I just go by from what I read. I haven't tried it because I'm to lazy to continue my challenge files. Both my lvl1 game and EXII games are both at the start of Evil Forest. I did all the play stuff perfect and then procrastinate. I'll look into it more.
According to this (The FAQ section at bottom), it's impossible to go through the forced pandemonium fights without getting EXP. GameFAQs: Final Fantasy IX (PS) Low-Level FAQ/Walkthrough by KADFC You get healed before the battle and for some reason it heals any status effect you might have (including zombie,virus etc.) So feel free to try it if you want though, but against Tantarian it's worth a shot.
