Commander's Rejuvenation Adventures (A Rejuv Not Cancelled Run) [Chapter 62]

[Commander]

Note: Due to my images host's site crashing I had to re-upload them all. While doing that I added some post commentary labeled with this mark: >>>

Also here's a link to the When Love Lies Written Run [Up to the end of Chapter 1]

 

Hi there. Some of you may know me from doing the hardcore mod over in the Reborn thread. Well...a long, long time ago I played bits of Rejuv and just got burned out due to so many issues I had with Rejuv. Well, I decided to give this another shot because Rejuv had a lot of good things I liked, but the issues eventually made me put it down. So this time we're doing something interesting so that I may actually finish this game as well as give a piece of my mind a bit of feedback regarding issues I had with the game and if they're still there. Don't worry, I'm still going to keep this entertaining since this is a semi screenshot run. It's just that not every post is going to be about a battle but more like an LP of the game. Anyways let's get started:

 

Prologue: This is Starting to Look Like a Shipwreck

 

So I didn't screenshot any of the prologue since it's kind of the same old same old stuff from before. At first I didn't like the Zorua story at the start but when I saw the reference I really liked it as it adds a nice touch. I also don't have an issue with anything in the Marianette (I think I spelled that right) flashback except for one thing. It takes focus away from the protag and is something kind of contradicting the silent protag. You see the purpose of a silent protag is to immerse yourself into the game and more or less become that character. Kind of difficult to do when you know something that the protagonist doesn't. You also almost always want to keep it in their perspective only. Breaking that immersion really hurts the idea of a silent protag, however, some characters are designed to be not the player and are normally quiet, but Rejuv I doubt was going for that. Anyways, I still think that portrait is beautiful and the graphics are pretty good here. I'll go into graphics a bit more in a second as it's actually interesting.

 

So now we're at the...

 

(Hello Gorgeous! What's your name?)

 

If this is somehow not Zumi's work I'd be surprised since it's her art style, but she looks so, so much better than Amaria. I really disliked Amaria's design so I approve of the new and improve Amanda. Anyways we're going with regular mode as I'm not sadistic enough to try and go through Rejuv intense while talking about all kinds of things. Also we're going with the standard boy so you're going to see this guy a lot:

 

 

Yeah...this really isn't my style. Not really a hat person so let's try this...

 

 

Shit! I forgot to screen cap there. Give me a minute:

 

(That's better. Much Better).

 

Yes, this crappy sprite of mine does have a small purpose. It does help separate Reborn and Rejuv's art styles a bit as I'd say some of Rejuv's NPCs are super well detailed compared to Reborn's since anytime this sprite stands out is a good thing. Also, it is fun to be me in the game. Not much to talk about here still so let's move on:

 

(I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to be your mom.)

 

Not much really changed storywise here that I remember, but everything felt less memey or pop culture which I felt was an improvement. Also pretty sure that hidden item that's easy to miss got moved making it easier. Thank you, Jan. Thank you. Now I don't have to have nightmares knowing I missed a good item early on. I like the layout and design a lot more as it feels a lot more unique and is easier to traverse. TBH, I thought I was going to dread this part, but it didn't feel that bad this time. Maybe because it was prettier. But...

 

(You know what they say: Shippers gotta ship)

 

I know it's a standard, but the NPCs really aren't all that interesting imo. They're the kind of people you can go wild and through more logic out the window compared to the main story. They aren't bad, but more like meh.

 

(We can play a game of Blackjack if you want to try and win it all back. I am a gambler after all).

 

Kind of odd how certain NPCs don't move for the banquet, but whatevs. I missed a few screencaps of the piano girl floor as honestly that bit looks amazing with the backdrop. So much better than the previous design which I think was just a floor. It also makes a bit more sense how the piano came tumbling down later but uhh I'll let the logical fallacies go on that one as it's entertaining. But uhh...

 

(Pieces of metal can control wild animals. The more you know.)

 

An RPG fallacy that even some very good game designers fall into is trying to explain game mechanics in the plot. It sounds silly which this kind of did honestly. I had a hell of a time trying to explain level limiter in hardcore so I can't be too hard here. Just for future game makers of the world, avoid this at all costs. You'll thank me later. I don't have much to talk about until the plot kicks in but...

 

 

(Seriously look at the difference in art quality. You can see the heavy details on the random NPC so well. Yes, a random NPC.)

 

Rejuv has plenty of graphic inconsistencies and some stuff looks absolutely amazing and other stuff looks...flat is the best way to put it. What I will give so much props to is that the custom tilesets feel so much better than the public and free stuff. I know some stuff was borrowed from Reborn, but most of it feels like it was made just for Rejuv and Rejuv only. That's something I didn't feel in Version 6. And yes, that's the last version I played iirc. It's been a long time. Anyways time for something new:

 

(Tentacles popping up from the ground. I don't like where this is going)

 

I'm glad the Harry potter reference was removed from the bomb part, but...the shading here is a nice little touch that's new. A lot of stuff got changed here and uhh...not sure how I feel about it. I liked all the little boys people getting grabbed by these things as it gave a feeling of intimidation, but this whole new setup does feel a bit more pleasing in terms of animation. The water levels rising was such a cool little touch.

 

(I don't know if it's the sprite or not, but every time I walk I suddenly become Jesus. 10/10 best game ever).

 

I actually liked the boat scenes a lot better now and I really didn't like the previous two versions. I don't even think you really need the password thing at this point as it's not as bad as before and the layout makes it pretty quick paced. Wish the NPCs were a wee bit more interesting, but I thought everything else was fine. And now thanks to a magical fire bird we can move onward!

 

(Thanks Magical Fire Bird! Sorry that Gen VII killed your usefulness)

 

I don't remember what it was like in the early days, but I swear this is the only area in the game that never changed. Never really liked it since well the true city is like 2 minutes away and nothing really goes on here. Well sidequests, but that's a long topic for later and we get to see me get my butt kicked...since Pelipper is gone

 

But yeah, I'm going to stop here now:

 

(The more I look at this building, the less sense it makes. I think the old one was more fitting).

 

Now as a warning, I barely know anything about Gen VII so this is going to certainly be an experience. I know the mons and what they're kind of known for, but that's pretty much it. I'm not sure what starter I'm going to pick though so you guys can humor me. Only ones I won't pick are Chimchar, Typhlosion, Torchic, and Froakie as I do like a challenge.

 

Oh yeah I almost forgot about this:

 

 

 

(Jan really likes his wood)

 

Of all places he could've picked, this is probably the worst option. Like why?

 

 

[Zarc]

Good luck ! I hope one day you will do the same good work as you did to reborn hardcore on rejuvenation  

Edited June 5, 2017 by Zarc

[Daniel Blackworth]

This was fun! I really liked the comments you inserted to those screenshots. Will be following this.

[Azeria]

>Is about to suggest Cyndaquil

>>No Typloshion

Sigh ok

 

Let's spin the wheel of RNG.

 

Spoiler

Chespin
Squirtle
Treecko
Popplio
Oshawott
Piplup
Tepig
Fennekin
Mudkip
Chikorita
Charmander
Litten
Bulbasaur
Totodile
Turtwig
Rowlet
Snivy

Put all the starters into a randomiser aside from the four mentioned in the OP and the one that came out at no.1 was Chespin.

 

 

[KmK]

This was amusing to read with your comments and thoughts in between. I really wanna see what your thoughts are about the rest of the game. 

As for the starter pokemon, I'd say pick one of gen 7, but its your choice. 

[Alex]

Had fun reading through that and was interested to see your comments about the game. Looking forward to more! (also go with chespin like azery said)

[Commander]

On 6/5/2017 at 3:26 AM, Zarc said:

Good luck ! I hope one day you will do the same good work as you did to reborn hardcore on rejuvenation  

 

Rejuv Hardcore likely isn't going to happen for many numerous reasons which number one is that I'm still working on Hardcore for Reborn. That drains up a lot of my time (picture this being 10% of the work required to manage and work on the mod). The second is that Rejuv already has an intense mode that is made to fit people thirsty for a higher difficulty. Even if I did a mod, I feel that would take away all the hard work put into that difficulty mode since people would likely prefer a harder difficulty where someone manages all their time in the battles. After E17 if I get the bulk of the work done, I may consider it if enough people show interest.

 

@Everyone who suggested Chespin or a gen 7 starter. I actually considered going for those when I went a bit further in the game. Chespin was actually going to be my pick, but you'll see what I got. And I learned something interesting picking this little guy. Love him already.

 

Anyways I didn't get very far, but since I have 50 or so images...I think it's about time I made another post. This is gonna be a long playthrough if Jan keeps giving me commentary gold. But I promise we'll get through Venam by the end of the month.

 

Chapter 1: Amanda the Ignoramus

 

And we start off with this...

 

 

(Was the cameraman drunk or something? I don't even remember this in the image)

 

This pic really isn't that bad but...it's boring. The art style is cool, but I'd rather have a standstill image over some...weird ass pics for an opening. It still gives me a bad impression when the full picture is so good. Rant aside, we go into the city but first...

 

(If this process was as simple in real life, America would be overloaded with people...or empty)

 

Never really understood the whole verification process, but it's no big deal imo. What really bothers me is that people are treating the PC like they are silent and can't talk. A major and traumatizing issue happened yet they act like the player is perfectly okay. A normal person would be unable to focus or paranoid. Basically, it would be obvious something bad would happen especially for a child (an adult I could believe, but that would require building a personality). While this could've been a minor issue, Jan just kept pushing the envelope a little too hard as you'll see.

 

 

(Minor comment, but this trainer has an insane range. Found it kind of humorous. Reminds me of that one trainer from Pokemon Redemption, an abandoned fangame, who had an aerodactyl and like a 20 tile range)

 

Moving on...

 

(I mean...how many people do you know with that name? Let alone cosplayers)

 

Also is it just me or did Amanda suddenly find an hat and grow a ponytail? It's not just me, right?

