Pokémon Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Path of Valor

[Arukona]

Hi, Amby! Figured I'd come back here since Review Blitz is a go-go, and that means there's no better time to get caught up on your fic after a while away from it. Now that the fic's in its home stretch with its weekly release schedule, we might well be nearing the end, and I definitely want to get caught up before that happens, just like I did with Hands of Creation when that was near its own end.

Last time, Bahamut became punchdoggified and Yuna got the final Needle, so let's see how things are turning out for our heroes now...

Chapter 106
Ah, a Shifting Sand Land, with hot sun and scorching sands. Valkyrie would probably feel right at home here, I imagine, and by the looks of it, so does Noctum.

I can already tell it's gonna be fun watching the gang deck Xander's ass whenever we get to him in the next few chapters.

He produced a set of keys on a klefki-styled keychain.

I'm now wondering if Klefki in some universes are made to unwittingly be living lockpicks for thieves' gangs, or if some Klefki leap into the thieving life with the advantage of having natural lockpicks.

"Does your sister know you're pretending to be her?" Shimmer wondered.

"No, but a pop culture writer would be crawling all over this." The fake salazzle waved Shimmer off.

Pffffft, that's certainly an image. I bet Kyoko would smack him if she saw him imitating her.

though he saw a family of graveler and geodude walking by with bags of groceries.

How are the Geodude walking when they have no legs? Pedantic of me to point this out, I know.

A poliwrath stopped and tugged on the shoulders of two hitmonchan. They all stared transfixed at Igneous. Smirking, he waved at them and blew some vaguely heart-shaped embers at them.

Better be careful, Igneous, you wouldn't want them approaching you to flirt back and cutting off your avenues of escape...

"The Medicis' Destructapalooza."

Oh hey, a term you reused in CAD, I see. Will we have a Mickey Mouse expy in this one? Xander and Vicky Vee do share a species...

"Why would he do that?"

"To get back at Isola for stripping him of his title," Igneous exclaimed.

Lotta folks looking to get back at Bitch Honse Queen, I see. Just a pity temporary alliances with any of them seem to be a no-go here.

Nice that Artemis's appearance change is a factor that enables the gang to not be tracked if they put him, an unknown to the Empire, to lead the time. That's a nice touch.

... Or the empire was choosing to prepare something for tomorrow.

Oh, they probably will, knowing them.

Unless this room was full of rotom-possessed appliances.

That would be a good way to spy on someone, wouldn't it? Rotom do adapt well for subterfuge.

What was it with everyone getting these strange cosmic changes to their appearances?

Hey, everyone gets great power from them and able to overcome their enemies, so who cares at day's end?

Shimmer squinted at Gene. "You totally stole that one from a movie."

"No idea what you're talking about, Twinkie." Gene lazily waved the ponytales off, then returned his attention to the projection.

Savern having his nickname stolen like that smh smh. Though twink horses will be twink horses, whether they be a Ponyta or Keldeo.

Nice part about having divisions in the team to tackle different story beats is the shock reveals that come with them where one half's uninformed and gets caught up, like we're seeing here with Gene and our gang of three lizards.

"You oughta go for a martini instead," Gene quipped. "Shaken, not stirred, of course."

Someone's a movie aficionado. Did Gene and Cyril watch a load of box sets together some time back or what?

As the mega charizard's jaw dropped, Gene bowed to the group and exited through the rift. A stunned silence followed, broken only when Igneous poured wine into a cup that was definitely not meant for wine.

Shaking her head, Valkyrie stomped toward the kitchenette. "Better pour one out for me, too. So much for a day of simple recon..."

Noctum swallowed hard. He really hoped this wasn't going to break the group's focus for tomorrow.

There's gonna be hangovers the next chapter they reconvene. I guarantee it.

Chapter 107
Ah, the 'meet the parents' moment. At least they seem to be chill enough for Nickie.

Back to present day, where Bahamut's 'act normal' arc is proving to go quite terribly.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and spread his wings out to look menacing... only to clip Jade's chin with his left wing claws.

"Ow!" Jade waddled back, rubbing her beak. "Watch it, Cece!"

"S-Sorry!" Reshiram squeaked, losing any semblance of intimidation he might've had seconds prior.

A pair of dorks, these two are. Clumsiness levels are off the charts with both of them.

Yuna darted between the three, sticking her arms out. "This is so not the time to air out your dirty laundry. We can't get caught up in the past, remember?"

*grumbles from Dialga intensify about the past still being relevant*

Also the 'so' part - is Yuna uninentionally picking up on some Leo mannerisms?

Reshiram vanished into the griseous core and Diancie appeared in his place. "I found her in the Needle at Jubilife."

"Interesting new look," Diancie mused. Bahamut's eye twitched, but this time he held his tongue.

Calm and collected, no fiery emotions around her once-superior. I like this Diancie.

Over to the Bitch Honse Queen, and oh, I see. Are we gonna have Future Paradox Tobias and Grayson alongside Justine now, are we?

A psychic force closed his mouth. Grayson's eyes widened, as did Tobias'.

Isola approached him, sighing. "And there it is. Your true, ugly colors. Here I was, hoping you wouldn't make the same mistakes. Alas, you've proven just as hideous as Justine and Seifer."

In a green and pink blur, Justine was at Isola's side. Only... she was completely robotic, just like the bugs!

Something was off! That wasn't Justine at all! Grayson tried to turn and run but was completely locked in place.

Isola turned away from them, shaking her head. "Do be a dear and take care of them," she said to the Justine robot.

Red light crackled around the machine. It lunged, and all Grayson could do was scream.

Yyyyyep. That seems to be what we're getting, isn't it? RIP Tobias and Grayson, I guess, unless there's some way to salvage them after their confrontations as Iron Crown and Iron Boulder.

Back to Yuna, where we appear to have a mystery Needle on our hands. Could it be at Khelifet, with our princess pulling in at the last moment to reclaim it?

Bahamut's a disagreeable nut to crack, alright. Good thing our gang's a clever bunch who manage to be pretty persuasive with their schemes.

"Not Bahamut." Yuna hovered past Jade, heading toward the outpost. "The dad that actually raised me."

Her mind was made up. With their history, Gene could handle Bahamut. Yuna had enough on her plate. She couldn't care less about her relation to him. After all, even if her views of him hadn't turned sour months ago, his behavior here was more than enough to show he wasn't worth her time.

Something's telling me we're going to have a father-daughter reconciliation scene at some point in the near future and neither side will truly fully accept it due to how estranged they've become in the last while. What a pity if that ends up being the outcome here.

Over to the dragon lovebirds, where Noctum's Dork-O-Meter registers a high reading yet again. And Valkyrie has a seemingly unconvincing disguise...although something tells me it's not gonna track on the radar of their enemies.

That flummoxed Valkyrie. She quickly covered her face with her arm fins. "God, you're dense."

"My bad?"

"You're blowing smoke over nothing."

I thought you were well aware that your Charizard partner wasn't exactly the brightest flame on the Chandelure, Valkyrie?

"What, does the dipshit have the attention span of a hatchling?"

Well, they do say the young folks these days don't exactly have much in the ways of attention spans. Probably the same with our resident vain Sylveon.

Don Guissepe

Wasn't it spelled Don Giuseppe earlier? (Ah, the accursed typo - common scourge for fic writers all around. )

So a tournament arc, huh? I presume we're skipping past the parts that don't matter, because otherwise this'd be drawn out all the more - a common pitfall with tournament arcs.

He really hoped this would be simpler than their previous Paradigm encounters.

Pffft. Simple? Silly Noctum. Fate doesn't do 'simple'.

Chapter 108

Quite a composed being Dark Matter is when he's NoT sPeAkInG lIkE tHiS.

Looks like we've got a gauntlet. Hopefully Gene's power'll be enough to make them fall like a house of (Enter)cards.

These fighting-type 'mons buffed up on the 'roids or what?

"I got him, bros!"

Gene caught a lunging toxicroak in a psychic grasp, then pivoted to face one of the Entercards.

"Nononono, wait, wait!" Toxicroak waved his buff arms around, only to get pelted with icy shards and fall limp.

Should've known that up against any Psychic-type, you'd be toast, Toxicroak.

a suspiciously buff absol

Okay, that's a tad more cursed, given that Absol have nearly always been more twinkish in my mind and so an Absol with big musculature would be a bit more anathema than the norm.

Crafty cards, these are. It's like battling an endlessly spawning Double Team.

You've been with me enough, bud, Gene mentally scoffed. He conjured a Fire Blast in his hands and hurled it at the sand. As long as there's even a tiny chance something will work, I'll give it a try.

A self-destructive mentality that might well end up with someone's death if he's not careful.

Rest in pieces for Cassius. But that's not gonna be the end of the conflict, is it?

Oh hai, Iron Enforcer. Back for another bout, are we?

An uneventful bout, although a hint that a recalibration could turn it good in future?

Now over to Paradox, where evil schemes are no doubt a-brewin'.

I do always love the displays of Paradox showing that behind the occasional goofiness coming from him, he's deadly serious as an evil emperor in terms of quashing any and all enemies that stand before him.

Ah, so Paradox will still have Demerzel at his beck and call. And since Demerzel still has close contact with Shimmer...that could end up with some crossed wires on our heroes' end. Mmmmmm, not a good sign.

An Eternatus terraformer? Powerful stuff, by the sounds of it. Would that be Paradox's last stand at all, I wonder?

Chapter 109
Seems Akari forgot to account for wild 'mons in her search for a venue for Dialga and Palkia to shout at each other. You think she'd remember they exist given her catching travails all throughout her journey.

D'awwwww, Yuna's little siblings! All so cute, and it's always nice to see Yuna being a big sis to them.

She looked over her shoulder. A ghostly typhlosion and torterra nodded in agreement. And a chimchar poked out of Torterra's tree to give them a thumb's up.

Someone likes her starter 'mons, I see. (I like the visual of the Chimchar in the Torterra tree too - very neat use of existing environment there. )

No thanks to your big sis for saving your dad, Yuna's siblings? Maybe they oughta learn a lesson in gratitude.

I haven't even talked with her about it.

Well, maybe that's a sign to talk with your mom about it, Yuna.

"H-Hey!" The toxtricity stiffened. Yuna's left hand slipped and ran along one of Nikki's chest gills. Her tail crinkled up.

"Ah!" She pulled her hand back like she'd touched a scalding stove. "S-Sorry."

"For what?" Nikki traced her finger around that chest gill. "Not like anyone was around."

I'm surprised an electric guitar sound didn't accompany that one. Though maybe that's only when Nikki has volts crackling across her body?

More Yuna and Nikki banter that I love to see~

Nikki's left hand brushed against Yuna's right. Without realizing it, Yuna grabbed it as she floated through the rift.

A line that gathers in equal parts and reactions from me.

Over to Widget and Cyril, where our resident Cosmozork is still worse for wear. Can't say I blame him one bit.

Hydreigon charged forward, but he wasn't fast enough. Virizion slumped over, squishing Emolga.

"No! NO!" Emolga's muffled voice cried out. Virizion's fur bristled as he struggled to get out from underneath her.

Hydreigon spat a Dragon Pulse toward the cackling spiritomb lingering over both of them. But a togekiss zipped in and harmlessly absorbed the blow.

Before he could react, something slammed into him from his right. He skidded across the ground. His rightmost head gurgled in pain.

A silhouette loomed over him. One eye crackled with red aura.

A Gates apocalypse scene? I suppose since we know that Widget is the Voice of Life, perhaps that wasn't a surprise.

Man, Cyril's pretty heartbroken. Gotta feel for the guy.

But...maybe he won't have to be sad for long. Not when there's a Keldeo-shaped Cosmog hybrid ready to join the gang of hybrids. I had a feeling this would happen, that all those cosmic Keldeo arts would be going towards something...

And there's the reincarnation of Dialga coming to the fore, with Seifer's memories on the backburner. Mmmmm, getting heavy Rhys/Dialga in HoC vibes, which would make it two for two in terms of Dialga being involved in instances like this.

I can't help but notice that Cyril's gone quiet in Diamond and Widget's exchange. Is he too stunned to reply?

"So, he's just gone then?" Cyril said, voice straining.

"In the most literal sense... yes." Diamond stopped to look the cosmic zoroark in the eye. "But it is, perhaps, more accurate to say he's now part of my greater whole."

Yyyyyep. Called it. Although judging by the next few paragraphs...it seems we're still going to have yaoi between Keldeo and Zoroark, only with an extra starry flavour this time in the former. ✨

They were sitting next to each other, backs against the side of the bed. They were whispering to one another. If Widget concentrated, he probably could've picked out what they were saying.

If only we could know what they were saying...Although knowing Cyril, I wouldn't be surprised the age rating might have to be bumped up a little if we did know.

"That Bath Mat over there juuuuuust so happened to remember?" Nikki poked the right side of her head with her index finger.

Bath Mat? Another zinger of a nickname from our resident Toxtricity.

"Necrozma tried to break in," Bahamut said, rubbing his temples. "Drilling through Paradox's artificial planet. But there was some sort of barrier he could never penetrate."

Ah, and so I presume one of the next big objectives will be to find something that can break the barrier. Common tale in stories, that.

But thankfully the gang don't have to go searching when Widget's right there! Although a part of me reckons that Paradox might well take advantage of this, in terms of getting access to Valhalla himself.

"All right. Sure. I'll warm the benches this time. In more ways than one." She smacked her rear with a hand.

Yuna turned away, tail shrinking halfway into her waist.

How much have the others picked up on Yuna and Nikki's relationship, apart from Leo? Or would they just pass this off as a Nikki moment and not think anything unusual about it?

"Well, uh... maybe we can get him to soften up during the trip?" Widget laughed nervously.

"Psssht. Sure." Nikki rolled her eyes. "And I got appointed Crowne Minister."

Gods help us if Nikki ever gets elected to any leadership roles. Although given that her partner is a royal, 'Queen Nikki' mightn't be entirely unheard of as a title.

here was a mischievous glint in her eyes. Yuna's ectoplasm rippled. "You're thinking of something, aren't you?"

Smirking, the toxtricity produced a small vial from her leather jacket's pocket. Yuna's torso constricted.

"I know. I know." Nikki shook her head. "You said you weren't sure and stuff. But after all the shit with Bath Mat, I figured—"

Yuna zipped forward and plucked the vial out of a surprised Nikki's hand.

"What the others don't know won't hurt 'em," the dragapult whispered, opening up a rift to her room.

Grinning eagerly, Nikki stepped toward the rift. The two girls entered it side by side.

Acting on impulse, I see. I suppose with all the stress and near-death scenarios that've been going on for the last while, one can hardly blame Yuna for wanting a quick 'break' with Nikki.

Chapter 110
Technology makes us lazier, huh? Can't deny that, alas. One of the many cuts of thousand that bleeds Radiance right now.

Valkyrie snorted out blue-purple embers. "Buncha shortcut-taking, drug-abusing assholes."

"Drugs?" The cosmic charizard raised a brow.

"They make 'medicine' that turns you stronger," Valkyrie scoffed, making air quotes with her claws.

Oh, so is that why their henchmon were all buff two chapters ago? That would explain that.

"He's made me out to be this... slutty bimbo. If this broadcast really is getting a lot of attention, then I don't know what's going to happen when this is all over."

No better way to smear someone in a widespread way than on a huge TV broadcast event like this one, topped off with Xander's prior social media following. Gotta feel for Shimmer here.

If we're able to stop Paradox and Zodiark, then we're going to need a lot of time to figure out what's next."

Hard to think of what's gonna be next after all the antagonists have been taken down. I suspect there'll be a lot of reorganising to do in the aftermath of all this.

Gotta love the 'hard exterior melting away in the face of a loved one' trope that's happening to Valkyrie right now. That she feels confident enough to confide in Noctum about that shows great character growth over the course of the fic.

RIP Irida's Glaceon in that flashback.

Warmth rising in his chest, Noctum opened the glass shower door and turned the water on.

I would question if this wouldn't be bad for him as a Charizard, but I guess his Palkia side coming out would mean that's not a problem anymore.

"Could be worse," Artemis said. The cosmic milotic came to a stop at the edge of one of the pools. "He could be actively heckling us. Trying to turn the crowd against us and all that."

Don't jinx it, Artemis, he'll almost certainly do that now! D:

"Haaa ha ha ha ha! Bonjour, my precious little scallywags!"

Oh boy, this oughta make things interesting. (From the reader's POV, obviously.)

Noctum glanced toward the commentator's booth. He could barely make out Gus screaming something at Xander, but the sylveon was watching all this with an amused expression.

Well, if that doesn't bode ill for whatever Xander has planned. Although something tells me sooner or later that the four's cover would have been blown anyway.

Fight seems to be going well. Even if Xander's viewfarming with all of this.

Crisis averted with the explosion. I thought there was about to be a bigger problem with that drone destruction at the end.

"What did I tell ya, #XanFam?" Xander declared, striding confidently atop the commentator's booth. "I had this thing on lock. Can I get some EZ Claps in the chat?"

The crowd — or what was left of them — was... applauding? And the sylveon was basking in it, waving with two ribbons and blowing kisses with another!

Given what Xander was saying about Shimmer earlier...pot, meet kettle.

Oh, and speaking of Shimmer, here he is.

"Maybe your #FaceTurn suckered those #RebelRunts, but #YaBoiXander sees it for what it is," the sylveon said. "#FakeAF. Cuz everything about you is F-A-K-E, fake, fake, FAKE! At least #YaBoiXander knows when to jump ship to the winning side. You're such a loser you've gone from being #CrownPrinceOfLoserville to #RebelRuntChump!"

Well, I hope your #PinkFairyAss gets a #KickingForTheAges when we get to the combat, you sly Sylveon, you.

And now we've got the boss fight, or at the very least a prelude before the big show with Xander in a couple of chapters.

"Blah, blah, blah. STFU, #ClownPrince!" Xander responded.

Oi! Nickname thief! Come up with your own material!

Once again, gotta love the confidence that Noctum feels when he's by Valkyrie's side, just as she confided in him earlier. I'm quite fond of this dragon duo, so I am.

Chapter 111

The triple 1s chapter.

I approve of this choice of battle music. Perfectly fitting for this arc.

There a reason why Gus is calling Valkyrie Prisma? That just a code name, or implying something deeper...?

Noctum grabbed Gus and quickly flew up to dodge a swipe of Turian's paw.

"Hey! Heeeeeeeey!" Gus flailed around. "Put me down, you filthy lizard! Nobody touches Big Gus without his say so!"

"VAL, CATCH!" Noctum shouted, grip holding firm. He spun around and chucked a screaming Gus toward the other end of the arena, where Igneous and Valkyrie were dispatching two mawile goons.

Damn, we're balling all of a sudden with this fat cat as the ball. Can Noctum land a slam dunk with him?

"Let's shave her scales off, aphbrodesiacs!"

I'm loving this dialogue coming from the Medici goons. I do love me some unnamed passerby chatter.

Could it be that Xeromus is hiding in the wings and ready to make his appearance once all's been cleaned up here?

At the rate of that climbing view rate, we might well hit a million by the end of the fight.

Oh, so Gus was behind the poisoning of Igneous's mom? Guess that's that mystery cleared up.

[(FeelsBadMan). He's (OMEGALUL)ing at you. (Are you just gonna sit there and take it?)]

Hell yes, more Ahsen screentime with his funny Spamton dialogue.

Instead, the static cube expanded. It swallowed up his legs and his arms.

[I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, KIDDO!]

Igneous didn't even have the time to scream before the static completely enveloped him.

Oh dear, does that mean Igneous is gonna be on his own for the confrontation with Ahsen?

But back to Noctum's POV, where there's the matter of Turian still left. And as expected, our Charizard delivers the final blow like a champ, all the while Xander hams up the viewcount as good as any Mettaton.

