PMTTYD unluckiness...

Wow. Just wow.

I was playing PMTTYD, attempting to complete the Pit of 100 Trials... Mario had 1HP, Bonetail had 3HP, partners were defeated, and I was out of healing items (and not enough Star Energy for Sweet Treat)... And a random stage contraption confused Mario, causing Mario to defend instead of attack. Bonetail then defeated Mario (despite Pretty Lucky + Close Call x2). :-(

(Why was I in a situation this bad in the first place? I was attempting to complete the Pit before starting Chapter 4. (I was almost certain I could win if I had Art Attack, Spike Shield, and two Power Plus badges, so I thought I needed more of a challenge...))

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Random tips to anyone who tries a pre-Ch4 (or even pre-Ch3) Po1T challenge, if you don't have insane Superguarding skill:
- Make sure you have Power Plus (buy from Dazzle), Power Plus P (Glitzville, or buy from Dazzle), and Heart Finder (buy from Dazzle). Chill Out is also very useful, as well as Peekaboo if you don't want to use Goombella too often (and risk her losing too much HP and wasting a Life Shroom). Also, the Power Rush and Power Rush P badges can be quite helpful for finishing up a battle when your HP is low, as well as Close Call and Last Stand.
- As for special attacks, Quake Hammer is very important (3 piercing damage to all ground enemies). Power Smash and Piercing Blow are also quite useful, and Power Bounce can be helpful if you're good at it. Other special-attack badges aren't worth equipping in my opinion.
- Also bring a good number of Life Shrooms (3 or 4 should be good), at least one good FP-restoring item for in case you're out of Star Energy (or Mario's frozen/asleep) and you need FP, and any Thunder Rages, Shooting Stars, or Boo's Sheets you may have picked up. (After obtaining the Strange Sack, start spending your money on Super Shrooms or Thunder Rages if Charlieton shows up... though make sure to keep at least 30 coins in case of a Mover, if you want to skip down 5 levels. (About Movers, they're probably not worth using before the 60s, since you may need the coins.))
- Star Energy is very important. Make sure you're good at Sweet Treat, Earth Tremor, Clock Out, and stylish moves-- you'll need to use special moves quite often.
- Super Appeal P badge can also be quite useful-- you may need more Star Energy to re-apply Clock Out or Sweet Treat than a Stylish attack would provide. (And yes, repeatedly using Clock Out every 3 turns or Sweet Treat every turn can be quite effective.)
- Most enemies are vulnerable to Stop, though a few types highly resist it. (You'll probably only stop 2 or 3 90s enemies in a battle against 5, but Clock Out will generally succeed on the pre-90s enemies if you're good at button mashing. And it's still quite useful in the 90s.)
- Earth Tremor can hit Spiky Parabuzzies, as well as charged up Ice/Poison Puffs.
- Flurrie's Gale Force, though unreliable, is basically an instant death move (you don't even lose the Star Points). Don't expect it to succeed against any given enemy, but when there are 4 to 5 opponents, you might blow away an enemy or two (or three).
- Spin-jump first strikes do 2 additional damage for no FP. (You can also first-strike with the Super Hammer for 1 piercing damage to other ground/floating enemies.)
- As for Bonetail... well, I would provide a strategy, but as I said, I didn't defeat him yet. (What I do say is: I hope you're reliable at guarding his breath attacks-- I believe he can cause every status effect, and you to not want Mario to fall asleep or be frozen. (If it's Mario's turn and anyone has a status effect, use Sweet Treat to remove it.))