Dim Dragon

The Dim Dragon (パネルドラゴン Panel Dragon) is the second boss encounter in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It is fought at the end of the fourth course of the Psynergy Training Grounds. It is a direct throwback to the Doom Dragon, appearing as a clockwork mechanism on wheels with wooden planks painted with a caricature image of the three-headed dragon grafted onto its front and back. Like with everything before in the Psynergy Training Grounds, this man-made contraption constitutes a trial that thematically represents the original challenges Isaac and the Warriors of Vale had to meet thirty years before.

Dim Dragon
The Dim Dragon is a level 5 enemy. Its statistics are as follows:

The Dim Dragon uses the following battle commands:

After being defeated, the player will be allowed to receive the Gate Card.

Dim Dragon Plus
The Dim Dragon Plus (パネルドラゴンDX Panel Dragon DX) is an upgraded version of the Dim Dragon that is an optional boss. It can be fought after the original Dim Dragon is defeated. In addition to being recolored red, the Dim Dragon Plus has spikes on its wheels. To fight the Dim Dragon Plus, the player must beat the harder version of the Psynergy Training Grounds, which simply means beating the course with a stricter time limit.

The Dim Dragon Plus is a level 5 enemy. Its statistics are as follows:

The Dim Dragon uses the following battle commands:

Strategies
As early boss battles, neither the Dim Dragon nor the Dim Dragon Plus are truly difficult, and similar strategies can be used for both. Generally, the party should be leveled to at least level 6. At this point, Karis will learn the mass-healing move Fresh Breeze, which is excellent at healing the damage either Dragon inflicts.

For both Dragons, just about any offensive move will do, whether it be physical attacks, Psynergy, or Djinn and Summons. If fought at the earliest possible time, the player will only have two Djinn, however, which necessitates a varied strategy, due to the Djinn's recovery turn. When fighting the Dim Dragon Plus, the player should beware the Dragon's Djinn Burp ability. While the player will not have enough Djinn to make this the battle-ending attack that other Djinn-draining attacks are, it is still annoying and can interrupt any summoning strategies.

It is worth noting that both battles can be temporarily postponed, as fighting the battles are not necessary to advance to Carver's Camp, though the Dim Dragon must be fought to pass through Konpa Gate. If the player postpones it, then stronger weapons, such as Themis' Axe and the Battle Axe, additional Djinn - including Gust, Chill and Fever - and the Zagan summon can be obtained, making the player stronger and thus shortening the boss battle. On the other hand, some players may not want to backtrack. Thus, it is up to each player to choose when they wish to fight both Dragons.

If trying to take advantage of both Dragons' weakness to Mars-based attacks, a few things should be noted. If the player fights the Dim Dragon as soon as possible, they will not have any offensive Mars Djinn to attack with, as the only Djinn found is Forge, which raises attack. Thus, the player will need to rely on the Mars summon, as well as Tyrell's Mars Psynergy, which can be limited due to his low PP rating. However, if the player waits and gains Fever before fighting the dragons, the fight becomes much easier. Not only will the player gain an offensive Mars Djinn, but they will also gain access to the much stronger Kirin summon.

Extended Gallery