Some of the strongest enemies in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection are ones you might not even see, since they only spawn at night. These are the Elder Dragons, some of the most challenging monsters in the Monster Hunter universe. Not counting the ones as part of the story, there are four of these to be found throughout the game, one in each of the four main regions. 
Yama Tsukami, a boss you faced earlier under different circumstances, is the Elder Dragon you can find in the Tarkuan region.
Yama Tsukami is one of the four Elder Dragons you can face in the endgame.
Yama Tsukami Location and Preparation¶
As mentioned, you will find Yama Tsukami in the Tarkuan region, but getting it to appear there requires a little bit of work. First and foremost, Yama Tsukami only appears at night and it also needs to be that time of day to get it to spawn, as you need to get into battles at night. Note that this doesn’t count attacking and defeating the monsters on the field, as that won’t work. You actually have to initiate normal combat, but from there, it doesn’t matter if you just perform a Quick Finish. Keep doing battles and eventually, you will witness a cutscene.
The big problem with these Elder Dragons is that the one that appears is completely random, so it’s not certain that you’ll get Yama Tsukami right away. If you don’t get this Elder Dragon, go to the one that spawned and lose the battle to reset things. This should enable you to try to spawn Yama Tsukami again, and you could always try to do the night battles in Tarkuan, as that might improve the chances. Once you have gotten this monster to appear, you will have to initiate combat with it, but that’s a bit odd considering that Yama Tsukami is flying high in the air.
Yama Tsukami will be flying through the air, so you’ll have to meet it to start the fight.
Look for the air vent near the head of the dragon remains, allowing you to fly into the boss.
The best way to start the battle with it is by going to the Lookout Point: Colossal Dragon’s Remains Catavan (or Camp: Colossal Dragon’s Remains) first. There will be a new Air Vent that appears a little northeast of the one by the Camp. This allows you to get high in the air, at about the same height as the colossal dragon’s head. From here, you just wait until Yama Tsukami comes around and you can fly into it to start the battle.
Preparations¶
Yama Tsukami is an Elder Dragon without an element, so you will want to first look for a Monstie that isn’t weak to Non-Elemental damage. Preferably, you’d want one that is strong against it, but a neutral one that can access a Non-Elem Def Boost (L) gene will also work. Of course, you’ll also want an armor that is great against Non-Elemental damage, with the 
Gravios U Armor being one of the better options (requires 
Black Gravios materials). If you max it out, then you can place two Decorations, something that can be very important, depending on what you have available. The Decorations on it aren’t the best, so opt for something like Health Boost, All-Elem Def Boost, or Evasion Ability (just suggestions).
As for your weapons, you will not want anything with Electricity or Fire, as Yama Tsukami is strong against those. Non-Elemental and Water can be good, since it has no affinities for those, but Ice and Dragon are the best. For your Companion, none of them will have affinities towards Non-Elemental, so there’s nothing wrong there. It is weak to both Ice and Dragon, so someone like Thea that has 
Goss Harag would be great. As always, you will want to be stocked with the natural items, like 
Lifepowders, 
Vital Essences, and the like.
Thea is great for this battle, as long as you have her Goss Harag unlocked.
While Black Gravios isn’t the best for damage, it is a sturdy Monstie that you can bring for this.
| Mode | Attack Type |
|---|---|
| Normal | Power |
| Mouth Open | Speed |
| Exposed | Power |
Defeating the Elder Dragon, Yama Tsukami¶
Now that you are properly prepared, it’s time to start the battle. Yama Tsukami starts out in the Normal state, where there is the Valve and two Tentacles present. If you break both of the Tentacles, then it switches over to the Open Mouth state. You definitely want to avoid this state as much as possible, since its worst attack comes from it. Before getting to that, though, let’s go back to the Normal mode and go through some of its attacks. There are two main ones to watch out in this form, the first of which is Tentacle Vortex. This hits your entire party and might even one-shot some characters/Monsties, depending on your level and buffs. Yama will likely start the battle by performing this move on its first turn, too, so it’s a good indicator on whether you’re ready or not.
The second attack that can be annoying is Steam Surge, another move that hits your entire party, but this one also comes with the Defense Down (M) debuff. Despite these annoying moves, you will probably want to try and spend as much time as possible in the Normal form. Its other attacks are easily beaten by using Speed-type moves/attacks (all of its attacks are Power-based). Of course, you aren’t able to control your companion and their Monstie, so you will likely be forced into the other form, where it opens its mouth.
(1 of 4) Tentacle Vortex can hurt very bad, especially for your companion and their Monstie.
One move it can do while in this form is Boulder Throw, hitting everyone, but also having a chance to stun with the lower damage output. Being stunned here is not a good thing, especially if you were planning on healing or doing something else important. With its mouth open, be on the lookout for the line that indicates a more normal attack, as it will always be a Speed-type move. If it targets you or your Monstie, hopefully you have a Technical-type attack to win the head-to-head. If not, then you will have to take the damage from the attack.
By far, the most devastating move in Yama Tsukami’s arsenal will happen when its mouth is open. If you don’t see anyone being targeted a few turns into the form, then it will likely be doing Yama Tsukami Pull, an ability that hits everyone multiple times and does major damage at the same times. If you can survive this skill without too much worry, then you should be more than fine with whittling down Yama’s large health pool.
You’ll know you’re in the second form because of Yama’s open mouth.
Yama Tsukami Pull is its strongest attack and will likely down you without proper protection.
Note that with all of these Calamitous Elder Dragons, you do not need to defeat them in one go, especially the first time you fight them. If you get their HP to within a certain threshold, they will be “repelled” upon you being defeated. The next time you fight that same Elder Drasgon, they will start at that same HP threshold, so it is possible to basically do it in stages.
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