Gnome enemy line

The Gnome, Gnome Mage, and Gnome Wizard are species of monsters randomly battled in Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. These monsters, resembling small humanoids wearing a robe and hood and holding a little staff, are palette-swapped variants of each other that have differing levels of power and defense and are fought in different locations in the games. Unlike many other monster lines, the variants in this monster line also have differing levels of elemental powers and resistances.

Gnome
A Gnome is a blue-garbed variant with yellow skin and a violet-tipped staff. Statistically, this monster has 85 HP, 5 PP, 73 Attack, 15 Defense, 38 Agility, and 3 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Mars Resistance rating of 100, Venus and Jupiter Resistance ratings of 72, and a Mercury Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 100 and its available Jupiter-based attacks with a Jupiter power rating of 85.

The Gnome uses these battle commands:
 * Flare: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that causes a small patch of fire to go through multiple Adepts and deal a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 15 and a range of 3. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Guard: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that buffs up 1 target on its side of the field by increasing the target's current Defense rating by 25%. This ability consumes 3 of its user's PP.
 * Bolt: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that strikes a single targeted Adept with quick purple lightning bolts, dealing a Jupiter-based attack with a power rating of 20. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP. Since the Gnome's PP meter is so meager, it can only use one of these three Psynergy effects in a given battle.
 * Flee: Used 1 out of 8 times, this enemy has the ability to attempt to Flee the battle, thereby removing it from the battle if successful, but your party is not able to defeat it properly for gaining any EXP and coin rewards.
 * Attack: Used 3 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.

Felling a Gnome yields 29 Experience Points and 40 Coins, and there is a 1/32 chance that the monster will randomly drop an Oil Drop. If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Mercury Djinni, its rewards increase to 37 EXP and 52 Coins, and the chance to drop its item becomes 1/8. In Golden Sun it is first battled in the interior portions of Tret Tree, and subsequently battled in Bilibin Cave, the wintry northern region of Angara encompassing Imil and Mercury Lighthouse, and inside Mercury Lighthouse itself. In The Lost Age it is battled throughout Yampi Desert.

In where it can first be fought in the first game, it is among the height of the monsters battled in Tret Tree, up there with Creepers and Trolls. In subsequent areas it becomes comparatively weak to other monsters. In The Lost Age, it is mainly a "stock" monster among those in Yampi Desert. In both cases, if left alive by the end of the first turn, it could use a Psynergy attack that could do pretty good damage to a low level party.

Gnome Mage
A Gnome Mage is a light-green-garbed variant with purple skin and a light-blue-tipped staff. Statistically, this monster has 162 HP, 24 PP, 179 Attack, 50 Defense, 108 Agility, and 8 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Jupiter Resistance rating of 100, Mercury and Mars Resistance ratings of 72, and a Venus Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Jupiter-based attacks with a Jupiter power rating of 100 and its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 85.

The Gnome Mage uses these battle commands:
 * Flash Bolt: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that strikes multiple Adepts with purple lightning bolts, dealing a Jupiter-based attack with a power rating of 40 and a range of 3. This ability consumes 7 of its user's PP.
 * Fireball: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that strikes multiple Adepts with a wide group of balls of fire that home in into their positions, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 65 and a range of 5. This ability consumes 12 of its user's PP. The Gnome Mage's PP meter allows it to cast this twice in a battle.
 * Delude: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that affects up to 3 Adepts, with each one having a chance to get afflicted with the Delusion status ailment. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Attack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.

Felling a Gnome Mage yields 86 Experience Points and 126 Coins, and there is a 1/16 chance that the monster will randomly drop a Crystal Powder. If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Venus Djinni, its rewards increase to 111 EXP and 163 Coins, and the chance to drop its item becomes 1/4. In Golden Sun it is first battled in the region of the overworld map west of the Karagol Sea, in the region containing Tolbi, Altmiller Cave, and Gondowan Passage, and it is battled within Altmiller Cave itself as well. In The Lost Age it is battled in Gaia Rock and Izumo Ruins.

In where it can first be fought in the first game, it can probably be considered the "best" of the monsters fought in the overworld portion because it has the highest EXP and coin rewards, but is immediately outclassed by monsters in Altmiller Cave. It is a pretty good source of Crystal Powders (and it should be noted that they drop them twice as often as Gnome Wizards), which when used by Mia are nothing more or less than free Hail Prisms - this can be rather useful. In The Lost Age, it has the highest Agility of the random monsters in Gaia Rock, which might increase its threat level if your party has less than 108 Agility.

Gnome Wizard
A Gnome Wizard is a red-garbed variant with light-blue skin and a violet-tipped staff. Statistically, this monster has 215 HP, 32 PP, 257 Attack, 74 Defense, 122 Agility, and 8 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Venus Resistance rating of 100, Mercury and Mars Resistance ratings of 72, and a Jupiter Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Venus-based attacks with a Venus power rating of 100.

The Gnome Wizard uses these battle commands:
 * Mother Gaia: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that strikes multiple Adepts with an eruption of earth-based energy and rocks from the ground, dealing a Venus-based attack with a power rating of 100 and a range of 5. This ability consumes 17 of its user's PP - while this is the Gnome Wizard's "big" attack, its PP meter is only sufficient for one usage of Mother Gaia per battle.
 * Sleep: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that affects up to 3 Adepts, with each one having a chance to get afflicted with the Sleep status ailment as a flock of sheep falls around at their positions. This ability consumes 5 of its user's PP.
 * Impact: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that buffs up 1 target on the user's side of the field by increasing the target's current Attack rating by 25%. This ability consumes 7 of its user's PP.
 * Attack: Used 3 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.

Felling a Gnome Wizard yields 219 Experience Points and 176 Coins, and there is a 1/32 chance that the monster will randomly drop a Crystal Powder (interestingly, the earlier variant Gnome Mage drops this same item at a higher rate). If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, its rewards increase to 284 EXP and 228 Coins, and the chance to drop its item becomes 1/8. In Golden Sun it is first battled at Suhalla Gate, and is subsequently battled in the frontal "exit" portion to Venus Lighthouse and in the Road to Babi Lighthouse.

In where it is first fightable, the Gnome Wizard is not quite as statistically high as the other enemies, and is easy to KO on the first turn. It is also not all that common for it to cast Mother Gaia, but if it does, it can be rather damaging to most of your group.