end. She even goes so far as to insert computer speak into her regular speech. This also makes her really naive about things, and she is also fond of sharing things over the Internet. These two things worked against her when she asked an online forum about the Spirit Key she received. One day, she vanished along with the key - right through the computer screen.

• Asian and Nerdy: Just like Gon.
• Geek Physiques: All that time spent in front of the computer has resulted in her being definitely out of shape. However, she also averts the stereotype of the fat or skinny physique, as she's maybe a little on the thin side, but not by much.
• Hikikomori: Especially after the family moved to America from Japan, she became a shut-in, rarely if ever going outside like she used to. Even in Mystrica she didn't leave the house until Virtualmon kidnapped her.

The Black Cat Bandits

This is a small and closely-knit gang of gentleman thieves. Classically they've specialized in small-scale robberies and other forms of petty theft, while still maintaining a good sense of morality. After they moved to Mystrica, one of them joined the Techno Mafia. But when they heard about the mafia's plan to steal the Elemental Keys, they decided to try and stop them from doing so - though in a more clandestine manner than the Elemental Guardians.

Halberd: He's both the brains and brawn of the group, being big and strong and intimidating (even in the kilt) and proficient in sword-fighting (particularly fencing), but also in charge of designing electronic gadgets used in their capers. During such capers, he's either monitoring others' progress from their computer network, or accompanying them as a bodyguard. Despite his size though, he has a calm demeanor and a strong sense of chivalry... kind of odd for a criminal.

• Agent Scully: Unlike Merlin, he is not inclined to believe in the supernatural or other idealistic things. Naturally, this gets the two into arguments on occasion.
• Beard of Evil: Subverted - Halberd is actually one of the good guys. However, his goatee helps in making him look more intimidating to strangers. Especially when coupled with a mustache and a Carpet of Virility... though he hardly ever shows the latter.
• Braids of Barbarism: His long hair is tied into a single braid. Although he's not Native American, it is quite appropriate as a warrior status, as he is technically a swordsman.
• Bring My Red Jacket: Halberd has a heavy red coat that he wears when assuming the role of The Big Guy on a thieving mission. Naturally, he's the one involved in combat. Justified in a sense, since he does act very pirate-like at times.
• Meaningful Rename: Subverted, since while a halberd is a type of weapon, the weapon he actually ends up specializing in is the sword. A halberd is more of a spear-axe hybrid.
  • Although, the name might also be an allusion to a particular airship from Kirby Super Star. Appropriate, since he ends up designing an airship in Mystrica. Even more fitting because the canonical captain of airship Halberd is Meta Knight, who uses a sword, which happens to be what human Halberd prefers to fight with. So, overall, Meta Knight:Halberd::Halberd:Sky Pirate.
• Stout Strength: He has a lot of muscle under that rather thick skin of his.

Warren: This cheerful hippie guy has excellent people skills, and thus fulfills diplomacy roles, especially with other gangs. He's also a master of disguise, often impersonating mobsters, gangsters, policemen, or workers during their capers. Other than that though, he's not too good in the stealth department, and can be immature at times (which makes sense, as he's the youngest of the group). And then he has a shady habit of buying and selling illegal drugs, which he may or may not use (or encourage the others to use, often without success).

• Buffy Speak: Being rather young and not familiar with how gadgets work, he's frequently prone to this.
• Meaningful Name: A warren is a group of rabbits. And two of the Mystripets he uses are... rabbits. If he had a third, one could call his Mystripet team "Warren's warren".
• Motor Mouth: Played for Laughs when Warren challenges Vi Willow to a "talking contest" to see who can talk the fastest. They tie because while Vi Willow gets tongue-tied more easily than Warren, she is able to comprehend more of what Warren is saying than the other around.
• Youthful Freckles: No wonder his face is described as boyish.

Merlin: This amiable fellow is short on height, but not on wisdom and cleverness. As his name would imply, he holds a strong belief in the paranormal, and even claims to be able to read people's auras. He's both the heart and the medic of the group, specializing in herbalism, aural healing, and just being kind and supportive in general - even though he almost always has his head up in the clouds. And then there's his oddly flamboyant style of dress... an odd character indeed.

• Agent Mulder: Unlike the skeptical and realistic Halberd, he thrives on abstract thinking and believes anything is possible so long as fate allows it. He especially loves coming up with supernatural explanations for inexplicable occurrences, when Halberd would just admit (and complain about how) it's inexplicable.
• Agent Peacock: Out of all the Black Cat Bandits, he's definitely the one with the flashiest and fanciest appearance and insists on maintaining it. Usually he comes across as The Dandy, being the least likely to get into a fight. Well, without his Mystripets, anyway. In fact, speaking of which, he ends up as one of the few main characters participating in the Mystripet Battle Tournament. There's also his Psychic Link ability in the video game (and also in the story) which has him enhancing his Mystripets' psychic energy-based attacks with his own mind.
  • He also fences... but probably only because Halberd coaxed him into it.
• Camp Straight: He's short, wears eyeshadow, has a coat lined with pink satin, shies away from physical fights, and acts with an almost motherly sense of nurture. But, surprise, he's straight as an arrow - and quite the casanova (well, almost) to boot.
• Cloud Cuckoolanders Minder: Simon, his Cerebelia, designates himself as this, claiming he's only sticking around Merlin to keep an eye out for him.
• Haunted House Historian: Because he is one, the Black Cat Bandits' capers also involve investigating haunted places. This ends up working against him when he investigates Misery Manor with Lupin, as he barely escapes its hallucinations while Lupin becomes trapped inside the place.
• Letting His Hair Down: He normally ties his long black hair into a low ponytail, symbolizing his usual strange yet optimistic self. When he lets his hair down, it means he's disheartened or depressed.
• Meaningful Rename: Merlin could have easily been his birth name, but it wasn't (actually it was Vincent). Given his association with magic and the supernatural, it is no surprise that he decided to name himself after a wizard.
  • In some later cases, he also goes by the alias Nimbus... which, in addition to being a type of cloud (see Cloudcuckoolander), is the term for an aura that appears around someone's head. Fits his aura vision rather well.
• Tenor Boy: If Power Makes Your Voice Deep, lack thereof makes it more high-pitched and almost melodic in nature.

