Dark Cloud/Fishing

This is a minigame where you collect fishing points by catching fish in certain locations in villages. These points are then exchanged for various prizes, mostly weapon attachments. Fishing uses bait which you can get as treasure in villages and dungeons and as drops from some monsters. It’s a good idea to go fishing whenever bait items start to collect in your inventory as you have limited amount of space.

To begin, complete Alnet’s House in Norune Village; Alnet gives you a fishing rod as a reward. For Norune and some other locations, you must release the Pond from Atla and place it in the georama.

Mechanics
Check the sign near the fishing spot and choose Fish to enter fishing mode. In fishing mode you can move normally except you can only move a few feet from the edge of the water. Press psx: S to bait you hook or change bait; items useable for bait are usually listed as fishing bait in the item description, although some items can be used as bait that are used primarily for something else. See the bait section for a list. Face the water and press psx: X to cast your line into the water. In most locations you can see the fish swimming around and it may speed things up to cast the line close to them. Once your line is cast, assuming it lands in the water, you can use psx: Neutral Lstick to move the pole left and right or psx: X to pull the line out. In spots where you can see the fish you may notice them sniffing at the bait.

Fish seem to be more interested if the bait moves a bit, so you might try moving the pole to pique their interest. If the fish don't seem interested then try different bait; some baits don't work at all in some locations and different fish like different bait.

When a fish starts to nibble at the bait, you'll feel the controller vibrate and the float on the line will move slightly. Don't try to set the hook yet though because it's only a nibble. When the fish swallows the bait you'll see the float go under water, so set the hook by pressing psx: X. Be quick about it though because if you're too slow the fish will get away and take your bait with it. Two important points to remember are to not try to set the hook until you see the float go completely under water and to react quickly when you do see it.

Once the hook is set, hold psx: X down to reel in the fish, it is automatically measured and you get fishing points depending on its type and size. You throw the fish back and you can now re-bait the hook to go after the more fish. You can’t catch the same fish twice and eventually the number of fish in the pond decreases until it’s difficult to catch any more.

When you're out of bait or there are no more fish, press psx: C exit fishing mode. The pond will will be restocked the next time you start.

Fishing locations
Here is a rundown of the five locations where you can fish. (Lists of fish may be incomplete.)
 * Norune pond
 * Location: Norune village, release from Atla and place in georama.
 * Visibility: Murky
 * Fish: Gummy, Gobbler, Nonkey, Niler


 * Peanut pond
 * Location: Matataki village, permanent feature but is empty until you connect the waterfall to Treant's wood in georama. Release sections of river to connect them from Atla.
 * Visibility: Murky
 * Fish: Gobbler, Baku Baku, Tarton, Umadakara


 * Waterfall
 * Location: Matataki village, permanent feature
 * Visibility: Murky
 * Fish: Gummy, Nonkey, Baku Baku


 * Dock
 * Location: Queens, permanent feature
 * Visibility: Opaque
 * Fish: Piccoly, Bon


 * Oasis
 * Location: Muska Lacka, release from Atla and place in georama.
 * Visibility: Clear
 * Fish: Heela, Negie, Den

Bait
If an item can be used as bait it will usually say so in the description. But various kinds of fruits and vegetables can also be used.
 * Minon
 * Fish: Gummy (Norune Pond)


 * Prickly
 * Fish: Gummy (Norune Pond, Waterfall), Gobbler (Norune Pond, Peanut pond), Nonkey (Norune Pond, Waterfall), Baku Baku (Peanut pond, Waterfall), Niler (Norune Pond), Tarton (Peanut pond).