That's only stage one of this confrontation; now there's Ahsen to deal with, who we know is allied with Xander.

And now over to our resident Ponytales, where Shimmer discovers the inconvenience of having more fur on his tails. Bet Shane (were he here) would be like, "First time?"

... Wait, why was there a giant, heart-shaped crystal sticking out of the sylveon's head?

Oh, damn, we really are going full-on Mettaton with this. Given how he was my favourite Undertale character...I imagine I'm gonna enjoy what's to come.

And now to Paradox, where more evil schemes are a-brewin'.

"Of course." Paradox thumped the gem in his chest. It flickered red. "It's as I said, Sticky. Your supreme grand emperor is always thinking three moves ahead!"

Well, the best tacticians are always three steps ahead...

So this might mean Paradox will take Ahsen's power for himself after Xander's been cleaned up? Hmmmmm...

And now to our other monarch villain.

"Justy, darling, be a dear and order the genesect to Khelifet," she said, smiling serenely at Iron Leaves' reflection. "And get Iron Crown to join them."

Ah, I figured. Guess we're gettting Irons Crown and Boulder at some point in the near future.

"Your fears are unwarranted. A legend does not back down from their duty. There is a rift to seal. And I, the Essence of Time, shall aid you in your quest, Creator."

"Yeesh," Leo whispered. There had to be a less cringe way to get that across.

Exact opposite ends of the spectrum of formality here. Especially since Leo's the Arceus here.

Double anomaly means double the trouble. Hopefully the gang's gonna be alright.

Chapter 112

A Super flashback. I guess this would be why Leo and Widget get paired together a lot, because of their canon PMD world connections.

Levincia, huh? I guess that would be fitting setting for the showdown with Xander, given who the Gym Leader of that city is.

Even their pokémon seemed transfixed by Xander dancing and prancing around on his stream. It was... unsettling.

Lulling them into a form of soft brainwashing, is it? Mmmmmmm, another one for the lengthy rap sheet Xander's garnered.

JOIN CHATTER AND GETTING CHATTING

... Okay, Leo recognized that last one. Guess it existed here, too.

Why must the bird app of all things be universal?

And #YaBoiXander's ready to offer #FabulousPrizes to any trainer cool enough to catch them and post the proof on Chatter!"

An unsettling thought, imagining our heroes in all their strangeness being a random Trainer's 'mon.

It took me a minute to realise that girl was Penny. Guess my lack of playing SV is catching up with me, eheh. 💦

"No way." She shook her head. "This is totally a Ho-Oh's Insane Escapades fever dream. O-Or maybe—"

What, are you expecting Leo to have a Stand? Or, indeed, to be someone's Stand? (To be fair, Made in Heaven does bear some similarities to our resident creator...)

"—and ran into Penny." Leo gestured left with a forelet. "Along with her, uh..."

"My veevees!" she exclaimed, gesturing like the proudest parent in the world. "Flarevee, Vapvee, Joltvee, Espvee, Umbvee, and Sylvee!"

I would ask where Leafvee and Glacevee are, but team of six rules would probably mean they aren't here. Although maybe she has them in a PC box somewhere.

"So, you were a jerk?" Penny tapped her forehead with her fist. "And now you're trying to undergo your anime redemption arc?"

The ponytales' tails bristled. "I, uh, think that's accurate."

I like this interpretation of Penny being an anime nut. Almost makes me want to pull stuff like this if I ever write Trainerverse in future.

But they have a foothold now. Good on them.

Now over to Yuna, where her lot are going through a long, dark tunnel. Which either means they'll be ambushed in transit, or there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel in which the barrier will appear before them. Which will it be?

... No, wait! There was something. A small speck of light in the distance.

Looks like it was the latter on this occasion.

That last line brought about memories of Vegna's assorted legal ramblings. So there were some of his attributes within Bahamut. It was, if nothing else, a small bit of reassurance that Bahamut really did intend to cooperate with them.

"Even if he were to lose control, you guys outnumber him," Reshiram reminded her. "And Gene seems pretty keen on not letting him get away with anything."

Well, if we're speaking on the topic of 'losing control', there's no guarantee that won't happen to Gene either...Two sources of power going volatile would be the last thing they need with the amount of enemies they have.

"I—" Yuna blinked several times. "It was too garbled, but 'truth' came up a couple of times."

Bring out Reshiram, maybe he can help out with that given his truth senses.

"Celestica Labs."

A link to the Matriarch...

But all that paled in comparison to the dozens of silvally she spotted within the village. In fact, there wasn't anyone there but silvally.

So this is your idea of heaven, then, Amby? Given that you are the PMD fandom's resident fishdog stan.

"It shouldn't be possible, but... those are the mass-produced type: fulls that served under Matriarch." His starcloud tail lashed at the air. "I'm sure of it."

Even so, a village full of mass-produced units like Silvally...proves more than a tad worrying.

Chapter 113

Virizion squinted at him. Hydreigon laughed nervously. "I've seen how you turn heads. Aha ha... ha..."

Her stink eye only worsened.

Heh, nice callback to Gates!Virizion's head-turning status. Is that just a thing with Virizion across the board in PMD fics? Because Firiara's kinda the same way too in Savern's world.

All the Silvally appear to be robots, built to follow orders. Meaning that if more undesirable orders are given out...they'll obey to those too.
Unless there's some brainwashing shenanigans our heroes can pull off.

Maybe there's some kind of authorisation word our heroes can get the Silvally to talk?

Silvally's eyes glowed a bit brighter. [This is Origin.]

A bit more glamorous and peaceful than the other Origin that comes to mind whenever I think of it as a place.

Ah, so the appearance of Jubilife is meant to be a link to the Matriarch's identity...and in turn, Zodiark's.

I do wonder if there'll be some way to convince the Silvally to come with in the end, to satisfy Widget's wishes.

One was a girl in a sparkly outfit that gave off cresselia vibes. The other was a fiery-haired young man summoning a ho-oh behind him in a flaming vortex.

Sailor Moon and JoJo? I dig the picks. Although I wonder if in this AU, Avdol would be the main character of Stardust Crusaders given that his Stand is rather phoenix-like...

Shimmer winced. "I'm not used to such... messes."

Ooooh, says the princeling. Deal with it - this is normal for a good chunk of people.

"Wait, mystery dungeons?" Her eyes were wide. "Like... like the games where you get to become pokémon and make friends with other talking pokémon and... and..."

Something you want to tell us about that, Penny? The wish to be a Pokémon, perhaps?

Oh wow, she's a total nerd about it. I do enjoy the fangirling.

DJ Vice: Hey, everyone here okay?

Ninjatticus: But of course!

VEri Nice: What's up?

DJ Vice: Everyone's glued to their phones where I am. WBU?

Ortega the Great: i thought my folks were just working but it sounds like theyre watching a stream?

VEri Nice: And that's bad because?

Ortega the Great: theyre old geezers!

Melaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa: theyre zombies dude!

Text chat can be funny sometimes, and also omg those usernames

"I bet you're the type to ragequit when you're losing an online match in Super Bash Brothers."

"You mean, 'Super Smash Brothers'?"

"Er, I don't think it was that."

"It's definitely that."

On a side note I bet Penny totally wanted Eevee to be playable in Smash and was dismayed when that never came to be.

"Well, that might be important," Scarlett whispered. "If they're not transfixed by Xander's stream, then they could help us."

So Team Star's gonna be the backup for the day, huh? I dig it. Certainly not the first time the gang's gotten help from the enemy team if Team Rocket were anything to go by.

I'd dreamed of ending up in an isekai anime, but not like this."

Haven't we all, Penny.

Awww, that's kinda endearing of Penny, that she wants to protect her team and not get them in danger.

Chapter 114

"She, uh, might've had a bit too much of that hard berry juice last night."

Friendly reminder that alcohol's canon in PMD~

If you happen to see any jobs that pay really well, mind shunting them over to me?"

"What for?" Igneous asked.

Tessa's aura feelers pulsated. She traced her foot along the marble floor. "I want to save up to get Nickie something special."

Awww, a present! Here's hoping Nickie cherishes it.

Back to the present day, where corrupted Tera crystals appear to be a dime a dozen here, and also wow, this crystal is sturdy as hell. Diancie could only dream of making a diamond this strong.

A purple specter approached him. Leaning over, their arceus mask met Hydreigon's blurry gaze.

"Welcome back, Voice."

So it was Zodiark who attacked the Gates world. Presumably for its Voice.

The old struggle of an artificial being finding their way in the world once they've been relinquished from their "good soldiers follow orders" mentality. I like this basic gist of Widget's arc and where it's going thus far.

Now back to Levincia, where Leo's become a bull. 🐂

The sylveon was currently... playing some sort of video game where he ran around as a two-legged sylveon, building walls and ramps with wood and metal he materialized from nowhere. Xander operated the controller with his ribbons. He stumbled across some sort of human avatar, only to blow them apart with a burst of pink energy from some sort of blaster.

What video game's this a reference to? First thought's Minecraft, but I'm not sure where the blaster comes into it...

Although this one had a much clearer effect on a lot of people.

... Leo really hoped he could fix everything.

Creator instincts creeping into you, Leo? Behind the Gen Z teenager slang, he's got a heart of an Arceus there.

"What's stopping you, O Child of Fate?"

Oh hai Zodiark. Haven't seen your cross-wheel face in quite a while.

A marked difference from Volo, Zodiark is, when his emotionless, indifferent speech is one of his key facets here.

"Consciousness breeds suffering.

Was that an intentional match-up of this line with the OST pick you had for this part? Because it's pretty neat if so.

Nothing Zodiark had tried had worked on the team.

Don't jinx it, Leo. Do not.

Now over to Shimmer, where once again he reckons with his fall from grace. But...there's nothing saying he can't rise to the top again, and maybe defeating Xander would be the first step.

"Sheesh, language," Penny grumbled, looking up from her computer. "If you guys are trying to up your social link, can it wait until you're back home?"

Someone's a player of Persona, I see.

"Oh, yeah, of course." Penny wrapped her arms around the back of her chair and rested her chin on it. "The 'trust me bro' source."

"It's worked so far." Leo laughed nervously.

Penny pinched her brow. "Spoken like a shonen protagonist, I guess."

Leo does not give shonen protagonist vibes to me lmao

The ham-fisted route to destroying the equipment, or the workaround...? Something tells me either way something unpleasant is gonna result from it. You know what they say about Pokémon games and choices, after all.

Penny nudged up her glasses.

The anime glasses twitch!

"What, surprised? Figured you shonen types teleport spam whenever you fight. A wigglytuff doing it isn't that weird."

Wooooooooow, the callout. Holy shit, Penny, that's one hell of a burn when the gang's been doing just that in their battles. 🔥

Back to Yuna's group, where this tunnel is totally not ominous at all with that creepy broken recording in the background. No sirree, it's not. 💦

There, chained to three stalactites, was a large three-headed canine. Yuna recognized two of the heads: Suicune and Raikou. But the third...

"Cerberus?" Gene's starcloud tail curled and uncurled. "'Evolved' from flareon, jolteon, and vaporeon to entei, raikou, and suicune? Cute. But it's not going to make much of a difference."

Oh great, way to add to the ominousness of this area: give a three-headed abomination at the end of the creepy hallway.

Looks we're gearing up for a boss fight next chapter. Let's see what this overgrown pupper has to show for themselves.

Chapter 115

Reverse time then slowed everything around her, allowing her to retreat while pelting Raikou's snout with Dragon Darts.

Bayonetta battle system influence on display once again, I see.

"Still you hide behind your puppet's bluster."

Now Zodiark's voice was echoing all around the room.

That was a quick jump from Leo in Levincia to here, damn. Quite the speedy world jumper, aren't we, Zodiark?

Take a shot every time Zodiark says 'puppet'. You'll be swaying after at least a scene with him. 💫

Well, that's Cerberus down. But now a new problem's emerged with Paradox knowing for sure someone's entered Valhalla, and that could prove troubling.

She really hoped this was only a product of Mount Coronet being in disuse for such a long time. Yuna had had enough surprises for one day. The Needle had to be the only thing left. She could grab it and move on. No more twists or turns.

Famous. Last. Words.

Over to Diamond and Artemis now, where former god and disciple become acquainted once again.

"Seifer finding me." Artemis waved a ribbon. His eyebrows straightened out. "Apprenticing me. Was it random chance... or were we drawn to one another?"

Ah yes, the hidden ties of Fate, bringing together those of linked pasts and allied futures. Penny might know of a Ho-Oh's Insane Escapades villain who quoted, "Do you believe in gravity?" in relation to this very thing.

Diamond's surprisingly cavalier, all things considered. Maybe it's to do with 'not wanting to waste time' or some such?

"Please," Cyril whispered.

The cosmic keldeo stiffened.

"You just woke up. And the last time you ran in intending to save someone..."

Awww, poor Cyril doesn't want that happening again.

I like the polite side of Diamond coming out. A formal talking character makes a nice contrast from the Gen Z slang of Leo and rough-edge nicknames of Nikki.

He was a tiny lugia terrorizing a local town. Xander's lugia knocked over a vase of flowers, then loudly honked at the gardening store owner who tried to chase it down.

Untitled Lugia Game? Okay that's a good one. Living up to the overgrown Wingull credentials right there, that Lugia is.

Xander announced something about some sort of social deduction game involving Imposter ditto would be coming up next.

And now Among Us! I bet that unfortunately, Xander would do pretty well as the Imposter. Someone find him out and make him ragequit, it would be pretty funny.

Xander repeating a lot of what Zodiark was saying earlier...Seems #YaBoiXander's pretty #EasilyCorrupted, by the sounds of it.

Now a Gigantamax Eevee with Xander commandeering it, huh? Guess we have a fight in the end, just as I suspected. Destroying them or not destroying the equipment didn't appear to matter too much.

Chapter 116

Funny that this uses Penny's battle theme when she's meant to be Leo's ally in this instance. No doubt it's more for the Eevee and Xander given Penny's affection for Eeevelutions.

Leo couldn't see the stage, but obnoxiously loud air horns told him the stage was somewhere on his left. And Xander was conjuring dumb sound effects to try and humiliate Leo.

Xander sure does love his humiliation tactics, doesn't he?

"#ArceASS is getting #SkillIssued! Mods, let's drop a prediction and see if #YaBoiXander can take #ArceASS out in the next two minutes! Get all your #Xandollars in on this one!"

Literally one of those lines where I have to remind myself, "Yes, this is a PMD fic. That was a line dropped in a PMD fic."

Good job Leo's wisening to the Protect spamming done by Gigavee. Yet still he can't quite get the upper hand....

Eyyy, move linking! I like using that in my own writing and nice to see that Leo's copped on to using it in his own combat.

Leo braced himself for the worst when an engine's thunderous roar came from somewhere on his right. He heard the crashing of metal and plastic, followed by a startled yelp from Xander and a heavy thud somewhere in the direction of the stage.

Whew, that was a close one. Nice save from Team Star and the rest of the gang.

I love the combination of Nikki and Starlene giving a music-based counterattack. Now for an awesome finishing second wind against this #CockyLittleShit.

"The Xan Fam won't stand for this! They— what?! NO!"

He turned to one of the rotom screens, which showed his viewer count plunging by the millions.

"My viewers!" Xander looked around in a panic. "Where are my viewers?!"

Wow, they lost interest fast. The big crowd never tends to be a reliable one, as they say~

"Stream's offline," Penny said. Even with the hood obscuring her face, Leo caught the faintest smirk— no, shit-eating grin. "Party's over."

"WHAT?!"

Xander turned around and, sure enough, instead of his stream, the rotom screens now showed a swarm of CGI krabby doing some sort of weaving dance in unison. A "GET HACKED LOL" flanked by winking eevee emotes flashed on the screens in big, neon letters.

Niiiiiice one, Penny. That's such a welcome riposte against him after all the smug superiority he's held over everyone over the past while.

And now the ex-boyfriends have their official parting. No wonder everyone hates Xander when his intentions were slimy and impure from the start.

Leo gets his plates. I like the connections he makes with his memories of past and present linking to what's being said on the plates.

Quite literally being shown as a puppet on tethers...just like Zodiark keeps claiming. (Also nice art by Spinal. )

And now the team's going to gather in the one place...once Noctum, Igneous, and Valkyrie get sorted with whatever Spamton-esque shenanigans Ahsen is cooking up.

Chapter 117
Oh boy, judging by that title, things are going to get freaky. Which is par for the course for Ahsen.

Tessa nodded with so much energy Igneous thought her head might pop up. "I... I really like her." She kicked at the ground bashfully. "And I'm not an aura expert like the guildmasters, but I think she likes me the same way."

Determination spread over her face. "So, I'm going to do this." Tessa curled her paws up, crunching the paper in the process. "And come tonight... m-maybe Nikki and I will be more than just teammates."

The riolu sprinted over to the stairs. Igneous tried to fly after her.

"Tessa, wait!" he called, but she'd already leaped up the stairs by the time he reached them.

Given how things ended up turning out for Tessa and Nickie...I do hope they managed to get that confession out before things turned south.

But on a happier note in Levincia, at least things seem to be looking up for Penny. Nice resolution to end on for this part.

Now on a not-so-happy note, back to Yuna's group, where things are getting more ominous by the minute.

As Leo discussed Xander's stupid show tournament devolving into interruptions by pirates and another Paradigm Lieutenant, Yuna noticed how much bigger Leo was. He must've gotten his hands on quite a few plates, given he now stood several heads taller than her. Leo was two and a half Widgets big!

Growing more into the role of a Creator by the minute. Now it's a question of when he'll abandon the Gen Z slang and take on formal talk just like Diamond.

"It was GGs until these two crashed the party."

"Right." Yuna's tail crinkled slightly. More of Leo's weird lingo.

Alas, not today, it would appear.

Welp, if it looks like a trap and smells like a trap, then it is a trap. Gene even said it himself, and now here Zodiark is, taunting them all.

And before that, there's Genesect to deal with, sprung by Isola.

"It would seem your friends have met with some... difficulties. Whether they overcome them matters not. But we shall watch. See if they have what it takes to join you... and learn the truth."

Oh boy, we're set for another bunch of revelations in a bit, aren't we? Here's hoping the lizard group can survive the onslaught.

Oh no, they've ended up in an 8-bit game. Not good at all, given the quirky things that go on in those.

OAK: Hello there! Welcome to the world of POKéMON!

...What.

OAK: This world is inhabited by creatures called POKéMON!
OAK: This world is inhabited by creatures called POKéMON!
OAK: This world is inhabited by creatures called POKéMON!
OAK: This world is inhabited by creatures called POKéMON!

....What. Again.

OAK: Others use them f̴̖̈́͛͑o̵̬̖̦̍̋r̶̗̩͑ ̵̣̖̐̄̿f̸̣̓̽̌͜i̸̛̖g̶̘̉h̶͍̩̏̀͊t̷̞̃͒̆ṣ̸̻̗͝.
OAK: Others use them f̴̖̈́͛͑o̵̬̖̦̍̋r̶̗̩͑ ̵̣̖̐̄̿f̸̣̓̽̌͜i̸̛̖g̶̘̉h̶͍̩̏̀͊t̷̞̃͒̆ṣ̸̻̗͝.
OAK: Others use them f̴̖̈́͛͑o̵̬̖̦̍̋r̶̗̩͑ ̵̣̖̐̄̿f̸̣̓̽̌͜i̸̛̖g̶̘̉h̶͍̩̏̀͊t̷̞̃͒̆ṣ̸̻̗͝.
OAK: Others use them f̴̖̈́͛͑o̵̬̖̦̍̋r̶̗̩͑ ̵̣̖̐̄̿f̸̣̓̽̌͜i̸̛̖g̶̘̉h̶͍̩̏̀͊t̷̞̃͒̆ṣ̸̻̗͝.

