Telling more than time
Early in the game, your character will receive a Pokewatch, a handy digital watch that fills the lower screen while you explore. While the Pokewatch starts with only a handful of applications, there are a total of 20 to collect. These include useful functions like berry growth and Pokemon breeding monitors, and an interactive map to track running Pokemon. Basics - like a display of your Pokemon party's health, a notepad and a coin toss - are also covered.
Plumbing the depths
Beneath the Shinou region is another world... a subterranean series of tunnels known as the "Shinou Underground". Using a Spelunking Set, you can delve into the Underground at any time to uncover items and build a base.
The primary Underground activity is hunting for gems and other items in the cave walls. General areas of interest appear on the Underground map, but cool items must be pinpointed by tapping the lower. Once you find something, you dig. Similar to Windows pack-in Minesweeper, the goal is to use your hammer and chisel to uncover the items buried beneath the rock, but you can only strike so many times before the wall collapses. It's a simple minigame, but it's more fun than you'd expect.
You'll mostly find gems of varying size which can be traded for items to furnish your base, but you'll also find evolution stones and other rare items to improve your Pokemon. Perhaps most importantly, you'll find the fossilized remains of ancient Pokemon that can be revived by the local geneticist to complement your fighting force.
The Underground has local wireless play, letting you and any nearby friends discover each others' bases, show off your own, compete for mining locations and even lay traps to mess your friends up.