 * Mimi
 * Fish: Gobbler (Peanut Pond), Nonkey (Norune Pond), Baku Baku (Peanut Pond), Niler (Norune Pond)


 * Battan
 * Fish: Negie (Oasis), Den (Oasis)


 * Carrot
 * Fish: Umadakara (Peanut Pond)


 * Evy
 * Fish: Bon (Dock)


 * Potato Cake
 * Fish: Negie (Oasis)


 * Petite Fish
 * Fish: Heela (Oasis), Gobbler (Norune Pond, Peanut Pond), Baku Baku (Waterfall)


 * Mellow Banana
 * Fish: Negie (Oasis)


 * Throbbing Cherry
 * Fish: Gummy (Norune Pond), Nonkey (Waterfall), Heela (Oasis), Den (Oasis)


 * Gooey Peach
 * Fish: Heela (Oasis) Negie (Oasis), Niler (Norune Pond), Gummy, (Norune Pond)
 * Bomb Nuts Den (Oasis)

Fish
This is a list of possible fish, where they are usually caught, what bait they like, and an estimate of their value in Fishing points.
 * Nonkey (avg. 9 pts.)
 * Locations: Norune Pond, Waterfall
 * Bait: Prickly, Mimi


 * Bon (avg. 9 pts.)
 * Locations: Dock
 * Bait: Evy


 * Gobbler (avg. 11 pts.)
 * Locations: Norune Pond, Peanut Pond
 * Bait: Mimi, Petite Fish, Prickly


 * Baku Baku (avg. 12 pts.)
 * Locations: Peanut Pond, Waterfall
 * Bait: Mimi, Prickly


 * Gummy (avg. 16 pts.)
 * Locations: Norune Pond, Waterfall
 * Bait: Mimi, Minon, Prickly, Gooey Peach


 * Negie (avg. 17 pts.)
 * Locations: Oasis
 * Bait: Battan, Mellow Banana


 * Den (avg. 20 pts.)
 * Locations: Oasis
 * Bait: Minon, Battan, Throbbing Cherry


 * Niler (avg. 21 pts.)
 * Locations: Norune Pond
 * Bait: Gooey Peach, Mimi, Prickly


 * Heela (avg. 22 pts.)
 * Locations: Oasis
 * Bait: Petite Fish, Gooey Peach, Throbbing Cherry


 * Tarton (avg. 40 pts.)
 * Locations: Peanut Pond
 * Bait: Prickly


 * Umadakara (avg. 100 pts.)
 * Locations: Peanut Pond
 * Bait: Carrot

Garayans
Not included above are the so-called legendary fish Mardan Garayan and Baron Garayan. These are rare and can only be caught under certain conditions. First, neither of these fish like daylight so ONLY fish for them at dusk or night. Tip: Change options for “Time Progress” to “Speedy” if needed.

Mardan Garayan only likes Poisonous Apples (easily stolen from witch enemies in Wise Owl forest or Moon Sea) and it's the only fish that does. So use that as bait and don't worry about other fish taking it. You can find Mardan Garayan at the waterfall or, more commonly, at the oasis. It's worth the extra trouble because each Mardan Garayan is worth several hundred fishing points. In addition, catching one unlocks two things: 1) A weapon called the “Mardon Eins” in the “Exchange FP” section for Toan. You will also need to catch several Mardan Gayans WITH the Mardan Eins equipped in order to evolve (“Build up”) that weapon. 2) You can now guarantee avoiding traps in locked treasure chests from now on. When you select “Guess trap” it will say “Mardan Gayan shows the right path” and highlights the correct answer. This means you can sell treasure keys for a decent profit instead if so desired.

Baron Garayan is worth even more fishing points and only likes Potato Cake. It's found only at the oasis but the other fish there also like Potato Cake so you'll need to make sure none of them get it. The water at the oasis is clear and Baron Garayan will probably be the biggest fish there (it is ONLY a big fish so if you don’t see one, quit fishing then try again) so you should be able to get by careful casting. If that fails, you can try fishing out the other fish with less expensive/more common bait (throbbing cherry, mellow banana, minion) and then using Potato Cake when Baron Garayan is the only fish left. You could also go to Moon Sea and steal Potato Cakes from the moon diggers in order to have plenty. Throbbing cherries are also easily stolen from Auntie Medu and Cursed Rose in Shipwreck among other enemies.

The best method to find Baron Gayan: select fish. If you don’t see any big fish, quit fishing then try fishing again until you see one. Once you see a big fish, see if it goes for a minion, throbbing cherry, or mellow banana, which are fairly universal baits for the more common Oasis fish. If you see that the large fish does not go for it, but does go for the Potato Cake, it is probably the Baron Gayan.