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[Bluerobin]

And I think there was a gamebreaking bug of some sort in a recent version that this airdrop would have fixed? I don't really remember the details, I haven't been keeping up that well.

[Akura]

Would have updated today, but Imgur/Chrome decided to derp halfway, and I'm freezing my ass off right now.

[Akura]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sanity may or may not be suffering from oxygen deprivation, but now that I have all the Aroma badges, I can climb to the summit of Mt. Epsilon to challenge Brendan. But first, Polaris Town has a Safari Zone.



Unlike typical Safari Zones, which are several open areas, this one is actually a gauntlet of climbing rocks and inexplicably liquid water. At the end of the gauntlet, I find Abomasite(by the way, Tim's Mega-Evolution was Abomasnow). As for the Pokémon, everything was stuff I already have, except for two.



Huh, I figured a walrus would be heavier.

There was also Dewgong, but I couldn't catch one.

Now, for the epic deathmatch against a dragon god.


"Only Rayquaza's Air Lock ability can protect you at this height... Be extremely careful. You might encounter dangerous hallucinations due to a lack of oxygen up there, but if Brendan wants you to go up, you'll probably survive long enough to battle him."

That's very encouraging.



These hallucinations take the form of Cool Trainers who are quite capable of inflicting physical harm.



...That's pretty grim.

However, for a hallucination, she wasn't that difficult.



I'm not even twenty feet from the entrance and the voices coming from my head already think I'm having trouble.



Everyone else has been, so why not?

This one had a Jolteon that tore up most of my team. I managed to pull through until her last Pokémon, Muk, used Momento like a moron.



BREATHE WHAT?! There's nothing to breathe!


Are these real or not? Meowstic, you're a psychic, am I hallucinating or not?



"Why are you asking me?"

...Nevermind.





I don't know whether or not I want him to talk about swag.



I think I want to go home now.



That's about the score of it, yeah.



Right now I'm standing in the corner, trying not to cry frozen death-tears.



Outside... so... so cold. ,_,

Nono, I musn't cry. My tears will freeze and I will die.



I feel like I want to rest. Yes. Rest.

But I can't.

The only thing unusual about this battle is the fact that an Aurorus used Hyper Beam that was ineffective on Blaziken.



For starters, that Hyper Beam may have been ineffective, but it damn sure didn't HURT. I also got a little over Ł2000 from the battle.


"Or am I figment of your imagination?"

Hint: It's probably both.



Breathe? Hahaha- oh wait, I forgot, I AM breathing.

Also strange, but at the end of that battle, Mawile took a Grudge from his Cofagrigus, but didn't lose any PP because of it. Maybe it was a hallucination after all.



It looks like I'm inside of a space asteroid. Woohoo! I'm in space! Wooosh!



Hey, I think this one might be real.



At least I'm probably real!


"stronger than I am!"

Yeah... I've been using Max Repels to get through. The only new thing I've seen so far is Hitmonchan, but I couldn't grab it.



Am I... am I near the summit yet?



I will... climb this... mountain.



Now you can't be a hallucination. A hallucination can't insult me with a term that I don't know what it is.



Hell yeah! Beats Greenland!


"The oxygen-deprivation doesn't kick in until later. The trainers up there will be less frequent, but the wild Pokémon will be much stronger, so be warned!"

Wait, the oxygen density is just fine? So what's been driving me insane this whole time?



I guess that also meant I'm nowhere near done with this climb. Since the tiles are different, maybe I'm getting close?



I wish I knew.

Dear sweet Arceus, I wish I knew why I can't stop.



Are they? Am I getting so close to the summit that I'm in range of Air Lock?



I guess I'm still in the atmosphere, since it's snowing. I think I'm almost there though. It's too late to turn back since Escape Ropes don't take me all the back to the bottom, nor can I Fly out of here.


"apparatus! I'm on my way back down! I couldn't reach the summit, unfortunately. It's just way too high for me!"

Seriously, you suck. Also, I want that equipment.

After a good mauling by most of his team, duly returned by mine, I find that his breating apparatus most likely is...





Well, that was incredibly painful.

I still have to deal with a KlinKlang after that, but it wasn't so difficult.



My tank beat your tank, that's how.

He seems to have been the last trainer on the way to the summit, so I use some of my nearly-depleted medical supplies to patch everyone up.



This looks like I'm near the top. For some reason, these antechamber-like maps always look like this.