 

(My clothes are drenched from the waist down and I was on a tentacle infested ship. I'll leave it to your imagination what went down.)

 

You think her ignorance is bad now, just wait... nothing really interesting happens in this conversation anyways other than asking to meet her. Typical dialogue.

 

 

(Venam...she does things to people)

 

These are really hard to capture since I have to push two buttons and if I push a certain one early, it screws up my computer a little bit. I love the emoticons though since it shows facial expression when you normally couldn't. Very golden sun like. On a different note if you pay attention to the news or talk to live 80% of the NPCs, they talk about the missing boat. You know, the one with the famous Unovan celebrity on it. Not to mention her "son" is participating in the league.

 

 

(Main lab. You mean there's more than one!)

 

The normal tutorial stuff but...I was met with a nice surprise:

 

 

(When someone says they're studying, it means they're doing anything but that. Also, I'm stuck in the middle of this sibling conversation).

 

I'm kind of surprised how Jan introduced himself in his game. There's a funny story behind my self insert. Only reason he's still around is due to how people really liked him while I was fixing Terra. He didn't become a canon character in Hardcore until E16 though. Anyways, I feel inserts should fill the role of side characters who hold no power instead of being in charge. I could give examples of where it happens, but it's not a big deal to me, but I definitely could see why people hate it. I do have a gripe about why he's there though which you'll see later.

 

(Both in game me and real life me have a sister. Both of us would've taken a swing at our sis or "disown" them. Not saying this is bad or incorrect, but just kind of a little fact. Sibling bonds are a strange thing).

 

(There's a reason the hot one never has to do anything)

 

Yeah, I don't know if Jan has a sibling irl or not, but we rarely are so straightforward when bantering each other. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to give Jan a bit more personality. I know Jan likely doesn't want his character to get too much attention nor involved, that doesn't mean he's not a character so I encourage him to treat him as he would anyone else. This was a missed opportunity of a very humorous moment in a section of gloom and doom that ended up being a little bland. Not really what the characters did or what they said, but how they said it. And yes, I know how everyone's siblings are a bit different, but I really couldn't distinguish much from Jan due to how mixed his responses of professional and unprofessional. Sorry to be a little overcritical here, but it is very important to leave good first impressions of characters. I like Amanda, but Jan is eh to the point I wonder why he was even added as Amanda could've done his job and more herself.

 

(This does put a whole new meaning to burning passion)

 

 

(You see this blond girl. She deserves an extra special post that's going to likely be about her and only her. You can probably already imagine what's going to happen).

 

I have a lot to talk about this girl, but it probably isn't exactly what you think it's going to be about. My opinion of her is based on Version 6 up until Angie so my thoughts could change over time, but you'll understand what's going on in due time. Moving on you won't be so lucky next time.

 

(This guy kind of reminds me of someone in Reborn. The resemblance is rather...shocking)

 

I actually want to say something about this scene. The only reason we assume and already know Prof Jen is part of the villain group is based on video game culture. In real life, everything he did could be considered normal and wouldn't pin him as a bad guy. That's why part of me wants a writer to take the challenge of creating a situation similar to this and ultimately make them feel bad for placing them on the bad guy side over something so small. I suppose Titania does count, but let's not go there. Too much controversy.

 

 

(Pretty sure he's pretending he doesn't know anything)

 

Going back on this, Amanda must be one of the most ignorant people ever. And even then, Jan didn't even react to the protags arrival when he's in charge and probably should've been aware. If the protag was a nobody this would be believable, but there's just so much evidence the player was on the ship that they should've put two and two together. Not even Jenipper said something and even if he was concealing that he knew, it would be hard for the protag not to be displaying any emotions which one of these three should've commented on. Two and a half people were so ignorant on a breaking news issue that's the talk of the moment with the only one who escaped being a the child of a celebrity joining the league that these people are in charge of. Let alone, an E4...E8 member witnessed this whole thing and it's hard to believe she wouldn't contact somebody immediately to give them the news.

 

I'm only bothered by this since it's just so unrealistic. I'm going to stop ranting but basically while it is possible, there's literally so many factors and coincidences that would've had to happen for this single situation to occur. It's just Amanda's ignorance that bothers me so much. Not even a single thought something bad may have happened or some situation came up. Also, I just realized after like 3 years, Jenipper has a beard and I think it's a goatee.

 

Also sorry if I spelled the proferor's name wrong

 

(You can't tell me what to do 'cause you're not my mom. I know because she's approximately 10,000 feet under the sea).

 

Now we finally get to where most people start their runs. Seriously, we've only just hit the hour mark in the playthrough. Now time to finally play Pokemon.

 

(It's only funny because it's true. Luckily, I'm part of the 19%. Also ROWLETT!)

 

Not much to say, but I feel like Jan toned down the dialogue for the mons a little bit. Not complaining too much as I prefer this way more than the lab Poke ball thing. Also, this reminds me way too much of Phenac City's Gym. Even has the matching elevator.

 

Now time to decide:

 

 

(Nope. I would pick Bulbasaur, but I've use him way too much)

 

(What have squirtles ever done to you, lady?)

 

Someone please explain this thing to me. I don't get it.

 

(Nope, I'm not going to pick a stalker like you)

 

.

..

...

....

 

(Nope, still not interested)

 

.

..

...

....

 

 

(I have much to teach you on your way to greatness).

 

Yep, I caved in guys. But seriously, I rarely use Oshawott so I decided to pick him as I still have a bias for waters not named Froakie. I know so many people picked him, but eh, it's my run and I do what I want. I also know somebody somewhere is crying that I'm an idiot for picking something with such terrible IVs. One thing you need to know about me is that I don't reset...ever for mons. It keeps things interesting. I also won't be EV training as well not because I want to challenge myself, but because I really, really don't care about perfecting them. It also makes for some hilarious moments. Anyways...

 

(If you mean first as in battling a black person then yes, this is my first)

 

(You aren't my first opponent. Mine was Johnathan. It didn't end so well. Certainly was a fight to remember though).

 

(Nobody wants to see this shit. Not even the Pokemon.)

 

(Giving you a fire type was probably his second worst life decision).

 

(Oh I know who exactly who you are talking about. That guy was pretty cool and one of my favorite people).

 

(He's dead so...I don't think you have to worry about that. Wait...are we talking about the same guy?)

 

Well it's finally here. An actual Pokemon battle so let's begin:

 

(Good. That makes one of us.)

 

First off I really like her sprite. Her sprite at the beginning contradicts it a tad bit, but I think it's fine. Seriously though, where did that ponytail come from? Anyways, the battle pretty much was me using tail whip before spamming pound. I had to use a potion I bought, but as a great gambler would say, "If you can't beat 'em, cheat 'em." Growl caused me a lot of problems as well as that nonexistent speed IVs.

 

(Feel the sting of the sword master's blade)

 

(You can't come up with a good sibling convo yet you can conjure up a crazy phrase like this. I don't get it).

 

(Which is funny because nobody used tackle. Even though I'm willing to tackle you any day. Except today).

 

Anyways, I kind of hate how you have to fight Ren right after, but oh well. It's battle time...again:

 

(I may or may not have forgotten I don't have a Vs Sprite. Maybe I should have played the game as Shelly instead)

 

More or less just imagine a froakie getting completely slaughtered by a cute little Oshawott. Way less intense than the Amanda battle where I was getting my butt kicked hard.

 

(*Ahem* FEEL THE STING OF THE SWORD MASTER'S BLADE! HAAAAAAA!)

 

 

(But...you said Melia was on Route 1. Why would I need to go through a forest then?)

 

And then we get to go to tutorial city with Jan. Since I'm already pushing the pic count (if I haven't surpassed it yet), I'm just going to give you the abridged version more or less. I don't understand the whole mobile star pole thing that acts as a PC. I mean, you don't need a valid reason to put a computer in the middle of nowhere (heck Gen I had an invisible one). I still think light shards are better than Jan's heal pole thing since they are a one time use putting a bit of pressure one someone to succeed the first time. But honestly, I think Ame gives players way too many of those things as learning to use items and managing the team was how old reborn worked without them. Ranting aside here's what I really want to talk about:

 

(Can I barrow this for Halloween? I'll promise to put it to good use).

 

Oh the good old axing the gym guide. Only concern is that this won't do much for Jan. Ame is a little rambly when she's the gym guide which kind of helps flesh her out a tad bit and make the statues a bit more interesting to listen to such as the one for Luna's. A gym guide could do the same thing (somehow I was able to get Jim to every single gym leader by getting a bit creative). Only major difference is that one is actually there to support or cheer for you and another is just a machine. I'm not saying making machines in the gyms is a bad choice, but it's not simply an easy way out of gym guides. More like the opposite since it is one single character. I did like the little counter productive line though.

 

(If this post someone goes through, just picture this guy dancing like mad. Other he's dancing...mad).

 

And that's it for this time. The next post probably won't be for a little while as I have a few things I need to get done. The real question is: how many times will I get lost in the city...again. Also, I don't think anything here is that bad and all, but when you go back over something you did for commentary, it's easy to notice something you missed the first time. A lot of my issues are minor and I'm still enjoying it even if it doesn't look like it. It just felt like some stuff was lacking was all.

[Commander]

Remind me when we got more than 3 runs to make a post so we can locate runs this forum makes the reborn ones look slow. Ya'll need to chill with your posting even if the episode just came out.