Lupin: The leader of the Black Cat Bandits, Lupin is a highly-skilled thief and an expert in the stealth department. But he's not exactly leader material (Halberd is a much more competent leader than he is), due to his dark and brooding (yet serious) nature, as well as his timidness around bright lights and loud noises (especially guns) and fear of being the center of attention. Wearing an all-black outfit and being nocturnal does help him with the latter, though. He also struggles with flashbacks of his Dark and Troubled Past and is part of Yamiko's love triangle... even though he's not fond of romance. Since he's the one who joined the Techno Mafia, he now acts as a spy for them.

• Cluster F-Bomb: He tends to drop these when angry with someone who isn't a friend... which is not that often.
• Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: He lives a nocturnal lifestyle, and thus sunlight bothers him. So much so that when forced to walk around with the Elemental Guardians on a sunny day, he puts on some sunglasses and holds a black umbrella above him.
• I'm Going to Hell for This: Lupin frequently thinks (and sometimes mentions) this with regards to thievery, and a few characters (primarily Ashleigh, Phoebe, and Remy) call him out on it. But regardless, it remains his greatest passion.
• Kitsch Collection: His house (which he shares with Merlin) has displays of all manner of little pretty figurines on it, most of which Lupin stole from residences he broke into.
• Noble Wolf: Artemis, his Fangrim. She is calm, wise, and motherly in nature... until she enters a battle.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: His name means "wolf". Unsurprisingly, he ends up keeping the only two Mystripet species that are wolf-based. (One of them is actually a werewolf.) Although, the reason why he picked that nickname in the first place was because of the fictional thief Lupin III. Guess what he does for a living.
• Stoic Spectacles - He wears them.
• Trenchcoat Brigade: Lupin fits this pretty well, minus the facial hair, and with anorexia (or possibly wine) in place of tobacco. British? Check. Blond? Check. Loner? In terms of personality, check. Badass Longcoat? Pretty much. Spy work? Double check if thieving also counts.

Panther: Loud and flirty, she was originally in a motorcycle gang called the Freebirds, but eventually changed her alliance. Though she is strong (both in head and in body) and athletic, she is surprisingly competent at sneaking around on foot, thus being a good fit for the Black Cat Bandits. Additionally, she is Warren's long-lost older sister, and both of them share the guilty pleasure of loving cartoons.

• Censored for Comedy: Panther swears a lot, but rather than using actual swear words, she uses innocuous words that sound similar to swear words.

"Holy duck! You mean to fracking tell me this sheet about pickin' up beaches like you're some sort of pimp? Caulk soccer."

• Femme Fatalons: Subverted - her actual nails are not like this, but the gloves she wears with her Spy Catsuit have retractable claws built into them. Meow.
• Heroic Build: Word of God says that this was what she was aiming for when she started working out. Apparently, it worked out for her.
• High-Heel–Face Turn: The Freebirds are a mostly-male gang, so of course one of the very few females is going to ditch them and join a more benevolent gang.
• Prophetic Name: Her birth name is Catalina. Panthers are in the cat family. Even better, she used to go by Lina for short in most cases, but Kat or Kit-Kat was her "gangster name". So, Kat-a-Lina. Why did she change her name to Panther? Most likely Rule of Cool.
• Spy Catsuit: Her usual outfit, which is more protective than shiny. Kind of makes sense since she rides a motorcycle a lot. In fact, sometimes she even ties a tail onto the back of it.

Secondary Characters

Vi Willow: The brilliant yet unexpectedly insane creator of Mystrica. During Mystrica's development, she recruited a team of programmers and video game developers to design all the detail work and handle inhabitants' data (ensuring their safe passage between Mystrica and the real world), but spends hardly any time working on it herself. Instead of residing in Mystrica, she created a digital avatar of herself to handle Mystrica's internal affairs, like helping out new Keepers. This avatar also acts as the Herald in the story, informing the Guardians about the Elemental Keys and their purpose.

• Book Dumb: She didn't do that well in school because she couldn't focus on the assignments, especially since she spent a lot of time working on her own projects.
• Meaningful Appearance: Her outfit is mostly white—except for her boots and her hair, which are black. This is pretty symbolic in itself, as while she has that air of mystery and subtle madness about her, underneath she wears a skimpy all-black outfit, indicating her brutally selfish motives towards the end.
• Motor Mouth: Her mouth tries its hardest to work just as fast as her brain does, making it very easy for people to misunderstand her or ask her to repeat what she said.
• Nerds Are Sexy: Shin was intended to be her artificial boyfriend at first. Later on in the story, she distracts Shin by seducing him while the Black Cat Bandits infiltrate the Techno Mafia headquarters. It works, since he was programmed to be highly attracted to her.
• Queen of All Cosmos: Since she created Mystrica, she could very well be its supreme god (she often lampshades this in the story), but she insists that she isn't, because of "factors of the programming that are beyond [her] control".
• Robot Buddy: V-Zero-X, her V-Bot companion.
• Signature Headgear: She is easily recognized by her wide-brimmed white fedora, as well as the matching trenchcoat.
• Spock Speak: She tends to speak in a needlessly wordy manner, especially offering lengthy and precise explanations of things. Combined with Motor Mouth, it's no wonder her speech can be hard to follow. If she also had Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, she'd be practically unintelligible... but thankfully, that's not the case. Subverted somewhat in that she tends to sneak small jokes into her long explanations, and sounds more pedantic than serious.
• The Wonka: Especially to Phoebe, who knows practically nothing about video games. There are several moments in which her explanations make little sense until Gon rewords them for her. She also frequently appears out of nowhere to give snarky bizarre advice to the characters, sometimes even Leaning on the Fourth Wall while doing so.

Shin: The head honcho of the Techno Mafia. Don't be fooled by his relatively young age and small(er) size - he is known for being very cutthroat and quick to anger, but otherwise quite alien to emotion. Many people have complained about him being "too perfect", comparing him to an unusually well-trained assassin... and they are pretty much right, because he's not a real person. He was created by Vi Willow as an artificial intelligence experiment long before she started work on Mystrica, and is now the only completely AI human in Mystrica besides Vi Willow's avatar. It is a complete coincidence that the two are lovers.

• Bring My Red Jacket: Shin usually wears a blue coat, but will switch to a red coat in combat situations. And then there's the red-tinted glasses which he only wears outside of combat, for some reason.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: He doesn't actually need his round red specs to see properly. He just uses them to contrast his blue coat and look more intimidating outside of combat.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: You can tell he's a villain just by looking at his face. Red-tinted spectacles framed by black hair. When he dons the red coat, things really get serious.
• Spikes of Villainy: His red coat has spikes on the shoulders.
• Yakuza: He was modeled after one, and steers the Techno Mafia towards its principles (most notably, operating out in the open and offering semi-benevolent services to Mystrica). The only thing he doesn't have is the tattoos, presumably because Vi Willow doesn't like her men inked.

