Paper Mario Dark Star Edition: The Anti Squad with CantWin File Code (4.5x)

0:00 Badge and Item Build 1:17 Fight begins 8:50 Nuclear Guy KO'd, Covert Guy remains The absolute definition of a min-max fight... CantWin is a File Code in Dark Star Edition that sets you to level 27, gives you all 128 badges, and the 5 unlockable stones immediately (all but Greed, Badge, and Rainbow). However, in return, it forces all encounters to be at least 4.5x difficulty, the equivalent of Super + Mega Curse. Equipping Curse badges does NOT stack with this multiplier, but if you equip Ultra + Mega Curse or all 3 Curses, you will do a fight on that respective difficulty instead of the innate 4.5x difficulty that CantWin forces. We fought them all individually, but now it's time to fight them together. As you may recall, all members of the Anti Squad have 50 Base HP, scaling to 225 on CantWin's innate 4.5x multiplier. The Attack, Defense, and affinities of each member of the Anti Squad is as follows: OG Anti Guy: 10 Attack Charge (45), 12 Attack Acrobatic (54), and 20 Attack Triple Flip (90). He has 0 Defense. Phalanx Guy: 6 Attack on his regular Spear Attack which hits 3 times (27), 18 Base Attack on his Charge (81), and 1 Defense. He's spiky against either Jumps or Frontal Strikes depending on where his spear is pointing. He also preps his Charge attack in the same turn if his regular spear attack misses, and he'll never unleash his Charge attack if it would miss. Covert Guy: 9 Attack on his Hammer which hits 2 times (40), 12 Attack on his Slingshot (54), and 2 Defense. The Hammer inflicts Sleep and takes away a random battle command if it's not guarded, and the Slingshot inflicts Shrink if it's not guarded. Covert Guy goes invisible for 2 turns after taking damage, and also goes invisible for your next turn as a counter if you dodge his attack while he's visible. He takes +1 Damage from Electric Attacks. Permafrost Guy: 8 Base Attack (36), and 3 Defense. His attack inflicts Freeze if you fail to guard. He takes -9 damage from Water and Ice attacks (Hurricane pierces this), and is also immune to Fire, Explosions, and Electric Attacks. Because it's much warmer at the Temple, Permafrost Guy is NOT able to permanently freeze you in this fight. Nuclear Guy: 12 Base Attack (54), and 0 Defense. He's the only one among them that pierces invisibility with his attack. He's also fiery against attacks that make direct contact, and is also too hot to jump on with Ice Power. However, he still takes +1 Damage from Water and Ice attacks. Side note, but yes his attack is lower here compared to his fight in Chapter 8. This is it. I knew going into CantWin that if I couldn't beat this fight, this would be where the run would end. Not only is each member of the Anti Squad powerful in their own right, they also complement each other very well. And since it takes place outside the Temple of Darkness, the Star Spirits cannot help us because the Temple is a place where they have no power. This was a fight I had been thinking about for months when it came to CantWin because of that fact. Fortunately for me and all of you, I did find a way to solve this fight and open the way to the Temple of Darkness in CantWin. The good thing is that I had a general strategy idea in mind thanks to my initial clear of this fight on Mega Curse (3x). The strategy is one that I've affectionately called "Screw the Gimmick". You won't survive all of their attacks anyways even if you Super Guard everything. With the Screw the Gimmick strategy of this fight, it becomes essentially like fighting only Nuclear Guy who pierces invisibility, then fighting only Covert Guy who basically dodges all of your attacks while everyone else is up. For the badge build, Quake Jump and Mega Bounce are my attacks. Quake Jump is my answer for all but Covert Guy thanks to its consistent piercing damage, and Mega Bounce is needed for Covert Guy. Outgoing damage is increased through 1 Power Plus, P-Up D-Down, Dark Power, and Mega Rush. The lattermost of those is enabled by having a max HP of 20 in this fight. The damage reduction is granted through Perfect Stand and Dark Shield. The latter of those is what allows me to survive the attack of both Nuclear Guy and Covert Guy's Slingshot individually in CantWin. Feeling Fine prevents me from being afflicted by status, and Mega Saver ensures I can afford to use the necessary moves. Quick Change allows me to switch between partners freely. For items, 3 Yoshi Biscuits, 2 Dark Shroom Cakes, and the Golden Shroom Cake give consistent regen for survival. 6 total Repel Gels and Boo Leaves give the damage avoidance, combined with 6 total Hustle Drinks and Mini Sodas. Finally, the Golden Meal and Power Shroom give a status cure alongside a +2 attack increase to reach the breakpoints necessary for the KO on Nuclear Guy. Double Dip needs no explanation for this fight with how impactful it is. The strategy will be explained in the pinned comment since there's quite a bit that goes into it.