 

Chapter 2: Quests with a Side Dish of Filler

 

Annnnnnnnnnnddddd Finally I can stop talking about the plot. If you are seriously playing Rejuv for only the plot...play something else. I won't say it's awful but...I can list like 100 games you should play with really good plots. Rejuv has it's good things which thankfully this episode is going to go all into that. And let's begin:

 

I was screenshotting mons but I kind of got lazy here. Don't ask me why I was grinding up in that tiny patch of grass, but man that alt key does wonders for the game. Really helps speed boring stuff up. Anyways now for the rejects:

 

(This is 1-Up. She never gets used other than for catching a couple Pokemon. I originally did this since if you look at the opponents HP Bar, you can see a slight tile error)

 

(This is the Purple Panther. He'll have a use later, but only if I feel like cheesing that thing)

 

(This is Darkpaw Doge. Defender of the night. He was going to be used, but I use Doge way too much)

 

Sadly there weren't too many interesting Pokemon moments as I did catch Shuppet (who still had Misdreavus in the text, but I might be using the wrong version) named Ghepetto. Ratigan the Alolan Rattatta, Boomdocks the Voltorb, Ruby the Cherrubi, and I used Darkpaw Doge a little bit. Very little happened team wise other than a few battles as I did try training a few of the mons up but so few trainers really give any experience and...Loewe kind of is my best mon.

 

(You're lucky I can't use my Reborn team. I would destroy you in seconds for comparing me to these lowly filth. Soon though I promise you'll be crying to your mommy for stopping me. Soon.)

 

I still haven't seen West Gearen which I am curious about. Don't spoil me as I haven't seen much past Angie. Still I thought there was a gate there, but oh well. I do like the whole one big city change Jan did, but it hasn't changed that much. The apartments did, but I still don't like them. The graphics are kind of what I wanted Neo Reborn to look like, but the big difference between this and Reborn City is that Reborn City is packed and very close knitted while everything in Gearen is very spread out making it very bare. Gearen City I believe is a bit bigger than Peridot which is Reborn's biggest Ward. The new buildings are much, much better than the apartments though. That was a well needed change to improve it.

 

(With hair this fabulous, it can only be moved by the best of the best)

 

PCs are way more interesting compared to the ship. Sure they don't have a personality, but they aren't meant to most of the time. I'm also not sure if it was a glitch or not, but one of the trainers you could battle inside the buildings wouldn't take no for an answer. Kind of humorous even with my half dead team. But yeah, this was the first time I actually enjoyed walking around Gearen City despite it not changing that much. So many little things were added to make it charming. Especially Mrs. OP Alakazam who gave me a surprise when I retreated. I applaud you for that Jan. Wish I screencapped it.

 

(...Note to self. File a lawsuit later).

 

I'm not going to beat around the bush. This new help center is ugly and even with improved graphics it'd still look really ugly. This isn't a bias for using the same initials as my mod either. The white just sticks out way too much and it just looks really, really flat. I don't know what was wrong with the old help centers, but too late to turn back now. Anyways, this is the one thing I loved about Rejuv's game. These sidequests are really, really fun and very rewarding which has always been one thing Jan had over Ame. I love Rejuv's sidequest stuff. It's what makes the game worth playing. And since they are the same as version 6 more or less I'm just going to glaze over them but first...

 

(You know, it's probably a terrible idea to ride a bike on a bridge. Imagine if slipped)

 

("Just like Magic I'll be flying free" would be what that bird would be signing, but birds can't sing...wait a minute...)

 

You may think I'd bash the hell out of this whole humans using magic stuff. I've seen people who really disliked it. I'm actually okay with it and think it's fine. In fact, I use it in a series idea I spent years and years on, but what is key is to make sure they are still human and not "gods." When you make characters like this above humanity, it usually hurts more than helps. One character I wrote uses his powers for what he believes is the greater good over what he wants to do or believes in as nobody has gifts like he does.

 

Only issue I had here was just how this girl acted and said stuff. She basically turns these bikers into her slaves and kills a guy acting like it was nothing, but she assumes the player is perfectly fine and acts friendly towards them sharing information without a valid reason. Yeah, she did it to save the Starly, but why leave the player alone. I'd have to reread through all that dialogue again since I didn't think it was that bad, but thinking back on it, she acted like a bland anti-hero with unworldy powers. Of course, I'm being a little bit overcritical of her. I just want people to keep that in mind when we see magic other times.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the most important part. The issue with introducing magic like this isn't that it's being introduced to the world, but it's basically a scapegoat in writing. When you create a world, you need to establish rules and logic for it. While most of Rejuv's is over the top, it tries to stay within reason sometimes. However with how this was set up, a writer could pull something out of their ass to solve a conflict or plothole at any given moment. If you don't establish hard ground rules with your world, it's often an omen for loose or even bad writing.

 

(You know you really aren't helping this cause, Venam)

 

While I love this scene, it does kind of bother me how Jan goes a little overboard with the anime logic. You don't see it too much in video games who do more of a realistic approach, but eh, I try to get over it whenever I can. It just makes the game a little bit too much cartoony. 90% of the time this is okay, but that 10%. Oh that beautiful 10%. I'm not going comment too much on Jan's style or logic as it's his world and his rules. I'll only do it when he breaks said rules he's established.

 

And then we face that Arcanine with a team of level 10s. Here's how it went in a nutshell:

 

(And Loewe is about to get his S-craft)

 

Since my team was so weak all I did was focus energy on Loewe and water gun spammed until Arcanine was dead since the other Growlithe just spammed ember in the rain. Basically Loewe leveled up 4 levels from that and evolved right afterwards learning Razor Shell which is one of his best moves and one of the best Physical Water moves. We also got Agate out of that whole fight. He has much to learn from the almighty Loewe. Which is ironic given how they are in LoH

 

After that I abused the infinite Ultra Ball glitch fought the new Hardcore Trainer who is now Novae. And here's how the battle went in a nutshell:

 

(Every time I have to kill one of these I die on the inside. I love this thing even though I have no idea where to find one).

 

(And yes that was one single attack)

 

The Blademaster shows of his skill by killing 5 of the 6 Pokemon by himself...well I tried using the other guys for a tad bit to heal Loewe, but they all kind of got one shotted. Except Agate who took down that Mantis thing (I don't know all the Gen VII pokemon, okay?) It was a hilarious slaughter when I was expecting to lose for being low leveled. Jan really dialed her back when the old trainer here was one of my favorite parts about this game. She was hard, but optional making for a really good and difficult fight. This one isn't that bad, but not as fun imo given her huge water weakness.

 

And here's a look at my current team:

 

(Who needs a team when you can have Loewe kick ass)

 

I'm probably going to put Loewe in the PC a little bit since he's a wee bit overleveled and I need to grind my other guys up. Don't worry, I'm bringing Lifesupport with me if worse comes to worse.

 

Sorry that this post is rather short for such a big area, but there's just not much to talk about in the city since it's been like that for years and while it's certainly not bad, most of it is just okay and not worth going into super detail. And while I love the sidequests, Gearen really only has two good ones to talk about which are the trainer and the RK9 fight since they bother are pretty difficult (Seriously a level 25 RK9 is really OP at this point in the game, but a good challenge). No mons were interesting and nothing screamed screencap me or it was too late. It has a lot of charm though which made this section surprisingly enjoyable. And also, I didn't really intend to cover any of this, but I felt like I needed to as it has really improved from V6 despite the layout and stuff more or less being very similar.

[Commander]

This one is going to be LOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNG! I got trigger happy and took over 100 images. I only know this because the uploader can only take 100 images at a time. Postimage is a really good uploader site for screen caps. Obviously not all will make it, but let's just test how many images we can fit in a single post.

 

Chapter 3: My Date with a Mary Sue

 

(This is my face whenever I see Melia)

 

So I finally downloaded the patchwork to the game and I may have forgotten that it deleted my PC so that was fun doing all that work again. If I was modding this wouldn't have been a problem since I do things weirdly. Maybe I should've bride you guys with Rejuv Hardcore if someone sprited my overworld sprite better, gave me all the sprites like running, surfing, biking, etc, and a vs. sprite. I give you guys way too much for free.

 

*Ahem* So we finally get back into the plot after going off track earlier.

(It was funnier the first time with the guy on coke. He was the bomb).

 

I really honestly like Venam's over-theatrics. I don't know why but she's probably one of my favorite characters and she never gets old. You also gotta love how she's the most irresponsible person in the entire region. But yeah, Jan sometimes does over the top right.

 

(You do realize if you wanted food that badly you could've just asked).

 

(Believe me, I know. I know).

 

I also have a very bias for Venam as I'm only doing one of every three screen cap.

 

(I always wondered how the heck a girl like this has friends...)

 

(Let alone ones who are sane)

 

(Ren...the guy who would kick someone when their down)

 

I do love the little italics here. Something people forget is that this is the same thing as THIS! It also is a bit more entertaining to read that just plain text. Trust me, looking at the same thing on a page does get old on the eyes over time so it is good to mix it up a little bit. Why do you think video games are so popular in the first place?

 

(The only thing dying here is my hair. A gold tint really would suit my coat)

 

(Ren, you silly head. We didn't evolve from Monkeys. It was obviously from Bananas you Trollpius)

 

I'll get to Ren later, but it might surprise you what I say, but for now more screencaps.

 

(Ren buys you dinner. No fair. Ren, you better buy me dinner. Maybe somewhere nice. You know I'm quite the charmer <3)

 

(This is not what I had in mind)

 

So yeah, I don't think Ren is that bad of a character. I know he's the Fern character of the game, but unlike Fern he is actually nice to you and doesn't act as stuck up or stubborn. He actually admits he's a little weak and is willing to work with you. It's not bad writing and he really isn't that bad of a fighter either. If you've played old Reborn, you learned to hate Fern the moment you team up with him. He had a Budew that used growth and only growth. It was not a fun time.

 

(Thinking back on it, is it really even a good idea to be eating those?)

 

And yeah...that joke is starting to get old.

 

(If I weren't a silent protagonist, I'd be hi-fiving right now. But unfortunately I'm an emotionless being who can't do anything so I'll just stare at you in the distance. I only stare out of love).

 

(And then there's this girl. Oh where do I even begin?)

 

Let me give you a few screencaps before I go into this mess:

 

(I was an engineering student at one point and yet show knows quite a bit more than I do)

 

Melia has a few major, major issues with her character and while the ones I show above are less obvious, the one most people talk about in a negative view is this one:

 

(...I thought she already was)

 

(I mean...I'd be proud to if I could fix a machine at the age 10. No super powers needed).