Daisuke: Second-in-command to Shin, this intimidating yet surprisingly chill biker dude is mainly in charge of being the boss of the Freebirds. In fact, he looks a lot like Shin... wonder why. But the two are quite different in personality - Daisuke is not nearly as prone to violence as Shin is, and behaves in a much less sophisticated manner. He's also a smoker and a gambler, which Shin is not. And also unlike Shin, his Mystripets are not artificially modified - he prefers to "keep things natural". Naturally, he and Shin don't talk to each other that much.

• Gayngster: He's gay, much to Panther's disappointment. Doesn't stop him from being a formidable gang leader.
• Tattooed Crook: Being the leader of a biker gang, he better be.

Remy: This young man is practically the epitome of the romantic and artistic Frenchman. He's a ballet dancer and also works for a fashion design company, but is not really the smartest person out there, especially in the rational logic department. He starts out the story as Yamiko's boyfriend, forming the third side of her love triangle. But while he is quite cautious and protective (possibly a bit too much) of her, when faced with immediate danger, he would rather forget all about Yamiko and run for his life. But his passion and gentlemanly nature makes up for that... right?

• Dogged Nice Guy: He's portrayed as this after Lupin enters the story, maintaining his feelings for Yamiko (who periodically loves him or not) throughout the story.
• Hates Being Alone: Specifically, hates being left alone by Yamiko.
• Papa Bear: He would be one to Yamiko if he wasn't so cowardly.
• Redhead In Green: When he's wearing his coat, that is.
• The Fashionista: Technically, since he was born to parents in the fashion design industry. The elegant green coat he wears is prime evidence of this.

General Story Tropes

• Always Lawful Good / Always Chaotic Evil: The fairies and T-Bots, respectively.
• Astral Finale: The story ends in the outer-space MDS Complex.
• Bag of Holding: One feature of the Scanner - press a button on the Inventory screen, and a portal opens up to a storage space approximately the size of a closet.
• Bait-and-Switch Boss: Otori Jungle is full of birds, as the name suggests. You'd expect the boss (which is Air element) to be a particularly fearsome bird, right? Nope, it's a panda.
• Bio-Augmentation / Cyborging: What the Techno Mafia does to its Mystripets. For some reason, this process only works on fully digital beings, so humans are excluded. But it does make the process a lot faster and allows defying the laws of biology and chemistry.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Inverted with Yamiko and Remy. Averted with Yamiko and Lupin, since both of them are brooding - the other Black Cat Bandits (particularly Halberd and Merlin) are the gentle ones in this case, providing support for them.
• By the Power of Grayskull!: The Elemental Guardians speak some sort of invocation whenever they use their Elemental Key to transform their goddess child into its appropriate goddess.
  • Technically Kinter's Lupine Howl attack counts as this, transforming it into Bearwolf, but it's just that - a howl.
• Caper Crew: The Black Cat Bandits.
  • Halberd is the Hacker, Gadget Guy, Coordinator, and Muscle.
  • Warren is the Con Man, Roper, and Acquisitioner.
  • Merlin is the Forger and Partner in Crime, and occasionally fills the role of Distraction and Driver as well.
  • Lupin is the Mastermind, Burglar, Pickpocket, and Inside Man.
  • Panther functions as a second Muscle, Burglar, and Driver, and eventually replaces Merlin as the Distraction.
  • Technical member Yamiko is the New Kid who also acts as a Fall Gal, since she's an elemental guardian. However, she is treated with the utmost respect.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • Lupin could qualify, since he is first introduced as the mysterious person who turned in Yamiko's Scanner. He doesn't make his actual appearance until after the Guardians split up.
  • Warren is also one: in the very beginning of the story, he's introduced as a tour guide for Phoebe's school trip to Mystrica. He becomes a much more important character later on when he shows up as one of the Black Cat Bandits.
• Childhood Friend Romance: The basis of the relationship between Yamiko and Lupin - when they were young, they were in the same mental facility at the same time. The "Pirate Kelsey" doll young Lupin gave to Yamiko before he left is a symbol of the hidden love between them (and also between him and his mother).
• Combat, Diplomacy, Stealth: The Black Cat Bandits assign these roles to three of their members: Halberd, Warren, and Lupin, respectively. Panther, being the badass she is, can do all three pretty well.
• Defeat Means Friendship: When the combined invocation has Gone Horribly Wrong, the Goddess children kept by the Elemental Guardians invoke themselves and then turn evil, terrorizing Mystrica and making it even more corrupt. The Guardians must then battle the angry Goddesses in order to get them back. From then on, said Goddess children return to their usual loyal selves, even when invoked again.
• Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: An interesting example occurs with the robots - the protagonists are at some point able to use "Glitch Bombs" which infect the robot's computer systems thus rendering it useless. This also works on Machine-class creatures and any other electronic device.
• Drink-Based Characterization: Each human character has a distinct one, usually fitting their character perfectly:
  • Phoebe: Strawberry milkshake (representing her girlish playfulness)
  • Gon: Cola (since he's casual yet awkwardly bubbly at times)
  • Yamiko: Milk (actually soymilk, since she's lactose-intolerant) - makes sense for someone unstable as her since it's one of the "safer" drinks. Sometimes mixed in with tea.
  • Ashleigh: Virgin mint julep - symbolizing her artistic nature and chastity
  • Ari: Cream soda (appropriately, both she and Gon prefer soda)
  • Halberd: Whiskey - fits well with his manly nature
  • Warren: Beer, representing his tendency to fit in with the crowd
  • Merlin: Absinthe, representing his eccentric nature and love of the supernatural
  • Lupin: Red wine - fits his dark yet classy nature. Sometimes he'll drink milk instead.
  • Panther: Margarita - fits with her flirty and fun-loving nature
    • Note how all the Black Cat Bandits have alcoholic drink orders, whereas the Elemental Guardians do not.
  • Vi Willow: Green tea - good for someone as busy as her since it's easy to make
  • Shin: Black coffee, being the badass he is
  • Daisuke: Americano with cream - is coffee-based because of his similarity to Shin
  • Remy: White wine - appropriate given his rivalry with Lupin (plus he's French)
• Electric Torture: Lupin is subject to this after being captured by the Techno Mafia. The next major part of their sub-plot involves the other Black Cat Bandits helping him recover. Which is pretty miraculous, considering he crossed the Despair Event Horizon while in there.
• Elemental Eye Colors: Did you forget what element the Guardians are assigned to? No worries - just look at their eyes! Ashleigh's are green like the grass, so her element is Earth. Yamiko's are dark blue like the ocean, so her element is Water. Phoebe's are hazel like the eyes of an eagle, so her element is Wind. Gon's are black like coals, so his element is Fire. Ari's are a very dark brown, which makes no sense... but her element is Spirit, by process of elimination.
• Elemental Rivalry: The Elemental Guardians display this, in addition to synergy with complementary elements. Air and Fire are complementary, so Phoebe and Gon get along very well. Earth and Water are complementary, making Ashleigh rather sympathetic towards Yamiko. However, these two pairs often quarrel - Yamiko and Phoebe especially are like night and day personality-wise, as well as Ashleigh and Gon. Oddly enough, the opposite elements (Fire/Water and Earth/Air) are either kind of friendly (Ashleigh and Phoebe) or indifferent (Gon and Yamiko) to each other.
• EMP: There is a general Thunder Magic attack called Battery Pulse, which does double damage on machines and Stuns them. Which helps, because Machine-class creatures are otherwise immune to magic.
• Enemy Scan: Scanners do this, obviously. They can scan any enemy and find out its element, class, and stats. Doing so takes up that character's turn.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the first chapter, the tour guide leading Phoebe's group into Mystrica calls himself Tour Guide. But he's actually Warren of the Black Cat Bandits.

