Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
On the first visit, the hero and the partner are asked by Chatot to explore the Secret Waterfall (Japanese: ひみつのたきSecret Waterfall) as their first official exploration. When they reach the waterfall, the hero has a vision of a lone Pokémon leaping through the waterfall into a hidden cave. The partner decides to trust the hero, and the two leap into the waterfall to find themselves in a dungeon. Upon reaching the bottom of the dungeon, they stumble into in an alcove filled with gems and a giant gem is at the back. The partner wants to take the gem back to the guild but finds it difficult to remove. It is at this point when the hero experiences another dizzy spell and sees an image of the past. A Pokémon had pushed the gem and had accidentally set off a trap that caused a flood to wash it away. Unfortunately, the hero is too late to warn the partner as they push the gem and trigger the flood. However, they are flushed away to the Hot Spring where they first meet Torkoal. The hero and partner later venture through Waterfall Cave in order to reach the Hot Springs much later in the game.
Spoilers end here.
Gameplay
Standard jobs in this dungeon are ranked C or B by default, depending on the floor.
All the floors are large, with the average amount of rooms varying between floors (with a chance for as few as 3 rooms, to as many as 11). Depending on the floor, the amount of items that can spawn outside of a Kecleon Shop varies from 1-4 to 3-6. There are usually 1-2 Wonder Tiles on each floor, and 2-4 starting enemies.
The IQ Booster activates on 6th and 8th floor. The turn limit is 1000 on each floor. There is light darkness in the dungeon. The dungeon contains water.
Waterfall Cave is the only dungeon to be mandatory for the story more than once, first in Chapter 4 and, later on in Chapter 17.
The music that plays at Waterfall Cave also plays in the story cutscene in which Manaphy runs a fever. [1]
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
According to an official short story (Japanese: おもいで、おもいで、たぁ～！！ Memories, Memories, YOOM...TAH!!) written by the original developers of Explorers of Sky, Wigglytuff investigated the waterfall as a recently-evolved and inexperienced Wigglytuff while unsuccessfully following a rumor claiming that his old master, Armaldo, was spotted in Waterfall Cave. The hero and partner were sent to the waterfall in the hope that their trials here would become a fond memory for them as Wigglytuff's own trials had been.[1][2]
