#padz

Remora

(Leader) Stormy Sea Dragon, Levia (Water) - Levia is a recommended lead for defensive mono-Water teams. Why a defensive (basically) mono-Water team, though? Besides the fact that it fit Guivre Chimera well? After what happened with Stornel, Remora has to be cautious. Considering the devastating consequences for upsetting Gaius or Arietta too much, she can't afford to act ethically until the end of re:||VERSE. She has to prioritize her survival over doing what she feels is right. So, I think a defensive team fits well for that reason.

Dark Blue Skydragon, Nirai Kanai (Water) - A Skydragon given life by cursed technology and filled with hatred? Hmmm, that kinda reminds me of Void Beasts.

Guivre Chimera (Water) - I hope it's obvious why I'm giving Remora, the character who transforms into a chimera when you fight her, the chimera monster.

Death Scissors (Water) - Death Scissors was used by Team Paradox members, and Antiphon gives me a Team Paradox vibe. Plus, we've already got a few water monsters going on here, so why not complete the mono-Water defensive team?

Guardian Dragon, Avalon Drake (Wood) - Avalon Drake, formerly protecting the Skydragons, was defeated and manipulated by the Dragon King Avalon. In this evolved form, it was forced to absorb energy from Orbs extracted from the earth. The process of obtaining these Orbs destroyed the lands greatly. The Orbs granted Avalon Drake twice its former power, but it broke its spirit. Being manipulated around by a defeat and forced to hurt people? That sounds familiar…

Its lack of synergy with the other monsters on the team? Of course, that just happened to be that way, but it could represent the conflict between wanting to help her friends and being under blackmail.

Beyond

Beyond seems like the kind of person to try to have a well-balanced team (like, 5-color) and then pick what monsters based on personal preference.

(Leader) Mui-Mui (Flame) - Beyond is the character associated with Dancer Style, which is an assistive style meant to help those who struggle with timing the shot/shield inputs or pressing buttons repetitively for long periods of time. Mui-Mui's skill shows you how to make combos, providing somewhat equivalent assistance.

Tree Dragon, Kukunochi (Wood) - Morigon, one of its preevolutions, is described as having a big appetite (note Beyond's seemingly infinite metabolism and love for sweets). It's a bit of a daydreamer but very reliable, like how Beyond, according to the re:||VERSE art/lyrics book, is a bit naturally silly but shows a colder, tougher side of her personality in tricky situations. Kukunochi is a kind monster, seeking to uphold peace in the woods and bring new life wherever it goes. Beyond wants to bring peace to her and Arietta's chaotic lives.

Deep-Sea Dragon, Abyss (Water) - Another True Dragon whose preevolution is described as kind-hearted in some way. Abyss is rather reclusive, living far out of reach of any human being. This reminds me of the RE:||PARATION ending of re:||VERSE, in which Beyond becomes extremely isolated, shutting people out for days at a time, and even for someone she cares dearly like Remora, shuts her out occasionally too. (As well, Abyss pairs nicely with Remora's Levia, I think. The two are, like, halfway to being considered a couple. They deserve matching monsters at that point.)

Viciousdragon Helheim (Dark) - This monster is very frequently used by Dogma, the leader of Team Paradox, the villainous organization of Puzzle & Dragons Z. It turns out that Dogma was ultimately being manipulated by Enigma, who uses what Dogma set up to seize power and return to his role as the Dragon King Avalon. Although, he was separated from his body long ago and inhabits a different form.

I feel like that has some parallels to Beyond's getting manipulated by Alpha in the form of Arietta's body and being so insistent upon her goals that she didn't realize something was wrong until far too late.

Dark Shining Divinegon (Light/Dark) - Representing Beyond's tragic, misguided heroism in Ignition and re:||VERSE. Someone whose light that pierces through the endless darkness has been steered into darkness itself. Beyond, so desperate to help her sister achieve her dreams, put their lives in danger. And desperate again to right that tragedy, followed a heartless, callous being without even realizing the sister she loved so much was no longer in control.

(or, instead of Divinegon) Life Skydragon, Zerclea (Light/Light) - I think it fits well with re:||BIRTH. Plus, it pairs nicely with Arkvelza. I can't have Zerclea in the same team as Divinegon because that's not allowed in PaDZ.

Arietta

Although her color scheme works great with mono-Fire, I'm actually going to have to go with mono-Dark for a few reasons.

(Leader) Dark Night Skydragon, Elysium (Dark) - Elysium's skill grants a turn of invincibility, which reminds me a lot of Arietta's Crash Style. Plus, she fits well with a few other dark monsters. Dark Elysium's lead skill multiplies attack for Dark monsters, being attack-oriented like Arietta's Mega Style. Dark Elysium was created with terrible technology, like the Void Beasts. Arietta was the one who insisted on using the NOISZ Beast technology on Noise Beasts, after all.

Black Wizard (Dark) - Black Wizard is a sorcerer who has, according to legend, given his heart to darkness. Arietta, in a sense, did that by making a deal with the devil through working with Alpha to try and break the cycle of death that came with trying to fix her and Beyond's corruption.

Anubisis (Dark) - Enigma uses this monster. Enigma has some parallels with Arietta in terms of their roles in the narrative. Also, its skill deals 4,444 damage. Haha, funny STARLIVHT number. And Arietta's the person that recruited them in NOISZ SL. Anubisis is the Producer theory confirmed/j.

