Dim Dragon

The man-made contraption fought after reaching the end of the Psynergy Training Grounds the first time...

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.

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Dim Dragon

The Dim Dragon is a level 5 enemy. After being defeated, the player will be allowed to receive the Gate Card.

The Dim Dragon is especially likely to be affected by Stun-inducing effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Dim Dragon	320	0	44	12	13	30
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 1)   100 (Lv 0)   72 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			179	60	Nut	1/1

The Dim Dragon uses the following battle commands with low intelligence and proceeds through the command list in sequential order with a random start point; this would normally mean that any one of the eight actions listed below can be the "starting point," and the next turn's action will be the one listed beneath what had been used, cycling back to the top of the list when the bottom of the list is reached. (However, the Dim Dragon will not start on any of the three moves in its breakdown-and-repair cycle.)

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Pebble Breath	1st Move	105 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Venus-aligned attack with a power rating of 24 and a range of 1.
Sizzle Breath	2nd Move	80 Power Level 0	Enemy ability that deals a Mars-aligned attack with a power rating of 37 and a range of 1. May also lower the target's Defense by 12.5%.
Breakdown	3rd Move	--	Does nothing other than display the user in a broken-down state if it is not already in that state.
Breakdown	4th Move	--	Does nothing other than display the user in a broken-down state if it is not already in that state.
Repair	5th Move	--	Restores 39 HP to the Dim Dragon and brings it back out of its visually broken-down state.
Gasping Breath	6th Move	105 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Venus-aligned attack with 14 base damage, spread out across 3 targets with low damage distribution. May also inflict Haunt on each target.
Attack	7th Move	--	Standard physical attack.
Scary Jinx	8th Move	Level 2	Enemy ability that may inflict Death Curse on a single target.

Dim Dragon Plus

...and the second time.

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.

The Dim Dragon Plus is especially likely to be affected by Stun-inducing effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Dim Dragon Plus	500	0	49	12	13	35
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 1)   100 (Lv 0)   72 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			267	80	Nut	1/1

The Dim Dragon Plus uses the following battle commands with low intelligence and proceeds through the command list in sequential order with a random start point; this would normally mean that any one of the eight actions listed below can be the "starting point," and the next turn's action will be the one listed beneath what had been used, cycling back to the top of the list when the bottom of the list is reached. (However, the Dim Dragon Plus will not start on either Breakdown or Repair.)

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Pebble Breath	1st Move	105 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Venus-aligned attack with a power rating of 24 and a range of 1.
Sizzle Breath	2nd Move	80 Power Level 0	Enemy ability that deals a Mars-aligned attack with a power rating of 37 and a range of 1. May also lower the target's Defense by 12.5%.
Breakdown	3rd Move	--	Does nothing other than display the user in a broken-down state if it is not already in that state.
Repair	4th Move	--	Restores 39 HP to the Dim Dragon Plus and brings it back out of its visually broken-down state.
Gasping Breath	5th Move	105 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Venus-aligned attack with 14 base damage, spread out across 3 targets with low damage distribution. May also inflict Haunt on each target.
Djinn Burp	6th Move	--	Places all the Djinn of one target into Recovery mode.
Attack	7th Move	--	Standard physical attack.
Scary Jinx	8th Move	Level 2	Enemy ability that may inflict Death Curse on a single target.

Strategies

Matthew, Tyrell, and Karis battle this representation of Isaac and Felix's most harrowing opponent at the end of the Psynergy Training Grounds.

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

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  Official art of the Dim Dragon

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  Official art of the Dim Dragon Plus