I finally found another bug (maybe)! If you flee the multi-opponent encounter at the end after knocking one of them out and then go back to the location again, the oppnent you took down is back.
Or maybe ALL of these encounters are entirely non-lethal, which would explain how the mushrooms can be all chatty after their defeats and how the two at the end can team up even after the player defeated them previously? Hmmm...
I can't believe how much time I've put into this game. The entertainment value per-line-of-code is off the charts!