Drawn Joker (Dark) - It has a mischievous look to it that fits Arietta's playful and impulsive personality well. (I would also like to add “Arietta is Joker character” theory as a justification for this)

Lightning Dark Tiamat (Dark/Light) - Representing Arietta's redemption arc in re:||VERSE. She's someone who's done terrible, horrific things who's now trying to correct those mistakes. A light finally breaking through a sea of seemingly never-ending darkness. Plus, a Dark orb changer is an essential member of a mono-Dark team. It's no good not to have enough Orbs to clear. You need those for damage and skill points.

(or, instead of Tiamat) Death Skydragon, Arkvelza (Dark/Dark) - Pairs nicely with Zerclea, which I think Beyond has. Arkvelza's skill lowers foes HP by a set percentage. But I mainly picked Arkvelza for theming. I can't have Arkvelza in the same team as Tiamat because that's not allowed in PaDZ.

Leader Monsters Only

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough ideas to make full teams for these folks. My apologies.

Stornel

Dimensional Guardian, Hellgate (Wood) - Stornel's soul guards one of the NOISZ's most powerful secrets: imprinting souls. He acts as both the gateway and guardian of imprinting, similar to how Hellgate is both a portal and monster.

or

Immortal Dragon, Cursed Wyrm (Dark) - It's a deceased dragon who was reanimated by dark magic and trapped in the shell of its body. “Now I'm trapped inside this shell, the world has turned to black around me” as Stornel might say in Quicksilver, I suppose.

Sora

Phoenix Knight, Homura (Flame) - It goes on with its blue flames? Yeah, sounds like Sora in his beast form.

Or

Overview

Joker's team centers on her sense of identity, which stood as the main mystery throughout all of False Timeline and was finally solved with the release of SLTH Chapter 6. Her team is semi-defensive mono-dark.

Details

(Leader) Shadowslash Dragon, Eclipse (Dark) - A dragon powered by ancient technology for its speed and agility, this represents how Joker's core is an AI program. As well, it resembles Lunatic Mainframe's design, Joker's Recursive Event Style. Like Lunatic Mainframe, Eclipse has a poor defensive stat for its power level (compared to the other starter final stage evolutions) and has no defensive uses for its skills, leaning into that "every try is the first try" mentality.

Night Skydragon, Elysium (Dark) - Elysium's skill, Deep Shadow Breath, deals a small amount of damage and gives perfect defense for 1 turn, similar to Joker's Burst: Crash Mode.

As well, I assigned Arietta, Joker's host, Dark Night Skydragon, Elysium. Dark Elysium was corrupted by Enigma and consumed with hatred. The two are similar, but Joker does not carry Arietta's sins nor possession by Alpha's mind. The two are inextricably linked in physical form and personality, but are ultimately two different people with two different lives.

Anubisis (Dark) - Due to 4 sharing one of its pronunciations, shi, with death (死), Anubisis has its skill themed around 4 and death. Banish to Hell costs 4 skill points and deals 4444 damage ignoring defense (44444 damage when it's an enemy Anubisis). While the player's version of the skill becomes basically useless in the late-game, without using HP-boosting Leader Skill, you are almost guaranteed to die against an enemy Anubisis' Banish to Hell, so you usually have to kill it before it can, well, banish you to hell. This could represent Joker's Final Burst, since when she used it, she doomed herself to bypass Gaius' last line of defense: his thousands of unethically-obtained human souls.

That version of Joker died 2 years before NOISZ re:||VERSE. She sang her last words beside Grace in the stasis chamber room. Joker's existence has always been framed by death. The Producer was born to die, and the new Joker was reborn through simulation but forever haunted by the death of her predecessor and the gaps in her memory that act like scars.

However, less depressingly, 4 also happens to be representative of STΔRLIVHT since the group has four members and NOISZ SL is (arguably) the fourth game in the NOISZ series. Joker's existence is also defined by her relationship to SL. Most of her life that she can remember has centered around doing whatever she can to help the group achieve their dreams. They're her closest friends, and the people she chose to die for when it came down to it.

Both elements come together, but not in the obvious way. STΔRLIVHT isn't death; it was the ability to die, represented by her soul. She couldn't have died if she never lived, and without agreeing to run STΔRLIVHT for Arietta's sake, she would've remained a disembodied machine. Joker became truly alive because of the love she had for her friends, and that's what she died to protect. And in a way, her rebirth into a human body in of itself represents SL's survival. STΔRLIVHT is alive, despite everything, so Joker must be too. Her heart is intertwined with theirs.

Last, this is a stretch, but Luminous Eyes boosting ATK when 3+ elements attack could arguably represent the synchronization of the NOISZ/RS.

Drawn Joker (Dark) - First of all, the name. It's obvious. A perfect fit.

Second, its flavor text describes Drawn Joker as a having two twin dragons appear out of it with opposite personalities. This could represent Joker's existence within a system while she lived as the Producer.The main body could represent the shared body between Arietta ("Beyond") and Joker. Joker is quiet, hardworking if rather complacent, selfless, friendly, and kind but professionally distant while Arietta is headstrong, harsh, rude, and hardly ever masks how she feels. Arietta chose Joker for the job precisely because of how different she was from Arietta's typically abrasive demeanor, after all.

King Ruby Dragon (Flame) - The name is a solid fit because Joker's items are called rubies. Also, the fact King Ruby Dragons are red matches Joker's folder color, unlike most of the other monsters selected.