Ivy

Ivy is a Venus Djinni found in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Ivy is the seventeenth Venus Djinni in Dark Dawn.

Basic description
When Set, Ivy increases its Adept's base HP by 11 and base Attack by 3.

When Ivy is unleashed in battle, the user produces an effect that prevents the next one action that the target has not performed yet this turn from executing. If an enemy only has one action per turn, it will essentially be prevented from doing anything this turn, while an enemy that acts twice per turn will only act once. This effect has the "strikes first" property, meaning it will be the first performed action in a given turn regardless of the agility rating of the user and any other combatant in battle.

In Dark Dawn, Ivy's unleash animation visually resembles the user summoning the 3D model of Ivy above the target's head while the background dims. Ivy floats above the enemy as a circular field of gray stone sand surrounds and wisps around the target, and two large green "eye flash" star shapes appear at Ivy's eyes. Immediately after this, the enemy's idle animation suddenly freezes in place and turns gray as though petrified. Then a puff of smoke is emitted at the base of the enemy, and all the sand disappears, the background returns, and the enemy regains its color, though it won't resume its idle animation until the game gives the message "[enemy] is unable to move!"

Location
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Ivy is very well hidden in Passaj, and a series of events that are used to bring it out into the open is only available at the late part of the game, when after obtaining the sailing ship Passaj is revisited. First, return to Passaj by entering the Passaj Mountain Climb and taking the elevator shortcut - in the small green cave you step through when transitioning from the top end of the elevator into Passaj itself, note the Zol cube diagonally implanted into the wall to your left.

Enter Passaj's inn and note the female NPC in violet on the bed. Go to the room northwest of the inn, and pick up the Old Rag off the table. Return to the girl and use the Old Rag, and after a brief cutscene follow her to the room you found the rag in. Another cutscene happens here, and now talk to the left of the two male NPCs twice, and ask him to help you. He disappears into your party like other NPCs sometimes do. Walk back to the cave before the elevator down and inspect the diagonal Zol stone, and you automatically acquire Ivy.

Analysis
General: Ivy is one of several Djinn that can either nullify an enemy's action entirely or prevent one of a boss' multiple actions in a given turn. This can be potentially very useful, and specific applications are possible when this Djinni is combined with the other Djinn that has the same effect (so that even a boss' multiple actions can be negated in a turn).

By game
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Ivy's effect makes it a second Doldrum, a Jupiter Djinni that is found in the Craggy Peak dungeon much earlier in the game. Since most enemies in the game only act once per turn, unleashing this will reliably prevent an enemy from performing its action this turn, which can be significant depending on the enemy (though one would probably opt for an attacking option to bring the enemy to its defeat faster). Being found much later than Doldrum means it has far fewer opportunities to be useful, but Ivy's real significance is the fact that it is a second Djinni with Doldrum's effect - it becomes possible to lock an enemy and prevent it from ever attacking by having two of your Adepts alternate between unleashing one of these Djinni and Setting it back the next turn while the other one is Unleashed the next turn. This only really works on enemies that have one action per turn, though.

In a boss fight, using Ivy can potentially be quite useful from a defensive perspective because one of the boss' multiple actions this turn will be prevented from happening. Negating one of the powerful assaults of the final boss makes that probably the best example of a battle where Ivy can be critically useful. It can be useful against the other, optional bosses as well, especially against the Star Magician - if the unleashing Adept is faster than the Guardian Ball, Ivy can prevent the Guardian Ball from using its own high-priority move Guard Aura to make the boss practically invincible, allowing your other Adepts to safely perform a massive summon rush that will deal appropriate damage.