This is it. Time to battle a legend to the death. Again.

I mean, without Rayquaza, Brendan would die up here, right?



It's Shadow Rayquaza alright. I wonder why Brendan had it corrupted? I mean, he never seemed like the type to actually go for power, unlike Gold or Silver.



Hi there! Can I borrow that big-ass dragon for a bit? I kinda need it to save the world.



()_()



You'd have lost, assuming you're at the appropriate level for the area. Red's team was over Level 100.



Heh. You might control a god, but I've killed one.







That's quite a level difference. However, I've faced worse odds.





I didn't expect Brendan to use that so fast. What ever happened to dramatic buildup?

Also, Air Lock announced itself with "The foe Rayquaza has Air Lock!". I've seen other Pokémon with an ability that cancels weather, which show "The effects of weather have disappeared". How is Air Lock different?






The problem I have with that is, Mega-Banette's Prankster is supposed to give priority to status moves, which I am pretty sure Thunder Wave is.

Screw this. I have two, and I bet I don't need the other for Groudon.







Trust me. It hit Banette with a move called "Shadow Wrath". I don't want to be hit with that again. I just hope I really don't need the other for Groudon.

Wait, Rayquaza was only Lv.77. That means Brendan only gave it two levels since he caught it.



I guess Brendan raised that Beldum Steven gave him.



God I love critical hits. Well, not when I'm on the receiving end, anyway.



Another Steel-type. I wonder if he had picked Sceptile as his starter.

Scald dropped him to one hitpoint(no Sturdy), and Vaporeon got wasted from almost full health with Head Smash(no recoil, so Rock Head).



Blaziken once again kicking ass.



NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT KYOGRE!!



Aw hell. I sacrifice Mawile to get Vaporeon healed. As far as I know, Kyogre is all-water. I think it knows Ice Beam when you get it, but that shouldn't be too bad on Vaporeon.

...Except Kyogre knows Thunder, which is actually pretty infuriating. Luckily, Vaporeon survived it, and I still have enough Hyper Potions and Full Restores to outlast it. Vaporeon goes down once and I sacrifice Carbink to Max Revive him.

Eventually, Kyogre runs out of Thunder(yes!) and switches to the FAR less potent Ice Beam. I get people back up an running during this time. I've gone through a huge stock of expensive, but for the most part replaceable, medicine, but now I have the upper hand.

And once I go on the attack, Kyogre is quickly set on fire by Scald. Before I could deal one last, killing blow, Brendan switches out.



What the hell, is that Wally's Gardevoir?!



I knew something was missing from this battle.



Gardevoir's Mega-evolution is a fatter ass?

I try switching to Banette but that doesn't work. Next I try Mawile, but Gardevoir rips her through with Moonblast, so I use Mawile's last turn to heal Carbink. That didn't work so I try Meowstic. THAT didn't work because of a goddamned Signal Beam. I try to get Vaporeon tanking to keep recovering my team and at least burning through his Psychic. In a lucky shot, I get Gardevoir burned too. It soon overtakes him.



I'll be quite pissed if Brendan doesn't have a shitload of money on him.

Anyway, Kyogre comes back out, and its last act was to heal Vaporeon with Surf.



And so, the water god is burned to death in a fire started by a water blast. In the rain. You may taste the irony.





Jesus Arceus! That damn near was!



Don't worry, Rayquaza is going to be in a better place. On my roster.



Shit! I forgot to count the money I earned from that battle!



What? No he didn't! Norman tried kicking your ass.



Why? Because you corrupted it with a disease just for power! That's why!



Uh, hey, now is not the time for basejumping. You kinda need a parachute for tha...



Aw... fuck.

(Note: I missed it, but there was a "!" over Brendan's head, implying this wasn't intentional suicide)

Goddamn it, am I responsible for another legendary trainer's death?!

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED MAXIE?!



THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME! AND I THOUGHT I SET THIS TO VIBRATE!


"It's me, Maxie!"

It's a satellite phone, Maxie! I'm pretty damn close to the satellite.



Yeah. I found him. He should be heading your direction at about... TERMINAL VELOCITY.


"You snagged Rayquaza as well- that's fantastic!"

So... not upset about that, Maxie?


"already at Kingdom City! This is extremely bad."

Oh, hell. Just what I need.


"to sneak it."

So what, this is a stealth full-frontal assault? ~_~



Are you telling me that Kingdom City's defense was so geared towards stopping a special forces attack that they're completely unprepeared for a general attack? God knows I've done that in a few games.


"in Centauri Town."

Customs? That's usually at the border of a region, not right in the center.



Wait, aren't we fighting on the government's side? Why would their Customs department stop us?


"After you get back to Polaris, you get to slide down Mt Epsilon all the way down to Route 7X. After that, I'll meet you at the Customs, ok?"

Teleport me? Through the phone? That slide sounds fun.


"because this device we stole can only take you so far... >Yes/No"

What the hell did you steal and from whom?! Nevermind, I don't care right now. Just... just get me off of this mountain. Maybe I can beat Brendan down to the bottom.


"1..."



Back in town. I don't see Brendan's smashed corpse anywhere, so he must not have hit the ground yet.

I'm not quite ready to rush to the defense of Kingdom City yet, so I first get to work restocking my potions. It hurts financially, but I have enough to replace most of what I used. Next, I get my team to the PokéCenter. This has been an ordeal for all of them.

Next is to put Rayquaza, Cryogonal, and Magnezone into the Purify Chamber. I will make a note that during the battle, Rayquaza's Shadow Wrath did not cause recoil damage, even though Shadow Wrath's description says it does.

Spoiler: Current Team (click to show/hide)

[Thexor]

Aurorus has Refrigerate as its ability which makes Normal moves Ice-type instead. Which normally is a benefit, since Ice is a good type and Aurorus gets STAB from it. Not so great against Fire, though.

Also, you can't make a comment about "I better get lots of money from this guy" and then not remember to check how much money he gave you!

[Akura]

Aurorus has Refrigerate as its ability which makes Normal moves Ice-type instead. Which normally is a benefit, since Ice is a good type and Aurorus gets STAB from it. Not so great against Fire, though.

That's what I figured. Blaziken mostly survived due to double resistance.

Also, you can't make a comment about "I better get lots of money from this guy" and then not remember to check how much money he gave you!

Too exhausted after the battle.

Even so, I think I only spent about 200k on restocking, not counting Ultra Balls I needed later. I still had about 100k before Balls.

[Bluerobin]

Also, turn order on turns where a Pokemon mega evolves is determined before the mega evolution takes place, so that's what happened with Mega Banette.

This game's plot is... really odd, contextually. People die left and right and it's barely addressed. You talk about it plenty, but it's still really, really odd.

[Cerol Lenslens]

Brendan clearly fell off the other side of the mountain. 

Also, I'm just laughing at him for Mega-Evolving when he did: Trading in that Traced Water Absorb for Pixilate while fighting a Scald-using Vaporeon seems like a bad idea. (Yeah, I know: There are limits to what you can reasonably expect from the AI. Still funny.)

[Thexor]

Also, turn order on turns where a Pokemon mega evolves is determined before the mega evolution takes place, so that's what happened with Mega Banette.

This is a big reason why Mega Banette isn't more widely-used in the real games - her status priority would be incredibly useful in certain matchups, and would make her the ultimate Taunting spin-blocker, if only it applied to her first attack. 

That said, I'm kinda surprised that mechanic made it to Z/O. Given how glitchy their combat system can be at times, it's impressive they were accurate on this priority detail.

[Akura]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Rayquaza securely within the Purify Chamber - though at the cost of yet another trainer's life - I must now hurry to Kingdom City to stop Cipher's assault. And by hurry, I mean "sneak in illegally for some reason".

I also have to figure out who to replace when Rayquaza is done. I guess Banette. She's my main capper, but her Thunder Wave won't have any affect on Groudon.

To get to the next town, Maxie said I have to slide down Mt. Epsilon. The exit going down is right next to the one going up.



I was expecting some kind of slide, or maybe a snowy slope to ski down. Looks like I'm going to get to base-jump after all. RACE YOU DOWN, BRENDAN! HAHAHAHA!



Argh, who in their right mind would slide down a bare rock slope?!

Besides me. "Right mind" I said.



Ow, my ass! So much skin flayed off!

In the grass nearby, I find the only PP Up in the entire game so far.

Most of the wild encounters are Meowstics, but I find a few that aren't.





Okay, this one doesn't make sense. It's a Forest Pokémon, but it's Pokédex entry says it lives in the jungle, while I caught it in a mountainous foothill.

At this point, Rayquaza, plus the other two who are being purified at the same rate, are halfway done. I also noticed at this point there's no Centauri Town on the map. There's a Tauri Town, but Maxie said to head down Route 7X.



I had nothing to do with killing someone while stealing their dragon god! I swear!



Me too, I have no idea who it was I killed!


"Is it true? Are they finally going to launch an attack on Kingdom City?"

Yup. Run for your life or assist in the battle.


"It used to live in the Kalos Region..."

NO I DID NOT HEAR THIS!



I have several~! Including at least one I committed murder for!

Shortly after this battle, I get the message that Rayquaza and co. are ready to be purified. However! This rumor about a legendary means that Banette stays for a bit longer.



Then why are you here?



Another victim of that mother who's abandoning her kids everywhere?


"Team Yoloswag is the only true team!"

Time to commit murder again!



Good. If you ever say "swag" again, I will have Meowstic delete the word from your mind, and she's none too careful about it.

From here, I have to surf to the next area. The first battle was against a Psychic with Gardevoir, who traced Mega-Banette's Prankster and hit Banette with a quickened Hypnosis. That pissed me off, since Prankster didn't work with Thunder Wave while fighting Rayquaza.


"I wonder how you did that without friction completely annihilating your body?"

Dude, it's just a rugburn on my ass.



And you've completely failed physics.

On the way back from that fight, I catch a ducky.




"the Aroma Seals and I have been involved in multiple raids on Cipher!"

I didn't say anything about you, but if you're a former SEAL, shouldn't you be helping your kingdom defend its capital?



Someone doesn't know how to spell "guerilla". And if he's such a great sniper, go assassinate Greevil.



It's kind of hypocritical to claim to protect wild Pokémon from trainers while being a trainer yourself.

There is, however, a very good reason for her fervor.



Banette is, of course, not very useful. It doesn't matter.





The funny part is I had no idea she would say that.



Only works on Shadow Pokémon, and I'm probably the only person in the region who knows how to cure them.

Near her is the entrance to Centauri Town.




"It's theoretically a last line of defense against Kingdom City. That's why it doesn't appear on any maps!"

Oh yes, maybe nobody will find the place that's built on the only walkable path.

...Wait, "against"?! So this town is keeping Kingdom City from attacking the rest of the region they already own?!

That also means I cannot Fly to here, meaning I have to go all the way back to Polaris. ...Or walk. Like a chump.



Oh yes. He killed my father. No wait, I have that backwards. My father killed him.



I happen to be quite sure.


"that magically disappears when you're high enough rank in government! I tried looking, so I could bust it open, but I couldn't find it."

That would explain why half of Route 7X seemed inaccessable. This King better give me a damn dutchy after this is all over.


"It's very spooky. It scares me a bit, in all honesty."

Tower in the... oh right, the path to Route 3X. Hmm, sounds like another Shadow legendary.



So what's illegal in this region? I've got drugs, weapons, time/space distortion generators on me. And I'm pretty sure the last one has to be legal, since I got one from one of the Gym Leaders.

Anyway, before I go through customs, I need to make one small roster adjustment.



Hehe. Let's try and sneak this past the border. Upon purification, Rayquaza got Outrage, Dragon Dance, Fly, and ExtremeSpeed. I return to my Secret Base to ditch the last two in favor of Crunch and V-Create.

Centauri Town also has the NPC who sets a Pokémon's Hidden Ability. Rayquaza doesn't have one(was still Air Lock), so I change Meowstic's Ability to Own Tempo(was Keen Eye). I'd say that's worth the Ł10,000 Dream Stone it costs.

Now, to smuggle a dragon god.



Wow. They've got the Pokémon League music playing, too.


"government of Aroma. Vesryn doesn't get anything like this!"

Yeah. But then A) Vesryn seems to have a feudal warlord-ish system of government, and B) was successfully invaded by Team Olympus until said warlords got off their asses to do something about it. And C) I did most of the work!


"random people? It's kind of annoying..."

It's called being social, dumb bitch.


"I'm sure the guards will find it hilarious!"

And I'm pretty sure there's no policy against giving a little girl a full-cavity search.

Oh, and that guy two lines over? Guess who that is.


"can't find him anywhere."

._.

This means it was true that Brendan was lying about his father helping him catch Rayquaza. You'd think Norman would notice the big freaking dragon, but no.


"But whatever, I guess. It's all for the good of the region, right?"

Considering how integral Pokémon are to the human societies of the Pokémon universe, it does seem odd that the King would be so exclusionary to them.



