Mount Pajamaja (boss)

Mount Pajamaja is a Giant Boss fought in Dreamy Mount Pajamaja, in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. This boss is the Dream World version of the location in the Real World, which happens to be a living creature as well as a volcano. He is the second Giant Boss fought in the game.

Appearance
Mount Pajamaja is a large volcano with a face, round nose, arms and feet.

History
After Bowser and Antasma used the Dreambeats to scare away Mario, Luigi, Starlow and Prince Dreambert, Mario escaped into the Dream World, ending up in Dreamy Mount Pajamaja. Unfortunately, the portal back to the Real World closed up due to Luigi falling into too deep of sleep when they entered, causing Mario and Dreambert to have to think of a way to force the Dream Portal to reopen. Their solution was to cause the Dream World version of Mount Pajamaja to erupt in hopes of causing the Dream Portal to the Real World to appear again.

Halfway up the mountain, the group realises that this version of Mount Pajamaja is actually a sentient being, and proceed to annoy it by slamming blocks into the side of its nose in an attempt to set off a volcanic eruption. Once they succeed in enraging Mount Pajamaja, they are chased down to the bottom of the mountain, where the Dream Portal still hasn't reappeared. As a result, Mario and Dreamy Luigi take on Mount Pajamaja in another giant battle.

Afterwards, Mount Pajamaja's defeat caused the Dream Portal to open again, allowing Mario to escape. Additionally, Mount Pajamaja can be seen in a dormant state at the top of Dreamy Mount Pajamaja after the events of the battle. After the events of Dreamy Mount Pajamaja, he does not reappear for the rest of the game.

Battle
At the start of the battle, Dreambert begins to instruct Luigi on how to use the Hammer Uppercut, the key to defeating Mount Pajamaja. Luigi is also instructed on how the Drill Stomp is performed right after the Hammer Uppercut is taught.

While upright, Mount Pajamaja is immune to airborne attacks, preventing use of the Jump and Drill Stomp techniques. Mount Pajamaja will also take an incredibly small amount of damage from Hammer Chop if used, as he would block any attempt of it. Luigi must flip Mount Pajamaja over (with either the Hammer Uppercut or with a counter-attack) for him to be able to lower his defence and be able to deal sufficient damage, either the Jump or Drill Stomp attacks being the most effective in this case, the Hammer Chop and Hammer Uppercut doing minimal damage.

Mount Pajamaja can shoot out a volcanic rock from its vent that must be smacked back with swings of Luigi's hammer by sliding the stylus upwards when the rock is near Luigi. Several successful returns will eventually result in the rock getting clogged in Mount Pajamaja's vent, soon causing it to explode due to the pressure built up and dealing a small amount of damage to Mount Pajamaja. Failure to counter this will result in Luigi taking damage and Mario being knocked off Luigi, preventing use of Rhythm Mushroom or Drill Stomp techniques for Luigi's following two turns.

Mount Pajamaja may also back up and charge into Luigi (while making chimney-like sounds) who will hold him back temporarily with his hands. The player must rapidly slide the stylus leftwards in order to not get knocked out of the way. If fast enough and successful, Luigi will flip Mount Pajamaja over, leaving him in the position he would be after a Hammer Uppercut. If Luigi cannot flip Mount Pajamaja over in time, he will eventually push through him and send him flying into the air to land hard on the ground.

Later on in the battle, Mount Pajamaja will firmly sit on the ground to rise off the ground on a large stack of volcanic rock, lifting Mount Pajamaja out of Luigi's reach. Volcanic geysers will also erupt either behind Mount Pajamaja or in the background. If Giant Luigi leaves these alone for a turn, they'll shoot out a fiery rock into Mount Pajamaja's vent and healing him. He can avoid this and get closer to being able to attack Mount Pajamaja by using either the Hammer Uppercut or the Hammer Chop (depending on whether the geyser is in the background or behind Mount Pajamaja) on the lowest chunk of volcanic rock, which causes the chunk to be dislodged from the stack and bounce back to cause some damage to Mount Pajamaja. This must be done twice to get Mount Pajamaja to ground level.

Mount Pajamaja may release rocks out of his vent lightly, and the rocks will roll down him and him (and the chunk(s) below him), towards Luigi from three frontal directions, Luigi having to crush the rocks with his hammer before they hit him. The player must tap one of the three circles before Luigi to crush any rocks in the circled area to prevent him from getting hit.

Mount Pajamaja can also shoot around five small volcanic rocks in a high arc that Luigi will have to smack back at Mount Pajamaja to avoid taking damage from, also dealing some counter-attack damage in the process. The player must slide the stylus leftwards in order to deflect the rocks. Getting hit by even one rock will result in Mario getting knocked off Luigi, rendering him unable to perform the Rhythm Mushroom and Drill Stomp techniques for his following two turns.

After both chunks are destroyed and Mount Pajamaja is on ground level again, he will collapse and fall on his back in a daze, leaving himself susceptible to jump-based attacks especially for a turn. The battle will continue normally after Mount Pajamaja gets up, him repeating this phase after several turns until he is defeated through the Finishing Bros. attack, as usual for giant bosses.

Mount Pajamaja X
Mount Pajamaja is also fought in the Battle Ring, as the upgraded version known as Mount Pajamaja X who is the second opponent fought in the Giant Luigi arena. Mount Pajamaja X is red in colour, and deals more damage with his attacks.

Hard Mode Differences
In Hard Mode, the most noticeable difference between this and the Normal Mode battle is when Mount Pajamaja shoots a single volcanic rock at Luigi, the rock moves slightly faster and travels in a different angle than normal.