 

(Bleh! That's one super power I'm so glad I don't have).

 

Okay here's one thing I want to talk about right now. Melia. Now something I want to say about Melia is that she is a bad character here. I'd even call her a Mary Sue. I can definitely say she is a Mary Sue in Version 6. Now something I want to say about is a Mary Sue is that it's been so overused and misused so much people don't really know the definition so I'm going to redefine it in my own terms so that you understand. My own definition and belief is that a Mary Sue is a character who generally lacks faults (and the ones they have are the purpose for making the character look more perfect or better) which no matter what they can do no wrong. A Mary Sue is also not a character that alone can be classified as one as it's generally how other characters act towards a character that classifies them as one. Very important as even seemingly perfect characters can be redeemed with good interactions.

 

Now Melia is very, very poorly written here for two reasons. But first, I'll let you digest that before we continue as I do want to cover a little bit more before going more deeply into this.

 

(Looks like someone decided to trash this party. Get it! Eh...Ehhhh! Oh come one! That was a brilliant one!)

 

Our little chat is interrupted by Biggles the 3rd with his dirty minions to do his bidding. And thanks to Ren, we're going to have to do all the heavy lifting.

 

(Well what do you know? The trash is trash)

 

(This trash is not so trashy)

 

(Nevermind, it was garbage)

 

So this fight was pretty much Garbage. I don't remember the exact details but is was pretty much Voltorb spamming Sonicboom to win. I could describe the fight but Boomy only ever suffered poison damage and that was it. Very disappointing, but considering I beat the sidequests super early, this isn't surprising. Now back to discussing other trash. (Okay, I know my puns stink, but I'm done with this landfill of puns for a while).

 

(Honestly, how could you forget a name like that so easily? How many mothers do you know who name their kid after a military rank?)

 

(Your so lucky. The only thing my father gives me is a smack on the ass).

 

(...I only have two ideas how that would work and...I don't like either of them. You'd think a future engineering student would've figured this out though).

 

Ah yes...I love how added scenes don't help her cause here. Gotta love it.

 

(Can I please just stay with you? I don't to be anywhere near that suitcase).

 

Okay, so let's talk about the more obvious thing wrong her: Melia's special power. It's not that bad for her to have a power like this, but yeah it really adds nothing to her character or depth so I question why it was needed in the first place. The bigger issue is that it's treated like a good thing by EVERY character there when it was the exact opposite. She attracted a very strong pokemon (well strong to this part of the city) that could have blackened the entire city. What would've happened if she summoned something even stronger by accident? Sure Venam praising it makes sense given her character likes being bad and immature so this probably wouldn't phase her or even pump her up. But you'd think at least Melia would be really bothered by an event like this turning up because of her. But no, she acts like its perfectly fine and the she could've taken care of it herself. She's a kid. She shouldn't be acting like this.

 

The second major issue I had and even bigger than the shiny thing was the fact she was diagnosing the machine. Now I've been able to work with machines and computers since I was 4 (yeah I could set up a computer when I was 4. Get at my level). My understanding of machines and all that even taking a class that's about wiring and circuitry is still very limited. This is due to not being focused on learning how machines work. I could probably diagnose a machine like that when I was 18, but I wouldn't due to how dangerous it was. Now, it is very possible that she could be very well advanced in machinery. One such character is an 8 year old girl from Trails of the Sky, Tita. Tita basically lives with her Grandfather who is a mechanical genius in which the one thing they connect one are machines. Tita picks up a bad habit from her Grandfather where the only thing she really wants to do is tinker with machines to build or fix them. In fact she's obsessed with it and always wants to do it. It concerns her immediate family at times and even have to force her away from it. Her level of knowledge though is basically at a mechanic level. She can't do everything her Grandfather can, but she's able to fix quite a few things due to knowing the terminology.

 

Now tell me, where in the world did Melia become such a good mechanic and will to venture down a dangerous area to try and fix something. She also knew quite a bit about the sewers even knowing how a very good chunk of it worked. Her father is a professor so she couldn't have learned it from him and self studying and becoming an expert at that age is quite the stretch. This whole trait is not normal and perhaps more amazing than the shiny powers. Jan introduce facts that can at least verify that the shiny logic is okay. There's very little to support this though. It gets better though. As you'll see, all of this is irrelevant to her character development at all.

 

(I know one word that can: suffering.)

 

(She was a character with a unique sprite. RPG Logic states she's not going to die that easily or early).

 

What I really like about Telsa is that she's the only character that actually connects to the protagonist. She understands what they are going through and she's trying to cheer you up and push you forward. None of the other characters really do that and don't really even act like you're feeling anything. That's a major issue when trying to write a story based around a silent protagonist. Anyone who says it's easier than doing it with a talking protagonist is full of shit. One sided conversations can be very, very difficult to get players involved into the story. It also requires you to cross some lines to define a character, while others must not be crossed.

 

Anyways...

 

 

(I'm only doing this because the plot demands it)

 

(Why does this sound so familiar? It's like somebody told me already).

 

Jan...you literally gave us a tutorial twice in a very short time span. I'm guessing this was made first before the other one was added, but please just at least cut some of this dialogue out or change it a little bit. I'm very against tutorials and straight up explaining things as it's better for players to teach themselves and only explain what you have to explain. (Best way to teach players something is a show, teach, then test method...I'll link the article if anyone is interested in that).

 

Thankfully, it can't get any worse as I'll have time to grind in a pretty beautiful and interesting location...

 

(...Can I please catch your catch?)

 

(Nice Gen I reference, Jan)

 

(That thing is a little too happy to see us. Should I let Agate kill it?)

 

(Thank god, I don't want to go through that again).

 

Okay...here's how I feel about this. In terms of Melia, this actually improves her character slightly as it gives her a portrayal that she's a girl that likes to have fun compared to the whole super serious girl she was in previous versions. As for a design perspective, it's my HGSS gripe. You have this big whole route area and it just got skipped. Yes, "I" got to explore it, but that was the game's doing and not mine. When I reach a new area, what I want to do is run around the whole area and see what it is like. Taking that feeling away is never a good thing. I'm okay with the scenes, but I really hate how Goldenwood was basically axed. It was not a good decision to change it imo. But...now we must continue:

 

(It's a cave. The only thing interesting about those are Zubats...except they aren't any here)

 

Yeah...still don't like this change.

 

(Except the only trainer was a guy with Magikarp...though Metapod vs Magikarp was the battle of the century. It was quite a struggle, but Metapod pulled through).

 

(That is a big fat lie)

 

(...Can I please have Ren back? I don't work well with underdevelops).

 

So I'm a bit mixed about partnering with Melia. On one hand, it makes grinding easier, but on the other, we just went through an area with Ren. This hand holding is a bit much even if this area is hard. Let the players struggle a little bit to make them realize they gotta be careful when traveling and start grinding a team now while levels are low.

 

(Somewhere in the world there's a rock collector wishing he could enjoy this)

 

(Something tells me he did this to finally get you out of the house)

 

(...I just realized...where the heck do you even put that suitcase? Forget the code, one whack from that thing could've taken the Garbodor out).

 

So yeah, that was kind of eventful as I caught and trained Walter the Rockruff, but nothing super exciting happened. Then I talked to the trainer on our left and oh boy was that a fun surprise:

 

(And the burning flame shines ever brighter. Oh he's gonna be fun when he evolves).

 

Basically I used Ratigan to take out the Sewaddle and then Agate pretty much took out the rest healing from switch ins as the Leavanny hurts like heck. This was a fun battle and easily my favorite thing in this episode. I wasn't even expecting a reward and my face lit up when I recieved this:

 

(What's scary is these two might be in the same game together. Loewe...not so much)

 

So I pretty much picked him out of the PC and started raising him. Seriously, that surprised me, but I am so happy as that difficult fight was well worth it and I didn't even need Loewe (making Agate the star now).

 

And now we must continue the plot:

 

(But it's not my Birthday)

 

(You must have a really low bar if me crapping on your character is a good day)

 

(The game so far in a nutshell)

 

(I don't even really even know who the heck you are. How are we even friends? And lifetime! Oh god! What have I signed up for? May as well call this episode my date with a Mary Sue at this point)

 

(I don't blame you. I want to get out of here as well)

 

(Yes, it's called my bed)

 

(...Oh wow, the girl stands up for herself)

 

(...wait...we aren't getting physical with each other? Well, okay. I guess we'll let our mons do it then)

also I don't want to be beat up by a little girl

 

Okay, I think that's at least enough to give you more or less what I feel. Melia as a character is fine here. She was clearly rewritten, but it doesn't excuse the past events. This portrays her being a "little" (I don't know her exact age) girl having fun one last time before accepting she has to grow up. While it does help define her character better, we still don't see any of her faults. So basically it's a good moment, but it doesn't really excuse or weaken that her character is poorly written. I really liked it though compared to everything else. Now onto the battle:

 

(As you can see, I experienced a bug)

 

(Too bad he's on Lifesupport)

 

(Also sorry spriter, but that color scheme just does not look good. It's way too flat and bright on the eyes)

 

(I can only think of so many things to say in these)

 

(It's Agate. He's known as a win con)

 

(That's cute. Even if you weaken him, he'll just burn you back)

 

(Well he did learn from the best)

 

So this battle was actually pretty exciting. Gauis almost was able to KO the Bunneary before dying so Lifesupport more or less finished it with a Sonicboom. I believe Lifesupport fainted after hitting the Eevee with Sonicboom so Boomdocks just finished it. Boomdocks didn't quite KO the Stufful with Sonicboom so Agate basically went ham to KO it with Flamewheel. Agate then used Flamewheel on Togepi and I think you can figure out the rest.

 

(Clearly you haven't met Terra and the Terras of Alt Alt Terra. It's Terrafying).

 

(Lesson 1: Don't gamble with a gambler. Especially if the gambler cosplays and holds an OP Alakazam)

 

(That is the sound of my Hermoids doing the Harlem Shake. Finally we're done).