Max Revive get!

"You can grind it up, fume it, whatever you want. Just get it away from me, I need to get through here!"

Was she trying to smuggle crack through the border security?

Again, I wonder what the hell is illegal here.


"I've come requesting permission to visit the Battle Frontier!"

That's not... Lorelei, is it? Odd, I don't remember her being a redhead. I don't have any of the Gen I games handy and I haven't played FireRed or LeafGreen either. In Pokémon Stadium, she was not a redhead.


"by... Great, they're waiting for you in Kingdom City. Good luck."

He disappears to let me by, and just like that, I smuggle a big freaking dragon right through customs.

I wonder how the battle at Kingdom City is going. Cipher had a head start and were making a direct assault, and I assume Team Magma is trying to help defend, so...


It's hard to see, but I went as far as importing the Magma insignia as their badge. I couldn't get it as their banner, despite being the correct size.


"TAKING FIRE!"
"SQUAD BROKEN!"


"To ME, my brothers! TO ME!!"


"Ow! Crap!"

Well, it doesn't Team Magma can hold out much longer... No wait, Brendan's Dreadnought just Deep Striked into the fray.


"I LIVE TO SERVE. AGAIN."


"uniform through. Little do they know... I am the Meowth of doom!"



Huh. Okay.

I suppose Meowth could cause a financial crash by creating massive inflation if it uses Pay Day enough.



Fun fact. Neither Route 7X or 8X appear on the map.



No kidding! You wanna see my dragon god?



Filthy Greaser.



A rat versus the dragon. Of course, Raticate can be fairly dangerous with the right build.

However, V-Create turns it into dust.



I had a very complicated arrangement with Team Magma that probably wasn't worth it.

And despite the King's apparent dislike for Pokémon, the area does have some new encounters.







I wonder. Is the reason that trainers with Pokémon are not allowed past Centauri Town because Route 8X is the Royal Hunting Grounds? Does that mean the King claims other royal rights such as obligated service, royal tithes, and Primae Noctis? No wonder some of the citizens seem rebellious.


"won't be stopped!"

I will take that bet. It's a sure thing and I need the money.



Um. I'm with Team Magma, actually. Though probably not for much longer as I'm not sure I can really trust them anymore.



That implies you've been there before.

And that Kingdom City's anti-air defense is either neutralized or tied up. Wonderful.



Of course, my own anti-air is just fine.



...That's not right.

Of course, I found out the reason she's getting it wrong.



I just need to switch to Ba- oh right. Oh well, Breloom shouldn't prove to be a hard capture.



Not hard at all.



That makes a little more sense.


"I can't rap, who am I kidding?"

Almost had it.



Narcotic plants are not on the list of stuff banned in Kingdom City. Makes sense, this is the Aroma region after all.



Given that her entire team were Poison-types, I'm gonna say no.

One more trainer after her, a quick run back to heal, and I stand before the gates of Kingdom City.


(Note: The entranceway is in the grass. I even had a random encounter on it)

Now, I get to see what all this security is protecting. And if the security was enough to protect it.



Yes, yes, YES.



I don't see any Chaos Space Marines around... Then again, they do get the Infiltrate ability.

I'll ask some of the locals.


"Would you like to trade for one of my Pokémon? I would require Arceus in return."

[Redacted: 5 screenlengths of painful laughter]

I do wonder what he could possibly be trading for God. I'll need to kidnap God first.


"hundreds of people living within! Fun fact- the upper layer of the city is the upper class, and the lower layer is the lower class. But let's be realistic here: there isn't much of a monetary difference between the two, the upper class are just more interconnected with the government."

Translation: both classes are dirt-poor peons, the upper class are just the King's personal scrubs.


"It's crazy! There are so many houses to explore!"

This is going to take awhile...

The other guy in the room claims to be Lt. Surge. He offers to battle me, but refuses saying to go to the space arena Pheonix Iota to fight him.

The next house has a little girl with an inner tube who's belief that she's playing in water is so strong that there were random encounters with Water-types.



Uh... that never ends well.

But anyway, she crams a Rare Candy down my throat.



...Yeah. Go see a dentist. And a nutritionist.

Next stop is the PokéCenter and Mart. Breloom is cured(Donphan a while ago), and the Mart stocks PP Ups.



Oh... damn it, I almost got over that...





