Pokémon Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Prelude in Darkness

[rimly]

Spoiler: Chapters 8-9

"Emeras!" she cried, running over to them and scooping them up. "All mine~"

Robin scooping up emeras like a kid finding candy on the ground made me laugh. Nina comparing her to a Gabite or Murkrow, and then Lifis has to step in with its for her arrows like hes used to explaining his partners weird behavior to strangers is a lot of fun.

the banter in this chapter clicks well in general! you can feel the group dynamic settling in and its nice to see Nina loosening up enough to find something funny even if shes not fully there yet

…Odd. Why was that inscription not buried by the snow? Is…someone here?

small detail but i liked this. Ninas survival instincts picking up on something everyone else would walk past.

"Maybe that's what happened? That voice couldn't change me because they were interrupted?"

the transformation mystery is always a fun question and is quietly one of the bigger mysteries building in the background and i appreciate that its not being forced, just developing naturally through conversation

Are you sure those are the feelings you wish to leave on, Celebi Aega?

chapter 9 opens with Aega and this is where i have some mixed feelings? the mystery voice pushing her on her feelings for Lifis is fine as a concept but it reads a little like a therapy session where the therapist already knows the answer and is just waiting for the patient to admit it. the voice is being SO pointed about it, that it doesnt leave much room for Aega to arrive at anything on her own. she mostly just gets flustered and deflects

that said the underlying tension is real. she knows this is goodbye. she knows the plan requires her to stay behind. the feelings she hasnt said are feelings she might never get to say and that clock is ticking whether she acknowledges it or not :(

"In all the time I've been alive, some of my deepest regrets have been the words that I wished I'd said to loved ones who perished…"

Sam.

Raijin.

Matrona.

mann,,,. Nina telling Lifis to say the words while he still can, and the weight behind it of all these people she never got to say goodbye to properly. its also a sign of how far Nina has come in just a few chapters. shes not just tolerating these two anymore, shes actively trying to protect Lifis from the kind of pain she carries. ;c;;; Ninaaaa beloveddd

"That's enough from you!"

And then stabbed it into the Abomasnow's thick hide.

Robin climbing onto its back and stabbing a fire emera arrow directly into it like shes fighting a Shadow of the Colossus boss is the most Robin thing that could possibly happen LMAOO. she has like no way to get at it, and her response is to just physically get on the thing and stab it. everything about her fighting style has been improvisation and refusal to quit and this is the peak

"My name is Skathi," the Froslass spoke. "And I am the Voice of Life."

Skathi showing up at the end as the Voice of Lifein a world thats been dead for three centuries thats one hell of a title to drop. especially since shes a Froslass which is an ice/ghost type, so you have this entity associated with life inhabiting a form associated with death and cold. curious to see what her deal actually is because right now shes giving cryptic benefactor energy and i dont fully trust that yet

the Abomasnow fight does have some back-and-forth in the middle that blends together before Robin makes her move, trimming the exchanges where Nina fires a flamethrower and gets hit and fires another flamethrower would make Robins moment punch through harder

overall a really fun set of chapters! im actually so close to finishing the last few and im so excited to see where it's at- until i have to have the dreaded wait of waiting for more! ;c; this is a lot of fun and really great job so far! :D