Paper Mario Darkness in Time: Prologue (part 3) + New Partner

Decided to post the third part of the Darkness in Time Prologue. And with this Prologue here, we also got the first Partner in the game, which will be more explained after this part. For now, enjoy:

Prologue: The Strange Visitor (part 3)

The residents of the Mushroom Castle, along with visitors from other kingdoms, were filled with fear about what happened at Mushroom Castle. The creature was labeled as a huge threat to the world, and no one has any information regarding it, almost no one that is. Dr. Toadley has revealed that he may have some information regarding the creature. The catch? Mario needed to fetch him some medications from Shy Guy Town, before he could tell him.

After a long, but pleasant, road, Mario has arrived at Shy Guy Town, a small town filled with Shy Guys. Mario couldn’t stop and chat to the residents here. He rushed to the pharmacy here to get the medications. Behind the counter was a white Shy Guy.

White Shy Guy: “Hello, welcome to Shy Guy Pharmacy. How may I help you?”

Mario told the Shy Guy about Dr. Toadley’s medications.

White Shy Guy: “Oh yea, the medications that Dr. Toadley ordered. You know, he never did explained why he needed these medications, but this is Dr. Toadley we’re talking about.”

The Shy Guy turned to the left and shouted in that direction.

White Shy Guy: “Shycan?”

Just then, a green Shy Guy appeared from the shelves and next to the white Shy Guy. He was the same size as all the other Shy Guys, but he wore green clothing and what appeared to be a strange machine on the right side of his head. This Shy Guy was apparently Shycan.

Shycan: “Yes?”

White Shy Guy: “I need you to fetch the medication that Dr. Toadley ordered. You know where they are?”

Shycan: “Of course.”

Shycan immediately hurried to the back of the Pharmacy. Mario, curious about the green Shy Guy, asked the white Shy Guy who that was.

White Shy Guy: “That’s Shycan. He’s helping out at my Pharmacy. That Shycan, you can never ask for a better helper. He’s really smart, knows a lot about the world. And when there’s something he doesn’t know, that scanner on his head allows him to get information on that something.”

Mario is rather interested by this green Shy Guy. Just then, Shycan appeared, with a bag full of medications.

Shycan: “Here’s the medication.”

Shycan handed Mario the medications, but stopped abruptly.

Shycan: “Wait a minute? Aren’t you Mario? THE Mario?”

Mario nodded. Shycan looked excited.

Shycan: “I never believed that I would meet Mario in a place like this! But here you are! Why are you here, anyway?”

Mario told Shycan that he was sent here by Dr. Toadley to retrieve the medications so he could learn about the strange creature that attacked him earlier.

Shycan: “So, this is related to the recent attack on Mushroom Castle. But then why couldn’t he just give you the information?”

Mario told him that’s just the way Dr. Toadley is, sighing in the process.

Shycan: “I see. Well, from the looks of things, you may need my help. So, may I come?”

Mario was reluctant on agreeing, but the white Shy Guy stopped him.

White Shy Guy: “Mario, I wouldn’t turn down help from Shycan. Trust me, he’ll be very helpful on your quest.”

Mario took a while to think. He then agrees to take Shycan with him.

Shycan: “Alright then, Mario. You won’t regret it.”

Shycan handed Mario the medications and the two headed out.

White Shy Guy: “Be careful, Shycan. Don’t let Mario down.”

Mario headed to the shop here to buy a Mushroom with the money he brought (he still has the Mushroom and Honey Syrup from before), and left Shy Guy Town with Shycan. However, before they could head back to Toad Town, they were stopped by a Goomba, a Spiked Goomba (a Goomba wearing a spiked helmet), and a Paragoomba (a Goomba with wings).

Goomba: “Hold it! By order of the great king Bowser, you’re not allowed to pass!”

Spiked Goomba: “That’s right!”

Shycan, however, looked confused.

Shycan: “Um, Mario? I don’t believe these jokers were here before.”

Shycan took the words right out of Mario’s mouth. These Goombas were definitely not here before.

Paragoomba: “Just head back to the town and no one gets hurt.”

Mario nodded no. He still needs to return the medications to Dr. Toadley.

Goomba: “WHAT!? Are you just begging us to hurt you?”