Oh no, not the eldritch text.

OAK: <player>! This isn't the time to use that!
OAK: <player>! This isn't the time to use that!
OAK: <player>! This isn't the time to use that!
OAK: <player>! Ṫ̸̢̔̕ͅḧ̶̔̄͜i̴̘̱͂s̴̙̲̻̿̆́ ̸͓̏̓i̷͇͚̟͌͘s̸̜̺̗̎n̶̢͎̔̉͘'̸͎̀͝t̵̘̝͈͗ ̷̫̘̬̇͘͝ẗ̷̗́̒̍h̵͇͖̄e̴̤̿̾̊ ̷̰̀̃t̷̪̐̇ȋ̴͇̋m̷̡͘ȩ̵͉̌ ̴̩̂ṱ̷̍́͠o̵̼͍͚̔̎ ̸̖̩̰͒͝u̷͙͗̈́̚ŝ̷͇͉͔͑͋ẻ̴͇̺͍͊ ̸̣̞́t̶̙̃̅ḫ̴̨͙̎̋̑a̵̩̐͂͘͜ţ̴̣̹̆!̵̰̙̓

Oh come on, Igneous doesn't even have a bike or a fishing rod! Even in the world of fanfic, I can't escape this damn professor and him telling me what I can and can't do indoors.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Emojis in a PMD fanfic. Just like before, my eyes are not deceiving me.

~WELCOME TO GLITCH CITY~​

Static rippled across the text box.​

~W3LC0M3 T0 GL1TCH C1TY~​

~̴̲̝̊W̸̱̾3̶̯̪̏L̵̺̗̑C̸͔͖͆̋0̷̯̇̋M̴̼̓͊ͅ3̶͍̾͗ ̸̈́͆͜T̷̼̃̔0̸̠̩́ ̵͙͊G̴̖̚L̵̜͕̾̑1̶̻͛́T̸̻͐̍Ç̵͉̃Ḩ̶̜͊̚ ̶̠̇Č̵͙͝1̶̳̌̉T̴̨̫̿̕Y̷̟̹͋̌~̸̦̅

~̵͎̈́W̵͇̜̅̚3̷̤̓L̶͕̠̿̓C̵̛̦̈0̵̦̰̅̀M̵̙̊3̵̨͙͛͊ ̶̰̈͝Z̸̨̥̈́̕3̸͇̄R̸͍͔̽0̴̯̐̄͜ ̷̼̬͗G̷̯̍̉Ḽ̸̓̒1̷͎̀T̴̼͐Ć̴̗͗͜H̷̘͚̄ ̴̢̊͌2̵̛͈F̷͚̒͘~̸̬̳̊́​

~Z3R0 1SL3 2F~​

...Leave it to Ahsen to come up with the eldritch glitchy text world.

,,˙ʇuǝɹǝɟɟᴉp ʎuɐ lǝǝɟ ʇ,uop I,, ˙punoɹɐ pǝʞool ǝᴉɹʎʞlɐΛ ,,¿ʇɐɥʇ sɐʍ ʇɐɥM,,

Igneous' head leaf caught fire. "What are you talking about? You're standing on the ceiling!"

"I've got a problem, too!" Noctum declared. He was stuck on the mirror on the right side of the room.​

Oh damn, even the normal narration's gone glitchy!

~Z3R0 1SL3 3F~

Oh? Normal Mystery Dungeon in a floor-by-floor format? And to think you've criticised me on this before smh smh. (I jest, obviously.)

Back to Valhalla, where Zodiark's continuing his spiel like before.

"I did not corrupt your husband, Dark Matter." Zodiark sounded uninterested despite the verbal rebuke. "I showed him the truth. That his cause was a folly. That his battles wrought suffering, when he thought he was saving everyone. It is not my fault he lost his grip on reality when faced with the futility of his actions."

"Liar." Red energy crackled around Gene's chest core. "You shadowed him, bastard!"

"I did what was necessary to ease his suffering," Zodiark said.

And now he attempts to do the same to Yuna and her comrades...His preaching's no doubt worn thin to her by now, so I reckon it would probably take some tangible proof for her to believe his words.

~Z3R0 1SL3 4P3X~

Okay, we just skipped through to the end. No point dragging things out, I see.

As he'd done before, Ahsen shouted random directions, with his body getting jerked around.

I feel like it might be better if we heard him give those directions in dialogue. Would add to the humour of this.

I can hear (HELIX). See (HELIX). Taste (HELIX). And (HELIX) tastes like]

Is a form of Helix gonna be the boss of this part? Since I think I recall seeing a Helix art for PoV at some point in the PMD Discords...

[I'm about to (MAKE THE MOTHER OF ALL OMELETS, JACK)!]

Omg a Senator Armstrong reference. I know this fic is reference heaven, but even this I wasn't expecting.

[So why are you and your (1Head)s trying to #@$% me over right before we get to the good stuff?! What are you, a (CORPORATE CEO)?]

Valkyrie squinted. "Did... did he just censor bleep himself?"

Can this get any crazier? Genuinely one of the most unhinged characters in a PMD fic I've read, and that's saying a lot.

[... Everyone's favorite (BIRD-TYPE POKéMON)...]

Ahsen pulsated several times, before his body exploded into a giant, writhing mess of black blobs and tentacles. Pixelated blocks flickered in an out of existence all around Ahsen's body.

[... Knows how to put on (A REALLY BIG SHOW)!]

So...that means it's time for Igneous, Valkyrie and Noctum to be a BIG SHOT? (No doubt that'll be the theme of next chapter's battle.)

Chapter 118
No surprises that the Spamton-coded character had exactly what I predicted as his battle theme.

And now our heroes are being assault with the glitchy sounds of Gen 1 attacks. What a horrible thing to have to behold.

Seems Igneous was a hard worker in his past life. Too hard, by the sounds of it.

[All I wanted to do was (OPEN YOUR HEART), Ig,] Ahsen said. The tendrils that weren't attacking them wiggled in seemingly random directions. Directions matching all the messages popping up around the arena. [Open your 👀s your 👂s your 👃 your 👄.]

Swinging on the pop culture references by the dozen with Ahsen here.

Wild MISSINGNO. used HM04!

A pixelated Hyper Beam struck Honedge and made it disappear.

Hyper Beam wasn't an HM, last I checked. What functionality is this game for Hyper Beam to have HM properties to it? What, blowing apart walls?

Ahsen clapped two tendrils together, producing an 8-bit telephone receiver.

HELLO, BASED DEPARTMENT?

[Hey, (PALKIA), why don't you and your (WILL THEY WON'T THEY) go 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01101110 01100100 01110011.]

This is ridiculous, I'm cackling at this

[Are you (REALLY FEELING IT)? (ART THOU FEELING IT NOW, MISTER IG)?]

Oh my god, two for two in this one!

[It's that (PET TWINKIE HORSE) of yours.] Ahsen's whole body vibrated. His helix fossil head spun clockwise, then counterclockwise. [He's locked your (HEART SHAPED BOX) tighter than (SIX EASY PAYMENTS OF $5.99)!]

"Shimmer has nothing to do with this!" Igneous growled.

[(O RLY?)]

I can't even at this point oh my lord I'm actually dying from laughter

So Ahsen's Vikavolt, by the looks of it? That seems to be what's being implied, by the looks of things.

Igneous' wings curled up slightly. He almost dropped to the floor but steadied himself. "That's—"

"You blame yourself for her death," Vikavolt exclaimed. Igneous could hear his buzzing wings getting closer. "But there was nothing you could have done."

The volcarona's wings twitched.

"She took that sketchy mission by herself," Vikavolt continued. "She didn't even tell Nickie about it."

Whirling around, Igneous blurted out, "She told me!"

No...She never got to confess to Nickie...

[After all my (FATHERLY) advice, you're still trying to (SEND ME TO THE SHADOW REALM)? Well, I think it's time I employed a little (UNO REVERSE) energy!]

Shit, not Uno Reverse! Few energies are greater than "no u".

Seems this is all about Igneous in this moment, with Valkyrie and Noctum out of the picture for now.

"Nikki and I went after her once I realized something was off."

Meant to be Nickie, since this is a flashback?

[Are you ready?] Ahsen resumed vibrating. [Ready to let that (START9) in? Ready to let (HELIX) make you a better (BEAUTIFUL GAY SALAD)?]

Another metamorphosis incoming? Ohhhhhhh dear.

And it seems Igneous met his end at Zodiark's hand. So that explained how that came together.

Seemed precarious there, but thankfully Valkyrie saved the day! A bodyguard to the end.

Oh damn, suddenly Ahsen comes out sympathetic at the end. Perhaps not when Helix is controlling him.

And so that brings a curtain to probably one of the most unhinged yet hilarious characters I've ever seen in a PMD fic. I absolutely loved Ahsen from the moment he appeared with the Spamton dialogue, and blending that with Missingno's glitchiness and Porygon-Z's corrupted nature makes for one hell of an entertaining character. Huge kudos from me in bringing such a character to life. 🫡

Chapter 119

They're planning to set up an outpost of some sort in this POV-2020 place. Try to monitor the situation directly. I'm... not sure the exact logistics of how that would work. It doesn't sound like there are proper gods in place to lend us power.

Still, that can't deter me. If I behave myself, maybe I can convince them to let me come along? At least for a little while...

Something tells me the ultimate convincing would probably have taken a lot of time and effort to do.

Diamond galloped across the ground, impressed his smaller body could carry Artemis around despite the cosmic milotic's larger size.

The honse is stronk with his Dialga conscience. 💪 (Then again, Seifer could probably have done it as well.)

Diamond wasn't in the mood for such childish bickering. "Enough! We're not leaving and that's final." He scanned the air again. The Flamethrowers and Thunderbolts were fewer than before. "If both these factions are thinning out their sides, then we stay grounded. Snipe at anyone who tries to—"

He certainly has a commanding presence with orders like that. I like this new persona.

If only Diamond had his time powers.

I wonder if...maybe he could reclaim them at some point? Although given that Yuna already has Witch Time time powers, that might be a tad redundant.

Iron Treads, full of Academy students...if I'm remembering correctly. Mmmmmmm.

And now we have Robo-ified Tobias. Striking just how much it strikes fear in Diamond - perhaps a holdover from Seifer's earlier nerves? Or is it just Diamond still getting used to his smaller Keldeo body?

Diamond wouldn't have to deal with Iron Crown anymore.

That's what you think. Pity that there's such a thing as "Round Two."

And now everyone's getting sucked into Valhalla. All the heroes together, ready to hear the grand unveiling of the truth, by the looks of it.

Grishi seems to know something about Mt. Coronet. What does he know that the rest of the gang doesn't...?

I do like Zodiark's gradual listing of everyone's imperfect lives until now. There's something I do enjoy about a point where the whole party is acknowledged, even if it's for a villain's denouncement like here.

"The heroes defeated the dragon," Zodiark said. "And one stepped forth to absorb his power. With that power, this hero sought to undo the dragon's damage... while ridding the world of the divine energy that brought forth so much suffering."

Oh hey, I know this story. To think it's been six years since it ended....Time flies, doesn't it?

Then Zodiark responded, "It is as you say, Voice. As this energy raged, I was dragged through time. Forward. Back. Further forward. Further back.

"And in these times I found so many suffering souls. Humans. Pokémon." Zodiark paused. "To say nothing of my own situation."

And in encountering all of those souls, Volo became corrupted by that energy and became Zodiark?

A Tree of Life inside somewhere with Mount Coronet energy? As if to exemplify the intertwining of the PMD and PLA worlds.

And with the Eternatus energy and Tera crystals, it's almost like exemplifying the links to Gens 8 and 9. What a chimera, eh?

It seems Chiron's spirit is located in this place? Perhaps locked behind the Needle...although I reckon once that Needle is pulled, things will be set in motion which cannot be undone.

At first, nothing happened. Then a crack spread from the part of the crystal the Needle had been stabbed through. Then another. And another. And another.

Yuna heard shouts behind her. She turned around to find the black haze descending over the other resistance members. Thuds sounded in quick succession.

Just as I feared...although by the looks of it, it seems our heroes are about to be taken to witness some kind of past event, judging by the next chapter being a Special Episode of sorts.

Chapter 120
It's actually quite clever making the Special Episode a chapter, as if to tell the reader that this is a firm part of the story that should be read, which is sometimes an issue with Special Episodes in PMD fics being made as flashback chapters.

So this Togekiss is a construct through which the Matriarch speaks. How often before we see Cynthia's other team members as constructs...?

"A-And I helped too!" a squeakier voice chimed in from behind the dogs. Chiron nodded at the espeon who stood beside Miraidon, wagging her forked tail.

"Of course you did, Selene." Chiron chuckled. A part of her still found it strange to be dealing with the person Enamorus had been before receiving Bahamut's blessing. She and Bahamut had both been under the impression all the Sages had sacrificed themselves to seal Eternatus. Yet they'd found Selene wandering around the Qliphoth lost and confused. She didn't even seem to recognize the two of them, sticking closer to Nova and the dogs.

Selene, as in GL!Selene? Or is this someone new entirely?

Nova marched up to the open door. "We've come this far charging full steam ahead. Now's not the time to suddenly change tactics."

Given what ended up happening to Nova and everyone else...these are famous last words, aren't they?

Oh hey, that's what the promotional video sounds like when it's not glitching out to hell like in Yuna's time.

As Selene said, it all sounds cheerful, making it a jarring contrast to the fact that our legendary heroes of the past are supposedly under siege.

"And here we are!" Cynthia gestured proudly to the giant machine. "The hope of the future, the Eternatus Core! With its power source... the Space Globe!"

Oh yeah, this was the part that kept playing on repeat and glitching out constantly due to the damage.

"We will," Zacian assured him. "But don't let this unnerve you, either. We're close to the end." She shook herself out. "I can feel it in my bones."

Near the end...I reckon that might well be for more than just their adventure here, through these darkened labs on Valhalla.

"... Hope this message gets through. I don't have a lot of time left."

Audio recordings from olden times doing a blessing for figuring out what really went on.

Quite a stark contrast this recording is tone-wise from the happy message of the video earlier. A sad sign of how downhill things went when calamity began to occur.

"And that should be enough to keep Zodiark from interfering."

Well, did it now? That's the question we'd all like to know.

"Welcome back, Chiron. N0-V4. I have been expecting you."

Oh hai, Cynthia. Nice to meet you in person, at last.

"Negative." Cynthia faced the group once more, her hands now folded behind her back. "Professor Cynthia is dead. I am Matriarch, an autologous artificial intelligence program created in the professor's likeness and imbued with her memories, thoughts, and beliefs to supervise Eternatus and ensure its continued stability. In other words, I am an AI-powered android. Not dissimilar from your origins, N0-V4."

Or not. We have an AI-powered fake instead.

To understand your collective folly, we must walk through the full sequence of events."

Funny, how in two different times, Zodiark and Matriarch are doing the exact same thing in regaling the team with a history.

"How did Cynthia get the Space Globe?"

The lineup of planets reappeared on screen, only now there was an icon of the Space Globe. It moved across the dotted line in the reverse direction.

"The Space Globe traveled back through the same worlds the man went to, finally ending up where he started," Matriarch said. "Enough time passed that it arrived in the professor's era. She found it atop Mount Coronet—the same mountain simulated here—and used it to further her own research."

Oh yes, I remember this from a flashback quite some time ago.

Bahamut being the serial doubter like he always is. Although faced with their enemy, one can't blame him for being tetchy and doubting.

"But Zodiark also had its own thoughts and beliefs about the data it held," Matriarch continued. "Including Dreamweaver." She looked up at the screen where the helix and the ball of static kept ramming into each other. "The two consciousnesses were opposed to one another. And the professor feared this antagonistic relationship would destabilize the Space Globe."

Funny how it's not too unlike the dichotomy of Dialga and Palkia and how they clashed frequently, just like in some flashbacks here in fact.

"The dimensional collapse is Giratina's fault," Matriarch insisted, her gaze still fixed on Bahamut. "And, while Zodiark interfered with the program, that same chaos energy caused the planetary reconstruction to go awry."

So that's why the Matriarch seemed rather testy about Giratina, as she blames him for everything being in a state of limbo.

"I will spell it out for you, Renegade. Eternatus is made of spirits. Those spirits are held together with the Space Globe's power. A power Zodiark wants entirely for itself. I am the only thing keeping Zodiark sealed. And that seal weakens in response to chaos energy."

She turned to the Space Globe, then resumed pacing. "If you destroy the core, Eternatus will destabilize. Zodiark will break free and claim all of Eternatus for itself. It will begin to shape the universe to fit its twisted vision.

A catch-22, alright. No matter what happens, bad things are bound to come from it. At least according to Matriarch, anyway.

"Followers who you shared your chaos energy with," Matriarch chided.

Matriarch sure likes being the teacher in this scenario, doesn't she? Almost treating Bahamut like a misbehaving child.

With a few specific exceptions," she shot Bahamut another look, "all life in this universe is new. And that new life is incompatible with the professor's Dimensional Restoration Program."

So all that life deserves to die, huh? A very cool, calculating way of saying you'd commit genocide, Matriarch.

They would find another solution. After all, improvisation had gotten them this far, hadn't it?

Ah, the "fuck it, we ball" strategy. It works...most of the time. But by the looks of it, this won't be one of those times.

Matriarch rested her left hand on the Space Globe. "Initialize Eternatus Protection Protocol."

The screen behind the Eternatus Core abruptly went black, save for a white cursor. It quickly moved across the screen.

>VOICE AUTHENTICATION ACCEPTED

Well, shit, this is where things start heading south, don't they?

Killer art, right there. But also an indicator that against three deities, our heroes aren't going to be having an easy time.

With this battle theme playing, it did take me a minute to realise that there would be analogues between Matriarch and the AI professors, wouldn't there?

Again, Matriarch seized up. The screen flickered.

>IMP0SSIBL3

Oh no, the glitchiness begins.

"This is how we beat them." Chiron gestured toward the altar. Bahamut looked where her wing point to see the screen glitching out.

>ST0P THIS
>Y0U ARE M∀KING A MIST∀KE

Would the AI be convinced otherwise? Or is Matriarch so set in her ways that she wouldn't hear anything otherwise?

Bahamut clung to the giant, rectangular bulge in Dialga's neck. A gold light blade stabbed through the blue diamond embedded in the neck bulge.

That will never not be a weird as hell design choice giving Origin Dialga that bulge.

Great battle - really giving a high-stakes feeling facing off against the original trio with Matriarch.

"Quite a rich statement, coming from naught but a vessel."

Aaaaaaand that's the cue for victory to fade away in an instant as Zodiark comes in and takes the power for himself.

To her right, Nova and Zamazenta howled in pain. Chiron's eyes widened. Strange, distorted red energy had surrounded both of them. It was like the chains around Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia. It swirled faster and faster... and dragged Nova and Zamazenta together! The red static tore Zamazenta into a fine crimson mist that seeped into Nova's cloak, darkening it to a navy blue. Chains wormed their way out of the ground to wrap around his legs. And a brown stone mask began to build itself over the type: full's face.

And that's how we got Xeromus... And as for Selene, that must be where the body snatcher in the Radiance royals began.

"Simple," Enamorus scoffed. "I never lost them to begin with." She eyed the sword in her hands intently. "Because I never went through with that ridiculous sacrifice."

Chiron's eyes widened. Then she'd been lying the entire time she was with them?

No. That didn't matter. Leo was in trouble! He needed her! She had to move! Why did everything still hurt so much?

