Hocus-poker

Dragon Quest monster Hocus-Poker
Art by Akira Toriyama Japanese アークマージ Romaji Ākumāji First appearance Dragon Quest III Old localization Archmage

The Hocus-Poker is a recurring monster in the Dragon Quest series, first appearing in Dragon Quest III. It is a high-ranking warlock in the service of a Demon Lord.

Characteristics

Hocus-pokers are evil sorcerers that resemble Prestidigitators wearing magenta robes with white or purple belts tied around their waists. They have green or yellow eyes glowing from their hoods and have their hands outstretched from the sleeves of their robes, ready to cast magic on their enemies. Hocus-pokers have an impressive magical arsenal at their fingertips, and they are also capable of breathing ice on their enemies. For their reappearance in XI, the hocus-pokers lost their position as the second most powerful of their sorcerous brethren to the leger-de-men.

Appearances

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation

Hocus-Poker (アークマージ Ākumāji)

Original (NES)

Sprite		Level	HP	MP
		43	130	100
Attack	Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
90	150	75	2,850	140

Bestiary No.	#119
Spell(s)	Kaboom Kazing
Skill(s)	Cool Breath
Location(s)	Alefgard Nail Mark Zoma's Citadel
Item Dropped	Staff of strife1⁄128

Evasion	Fire Resistance *	Crack Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *
1⁄16	70%	70%	0%
Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance	Whack Resistance *	Kamikazee Resistance
0%	25%	70%	0%
Poof Resistance	Fuddle Resistance	Snooze Resistance	Dazzle Resistance
70%	25%	100%	25%
Fizzle Resistance	Sap Resistance *	Deceleratle Resistance *
70%	25%	70%

Remakes sprites

SFC	GBC	Switch

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Hocus-poker (アークマージ Ākumāji)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	159	14	94
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
125	81	384	80

Bestiary no.	#221
Family	Humanoid
In-game description	Sorcerers who sought to augment their already impressive abilities and, having grown drunk on their new-found power, became terrible tyrants.
Spell(s)	Boom Zing Co-Boom (Pep power, with Hocus-poker)
Skill(s)	Becomes Pepped up
Location(s)	Heliodor Dungeons - Upper Level (second act) The Costa Valor (second act, 3DS and Definitive Editions only)
Item(s) dropped	Magic water1⁄32 Tsunami staff1⁄128

Evasion	Fire Resistance *	Ice Resistance *	Wind Resistance *
N/a	0%	0%	-110%
Rock Resistance *	Light Resistance *	Dark Resistance *	Zap Resistance *
0%	25%	-125%	0%
Drain Magic Resistance	Whack Resistance *	Poof Resistance	Poison Resistance *
0%	50%	100%	0%
Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *	Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *
50%	50%	50%	25%
Sap Resistance *	Blunt Resistance	Deceleratle Resistance	Spooky Aura Anathematise Resistance
0%	0%	0%	0%
Fizzle Resistance *	Stun Resistance *	Stumble Resistance *	Charm Resistance *
25%	99%	0%	100%
Beguile Resistance *	Double Down Resistance *	Elemental Resistance *
25%	0%	0%

Malicious hocus-poker (アークマージ・邪 Ākumāji・ja)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	321	56	162
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
255	135	1,475	372

Bestiary no.	#436
Family	Humanoid
In-game description	Hocus-pokers who have morphed into a truly malevolent form under the malign influence of infinite evil.
Spell(s)	Kaboom Kazing Co-Kaboom (Pep power, with Abracadabrer)
Skill(s)	Becomes Pepped up
Location(s)	Heliodor Sewers (third act)
Item(s) dropped	Magic water1⁄32 Tsunami staff1⁄128

Evasion	Fire Resistance *	Ice Resistance *	Wind Resistance *
N/a	0%	0%	-110%
Rock Resistance *	Light Resistance *	Dark Resistance *	Zap Resistance *
0%	25%	-125%	0%
Drain Magic Resistance	Whack Resistance *	Poof Resistance	Poison Resistance *
0%	50%	100%	0%
Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *	Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *
50%	50%	50%	25%
Sap Resistance *	Blunt Resistance	Deceleratle Resistance	Spooky Aura Anathematise Resistance
0%	0%	0%	0%
Fizzle Resistance *	Stun Resistance *	Stumble Resistance *	Charm Resistance *
50%	99%	0%	100%
Beguile Resistance *	Double Down Resistance *	Elemental Resistance *
25%	0%	0%

Dragon Quest Rivals

Hocus-poker appeared as a rare card exclusive for Mage leaders in the 5th card pack, "Heroic Tales of Bravery".

Etymology

Hocus-Poker's name is derived from the term, "hocus pocus", an exclamation used by magicians in order to bring about a change of some sort, but it can also be a term to refer to magic tricks or sleight-of-hand in general.

Gallery

• 

  XI polygon model

• 

  A malicious hocus-poker

• 

  Rivals card

• 

  A hocus-poker in Keshi Keshi.

Related monsters

Similar species

• Prestidigitator
• Leger-de-Man
• Abracadabrer