• Global Airship: After Halberd completes the Sky Pirate, the party uses it to reach the MDS complex in order to rescue Ari. After doing so, they can use the Sky Pirate to travel all over Mystrica.
• Having a Blast: The Nova enemies (Nova, Supernova, Hypernova, and Ultranova) start a countdown and then explode, hitting the entire party with massive damage. Additionally, hitting them with a Melee attack will cause them to explode automatically - this implies that they are Made of Explodium.
• Love Triangle: An important part of Yamiko's sub-plot. Its exact type is complicated - sometimes it seems like a Type 10, where Yamiko and Remy are in a relationship but she has her eyes on Lupin. Other times it's a Type 5, where Remy is trying to convince Yamiko that Lupin would be a bad influence on her. Then it's often a Type 7, where Yamiko is having secret affairs with Lupin even though she and Remy are still together. And towards the end of all this, it's a Type 4, where Yamiko is with Remy, but this time Lupin is the one who (unbeknownst to Yamiko) loves her. And then it's a different Type 4, with Yamiko and Lupin being in the relationship while Remy still has feelings for her. Yikes, what a roller coaster.
  • This is specifically a Fire and Ice Love Triangle, with Remy being the fire and Lupin being the ice. But in this case, the ice is the childhood friend, who periodically defrosts and re-freezes throughout the story.
  • To make things even more complicated, throw Panther's brief affair with Lupin into the mix and it becomes a love square. And if you count Yamiko's feelings for Merlin who loves Ashleigh who prefers someone like Remy, and Panther's unrequited feelings for Daisuke who ends up in a relationship with Warren who has an inappropriate crush on Gon who is often mistaken for Ari's boyfriend... you have a mess.
• MacGuffin: The Elemental Keys.
• Meaningful Rename: Celia, Yamiko's great-grandmother, is an odd name for someone born and raised in Japan, isn't it? Her birth name is Tomoe, but after she married a mycologist, he jokingly called her "my Celia" (Mycelia is the plural of mycelium, the mold-like structure a fungus takes on - and a mycologist is someone who studies fungi).
• Melancholy Moon: The full moon is repeatedly used a symbol of the sorrow-tinged romance between Yamiko and Lupin, as an ideal relationship that is ultimately not meant to be. The video game even has a musical theme for this called "Romance Under a Full Moon".
• Now, Let Me Carry You: Yamiko does this with Lupin. Initially, Lupin was responsible for the Techno Mafia failing to steal the Water Key from Yamiko (by stealing it himself and taking it to the police), giving her a Pet Coupon, getting her captive Serpendine back, and guiding her away from a spot where the Techno Mafia is planning to ambush her. In return, Yamiko helps rescue Lupin from the Techno Mafia's mini-prison and is key to helping him recover from it, bravely assists him in infiltrating the Techno Mafia headquarters, and again rescues him from Misery Manor (this time by herself).
• Nuclear Option: Initially, one key piece of the plan to purify Virtualmon is to insert the L&K^note Love and Kindness patch into him. However, near the very end of the story when the Techno Mafia activates their Plan B virus when the Guardians try to invoke all five goddesses, Virtualmon grows in power. At that point, the L&K patch no longer works on him. Then, as Vi Willow regrettably states, Mystrica will have to be terminated because it has become irreversibly corrupted. Virtualmon's defeat sets off explosions all over Mystrica, destroying it as well.
• Party in My Pocket: If they don't want them following them around, Keepers can keep their Mystripets contained in special virtual spaces within their Scanners.
• Patchwork Map: Justified since Mystrica is based off a video game world. Still, it has some jarring examples, the most notable of which is a desert located right next to a jungle, separated only by a town. There's also a prairie farmland immediately adjacent to a swamp, which in turn is right next to a volcano and some snow-covered mountains.
• Place of Power: Every location that has a boss, for this is where the faeries' hidden magic is the strongest. By that same logic, the entire Forest of Essence counts too.
• RPG Elements: For the literature version of the story.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Gon and Phoebe... and also Lupin and Panther during their short affair.
• Storyboarding the Apocalypse: Vi Willow does this to the Elemental Guardians upon meeting them in Bonding Park. As she explains, if Virtualmon gets hold of all five Elemental Keys and the Techno Mafia essentially rules Mystrica, the goddesses will become angry, Mystrica will become permanently closed to the real world, and the world will slowly devolve into a desolate world populated mostly by robots and enhanced Mystripets.
• Super Cell Reception: All Scanners have a cell phone feature, and thanks to the design of Mystrica's electrical systems, one can get reception anywhere in Mystrica... except for Mt. Mystic, the Forest of Essence, and the MDS Complex. All the Elemental Guardians can get reception in those places too, thanks to an upgraded Scanner specially designed for communication between them.
  • The Black Cat Bandits also have their own Comm Links - these are little headset-like devices designed for communicating in secret during a thieving mission. They run on their own cellular network provided by their encrypted SMILE^note Surveillance-Monitoring Interface for Larcenous Excursions system.
• The Chooser of the One: Queen Mabel, leader of the fairies. No, it's not Vi Willow, even though she did originally create her.
• The World Is Always Doomed: Subverted, since if the Elemental Guardians fail to purify Virtualmon and he and the Techno Mafia take over Mystrica, rather than being destroyed, Mystrica becomes permanently locked, so nobody could ever return to the real world. However, it's played straight after Mystrica becomes irreversibly corrupted thanks to the Plan B virus and must be terminated.
• You Must Be Cold: Remy loves to wrap Yamiko in his coat on a cold night, even though she already has a shawl protecting her. Hilariously enough, at one point Yamiko drapes said shawl over Gon when he looks cold, and Halberd does it to Lupin at one point as well.