"And it's a good thing I didn't." Enamorus drifted closer to the ground. To Leo. "I was prepared to wait so very long for this moment. But it seems I've been gifted with a miracle, thanks to Zodiark's brief freedom."

She pointed the sword up. "Zodiark has shown me the truth! About how ugly this world truly is! And the part you've played in it, Bahamut."

Yep, Isola through and through. So that's where that originated from.

So that's the start of it all, the endless rivalry between Radiance and the Aeons, when Enamorus turned traitor on Bahamut. Man, what an intense sequence, and all the more reason to now despise Enamorus/Isola.

Yuna's eyes snapped open to find Xeromus' helmeted head centimeters in front of her.

Well, that's certainly one thing to wake up to. That's nightmare fuel right there, seeing his helmet with his wild eyes right next to your own.

And in turn, now the truth's been unveiled...and things have now been set into motion that cannot be undone with Yuna's pulling of the last Needle. The stalemate the world is in now appears to be turning...albeit perhaps not in a way that our heroes would want.

Conclusion

But after that climactic chapter, I think I'll leave it there just for this review. I'll do the rest of the chapters later on in the Blitz.

Where do I even begin? Because wow, these chapters went places. From the PoV edition of the Primarina music showdown, to an 8-bit glitchy mess that saw a duel against Ahsen, to Seifer coming back to life in the new form of Diamond with Dialga's conscience, to Tobias and Grayson being robo-fied, to Isola becoming even more deplorable as a villain, all the while Zodiark lurks in the background, watching it all and instilling thoughts into our heroes and antagonists alike. He's a great protagonist for that, a great manipulator that the heroes just can't shake off no matter what they try. And by the looks of it, he might well be the fic's final boss, after Paradox is dealt with. Unless the final boss is an unholy amalgamation of some kind just like HoC's was.

My favourite set of the chapters was Chapters 117-118. Just for Ahsen, really - I loved him as a villain and all his glitchiness and unhinged dialogue that pulled from memes and Spamton alike. Pulling out Helix and Twitch Plays Pokémon references with him was great just for the humorous side of that alone, but then there was also him seemingly being Vikavolt, too? And that explained why he had such a particular fixation on Igneous the whole time, and had a disdain for Shimmer.

There was also Xander in how much of a slimeball he was and how much I loved to hate him. Very much a diss on influencers and how all he cared about was his follower count and becoming Shimmer's boyfriend for the power behind that when our resident twink horse would ascend to the throne. I loved the fightback involving Team Star, with the Big Damn Heroes moment they have when Leo's in dire straits against Xander and his Gigavee.

It all seems to gearing up towards the home stretch now - in which I look forward to seeing how the final pieces of the puzzle slot together. Granted, it'll be a good while yet before journey's end, and I still do have some more chapters to get through. But I was very, very impressed with what I read this time around, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest.

Also happy birthday! That's why I'm dropping this review today - as a little pressie. 🎂

 

[CuteBunnyGirl]

Here for the Review Blitz!

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."
~William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"

The story starts off with an interesting poem, I wonder if it has any symbolism or something like that.

"Hey, Quetzal, how much longer are we here for?"

"You say something, Shiva?"

"Ifrit?" The articuno tilted her head. "What are you doing here?"

The names of the Articuno and the Moltres remind me of summons in the Final Fantasy games, is this intentional? And is the Zapdos’s name, Quetzal, also a reference to those games?

"My, my. The Queen has sent another of her vaunted captains to my humble abode?"

"It's not Her Eminence's judgement I'm concerned with."

The mention of a seemingly mysterious figure known as simply “The Queen” or “Her Eminence” intrigues me, I feel like she might have importance to the story.

"The Aeon Kingdom's delegation is here already.

So the place is known as Aeon Kingdom, I like that name!

What she found, however, was a cloud of black shadows surrounding a two-legged hulk of black crystals. Crystal tendrils sliced the air, snuffing the trio's attacks out like they were nothing more than the tiniest pidgey's Gust.

The Phantom seems to be quite interesting, is it supposed to be a pokemon or something else? Because it doesn’t remind me of a Pokemon right now.

Green and purple fluids splattered on the dusty ground in front of Shiva, painting an even clearer picture.

The scene where Douglas is killed by the Phantom seems to have a bit of a shock value vibe, mostly because the audience doesn’t have much time to get attached to him before his death.

"We will destroy Eternatus."

Eternatus is already name-dropped? Cool!

The shadows finally reached her face and… nothing. The pain was gone. Shiva looked up, but recoiled in horror upon seeing that her once-pristine, blue-and-white feathers were now tainted with black and shades of dark gray. She managed to catch her reflection in a shard of broken glass and noticed a curved mask sitting over her eyes. Shiva threw her wings up, trying to pull it off, but a sharp pain tore through her shoulders. Her wings were... far stiffer than she was used to.

"W… what did you do to us?!" Quetzal squawked. Shiva staggered to her feet and found an orange bird with lightning-bolt markings on his shrunken wings kicking at the ground with very long legs.

"I made you stronger." Two of the Phantom's tendrils turned right, facing Quetzal. "Do you not appreciate my gift?"

"Not in the slightest!" Ifrit huffed, his now-curved beak muffling some of his speech. The violet-magenta flames on his wings crackled.

I also like the scene where they are transformed into the Galarian legendary birds, I haven’t seen much fic about those before.

Overall, there seems to just be a lot of stuff I do not understand right now. I know they’ll most likely be explained later, but it might be easy for the audience to get lost currently. I just hope I’ll understand things like the Needles, Her Eminence and the Phantom later on. Maybe this is just because I haven’t read Guiding Light yet, but I am confused.

"Gah!"

Dreepy Yuna shot up in her bed, arms tightly gripping her silk blanket. She doubled over in pain, squealing until her throat burned. Several tense minutes passed before Yuna finally settled down. She stared at her blanket, barely making out the red heart woven into the fabric using what little moonlight trickled in through the slits of her bedroom shades.

"Maybe it... was just a nightmare?" she whispered, rolling the held part of the blanket between her arms. Yuna looked right and squinted, trying to call on some of her ghostly aura to see her dark room.

The scene proceeds to shift to Yuna, and it seems that the previous scene was just a nightmare. Yuna seems to have anxieties regarding her going to a school of fairy types.

Remember the family creed, Yunavresca: seize the day by the horns!"

I also like the name Yunavresca, it just sounds neat.

"Bahamut, give me strength," she whispered.

The name Bahamut also seems like a Final Fantasy reference.

So, here's my review for the prologue of Path of Valor! I hope my criticism wasn't too harsh, since I did genuinely enjoy it and I am excited to read more of this!

 

[Navar]

Happy birthday, Amby! It’s been a while since I last read your fic, and there’s a lot more chapters now. Since I’ve finally managed to get myself some free time, I’m gonna use it to review some more. Hopefully I’ll get as close to catching up as possible. Also, since this is a big review, I'm gonna be splitting it into two parts.

Chapter 79​

Good to see the chapter starting out in a chill manner. Shimmer being there does change the status quo a little, but surprisingly he doesn't seem to be doing a lot. I guess given everything that's happened, reacting the way he does (i.e, by doing nothing and being polite) is natural. Still, I'm finding it way better than his previous attitude. The guy had a serious problem before, and now it's not that much. As for Yuna... she's still a weak character, at least in terms of fighting prowess. But hey, she knows that's an issue and wants to fix it. I do like that, despite knowing this, she doesn't like it too much. I imagine training can be boring, so it's fitting. Her quote unquote child is a bit more excited, which fits with him. Overall I understand they don't have a lot to do at the moment, since their main goal seems to be locating Necrozma. You'd think finding a giant light bulb wouldn't be difficult, but apparently it's more than I thought. When they do find the guy, I doubt it'll be a fun reunion for anyone involved. I mean, he is kind of a prick.

On that note, seems training won't be happening for a bit. Another anomaly... and hm. It's just dawning on me that it's been 79 chapters and only now is Yuna being made aware of the whole trainer and Pokémon thing. It's interesting because I don't think it was that important before, so I don't mind her only finding about this now. And maybe it's relevant to their current situation—since you know, the anomaly is in Kanto, in the league to be specific—for her to know it. At least they're all formulating plans right away, which does help things a little? Which brings me to another point: the group is actually rather solid. I mean, their teamwork seems to be solid. Or at least, they seem like they're quick to plan things. Executing them, though? That's a different thing entirely. It might need a bit more effort to deal with the anomaly... I actually appreciate the effort in connecting all these worlds, it's neat to see how they all interact. I know it's been a while since I read this fic, but still, I remember enjoying that aspect of it. Obviously it's only getting more and more prominent, but... well, I like it.

Read some more. Some bickering over the league, and then more preparation for the mission. So far, it's chill. Like the start of the chapter! Well, I know the mission is serious and all, but good to see Nikki being... the comic relief. I don't think I've said it before but huh, she's that, isn't it? With meme references and all. But her kind of comic relief works just fine, it's not really distracting in my opinion. But also, hooray, Koraidon! I just love the species, so it's always fun to see one popping up in one of these stories. I know he's been here before, but still. Anyway, the more interesting bit here is that there's a cup, or a coronation? Y'know, these anomalies are getting weirder and weirder. In a good way, though. It's nice to see how creative you get with each of them. In this case, it's something to do with Galar? Wyndon in the chapter name, plus the cup thing. And with an audience that wasn't even there before—that's why I said they're getting weirder, by the way—which... it kinda odd. But it just makes me more curious about how it'll all unfold. Poor Yuna's gonna have to get in a sewer, isn't she?

I find it a bit amusing that, through all of this, Yuna is a bit worried she's gonna cause panic in the human world. They're there on like, this super cool, secret mission, but she takes a moment to think about this kinda stuff. I dunno how to explain it, but... it's funny, and kinda cute of her, I guess? Hard to explain. Anyway, so far there's not much happening, which I imagine is gonna change on the next chapter. The main takeaway I have here is that the core is in a vault, and that Yuna got spotted. I said it wasn't much, and I keep saying it. Because realistically I feel like Yuna could handle that officer and the dogs. I mean, she's not that strong, but I guess this would be easy for her. Something tells me that it'd be. Though, it does seem like she found what she was looking for, and earlier at that.

And oh yeah Shane's making more logs at the end of the chapter. Uh, yeah, London, but in Pokémon. Maybe he'd feel more comfortable if he was in Unova rather than Galar.

Chapter 80​

Compared to the chapter that came right before this, the beginning is a bit more ominous. Which, naturally, comes from the fact the cryptic bastard is here again. And like every cryptic bastard, they say a bunch of stuff that (seemingly) doesn't mean anything. Or, at least, Yuna doesn't seem to understand whatever it is they're saying. She even does the smart thing of trying to get away from whatever the creep is, but hm, they're not really gonna let her just do this kinda stuff, hm? But at the same time, the butterfree effect (which I might shorten just because it's easier to say) isn't actually behind this. They're just sorta there, I guess? Of course, this doesn't make things any better, but at least it's something! Honestly, the more I read this guy, the more they don't make any sense. I know it's the point, yeah. Still, I thought that maybe I'd be able to make sense of it. For the time being, it's just a warning that all the words they've seen end up dead? This is... ominous as hell. And honestly something that would make a bunch of people skeptical. I mean, it's a very ludicrous claim, isn't it?

But you know what? The more this guy keeps talking, the more they sorta made sense. I mean, it doesn't make a lot of sense, and maybe it doesn't need to. What needs to happen is Yuna questioning things. That's how it happens, yeah? Make your main character question the status quo so they go and make something to change it. Or this guy is full of shit and is just spouting nonsense, but I'd rather believe they have a point to the madness. Besides, from a meta perspective, they are sorta right. A lot of stories don't necessarily end. They just sort of stagnate, without any conclusion. At least that's the reading I got from whatever this guy is saying. In the end this guy is just trying to get on her nerves. Though, at the same time, Yuna IS being presented with a choice. Or two bad choices. The point, in this case, is which of them she's gonna choose. Each one is bad, which means she has no choice at all! And that's that the omen is trying to tell her? It's how I understood this. I do appreciate Yuna is still trying to fight back against this, uh, nihilistic view? It feels like that. I'm still not sure what the omen wants, but it's creepy, so it fits.

Igneous' moment in this chapter is something else, too. He's meeting with his father, sure, but there's still a lot of resentment on his part, towards him. Given what happened with his mother(or stepmother), it only makes sense that nothing would have changed between them. He's still... angry that it all happened. And honestly I doubt there's gonna be anything that will "fix" this situation. Maybe not now, but I dunno. At least he's not alone right now, so... talking to other people about what happened. It's something that can help him heal. Honestly I feel Igneous is probably my favorite character of the story. I dunno how to explain it just yet, but he's just a delight to read at all times. He's wrong about one thing though, the guy could probably use some comfort. It's better than not having anything, right? Even if I feel Igneous would take some time opening up to people. Not on the same level as, say, Nikki, but not too easily either. Still, he's doing a bit better now.

In the meantime, the actual plot of the chapter is still rearing its head. Namely, which choice Yuna has to make. But honestly, given how everyone seems to have a different idea as to how they'll be able to fix this situation, it's probably only making it more complicated. The problem is the warnings that Yuna received. If she believes them, then it's not like what she picks matters. Though I feel like she's not the kind of person to blindly follow what a weirdo like that omen says. She's... more knowledgeable about things now. It might even help her out! So, then, their genius plan is to make a fake attack? Honestly I'm not even sure if that'll work out, but it's... an interesting plan, for sure. I still feel like a lot could go wrong here. Like, they could be attacked by the police of this world or something. But Gene's smart enough to have that figured out, isn't he? He strikes me as that kind of guy. I do find the plan amusing, though. I'm curious to see how it'll turn out. I'm expecting it to not be the way they want it to be.

Chapter 81​

I like Seifer and Cyril. I dunno what to say, man, they're just... a cute couple, I guess. Even they have their part to play here, but this little interaction also says a bit about Seifer. He feels like he's too, I dunno, serious? Maybe. The point is that he doesn't allow himself to rest nearly as much as he should, which I suppose is where Cyril comes in. The guy's the total opposite of what Seifer is, but that's why the two work so well together. They obviously can and should balance each other out, like what a good couple would do. And besides, having a bit of a downtime before the proper mission starts is neat enough. I like that it's with them specifically. Honestly I doubt that we'll actually get to see their date night, but at the same time, I do wanna read a chapter that just has them being comfy and having a date. Something different from all the chaos of the plot. Like, a slice of life chapter? But there's so many characters here, which would make it difficult to pick just a handful to get that kind of chapter... oh well, maybe it'll happen.

Well, the first thing is that... it was obvious that the "team Rocket" that's appearing in this chapter is the anime iteration. If it's not them, it might be an alternate universe of them, given how this fic explores that kind of thing. Anyway, yeah, yeah. Gene isn't the best person to handle team Rocket, but at the same time, he's probably the strongest out of the entire crew, so if anyone can do that, it's him. Besides, if it's Jessie, James and Meowth, then anyone can handle them. The guys are buffoons! Or something like that, honestly. But I still feel like there's more to it than just... working with them. Also, as a side note, this is the first time I find out Meowth has an accent. I didn't grow up with the english dub, for obvious reasons, but I think that's kinda neat. Anyway, Gene is putting a lot of effort into convincing them that they need his help. But at the same time, he also needs their help... help from people that get distracted having an argument about pizza. That's classic team Rocket. Honestly the entire plan is just causing a scene. Again, it's an amusing plan to have, because it's kinda ridiculous. I also find it surprising that team Rocket managed to accept this idea so eagerly. Then again, it IS team Rocket, the idiots would take any opportunity if it's good enough for them. And the last comment for this bit... Gene likes puns. He's a dumbass sometimes.

Which brings me to even more cute stuff with Seifer and Cyril! Like I said before, although not in those exact same words, the guy is sheltered. I also am not surprised that Gene and Cyril got together. I mean, given they were the only ones in their little group (if I remember correctly), it was bound to happen. Though, at the same time, I find it cute that Cyril stopped doing that, especially now that he's with Seifer. And, in turn, Seifer is adorably awkward here. It just makes them feel like an even better couple. I don't know what to say, I just find them to be sweet. Something about breaking Seifer's stiffness (in more ways than one, apparently) is really nice to see. And... well, I do love myself a gay couple, so they're way up on my ranking. I didn't even know I had a ranking(?)

And then everything comes crashing down, because of course it does. I'm not sure why I didn't think there'd be measures against Zoroarks, but well, there are. Now that I think about it, it's not surprising in the slightest. Still, poor guy. So, now that it's been established that their plan has gone off the rails, it's kinda important to see what the group is gonna do in order to solve things. Well, the first thing is that they're gonna have to fight... more than what they originally planned on doing. In this case, I think it's mostly Seifer. Gene, on the other hand, is quick enough to make a backup plan. I already figured that he'd have this kind of thinking, and really, they weren't gonna deal with the anomaly in a single chapter(even if they arrived in the previous one, so it wouldn't be a single chapter anyway). I guess I'm just curious to see how long it'll take for them to solve this situation. I doubt it'll be quick and easy. These kinds of things never are! I think. Honestly the better part of this was just Cyril and Seifer. I love them a lot.

Chapter 82​

It certainly feels chaotic now. I don't know much about like, how battles are fought in a sorta war-like setting, and this isn't that, but like, the battle does make me think about that. I'm not sure if it's the right word to describe it, but it's what I thought of. Anyway, it feels chaotic enough with the rebels trying to get any kind of advantage they can get. For now it seems more like a stalemate? Cyril isn't making much progress even with his twink boyfriend around. But on the bright side the battle is amusing (especially with this Buzzwole, the dude is kinda funny for some reason). On the bright side it does make reading the battle easier, it's not uh, very fast-paced? The pacing is fine, I think. It's readable and enjoyable is what I mean. Even if the main focus seems to be "how the hell are we gonna make actual progress". It reads that way to me. I suppose hanging there and making that progress little by little is also an option. On the bright side it's always good to see more Noctum. He's adorable and I would like to hug him a lot.

Okay, so after typing that I wrote some more and unsurprisingly Noctum gets the short end of the stick again. He's, well, he should get treated better. At some point surely he'll have a nice moment where he can, I dunno, bake some cookies or something. For now he's getting assaulted by all these birds! But hey he's still alive in the end, which is more than fine. Not ideal, but fine. Meeting with the queen in the middle of all of this is something I'm not sure is lucky or not. Her ominous words about the strange blast also make me curious. Then you have this giant Duraludon who's going out of his way to shoot Valkyrie. I gotta admit, it's cute to see Noctum jumping for action and trying to help her out. I know they're (kinda?) a thing but I feel like he'd do it regardless of their relationship. Noctum is just that kind of guy in my opinion. Or at least he seems to be this kind of guy. In any case, he gets more points on my book. If not for Igneous he'd probably be my favorite character, but he's a close second place.

Well, Gene does have a good point. Perfect planning is basically never happening, but on the bright side he could strive to get as close to one as possible, which I guess helped him make the decision to work with team Rocket. And that actually brings me to my second point! So I was expecting team Rocket to do their thing, and in the anime it's fine and natural, but this is a piece of (fan) fiction, so I wondered how the other people in the story would react to their, well, their thing. I was expecting Gene to be baffled, and I'm not disappointed. There's something oddly amusing about seeing established characters interacting with OCs. I mean, the cast are OCs. I think. I also love how their first course of action is to just grab Jade and try to kidnap her. Also the fact they don't seem to think she's an actual Salazzle hybrid. I mean... I don't think that exists in their reality, so there's no reason why they would think it's a real thing. I almost expected them to double cross Gene (which is a terrible idea because he can just wipe the floor with them), but maybe that happens later.

