Part 22: Wherein nobody pays attention to Arcus.
And so… After getting through the Frosty Forest, Joat’s team… Headed further north… The more they advanced… The harsher the conditions became…
Is the narrator winded?
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If not for Alakazam’s Team, I would say it would be alright to stop here and rest a bit. I mean, not only is the journey rather treacherous for most, but even with an expert tracker, with all of the disasters muddling up the scents and/or tracks, it’d take a powerful psychic to figure out exactly where Team Zephyrai is…
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Honestly, credit where it is due. The game is actually doing a really good job of making me actually feel empathy for the protagonist in this scene (which is good, since he is intended to represent the player). The music gives a feeling of isolation, fear, discomfort, and uncertainty. It also feels cold, for lack of a better way to put it.
The snow has gotten thicker, there is no end in sight, we are exhausted, and the feel of this place is oppressive and isolated.
If we fell here, would anyone find us? Would anyone even know?
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We shouldn’t be here. We don’t belong here.
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I know if I were in this situation, I would love nothing more than to be able to go home again, by the comfort of a fire, within the safety of the town, even though I would know it would be impossible.
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I would certainly be glad to have my friends so close. Not just for warmth, but also just as a reminder that I’m not entirely alone, even if my companions are just as lost and helpless as I, in the end.
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It would be both encouraging and terrifying that they have both placed their faith in me as leader. I would try my best, but in the end, the same mix of bravery and desperation that brought me there would be all I would have to hold on to. No way at all of knowing which way leads to victory an which way leads to death, yet I must be the one to choose…
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Honestly, I imagine I may feel some of that helplessness and isolation upon moving out, once I finally manage to get a job. It is hard to tell in advance, but I do imagine it would be similarly isolating and uncertain, even if also somewhat liberating. I imagine my beloved and what friends move in with us will look up to me for a fair bit, which will be a fairly scary prospect. I will no longer have anyone there to protect me and to guide me. Sylvanus tries, yes, but he can only do so much.
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Yet, simply knowing that he’s there will be a source of great comfort, as it will with the others. They will all be there with me, every step of the way.
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Oh good heavens, flashing red light and alarm sound and I look like I am in pain and WHAT IS GOING ON!?
My sentiments exa…
YIPE! There it is again…
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…Am I having a stroke, or something?
Credit where it’s due again. This is genuinely quite unnerving.
…Did I just die?
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Oh thank heavens, I’m just hallucinating.
: Finally… You have arrived…
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You said that already, mind, but…
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Cherithe, why do you suspect that? I mean, the words spoken were “Ga…Gardevoir! …You’re… What…”
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Wow, that’s convenient!
…Well, relatively speaking.
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Ninetales is not a psychic-type Pokémon. How does ve know? And more importantly, if ve knows, why has ve not lifted a paw to try to help in any way?
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…of unfinished sentences with vital information missing for the sake of narrative convenience?
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I’m not sure “stunned” is the term I would use. It looked more like “in excruciating pain” to me.
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…Wait, wha?
Cherithe, Ninetales isn’t even a legendary. How was the existence of Ninetales ever in question?
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I believe this counts as tempting fate.
Again, I do really wish the game would give me more opportunities to make meaningful choices on how to play my character. I mean, I’m not asking for branching storylines. Even something as simple as the choice near the beginning of this document would be quite lovely.
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This choice is a bit better, at least. Nothing storyline-altering – heck, I don’t think it even would alter Cherithe’s response – but again, I simply want something that offers enough choice to make it feel like I had the opportunity to role-play.
In this case, I feel the first question is a valid one. Yeah, sure, she can speculate, but can she really be so sure?
…Well, okay, maybe she can, but it’s still a better question than asking if she really believes in me so much, when that’s practically been every other sentence out of her mouth as of late.
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Like how I somehow failed to notice I was in a completely different body shape?
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Eh, sure, why not? Even if it’s the same one as last time, this is a tradition by now.
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This training may be wise, indeed. Arcus is a bit behind, in level. I am Lv.24 and Cherithe is Lv.25.
I understand why a low-level Magikarp would do that, but what is your excuse, Azurill?
Growl is kinda nice, true, and it gives her something to do in a corridor when she cannot reach the front, but overall, she tends to get low on PP in lengthy dungeons, so giving her more attack moves may be helpful. Stat lowering is nice, perhaps, but not huge when each enemy tends not to last very long.