Towns and Other Locations

In addition to a certain "theme", each town has its own mayor, who is often quite the oddball of a character. Typically, each of these will also have a Trauma Inn, some shops, and plenty of NPCs to talk to. Non-urban locations are typically infested with enemies, all of which also follow a certain theme. Some of these also have bosses, whose defeat is required to gather the hidden magic of Mystrica.

• Seaport City: Located on the northern coast of Mystrica, this is the starting place of new inhabitants. From here, ferries shuttle people to and from the real world - or at least they used to before the lockdown. The mayor is Vi Willow herself.
  • Bonding Park: A park in Seaport City where new Keepers can bond with their Mystripets. Keepers often challenge each other to battles here, making it a good place to get early experience.
• Mayville: A town specializing in gardening and all things floral. The town is run by a fairy couple named Lord Pan and Lady Gaia, who are said to be responsible for the flourishing of plant life here.
  • Jardin de Colores: (Magic spot - Plant) This garden features plant and insect enemies, and also has a flower shop. The boss is the Fleshy Flower, a huge flower that smells like rotting flesh.
• Spectral Forest: A dark forest separating Mayville from Himachi, inhabited by ghosts and other spooky creatures.
  • Light Pillar: Located within the Spectral Forest, this tower is said to be the place where ghosts who have finished their business in the real world ascend to Heaven.
• Forest of Essence: A large forest that divides Mystrica into western and eastern halves. The home of the fairies, it is enchanted so that it cannot be traversed by non-fairies. To get to the other half of Mystrica, one must either travel along the northern or southern coast, or take the subway that runs between Himachi and Alpenhaus.
  • Edengarde: A Hidden Faery Village located deep in the Forest of Essence. It features a Healing Spring and a legendary restaurant that automatically serves a customer's favourite food, and is ruled by the leader of the faeries, Queen Mabel. Adjacent to it is a shrine where the Elemental Goddesses are invoked, which requires use of the Elemental Keys.
• Himachi: A large bustling city, the largest in Mystrica. Compact and crowded, it also features an extensive underground and a subway hub. Also houses the headquarters of the Techno Mafia - in fact, the unofficial "mayor" of the city is the head honcho himself.
• Night City: Adjacent to (and technically part of) Himachi, this is a hidden town nestled within the Spyglass Mountains, accessible via subway. This is Himachi's nightlife district, housing several clubs and restaurants. Since the place is underground, it technically is nighttime all the time here. It also houses the "official" mayor of Himachi: Prince Lucifer, reluctant lover of Marie-Celestine of Castleton.
  • Mesozoic: (Magic spot - Earth) A huge casino located in Night City. As the name would suggest, it has a prehistoric theme, and even features an artificial tropical climate inside. After the lockdown, most of the place has been overrun with dinosaur enemies, including the fearsome earth-shaking Seismosaurus Rex.
• Starry Field: A large star-shaped field in the western part of Mystrica, lying in between Himachi, Castleton, and Talmiroc. During the daytime it's nothing special, but at night, the stars shine beautifully overhead. It is occupied by several star enemies, but no boss.
• Castleton: Every building in this town is a castle, enhancing the Medieval European Fantasy theme. The largest castle in town is home to Countess Marie-Celestine, mayor of this town.
  • Cartespade Cathedral: (Magic spot - Darkness) An ominous-looking cathedral on a hill overlooking Castleton. On the inside it used to be calm and full of light, but after the lockdown, it has been terrorized by a pair of dragons and a particularly Ominous Pipe Organ.
• Talmiroc: A goofy name for a goofy town. This town, located on a flat and arid plain, serves as a haven for artists and craftspeople, who frequently showcase their works in their front yards. Watched over by a council of artists, whose leader is a scarecrow called the Straw Man, who literally does nothing.
  • The Bassment: (Magic spot - Energy) A musical instrument shop/storage facility in Talmiroc. But it's no ordinary music shop: the instruments come to life and attack whoever enters! Yikes! It's also named after the intimidating Double Bass, which serves as the boss of this dungeon.
• Gem Tunnel: A lengthy mine tunnel that runs between Talmiroc and Diamond Town, underneath the Rocky Hills. Home to a few gemstone-themed enemies, but no boss. Also features carts you can ride on.
• Diamond Town: The local Wild West town. Ruled by Sheriff Luna, a lovely dark-skinned woman who enjoys playing the harp - very atypical for a sheriff.
  • Arabelle Farm: Located right next to Diamond Town and just south of the Forest of Essence, this farm is home to a few benevolent animals... except for the ones near the barn, who aren't so friendly.
• Mystrica University: (Magic spot - Poison) Known as MYU for short, this is a full-fledged university/boarding school located in southwestern Mystrica. It's a pretty typical university, with the exception that it offers Mystripet Studies as a major, has a renowned computer science major, and has some AI teachers. After the lockdown, these AI teachers have become malevolent. There are five such teachers (Literature, Math, Art, Science, and Physical Education) who act as bosses. You must defeat them all (as well as the principal/main boss, Torture Teacher) in order to claim the sacred space.
• Mizutake: Located west of the Rocky Hills in a lush area surrounded by trees, and named after the adjacent Bamboo Lake. The town is a bit reminiscent of Kyoto, home to great natural beauty and historic fantastical myths, and the famous Rabbit Shrine used for lunar ceremonies. The maiden of Rabbit Shrine, Miko Tsukihime, is the mayor of the town.
• Harbora: A pirate town located far in the southwest corner of Mystrica at the tip of the same peninsula Silver Hollow is in. This town is home to a vast marketplace, and unfortunately, a lot of shady activity. Street gangs like to gather here for some reason, even though they aren't very pirate-like. The mayor is Captain Copperstache, who owns a flying pirate ship that travels between Harbora and Shuberville.
• Shuberville: Mystrica's Steampunk town, home to many whimsical contraptions and antique Victorian charm, and with a great view of the bay too. The mayor is Duke Edward Sebastian Corven, a poet and musician who also keeps ravens and owns a sultry cabaret.
  • Lemon Factory: (Magic spot - Thunder) An abandoned car factory located underneath Shuberville, because of its unsightly modernness. The car parts aren't too happy with this, and will get their revenge on any Keeper who enters. The boss is a massive 8-cylinder engine.
• Forest of Distortion: Located far in the northwest of Mystrica near Shuberville, this is a dumping ground of sorts for misplaced data. This bizarre area features areas that mess with the laws of gravity and conservation of size, while maintaining an appearance that sort-of resembles a forest. The enemies here are made of pure data, but there's no boss.
• Beta Town: (Magic spot - Metal) A town inhabited solely by robots. This used to be a factory for different bots used by both the Techno Mafia and Vi Willow, but ever since the lockdown, the robots have been hostile to intruders. The mayor, Lord Metatronic, also serves as a boss.
