In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door you get all your partners throughout the course of the story. That is to say, all the required partners. There is one that you don’t need in order to complete the game, but she requires a detour to get. This is how to add Ms. Mowz to your party.
Ms. Mowz is the flirtatious rat-thing you meet a few times in the narrative. She shows up in Hooktail Castle, for example, and then again in the Great Tree. Each time, she talks about how hunky Mario is and gives him a little peck before running off.
After Chapter 4, you can actually recruit her into your party. To do so, you need to head to the Trouble Center in Eastern Rogueport. If you’ve never used it, this is essentially a bulletin board for side-quests. While some of these only result in getting a pocketful of change for your troubles, others will reward you with extremely useful items or, as we’re talking about here, Ms. Mowz.
In the list of quests, you’re looking for one called “Elusive Badge!” posted by someone anonymous (???). The request will tell you to meet on top of Zess T’s house, which you can get to by going into the inn, climbing the stairs to the second floor, and exiting through the door on the left.
If you peek into the badge shop before talking to Ms. Mowz, you’ll discover her secret identity. She’s the assistant at the badge shop, if the shape of her tail didn’t give her away earlier.
Talk to Ms. Mowz on the rooftop and she’ll tell you the badge she’s looking for is in the room that Hooktail was defeated in. However, she can’t find it, which is where you come in.
How to find the Elusive Badge in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
To get the Elusive Badge in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, you need to return to the room you defeated Hooktail in. Getting back can be a pain. It isn’t difficult now that you’ve got more chapters under your belt, but it is a long trek. I don’t have any shortcuts for you; you just need to go back to Hooktail Castle and retrace the path back to the top.
When you reach Hooktail’s Room, you’ll find it quiet and empty. Search around, and you probably won’t see anything out of place. However, if you go straight right from the door, you’ll eventually bump into something invisible roughly in the center of the room.
Switch to Flurrie and use her ability on the invisible blockade. A sticker will give way and reveal a chest. Inside the chest is the Elusive Badge.
As a note, you cannot immediately equip the Elusive Badge. It isn’t considered a Badge at this point. However, at the end of the quest, it will be handed back to you in the form of Attack FX B.
With that in mind, return to Ms. Mowz. She’ll reveal that this was simply a test to see if you had what it takes to be a successful badge hunter. She will then join your team. You aren’t given a choice.
What are Ms. Mowz’s abilities in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
While not required to complete the game, Ms. Mowz is an extremely useful ally to have in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Her partner ability, in particular, is one you’ll probably keep returning to use. She can sniff out nearby items, hidden or otherwise. Her nose will begin to twitch when one is nearby, and you can hit the X button to have her take a deep whiff and tell you exactly how close it is.
In battle, she has another useful ability. Her “Kiss Thief” skill costs 2 FP and will steel an item from an enemy. Since some enemies hold badges, this enables you to build up your badge collection further by swiping them. Plenty of enemies in the Pit of 100 Trials, for example, will have badges on them, and Ms. Mowz can snatch them for you.
Aside from that, her default attack is a physical slap. When upgraded, her 3 FP “Tease” will make enemies Dizzy. When ultra-upgraded, her 10 FP “Smooch” ability can heal Mario, which is helpful when you don’t have the items or star power to heal any other way.
Overall, Ms. Mowz isn’t that terrific in combat, but she more than makes up for it with her thief-y abilities.