In the meantime, it's finally time to handle the daemons around. It was meant to be just one, but the effect never says everything, huh? They're controlling one of those birds. There's also the problem of there being... either Red or Ash here? I want to say Red, but given the team Rocket existing here is the anime one, it might be Ash. I'm not sure just yet. But well, what happens next is more chaos. Yuna's out of her depth, now more than ever. And this poor girl continues to get thrown words and accusations about things she doesn't really understand. And this human hardly seems like he's Ash, the personality doesn't seem to match him. Unless he's brainwashed like the birds. It does seem fitting. The chapter itself ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I doubt Yuna's gonna die here, so I'm guessing this is gonna have her evolve again. It would make sense thematically, like she's taking control of her own fate or something. It'd also be cool, so here's hoping that's what's gonna happen in the next chapter. In any case, this one was fun. I like chapters full of action, which is the case here.

Chapter 83​

Yeah, so we're starting things off with Yuna having a moment to herself. And by a moment to herself, it means she's going through a rough time right now. As expeced given the ending of the previous chapter. Though, this scene doesn't show a lot. After nearly dying, Yuna gets to experience... something. I'm not sure what it is, but she's being shown things (a thing that I'm realizing is rather common throughout this story). And what does she do with all this information? I have no idea, I just know Yuna's just as confused as me. Though, as I continue to read, more of it makes sense. The presence that was mentioned by the effect is here, a Giratina. Seemingly, the same one that Volo uses in PLA, which is... interesting? I'm not sure what's the conection here just yet, but it's making me curious enough to keep reading this. It also makes me wonder what the point of this is. That is, what's the end goal for Yaldabaoth (also I had to copy the name because it's big and I could not remember how to spell it)? Is it just gonna, I dunno, tease her, show her things? We'll see.

Alright, read more, and have more things to say. The visions, flashbacks, whatever you wanna call it—all characters from Guiding Light, minus the volcanic Arcanine, which I can't remember. Now, it's been a while since I read that story, so for the time being I can't tell if this is Tessa or her mom. Either way, this is some... huge lore? The question I'm mainly asking is who Yuna's supposed to be in this vision. I'm not sure, and maybe I'm misreading things. What matters here though is what she wants. This is information, it's... the truth, somehow? What truth, I'm not sure. The point is that Yuna needs to deal with this. I guess sooner or later she would find out about whatever this is. Memories are an interesting thing to build around. Yuna's herself, in the end. At least that's how I see it, that she's her own person, regardless of Yaldabaoth. Regardless of what people keep telling her. Though, it does shed some light on her, which I find nice. And the visions do make me more curious about what the hell happened after Guiding Light ended. Shane already showed up here, more or less, so... I dunno.

Uh. Okay, cool, so... more reveals here. Most of which I don't entirely understand. Necrozma (Bahamut, I imagine) is trying to keep the worlds united? And that's a bad thing that Yuna should be trying to reverse? Okay, so the worlds aren't meant to be united the way they are now. I don't entirely get it, but it's slowly making more sense to me. Which does help with the vision. Whoever the Lucario/Riolu was there, maybe they did it? But they're not Necrozma, I don't think so. Man, I'm just spouting nonsense. It feels like I'm spouting nonsense. On the bright side, the next part of chaos' explanation is a bit more sensible, talking about the existence as Giratina. And about multiple of them. One of which is the one that was with Volo. So... I'm understanding a little bit more now? I think? There's, admittedly, a lot going on in this chapter. At least there's some answers about Yuna, and... I'm trying to get it. Not saying you made it complicated, I'm just dumb. However, I think I understand one part of the explanation. The... guy from Guiding Light. Nickie, I think. I think I understand, he was able to either make the PMD world there, or enter it through the resentment, and that resentment was alligned with Giratina's own? Man, I really am just talking out of my ass here.

See, I knew Yuna wouldn't want to suffer identity death. And honestly, surprised that this was even a thing that she could do, or... demand, I guess. For all the talk about power, it does feel like chaos is powerless. Or, at least, for the time being. Maybe it'll happen in the future. Honestly, I don't think you'd point out it's inevitable like this if it wasn't gonna come back in the future. But it worked, and she's actually evolved! Though, this feels like it was planned already, she was called Yaldabaoth in the end. Still, this feels like it's Yuna in control, and not whoever the other entity was. She's more powerful. She's... better than before? In a way, I think. She's not doing much in this chapter, or at least in the end of it, so the next one will hopefully show off just what she can do now that she's at her... peak? Maybe not at her peak yet, but she's closer to it.

Chapter 84​

Alright, back to Noctum. He's fine, and dandy, and he has his girlfriend with him. But there's also a giant metal dragon trying to kill all of them. One that looks like he has an ego bigger than himself. So, overall, the situation hasn't changed that much. They're still trying their best to get at least some kind of advantage over here. He's also kinda broken in that he can deplete your energy. Because of course he can, it's not like things can get any harder for our dear rebels, hm? The other point here is finding a way to get the king back. I'm not sure if he became the paradigm or if he's stuck inside the dragon. Either way, it doesn't make this any better. I do like the idea of them fighting a monster that's way bigger than them. Kinda makes me think of a Godzilla movie. And just like in that kind of movie, the secret is... I dunno, taking them out slowly? Or hitting this guy with the soldiers he's sending out. Using them as ammunition, or something like that. I mean, it's a better plan than what they were doing before, so this isn't too bad. I don't think it is.

Okay, yeah, it makes sense that they would just. Learn about what happened with Jugulis and adapt to it. In the meantime, Noctum is getting some... weird mental fog. I mean, it's been happening since the beginning of the chapter, I'm not sure why I haven't commented on it until now. Whatever, so this is a flashback for him? I mean, it looks like one, though a flashback that's kinda really tiny and only like, two paragraphs long each time. Unfortunately this thing is distracting Noctum enough that the poor guy can't fight properly. I doubt the Duraludon actually knows what's happening, but he sure doesn't waste an opportunity to keep attacking Noctum... and the rest of the rebels, of course. The one thing that helps them out is Vegna appearing. Man, it's been ages since I last saw this guy, and he's still... off. Not bad, just off. Like I can never tell what this guy wants to do. I mean, it's part of his charm, I guess, but still, that's something to think about. But on the bright side, that's a reinforcement, with some birds too. Surely this will actually help them out.

More things happen. Well, they're still fighting, and I feel like little by little they're actually making an effort int taking down this beast. It is tanky though, I mean, that much's obvious. What's more interesting is of course the fact that Noctum is still getting those visions. It almost feels like most of the cast has some kind of... I dunno, other self or something? I don't think that's the word for it, but in any case, Noctum has been having the flashbacks all through this chapter. So naturally it means something big is gonna happen to him soon. For the time being, he's just like Yuna a chapter ago, sucked into his own consciousness(?) while a cryptic figure is there with him. Two dragons experiencing similar things. Coincidence? Eh, probably not, but what do I know, right? Granted this one was a bit short and it ended with Noctum getting assaulted again, so it wasn't exactly like Yuna's own... subconscious or something. Anyway, whatever happened with Noctum actually managed to make him attack this dragon and, hurt him? Or at the very least, he's annoying the giant. Given that up until this point nothing was doing much against him, this is progress! I think. And then he wins, so yeah, progress after all. Noctum also gets a new look here, and it's another starry Pokémon. You're really putting all those adopts into use.

Back to Yuna for the moment, it seems. She didn't seem like she did much, but on the bright side she does have a good handle on the situation. Except for the part where she saw memories of another life, and now she doesn't know what to do with this information. In all fairness, it's a lot to take in, so... she has the right idea here. What's interesting here is that there's another flashback, which in turn is about Chiron now. Not much to say about it. For the last comment on this chapter... Necrozma's back. Well, he's somewhere, I'm not sure where yet, but hey, the guy is still kicking (obviously). Means he's gonna be making a move or two soon, and given people wanted to locate him, I think he'll likely locate them beforehand. He also seems aware that Yuna has more power now? Well, that's neat. Not exactly neat, but it's something else, I think. Still, another good chapter here.

Chapter 85​

Some log entries right at the beginning of the chapter. More things with Shane, I imagine, though the relevance of them escapes me right now. So, moving on to the chapter proper. Well, I guessed right, it was Ash all along! Ignore the fact I said it could be Red. Also, and this is a minor thing, but uuuuh, wow. A reference to those Ash betrayed fics? I'm not entirely sure what I expected, but it sure wasn't this. Anyway, for someone that was brainwashed and crazy, the guy sure looks better now. I guess all's well that ends well. In this case, they're all back to normal (save for the birds, who are not reverting to their normal selves). Though, this really is Ash. He's really calm even while explaining the whole thing about being betrayed. And honestly, I assumed team Rocket would be the one that would betray the deal. But nope, it's Gene, and honestly I kinda get why, team Rocket is an evil group, and he knows them (though not exactly this group of Jessie, James and Meowth). I mean, it's team Rocket, they get to do one thing at the end, and that's blasting off into the distance.

It's not uncommon for dictators, like Paradox, to see something bad happening and spin it around in order to make propaganda. What's interesting to me about this is that... he did it pretty fast? Like, it almost feels as if he figured that the rebels would win. Or maybe he's just that good of an emperor, and is able to patch holes into his reign without much effort. Which in turn makes our cast unable to fight back against him. They have been doing this for a while now, and... I'm not sure how they're gonna make a dent on Paradox's plans. Maybe it's not time for that just yet. There's still a lot of chapters remaining in the story, so I'm guessing something's gonna happen. What's important is that they're not planning on giving up, which is a good sign, at the very least. Also the king and queen really just went to bed right after the battle ended. I mean, good on them, I guess? I do appreciate that Noctum was worried about them. He's still just... a very cute goober. Now that it's all said and done, they should relax here. And maybe regroup. Yeah, regroup.

That's exactly what happens. Well, Yuna's been through a lot, and so did Noctum. Actually, everyone that's there went through a lot, except maybe Vegna. I mean "a lot" as in specifically the past couple of chapters, I'm sure Vegna went through more in... previous chapters, as well as in his life. Anyway, tangent over. What's important now is that they can try and chill a little. Or maybe not, because Yuna did have a lot of lore (TM) dropped into her, lore that everyone else should also know about. So... at least it means I get the abridged explanation about what happened during that chapter. Thankfully, because again, I'm dumb when it comes to this kind of stuff. The easier one is about the plates and needles. Obviously there's more to it than just explaining they're drawn to each other, but at least I feel like it's a good place to start, if any. Doesn't stop Vegna from wanting to pry more information out of Yuna, though. His methods sure are something. I'm not sure what, exactly, they are, but I mean, he gets results, so it's better than nothing? I don't like him all that much, even if he's a complex character.

Okay, okay, so there's even more important things now. Big things. Extremely important ones. Shane is back, and I mean, he was here before, but this is the real, proper appearance by him. And... Tama? I do remember him from Dodra, though I don't remember much. He's an Overseer here, which is nice. For the majority of this conversation I wondered why he was acting kinda... goofy? Like Shane, yeah, though not entirely like him. I guess I got used to the cryptic, cat Tama from Dodra. Anyway, given the reveal that he's another version of Shane, this does make the personality make a bit more sense. But more importantly, I think now Shane's actually gonna do things! I'm not sure what his goal here is, but he's a good guy, so I doubt it'll be anything bad. So, in the span of like, seven chapters, there was a lot of information revealed about the world. And I like all the lore that was told. It just makes me more curious about what the rest of the story. Only time will tell, really. But yeah, it's exciting. Wonder what's in store for the future.

Chapter 86​

Okay, cool, thank you Nikki, for making an abridged summary of all the important lore drops during that chapter. I'm really glad because now it makes more sense than before, so yeah, thanks for that. Anyway, another interesting bit here is that it isn't just Yuna that's... part of the quote unquote "real world". Some other people in the story are also part of that. Which, I imagine, would explain why Noctum has had those visions during the last chapter, and why his body changed so much in the fight. Though the point about why wait until now to actually do something does make sense. Maybe it was the only way that would work. Errr, well. Leo is an important piece in this puzzle too, so I guess the more he gets those plates, the more the mystery will unravel itself. Or something like that. I do appreciate that there's some focus on... well, everything that happened. A more quiet chapter, if that makes sense. It's better to read now when compared to before. It's amusing that despite all of this Nikki's concern hasn't actually been answered, and she's just been thinking about it while everyone else is dealing with Leo's... zoomer tendencies? Dunno how else to describe it. So the main thing Necrozma wants is more power, or... his light, to be specific? Okay, cool.

...Oh man. That's, uh, that's something else, huh? Yuna has a flashback, or vision, or memory, or whatever it is, and now it's more things with Tessa and Nickie. So, this is different from GL, I think. Because Tessa and Nickie weren't partners, it was Tessa and Shane. But hm, Nickie is trans, and that's an interesting thing here. I don't think she was in GL either? In any case, I didn't miss Shane being a prick for seemingly no reason, ratting her out to her dad? That's something he'd do in the beginning of the fic, I mean, he only really started to change after THAT chapter (you know the one, everyone knows the one). But anyway, this feels different from the story. Not bad, though. It's interesting to see a new side of Nickie. It's good to see that she's actually loved, and that she's in a body that she likes. Well, the girl part, not sure about the Vulpix part. But... it's good, isn't it? It's a nice feeling. I mean, probably. I'm not trans, but I am gay, so I can sorta understand the part about wanting to be your true, authentic self.

This is the bulk of the chapter. It's just... reassurance to Nickie. Reassuring her that everything's fine. Honestly, I felt like there was always some kind of wish fulfillment with PMD. I dunno, but to me, the idea of living in a world where they all exist had always been fun. In this case, it's like... a world where she can be herself. If not as a human, but as a Vulpix. There's something nice about that. Yeah, yeah, her body's entirely different, and there's some disadvantages to her new life, but at the same time, I don't think it's worse thant what she bad before. Though, despite this, I understand that Nickie would, sometimes, miss her old life. Or at the very least, it's likely she would think about that life. The point being that Nickie managed to survive through all of that, even as a human. She knew what she was, and she worked to make that a reality. Given Shane's mentioned, that's in the real world, and unfortunately, in our world, trans people are still... well, you know. You're in the US, you know how things are over there.

Tessa's a good friend. I mean, letting Nickie talk is one thing, but going as far as saying she wished she was strong is something else. Because there's a lot of different kinds of strength. She wanted to have the kind that Nickie had. Or... has? I'm not sure if she needs it now. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that at least Nickie has someone that supports her. A lot of someones. Which, yeah, makes it so she's in a better spot than she was before. That's something to take into consideration, right?

On the other hand, experiencing this memory made Yuna actually act like Tessa (which okay, she was her, I think). It just ocurred to me that Nickie, Nikki... and she showed up right as Yuna was remembering things. I'm sure there's nothing about this and it's just a coincidence. Or is it? Eh, probably not, but there's no proper confirmation here, so it's something for a future chapter, in the meantime, I'm sure Yuna will have a reasonable explanation as to why she was talking nonsense for a moment there.

Chapter 87​

Oh, we're starting right after the last one, huh? With Nikki and Yuna. Alright, then. Then let's see... I knew it wasn't a coincidence her name sounds just like Nickie, and it's also spelled almost exactly the same. So, going from a human, to a Vulpix, then to a Toxel... that's one hell of a development. And yet, I dunno, something about it feels like it fits her. I also like how Nikki is only telling this big part of herself to Yuna, and only Yuna. After all these chapters, they've certainly gotten closer to each other. It's adorable, really, that she has someone like Yuna to talk to. Although it did take some prodding from her before Nikki decided she should open up. And anyhow, her not remembering things does feel suspicious, while she herself knows this, she's still in denial about possibly having been a human, or a Vulpix. It's a big change to be honest, anyone in her situation would feel the same, so I don't blame her one bit. She's reacting like anyone would. Again, it's a good thing Yuna's there, since they are... closer. Hmmm, interesting, interesting indeed. I did think Nikki would've taken this a lot smoother, though. Her being mad about this is... also understandable. It's like, a big shock, and besides, she doesn't even know if it's actually true, but honestly, it might as well be.

I feel like Scarlett might have been waiting outside the door just waiting for an opportunity to get in the room. Case in point, the melody that Nikki played. It's kinda cute she'd recognize it from far away, in case she wasn't like, waiting. She probably wasn't. Anyway, now that the cat is out of the bag, everyone gets to talk about the fact that they all knew each other from before all of this. It's nice that they're all coming clean about it, but huh, it's kinda funny how they all went through this before. I dunno why, it's kinda funny to me. But... huh, I hadn't realized that Nikki is the only one that isn't "special". She's a regular Toxtricity, as far as she's concerned. Honestly she's probably more pissed off because of this. The whole thing about everyone there knowing each other probably isn't good for her mental health at the moment, but at the same time, I feel like Nikki should just... I dunno, suck it up? Probably not the proper word, but I dunno.

Hm. Nikki's being a surprisingly good voice of reason. I guess, given she's different from the others, she can also have a different perspective on things. Namely, that yeah, sure, it's fun and all to reincarnate, but they actually lost, so it's not like this is a good thing. They're probably... not that good at working together. Or at least, they weren't in all those previous lives. Something has to change here, the question is what that's supposed to be. And honestly, I can't think of anything else they can do differently. On the bright side, maybe they can see how they failed before, and maybe that way they could find a way to do better this time around? It's an idea, at least. And now poor Yuna is having a bit of a downer moment in terms of her self-esteem. She doesn't need to be Tessa, though. None of them are the people they used to be. That's important to understand, and that could even help them. Yuna already is different enough, since she doesn't wanna "merge" with Giratina. She's someone else, and she wants to be someone else.

It's good to see everyone trying to, uh, unwind from it all. I mean, that's probably the word for it. By playing truth or dare, or their version of it. Which is honestly just the truth part. Telling secrets about each other, to each other. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Not sure if it's a good thing either, it might just be... a thing, maybe. Anyway, it's neat seeing what they were all hiding. Shimmer's probably the funniest one, and then you have Igneous, who's just suddenly doing drag(?). I mean, he does rock the dress. It's good. It's a nice drawing. He's... pretty, honestly. The rest of the chapter is just this, then? The young adults having fun, enjoying themselves. I feel like, after everything that's happened, they all deserve it. We can probably call this the calm before the storm, so... yeah, it's nice. I like the chapter. It's not really a heavy lore chapter, not as much as the previous ones, but it's still pretty interesting. I guess seeing them act like the young adults they are is a nice change of pace. This cast is... full of goobers, honestly. Good job over there.

Chapter 88​

Okay, it starts in a hospital. That's something else. And hey, Seifer is there! The twink horse is still around, good to know. Though this starting scene is a bit odd to me. He's trying to help figure out what's up with all these unconscious people, which, I mean, fair enough. It feels a bit disconnected to me, though. And, apparently, Gene was the one that attacked them? The quick thing to notice is that he's apparently used Malice to attack them. Well, that's a bit concerning. But uh, okay, it's not a flashback, and Seifer just out there doing commander things. Even if he's not liking the use of this title anymore. Honestly, that's interesting to me. Like, he's... different. He's been through a lot throughout this story, so it's natural that he thinks like this. At the same time, I think he's more or less used to this being his new reality, and not being a commander anymore has become his status quo, so it being challenged, even as a side remark, can make him feel like this. I'm not sure why I'm putting so much focus on him. Maybe I like him more than I realized. Well, sounds about right.