 

So while it may seem ranty, I really enjoyed many of the changes done to Goldenwood as I think it has improved. While I was griping, my only huge gripe was being unable to go and hunt for the girl on my own. I liked that sidequest and am kind of sad it got cut (or changed idk) and turned into a scene. Something I also want people to know about when I'm being critical and harsh on Rejuv. I'm not bashing the game just to bash it. I want Jan and other people who reads this to understand what I disagree with or against and often I pull stuff up to back up my claims of criticism. In fact, people can entirely disagree with me and bring stuff up proving I'm wrong. Sometimes something that would make a character or see is poorly written or doesn't stand out enough which explaining and showing me would let me explain why I may have missed that and even offer up a suggestions. Some things I also know can't be helped like the shiny thing for Melia.

 

Another thing to note is that while I'm playing the game, I'm playing it for enjoyment. When I go back and see all these screenshots, I look at them critically. I actually missed the whole Melia and her machine knowledge initially until I went and made this post. But so far I do think Melia has improved as a character, but...I still feel she could be improved to push her out of the Mary Sue zone. Maybe she isn't a Mary Sue either since we're only at the beginning. But yeah, she isn't my biggest issue so far. We'll go into that one in more detail next time as it's something just about any game developer can learn from. Especially a fan-game maker. (And also because this is a long ass post).

[Smooge]

I'm actually really enjoying reading these, it's very interesting to see what someone else thinks of the game, and I actually really like the criticism you add in because a lot of it is kinda true, and hopefully Jan realizes it and makes the game a bit more consistent in the future.
But then again, you are at the beginning of the game... And for me, the beginning of Rejuvenation has always been kind of "meh" in terms of plot and gameplay. In my eyes, the game REALLY starts to get good right around the second badge, but thats just me. You seem to be pretty experienced with writing and character development so maybe I sound really dumb right now, but I've never really been good at interpreting what kind of person a character really is... If that makes any sense

[Anime]

@Commander keep it up, i really enjoy reading your comments

[Commander]

On 6/9/2017 at 4:14 AM, whomst'd've'n't said:

I'm actually really enjoying reading these, it's very interesting to see what someone else thinks of the game, and I actually really like the criticism you add in because a lot of it is kinda true, and hopefully Jan realizes it and makes the game a bit more consistent in the future.
But then again, you are at the beginning of the game... And for me, the beginning of Rejuvenation has always been kind of "meh" in terms of plot and gameplay. In my eyes, the game REALLY starts to get good right around the second badge, but thats just me. You seem to be pretty experienced with writing and character development so maybe I sound really dumb right now, but I've never really been good at interpreting what kind of person a character really is... If that makes any sense

 

Everyone has the ability to be a critic and give good feedback as we all have our own thoughts and opinions. The hardest part is communicating them in an effective manner. For me though, I kind of had the opposite opinion as I thought the beginning was really good and Terujuma is where things got really, really bad. Of course there a couple things that made my inner writer cringe really hard. But yeah, Blacksteeple Castle is my least favorite part of the game believe it or not. We'll see if that still holds true. (And yes, that was a big reason why I stopped and the start of it).

 

On 6/9/2017 at 3:36 PM, Another Retired Shipper said:

@Commander keep it up, i really enjoy reading your comments

 

Kudos to you for reading all of this. Getting all the screenshots in takes a while, but it's really fun and it's a pretty quick thing compared to modding so I while I don't have as much time to work on big projects, a small project like this is a good break to relieve stress. I hope you keep reading.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Chapter 4: I May Have Spoken Too Soon

 

So you see my rants, I actually am going to take a couple things back regarding the story. Don't worry, it's just small stuff, but now I must continue a trend which will continue into I run out of ideas for it:

 

(Today's episode was brought to you by H O T L E G S)

 

I still think that's one of the stupidest Reborn memes, but whatevs. I filled that quota now.

 

(Also you see that little .2 in the corner, this is why you plan ahead, folks)

 

I'll be honest here that the Gen VII sprites are a little too well done as they stick out a tad much. I don't know if all the other icons will be updated or not, but that is a little glaring.

 

(So bugging me for an eternity in one region wasn't enough for you, was it?)

 

Okay so Commander story time. A long time ago before many of you were members, there was a game called Reborn, except this Reborn had no field effects (well it was beginning to) and it was a beautiful mess. A lot of stuff got added such as this Absol appearing. I hate this thing. I really hate this thing and its idea as while it was cool to appear once, once turned into ten times and it got really old really fast. I wasn't a huge fan of this as imo it's awful foreshadowing. Yes, writers use similar effects like dark clouds or a storm coming, but that became a cliche for a reason. The passive Absols are fine as it's a nice little easter egg imo and something you don't have to watch. It's the scenes where Absol appears than hops away. Seriously, that stuff gets old to watch very, very fast. But anyways, do not use Absol for foreshadowing. There's a million other ways you can show it so get creative with it. But that's my Reborn rant for the day. And yes, this thing will appear in my review of Reborn when the final episode is released.

 

(Either a bomb went off or a looooot of people are smoking weed. I blame Snoop Dogg for this.)

 

(Also WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!)

 

I don't know why Jan gave them names, but eh LoH names everyone but guards something. Nothing really exciting going on.

 

(You're fine lady. After all, you have Life Alert)

 

(...The fact you call on me worries me. Just because I have white hair doesn't make me old)

 

(Don't worry lady, I'm on the case)

 

Based on the info I recieved, I believe I deduced who the culprit is:

 

 

 

Authorities are looking for him as we speak
 

 

 

(...You literally took everything from this old lady already. If you try taking anything else, I'm gonna have to stop you. I'm already scarred enough as is)

 

(...First you go for old ladies and now you're after little girls. What lows won't you go?)

 

(No, that's Melia. You remember my name, but you can't remember hers)

 

(...............The sad part is that you're the most attractive one here)

 

(And even worse the lady is better at this than I am. With stiff competition like this, I may be stuck with Melia forever...curses. I need to up my game).

 

I gotta admit, this scene is amazing. Clearly the animation team was hard at work as this old lady was amazing and the movements made this moment pretty hilarious. Probably the first time I actually laughed playing this game. Loving this change already.

 

(Now, now, that is not how to treat a lady)

 

(Please feel free to take her. I'll even go back into the cave and "grind" if you need it.)

 

(That's understandable. They don't know how to treat a lady properly. I, however, am a true gentlemen)

 

(Lies! There are no Jedi here!)

 

(Yeah, just like the chances of ever seeing another Colosseum game)

 

Okay, we're going to stop here for a moment. I love shadow pokemon. Always have and always will. I think Jan introducing the concept here and into his game was a smart move as it makes battles a tad more interesting when you have to be careful not to KO one. However, I really did wish someone would program the code a bit better to A) Prevent hyper mode on oppenents and B. Be able to capture Pokemon in doubles. Yeah, that's a bit of work, but surely it can't be that difficult to make considering a game was based off of it. And continuing on...

 

(Oh god! Why me! Do you really want me to die that badly?)

 

You know what's funny, I really thought that was a bomb so you can imagine what I was thinking.

 

(Well, here's my last moments. I'll see you all on the other side).

 

...

 

(Oh no! This is a worse than a bomb. Something like this certainly doesn't match my beautiful coat)

 

Well at least I'm still alive...and in one piece. Guess I'll be suffering for a little longer at least.

 

(Well so much for the ladies. I look ridiculous wearing this)

 

(Seeing as I am a man from that region I know exactly what to do)

 

(Heh, I see why the kids were so into it now)

 

Literally is was LS using Sonicboom (I like this due to the fixed damage) and one Poke Ball and it was caught. I also love how you just randomly get 10 Poke Balls. I think Jan's being a little too generous, but you can never have too many balls. Wait...

 

(When your in charge of a league, you can do anything you want. Taking away people's happiness is also in the description)

 

(Suddenly, some rebel somewhere used Teleport)

 

And that's the end of that scene. It actually was pretty good and beats the heck out of the original version. This is probably the first really good scene and spoiler alert: I really liked this part a lot (even if it was easy). Oh wait...except for this:

 

(...you realize there was a healing machine on your way out, but I'm okay with this. You're a terrible battler).

 

Suddenly Zetta...

 

(Well there was a guy in a coat with a briefcase yelling "OBJECTION!")

 

(And Handsome)

 

(Actually, it's called a Gambit Glove. Clearly invented by the great genius Commander)

 

(Don't worry, Big Boy. I've handled much bigger customers <3)

 

So we decide to make our way to Goldenwood but...

 

(...Melia, couldn't you just mess with the wiring and we could hijack one of these trucks? WTF do you mean you don't know how to do that?)

 

While I'm sure Melia could've fit inbetween those trucks, I'm pretty sure she's safer going through Team Xen than going through that trainwreck of a town. I'd actually like to revoke my least favorite part as Blacksteeple now. Trust me, I've got plenty to talk about those two areas. Plenty.

 

Well at least this is a good time to train Gaius

 

(You can see the Aftermath of this battle)

 

...or not.

 

There wasn't anything too exciting but I really liked the dialogue of the Xen members with Shadow Pokemon and how the Finneon disappeared after you snagged it. It's a nice little touch. But finally we're able to leave this bloody place...

 

(Where's the guy in charge around here? I need to find him and tell him to park his goddamn car where it's not in people's way).

 

And so...we finally get to fight the boss of this gang of...noobs but first...

 

(I think I may have just found my soul mate)

 

(If you don't want him, I'll take him. I need a new gambling buddy).

 

(...You're kidding me. You are kidding me! Once you get your engineering degree, I'll hire you right off the bat. These plebs have no understanding of a fully flourished engineer student)

 

(I love this VS sprite tbh)

 

I kind of understand why Ame got rid of the Aster and Elicpse one, but I really do miss that old vs sprite. It's good to see it's still here for Rejuv. But seriously, I'll give someone a cameo fight in either Reborn Hardcore or Rejuv "Hardcore" if they make a vs sprite of my sprite. I am TERRIBLE as spriting detailed sprites. Anyways...anticlimatic battle time:

 

(Thanks for the help, Melia. You just made my life a whole lot harder)

 

(Thankfully I have the world's greatest rat to save the day)

 

(Well that was disappointing. Just like Melia's performance.)

