You're not Eddie Van Halen. Actually, isn't he supposed to be dead? This girl doesn't look like Wolfgang Van Halen either.
What the hell is this hat? He's like a freemason grandmaster or something?
You're the one who's been harrassing Bennett live on TV, aren't you? Why aren't you in Serra's mansion then?
Gardevoir: Well, you see...How convenient. Maybe she could teach Momo how to do this? Not that I'm interested what Momo has to say. She'd probbly say something like "teach me a move that doesn't almost kill me every time I miss" or something like this.
So you're not related to those Van Halens? Radomus sounds like a wizard name, similar to Rasmodius, the cucking wizard from Stardew Valley.
That begs for a question - how did that happen? How does a pokemon get her own show on TV? And another question - had she always lived in this place?
Welp, at least the whereabouts of Luna are no longer a mystery. She ran away from Bennett, and got adopted by Radomus. Or... maybe she's his real daughter? Nah, probably not. She does have a lot in common with me, appearance-wise.
Now she's a maid? Imagine adopting a girl and making her your maid. Hey, as long as she's kept away from Bennett...
Radomus seems to be quite knowledgable, so I assume he's right about El being the real father. So... why should I get involved in another family drama? I just want a badge and I'm out of their lives.
So she wears the real Emerald Brooch. She's putting herself in extreme danger just running around the houses of rich people while Team Meteor is on the loose.
From an outsider's perspective this looks kinda sussy. Should have informed authorities first. I swear, people of Reborn have no common sense whatsoever,
Yea, to me El never seemed based. Is he dangerous? Probably; he does have that villainous aura around him.
It's this dork. Long time no see, Cain!
I kinda missed that. I think Cain was talking about Heather staying with a guy named Blake in Amertine City. Heather has been found, so she's no longer a lost girl, is she?
Something tells me there's more to that, but sure. So now I have to have a chess match against Cain to decide who battles Radomus first? I've played a lot of Fire Emblem, but I was never good at the version with no waifus. Being a certified genius doesn't automatically make you good at chess.
Let's settle this the only way I know how - with a pokemon battle! Show me a good time, Cain!
Strength is more powerful on the chessboard, but it took barely half HP from Muk. Aqua Tail turned out to be more effective after all, but not before Muk's Gunk Shot almost took Bismarck down.
And then Bismarck died. We're both left with five pokemon.
I should have switched as soon as I saw the Primarina. Despite that, I let Noiseferatu get wrecked. Fortunately String Bean is still relevant enough to defeat Cain's ace.
Microcline was a queen in this match, which probably empowered her Stone Edge even further. Quick claw saved her from Bone Rush or whatever dirt type move the Marowak was gowing to throw at her.
Nidoking, ironically, was also a queen, and also used Earthquake. Unfortunately for Cain, Microcline's defenses are unbreakable.
Lady Flayne wanted to be a knight, but she was assigned the role of a bishop. That's okay; this increased her attack stats. Meowstic set up a Light Screen, as if Cain thought Flayne would be using special attacks. Do some research, pal!
Checkmate. Cain hope that his king could utilize Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak to cause massive damage, but unfortunately for him, Flayne is clad in steel armor that can't be penetrated with brute force.
Same. I tried to utilize the field, but in the end not doing that was a better choice. I've got a readout on the field, so I can learn how to fight on it properly if I choose that route.
Robes are never a good sign, regardless of the color. Could it be a ransom letter? Because Gardevoir seems to be missing.
Would you look at that, I was right! I don't want to brag, but I'm right more often then not.
Man, I was right about El being sussy, wasn't I? One more point for me, and one more point to the kidnapping counter:
Victoria -1
Heather - 2
Noel - 2
Anna - 1
Charlotte - 1
Cain - 1
Saphira - 1
Gardevoir - 1
Total - 10
Luna: This man is not my real father, you are. I wish he would admit it already. I beg you, master, don't send me away to him.Cain: You're telling me she was just captured? She was right there when we came in!Radomus: They were perhaps waiting for such diversion as your battle.SQ: So you're trying to tell me it's all our fault?Cain: Come on, I'm sure he didn't mean it like...Radomus: Indeed! It was neither my fault nor Luna's, so it must have been you!Speaking for me again, classic Cain. We don't even know where they took her, and Cain is already making promises. If you never make promises, you can't break them. What are we even supposed to do in a situation such as this?
Is that so? Then how about we have a fight right now? Well, not right now, because I need to prepare, but soon.
Springing into action with nothing to go with is such a Cain thing to do. That guy is going to get himself killed one day.
Mister Van Halen, are you sure you want to leave Luna alone while there are people out trying to get her? By the way, nice new hat. Wait a minute, isn't he Hat Man who I've met in the library? He was talking about "dreamsickness" or something silly like that.
Luna's Umbreon is kind of a tsundere. Well, that's two eevee lads pet: Flareon and Umbreon. It's a long way ahead of me if I want to pet them all. And I do want to do this!
Do you guys suppose Radomus plays TF2? Just a thought.
I just can't help but think there's something more to his sudden change of heart. Maybe it's for the best, because with his silly Sherlock Holmes hat Radomus looks way more capable than Cain.
you don't seem to care at all!
He just kind of implied that Gardevoir is his opponent, and that it's her own fault she got kidnapped. Maybe it's just a convoluted way of saying that he's got everything under control? That would be silly.
There's nowhere else to go, really. But how well does the Hat Man really know El?
I went back to Reborn through the woods and railnet, the wrong way. I needed to pick something up, but since I'm already here, I picked up another thing - the Dunsparce.
This is the main reason why I went to Reborn City. I shouldn't know about what to expect, but unfortunately I do. Pink Gordo is trained in HP because that's the only thing that matters.
Oh, so Dunsparce quest was not a quest but just a trade. Well, to the holding facility you go!
Me. I'm here to solve yet another kidnapping, because at this point I'm doing it full time. I like the way how that bum on the right just watches.
Is that so? I know how things work in JRPGs, and things never go as expected with these robed types. Ironically, I know what to expect.
Help me, step brother, I'm stuck! Hopefuly no creepy character sneaks up on him from behind. Cain is on this side, so that's a relief.
He fucking killed Cain! Oh wait, Cain is cursed to never die. It was fun watching him stand on air before falling Looney Tunes style.
Welp, we jumped too, and we're not dead. This place is called the Grand Gate, so it's a separate area rather than another part of the stairway. You already know what that means.
Nothing. I used one of my many jars of honey I got from Nyu just to make sure.
Of course Cain would rush to do some vigilante justice. For someone with so much daddy issues, he's pretty confident.
I know that pace! We're under the Grand Stairway! Not that it's completely unexpected, because we were just under the Grand Gate a second ago.
We're under Grand... Somewhere, but there's no pokemon here. Sad. There are treasure rocks though.
I... I think I know where I am, and it's somewhat concerning that I could get here without the proper keys.
This was strange. Some weird seal just got shattered, and what Cain just said doesn't make sense. He must have been far ahead of us, or else we would have seen him.
Oh, and there's this kid and Gardevoir too. Nice place you've got here, kid, though it doesn't make much sense, does it? It's not dark despite there being no light sources, and there's plants and stuff growing around. Could there be another source of energy giving life to grass here?
As weird as it sounds, Luna has a tendency to kidnap and brainwash herself. That's the kind of person she is. More importantly, why would you trust a robed guy who just marches into your weird temple that's been sealed for god knows how long, and tells you his life story?
: He also had your Gardevoir, and... What have you done to it? She doesn't seem to care for you as a trainer at all!SQ: Kid, do you know what a Gardevoir can do to the very fabric of reality if threatened?Gardevoir: I have always been to afraid of Radomus to ever say anything. You'll protect me, won't you, Adrienn?Adrienn: You're safe with me, Gardevoir.SQ: What, you're gonna protect her with your wimpy arms better than she could do with her psychic power?Gardevoir: Maybe my nature lowers my special attack?Radomus: Your nature is sassy, it lowers your speed.Somehow I'm not buying that. I understand why she would be afraid of Radomus, but she doesn't seem like the type who would keep quiet about this.
I agree with her on this one. He doesn't even share his hats with her.
Of course he would do creepy things to his Gardevoir. I've been on the internet for too long to expect him not to.
Cheeks, hit her with Shadow Ball! We can't afford to lose the Pendant! No? We can't do this? Okay, we'll get it back some other way.
Maybe, just maybe, I should have stored these gems digitized in the PC? If nobody managed to steal my pokemon yet, my items should be safe too. Unless Nyu fucks something up.
He knows something about these. He's more than just an eccentric billionaire, isn't he?
How convenient that Gardevoir took only one key when she could have easily taken both. And why won't Radomus recall her into the pokeball?
He uses psychic pokemon. Hypno and Malamar are pretty good at brainwashing, you know.
There's so many star pieces scattered around this place. I'd be rich if I didn't hoard them like a dragon.
Ayy lmao. My catch for this strange place is a little alien fella. Do I really need another psychic pokemon? I've got Shimmer and Tourmaline already.
Does shouting cause permanent damage? Does it bothers anyone using this... temple? No. It's disrespect at most, not defilement
Gardevoir: El has done nothing to me. He has freed me. Why is it so hard to believe?SQ: Because you're a poor liar? Radomus also gave us a bit of a hint.Radomus: I did no such thing.How much of a lord Arceus can be if you can catch it in a ball? I suppose this might be something like an avatar of a real divine being. It's my headcanon that this is the case with many legendary pokemon.
Adrienn staying here alone forever would equal El never coming here, but would it really be the best outcome for the city? DOesn't matter now, because we're here already.
We know that something is wrong with time in this place, so... how long has Adrienn been here really?
Let's be honest, it was no longer than since 2015. Who was that girl, and how long ago did she come here? So many questions unanswered.
Yeah, apparently it's a key, and that's what keys do - they open doors. I'm guessing the ruby ring opens the ruby door.
What awaited me inside was a simple logic puzzle. I need to decide which one of these monkeys are liars and which tell the truth. In this case Chumchar and Monferno are liar, and Infernape tells the truth.
What a weenie. Politely asking your enemy to give you the important trinket instead of assaulting them with your pokemon? That's like something Shelly would do. No, even worse; it's more like Lumi's style if she wasn't merged with Zero and Eve.
It would be best if nobody knew their value. That way the only conflicts that would arise would be about their material value rather than about what they can do.
It could be me; I'm a bastard.
I can't attest to anything. I've played the entire Ace Attorney series and watched some Columbo, so I know that at this point we can't say for sure that Radomus isn't lying. I don't have enough evidence to turn this case around, so let's go with his version for now.
Look, another logic puzzle. It's not a problem for a certified genius like me.
This was to be expected, wasn't it? There are four keys for a reason.
Now that's an understatement, and El isn't the only person who has questions to answer. Pretty much only Cain doesn't keep any secrets I wouldn't know about.
Maybe it's a place for resolving conflicts through pokemon battles? I mean, we don't have the keys, we can't argue, I'm not fighting an adult man since I'm a teenage girl. What else is there to do?
That would explain the supernatural stuff going on. I was convinced that Arceus came into being somewhere in Sinnoh. Guys... I think there might have been a big misunderstanding somewhere along the way.
It was supposed to be an egg. Mybe we're not talking about the same Arceus? Maybe this Arceus is this thing:
El also wants to recreate Arceus, which doesn't sound like worship to me. He won't do that since he can't enter the inner sanctum. But... what would prevent me from just beating the god llama into submission.
Now we're getting to what really matters. Luna comes and goes, she's always on the run to escape Bennett. Maybe Amaria would agree to take her in next time she escapes?
Come on, it's no longer a matter of how, but rather why Radomus would do all that. It's a lot of risk for too little reward. He could just hire a maid; no need to kidnap a girl and brainwash her into servitude. On the other hand, El just told us about his villainous plot to revive Arceus and use its power, and if that's not a red flag, I don't know what is.
Radomus, don't think you presented yourself as a trustworthy person; you're just less sussy than the obvious villain.
That's right, Gardevoir was Pink Gordo's sibling all along! The only thing we've achieved was losing the Amethyst Pendant, and it's all Cain's fault. If we did what Radomus decided, meaning nothing, we would have the keys, Gardevoir, AND Luna. You know what this means?
Victoria -1
Heather - 2
Noel - 2
Anna - 1
Charlotte - 1
Cain - 1
Saphira - 1
Gardevoir - 1Total - 9
I don't think I like it. I'm afraid there might be a way to take advantage of this power, and I don't only mean the special field...
We won't be fighting a simple Ditto, as funny as it would be to send Pink Gordo against it. This won't be a trivial battle, this much you can be sure of.
What’s a man to a king, what’s a king to a god, what’s a god to a girl with pointy hair accessories? Let's rock!
Pink Gordo has achieved apotheosis, he's a god now. While story-wise that Arceus is a Ditto, mechanically it's a regular Arceus. There are differences between El's Arceus and Pink Gordo:
-Pink Gordo has the same HP as a regular lv 60 Ditto; that's base 48 vs Arceus' base 120;
-Pink Gordo is holding a fist plate. It doesn't change his type because he turned into the same form as the enemy, but it gives his Judgment a fighting type.
There's a certain air of sanctity to Arceus, but not like in a divine sense. It just feels special because it used to be the ultimate pokemon, the most powerful one, something it shared with Mewtwo. Even though there are more powerful pokemon now, nothing else feels the same. Not Mega Rayquaza, not Black Kyurem, not even Eternamax Eternatus.
And that's how a false god has fallen... to a weaker false god. The turn order was up to chance due to equal speed stats, and I'm naturally lucky. Judgment was empowered by the crystalline field, and also turned into fighting type by fist plate. All of that guaranteed a one-hit victory. There's no denying it - Ditto is the perfect counter to Arceus.
Turns out Radomus had everything under control, just like we all expected. Gardevoir teleported in and everyone is happy again.
El even took a nap, exhausted from all this excitement. How about we toss him out of this tower? Nobody is going to find out.
A new hat! Radomus is all of the Village People at once.
This is literally your fault, you stupid fuckhead!
And Luna's, but I don't blame her because she's a precious angel and she looks like me.
If it wasn't for me and Pink Gordo, El's Bongcloud Attack wouldn't have mattered; the other king would be in check. I never get any recognition, even though it's always me who saves the day.
Once again, thank you Amethyst for inserting some space for saving inbetween lengthy cutscenes. Some professional game designers can't grasp this concept. And hey, the gear is turning on its own! Does that mean the gate is open?
Haha, what a ridiculous hyperbole. Nobody could have survived underground for eight years with no food or water.
My exact reaction when I first booted up the game. You get used to it, Adrienn.
Cain: It would look a lot better if Team Meteor hadn't roughed up the Grand Stairway.Adrienn: The Grand... Where the hell are we?Cain: Reborn City, North Obsidia Ward, to be exact. You must have been here already.Adrienn: This isn't Reborn City. Where is the center? Where are the cabins, the port, and... and the lake? Why is is full of diarrhea?Cain: You must be new here.Adrienn: I've lived in Reborn my whole life! This isn't the Reborn City I knew! This place is disgusting!SQ: You haven't seen the worst of it - the people.Gardevoir seems like one of these people. Who would have thought she of all people would lack tact that much.
Adrienn is actually from the future. Arceus' power reversed time from the point where I fixed the lake to now.
Adrienn is gonna have a bad day. The Coral Ward gym isn't exactly in a good state; in fact, it's completely ruined. If there was ever a time to leave someone alone, it's now. Well, I've got that one sticker I haven't used yet.
It's gems. These are nice to have for this extra kick, though it sucks that they are only one-time use. Flying gem and Acrobatics is a particularly deadly combo.
Now for the new pokemon - Gnorts is a very good Elgyem, though boosted special attack would be better than special defense. Still good. Beheeyem is extremely powerful thanks to its monstrous special attack and Analytic ability combined with low speed. I might have an idea where this little guy would be helpful...
With the gate opened, I can easily access Route 1 without the need to traverse caves, forests and whatnot. The Tauros on the right can take me all the way to Castle Val Halen, and I don't even have to fight it!
Yeah, yeah, how about you let me and Radomus go so we can finally have our fight? I want to get over this already.
Temporal displacement is a bitch.
Radomus: The city designated your gym as a historically significant building so it wouldn't get torn down. Apparently restoring it wasn't a priority.SQ: Then... who is the fairy leader right now?Radomus: The spot has been vacant since 2015.SQ: How does the league even function?Radomus: Hardly. It hardly functions.That's what I've been trying to do the whole time, but someone keeps forcing me to burn orphanages and save pokemon that are not in any danger. Maybe Adrienn won't have to deal with "friends" like that.
He switched hats again, and he's a Gallade now. Does it make him a furry?
Seriously? Is this a joke of some kind? The guy just wanted to smite me with the power of Arceus, and now the Hat Man hires him as a butler? Or maybe he doesn't even see who this is? And apparently El was telling the truth about being Luna's father?
And now he denies it, perhaps only because Luna doesn't want it to be true.
Wait, El has been hypnotized. Radomus was supposed to be above doing things like this. I'm not, so does that mean I can finally use Cheeks' Hypnosis for my heroic deeds?
If I get through this, I'll be halfway there. Woah whoah, living on a prayer.
The chess puzzle isn't that hard. I'd have to move my pieces to checkmate the black king which only requires basic understanding of chess. There are three or four of these, and they only get somewhat tricky. Skipping the puzzle also skipped the trainer battles, so I'm clear to challenge Radomus. Oh boy.
I could have a shot at fighting on the chess board, but there is a serious problem with that - Radomus prefers double battles. That complicates things to an extreme degree.
You might be surprised that Coco is taking part in this battle. The key here is her Stomping Tantrum, a move that allows her to just flip the board, removing the field altogether. I don't expect her to do anything else, honestly. Her quick claw gives her a chance to destroy the board before enemies take advantage of it.
Noiseferatu will come in with Coco for no other reason than the fact he's immune to Stomping Tantrum. Still, he can do quite a bit of damage with special attack boosted by synthetic seed.
Cheeks is here to (maybe) deal with the Gallade that will inevitably be thrown at me. Then again, she will be bodied by Ice Punch that it inevitably has. There's no way of telling if it works out, because double battles are horrid.
Still lacking in special moves, Dogmeat's role is to destroy Metagross. I know Radomus has a Metagross. I know because how could I forget that wretched thing?
Lady Flayne is a perfect counter for Gardevoir, one lady knight against another. I would have prefered to have her hold a steel gem, but that's the one I don't have, and it's not that much of a deal to actually spend money on.
Chanel is not fit for fighting Gardevoir because she doesn't have poison attacks, and she doesn't resists fairy moves. She, however, has Night Slash that has high crit ratio combined with razor claw that increases crits even further.
I don't suppose there's any need for further discussion. I won't be cheating this time around; this will be a clean battle of wits and extreme brutaity. Let's go!
Everything went according to plan. Malamar is dead, both of my pokemon are still up, and the board is gone. I suppose Radomus wanted to take down Coco with Malamar, but since it got defeated, the only punishment went to Noiseferatu. And one more thing, stomping tantrum doesn't hit every pokemon as I believed.
Not good, I wanted that Hurricane to hit, and I wanted it badly. Somehow Coco escaped karma once again, but it will not be the case for much longer - Reuniclus set up Trick Room so slower pokemon will move faster.
The ape is out of control! Her quick claw allowed her to take Outrage Slowking to death. Pretty poggers, but I wanted Cheeks to hit the pink guy with Giga Drain.
It was inevitable. I didn't expect Reuniclus to be slower than Cheeks, but alas.
It really isn't good. I'll have to use a revive or two to get through this.
Both Reuniclus and Gallade are gone, but Chanel is the only one left on the battlefield. It's one vs two, and I wouldn't bet on the underdog.
There still is a chance, but not for Dogmeat. Gardevoir has ridiculous special defense, and Extremespeed is not good enough. There is just one thing that can be done:
Aftermath traced from Chanel did a lot of damage to Lady Flayne, but in the end she reigned supreme. Who laughed at me bringing a fighting pokemon to the psychic gym?
Trick Room, huh? I do have some slow pokemon, but I also have a lot of fast ones. It may come in handy if I ever need to field multiple slow pokemon in a double battle.
Luna's strength comes from an easily removable field, so of course she would prefer her own place. Wait, if she's a leader, then why didn't Serra seem to know her? You'd think she would, since their gyms are so close to each other.
Oh, she's edgy! I wonder how well she will hold the edge once I show up in her valley with my selection of bugs and fighting pokemon.
Definitely planned by someone, unless Lyn blew up her power plant. Even then it's not impossible she planned to do that.
What an over-dramatic way to say you don't want to waste your time staying here and talking anymore. But I shall leave in the embrace of shadows as well.