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Late? Hah! Thursday's just Wednesday once removed!
Part 11: Obligatory Sewer Dungeon
Last time we left Moanna hanging, so let's get started on clearing Captain Frog's debt.
Just up the stairs is a nice little park-like area, where Moanna's waiting for us.
VIDEO: Suddenly!
Uncle! You're late. I was afraid you had gotten lost.
Gero... you were worried about me?
You look just like Miss Mois, and you're every bit as kind, too.
I... I wasn't worried about you, Uncle! I thought you might have run off and shirked our business contract. That's all!
Oh, I see. In that case, you have nothing to worry about.
Indeed. We will not renege on our agreement.
That's wonderful to hear. Businessmen should stick to their promises.
...In other words, that's quite natural?
By the way, Miss Moanna. About the work you've hired us for...
I would like you all to act as my bodyguards.
Pirates keep coming to raid our shipments lately.
The music fades out as a random offscreen guy yells:
P... puh... PIRAAATES!
You see? Just like that.
THE PIRATES ARE ATTACKIIING!
Sounds like there really is a pirate raid going on! ...Keroro!
Gero! Then let's take a look around!
So now there's a bunch of losers loitering around town.
Hrm... what now, Keroro? Do we fight back?
But we've got to stick by Miss Moanna and be her bodyguards.
Then securing Moanna's safety is our top priority. Let's get out of here!
B-but where are we s'posed to go? There's pirates everywhere!
This way, Uncle!
This well connects to the sewers. We can escape through here. Now let's hurry, Uncle!
These tunnels are spread out underneath the city. This sewer leads down to the port, so if we leave that way...
That's where those pirates are... so we can attack them from behind! Good plan.
Excellent thinking, Miss Moanna! You're so dependable.
THAT HARPY GETS NOTHING BUT PRAISE FROM SARGE! I HATE HER SO MUUUCH!
Just in case anyone forgot Tamama is a petty, jealous child.
You need to close the valves on all four sluice gates before the exit to the port will open. However, the valves need to be closed in a certain order, so please be careful.
It's less that they have a special order, and more that the first three must be closed before the last one will.
Well, that's the plan, so I'll leave it to you, Uncle.
...In other words, carry out our strategy?
I hate this dungeon because it's a boring sewer with boring enemies. And it has the temerity to add a puzzle that involves backtracking. 
It does have one saving grace, though.
Blue save spots restore the party to full health when touched. Useful since we can't get back to town until the dungeon's over.
We need to go down here, but there's no way our fancy-dressed frogs are wading in a busy port town's sewage.
So we need to turn a few of these valves. And when we do...
The water recedes, clearing a path. Just assume I go back and forth a billion times, doing this while grabbing all the treasure and Keparrow. I hate this dungeon because I'm a completionist.
The enemies here are mostly recolors, like the Giant Seaslug and the Pirate-For-Hire. Nothing to write home about, other than bandits look just like pirates. There are venomous snakes down here too, so this dungeon eats up Antidotes.
So let's run through the Cosplay Artes we just got!
Pirate Keroro's Judgement Anchor drops a giant anchor on the target after a short delay. This can be done at a distance, but even if you get hit while doing it, it's fine as long as the anchor's already dropping. It does multiple hits on whatever's unlucky enough to touch it.
Pirate Tamama's Meteor Divide sends out a little shockwave forward when it lands, damaging enemies behind the target. Great to chain after anything that takes him upward.
Pirate Giroro's Instant Threat involves shooting while pulling off cool poses throughout.
Here's Pirate Kururu's Aqua Gush. The spacing of the three geysers is always the same, making it plain but serviceable.
Pirate Dororo's Binding Strike draws upon his endless supply of kunai. The possibility of enemy paralysis is a nice bonus.
This Keparrow is special, because it marks our first recipe treasure! It's the Okonomiyaki GT, which heals everyone by 50% HP and fills their Blazing Rise gauges by the same amount. There's a risk involved: it may deal everyone a bunch of damage instead. Because the food is still alive, y'know.
Here's the other Keparrow for the sewers. Which is all of it, because nothing needs keys:
Giga Battery
Devil Bell
Stone Heal
Magnifying Glass
Caterpillar Fungus
Sometimes you want to wait to close valves, because some places have floating crates. If there's no water, you can't cross them, and they can even block where you need to go.
I spent so much time circling the place for valves, Keparrow, and normal treasure that the party picked up some new Artes. I'll show off the cool ones.
Tri Dipper sends Keroro up, up, then down in three slashing moves. This is my go-to air attack for him.
One of my favorite Artes for Tamama is Hell's Beat. It does five hits, like so:
It's a wonderful punishment for anything that gets in his face.
At level 17, Kururu learns one of the most useful Artes in the game: Pleasant Noise.