DO NOT MOCK ME, PEASANT, OR I WILL ERASE YOU FROM EXISTENCE.



Erm, eat healthier?

Actually, she was holding an Iron Ball, which she gave me.

Travelling through the upper-class homes, quite a few are upper-class twits.


"areas. For example, did you know that the King himself uses Shadow Pokémon? For someone obsessed with morality and being superior, he sure doesn't practice what he preaches!"

[Redacted: 5 screenlengths of painful laughter]




“0_0


"This'll be fun. I've needed another slave to listen to me. Come meet me. You'll be cheering with the crowd soon enough."

She... it... Ms. Wade hands me a Music Ticket.

"Heh... see you soon."



I don't know I don't know I don't know!!! What the hell was that?!

No seriously, what Pokémon was that? Meloetta? Wait, that would be difficult, since I have to go back to Vesryn to redeem that ticket, and someone in Aroma has a special move for her. I don't recall any other music-based legendaries... And then what's the legendary on Route 7X? I guess I'll find that out when I punch the King into submission.


"No matter whether Cipher wins or loses, I'll come out on top! I'm secretly helping fund their Shadow plans, and they're paying me back in government fees after they've taken over!"

I'll be informing the King of your treason.



What? It's giving me the option to do that? I won't. I'm the good guy here. (And it's only Ł2500 anyway)


"I've robbed the Aroma National Bank of one of its Big Nuggets! Now its hidden in the dirt around my house! Nobody will ever know! ...I shouldn't have told you that, should I?"

Hahaha, nope! 0m0

A search around outside reveals not one, but three Big Nuggets. Good-guy Bonus!


"Back in my day, we ran to school in the snow. Uphill both ways!"

And for those wondering how that's possible, this guy's home was built on such soft land that during the day, the weight of people occupying the school caused to sink, and during the night, their homes would sink as the land with the school on it rises.



But of course.


"If you ever feel down, or bad, remember how cool you are, and you'll be OK!"

The reincarnation of Fred Rogers is right. And I'm going to need that inspiration soon, I'll bet.

However, I am not going to rush to the government headquarters, called the Aroma Cabinet, just yet. Instead, I'm going to leave this update here, anti-climatically.

Okay, fine. The Egg hatched into Sewaddle. Useless(since I have its final evolution already), but someone in town is trading a Solosis holding a special item(presumed to be Reuniclus' Mega-Stone) for a Pokémon aquired at level 1.





And yes, it was the Reuniclite.

Spoiler: Current Team (click to show/hide)

[Neonivek]

I think one of the reasons why death is so awkward in this series is because it goes from a game with no death, to a game with lots of death... but where death occurs with no gravity whatsoever... It just "happens".

A dragon devouring a helpless person right infront of a 10 year old just for pettiness? Sure! Person committing suicide out of pettiness? Sure!

But are these handled with the gravity you would expect from a Pokémon game? no

Is that was is so weird about it?

[Thexor]

Aww, you ditched ExtremeSpeed. It's such a good move!

And don't worry, there's nothing wrong with ending on a cliffhanger. ^{So long as you don't leave us hanging too long...}

[Akura]

Sadly, the cliffhanger will have to wait a few more days. Imgur does not want to cooperate with my netbook at the moment.

[Akura]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's time to finish this. Regardless of the politics of this region, I think everyone can agree that letting Greevil take over is not a good thing. Well, everyone except for Greevil, anyway.



Oh good, Maxie is waiting for me.



And you didn't think to stop them?



I'm just saying, but I don't think you, large explosions, and world-saving have ever been particularly parallel.





You do! Just looking at you makes me want to painfully kill you!
(the fact that was true beforehand nothwithstanding...)


"I wouldn't be surprised if they were all Cipher agents in disguise..."

And if they're not? We'd be attacking innocents for no reason while thinly-disguised as the enemy!


"castle here."

In "this castle here"? Do you see any other castles around?


"They may already beginning the corruption ritual!"

Er, can we wait until they're done? I wanna smack the King around a bit...



Which would be awkward if I didn't bring Rayquaza, but I did!

Actually, before running in there, I go stock up on Ultra Balls, seeing as I will need them for Groudon. I wish I could get some Heavy Balls, since Groudon is heavy enough for those.



Is this a solid gold floor?

I wonder, what if Maxie had it backwards and the Palace Guard are disguised as Cipher agents? That makes as much sense as Maxie's plan.


"chamber!"

Oh good, I'm expected.