 

Seriously, the pics tell the whole story. LS killed Murkrow with three sonicbooms and all Togepi did was charm. That's it. You can figure the rest out. Like this has to be a very, very disappointing fight. And yes, I will improve it in Hardcore*. I know exactly what to do (and it's not evolving Murkrow and Misdreavus).

 

*I never did get to working on it

 

(I've seen some really sore Ferns Losers, but you definitely take the cake.)

 

(I guess it's time to Bye! Bye! A go go!)

 

Oh crap, I didn't screencap Melia threatening to attack them directly...that really doesn't help. I really can't make sense of her character as she does various things that contradict her personality. What someone really needs to do when going back to these scenes and dialogue is to remove all of it from their head and don't even include any events ahead of this and redefine who Melia is. Draw up a backstory for her even if none of the scenes are included (I do this for characters when trying to understand them better) as it'll help you understand a character better and know what they'd say or do. Then you can go back, look at the dialogue and anything that really doesn't fit her character can be edited in a way that does. I've completely torn down and rebuilt characters before plenty of times as the initial character is often way too stiff or unrealistic (or uninteresting).

 

(Sharon: The environmentalist)

 

(They seemed pretty normal to me. At least Eli did. Sharon on the other hand...)

 

And now we take on the big guy...

 

(It's fun to stay at the...)

 

(Excuse me, but could you please pull your truck over so I can leave...Also, I like your coat. Wanna trade?)

 

(Yep, but don't wear it out)

 

(I mean...I thought it was a cool name).

 

You gotta love when the dialogue works out a little too well.

 

(...Nope. There's no one named Melia here. That's Mary. Mary S.)

 

And suddenly we get a Zetta styled explanation on stuff which Melia reacts like this:

 

(It's like math. The more you try to make sense of it...the less it makes sense).

 

(What's really funny is that his character makes the most sense so far. Irony? NO!)

 

(Gee, I don't know why anyone would ever want a future gym leader that's the daughters professor who is a future engineering student with the power to find shinies with ease. No reason at all.)

 

(Darn. I thought people wouldn't be able to see it if I hid it under my coat. Here I am forever a fashion disaster.)

 

And then there's some more boring exposition so I'm going to just cut that from here. It's not bad, but it's not super great either. Zetta just has an attitude and Melia is a clueless little butterfly and that's about it. Not bad, but nothing to really go into detail about. But...

 

(Finally, someone who speaks my language.)

 

And if I win...

 

(That...actually is what I wanted. You've got yourself a deal).

 

And we're about to play a game when Melia has to but in. Melia, I love you, but let the gambler do his thing.

 

(Heh! What he doesn't know is that I'm a master battler. I could take you both on once if I had to).

 

And so the battle begins:

 

(I only do these Vs Sprites when I think the opponent looks really cool. Love Zetta's new design).

 

So since this is the first actually slightly challenging battle but not really, I'll do the summary Pokemon by Pokemon:

 

(This folks is why you always call Lifesupport)

 

Minior had a strange glitch thingy where it was that sprite before reverting to the normal shell sprite when initiating the battle. All it did as Harden while LS 2ko'd it with Sonicboom. That's it.

 

(I never imagined I'd ever see that ability find a use)

 

Walter lost half of his HP but he pretty much took Meowth down rather effortlessly.

 

(This is why I'm a dog person)

 

(...I'm not sure I even want to catch that thing. It scares me.)

 

So Boomdock knocks it down to red so that I can...

 

(Ah yes, just like back in Orre)

 

You want to know what's worse, I didn't save after beating Sharon and Eli. So I redid all of that more or less resulting in the same results to get back to here:

 

(Wait...did you just change genders? Then again, how does one even distinguish the two?)

 

Thankfully...

 

(At least this can't get any worse)

 

(You've got to be kidding me)

 

So I still had both of my wincons alive so I kind of mess around here. Walter did this much damage:

 

(Something tells me this isn't going to end well)

 

Gauis did this much damage:

 

(Good job you widdle bug. Daddy wuvs you wewry much)

 

And then since Gauis is so slow he fainted.

 

(Once again, Ratigan shows why he's the world's greatest rat. To Ratigan!).

 

(Hey, you're the one who challenged a League Admin. Get at my level!)

 

(The counterplay is called "Get good, scrub!")

 

But thankfully we have this in the bag now.

 

(...When I said I could take both of you on, what I mean to say is: "Melia, you're on your own.")

 

I'll admit that I love the Dimension Gyarados way more than the regular giant one from before. It has such a cool design. But...

 

(I always wondered what it was like to be in the belly of the beast)

 

(This is not what I hand in mind.)

 

While I do have the next set of images ready, I think now is a really good stopping point. Here's the thing about Reborn vs Rejuv: What Reborn does well, it does very, very well to the point flaws can even be overlooked, but Ame's biggest issue is her mindset which is her Achilles heel. My biggest issue with Rejuv is when it tries to be like Reborn. When Jan does something not like Reborn, it turns out pretty good or at least interesting.

 

Let me just list it off: Rejuv has better sidequests to start, I'd argue better music selection (I don't really get the decision behind the music changes for Reborn), but Jan's strong suit has to be the animation and style. My favorite things so far are easily the flirty old lady, Venam flying through the roof, and even Sharon facepalm. He hits the right moment to do these and it looks amazing considering how Gen III is usually very static. His strong suit is effectively using these visuals to help with the dialogue (which usually is for the humor moments). On the flip side, the weakest moments are generally the one to one conversation, especially with the protag. Those situations usually are where Reborn shines as Ame finds ways to tell a characters story a little bit at a time and in numerous ways, some of which are very, very subtle such as Samson's. In other words, Ame is better at showing stuff through dialogue while Jan is better showing stuff off through visuals.

 

I'll also make a recap post covering the beginning of the game up until Venam for people who pick up this run when I'm further in and can speed read without going through this whole mess. I know I'll at least do up until pre-Venam episode and make Venam's fight separate as some people really only want to see boss fights and how people handle them. Don't worry, being the modder of Hardcore, of course I'm going to talk about battles, but at least this section it's better suited I clump it all together in the recap episode. Also, I gave all the chapters names at the top so it's easier to find. There's only so much I can do to make this user friendly (and the fact I type essays).

[Sardines]

3 hours ago, Commander said:

(Yep, but don't wear it out)

I have been really enjoying your written run, especially the small quips in brackets. But for some reason, the above statement just made me lose it.

Hope you continue your run, and your thoughts on it. Insightful and very enjoyable

[Commander]

Sorry ladies and gentlemen for not doing a daily post, but since I got my weekly homework done I can relax a bit and power grind on this for a bit (next week will likely be a little slow so that I can work on Hardcore fixes for a release and schoolwork). But since this is technically a part two...Actually...

 

Chapter 5: Karp ate dem

 

(This takes "something fishy" in a whole new perspective)

 

TBH I really like this part compared to the back to back Gyarados fight after Zetta that originally happened. It looks really cool (and you can see it's based off of Goldenwood forest's layout) and adds a good run around moment. However:

 

(Even this world is not safe from black boxes)

 

(I just crossed the Red Sea. Now that I've done that...Gyara! Gyara! Oh baby let my magikarps go!)

 

Yeah this spot had no indication you could cross. I mean a very easy solution would be to add some shading to make a path and some dialogue events asking if the player wants to cross over the river. Easy fix and a lot less confusing as I though I softlocked the game.

 

And now the moment you've been waiting for. The epic match between...

 

(For the last time, I'm not a dog!)

 

There is no reason for Melia to even be here. I'll get into what should have been done instead, but let's wait a minute and get to that in a minute (I didn't screen cap this as I was worried about image space since I was pushing it hard for the previous post).

 

(Wait if I'm in the belly of the beast and it eats me here. Where do I end up?)

 

(That monster may think he's cooler than me, but I'm the one with the beats)

 

(Well...sometimes I'm a little off-beat)

 

(But that doesn't bug me)

 

(But thanks for Leafing us alone)

 

So pretty much this fight was Boomy using sonicboom to weaken it down to the red, I tested to see if Dimensional Thrash was like the original thrash, but it's a different move and doesn't cause confusion so I just sent in Gauis for the experience so that he could start catching up. Honestly it wasn't too exciting of a fight, but it wasn't boring to say at the least. The AI seems a little funky in this game, but it seems workable.

 

Anyways, let's continue on a little bit:

 

(My performance improves when I'm not around you)

 

And then some stuff happens like teleporting stuff then this:

 

(...I miss being in that Gyarados already)

 

(That's Togepi for "Stop thinking dirty thoughts." Hmph! I like thinking about dirt).

 

And I basically missed the entire dialogue of this section. Basically what bothers me is that it's telling me what happened instead of showing me. What could've been done is to switch scenes from the protagonist to Melia's PoV and play the original scene where Garbodor poisons the water to weaken the Gyarados. Zetta could be surprised while Melia is able to slip away before transitioning back to the player's view with the Gyarados hollering in pain. That would be a good way to explain Gyarados's low level and how the player was able to overcome a difficult battle. And to be honest, that's basically like 3 hours worth of work tops, but very effective storytelling as it's two people working together to overcome an impossible force. But then there's the other thing:

 

Alpha Metronome

 

This move basically gives Melia the power to do anything and any plot convenience. It's just bad writing and there is literally almost no way around it. The beginning of the game relies on it at another point and since Melia doesn't have a ralts (who could've been used to get out of this situation) anymore, it's hard to get around. But for the Lake scene alone, Zetta could've been distracted by his creation getting destroyed he missed Melia slipping right past the tanks and escaping on the train. The player could've been spatted out basically in front of the train station in Gearen City where they and Melia could've met and Melia wished to confront her father. And on that note:

 

(...You do realize what would've happened if it didn't, right?)