Genius, hacker, inventor, curry chef, and DJ, he conjures up a mix table and sends a brain-killing signal straight to the enemy.
It doesn't do much damage, but it doesn't matter because it KOs them most of the time. As in, the enemies hit the floor like fallen pi?atas at a kid's birthday party.
Here's a cool victory skit for Dororo that came up during the sewer carnage run.
VIDEO: Dororo the Destroyer
Here's the final valve we need to turn.
With the valve closed, we can move on. However, something different happens if you skipped closing any valves before this one.
Gero? I closed the valve, but the water didn't recede.
Kuu-kukukuu...
There's no point in closing only this valve.
Can't drain all the water unless ya close the other ones first. That's how it works.
Then let's go find them!
You actually only need to close two valves to proceed with the last one. The first valve is right next to the dungeon entrance, and it's already closed.
Now we have a clear path... to the next cutscene.
VIDEO: Delicious Crab Meat
The exit to the port is just ahead, Uncle. See?
Moanna walks ahead of the group...
Hm...? I think there's something--look out!
...And a giant hermit crab drops in.
We'll protect you, Miss Moanna! Keroro Platoon, CHAAARGE!
A generic sea monster boss in the Pirate Area! What a surprise!
Hermit Armor's not difficult, but can hit sufficiently hard.
Not that you can't still juggle him in a corner like so. 
Hermit Armor's first trick is these bubbles. He shoots a stream that, if not blocked beforehand, will all hit you. They do medium damage, but the multiple hits add up.
This is just an example of Dororo's AI blocking. The Auto AI in this game is pretty good, and allies will generally follow what you set, as long as it doesn't involve contradicting orders.
The fact that the AI works is part of why I like this game so much, especially since unlike some other Tales Of games, this one's 1P only. They'll only deplete your items if you let them use any, as well.
Guess who wore the Ball in this fight! 
Dororo goes down to Hermit Armor's second attack, a claw-hammer.
Keroro gets bubbles crammed in his grill. This happens a lot if you fight Hermit Armor up close.
Dororo dies again, Kururu throws a Revival Orb at him...
...And Hermit Armor's claw smashes him back down before the revive animation finishes.
He got revived and killed again before the boss fight ended. This was not Dororo's day.
Defeated, the monster roars,
and skedaddles.
Damn, it got away...!
That canal flows into the port. Let's go after it! In other words, begin the pursuit?
Catching crabs? Who cares, the dungeon's almost over!
It sure would suck to get into a battle before the end, wouldn't it! (:smith
At least you get a full heal after the boss.
Daylight! Sea breeze! And no pirates.
Ah! That's...
That's Hermit Armor swimming away.
And he has friends.
Oh, you just missed them, Sergeant! Looks like they got away.
It seems we were a moment too late.
Hmm... so that monster's working for the pirates. They must've expected an attack from behind, and released it into the sewers.
So these guys might actually be a challenge. Kukukuu...
Hm? Could that be...!
The pirate leader is a woman...? And that bracelet!
While Dororo does his ninja spying thing...
After the pirates come to raid us, they don't come back for a while, so we can rest easy for now. You've been a great bodyguard, Uncle.
Gero? So our work is already finished? Then...
Yes. The captain may freely use his ship again.
Gero! Now we can keep searching for the Legendary Armaments!
However! While he may use his ship, that doesn't mean I've cancelled the debt. I'm just giving him more time to repay it. Please make sure he knows that. ...In other words, a debt extension?
Roger that!
Dororo zips back to report.
Commander! It appears the pirates are led by a woman. Furthermore, she was wearing a bracelet like the one we found in the Ninja Village...
In fact, it looks identical to Alea's.
If anyone forgot about this, that's because it seemed like a throwaway "item get" message directly after the Alea fight. Now everyone knows it's important. It even has a portrait!
Alea was after the Legendary Armaments. Perhaps this pirate woman's goal is also...
Hmm... so those two might have a connection.
Well for right now, let's go tell the good Captain we got his ship back!
I bet that's gonna make his day!
I'm sure it will... in another week!
Artes/Skills learned this update:
Keroro
Tri Dipper: A slashing attack that takes Keroro up, then down at an angle through the enemy. A solid move all around.
Tamama
Hell's Beat: A 5-hit knuckle sandwich combo.
Curse Force: An attack debuff on one enemy target. The opposite of Kururu's Bless Force.
Giroro
Spread Line: Fires a triple-laser. Think Spazer Beam from Super Metroid.
Kururu
Pleasant Noise: Assaults the enemy with sound to stun them. One of my favorite Artes, and useful forever.
Heal All: Heals all three party members in battle by 40%. About as essential as Pleasant Noise.
Dororo
Moon Gale: Three wide slashes, with a small pause between them, for wind-elemental damage.
Next time--looting ships, like REAL PIRATES. 
Hell's Beat: beatin' the hell out of 'em.?