I am noticing a bit of a damage gap.
Swiiiiirl…
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Oh? Well, that is interesting. I wonder what that does.
…Not only does that seem more useful when used on the party than when used by the party, but given how squishy I am, it may actually be worse than useless. Not to mention, it uses up a turn that Arcus could be using to attack, instead.
Speaking of Arcus, as far as HP goes, he’s a fair bit of a tank.
Hm… Swagger is a touch on the risky side, but given that there is only about a one-in-eight chance of being hit by an attack, it may be worth it in certain situations. Certainly less situational than Odor Sleuth, which I have yet to use, even in that fight where a Gengar was among the enemies. I just ended up one-shotting said Gengar with a bite instead.
THANK YOU!
Like, seriously, that is incredibly useful for if when a party member goes off on their own.
…Or at least, that’s what I thought when first writing this. Much later on in the LP, I learned this was actually more of a “Let’s split up, gang!”
Ha!
YES!
Yeah, that’s the spirit, Arcus! Bite that earthquake in the face!
We don’t have any Poison types, but pink is adorable and gum is pink and therefore I want this gummi.
Ooh, quite nice!
Well, that was certainly significant.
Uh… Good for you? We have no sleep moves, but congrats anyway, I guess.
Ow. I’m so glad I got relatively lucky there.
Ow. Again. I should really avoid being at the fore against a multi-hit foe when not at full health.
This seems to be quite the dungeon for multi-hit decimation, huh?
…Could it be?
I found Gravelrock 2.0!
I would hug it, but that would not be smart.
…And yes, I now realize it’s not Gravelrock 2.0. But I thought it was at time of first playing.
We’re low on supplies and I can safely guess what fight lies between us and Ninetales, so for once, not exploring the entire floor. I shall be skipping future floors, when possible, as well.
Ah yes, these things. A boon, perhaps, but also a portent of doom.
Just when I thought they may have omitted that status effect from this game…
Being frozen solid is apparently an enriching experience.
Later!
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Really? It looks a lot more like a cave, to me.
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I had a feeling…
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You mean the “act” that the three of you helped to enable?
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…Couldn’t we just point out that Ninetales is supposed to be around here and that if we go perhaps a few more feet or so and ask, they’d be a lot more certain whether or not they should go through with this?
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…That seems like a very bad trait for a member of a rescue team to have.
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And then, in a cutscene fight (which I did not see coming), the two teams begin clashing, seeming rather evenly-matched. An awesome moment, perhaps, but I imagine it may be somewhat of a blow to their ego, that they’re having so much trouble with a Copper Rank rescue team headed by a Poochyena.
Arceus has spoken!
Oh. Or a falling Ninetales.
Which, sadly, places the protagonist in a pose that Poochyena doesn’t have, which means I have to be Charmander for the rest of this cutscene to avoid crashing.
…Which, even more sadly, is a sizeable chunk.
This actually wouldn’t have been much of an issue on this site, but back in the original uploads everything was in screenshots, so about half of this LP part was as Charmander rather than Poochyena, which annoyed me so much that I grabbed PhotoShop and started editing Poochyena back in. One. Screenshot. At. A time.
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…
…Really?
It’s one thing for Cherithe to not realize. I mean, she’s still new and relatively inexperienced. But are these three hardened veterans really that surprised that Ninetales exists? The legend of the 1000-year curse is one thing, but not knowing that Ninetales exists? I know that fire stones are rare and thus probably so are Ninetales, but I’m pretty sure they’re not that rare! Not to mention, Ninetales has such a massive lifespan that it makes it all the more improbable that they’re so rare that their very existence is in question.
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…But isn’t part of the point of the curse to be a deterrent from others doing the same? Wouldn’t you want that to be considered true?
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Eep…
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…Ninetales is a massive troll.
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You told us to run and find the truth earlier, and now you’re completely flabbergasted at the prospect that I am not the one responsible. Can you make up your mind, please?
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…Cherithe, are you alright?
…’Kay, then…
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It doesn’t translate very well to static screenshots, which is all I had to work with in the initial LP, but Cherithe proceeds to circle around Joat in celebration and I want my own little Cherithe because this is absolutely adorable.
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Well, if I am the one who is linked to the end of the world and I am not that human, I suppose that makes sense.
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And also to attempt to murder.