• Playa del Ganador: A beachside town in eastern Mystrica, home to the Mystripet Battle Tournament. This town is spread out all over the place, extending the entire length of the northeastern beach and also into part of the desert. Ruled by King Ferdinand, who also presides over the Battle Tournament.
  • Astronomical Temple: (Magic spot - Light) Located in a secluded beach area in Playa del Ganador, this is rumoured to have been used as an observatory, but now is infested with space-themed enemies, including its boss, the multi-stage Aging Sun.
• Acuato: This unique town is located off the northeastern coast of Mystrica, and is completely underwater. The town fits inside a gigantic glass bubble connected to Playa del Ganador via a tunnel. Defying the laws of physics, there is a hole in the bubble on the far side of town, which from the inside looks like a pond. This pond is home to Queen Foseena, a merporpoise whose magic is responsible for keeping the sea water out of Acuato.
  • Rainbow Reef: (Magic spot - Water) If you dive into Foseena's pool in Acuato, you can swim across the ocean to this colourful reef. Unfortunately, after the lockdown, its colors have faded thanks to the parasitic boss Moldra. All the enemies here are sea creatures, and since most Mystripets cannot battle underwater, Foseena has a stable housing various sea-dwelling Mystripets to borrow.
• Alpenhaus: Located in a valley nestled within the Ashy Mountains in eastern Mystrica, this town features a lot of old French and German-style architecture, making for quite the picturesque town. It also is a popular place for skiing in the winter. The mayor is Lady Lucina Geppetto, who is said to have brought the toys in Toybox Park to life.
  • Toybox Park: (Magic spot - Normal) An amusement park located just outside of Alpenhaus. Unfortunately, after the lockdown, this place had to be closed because the toys inside it came to life and started attacking people. The boss is a giant teddy bear.
• Deluna Desert: A vast expanse of dust and sand in eastern Mystrica, separating Playa del Ganador from Moondance and Hiko Landing. This desert is full of little sand pyramids which absorb magical energy from the moonlight. Desert-dwelling enemies, ranging from reptiles to hieroglyphs, jump out from these sand pyramids. No boss here.
  • Crystal Pyramid: (Magic spot - Ice) An icy cave underneath Deluna Desert. Entering this cave from Pearl Cliff takes you to the largest pyramid in the desert, which is crystalline and inverted underground. The boss is located under said pyramid. Lots of Mineral-class crystalline enemies appear here, and the boss is a literal snow crab.
• Moondance: Sandwiched in between Deluna Desert and Otori Jungle, this town has a Middle Eastern vibe to it, being home to a vast outdoor marketplace and featuring an Arabian-style palace, which houses the mayor Prince Rama. Rumour has it that the prince doesn't do a very good job enforcing any laws, so the place is full of mischief and shady sellers (kind of like Harbora).
• Otori Jungle: (Magic spot - Air) A miniature rainforest in southeastern Mystrica. Lots of rain falls here, providing the nearby town of Moondance with plenty of water. Many tropical birds inhabit this jungle, which of course turned evil after the lockdown. In the center is a temple where the boss, a panda with avian attendants, can be found.
• Hiko Landing: Located on the southeastern coast of Mystrica, this open and flat space sitting atop a steep cliff is an ideal aviation spot, home to many small airplanes that are flown all over Mystrica. Sometimes this town offers workshops in aircraft-building, led by pilot Amelia Avery, also the mayor of the town.
  • Pearl Cliff: While Hiko Landing is the industrial and recreational part of town, Pearl Cliff is the residential and commercial area. A large part of the town is nestled in a huge alcove beneath Hiko Landing, over which waterfalls cascade down into the sea. The rest of it is scattered about the steep rocky cliffs. Not recommended for people with a fear of heights.
• The Wild Path: Running from Moondance to Necromere, this path is touted as an obstacle course of sorts for only the most experienced Keepers, due to the presence of big terrain changes and lots of rebel Mystripets (those without a keeper). Analogous to the Victory Road in most Pokemon games.
• Mt. Diavolo: (Magic spot - Fire) An active volcano nestled within the southern part of the Ashy Mountains, easily visible from both Alpenhaus and Necromere. Traveling down the rocky trail alongside it from the former to the latter has been described as "descending from Heaven down into Hell". The boss is the Burning Witch, set up as a reminder of what will happen to Sinistrina if she ever leaves Necromere.
• Bogmire Swamp: Located between Arabelle Farm and Necromere, this marshy portion of the southern Mystrica coast is home to many trees with underwater roots and small streams feeding into the ocean. But the treacherous part of this swamp is a poisonous bog located further inland. While having fewer enemies than the clean-water area, poisoning and other status problems are common in the bog area.
• Necromere: Located at the foot of the Ashy Mountains and near Bogmire Swamp, this desolate town is the scene of numerous hauntings due to it being a morgue of sorts for those who die in Mystrica, so it's practically uninhabitable. It's also populated by a few undead creatures, including zombies. The mayor, an undead witch by the name of Sinistrina von Schwarzwald (banished here by her sister Lucina of Alpenhaus), is the only person "living" here, so instead she holds the responsibility of keeping the dead in check.
  • The Morgue: (Magic spot - Spirit) Actually it's closer to a cemetery. Located in Necromere, this is a dumping ground for dead bodies, both Mystripet and human. Though the smell is taken care of through mushroom-growing and incineration with Mt. Diavolo lava, a lot of unpleasant spirits and undead creatures and even spooky trees live here. It even has a ouija board as a boss.
  • Misery Manor: This is the most haunted mansion in Necromere, afflicted by a powerful curse that causes intense hallucinations to anyone who enters. For most people, these manifest as a nightmare featuring them wandering around the manor and facing their deepest fears. As such, it can almost have a therapeutic value for people who just can't let go of their fears. During the story, the climax of Yamiko's subplot occurs here, during which she encounters her malevolent family.
• Mt. Mystic: An insanely tall and ominous-looking mountain, part of the Spyglass Mountain range and easily seen from Shuberville and Seaport City. It feels like it should be the final dungeon of the game, but actually it is not. Reaching the summit (which is well above the clouds) is the only way for a non-faery to enter the Forest of Essence, via a portal to Edengarde. In the story, it's the last place the Elemental Guardians get to before invoking all the Goddesses.
• Cloudy Park: A heavenly world in the clouds surrounding Mt. Mystic. Mostly inhabited by lamb-like Mystripet Lamuchi, it serves as a healing spot during travelers' treacherous climb up the mountain.
• MDS Complex: A satellite hovering in space above Mystrica, and thus is only accessible via airship. This is where all of Mystrica's internal data systems are held (MDS stands for Mystrica Data Systems), and is also the home of Virtualmon. This area has become quite hostile after Virtualmon's corruption, and if this were a game, this place would be considered the final dungeon.