 

Oh boy do I get to talk about Melia very soon. Very soon.

 

(I have something to ask him as well: Why are you the only one with their head screwed on right?)

 

(Lass, they got away with it twice now).

 

Look, I get when people are stressed they act irrationally now and then, but there is a point where it just goes too far. We literally just stood death in the face and the first thing I'd be thinking is that "I almost just died. I have to be careful now." But Melia wants to stop a powerful organization when she barely can stand on her own two feet. Sure we had a victory, but conveniences were the only reason we one. Way too many conveniences (the Garbodor I'd buy, but not the togepi BS). Even so, that Garbodor really got there fast...unless it took the train. That's actually kind of funny to picture a Garbodor ordering a train ticket.

 

(Never though I'd see the day someone asked a silent protagonist to shut up).

 

(Maybe he didn't want to buy your stuff)

 

(He did it to protect the children. Let them keep their innocence).

 

(Being overly cautious is boring. Living on the edge is the life. Well my life as a traveling gambler anyways).

 

(My guess is to sell you over priced shampoo. Never. Buy. Anything. From. A. Ginger.)

 

(They call her Mad X for a reason just like my Ex-wife)

 

(Unfortunately, he was so Zetta slow)

 

(That's where you went wrong. People like babies. Why do you think baby boomers came to be?)

 

(...Jenner, you sly dog.)

 

(Well when you start reaching a certain age, you start to get a bit more flabby). <<< I gained 20 pounds since writing this

 

(Ah ha! I figured it out. You see, I was sent with Melia to prevent her from being captured as Jenniper is a very lonely man who wishes for Xen to keep him company to pass the time).

 

(...If I was able to get my old life back, I'd give you the girl no questions asked. Unfortunately that's not possible).

 

I just want to take a minuet and say this honestly has been the best scene in the game so far. It's a back-to-back conversation where Madelis shows she isn't stupid and knows Jenipper likely is or betrayed them already. Madelis is lamenting that maybe letting Melia bond with someone so long was a bad idea and is trying to remind Jenniper that they'll leave him alone if he complies with this one thing...which he partially did. In the original, it reflected on him serving more of the bad guy side, but this shows he's only playing along because he's forced to. I can't say if it's better or worse, but the conversation was decent. Then this happens....

 

(Dammit Melia! Rule 1 is to never blow your cover)

 

This is what I like to call protagonist idiot syndrome. I'm sure TVtropes has a proper name for it, but basically, it means that the protag doesn't use their head and runs in and challenges someone way beyond their level just because they feel what that person is doing is wrong. Normally, that'd get a person killed, but since the protagonist is the protagonist, they are immune to such factors. Or as Estelle puts it "Hit first, ask questions later."

 

(Somewhere deep inside, the professor is face palming himself right now)

 

(You know Jenniper if you're sick of Melia, you could be my father. At least I'd be GRATEFUL for the stuff you game me).

 

(...What about the second you were born?)

 

(I'm not sure if Madelis is annoyed at this point or extremly happy. Probably both).

 

(Are you sure? There's a reason why you're family abandoned you).

 

And then Melia decides to blow my cover as well. That pretty much sealed our fate that I'm going to die.

 

(Hey, this is easy compared to handling finances. All that money seems to randomly disappear).

 

(I mean even the lady with the Leavanny could've done it so don't act all impressed).

 

(It's probably not a good idea to start a fight in a room full of mechanical devices)

 

(...You realize you are setting that Togepi in point blank range, right?)

 

And since I'm getting real sick of Melia I'm just going to skip this part as it's basically her teleporting out of this place to escape Madelis. Madelis basically then says she's gotta go find her and then she leaves. It's not really anything exciting. Then we get to this:

 

(...You basically turned me into a pawn. Heh, if pawns get to steal people's Pokemon I'm okay with it, daddy).

 

Suddenly Ren shows up:

 

(Let's see...a boat sank that killed my mother, Jenniper is evil, or Melia is missing. Take a guess which one's the issue, Ren).

 

(Heh, I'm not that gullible. Who'd ever think Pokemon could talk?)

 

(Remind me to thank Mercy later. Best healer.) <<<Never played Overwatch, btw

 

(I'm sure they aren't the only ones after her...if you know what I mean)

 

Okay, I skipped bits an pieces because the dialogue is kind of eh. If I capture every moment, it'd be a lot of eh screencaps as well. But that last image breaks the silent protagonist rule where the protag can speak and explains stuff to Ren. If you go back to Chapter 1, you see a very long section where the player doesn't say anything in a situation they should've. I'll go a bit further before going into detail my thoughts:

 

(So pieces of metal can destroy rocks as well. The more you know).

 

(Oh good, I get to find someone who isn't Melia...to find Melia)

 

Okay, sorry for the text skips, but this is a very long...drawn out scene. It's not actually bad as Jenipper is actually interesting compared to his old version where it made him look evil. I know what happens, but anyways, there's really nothing wrong with that scene other than it's hard to commentate on. Melia letting her emotions get to her would've worked fine, but...it didn't. She just spat in anger and then went back to her Mary Sue tendencies. The player character is a subject for the recap, but Madelis, Ren, and Jenipper were all fine in this scene and honestly were interesting to watch over again to see those changes. Melia though...

 

Here's kind of the thing: her only Pokemon left was Togepi and Togepi was mortally damaged. This means that not only is she without Pokemon, but she's without Pokemon on a route full of wild Pokemon, with people chasing her giving her no time to stop. What nobody mentioned was that she was acting irrationally due to her whole world falling apart which makes her dangerous and reckless which could pretty much put her in danger. But no, Team Xen is the bigger issue and the protag has to reach Melia before they do. Because a girl who exposed herself to a very high rank who could kill anyone in the room with ease is thinking very straight. I'm sorry have my conversations are about Melia and her negative stuff, but Melia pretty much is the main character at this point and she's poorly written and characters don't react they way they should regarding her. It's frustrating in the sense.

 

But we must move on. There isn't much before Venam's gym other than trainers being able to be fought again...which I don't understand. My team was roughly the same level as Venam's after the Gyarados. These trainers pushed them all into the 17-19 range and I haven't grinded at all since training up Loewe. So yes, I have almost a full set of level 20s plus Loewe without only like 15 minutes of wild Pokemon grinding. That's important for later. The Munna event was also cool.

 

(Someone thinks a little too highly of themselves)

 

(Something tells me I'm going to regret this)

 

(....What's really funny is that this is more or less all he says the first time)

 

...I really don't understand the purpose of making players tap it twice when a simple conditional statement does the same thing, but doesn't mean you have to tap it twice.

 

(Yes, yes I am mysterious ghost man)

 

(...Really, is that all you've got?)

 

(I mean...rock 'n roll is the best way to beat her though. Just ask Bibarel)

 

Then Jan explains how the poison field is (which is a nerfed Corrosive field) before adding this beauty:

 

(There's something called home field advantage. I think you should look up what it means when say that to me again).

 

Seriously, that is the biggest lie the game will ever tell you. Opponents are meant to have an advantage over you. Bosses in RPGs often have both higher stats and attacks that you can't learn or use.

 

(How about a grass bug? I'm sure he'll be the MVP)

 

So remember how he says bring a Psychic type, I want to mention Julia as you can make her a lot easier by bringing a grass type (which Hardcore really encourages you to do to learn defense tactics), but you do not need one to win and with a good team victory is easily yours. My team is a A!Rattata, Buizel, Voltorb, Rockruff, Sewaddle, and Growlithe. That's a pretty good team for this early in the game. Loewe is in the box for now due to being 21 and I don't want to lower his level. I'll get to more on this later.

 

Btw, I love the field background of the trainers in this area, but this is ridiculous:

 

(I can't even bat an eye for this one)

 

Second stagers really shouldn't even be used until at least the second gym on the HARDEST ranking. There's no reason to do this at all and it just makes a player run back and heal after every battle which is annoying. I don't want to talk about the gym puzzle as I really don't like it. Not hard, but really tedious trying to remember how colors work...ish. It looks cool, but pretty much tedious, though the secret area I asked about the colors as I have no idea how to look for that code. Anyways:

 

(I'm sure Julia has multiple of these)

 

While it's a cool easter egg about version 1's history, it kind of bothers me how many times Jan's name comes up in this game. Ame's only appears I think roughly 8 times and my own character's name only appears about twice in Hardcore, though there are two references to his character and his misadventures. Jan I want to say is mention about 10 times in this city alone. From the looks of it, all 3 play as important of roles to their respective games/mods.

 

(I thought Venam was environmentally friendly, then I realized all those trees are covered in poison ivy).

 

I don't have much to say...actually, I do have on thing to say. Jan, get on your game with those hologram dialogues otherwise Jim is going to show you up. If you don't believe me, this is kind of what he would say about Venam:

 

"Salutations Challenger!

 

What's with the funny look? My boss told me to make up a new greeting, but if it's going to get me looks like that, I guess I should think of something else. But you aren't here for my problems, you're here for you problems or more importantly gym problems. You've got Venam, R 'n R lover to deal with and just like her name she is quite toxic. Be careful as if this man-eater's able to poison your Pokemon, you'll be seeing a purple haze as her attacks are boosted on top of her field effects boosts. Huh? You don't know what a field effect is? Think of it as home turf where a leader gets a boost in their power. You'll get the hang of it over time, but for now imagine it boosting a leader's STAB. Brutal, but I know you'll push through. But if you're really struggling, fight her with some old time rock 'n roll as rocks resist her powerful stabs and a number of pokemon learn Rollout. So what are you waiting for? Get going and rock the world."

 

(drops mic)

[Sceptilespy]

Ohmygoddadilovethisimgoingtofollowitnowokijustdiditandnowimruiningmylifebywaitingforyoupleasehelpicantwaituntilthesendhelpnextpartthesearehelppleaseamazingandineedhelpmore.