Yay, more scenes with Cyril and Seifer. Something a bit more domestic? I was hoping for this kind of thing, even if this specific example is more like... Seifer wondering if he did something bad, while Cyril is there to be comforting. Yeah, given how Seifer is this was bound to happen. I do appreciate Cyril's attitude about this though, the guy must have some kind of experience with this situation. Maybe not the exact same, but something similar enough that he knows what to tell his boyfriend. On another note, the art for this scene is really cute. Seifer is very huggable here. Anyway, I forgot that Cyril has been in this for longer than Seifer does, and so his opinion on things is also a lot different than his boyfriend's. That's natural, though. They have conflicting ways of dealing with things, and neither is better than the other. But... that's also how they can get closer. Get closer to each other. I mean, I could say a lot about them, because as a couple I really appreciate the way they act. They're... cute, adorable, and other stuff. So yeah I'm just really happy to read scenes with them. All of them.

The scene continues, hooray! It's just them talking, but honestly, what's more interesting here is that Cyril is actually a damn smart guy. Being able to read Seifer so easily is a good skill to have. But honestly, Seifer isn't too secretive either. His personality does make it seem like his parents had something to do with it. He learned his values from someone, after all. But still, Cyril figuring it out is nice. I do understand why he doesn't exactly like how common this seems to be. I would also like to say that I imagine Cyril was thinking about how "Doctor Seifer" would look. Surely, it passed through his mind, even if it's for a split second. Anyway, yeah, I get it. He should come clean about his own stuff too. It's not entirely fair that only Seifer goes through that. And hey, this is talking. Actual conversation between people in a relationship! The trope of bottling feelings in ships is one I don't really like, or keeping secrets. Maybe I watched too many CW shows... well, it's good to see they're actually working on things, and that Seifer trusts his boyfriend enough to tell him that something isn't working.

Ah, he's a human. I remember hearing about it before, but I can't recall if this was mentioned in the fic, or if it was word of mouth. Either way, neat. Cyril is much better as a Zoroark though. And his issues are more... about identity, when compared to how Seifer's issues are about his personality. Although, honestly, these two things are related to one another. It's easy to make comparisons between these kinds of issues. I do appreciate they're working through it... and then they have to have a date night by watching Not!Star Wars.

And for the final part of the chapter, Xander. Doing... shady stuff. Well, he did hit rock bottom, so it's not like I can blame the guy. At least, not as much as I want to. Well, he's working for the bad guy of the story, but it's obvious he's just using them. So obvious that Paradox himself knows this. And... well, Xander is probably gonna want some revenge against his boyfriend. Who is, seemingly, a bottom. You know what, I believe it. Well, anyway, was a fun little chapter, and I'm saying this mostly because of the fox and horse being gay.

Chapter 89​

I kinda forgot that Yuna had siblings, lol. I think it's been so long since this was mentioned that I didn't think about it. But uh, yeah, now that she's a Dragapult she gets to do Dragapult things, like shooting them out of her... cannons. Not sure if that's how you call them, but yeah, that's what she wants to do. It's cute that she's doing it, and so naturally too. And now all her siblings wanna do it. Poor Yuna, having to deal with her strongest opponent: children. The solution to this issue is seemingly leaving it for someone else. And this means Nikki. So now it's "poor Nikki". I guess Yuna's still dealing with all the reveals. There was a whole chapter of her dealing with it to the best of her abilities, but it obviously isn't gonna go away in a single chapter. This stuff is... stuff for more than one chapter, lol. On the bright side, she's doing her best to deal with it. It's good that she's at least trying. Whether or not that has any result is a different story. But eventually, something's gonna happen, for better and for worse. Hopefully for the better, right? On the bright side, Nikki and Yuna are having a slumber party. Honestly the mental image of a younger Yuna having a slumber party is kinda cute, I wanna see it. It's... rather adorable, now that I think about it.

Noctum is having a normal time. Relaxing, maybe? Not as much as he probably wished he could, but... he's also too responsible to not think about what he can do to help people out. In this case, being there for Yuna's mom. However, what's next is weird. I'm not sure if it's Noctum or Yiazmat that had the visions, but whatever the case, what happens is that she kicks him out. So I'm guessing she must've remembered something that shook her enough to want to be left alone. And in the meantime, Noctum has more flashbacks. It almost feels as if, now that they know they're reincarnations, those visions are becoming more and more prominent. The knowledge is making them appear more. That does seem like a reasonable theory? In Noctum's case, his visions are related to the Sinnoh legends. I wonder why that's the case. If he's Palkia or Dialga. It would explain why he's close to Yuna (Giratina).

Alrighty, there's even more stuff with Noctum now. Specifically with him and Valkyrie. And this time around they get to have a nice chat with one another. It's... cool to see them talking, even if Valkyrie's being her usual rash self and trying not to show off her real feelings. But at the same time, the fact they're talking is an improvement. Like they're trying to figure out what the hell they're supposed to be. For someone like Noctum I feel like he'd see her as a friend a long time ago, but then again it's not like they had the time to really stop and think about things. At least, not until now, I guess. At the end of the day, she's someone that doesn't like getting close to people. Noctum's... someone else. And maybe for the first time in a while she can get close? They're sitting next to each other by the end of this scene, so I'd say that this did happen, and they did get closer. Well, that was nice to read. Noctum really is a goober. The best one, honestly. I'm not sure how I'd describe his development, just that I like how far he's come since the story started.

The next scene is a bit more intense, this time it's with Leo eavesdropping on a very important conversation Vegna and Gene are having. I'm on Gene's side here, by the way. I think he's making a good decision by not accepting what Vegna says at face value. Like, there has to be another way of doing things. He's also aware he might lose control. And honestly, it does seem like a possibility. He's doing fine for now, but who knows what's gonna happen later? It's a complicated thing to think about in the first place. And of course Leo wasn't like, hidden away. It was obvious that Vegna would know he's there. The dude has like, a sixth sense or something.

For the last part of this chapter, just Artemis deciding she's gonna train with Archie and Maxie. Well, it's better than sitting around doing nothing. Everyone in the rebel gang has something to add to the team, so feeling useless is a fine feeling. Hell, Nikki is going through something similar. In this case, Artemis is going off with two former evil team leaders. Archie's probably the better suited to train her.

Chapter 90​

Oh okay Nickie's getting to be a goth girl like she wants to be. I get the initial shock from Tessa, especially because I feel like she doesn't really "get" this kind of stuff, but she's still gonna be supportive of her friend. Partner, really. And now there's even more similarities between this goth girl and the other goth girl (aka Susie Deltarune). Well, I'm curious to see how this little plot point develops. I'm sure it'll be interesting either way! There's a lot of interesting bits and pieces of lore introduced in these flashbacks which I hope will be resolving soon. This introduction also fits in nicely with the other part of the chapter, which is, of course, Yuna going on a shopping trip. I'm slightly concerned about how easy Nikki stole Cyril's credit card, but given he's also not the most clean person, I guess it's fine to steal from him...? I'm also impressed by the fact that Yuna's okay with it. Well, she's not... okay okay with it, but she's also not against the idea. It's kinda funny to see her going along with it, though. I mean, it's with Nikki, so I guess it all fits nicely in the end.

Honestly this also feels like it's a chapter that's more of a... downtime than anything else. And honestly, that's fine. They should have the time to relax. Plus, it's mentioned that this is the first time Yuna goes in this kind of place, which is bound to make things funny. However, even in this more or less relaxed period, she's still having a short period where she's feeling nostalgic for it. Those memories deep inside of her really keep showing up. It's like someone turned the faucet on and forgot to close it, so now it's just... going and going and flooding the bath tub. I'm not sure where I came up with this analogy, but whatever. I am also slightly worried about what Shimmer is doing. I doubt he's like, running off into a trap or anything, but it does feel like a dumb idea. At the same time, though, they are his mothers, so it's understandable he'd want to check how they're doing. Even if, uh, one of them just wants his body for her own evil purposes. Yeah, that plot point is kinda scary, but for now it doesn't seem like it's happening. Which is... good? Bad? Concerning, at the very least. So the main thing the cast is gonna do this chapter is play hockey. Huh, hockey exists in this world. It's cute to see Igneous being teased too, though I think I remember him being attracted to Shimmer as well. Wow he's (possibly) bisexual, I didn't know that.

Alrighty, so now we have Seifer and his boyfriend again. Only this time Cyril is getting... I don't wanna say profiled, but it does look like it. By Cobalion and Terrakion, no less. Well, a member of their species, judging by the names. And relatives to Seifer, which honestly makes things a lot more awkward, then. Hey, on the bright side, at least they're not homophobic. Just... against Zoroarks that act suspicious. Okay, in their defense, Cyril is kinda being suspicious here, but at the same time, it feels like they're grasping for straws. They're right, but... well, I guess they're good at their jobs, good enough they can notice when a Zoroark is acting shady. Ignoring the fact they're all acting high and mighty because of it. To be fair, they're probably strong enough to warrant this kind of attitude, even if it's annoying. And this bit ends with a bit of convenience because some rowdy folks have just arrived on the scene. Also, Seifer got recognized. Uh oh.

Okay, Gene's deal makes a lot more sense now after this explanation. But... wow. He must have a serious level of self-control if it took him until Wyndon to actually have to tap into this power that he hates. He was forced to because of the circumstances, that much's obvious, but... man, what a poor guy. I feel sorry for him in a lot of ways. And he's still trying his best. The question then is if this will be enough or not. Obviously, I want it to be enough. They don't seem to end the conversation all that well, though. It could be better, but hey, they're trying, right? That has to account for something. And it's better than not doing anything. That's what I mean, they're... not not doing anything. They also got interrupted because of the pirates from the previous scene. Back with a vengeance, it seems. Not the worst thing in the world, but... that's one way to end a chapter. I doubt it'll take too much effort to send them flying.

Chapter 91​

Surprisingly the beginning of the chapter has some focus on Leo for a change. With the news of an anomaly, this kid just... decides to go after it by himself. Yes, it's dumb to go in without a plan, but what I feel is interesting is that he's very eager to go. He's a kid, mostly, but he's also smart enough to know that they don't have time. He's not just a kid is what I mean. There's more to him than just this. He's ready for action even if it means defying what the adults in the room are telling him to do. And to be fair, in the end of this scene, he does find Nikki and Yuna, so he's not running off alone, but at the same time, he was willing to do it. That's proof enough that he's a rebel like the rest of the cast. Well, there were other proofs like him accompanying them on missions and all, but it's also nice to see him have the iniative. It's also obvious that Noctum would be worried, like he always is. Bit surprised Valkyrie didn't agree with Leo and decided to go with him, but even she has her limits, I guess.

The pirates have quite literally crashed the party, but at least they did it before Igneous and Nikki got on each other's throats. Not that I think they would get to that point, but maybe if they kept going the way they were, it'd happen. Anyway, I had kinda forgotten about these pirates. Again, it's been a while, I didn't remember they were even in the story in the first place. So they're back now, only this time around they seem more prepared. Or as prepared as pirates can be. Which honestly is way more than before. Like, they're actually using X-Transceivers now! That's gotta count for something, right? Right. Yuna's also way quicker to jump into action. I don't know, it feels like she's doing it faster than before. Honestly, good for her. There's also an anomaly here, which, if not made by the pirates, means this is one hell of a coincidence. Or good timing. Well, bad timing given the cast was out there to relax and stuff. This time around they're not really prepared and are taken by surprise. Still, it can't be that bad... it's just some pirates, I doubt they're evil masterminds like Paradox is.

Oh shit, there's more than one anomaly. Somehow I thought the one Leo was in was the same one as this chapter's. Again, Yuna's there to do things. Only she's summoning Rayquaza (the mental image of a big shiny dragon getting volleyball'd by giant fruit is amusing, I gotta say). This scene is also a bit chaotic, so talking about it feels chaotic as well, though I'll do my best. There's a lot going on, but despite this Yuna still finds the time to stop and look at something she recognizes. Or someone, I guess. All of this just so she can get them some help. To be fair, it's always good to have more people to help in these... raids? Raids is what I'm going for. While they did manage to handle this anomaly pretty fast, Vince is not the same guy as he was before. It's like he lost his memory or something. Or maybe he's panicking. Could be both, too. So he's not exactly being much help at the moment. Still, being with them might be better than wherever he was before. The lesser of two evils is what I'd say about it.

Ah, now I remember who he is. The junior Overseer that is actually kinda useless at the moment. Because the other anomaly is still growing, and things are only getting worse from this moment onwards. Uuuh, okay, cool. They're in a pretty tight spot, with a crazy Ceruledge close to them, who's probably gonna strike them, and strike them hard, if he was able to defeat a Paradigm member. They did it too, but... that just means this sword guy is on a level of power next to them. Maybe even more. No clue how they're getting out of this one. It's a cliffhanger, yeah. It's more about how they're winning, rather than if they will or not. I might've mentioned this before. Whatever. So our current "team" is Yuna, Nikki, Leo and Vince. Out of them Nikki is the weak link, though like she says, there's probably something she can do. Even with this in mind they're gonna need some serious strategy to pull it off... not much more I can say here. I do think this was a bit too fast-paced, but despite that it was fine to read. Exciting, tbh. Always fun to see the anomalies.

Chapter 92​

Well, it sure took some time for the Stuff(TM) that happened to Seifer to actually catch up with him. By that, I mean that his father is now belittling him. For, I dunno, reasons. He's only been here for a bit and I already hate the guy. I mean, he's fine with Seifer dating a guy, just drawing the line on the boyfriend being a Zoroark. He's just a bitter old man, I guess. Well, on the bright side, Seifer is confident enough (or at least pretends to be) that he can tell his dad to shut up. It's... brave of him, especially considering that they're currently being attacked. Sure, the pirates aren't actually going for them, but it's still an invasion. And the rational way to look at this is to focus on the bigger problem, and then deal with his father later. It's rational, yeah. I do feel a bit sorry about Cyril, though. I mean, the poor guy has been through a lot, and now his father-in-law meets him and the first thing the guy does is just complain, and complain, and complain. I mean, that's gotta sting, right? Even if Cyril has a lot of cynicism in him.

So the idea of letting this go until things calm down around them was kinda tossed aside. Well, it was a suggestion that was even made in the story, which says... something, I'm not sure what. Okay, okay. Cyril, you are adorable. Going out of your way to support your boyfriend and shit talk his family is fucking great. Though, honestly, Seifer also has a point. They really can't be doing it right now. Still, everything that Cyril said is true, and the Swords just have such a ridiculous concept of honor and duty that they ignore everything. They're... controlling, really. Controlling Seifer so he'd be their version of a perfect son. Or nephew. He's not that, though. He makes mistakes, and honestly so do they. The only problem is that at least Seifer acknowledges his mistakes and tries to stop himself from making them again. These guys are just spouting mean words and going as far as attacking Cyril (which is kinda pointless given he's a ghost, but it's not like they knew that). In other words, this is a family feud. While the rest of the town is being invaded by pirates. I can't exactly call it good timing. I do wish his father would realize how badly he's treating his own son.

Okay, there are more characters to be introduced here. A Zoroark, Mewtwo. Both at once. Okay, that's... interesting. Again, you're really making use of all these adopts (I'm assuming it's another adopt). The way he speaks is different, but it's fine and understandable. Now they're in the Blueberry Academy, huh? Okay, these guys really go places. They travel a lot. The problem, much like with the stadium, is that the core is deep inside this dome. Once again the core is inside a human structure. I'm wondering if there's any meaning behind that, or if this is a coincidence. I can't really tell at this point. Still, interesting how it happened again. Something something two nickels. Anyway, the Zoroark/Mewtwo is mostly someone that seems to act on his own, without wanting any help from Overseers. He certainly seems powerful enough to not need them, so the guy might have a point. I still think Vince might be helping out, if only Grishi let go of the... hatred, I guess? Or distrust of them. Vince's a good guy, he's just not that strong.

No actual fighting here, honestly. Just people talking, strategizing really. And honestly a good chunk of it is just Vince whining about his inability to do anything. In all fairness the one that brought him there in the first place was Yuna, so in a way, she's sorta responsible. I do agree they should question him and see if they can find anything useful to them. But maybe in a less aggressive manner than what Nikki's trying to do. Uh, she should probably chill for a bit. Maybe seeing him talk about being useless reminds her of herself, and she kinda dislikes that? Anyway, they have a reluctant ally in the sense that Grishi is there and he's gonna help them out, but he's not too interested in the Overseers. Honestly, the Overseers can be kinda dicks so I see his point. And unsurprisingly, things seem to be going from bad to worse here, with not just one but two Whispers. Three plates, two Whispers. Honestly it's pretty interesting. Nothing else in this chapter, so as usual, another case of you doing a good job. I do wanna say I wish Seifer kicked his dad in the face, but eh. We can't all be winners.

Chapter 93​

Okay, so once again the chapter is springing right into action, which is more than fair. Despite not knowing much about this guy, and thinking he's like, made of clay or something, Yuna is able to formulate a plan pretty quickly! Or I should say Shaymin did that, because that's the one that did most of the thinking. Getting shot at by her must be weird... and I also kinda wanna read the skydiving thing with him and Rayquaza. I dunno, it just seems fun. But yeah, they don't have anything that's particularly effective, in terms of type. Hell, Nikki's at a double disadvantage here, and at least on the bright side she seems willing to try anyway. That's what I like about her, she's always doing stuff, even if she doesn't fully understand it. More importantly, Zodiark's there (also the thing at the beginning of the chapter about Zodiark was kinda creepy, gotta say). And they're also calling Yuna that other, long name. It's interesting how quickly Yuna gets recognized as that other creature. She did take some of its power, so there's that, but even before she was already being recognized as someone else. This only like, exacerbates it in my opinion.

Yuna is deep in the battle, but like every encounter with Zodiark, she's basically being told cryptic stuff that she obviously doesn't understand. That was already a thing before, so it's pretty much the same here as well. Only this time around instead of fighting her, the Whisper takes a different approach and just. Runs away. Okay, that can be a strategy as well, though it does give me a funny mental image. Still, I guess there's a point in not fighting it because it'll only make things worse, and Zodiark might not want that? It's a bit hard to understand (for me, personally), though I do like this decision. The plan is just to break the dome and kill all the people inside because of the immense pressure. Yuna, obviously, can't do that, so she has to follow Ting-Lu. And fight it, which is also not a good idea because in this case she might be the one that breaks the dome and dooms everyone inside this place. I think this one's a bit more intense than the Wyndon anomaly, probably because I'm a bit scared of drowning to death, so this kinda sticks with me.

It took me some time before I realized that Leo was talking to Kieran. Until the mention of the ogre. But uh yeah, this is in Blueberry, so it's fitting that he'd be there. And he's ready to beat the crap out of Gilgamesh! At least he wants to do that. Though Leo is also there, talking to the little edgelord (I appreciate that Kieran's talking like a competitive player). Wanting to help him out would be more efficient, especially when you take into consideration what happened in Wyndon. But Kieran's still too stubborn. I don't know if the SV protagonist is here, but in any case, he's probably not gonna be doing much against a Whisper even if he's stronger than before. The solution to his issue is to fight Leo. I'm honestly surprised that, right at the beginning, Leo is just getting trashed. Well, he's stronger, but I suppose Kieran has a point. Leo hasn't actually had any training in his life. He wouldn't be able to do much against a proper Pokémon trainer. He could still try, though, and tenacity is one hell of a thing. Doesn't mean he's actually winning, though. Plus, he's fighting against multiple opponents at once.

Alright, through the power of him being some Arceus thingy, Leo actually manages to win! And honestly I was expecting Kieran to have a breakdown over this. Guess not, but I didn't want him to have that. Though what he says about Gilgamesh does feel weird. Not just a Ceruledge but a Ninetales as well. And Gilgamesh just wants a strong fight, so what, he's a Saiyan or something? It does feel different than your normal Whisper. Less rampaging monster and more like... hyperfocused on one specific thing. Which, in this case, is beating people up until he has his battle. At least Kieran is actually working with Leo now. Still hesitant to try it out, but in the end he accepted the idea.