Tropes that Apply to Specific Mystripets

• Agony Beam: One of the general attacks is literally called Agony Beam. Lorraine, Yamiko's Sinistress, loves to use this attack.
• Canis Major: Perrius is a dog the size of a horse. Interestingly enough, it's named after the dog star Sirius, which is in the Canis Major constellation.
• Cape Wings: Vampire-based Necromant has these.
• Clam Trap: Altran is a clam, and not surprisingly, one of its speciality attacks, Shell Clamp, does this.
• Creepy Cockroach: Averted with Tufroach, which is also part roly poly, able to curl up into a ball and roll around. So it's more of a Funny Cockroach.
• Cute Kitten: Patacata.
• Cute Owl: Drowlet, which Digimorphs to Ominous Owl Tenebrix.
• Dragons Are Divine: Cerula is one of the Elemental Goddesses. Super-deity Qingrila is also a dragon.
• Dragons Up the Yin Yang: Serpendine and Cerula are based off of eastern dragons. Technically, so is Qingrila.
• Ears as Hair: Ninja rabbit Musagi has this - long and flowing ears "tied back" by its headband.
• Fantastic Fireworks: Fire wizard Flarizard's specialty move, Fireworks, uses these to cause damage.
• Fiery Salamander: Fethermander, child of fire goddess Kinaga.
• Flaming Hair: Ferno and Lampyre are basically fireballs with faces, so this is obviously in play.
• Floating Limbs: Heliorb and Sinistress's arms qualify.
• Flying Seafood Special: As per the usual in video games, nearly all Sea Creature-class Mystripets are this on land.
• Gem-Encrusted: Golemond is a tortoise with a diamond-encrusted shell.
• Giant Flyer: Lavaroc, Auroracle, and Cerula. All three are dragons.

