| You may have noticed a new entry in the Gallery
of Evil: the Spider Grundo. It's hard sometimes to keep straight
all the creatures and people listed there. Here are some tips to fend
off the Gallery of Evil's showcase of nastiness (and in some cases get
it to work for you!).
The Monocerous
Monoceri are not really evil in their own right; they are simply the most
viscous animal in Neopia, and the most dangerous. However, they are not
too smart, and unable to help how they have evolved. If you manage to
raise a young Monocerous you can teach it to be friendly, and adult Monoceri
are easy to ward off if you have a Jubjub, which is immune to a Monocerous'
roar, or a Fuzzle, which you will remember is a young Jubjub.
Dr. Sloth
You must have heard of him. Dr.
Sloth is not going to target you personally; the most he will
do to you is zap one of your items into a pile of sludge or give you a
Transmogrification Potion. To guard against the first, keep valuables
in your Safety Deposit Box; for the second, sell the potion in your shop.
If he attacks Neopia (again), which he is sure to do, you can help by
fighting members of his army in the Battledome. When he's not attacking
Neopia, he's easy to avoid. (But stay out of his shop!)
Mutant Grundo
These stupid brutes are Dr. Sloth's slaves, and if you avoid him you will
not encounter any of them. One may steal an item from you every once in
a while; again, keep your valuables safe in your deposit box.
Swamp Ghoul
These ghouls lurk in swamps and fogs. Avoid such places, and keep your
pets out of them, unless you have substantial company. Swamp Ghouls are
drawn to loneliness, because they are actually the ghosts of pets that
died lonely and are looking for company. They will probably destroy you
if you encounter them, but unless you are alone you have no chance of
meeting one.
Lava Ghoul
The Lava Ghoul lives on Mystery Island, and even there you have little
chance of meeting it. Its origin is unclear, but my theory is that it
is a mutation of a Swamp Ghoul. There's no defence against the Lava Ghoul,
but there's only one Lava Ghoul to defend against, tipping the odds in
your favour.
Ghost Lion
The Ghost Lion usually appears just before tragedy occurs. However, as
revealed in the encounter
"The Ghost Lion: Is he Really as Evil as You Think?", the Ghost
Lion will not hurt your pets, and will even heal them fully, possibly
to prepare them for the tragedy he foretells. You don't need to avoid
a Ghost Lion.
The Pant Devil
Now this guy you do need to avoid. He loves to steal your stuff and is
as mischievous as he is evil. To protect yourself from the Pant Devil,
keep valuables in your Safety Deposit Box. Other than that, there is no
good defence against the Pant Devil. He was coded that way by the Uber-Darkness
Faerie, and lots of Dark Faeries like to keep Pant Devils as pets. Often
a Dark Faerie will challenge a pet to a duel with their Pant Devil, and
these duels are very satisfying. (Oddly enough, the Uber-Light Faerie
also keeps a pet Pant Devil, and he likes to sneak off to the Wheel of
Excitement and steal things from the spinners.)
Grarrl Battlemaster, Grundo Warrior, & Grundo
Trooper
These three groups of evil pets are members of Dr. Sloth's army, and if
you avoid Sloth you will effectively avoid them.
Monoceraptor & Rock Beast
Both of these beings are dead. Don't worry about them. Unless there are
others out there.
Malkus Vile
Vile is not so much *evil* as he is a gangster and a nasty guy. He has
two Meercas, both of whom are good thieves, and Vile is the leader of
their operation. If you avoid dark alleys and wilder neighbourhoods, you
can keep out of his way. Just don't get mixed up in his operations.
Shadow Usul
We know almost nothing about the Shadow Usul...except that she only comes
out at night. Stay inside at night until we know more about her.
Spider Grundo
One of Dr. Sloth's more twisted experiments, the Spider Grundo is the
result of a genetic cross between a Spider Queen and a Grundo. Sloth couldn't
control the Spider Grundo and didn't try to make another, dropping his
failure off in the Haunted Woods. Make sure you have company *whenever*
you explore the Haunted Woods, and try to stay out in the open!
Other Evil Denizens of Neopia
A few of Neopia's evils aren't listed in the Gallery. The first is the
Spider Queen. She is an evil giant spider (not what you were expecting
huh?) and will steal your items to feed young Spider Queens. Although
she lives in the Haunted Woods, you may meet one of her few offspring
anywhere in Neopia. The best protection from a Spider Queen is to keep
your valuables safely stored away.
Also not included is the Beast, which resides in the
Lair of the Beast in Tyrannia. It is fearsome and will roar at you loudly,
but it will not leave its cave. Perhaps it is protecting eggs. Whatever
the reason, as long as you keep out of the Lair of the Beast, you'll be
safe.
The Snowager, which lives in a cave in the Ice Caves,
is greedy and hoards its possessors like a dragon. It will blast your
pets with explosive ice crystals if you take something while it is awake
or wake it up while it is sleeping.
Sloth's robot Maverick (we all know it was Sloth's, right?)
did much more than any Grarrl Battlemaster, killing all of the NeoPets
Staff except for the Beader. It self-destructed, but Sloth's comment at
the end hints that he has more...
And finally, the most evil of all evils can be found
in the Haunted Woods lurking over by the Halloween Costumes sign, next
to the spider. A little figure is standing there. If you zoom in (on the
Flash map) you will be able to tell that this figure is in fact...Pop
Tart! She has a statue in Mystery Island and a corpse in the Terror
Mountain Ski Lodge, but Pop Tart is in fact alive and well, hidden by
her evil cohorts in the Haunted Woods! Never go near this hidden demoness,
as she will do nasty and evil things to you and your pets!
I hope this guide helps you avoid the demons of Neopia.
If you have any questions, Neomail me and I'll try to answer them for
you. Until next time! | 