The last bit is with Igneous and Scarlett... and actually talking to the pirates. I dunno why but I like them. Maybe because there's a Tyrantrum involved and I love Tyrantrum. So, something's up with their communicators, and Igneous already assumes this means Xeromus is around. Any sign of him is a... bad sign. So now he's running off to save them. You go there, lizard twink. You go and save your friends.

 

[Navar]

Aaaand here's the second part of this review (I started writing this part on the Sunday, which is another reason I cut it off, due to the week 2 stuff applying only here)

But I'm still gonna write some more reviews after this one, hopefully :v

Chapter 94​

Hm, okay, it's not as chaotic as I thought it'd be, honestly. So far, it feels pretty chill. Or at least, more chill than I thought. It's alright though, and now Grishi is back. He was out there helping Nikki, like the good guy he is. Good on him for showing some initiative! And again Ting-Lu is running off, which it was already doing before... feels different this time though. It's basically making cannons, so now the cast has to stop it from breaking the dome. That was their goal before, but now the clay guy is making more of an effort. Or at least it felt that way to me, but it's whatever. It's all cool, no problem about it. It does raise the stakes a bit, I'm not sure why. It feels like the bombing makes it more difficult for them to fight back and stop it from killing everyone in there (unless Yuna is like, already dead or something). They are having a hard time, but at least it's like they're actually putting in the effort. Doesn't matter if it's hard, they're actually trying! And there's the looming threat of the Ruination attack. I don't actually remember what it does, though...

Well, the good news is that Yuna actually has some useful idea in how to fight this guy. I don't entirely understand the plan, but hey, if it works, it works. Like before, Zodiark is still taunting Yuna. For all their talk, that seems to be the only thing they can actually do. Talk things out, threaten, be cryptic. I'm sure it's not the only thing they'll do across the story, but... it's what they're doing so far. And I guess possessing Whispers. On the other hand, this is one less to worry about, though there's still the crazy, battle-lusted Ceruledge on the other side. Which is their other issue. I like that, for all this time, Yuna completely forgot about Leo, only for her to be reminded that he's a child and he's likely gonna do something incredibly stupid and get himself killed by fighting someone that's much stronger than him. Which naturally means that Yuna is running like a torpedo to find her kid. I don't blame her for forgetting, she was highly stressed and only after handling the situation does she have the energy for this. Also, novice reverser, huh? Wonder what that is.

Gilgamesh is kinda funny. Like, he's just standing there, next to a trash can, complaining about the fact that he's not exactly finding what he's looking for. He's also from another world, though that much was obvious. Still, it feels like he was specifically looking for a world where he could find a strong opponent to battle. Like, he hasn't found that, maybe it'd make him realize something. Though he still seems eager enough to fight Kieran, even if he beat Kieran before? Honestly he's kinda cringe but also he's kinda cool. I'm not sure why but he's... neat. He's like, a theater kid or something. He wants to have a proper battle, so having it be done somewhere scenic would also be cool to him, so yeah, accepting the offer to do it elsewhere works well enough. And after all this time, Gilgamesh finally gets to have the battle that he's looking for. I'm not entirely sure what his deal is, but I really hope he's not a side character, because I'm here for him. He's starting to become a favorite please please don't be a one-off character pleaaaaase. Drama aside, he's pretty cool and I like him.

Alright, more of the fight. Leo and Kieran are both losing the fight, which would be bad, except that Leo, maybe due to him being a kid, actually knows that Gilgamesh is some kind of theater kid that's trying to show off to an audience. The kinda guy that likes puns, and would enjoy himself in a battle, because that's the point! The point is that he wants to have fun, and these two are there exactly for that. Well, they're playing pretend and it's making them have a much better shot at fighting this guy. Who's also showboasting. Using four swords, naming them after weapons? I feel like this guy is a reference to something (I know he has the name of a knight, but more than that) though I have no clue what that would be. But hey, it takes Leo some time but he actually manages to defeat him! Good for him, honestly. I'd say this is some kind of character development for him, but I'm not sure.

...Oh, okay, I just read the almanac. I knew he was some kind of reference, but I have never played any Final Fantasy game in my life, so it passed right by me. At least you explained at the end. I still wish he'd show up more though.

Chapter 95​

You could probably call these three the peanut gallery. They're not actually in this mission, so instead of doing anything too important they're basically just. Standing there. I wouldn't say relaxing, for obvious reasons. Like, they're there and they're discussing what to do, because right now the only thing they can do is wait. It must feel like forever, honestly. Though they won't have to; since once the anomaly is gone Noctum can actually rift and go there. You know, he's certainly gone places, this goober of a dragon. Ignore me talking about him, I just find him too cute to not say anything about him. Sorry about that, so anyway. The goal is to go there and... maybe help people out? I imagine things aren't entirely done in the mission, so on the bright side, it looks like the trio is gonna be able to do something! If only they didn't stop to grab something to eat. Well, that's not too much of an issue, I mean, you can't exactly fight with an empty stomach, so if nothing else they're at least taking care of their health. But uuuuh, I feel like the clock's still ticking, so hopefully this won't be too long.

So we're cutting to the worried mom and her son—does that make all Yuna's siblings Leo's uncles and aunts? That's something to think about. Or maybe not! As expected, Yuna's first reaction is to scold Leo for being reckless. I mean, he was there, and he solved the issue (with Kieran's help), but I think she's right in the sense that it was still a bit dangerous of him to go there and try it. But at the same time, Leo also had a point. I guess in the end, both of them have their points. Neither is particularly right here, and I like that, in the end, Yuna wanted him to learn from the experience. As for the plates... that's more cryptic stuff. Kinda creepy too, or maybe it's creepy to me, I dunno. Despite what they just talked about, Leo is still planning on acting on his own. I also just wanna point out that Yuna kinda got used to the whole "being a mom" idea. Well, she's certainly experiencing a rebellious teenager. Or... a ten-year-old? Something like that. Still, this poor girl. I feel like she's been through a lot over the course of this story.

For the next scene, we have Seifer and his boyfriend again. Also Artemis. Now, in terms of anomalies, this one's... well, it's weird. It's turning everything into fruit, which is weird enough on its own. But hey, at least it doesn't seem to affect people? Well, Pokémon, but you get what I mean, they don't seem to be undergoing that, which is a good point, amidst... whatever this dungeon is all about. So Seifer is there to help everyone evacuate, going as far as telling them that he's a commander. Honestly, I don't know if he likes this or not, but I feel like he wouldn't be able to deny that he had some respect and some power over people, enough to make them move. He also still has the intensity to carry it out (also as a note I imagine Cyril was probably kinda interested in Seifer having this attitude, I'm sorry I love them so much a). Though thankfully it seems Gene was able to teleport a bunch of people away, so now the only real issue they're having is... well, how to handle the anomaly. They've done this a bunch of times before, I'm sure they can do it again. They gotta do it, right?

Naturally, things have to get worse before they can get any better. First, Xeromus is back, hooray. I don't remember the last time I saw him, but uh, welcome back, I guess. Another important thing about this is Seifer getting his own pair of visions. Creator and Palkia mentioned... so he's Dialga, probably. Xeromus' words about what Seifer used to be and what he is now are also interesting, like he hasn't changed much. I can't tell, because I don't know how he was before. I do hope at one point Xeromus can be Nova again, though honestly I kinda doubt it. But we'll see, I guess. What does happen is Seifer getting to fight as much as he could. Everyone gets pushed to their limits in the story, it seems. Not that there's anything wrong with that, though it is a bit amusing to me. The art at the end of the chapter is also really good. But oof, poor Seifer. Honestly, a lot of characters here suffer a lot. I hope they get their happy ending once the fic is wrapped up. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

Chapter 96​

It's finally time to go back to igneous! He was pretty desperate the last time I saw him, and honestly it was for a good reason. Xeromus showing up is always a sign of trouble, plus, he met the guy before (from what I remember). I know he was a Volcarona before, though now I'm wondering what that has to do with him being half Salazzle now. Or maybe you just thought the design would look cool (which it does). Once they do find Cyril, Nova/Xeromus is... being his usual self. I do appreciate that despite everything, Gene is sitll trying to reason with him. Well, I say reason, but he sees Nova and the first thing is yell at him and ask what he did. I wouldn't exactly call that reasoning, but... it's better than going for the kill straight away. Still, the situation is pretty bad. Seifer is knocked down, hurt, and yeah, Nova does have something to do with it. He might not have caused it directly, but his words and all the taunting sure had an effect on Seifer. In a way, he IS responsible for this. Just not directly, I suppose. It's still not a good thing, obviously.

Gene's reaction to all of this is a lot more intense than I expected. But I think it's not unwarranted, because in a previous chapter, he already mentioned that it was becoming a struggle to keep this part of himself at bay, and honestly seeing one of his friends seemingly dead is... well, it sure would be enough to make anyone angry. In Gene's case, the anger is enough that he's struggling to keep himself in check. Igneous doesn't know the full context, only Vegna and Leo do. So in his mind, he's seeing his friend losing it with no reasoning as to why that's happening in the first place. Which would be scary. Gene also seems a lot more... nihilistic is the word for it? Cynical, maybe. The point is that he's already assuming that Seifer died here, and instead of finding a way to bring him home he's just accepting that Seifer is gone and there's nothing they can do to save him. That's... different, I wanna say? Maybe seeing Nova set him off further, and he's acting this way because of it. It's more likely it's a combination of factors. Either way, it's creepy. And a bit scary.

On the bright side, Igneous' insistence that they shouldn't go rushing into things does seem to have gotten into Gene. But even this isn't exactly helpful in the end. It's like things are only getting worse. I can see that the stakes for this chapter are high as well. They have to get out of there, because if Seifer is left in the state he's in, then he really is gonna die. Well, everyone seems to think he's dead already, so I'm sure that's not a good look. Still, like I said, things only get worse. Xeromus can, somehow, summon Zamazenta. It doesn't surprise me. And behind all the madness that Xeromus has, he also feels like he... believes in what he's doing. I do wonder if Nova's gonna return at one point. I really wish he does. Because for a brief moment, Xeromus doesn't even talk in that distorted (bolded) voice. So I have to assume that's Nova and not the crazy guy using his body. Maybe the way to get him to take control would be to make him question his loyalties and what he wants to do. It's... an idea, maybe? But the characters have yet to think of something they could do to help him out.

Hmmm, alright, I'm piecing it together slowly. Nova is... there, I think, though Xeromus is still very much the dominant one here. And he keeps saying the same thing, over and over again. For a moment there it almost feels like Nova is the one that believes in what Xeromus stands for. I'm confused, though that might just be a "me" thing, and not indicative of the story. Still, I felt like it was worth a mention here. It doesn't change much, seems like Gene has an idea of how to save him. And for the next and final scene of the chapter, with Leo striking a deal with a Ninetales. Shane, it's Shane. I mean, that's obviously him, right? I don't see who else it could be. So now Vince is part of the gang, more or less. Grishi helped them out a bit more than I thought. He's a good guy, all things considered. He has his reasons for hating the Overseers. I mean, those guys are a bit difficult to deal with. Guess we'll be seeing more of him, though. That's nice.

Chapter 97​

Shimmer has been mentioned a couple of chapters before, so now seems like a good time to see where he is and what he's doing. From the way he's saying it, it doesn't seem like he's fully in the side of the rebels. Well, I guess survival is a motivator, isn't it? And I'm sure he doesn't want his mom to take over his body and use it however she wants. So, for the time being, Shimmer's idea is to meet up with Demerzel, somewhere where they won't be disturbed, I imagine. That's an issue in of itself, but for the time being they are alone. I guess this is more like... they want to regroup and discuss what their next goal is. Or something like that. Though there's more important things. A prisoner that, seemingly, is gonna make a prison break? Well, that's ominous, and Demerzel is... also a character that likes to be ominous. Or likes to show off his smarts. Either way, he's warning them about this, for some reason. It's obvious he wants to come out on top at one point, so this might be part of his plans. The question is how it all fits in the grand scheme of things. I doubt the prisoner is his partner, anyway.

It's obvious he's manipulating Shimmer, I mean, it was clear before. He's telling Shimmer what he wants to hear, and I know Shimmer isn't stupid enough to blindly believe what this guy is saying. At the same time... he does have a good point. Shimmer should be helping those people out. Well, he is a prince... so he should do it, it's like, important stuff that he should be doing. And yeah, Shimmer knows that too. Like I said, he's not stupid. He knows it's important. Hey, on the bright side, Shimmer isn't doing this alone. It's like... he has backup, and enough that it might be easier for him to handle the prisoner, whoever they are. So his backup are a bunch of athletes, and not like, guards. Demerzel might have picked the wrong people to help him, but... does Shimmer even have a choice? I mean, this group is gonna go there and help him, on Demerzel's orders... I'm sure he knows what he's doing, but even then, it's not the brightest idea in the world. And with that in mind, surely things will be fine, right? They don't seem to have a lot of time to think about that... the battle is upon us, I guess.

Oh yeah, Vortex. It's been a while since he showed up, and now he's way stronger than before. The distorted voice as well as the fact he's melting things around him sure makes him seem like a viable threat. I thought he died the last time he showed up, but clearly that's not the case lol. And once again we're having a kaiju battle, only this one is a more appropriate use of kaiju, given the giant dragon running around causing havoc. He's of course losing it. Wanting to kill Isola? Well, that's not a bad thing. However Vortex is only thinking about it, with such a narrow focus that everything else seems pointless in front of him. I do wanna say he llost everything and that kinda makes his reaction understandable, but... well, he's destroying the entire city. Nothing's gonna be enough to justify this kind of nonsense. And Shimmer is in the middle of it all, trying to save this place. It's... obvious he's gonna be able to, in the end, but that doesn't mean it's not gonna be difficult, because it sure as hell is gonna be difficult.

Ah, how convenient of Vegna to show up right when he was needed. Though I feel like he also made Vortex pissed off just by being there. Well, he did, so... maybe showing up wasn't that great of an idea. And Vortex continues to lose his grip on reality, all because of what I assume are delusions of power. He's so fixed on this idea that he's the one in charge that he... well, the result is what's happening in this chapter. The guy is out of his mind.

And it only gets worse once Noctum arrives. The reaction from Vortex is similar to the one he had with Vegna, except I feel this one is more accentuated. I do like how nonchalant Noctum is about this entire thing. I guess he doesn't have time to deal with Vortex's nonsense. And hey! He's also getting more of Palkia's power. Neato.

The scene at the end is also creepy. Isola turns her own wife into a robot. She can do that, apparently. I'm sure this will have no consequence whatsoever (obviously joking here). We'll see where this leads.

Chapter 98​

...Oh, wow. I'm not entirely sure what to say here, at the beginning. I still have to say something, obviously. So... Seifer wasn't knocked out. He was dead. He died, then and there. It's... huh, okay. Okay, okay. Breaking in the bad news is obviously one hell of a job. Cyril is honestly taking this better than I expected. Like, I thought he was gonna throw something in the walls, or punch something, or someone, or cry, and while he's not doing any of those things he's still obviously shaken up by the news. Honestly, yes, everyone is, but Cyril's his boyfriend. He's the one that is hurting the most. And the fact that Seifer's dad said he was dead to him, right before all of this happened... that's dramatic irony at its finest. It's almost like he cursed Seifer and had this happen to him. I know it's not the case, but the coincidence is right there. It's damn miserable, isn't it? And here I spent a bunch of chapters talking about how much I like Seifer. It took me by surprise, but I dunno. I feel like he's not gonna stay dead forever. It wouldn't be the first time someone had a miraculous resurrection (Igneous is what I had in mind).

Yeah, Noctum would also be on edge. But he's saying things that don't make much sense. Well, he's saying "Time", and he's Palkia, while Seifer had visions of Dialga, so putting two and two together and you have this. It's reasonable to say that he's losing it. Not just because a friend died, but because Dialga died, or... something. I don't know it yet. Well, given all that's happened they didn't even have the time to consider that Noctum also has a different appearance now. It probably isn't the highest priority at the moment. So now Yuna has to deal with this as well, along with dealing with Seifer's death. I don't think she was particularly close to him, but also, she's a bit sheltered. This might be the first time she sees someone she cares about dying, and yet Yuna's still trying to maintain her usual attitude. It's obviously not gonna work, but at the very least her effort is commendable. Still, there's a LOT going on right now. And I'm still sad that Seifer died! Leo is also nowhere to be seen, so I'm assuming he's also going through a tough time because of Seifer. Reasonable.

Interesting. The chapter is exploring more how Yuna's dealing with this, rather than Cyril. I'm not sure why, but well, she is the main character, so it's fine, I guess. Well, since she's the focus here, I guess I'm talking about her. Her emotions are surprisingly, I dunno, hollow? It's like Yuna doesn't know what to feel. She doesn't wanna deal with it, and she's aware that this thing they're doing had its risks. But I guess seeing someone actually dying is enough to put things into perspective. And that's one hell of a perspective. Said perspective is also less about Seifer, and more about herself. She's putting the focus on herself, which is fine, though I dunno, one of her teammates died. Well, in her case, her worries are more about losing herself. That's fine, that's... a worry that's in line with all that she knows about Giratina. It makes sense, then, that having a death in their group would make her consider what would happen to her, were Yuna to die. It's enough to make anyone scared. And honestly, her emotions are all over the place. It's warranted.

Vegna showing up is fine enough, and honestly he's the last person that I expected to try and comfort Yuna. In his own, cryptic way. The more important thing about this is uh, the fact that he's Bahamut. I thought he was Bahamut's kid? Idk, well, that's a twist I didn't see coming. But it also feels obvious at the same time. He does seem like someone that has a lot of regret. I'm a bit confused, but I guess more details are gonna come soon, or at one point. I just gotta... read more, I guess. That's fine though.

Okay, on the bright side, the last scene is more... cute than anything else. Wow, Igneous is bisexual, I kinda knew that. Crushing on three different people at the same time is crazy work though. And Shimmer is also crushing on Igneous. In his defense, Igneous is rather... handsome. Honestly I was half expecting these guys to enter a poly, but I think Shimmer is just gay and not bi. Oh well, at least they seem to be relaxing... or as relaxing as they can be, given the fact that Seifer is gone. So overall, a rollercoaster of a chapter.

Chapter 99​

There's something really ironic about this first bit. Nickie wondering what life would be if Shane was the one sent to this world instead of her. And uh, that already happened. We already know what life would be. Something really different. And she had a point, describing how Shane was in Guiding Light perfect. It's kinda cheeky to have a reference like this, but then again, this fic is a sequel, so it's the least that could happen here. Honestly the flashbacks are cute. I almost wonder if Nickie and Tessa would get to be a couple in this... previous life.

Okay, the chapter properly starts right after that big revelation in the previous one. The other big revelation is the number of Needles left, and that Isola has something to do with this... huh, there really are a lot of villains in this story. I do like how they're connected, so it doesn't feel like they're just getting tossed around like this. Either way, Vegna had his reasons for hiding the truth, I guess. But now that it's all coming out, I'm sure they're not gonna be keeping any secrets. Surely, I mean. I do wonder if this is a weight off his shoulders.

There's a lot of reveals here. Well, I say reveals, but Vegna is just saying some stuff. I think the first thing that comes to mind when you have reincarnation is that, at one point, members of the same family will no longer be related. Yuna, for example, reincarnated from Vegna's wife, while Leo was his kid. Except now they're not. Well, Leo still considers Yuna his mom, but Vegna doesn't have this sentiment towards her. As for Leo, I'm not sure. He calls Yuna "mom", but I don't even remember if he met Vegna outside of that scene with Gene. So I don't think these three are a proper family. It's just another way of having Yuna get truth after truth tossed out at her. The sentence of truths crushing her is repeated a lot, but so far that hasn't happened yet. Maybe Yuna hasn't received a truly earth-shattering reveal, and maybe that's gonna happen soon. Or maybe not, it's not like I know. As for Vegna, even he doesn't have a full grasp of what actually happened to all of them. That seems to be the big mystery of this story... and I'm sure there's gonna be an answer soon.

Oh wow, Vegna's backstory is a lot more... interesting is not the proper word, but I'm going to use it. Anyway, his story is interesting. Given the ending of one of the previous chapters, it's already known that Bahamut is an alternate Shane, so with Vegna describing that he fought another Necrozma he found similar to himself, it's clear he fought Shane. He also met the Overseers there, and that's how he managed to have the idea to create his own world. I'm following along better than I expected to be. This stuff is kinda complicated, but I'm understanding it, I think. So his new body is also rather fragile... and the solution to that was necromancy? Well, interesting, interesting. With this in mind I think I have a bigger appreciation of him than I did before. It's like I know more about Vegna now (I mean, I do). Just... man, does anyone in this setting have a healthy, normal life? I don't mean it as a shade, I just think it's kinda funny how that happens. And after all of this, after all the explanations, Vegna's solution to their problem is to tell them to kill Necrozma. He describes it as pragmatic, which I guess is something that hasn't changed about him.

Go, Yuna. Teach this old man a lesson. Knock some sense into him. Is this the girlboss in her? Heheheh. Maybe. So after all this time of people constantly telling Yuna what she should do, it's no wonder the girl just... explodes here. She explodes, but at least she's not like, going out of her way to attack people, even if she's obviously upset about everything that happened, as well as all she heard. She's... done with it, really, and I don't blame her for it. And she also gets high with Nikki, something that I'm not surprised happens. I like their relationship, it's cute how Nikki looks out for her, and a bit different to how they started out as. Character development, you love to see it! So Leo has another mom now, interesting.

Final scene just has Gene recruiting some people, as well as a mention that Cyril is in the medical bay. You know, he barely showed up in this chapter, so I'm guessing the next one is gonna have... a lot of angst. I should probably prepare myself for that.

Chapter 100​

Well, that's a downer way to start a chapter. Someone would take the blame for Seifer's death. And this is even more apparent with Artemis. Him and Seifer didn't seem to get along all that well, but it's not like Artemis hated the guy (at least, it doesn't seem like it). So being faced with his death when it was basically his fault does kinda make him consider what the hell happened. The Aussie dog (who's also a Zygarde, apparently, that's cool) nearby is trying to comfort him, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. However, what does happen is that Artemis gets some kind of epiphany because of this. A way that might save Seifer, which is all cool and all, but it's only a "might". There's no real guarantee that this will actually happen. Though I think that, if anyone can do it, it's probably Leo. The dude is kinda powerful, and I'm saying this knowing it's one hell of an understatement. It's also a shot in the dark, and maybe it's motivated by grief, and guilt as well. I do have... some knowledge about a cosmog/keldeo hybrid you have, which honestly it's a spoiler, but I'm only judging it by what's actually written here, and so I'm hoping it all works out!

Like I thought, Cyril is a big part of this chapter. And his reaction to Seifer's death is, at first, no reaction. It's like he's calm, but holding back so he won't break in half because of what happened. But honestly, it doesn't take much before he's actually mad and angry, or bitter, or sad, or all those things at once. And for good reason. His boyfriend just died, he doesn't want to talk to anyone, doesn't wanna do anything. It wouldn't take much to have him fall into depression. The grief is just that big. The only one around him is Widget, and... I'm not entirely sure how comforting Widget could be. Or if comfort is what Cyril needs at the moment. He's also acting like Artemis, in the sense that Cyril blames himself. Again, it's for a good reason. Cyril must be considering all the things that he said, all that he did, and wondering what he could have done different. That's what grief does. Well, it's what I think, I haven't experienced it myself. But this scene does feel pretty realistic from what I know about grief.

Continuing on with this scene, Leo has already been found by Artemis, so now we have four characters here, all trying to figure out how they're going to resurrect Seifer. Cyril is surprisingly into this idea, but it makes perfect sense—he has the chance to get his boyfriend back, why wouldn't he be interested in it? But this is complicated. It might take a bit more effort to get Seifer back, though. This is a resurrection, so it can't be too easy, but not too hard either. The first part is easy enough—big crystal that might have Seifer's soul trapped inside. But once they do deal with that, someone else gets Cosmog'd. Well, I'm sure Artemis isn't gonna complain about being useless now. The other important bit is Widget finding a Hydreigon. The mention of a voice does remind me of the Voice of Life from the games, so I'm guessing this is what it means. To get Seifer back, they'll probably have to go through whatever this is. So... yeah, it's not gonna be an easy task. It's not like resurrection is an easy thing to accomplish in the first place.

Meanwhile, Shane is doing stuff, talking with another Overseer. So it was really him that was talking with Kieran and all. He doesn't seem to be doing much, though it's because he can't do much. Something's interfering with him, some kind of energy? It's nice to see Shane being a lot more responsible now, at least. The years were kind to him, from what I can see. No clue on Tessa's whereabouts, though. Well, her Tessa, not the one that's currently Yuna, unless that's somehow related. Again, I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle just yet. But hey, Shane is trying to interfere with the world! Whether or not that's gonna have any effect is still unknown. But honestly, I like how it's using a legacy character, he's important, but he's not doing everything for our current cast of characters. He's sure trying to, even if it's not working. This is the last scene in the chapter, so no idea on Seifer's resurrection. I'm imagining it's the next chapter, so for now... it's like I'm being teased about the end result of that. Well, it is a cliffhanger, so this is more or less the kind of thing that I was expecting to see.

Chapter 101​

Okay, starting the chapter with another flashback. Noctum is starring here, but he's not doing much, he's seeing people talking. There's also the mention of Dialga and Palkia here, and honestly I was always the kind of guy that nicknames all his Pokémon. It doesn't sit right with me to not do that. But Irida's someone that isn't like that. Well, she's barely a Pokémon trainer in the first place, so... makes sense. So Akari wants to catch Arceus in this flashback, which is something that's apparently very hard. Well, it was in the game, and taking into consideration that this is based on the game, yeah, it might be difficult for her. Noctum is also just kinda chilling in this scene, and even in a previous life he sees to be a chill guy. Only this time he's more powerful... I think. Honestly the whole reincarnation thing is kinda wonky, but like, in a good way. I enjoy having this bits and pieces of information about who the characters used to be. They're different people now, sure, but I imagine their previous selves also influence how they act during the present day. It's an interesting way of handling this trope.

Moving on here, hmm... Alright, Valkyrie and Noctum are talking, but the most of it is telling Noctum what happened while he was unconscious. He sure picked the right time to go asleep, huh? Everyone is in shambles, one way or another, which is terrible news, though I still think something good is ognna happen at some point, probably soon. It has to, because man, the angst here is massive. Sidenote, man, Noctum must really be dense if he doesn't know what a lingerie is, or what catatonic is. It's okay though, he's still a fun character to read. And not really dumb, since he knows more about what's happening than he's really letting on. It takes Valkyrie doing her thing to get Noctum to say anything, and only on the promise she's not gonna kick him between the legs. Or do more of her thing. Honestly Noctum is cool, piecing together information basing himself only on the dreams that he's having. It's impressive, or at least, I think it's impressive. Well, he's a pretty cool guy. He does know he used to be Palkia, so that's a start, yeah? I'm not sure how this is gonna help the situation, though.

Alright, more explanations. The first one being that Seifer is Dialga, which I already knew, but hey, it's nice to see it being confirmed in-universe. The second one is that Valkyrie is also part of the reincarnation thing, only instead of being a cool Pokémon she was just a human. Look, nothing wrong with that, but it does feel kinda funny to me. At least Noctum is still someone that is very honest, and Valkyrie's reaction to all that she's hearing is fine. She reminds me a bit of Nikki's reaction, even if their former selves are kinda different (but also similar in that they were both humans). I figured that Noctum had gone crazy because he sensed something was up with Seifer, since Dialga and Palkia are around. Putting these two together and having them deal with Seifer's death is neat, though. Valkyrie is an assassin, she's used to it, and obviously she killed people before. Which means her reaction is a bit more subdued, even in the face of Leo's attempt at bringing Seifer back. She's very, hm, nonchalant is what I'd say, though it doesn't feel right either. The point is, she's dealing with it in her own way. Well, they're handling it together, at least?

And now, back to Yuna. She's having a lazy day (or a lazy date, eh?) with Nikki. I'm sorry, I really am, but the idea of putting fries in a milkshake sounds disgusting and Nikki lost some cool points because of it /j. That aside, the "date" got interrupted by both Shimmer and Igneous showing up. Discussing why Leo's attempt failed. I'm not entirely sure, and neither are any of them. The best thing they can do is just theorize. Throwing darts randomly until one lands. Or something like that. That also gets interrupted, because hah, Xander has become a vtuber. It could be worse, he could be a gamer! Now the team's goal is to, well, stop the guy from doing more damage than what he's probably already doing. I mean, maybe he's hypnotizing people through his powers like how Scarlett did before, and that's why he has two million subs when his channel was made only a short time before this chapter. Either way, there's... a lot going on, but it's still fine. I like how things are developing so far, so it's still been fun. As always.

Chapter 102​

Oh yeah Nickie has a cool new design. You know what girl? Good for you, sometimes people just wanna be punk. It's always nice to have your true, authentic self on display. But man is it funny to see Tessa reacting to this, because at the end of the day, Nickie is part of a different culture. But also, the fact that the Pokémon world has this kind of stuff is very interesting. The important thing is having Nickie enjoy how she looks. Plus, the design really looks coo. Pledge did a wonderful job bringing it to life, as she always does.

Okay, back to vtuber Xander. Honestly I see the vision in making Paradox buff, but I'm not gonna talk more about that. Ahem, anyway, seems like Xander is enjoying his new lease in life. Well, he's a popular vtuber, or like, an icon or something. But that might also be going to his head. The dude feels like he's getting drunk on all the power he's getting from all of this. And... well, he did get a lot of power. To the point he's mostly acting as a jerk to people that are closer to Paradox than he is. Surely that's not gonna come back to haunt him. But yeah, he's gonna do something important this chapter, and I feel like he probably had things handed to him in a silver platter, so now he's actually gonna have to put effort into his plan. Hooray.

Next bit. Uh, so Gene's surprisingly lax about the whole thing of Cyril being catatonic and Seifer currently being a crystal. They haven't talked about this in the scene, so I'm a bit curious as to why. Well, Gene might just be a bit pragmatic and trying to focus on the task at hand. Which in this case means having Shimmer battle someone. He does have a point, Shimmer was their enemy before, and yes, he turned around now, but... it's like he's not fully there. The fact that he went out of his way to talk to Demerzel before adds to that. I don't think he's gonna betray them or anything, but he's also not entirely invested. In any case, the fight is probably gonna make him get invested, which isn't a bad thing. I don't think Shimmer is that strong, though. Well, we'll see! I'm curious to see how it goes. Also, as a side note, I kinda find it cute how much time Nikki and Yuna are spending together. Lesbians, maybe? I do know Nikki is.

...Oh okay, Gene and Shredder were a thing. Uh, cool, cool. I mean, nice, though I didn't expect Gene to be a bottom. That's a lot of bottoms in this rebel gang (counting him, Shimmer and Seifer, so that's three, cool). But that's not too important at the moment, they're finally meeting with the guy that's supposed to either help them or join the rebels. But hmm, yeah, it's not an easy task to accomplish. For obvious reasons. I think it's kinda cool that they're having a battle alongside music. It's a diegetic way of incorporating soundtrack into the story. I don't know music theory though, so anything apart from this is beyond me. I just think it's cool. The battle itself is fun, and I think the music makes it more fast paced than usual, though it's still fine enough to understand. A bit different than the usual brawl in this story, which is another nice point for this chapter. And Shimmer... well, he's doing his best, but let's see how he fares against the bara Obstagoon.

And he doesn't win. Well, I knew he wasn't gonna win, and I also knew the point of this wasn't for Shimmer to win. The point was to show what he had, and in the end, Shimmer did make Shredder happy, so it all worked out, right? They have more allies, which is awesome! Plus, that means more Shredder time and I kinda like him (the gay is talking right now). And it's nice to see Shimmer and Igneous having a moment. I kinda want them to kiss. Team Bastion is hella fruity from the looks of it.

Leo, Widget and Artemis. All of them are back, and talking. So they also know each other, which... neat. Still no mention of Seifer, or what they're doing about that. Huh, I wonder if this means he really is dead, and they can't bring him back. I'm still holding out some hope that it won't be the case, but... well, it's kinda fleeting hope. Only time will tell, and at least, things are still moving forward without them. Because that's life, I guess? Doesn't mean I have to like it, and... I guess I miss Seifer. He was so cool, man.

Chapter 103​

Okay, the first bit of the chapter is just another flashback. I don't actually know much about this one, other than this Hydreigon, because it might be the one mentioned last chapter as well as the one that Widget saw. As for the guildmaster... eh, I don't think I have enough information to really tell what this means. Still, a fun little bit of the chapter.

Back to Xander, who's now meeting with some italian Perrserker that's... also kinda a showboasting person. I think it's better than whatever Xander has going on with him. Anyway, the plan here is putting someone's soul in another person's body? Uh, body swap. It's body swap. Which is creepy enough on its own, I didn't think I was gonna see this, but honestly, it's not surprising when you consider all the stuff that happens in this story. This is not a complaint, by the way. I just think it's kinda funny, but like, in an amusing way. No shade at all. Paradox's crew does seem to be playing mad scientist a lot, and I remember Paradox being able to alter the DNA of other people, so it feels fitting. The bad guys here are kinda powerful. Juuuust kinda. Heh.

Oh, it's been a while since Ahsen showed up. And it continues to be a kinda crazy creature. Honestly, I'm not surprised. But still, man how long has it been since the guy appeared in the story? Somehow, this Porygon looks like it's even crazier than usual. I wasn't even sure this kind of thing was possible in the first place. I also like how it's confirmed that Xander is a vtuber (for a moment I had no idea if he really was one, or if I somehow misread things). Well, he's doing a good job so far, which is... neat, I guess. It's neat enough that I like seeing where this new development for him goes. Speaking of which, I used to think he was just a side character, but now he's in the level of a minor antagonist, so that's... development? I don't think it's good development, like, he's actively becoming a worse person because of this, but it's still development nonetheless. It's interesting to see where it leads him. And now Ahsen is offering him a deal, like it did with Igneous all those chapters ago. So there's two powers at play here...

And now, the main cast shows up again. Trying to figure out how to stop the whole body swap business. I gotta say, Xander has a sick sense of timing if he's livestreaming right as the cast is talking about him. And to my surprise, a cameo of Isola. Honestly, being a queen, she's used to denying things that are asked of her, and the rumors and tabloid stuff making its way to her... she has an answer right at the tip of her tongue already. I do wonder how the body snatching thing spread this fast, but hmm... now Igneous is a wanted man. This does elevate Xander to a more, uh, threatening... no, not that. He's a more active antagonist, though I think he's still more or less a henchman of Paradox's. He's stronger now, though. I'm sure he's pissed off at a lot of people, Shimmer included. So... gee, I wonder who's gonna be the target of vengeance from Xander. I cannot for the life of me imagine who that person would be. I doubt Shimmer is happy about his ex acting the way he's doing either. But hey, Shimmer has better people in his life now, so it can't be all that bad.

The point of them all watching this report is seeing if there's anything useful for them. Any kind of information that might give them an advantage. I will point out I think Xander's speaking in a kinda cringe way right now, but honestly? I get it. It's fitting with his new... personality, or powers, or both. It's annoying, but I think it's meant to come off that way. Still easy to read, though, so it's not all that bad. But maybe the worst part of it was the bit with Xander talking about his ex. Uh, yeah, I doubt there was any love between the two of them. It was like friends with benefits, only without the friendship part. And to make matters worse, there's another (possibly final) Needle found, along with the tournament that's being shown in the TV. Now, the more important thing is... I wonder if this is the final one or not, because hm, the story still have like, another 50 chapters or so, so I don't think this is the case. Well, either way, I'm sure it'll be fun to read. I imagine something's gonna change the status quo once they get to that Needle.

 

[Goolix]

Hello! Here for Review Blitz and reviewing the prologue.

He traced a crown over his head with his right wing.

Nice imagery!

"It's no trouble at all." Douglas' beards fizzled as he chuckled. Shiva suppressed a shudder. "I wish I'd gotten some notice, so I could've had the help prepare you some tea. But no matter. I'd never question Her Eminence's decisions. She's looking out for us."

"It's not Her Eminence's judgement I'm concerned with." Ifrit shook his head. "It's the fact that she came to this decision after consulting with that advisor of hers." He folded his wings and stared squarely at the needle. "He claims he had some sort of... premonition regarding your Needle. So, she deployed me at once for some extra firepower."

I'm surprised that Ifrit is allowed to talk like this to Douglas. Douglas is a noble and we've gotten the impression that the Queen is not to be contradicted. Even if he's going after the advisor and not her, he is.... still questioning her judgment by consulting the advisor.

Intense pain took hold of Shiva's wings and chest. Every breath was a struggle. Ribs were definitely broken.

"Ribs were definitely broken" comes across as a little comedic considering that otherwise the tone is dark and tense. Feels like Buffyspeak.

Shiva threw her wings up, trying to pull it off, but a sharp pain tore through her shoulders. Her wings were... far stiffer than she was used to.

"W… what did you do to us?!" Quetzal squawked. Shiva staggered to her feet and found an orange bird with lightning-bolt markings on his shrunken wings kicking at the ground with very long legs.

"I made you stronger." Two of the Phantom's tendrils turned right, facing Quetzal. "Do you not appreciate my gift?"

"Not in the slightest!" Ifrit huffed, his now-curved beak muffling some of his speech. The violet-magenta flames on his wings crackled.

Ah, I like that the transformation into the Galarian forms feels painful and dysmorphic to them. Really getting across an image that their identity is going to be changed for the Phantom's benefit.

I'm intrigued by the purpose of the Needle. It reminds me of the needles that appear in Mother 3, where if all are pulled, the world will end. The needles here seem to have some overlap, where pulling them out has important consequences, but also the needles themselves are powerful. I imagine, then, that whatever could threaten to pull a Needle must be quite powerful if most Pokemon can't even begin to do so. I'm also interested in the way that mystery dungeons are conceptualized as invasive phenomena that occur and need to be planned against. I haven't played the games in a very long time, so I don't quite know what "distortions" are or if they're something that happen in them.

Prose-wise, I know you said the style will change later. I will say that some parts felt a little conversational compared to the mood you were setting up. "Ribs were definitely broken" sounds like something you'd say to a friend while summarizing something that happened, not something you'd think in the moment. Similarly, in "Her wings were... far stiffer than she was used to," the ellipsis combined with the italicization feel very casual compared to the rest of the tone.

Besides that, I liked the way that you incorporated the body language of the different Pokemon and details such as Galarian Weezing talking through both mouths and, uh, fizzing a lot. In general, the focus on newer Pokemon is pretty cool!

The Yuna section was calm, domestic, even, compared to the tragedy that had just happened. I'm guessing that she must have some sort of prophetic dreams if she visualized this (unless it all really was just a dream?). We learn she's here for family legacy reasons, she's lonely and only hangs out with her servants, and she misses home.

The use of names of figures from mythos is interesting. Shiva is certainly still worshiped; I don't think there's a god called Quetzal but there is Quetzalcoatl; Bahamut seems to be real in one mythos and also used in the fictional D&D series. I'm wondering as to the significance of these!

Overall, I'm very curious about what happened in the prologue, but I'm guessing that's a teaser and we won't find out for a while!