By Matt
The Dream World also features another game to play in order to befriend a Pokemon. This game is vaguely titled “Find the Pokemon!” where the object is to find a Pokemon hiding in the bushes. It’s not very simple because it is not just a game of hide and go-seek. The Pokemon is in its natural environment, meaning there are many other Pokemon that will be there too.
First, at the start screen, you can choose to view the instructions or start the game immediately. To save time, I will elaborate on the game mechanics. Your location will be in one of three locations: in a forest, sea, or the sky. Based on where you are, you can click the arrows to go in the direction you want, much like Dream Island. However, there are no limitations to steps you can take. When there is an obstacle shaking (i.e. bush, cloud, etc.), you can click on that to reveal a Pokemon. The odds are that it won’t be the one you are looking for; but don’t give up hope yet.
There is also a “Listen Carefully” button implemented into the game. It will indirectly tell you the distance of the Pokemon. If you think that you have travelled enough, you can press the button. The game will tell you how close (or how far) you will be from the target Pokemon. When you can’t hear the Pokemon, it is quite a while from your location. If you hear that it is faint, that means it is within a one or two square radius. The last sign is that the voice is close. This means that it is in the same place that you are, and the only thing you need to do is to click the shaking bush. On your way to find the Pokemon, you may find a glittering object where you are standing. Click on it, and you will find a Berry which belongs to the Pokemon’s friend; it will give you bonus points after you finish the game.
After you’ve found the one in hiding, you will be scored based on how long you took to find it. There is a raw score from the time left (out of two minutes), and the bonus section if the Berry was found. Now, it’s time to discuss some very important strategies for efficiently “hunting” out the Pokemon. Since the farthest noise it can be heard from is two squares away, you can move two squares in any direction before using the button because the Pokemon can’t be found there. For the more extreme players, move four squares, because the Pokemon won’t be found within two squares, or four in diameter. This will definitely save time and award more points. Like the Sky Race, two minutes passes by very slowly, so you don’t have to worry about finding that Pokemon in a snap. Instead, take your time and don’t panic.