Bark

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

Bark is the third Venus Djinni in Dark Dawn.

Basic description
When Set, Bark increases its Adept's base HP by 11, base Defense by 2, base Agility by 3, and base Luck by 1.

When Bark is unleashed in battle, the user produces an effect that reduces all damage the entire party would take for the rest of the current turn by 50%. 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, Bark's unleash animation visually resembles once the user summoning the 3D model of Bark, which hovers around briefly as small brown energy orbs gather in front of each use in order, each briefly forming a glossy shield-like shape made of wood that flashes in front of each Adept before disappearing.

Location
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Bark is found late in the interior portion of the Passaj Mountain Climb. It basically cannot be missed - you will be right within grabbing distance of it at one point while going through the interior of Passaj Mountain Climb, which is a mandatory part of the game in order to each Passaj beyond. Once you come across Bark behind a hole in the wall that regularly shoots out whirlwinds, you should employ a little timing to get to Bark's side, or else getting caught in the whirlwind will bring you to an earlier point in the dungeon and you will have to go through that part of the dungeon again to get back. Interact with Bark to begin the battle to add it to your Djinn collection. Then you can climb up the nearby ladder to proceed with the rest of the dungeon as normal.

As an opponent (Dark Dawn)
Bark can use the following battle commands:
 * Attack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
 * Growth: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that causes a few vines to erupt from the ground and through a single Adept, dealing a Venus-based attack with a power rating of 25. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Quake:  Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that prompts the ground underneath the party to jolt upward and retract quickly, dealing a Veus-based attack with a power rating of 12 and a range of 3. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Thorn: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy Spell that generates a small mass of thorny spiked vines at the position of the party of Adepts, dealing a Venus-based attack with a power rating of 35 and a range of 3. It costs the user 6 PP.

Analysis
General: Bark is one of several Djinn that cuts total damage the party takes this turn by a large amount, and does so with increased priority, which can make it a powerful defensive measure for one Adept to use up their turn executing, granting that the enemy or boss deals a threatening amount of damage with their attacks. While halving all damage the party takes is a strong effect, the other similar Djinn found later on cut all damage to even lower amounts, directly obsoleting Bark.

By game
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Bark would seem to be quite valuable for a good portion of the game because it is this game's equivalent to the GBA games' Venus Djinni Granite, and the only other, stronger party-protecting Djinni is Chasm much later on in Belinsk Ruins. Chasm cuts all damage the party takes down to 10%, which is incredibly powerful and basically replaces Bark when it is found. However, these protective Djinn, in comparison to those used in the GBA games, are undermined simply because enemies and bosses in Dark Dawn are not as damaging and threatening as they are in previous games. Unless the player is undertaking some sort of self-imposed challenge that makes protecting the party much more valuable, Bark is likely going to be used not so often, if at all.

Name Origin
Bark is the exterior covering of a tree's trunk and branches.