Podunk

Podunk (Japanese: マザーズデイの町 Mother's Day) is a town located in the eastern part of America, and is the first town in EarthBound Beginnings. It is Ninten's hometown, and has a couple of attractions such as a zoo and the Canary Village. Podunk also has a large graveyard, which Ninten visits to go save Pippi from the Pseudo Zombies residing there. When Ninten's journey first starts, Podunk is victim to many supernatural occurrences, such as poltergeists in people's homes and even going as far as destroying one man's house completely. Podunk has a population of 31 individuals, an average temperature of 15°C, and its main industries are agriculture and sightseeing.

Overview
Podunk is the first city of the game and where the beginning of the story takes place. Ninten's house is located northwest of the main part of the city; with Pippi's residence being slightly south of Ninten's, and north of the city's center. Excluding Ninten's and Pippi's homes, there are a total of eleven single-detached dwellings and twelve buildings with more skyscraper-looking attributes in the city. The taller buildings are usually stores of some type, where items might be purchased for different costs; while only one of the more simple buildings is enterable.

When entering the city, there's a house to the north (the second one which Ninten passes if he follows the walkway), which is the only villa in the city which Ninten can experience the interior of; if he chooses to enter, the only individual present inside is a mouse who gives away some information when talked to. It mentions that only buildings with signs or rounded doors can be entered, which can be a useful tip as the player can decide whether a building is enterable or not just by looking at it.

In the center of the town, there's a building with a pink door, called the City Hall, where the mayor resides, alongside his assistant, named Abbott. On the main floor of the City Hall there's a receptionist who will give him a hint, after Ninten has saved Pippi, about a wonder girl who will help him during his trip. The majority of the residents who Ninten is able to converse with throughout the town will mostly express concern about the occurring events in the town; however, once Ninten has rescued Pippi from the cemetery, they will mostly thank Ninten for his effort instead of being worried.

In the southern part of the town, where Ninten is getting close to the cemetery, he can find two PseudoZombis, who once spoken to will lead to the initiation of a fight. When they've been defeated, their character sprites will disappear from their respective locations, and Ninten can thus never interact with them again.

Franklin's Forest
Franklin's Forest is a small and inaccessible forest, which is situated between Pippi's house and the central portion of Podunk. The name is most likely derived from Benjamin Franklin, which the Franklin Badge also is based off.

Laura's Forest
Laura's Forest is an unenterable forest, which surrounds the path that leads from Podunk to Canary Village. The forest is likely named after Laura, a canary who resides in Canary Village.

Geography
Podunk is the second biggest settlement in the game, area-wise, featuring an area of 16,790 square meters, only being surpassed by Reindeer, which has an area of 19,974 square meters. The town itself is encircled by a lot of natural surroundings (like the majority of the towns in the game), being enclosed by several trees and a bigger part of the area being covered in grass; several streams of water do also surround it. The area of the settlement is also very even, as the ground starts to become asymmetrical in height rather far away from the town, being in the northeastern parts, where plenty of cliffs reside. An unique feature within the territory is the frequent appearance of flowerbeds throughout the entirety of the inhabited part of the town.

To the east of Podunk lies Merrysville, which can be reached by crossing a set of bridges. Other nearby locations include Canary Village which lies northwest of Podunk, the Choucream Zoo lying to the north, and the South Cemetery located in the south.

History
Being the first town which Ninten visits (and begins at), many introductory events occur; especially the first major happening when a poltergeist appears in his home, which acts as the main event for his quest to initiate. The poltergeist manages to control several inanimate objects, and the phenomenon doesn't end until Ninten defeats the Doll in Mimmie's room, which also possesses the first melody, whose significance is left unspecified at this point of the plot. After the occurrence is over, the initiation of the quest is set after a conversation with his dad via the house's telephone, where he vaguely explains it as the time for Ninten to explore the potential of his powers. After gaining access to the family's basement and obtaining his Great-Grand Father's Diary, which acts as a relatively major plot element, Ninten leaves for the more populated area of Podunk.

On the way south to Podunk, Ninten meets the mother of a child who has gotten lost in the town's cemetery, which now has gotten infested with pseudo zombies and other hostile creatures. Much commotion and distress occur in the town as several ominous events are going on; poltergeists who are troubling the inhabitants, zombies who have been seen roaming around, animals which have went out of control at the town's zoo, and a girl who has vanished in the midst of it all. When arriving at the main portion of the town Ninten meets the mayor in the City Hall, who is more concerned about how this will affect the upcoming election. He takes advantage of the situation and sends Ninten to find the lost girl in order for him to get the status of a hero. Once Ninten manages to save the girl named Pippi, who had been hiding under a coffin deep inside of the cemetery, the mayor will bribe him with 100 and the key to the zoo, in hope that Ninten also will deal with problems occurring there. The residents of the town will after the rescue express praise for Ninten's deed when talked to.

Before going to the zoo to the north, Ninten goes to Canary Village (which he actually can choose to do before saving Pippi), where the second melody can be found. The village's residents do mostly consist of canaries; Ninten can receive the song from the one located to the north, behind the wall, who is named Laura. Upon arriving there, she will express great sadness as her baby canary is missing. Ninten must buy the baby from the department store of Podunk to trigger the melody to be sung by Laura, as she will rejoice by the reunion.

The third melody can be found at the zoo, which is the next destination of Ninten's journey. As soon as he arrives, a monkey from the zoo appears and steals the key from him, and then opens the gate followed by a swift disappearance. The zoo is now enterable and covered with wild animals, with some of their stats being devastating for a poorly leveled Ninten. Ninten must try and survive until reaching the zoo's superintendent's office at the east side of the zoo. The way there can be rough as it follows a snake-like pattern with a high amount of dangerous foes. However, at the topmost floor of the building Ninten will see a capsule-like object on the floor, which once checked will lead to the game's second boss fight: Starman Jr. Once Starman Jr. is defeated, the sound which made the animals mad abruptly stops, and the zoo becomes a safe place once again. The third melody can be received from the singing monkey, who resides in the closest boundary fence to Ninten's location after the fight.

Even though he won't receive any price from the mayor, Ninten will now be able to pass two police officers guarding a bridge east of the zoo, as the roadblock has been called in because of the zoo's improved state; the roadblock obstructing the way to Merrysville is still left though. When passing the policemen, he will enter a cave which leads to a strange rock-like object with "XX" engraved in it. To proceed from here, Ninten must use Telepathy on the rock, while still carrying the Great-Grand Father's Diary; this will lead to him being teleported to.

During the game's ending, Ninten returns to his home in Podunk after having defeated Giegue.

Hotel
The hotel in Podunk charges 39 per person.

Hospital
The hospital in Podunk charges 25 per person for a treatment, and $125 per person for a revival.

Healer
To the south of the town, there's a healer who charges 18 to "refresh" a party member (restore all PP) and $30 to "soften" a party member (cure Stone status ailment).

Items

 * Franklin Badge, achieved by answering Pippi's first question with a "no" and her second question with a "yes" by conversing with her at any time when she is present.

Enemies

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Gallery

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Name origin
Podunk is a word that refers to a common small town that has no significance.

Mother's Day is is named after the holiday of the same name.