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First steps

New to PDMN? Here is the essential to get off to a good start, from the Hollow to the bottom of the first dungeons: the duo, the camp, turn-based play, items, recruiting, the Molt, saving.

PDMN is played in your browser, with nothing to install, on PC as on phone. The story unfolds over twenty chapters; between two of them, you explore dungeons whose every floor is drawn at random. This page gives you the keys to the first hour; each point links to its detailed page.

1. Form your duo

It all starts with your hero and your partner, chosen from the starter Pokémon of the whole Mystery Dungeon series: 33 possible heroes, 34 partners. The Explorers of Sky personality quiz can choose for you. Don’t worry about types: every duo can finish the story. See Choosing your duo.

2. The Hollow, your camp

Between two expeditions, you walk around the Hollow. There you find:

• Duskull’s bank, where what you deposit is never lost, even after fainting;
• Delibird’s shop, to buy and sell items;
• Chatot’s requests, jobs to fulfill in the dungeons, which pay in coins and items;
• the dormitories, where the Pokémon you have recruited live;
• the gallery: its mouth is where the team sets off to explore, on the departure sheet where you choose the place, the difficulty and the requests to bring along.

See The camp.

3. In the dungeon: every step is a turn

The dungeon is played turn by turn: when you take a step, attack or use an item, the wild Pokémon act too. Each floor is drawn at random; find the stairs to go down, all the way to the bottom. Watch the team’s HP and your hero’s Belly, which empties as you walk: an Apple fills it.

• Moves have PP: when they run out, the regular attack, weaker, is always available.
• Traps are hidden; once spotted, you step over them.
• Weather weighs on moves: in the rain, fire runs out of breath.
• Golden stairs lead to a game room: Minesweeper, Memory Tiles or Ice Rink, with a chest at stake.
• A Monster House is a whole room falling on you: better be ready.

See Turn by turn and The floor, the stairs, the map.

4. Items and held items

The bag fills up with berries, seeds, orbs and stones to throw: 16 slots, 40 pods of load. Each Pokémon can also hold an item, just one: it is often what makes the difference, and it isn’t lost when you faint. Gholdengo, the merchant, wanders all the way into the dungeons: he sells dear, but he buys back. See Held items.

5. Recruiting and leading the team

A defeated wild Pokémon may ask to join your team, especially if your hero lands the final blow. Each member follows a tactic you set yourself: Balanced, Aggressive, Cautious, Peaceful (it never attacks, ideal for leaving the final blow to the hero) or Stay Put. You can also set aside the moves it must not use. See Team tactics.

6. Growing: levels and the Molt

Battles raise levels, and new moves come with them. Each place has its level cap: the last levels before the cap come more slowly, and a dungeon you have outgrown yields little. Later on, your Pokémon can go through their Molt, this world’s evolution, even in the middle of a dungeon. Eevee, for its part, changes according to the place where it molts.

7. Saving and playing together

The game saves itself in your browser. With an account (e-mail address or Discord), it is also kept online and follows you on all your devices, phone included, with three saves per account. And with an account, “Play Together” gives you a code to share to explore the same dungeon with a friend. See Saving and the account.

Beginner questions

How do I start a game?

On the title screen, choose Play. Take the personality quiz or pick your hero directly, then your partner, and the story begins in the Hollow.

What do you lose when the team faints?

The bag and the coins you were carrying stay at the bottom of the dungeon. What your Pokémon hold and what you left at the bank in the Hollow are still waiting for you. See Fainting.

How do I recruit a Pokémon?

By defeating a wild Pokémon: sometimes it asks to join the team. Save the hero’s final blow for it; your teammates set to Peaceful help with that, and a sleeping wild Pokémon is twice as willing to be won over.

Is the game too hard, or too easy?

The departure sheet offers three difficulties: Easy, Normal, Hard. Easy softens the wild Pokémon but yields less; Hard toughens them and yields more. See Easy, Normal, Hard.

See also

• Getting startedChoosing your duoThe hero and the partner are chosen from the starter Pokémon of the whole Mystery Dungeon series, or through the personality quiz. Who is available, what differs between the two, and why no choice closes off the story.
• BattleTurn by turnEvery step is a turn, and the wild Pokémon act after you. The possible actions, the ranges, what makes up damage, the regular attack, and natural HP recovery.
• DungeonsFaintingWhen the team falls, it returns to the Hollow without the bag or the coins it was carrying. What is lost, what remains, and the special cases: the Monster House, bosses, fleeing, playing together.