• Good Angel, Bad Angel: Nirva, being an actual angel, has these in the form of Digimorphs. Lumenora is the good angel; Luceraph is the bad angel. Or it could Take a Third Option and Digimorph to "neutral angel" Luciel.
• Heavenly Blue: Qingrila, the super-deity who presides over the Elemental Goddesses, has a name that comes from the Chinese "qing", meaning "light blue", and Shangri-la.
• Heli-Critter: Wettel has umbrellas on its head that it can spin around to fly.
• High Collar of Doom: The sword-wielding Trumpier wears one, which is a good indicator that it's half Poison-element.
  • Oddly enough, Necromant doesn't have one, despite being obviously inspired by Dracula.
• Instant Runes: The family of Lumisphere, Magiclair, and their fusion Illumagus use these in one or two of their specialty moves.
• Man-Eating Plant: Nectrap, one of Sunflow's Digimorphs, is based off a Venus flytrap. Tigerly can also count, since it's carnivorous and roars like a tiger.
• The Marvelous Deer: Fawna and all its Digimorphs, though not quite as mythical.
• Meaningful Name: All Mystripet species names say something about a characteristic of theirs. Ferno the fireball is short for "inferno", Aracubus is an arachnid incubus/succubus, Crystalice is made of ice crystals, Quackling is a little duck, etc.
• Mega Neko: Chaterie and spirit goddess Mythrine (the latter is a lynx).
• Mushroom Man: Amanitoad and Shroomba, the latter being a Digimorph of the former.
• Olympus Mons: The Elemental Goddesses. Each goddess has a "child" associated with it that can be kept as a "special edition" Mystripet, though their power is diminished compared to the actual goddesses. The Elemental Guardians are given one of these along with their Scanner, and with the Elemental Keys, they eventually gain the exclusive ability to temporarily transform their goddess child pet into their appropriate full-power Goddess during battle. Cool, huh?
• Ominous Opera Cape: Both Sinistress and Necromant have this, and they're both... not very nice.
• One-Wheeled Wonder: Treadster.
• Our Centaurs Are Different: Scimitaur is a centaur and also a jouster, wielding a lance. And a scimitar, hence the name.
• Our Gryphons Are Different: Gryphinel is a griffin made of stone.
• Perplexing Pearl Production: Averted by Altran, since its "pearl" is actually a Crystal Ball. Makes you wonder how said ball got there though - perhaps stolen from a fortune-teller?
• The Phoenix: Fire goddess Kinaga is one - well, a phoenix-winged naga, anyway.
• Planimal: The Leafasaur family consists of dinosaurs with leaves attached to them. Dandeleo is a lion with a flowery mane. Chloropus is an octopus with seaweed on its arms.
• Plant Person: One branch of the Applume family consists entirely of these. One of Applume's Digimorphs is Perfusia, an anthropomorphized fuchsia that looks ballerina-ish. Perfusia then Digimorphs to either Samakura, a samurai with a cherry blossom theme; or Rosarie, a fusion of an angel and roses. Samakura is even Android class.
• Power Crystal: Snowbite and Crystalice are practically made of these. Altran and Lumisphere's crystal balls also count, as well as the charm on Sinistress's cloak.
• Pretty Butterflies: Catafray is an electric butterfly. But it's still pretty.
• Rolling Attack: Planimal stegosaurus Ruffrage has the specialty attack Spike Roll, where it rolls around using the sharp leaves on its back to cause damage.
• Samurai Ponytail: Samakura sports one, since it's obviously based off a samurai. One can assume it's made from some sort of really fine and smooth brush, since it's also a Plant Person.
• Savage Wolves: Lunark, Fangrim, and Bearwolf. They're even all Darkness-element.
• Snakes Are Sinister: Optilisk takes this up to eleven with all the Extra Eyes covering its body and the Giant Eye of Doom on its tail, plus its Hypnotic Eyes capable of a Deadly Gaze... and it's a giant cobra.
  • Serpendine, on the other hand, is a benevolent Serpent of Immortality - especially since it's the child of water goddess Cerula. So is Kinaga.
• Species Equals Gender: There are a few Mystripets who Digimorph to something different depending on their gender. Typically, the difference reflects gender stereotypes or species sex differences - the dairy cow-based Laidy vs. the disco bull Bufro, kitsune-based Vixenine vs. rogue-ish fox Larcenard, etc.
  • Averted with Aracubus, which despite being based on an obviously female stereotype, can be either gender. Strange, because the ghostly non-arachnid Phantomage becomes the more vamp-like Sinistress if female or the gentle genie-like Genteanie if male, supporting this stereotype.
• Stock Ninja Weaponry: Musagi provides an interesting example - since it's a rabbit, most of these are based off of vegetables. Its main weapon is a giant carrot used as a sword, and it throws miniature ones as kunai. It also uses really sharp lettuce leaves as shuriken, onions as smoke bombs (or stink bombs, rather), and leeks as naginata. It also carries a fork which is used as a sai (in addition to eating said vegetables with).
• Swans A-Swimming: Cygnoir is a Darker and Edgier version - it appears to have some white feathers, but shrouded in elegant black ones as if it's dressed for a funeral.
• Sword Beam: One of Metablade's specialty attacks.
• The Power of the Sun: Heliorb is basically a miniature sun, and is even Light/Fire-element.
• The Vamp: Obviously, demon spider^note no, not that one Aracubus fits this trope. Complete with seductive techniques like its signature Kiss of Death.
  • Although the trope is Always Female and Aracubus is modeled after a Black Widow, there are male Aracubus and they behave the same way.
• Threatening Shark: Chompac is a threatening mechanical shark.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Luceraph, the fallen angel who is one of two Digimorphs from Luciel, has white hair, and is Undead class... but with the interesting elemental combination of Light/Darkness.
• Winged Unicorn: Pegasel, of the carousel variety (even has a pole sticking out of its back).

Tropes exclusive to the Video Game version

• A Homeowner Is You: In the online mode of the video game, players can set up a residence in any of Mystrica's towns (except Necromere and Beta Town). Each town offers different variations of home - for example, you get a houseboat in Harbora, an urban apartment in Himachi, a gigantic seashell in Acuato, and a small castle in Castleton. These serve as both a gathering place and a free inn.
• Adventure Towns: For the most part, there is one quest per area - which makes sense given the size of Mystrica.
• All in a Row
• Background Music Override: Happens in the MDS Complex.
• Battle Theme Music: Each area has its own. Some even have an additional one for their boss.
• Beef Gate: Mt. Mystic is accessible at any point in the story, but the enemies in there are so strong that insufficiently-leveled Mystripet teams will be creamed before they can reach the top. Nearby faeries even warn that climbing the mountain "is not recommended if your Mystripets are below level 50". Some Sequence Breaking can happen if a particularly skilled player can make it to the top with a lower-leveled party, which allows them to access Edengarde early. However, they still have to rescue Ari and bring back the Spirit Key (a quest that has lower-level enemies) in order to do the combined goddess invocation.
• Flunky Boss: Almost every "magic spot" boss in the game is this - typically they will be able to call or summon a certain enemy to their side. Some bosses do this randomly; others do so at specific intervals. This second type often comes with a combo attack with said enemies.
  • D Major and the Torture Teacher (the bosses of Cartespade Cathedral and Mystrica University, respectively) are notable exceptions to this, since they both have mini-bosses preceding them. The Aging Sun is also an exception, since it has multiple phases.
• Guest-Star Party Member: For every Magic spot except Jardin de Colores, you have the option of recruiting a nearby mayor to help. These characters can be very useful, having a Mystripet (two in the case of Foseena, who is a Required Party Member for Rainbow Reef) plus a few other abilities. Said abilities include turning enemies against each other, using Sprites on your Mystripets, using items that do significant damage to a particular class, giving enemies status problems, or even using attacks of their own.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: All the Player Characters can be named whatever you want. This applies to all their Mystripets as well, although the pets don't have default names like their Keepers do.
• Peninsula of Power Leveling: The Morgue has the potential to be this. You get Sinistrina as an Optional Party Member for it, and while she can't help you with the boss, she is very useful for enemy battles, having an Aracubus who she will Auto-Revive (along with any other Undead Mystripets) even if it's not KO'd by a Melee attack, a multi-target Magic attack in case your Mystripets use mostly Melee attacks, and also automatically reviving any of your Mystripets at 1HP once per turn. The latter means it's impossible to get a game over while Sinistrina's in the party, as on a given turn you'll always have at least one surviving Mystripet. This makes the Morgue a good safe place to grind, at least until you defeat the Spirit Board.
• Video Game Stealing: Yamiko and Lupin both have theft-based character abilities, but they deviate from the usual instances of this trope a bit. The closest ability to the trope is Lupin's Swipe ability, which lets him steal items from enemies. However, since enemies do not hold any special "stealable" items (you just get their item after defeating them), this ability is only useful while running from or losing to an enemy, a case in which you normally don't get the item.
  • Yamiko has the Shoplift ability, which can land you free extra items whenever you buy something at a store.
  • Lupin also has the Pickpocket ability, which averts the above trope by having him randomly steal money or items from NPCs after talking to them.