Spiked Goomba: “Alright then, if you won’t go back, then we’ll just make you!”

The 3 Goombas prepared for battle, as did Mario and Shycan.

Shycan: “Mario, I don’t know if anyone told you this, but I can scan the enemies for you, allowing you to know about their stats and traits. Allow me.”

Shycan stepped up and activated the machine on his head. A green visor appeared and covered his right eye. He then pulled out a laptop and started looking at the screen. The visor started glowing as it scans the Goomba. After a while, the visor stopped glowing.

Shycan: “Scan complete. That's a Goomba. You know all about Goombas since they're pretty common in the Mushroom Kingdom. Max HP is 2, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. They can headbonk you, but that's pretty much it. These Goombas aren’t really much of a threat at all. Any attack can pretty much defeat them easily.”

He did the same to the Spiked Goomba.

Shycan: “That's a Spiked Goomba. A Goomba with a spiked helmet, as you see. Max HP is 2, Attack is 2, and Defense is 0. Even though they’re still not much of a threat, they’re more powerful than regular Goombas. That helmet not only increases its attack power, but it also damages you when you jump on it, so don't do it.”

He, once again did the same thing to the Paragoomba.

Shycan: “That's a Paragoomba. A Goomba that have grown wings, as you see. Max HP is 2, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. Just like regular Goombas, they’re not much of a threat. It's flying, though, so your Hammer won't hit it. Jumping on it, however, will get rid of the wings.”

Mario was impressed by Shycan.

Shycan: “Every time you come across a new enemy, allow me to scan them for you.”

Mario and Shycan are now ready to battle. Mario started by Jumping on the Goomba. It was a perfect action command which scored 2 HP of damage on the Goomba, defeating it.

Shycan: “Now it’s my turn.”

Shycan uses his Bounce, jumping over the Spiked Goomba and landing on the Paragoomba. Shycan perform his own perfect action command, dealing 2 HP of damage on the Paragoomba. The Paragoomba lost its wings, dropped down to the ground, and was defeated.

Spiked Goomba: “How could you!? Now you’re going to pay!”

The Spiked Goomba stepped forward and used its headbonk. Mario guarded perfectly, but thanks to the Spiked Goomba’s high Attack, Mario still took 1 HP of damage.

Shycan: “Time to finish this!”

Mario pulled out his Hammer and used it on the Spiked Goomba. Thanks to another perfect action command, the Spiked Goomba loses 2 HP and dropped down, defeated.

Shycan: “We did it, Mario!”

Mario gave out his thumbs up, celebrating the victory.

Shycan: “But there’s no time to celebrate. These Goombas couldn’t be just regular Goombas. You heard what they said, right Mario?”

Mario completely understood. Those Goombas must work for Bowser!

Shycan: “We got to hurry to Toad Town, Mario. Who knows what’s happening there? But we have to be careful. There are bounds to be more Goombas here.”

Mario and Shycan rushed toward Toad Town to see what was going on. Remember on the last part that what happens next will be more than what Mario expected? Well, it’s about to happen.

Now then, since we got a new Partner, it's time for some explanation.

Shycan

Shycan is the first Partner in the game. He specialize in jump attacks and revealing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. He can also do explosive damage to all enemies quite easily. Here are his stats:

(Note: Attack stats is how much damage their basic attack does without a perfect action command. Also this game uses a Nintendo 3DS button scheme. I will change it if necessary.)

Normal-rank Super-rank Ultra-rank

HP: 10 20 40

Attack: 1 2 3

Normal-rank Moves:

Bounce - Bounces on the enemy (Press B at the right time to bounce on the enemy again.)

Scan - Scans the enemy to reveal their stats, strengths, and weaknesses (Press B when the small cursor crosses with the large cursor to scan.)
Super-rank Move:

Multibounce - Continuously bounce on the enemy (Press B at the right time to bounce on the enemy again. Continue doing this until you mess up.)

Ultra-rank Move:
Computer Bombs - Drop digital bombs on all enemies (Press the button shown on the dropping bomb, either B, A, Y, or X, to do more damage. Do that to any other bombs that appear depending on the number of enemies.)

Of course, there are also new enemies: