*Ogyo- This spoiled little queen almost turned me off from the game when I first started playing it. She had a nearly 90% failure rate until I tossed her in the freezer in frustration, only digging her back out 30 game-years later. I heavily recommend AGAINST using the pure breed for this reason. Non-Spoiled Ogyos, however, are okay. I even managed to make my brat into a Ragnarox-beating champion, even after its beginning handicapped me. However, I wouldn't recommend her to the muscle-heads out there. She wins with brains, not brawn, and that goes for strategy as well as stats.

It IS possible to raise a good Power-based Ogyo, but I'll get to that in a moment. Her main strategy is based around having tons of moves that sap Guts and induce status ailments in the enemy. While Vortex, and to an extent Squall can both slam an enemy, her main line of offense is a good defense (or vice-versa), by keeping the opponent so screwed up that they can't attack. Ultrasonics, Ice Beam, Torrent, and the great Squall attack all help at this. If you can possibly get Heart W/S on an Int-based Ogyo, you can REALLY devastate the enemy! You don't need to have more than one or two of these withering moves, however, and I suggest Ultrasonics with any of the above- her sonic attack is relatively cheap and works well for a hit tech as well as a withering tech. Hopefully I've gotten across how much Squall helps (good in all areas without being GREAT in any), but you should really avoid Un-Deux-Trois, as there's really no point to it at all. It looks more like a Bit tech than an Orb tech. As for the last Orb tech, Earth Wave, it initially seems like a good move (a cheap but moderately-powerful drain attack, yay!), but it turns out to be none-too-awesome when you see its horrid efficiency (I think it only restores about 1/4th of what it takes from the enemy) coupled with low accuracy. Suggested move list for an Int-based Ogyo: Ultrasonics, Vortex, Squall, and Ice Beam. As always, having the right W/S can change the premium techniques, and Ogyo has surprising amount of elemental variety. Still, this set-up gives you coverage in all three ranges with a variety of possible strategies, not just Antagonizer, and it worked well for me.

If you want to use a Pow-based Ogyo, however, you have enough to fill out a move list, but not quite as many choices. The accurate Tail Slap works as a great weak-but-accurate lead-in move (because it Dizzies opponents so well), then striking hard with Jet Fish can get you a quick victory against most Tanks. Accel Spin and Final Dance are good overall moves, with Final Dance being the stronger but more expensive one of the two (it's also electric, so Ltng. W/S helps make it really awesome!). Fin Slap can be easily forgotten, though even if you're going the Power route, you may still want one of the withering Int-based attacks like Ice Beam or Ultrasonics. They won't deliver hardly any damage, but they can give you a safe stretch of time to power up for the Tail Slap -> Jet Fish combo as the opponent recovers.

As for defeating Ogyo, Speed Demons are best. Beaklon and his high Guts Regen is about the only Tank that could expect to stand up to a good Ogyo, but most speedsters can dance around enough of her withering moves to pound her with a high-accuracy technique. Ogyo herself is speed-oriented with pitifully low Defense, so one good smack and she's out of your hair. It's probably best to nail her right off the bat before she can begin depleting your guts, and if that doesn't work, try Desperation tactics (striking out with your cheapest, most accurate techniques as soon as you get the Guts to perform them). Due to her almost-even split of Power and Intelligence moves, however, she'll probably have at least one attack that doesn't match her forte (I kept Tail Slap around a long time just to get my opponents Dizzy). Try to stay in range of that move as you re-build for the next attempt.

I might add, though, that Ogyo is a very unpopular monster. I have yet to see an enemy one in the game, and Lisa Shock is the only other person I know to have raised one (and she apparently didn't like it). Although the little snobettes can be quite effective and versatile opponents, you probably don't have to worry about facing one in the arena. I'd definately recommend raising one of the sub-types sometime, though: Once you get past the bratty phase, she's a winner!

i have raised an ogyo, and, oblivious to the nuances, i immediately labeled it a witherer. i got ultrasonics, ice beam, torrent and earth wave. for the reasons that you note, i kept earth wave mostly in reserve. instead, i got my speed and int high, and basically tried to dodge the first attack, then prevent any more from happening.

out of my nine vs stat monsters, ogyo is very near the bottom in the computer 1p v 2p standings. the lack of a knockout int blow among my moveset is just too much of a disadvantage against most monsters, who, given an orb move, can manage a high% knockout blow, even against 999 spd.

Nate, thank you VERY much for putting this much effort on making guides for monsters, stradegies, ect. It's very useful for me at least, being new to this game. I don't want to grovel though. A request: could the next little guide for a monster be for Durahans? I know they're very popular so I got one, but I have no clue on how to use "it"(it seems they have no gender, yet their names are in pink?).

Nate won't be around for a few months.

Darn. Well, i'm keeping mine frozen for a while and working on a dragon.

*Durahan- One of the most popular monsters from MR2 returns, looking just as slick as ever (though in different ways). He may have been brought down a peg in MR3, but he can still be a contender. On the down side, his accuracy is now tied in with his Speed (which was always bad)...but now the Speed is improved, so maybe he can still show us how it's done!

As stats go, only the original-breed (Morx) Durahan (and possibly the mystery mixes) have the awesome Defense you'd expect-- the other breeds are merely "good." All of them have okay Life, and surprisingly average Power, as well (though the viking-like Goat breed has outstanding Power). The Goat and Brillia breeds also pick up their Speed noticeably, such that I was even able to make a Speed-based version of the latter. Intelligence is mediocre, but unnecessary here. Guts Regeneration isn't too good, but it isn't noticeably horrid, either. In terms of strategy, though, Durahan is all about the set-up: A lot of people liked him in MR2 because he didn't require a lot of complex strategy, just straight beat-down, and the same still applies here. Just make sure you have the right moves, and you'll do fine!

Among the Bit Techs, the two worth keeping are Thunder Wind and possibly Avalanche. Thunder Wind makes an excellent hit tech, and should be kept around at all costs in order to finish off monsters that managed to survive Durahan's power-strikes. In fact, if you work it all the way out to level 10, it becomes one of the most accurate moves in the game! That's a great thing for a "Tank" to have. Avalanche is less accurate, but it's there for a cheap lead-in move. Durahan should be building up his Guts before attacking, and once you have enough, try using this to smack your enemy. If this shoulder-charge connects, it usually knocks your opponent off-balance (Dizzy), enabling you to slam home much more safely with a Stone or Orb technique. Lightning is total garbage, though, and while Twin Legs is quite cheap (10 Guts), it's still a waste because it rarely connects and then does virtually nothing when it does.

Whirlwind makes the perfect follow-up to Avalanche, as when Avalanche connects, it seems to knock the opponent into mid-range. But make sure to work on Whirlwind's accuracy first before depending on this combo to win matches. Gust could be a good replacement for Avalanche if you're making a Durahan with all high stats (and some people will), but in general Durahan's Intelligence will be left in the dust, so why bother? Strong Gust, on the other hand, is a Power-based technique, offering solid damage (and a high critical rate) with acceptable accuracy and sort of high Guts cost (but it's not really overpriced). I just with Strong Gust was an actual Wind-based move like regular Gust, then it would earn an "A" combined with Wind Wisdom/Secrets. Among all the Stone techs, however, every Durahan should know Stray Bolts. Repeat: LEARN STRAY BOLTS. It does as much damage (usually) as Strong Gust with tremendous accuracy, looks awesome when used, and overall is your "fall-back" move for when the chips are down. Heaven Bolt is a Durahan's other ultimate attack, though only invest in it if you're also going to work on its Speed a lot (and even then, only against a Tank). It looks suspiciously like Squall's move from FF8, delivers some of the most brutal damage in game, but you're never going to connect unless you have abnormally high Speed, Dizzied them with Avalanche, and/or your opponent is an easy target (but then, by all means, CRUSH). Mine is a total throwaway unless you have Earth Secrets and high Intelligence, and even then its usefulness is debateable. It looks kind of neat, but so do most of Durahan's moves-- forget this.

Overall, the kind of set-up I'd favor is including Thunder Wind and Stray Bolts with two other moves: Maybe Avalanche-Whirlwind (my Brillia-breed, Wild Hunt), or Strong Gust- Heaven Bolt (my Takrama Breed, Paladin). Aside from the Avalanche combo, there's little strategy here, just smash away. Whatever you choose, though, make sure you can handle yourself in all ranges (it's not too hard with a Durahan's arsenal). Against a Durahan, try to put the hurt on them with Intelligence moves, and don't shoot for a knockout blow unless you're sure you can do it. Even though Durahan no longer has the best of Defense, people are still going to raise that stat through the roof on it, and if it's accompanied by decent Life and the Speed needed for even Tanks to function nowadays, you'll have a tough time actually dropping the suit of armor. Instead, try picking it apart with Withering techniques-- Durahan has a lot of high-cost moves with relatively low Guts recovery, so try to keep its Guts below 40 and then stay out away from its close-range inexpensive moves. Your Antagonizer strategy will be helped considerably by the way that all Durahans HAVE to have the Armor characteristic, which lowers their evade to the point that you can leave them very frustrated with Mixing Echo, Lesihorne, and such. Happy hunting!

*Pancho- So CUTE! Hahahaha! *Rubs his little belly* But can he fight? Depends on what moves you teach him, really. I wouldn't recommend Pancho to beginning player (and in fact, he's one of the few monsters you can't initially train in this game), but once you've got a couple generations under your belt, he's worth trying.

Pancho stands out as a very unique monster, in that he's the only Int-based Tank the series has yet to produce-- though now that I think about it, perhaps some versions of Jell might fit that description. Even a Jell doesn't have this guy's SERIOUS Defense, and it's backed up by some relatively good Speed (average Life and poor Power, btw) and some nice Guts Regen for a Tank. Combined with his withering (Gutsdown) moves, he's actually one Tank that can make a mockery of other Tanks, which is something to remember if Lisa tries for that one tournament again. As usual, let's analyze his mixed move set:

As with many monsters, it IS possible to create either an Int-based or Pow-based Pancho, though the moves are weighted in favor of Intelligence. A Power route won't be very effective, though, as you only have 4 Pow-based moves that don't give adequate coverage. There's a junk move (Knock), a high-hit, low-impact move (Boomerang), an expensive, super-accurate and moderate impact move (Empty, which looks hilarious, check it out), and a moderately-powerful move with horrid accuracy (Pitching). While all the high accuracy can combine with Pancho's acceptable Speed to make a decent Speed Demon striker, the overall low impact of his moves and his sorry Power combine to make a real dissappointment if you take this path. If you insist on it, trade out Knock for Cracker. It's an excellent stalling technique (low cost, quite high Gutsdown if you work on it, and chance for Wince, combine with Heart W/S for some real havoc), and if you stand no chance of knocking out an offending Tank anyway, you can still win with an Antagonizer strategy.

Cracker should also be considered by Int-based Panchos, which is where you really should be. Forget Magic Hand unless you're going to be a committed Antagonizer-only. It's possibly the weakest attack in the game, though the low cost, high Guts Regen, and slightly lengthy animation could give you a good way to stall through those last several seconds of battle if you've kept them from hitting you so far. Surprise is an even better Antagonizer move than Cracker (higher accuracy and Gutsdown), so you may be tempted to overlook the Bit tech, but it's your call. Despite its name, Heavy Attack is really actually a very balanced move, and can benefit from Water W/S for a quality (if slightly expensive) combo filler. Trumpet Rush, however, is your big slam shot. If you really need to pound someone, this is the way to go, with its high impact and relatively acceptable accuracy (though try to make 'em Wince if you can before using it). Again, since most other Tanks are Pow-based, this can dish out surprising pain. The only other move in the arsenal is Blow Arrow, which overall isn't worth the trouble. It's a Jade Orb Tech (and Jade Orbs are guarded by fiercer creatures than the other Orbs, in my experience), and while it has a huge Critical rate and chance for a Stun, it's not worth it. It has poor accuracy, so in order for that Critical and Stun rate to happen, the move FIRST has to hit, and when it does neither is guaranteed (especially the Stun, which I've only seen once). Many such status-ailment moves have an elementality to them (like Heart or Wind), so the status-activation can be boosted with the right W/S, but here it's just a plain ol' Pound tech. Forget this.

Once again, an Int-based Pancho should be covered in all three ranges, but a Pow-based one will have a nasty opening in middle range (where he has either nothing or the unfavorable Knock) that a smart opponent can take advantage of. When it comes to beating up on Panchos, though, their uniqueness forces you to re-examine how you tackle most monsters. Unlike most Int-based guys, high-accuracy moves can be blunted by his hard shell. Unlike most Tanks, he's not weak to Int-based moves or an Antagonizer strategy. What do you do then? If you're a Pixie or the like, you cry, because this is your worst nightmare. Just pull out your most ferocious attacks and hope for the best. If you're a Golem, Dragon, Baku, or other such Pow-and-Defense beast, relax. Do what you do best-- heavy-handed haymaker moves. A Pancho's poor Power gives him a weakness to those big smashers like Zero G and Jidanda, so any Tank can comfortably crack this cutie's case. If you miss, bide your time in Mid-range, away from Pancho's withering moves at either end, and strike again when ready.