All he had was a Lv81 Noivern, easy pickings for Carbink.



Yes, my thoughts of stopping you are completely within the law. My thoughts of the Lass I met on the way here, not so much.



Iron rusts, and then it breaks. And so shall you.



And then perhaps he will deal with you.


"Cave!"

I didn't actually stop you guys there. It all worked out in the end though.

All he had was a single Shedinja.



I disagree.


"I'll wipe the floor with you!"

I suppose you didn't see what I did to your comrades in the lobby.

Plus, it's a gold floor, so it doesn't really tarnish...



Yeah, you do that. Rayquaza, food.



This isn't the Oceania Cooperative Union. Or is it? I'm not really sure.
(plus, I don't really get the reference, so I'm making my own)



I don't think fascism is much of an improvement over capitalism. But democratic socialism? That's the good stuff.

The hallway is lined with rooms, I enter the first one, which looks like an office where upper-class peons deal with whatever administrative work the King doesn't feel like doing(nearly all of it).



But you're indoors.

During the battle, his Froslass used Hail. Upon switching to Rayquaza, it was still hailing, although nobody took damage from it. I had thought Air Lock turns the the weather to normal, not supresses it.



People have done dumber things for dumber reasons.

The next room over appears to be where taxes are processed. And then spent on orbital battle arenas.





Presumably, the declaration of the rest of the region's independence from the King. If Cipher steals it, then the region is stuck as the property of the King.

The rest of the rooms have mostly the same thing, just offices with pathetic Cipher Grunts. The last door in the hall leads to the antechamber of the throne room. There's just one last Cipher Grunt...


"the King. Here, lemme take my costume off."

Oh, it's just Maxie. Seriously, Maxie? You're getting jitters from the thought of meeting a corrupt King?


"we speak. We need to get in there, raise all hell, save the King, and deal with Greevil in whatever means necessary."

O.O

...That's a good plan.

Okay, not so much an actual plan, but it was exactly what I was thinking.



Three in a row? Greevil, the King, and you?



Hold on, lemme grind for three hours first...

Okay, I'm ready.



Let's shoot the place up. Hell, let's have Rayquaza V-Create the whole building if we want need to.



Oh hey. Look decided to return to work.

And no, I'm not surprised at all. I figured it was him for a long time. Plus, an NPC in town dropped his name.(the airdrop never happened)



You don't remember your birthday?





He is, and I accept your challenge.



In that case, I forfeit. Your plan's failed now, hasn't it? HAHAHA- oh wait.


"Very soon, the King will be under our control!"

Eh, I can beat him too.


"You and the King have met, I understand?"

It's not so much of meeting as the guy being an asshole and attacking me with Shadow Pokémon.



In all fairness, I only said I would save the kingdom, I never said I would save him.


"forever... I wonder what he thought? Disappointment? Disgust? Now he lies frozen as the soul within the Black Orb consumes his own..."

Soul? The damn thing is sentient?!


"An evil one. That is simply how these things work. An evil soul powers an evil device."

No shit.


"command, and all of Aroma will fall to my feet!"





Bleh. That's a huge level jump from the last few grunts. Carbink is more than a match for Altaria though.



Even managed to take her down before they could gimp out with Perish Song.



Time for more heavens drill-piercing?



But of course it is.

Its Earthquake really messed me up bad before. Too bad it won't work on Rayquaza.

It *did* hit Rayquaza with Heavy Slam, which is Ground-type as far as I know. How the hell? I guess that's what Mega-Golurk's ability does?



Still, I didn't bring a dragon god for nothing.



Is that the missing Musketeer? Hey, where's Shadow Groudon?

Vaporeon goes down in an attempt to freeze it(I miss Banette now), so I switch to Carbink. Being a legendary, this is going to be hard.



Last freaking turn. Wow. It also had Shadow Sword, but it did absolutely nothing at all.



I believe that's a Fighting-type.



Got him with Razor Shell. Good fighting, tank.

Might be wrong about the Fighting-type, since Meowstic's attacks aren't super-effective. Probably Fighting/Steel.



Ouch. Stupid Night Slash.



And I thought Barbaracle was creepy to look at.



He managed a few hits, that's all.



I guess Greevil's stalled me long enough. I'll just nuke it with V-Create.



I just hope the next (two?) fight(s) I can handle.





Rayquaza, go on, bite his head off.



(Note: There's apparently a bug where leaving the area/reloading the save will revert Maxie to the Cipher sprite. I recorded the previous scene before leaving for work, before the bug was apparent.)



Timing like when Groudon showed up at the Therian Plateau?


"Right. Down. To the last...





Oh... crap. See, Maxie? This is why I said we should have V-Created the whole palace!



Do you really think that's going to help, Maxie?

Maybe we can capture him. You know, shove him into a Pokéball. I've seen Mewtwo do it. Oh wait, he killed those people, nevermind.



That is why I should have forfeited. Really.


"Watch."



"Suzey-poo"? Really?





(0)_(0)



You asshole!



Over my dead body!

...Dammit.



Not Final Death?


"Kill him, now!"

Oh come on! You'll resist for me, but you wouldn't for the guy who actually cared about you?!


"I am the spirit that is possessing him..."

I know I'm slitting my own wrist here, but what difference does it make?



Is this a good idea?


"Since Arceus created our world..."


"So it is decreed, so it is done."

Continuing the trend of self-inflicted wrist slits, but that's bullshit! You didn't battle Maxie, and he was a trainer too!



HE JUST SAID HE WASN'T SUZERAIN!



Can... can I at least heal first?



No? Frick.

Let's see, 1/3 of my team is unconscious, the other 1/3 is almost there, and the last 1/3 is ready.



Great, I have no idea what that can do. At the very least, I Revive Carbink and Max Revive Vaporeon. In the meantime, Smeargle uses Power Shrine and Stealth Rock, while his Moody sends his stats all over.

Beyond that, it's clear Smeargle was meant to set up the rest of the corrupted King's team, and all me time for me to do mine. He had no attack moves at all(Power Shrine, Special Shrine, Stealth Rock, Spore).





I'm going to have to limit my switching as much as possible because of those Stealth Rocks.

As I set my Mega-Evolution...




Dark Crusader Cacturne?




I just hope Flaming Skullkicker Blaziken is faster.

He was, not enough to one-shot her though. Both have Speed Boost.



She had a nasty Drain Punch.



Oh crap, a gumiho with Shadow Disease.



Ow, not the liver!

Vaporeon and Rayquaza both fall bringing in SCP-953, but Carbink manages it. (Which is ironic if you read how SCP-953 was originally contained)





Blaziken can deal with that better than Carbink, so I revive him. And Rayquaza and Vaporeon. But Blaziken goes right back down because of Shadow Sneak. By the end of it, Mawile does too to Sacred Sword.





Another Shadow? That's right, someone in town mentioned the King had Shadows of starters.

Rayquaza lost a ton of Defense to V-Create and Shadow Down, and gets dropped. Chesnaught used Shadow Half a couple of times, though.





...Okay. If I capture it, I win. If I kill it... I'm sure I can find a replacement somewhere.

Like Chesnaught, Greninja used Shadow Half, making this much easier.



*phew*





Brendan said the same thing, AND NOW HE'S DEAD! LIKE YOU AND MAXIE AND GREEVIL SHOULD BE!!





I will cleanse the corruption even if I have to burn every molecule of it!


"experienced!"



You know that roster of things I've been snagging, which happens to include half my team? Yeah. So were they.


"In quite the spectacular battle, I must add."

Ne, ne, I think you still have a little left, may I beat you some more?


"be coming any minute now."

Oh god, don't tell me... not the Vesryn Police Club?!



Greevil. SHUT UP!!



Good, I was tired of making screenshots anyway.





MOTHERF- WHY??? Knowing them, Greevil's release date will be... three weeks ago.



Yes, the King's reign of tyranny continues.



Happy endings given via upper-class peasants.



Not for me, my happy ending was given by a Crush Girl. Ow...




,_,



My junk...









Where am I?


"did you?"


"We will battle, right here, right now."

Who are you?


"I will take over your body. Every move you make, everything you ever do- it will all be me. Your soul... completely and utterly destroyed."



Revenge? For what? WHO ARE YOU?!





No...

Spoiler: Current Team (click to show/hide)

[Thexor]

The Oceania comment is a reference to 1984. Famous book; you should read it!

Interesting how levels start to matter less as they get higher. A team of level 12s could never have beaten 22s, but 82 to 92 seems much more even. Still, that was a bit of a level jump!

[Urist Imiknorris]

DUN DUN DUNNNNN

(oh yeah, also Heavy Slam is steel-type and Barbaracle is rock/water)