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I know you’re trying to save face, Charizard, but, given what you said at the beginning of the fight, you’re trying to do so by essentially claiming that you take delight in attempting to murder someone you are reasonably certain is innocent. I don’t know about you, but I would rather look like a dupe than like a murderous psychopath.
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And also Cherithe and Arcus, but I guess they don’t count as much since I’m the protagonist here. Heck, Arcus spends most of his time in this scene hidden by the speech boxes. I mean, I know he was a last-minute entrant, but still…
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…I do not know the answer to that any more than I did five minutes ago, Cherithe.
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Sudden plot-convenient earthquake of explanation interruption!
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That is generally what causes earthquakes, yes.
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Not a morning person, hm?
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Alakazam, you and your team had trouble facing us a moment ago. If we’re too weak to take it on, that does not bode well for your odds.
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That said, it’s hard to argue with that, and it actually does feel like a satisfying conclusion, even if the trip home would logically not be very pleasant, either. I suppose it is a good sign of how the game lead me to emphasize with the protagonist, that I feel genuinely relieved at being able to go home, rather than being disappointed at missing an epic battle.
That said, though, shouldn’t we at least first wait close enough that we can finish this conversation with Ninetales after the fight is over? Or, for that matter, continue it now, if Ninetales is planning to stay behind too? I mean, this is kind of important, and is also relevant to fulfilling the promise we’ve made to two legendary elemental birds who I do not particularly wish to tick off…
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…Implying there is an easy way to get it?
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And thus… Alakazam’s team made their way underground to quell the awakened Groudon. Meanwhile, cleared of all suspicion, Joat’s team… Put an end to their long and arduous journey… And returned to their welcoming rescue team base.
Meanwhile, back in Pokémon Square…
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You realize that three of those you are speaking to are simply random townsfolk, right?
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He seems to be taking it well.
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As stated by someone who is literally spineless.
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Gengar has absolutely no sense of body language.
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Wait, does that mean I’m finally rid of Team Meanies, then?
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Cherithe, you should probably get to the part where we’re innocent before we walk into this big group of potential Zephyrai hunters.
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…Did she seriously only just now notice him?
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I’d call that more “homicidal rage,” myself, but that’s just me.
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I cannot think of a way to say that in a way that sounds surprised rather than drugged, and the facial expression does not help matters.
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I see that she is opting not to point out the fact that Ninetales said that the human who grabbed the Ninetales’ tail is not linked to the end of the world, while Xatu stated that my being a human is linked to the end of the world.
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…Oh, right. Yeah, that could be important. We really should have… wait a sec…
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If only we had a witness with us… Hey Arcus, do you know where we could find a witness?
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Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
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Should Gengar really be surprised at that one? Or even disappointed, for that matter? I still have no idea why Gengar is under the impression that Caterpie is some sort of powerhouse.
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Then why did you let yourself join in to begin with?
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Pelipper dropping stuff, as ve does best.
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Were you not listening at all, Ekans?
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“Free snacks? For moi?”
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They look more like rather boring flyers to me, really.
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“Did you know you can open your menu by pressing the B button?”
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Well, technically, the only falsehood in his story was the conclusion, with Joat being the human in the tale. Even then, although they told the story for all the wrong reasons, can anyone really be certain that it was a deliberate falsehood? Heck, even Team Zephyrai cannot be certain of that. For all they know, Gengar genuinely thought that Joat really was that human and decided to exploit that fact. Either way, all Gengar would need to do to recover from this is to claim that he was genuinely mistaken, perhaps even coupling that with a “heartfelt” apology toward Joat.
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…Or he could do that. Not a very rock-solid defense, I must admit, but perhaps he’s hoping that spouting something so laughably silly will help defuse the tension.
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Or slither, in the case of Ekans.
Shouldn’t you have started chasing as soon as Gengar shouted “Run!”?
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Does Caterpie even have nostrils to sniffle with?
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Again, no acknowledgement of Arcus. Was he a last-minute addition to the game? Was this part of the script made before Arcus was a part of the game?
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I must say, “hardy” is right. Not even after that heavy ordeal does the team get a day off. Well, except for that one day when Cherithe was not feeling it. And that one day when apparently learning about Alakazam’s expertise at barking orders made the duo forget that their job is a thing that exists.
For now, though, time for Joat to be reunited with his hay once more!