[Commander]

Viewer discretion is advised for the spoiler below:

 

Chapter 6: I'm your Venam

 

And to start off unlike last time:

 

 

 

(*Ahem*

My Janiconda don't

My Janiconda don't

My Janicond don't want none

Unless you got buns, hun)

 

 

 

Now that I got that out of the way, it's time to take on Venam....and this became a very interesting battle very fast so I'll be going through images based on each Pokemon instead of summarizing the whole battle at the end.

 

(Ratigan eats you for breakfast...literally)

 

(He's not going to need those after he evolves)

 

(Well...at least Venam took out the trash).

 

Trubbish wasn't very exciting as all it did was use pound before dying to hyper fang. My team is a bit overleveled just due to the sheer levels of all the trainers making for a ridiculous level difference. Remember that level 15 Golbat, yeah there were plenty of those situations. Anyways I got lucky since it didn't use Toxic Spikes.

 

(...Well at least it isn't a Scolipede)

 

(This would be over sooner if she didn't stop spamming protect)

 

(...This is almost like the what happened to the real Agate)

 

(Serves you right for poisoning me)

 

I think I'm going to stop commentating on every battle pic as some really don't have much going on other than to give you an image of what was going on in the battle. This actually was a pretty one sidded battle as the Whirlipede could do nothing to me with bug bite (I don't know its moveset, but I don't know why it didn't use Venoshock) and spammed protect. Even so Venoshock probably would've done 5 damage or so which is basically nothing either. It took a ton of hits with Venam using her poitons up, but the Poison was kind of deadly one one of my strongest mons. I know Venoshock did like half of Agate's HP which for a 130 BP Stab with a filed boost, is really, really weak.

 

(I think we all know how this is going to end)

 

(And yes, that was one single Charge Beam)

 

I think I used Ratigan or someone to weaken them, but pretty much Boomdocks used Mareanie as settup fodder. What was really funny was seeing me completely forget that this thing even existed.

 

(...Didn't Corey use something like this as well?)

 

(...Whelp Boomy you had a good run)

 

(...well that was anticlimatic)

 

Yeah, pretty much Grimer was more settup fodder as despite the poison gem, it really didn't do that much damage. Boomy certainly is not a tanky Pokemon either. But two charge beams took it down for good.

 

(Well this stinks)

 

Yeah Stunky either survived a charge beam, but I actually think charge beam missed causing Boomdock to be KO'd without giving any damage. Nevermind, charge beam hit, but only took it down to half health (has Venam been feeding it Trubbish or something?)

 

(And the world's greatest rat snipes the kill)

 

(or not)

 

Seriously, I know Stunky can take hits, but it really surprises me one is able to take a Hyper Fang, a very powerful move, like it was nothing. I'd like to look at its stats to really judge it, but this thing took me by surprise. Agate KO'd it with a flame wheel even though I didn't display that.

 

(Is Salt-N-Pepa an answer?)

 

And then we get into this thing. An ace who is still two levels below mine. It outsped Agate so...he died to a Venoshock. So then I used my secret weapon: Walter.

 

(NO WALTER! DON'T USE TACKLE)

 

So here's a funny little story. While I was trying to screencap, I accidentally hit the action button (I have to hit FN to use my function keys) so I accidentally selected Tackle. While it wasn't a major deal, it meant I wasn't going to be doing much damage to Seviper. Then...this happened:

 

(I think I'm starting to see a purple haze)

 

Yep, she got a critical hit on me with Venam's kiss. She also outspeeds Walter which is also bad. So then I decided to send Gauis out as fodder so that I could then send in Lifesupport could go in and get a Sonicboom or two off. Unfortunately, she missed her first Sonicboom and was only able to land one sonicboom so now I have Walter and I'm up against this:

 

(Don't worry boy, you've got this)

 

Normally, I would reset, except I was on fast forward and walked right up into the battle which began immediately (I didn't even have a chance to save or screencap). I was like "Okay, I need to say no so that I can save and get some of the dialogue." It sucks since none of the Reborn leaders do this and often make it so you can say yes or no, or have to hit A to talk to them. The first gym shouldn't pull a stunt like this. Anyways, I had a ton of potions and chinese food so I just used that to heal Walter up so I could weaken him (I also honestly should have won the battle at this point anyways so I didn't feel so bad).

 

(We're almost there)

 

(And that's game folks)

 

So yeah that was a long drawn out battle drawn out even longer by another critical hit by that thing. I didn't use too many items, but Venam's Kiss must have a lot of BP as I'm surprised it hasn't run out yet. I'm also surprised it doesn't have a poison chance or any type of effect. I'm going to take a guess it's an 80 BP move with a 10% chance of poisoning the opponent. That's just a guess from what I observed. Anyways Walter finishes Seviper of with a Rock Throw and I claim my badge.

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

Except that didn't happen.

 

 

Yep, she got a critical hit again and screwed me over my gym badge. I wish I could've shown you my face. I was pissed. I was very, very pissed about this and I even had a rage moment about this in the chat. Also, I normally won't do a full fleshed out failed attempt in a post, but this is an exception just because it was just...the sheer buildup. Most of the time I'll just do highlights of my failures and mishaps. I took the loss of 170 Poke and then saved right afterwards. I don't have as many screenshots since I was PO'd.

 

Attempt #2

 

(Only because you cheated me out of a badge)

 

(...The only thing keeping me from strangling you right now is the toxic wasteland you call a field is in the way)

 

(Okay Ratigan, you need to trash him again)

 

(And suddenly this battle became a bit more difficult)

 

So Trubbish decided to use Toxic Spikes followed by Venoshock this time which is bad for me as not only do I not have any poison types, all my pokemon are affected by it. And since Whirlpede is coming I have to switch, not to mention I'm out of healing items.

 

I didn't have a pick of this moment, but I sent Walter (Rockruff) out and that Whirlpede could do nothing against him so he had a field day fighting it before it switched. Seeing as Walter was a very useful member and I needed to keep him off the field, I opted to switch into Gaius to take a Scald and then do some chip damage before fainting to a Venoshock. Boomdocks is who I sent out next.

 

(And we all know what's going to happen next)

 

You probably can take a guess what's about to happen.

 

(I'm starting to question Venam's strategies)

 

This isn't actually an AI comment, but why Fire Punch of all the moves Grimer can learn. Steel would make sense if a steel Pokemon was even available, but I don't recall any mon of such type being available this early. We're lucky to even have Geodude as a ground type.

 

I then opted to keep Boomdock alive for the Sonicboom and sent Agate to take on the Stunky. I don't remember what happened (I'm guessing I spammed Flame wheel) this was the results:

 

(He still has a long way to go to catch up to Loewe)

 

Ratigan though saved the day:

 

 

And then he showed off a little bit:

 

 

And I mean really showed off:

 

(And with luck back on my side, all is right with the world).

 

Unfortunately, Ratigan couldn't last any longer and was finally taken down. I decided to send Walter in. Walter was hit by a Venoshock and then used a rock throw seen here:

 

(We know the true R'nR lover here. Speaking of RnR, I'll be doing some after this battle)

 

(And Walter is down again)

 

I then sent out Lifesupport:

 

(Crit me once, shame on you. Crit me twice, shame on me. Crit me three times, Lifesupport will kick in)

 

I wasn't taking any chances here. None at all.

 

And finally, I beat her.

 

(Thanks for making me have to double my post length, Venam)

 

(Wish I could say the same for you).

 

I'll get into the battle in a minute, but let's wrap this part of the episode up:

 

(Sorry lass, but I have a reputation to keep. You were doomed to lose.)

 

(I deserved this twenty minutes ago)

 

(I thought the badge was called Venam badge)

 

(...She was in danger the moment I first met her)

 

(...Sure...a little girl can totally take on dangerous monsters all by herself. It's not like we've ever seen it happen before...)

 

Now I want to separate this little section:

 

(I do, however, I want to stay as far, far away from that bad omen as possible)

 

(Considering what that Gothitelle owner said, I'm pretty sure this is very, very true)

 

(Considering Goldenwood forest is blocked off and West Gearen is out of the question, I'm pretty sure I don't have a choice)

 

Okay, I want to talk about this little segment for a section. We've all spent enough time to kind of get the idea what kind of character Venam's like. Does this really sound like Venam at all? If you say yes, then you need to reevaluate how you read characters. Melia is a very important friend to Venam so her questioning the player isn't out of the question, but she doesn't have a reason to. Now then, let's take a step back and answer our own question with another question: is there a reason why Venam should Venam should trust the player? People are putting blind faith in a stranger from another land. She has no reason to, but she has to.

 

Let's look at the current situation: Melia is in a dangerous area with dangerous men attacking her. Two people working together barely escaped the lowly grunts of this group. I would imagine though if Venam had the power, she'd rush to save Melia as soon as she could because she cares about her best friend. Doing so would be suicide. Venam's a rebel, but from what we see of her, she always will do what she wants or believes in and not even thinking about the consequences. You can't tell me someone like that would be the old wise man trope. This does also bring up another topic that the recap will cover regarding the protag.

 

(Great...more silent people. As if one wasn't enough)

 

Btw this is what my team looks like after that battle....

 

(Talk about running on Lifesupport)

 

Now if you recall, Loewe is in the box at level 21. Yes, all of my Pokemon are pretty close to the cap even though I really only grinded them on wild Pokemon up until level 12-13 range. They all gained that many levels off of trainers. With a level difference that high, Venam should have been really, really easy as her levels were 2-6 below mine. Except they were not. She has something a like to call lopsided Reborn syndrome which is something Reborn runs off of and in the lategame it becomes very apparent why such designs are not very good ideas. Lopsided syndrome means that you make certain mons very weak in order to make their ace/secondary ace seem ridiculously strong and pretty much the real battle.

 

A Whirlpede at this level is too much for Reborn style, but I suppose Hardcore style I'd give it a pass. While it's not too strong offensively, it can take attacks and supereffective ones with ease. Combine this with the poison status and you've got a lot of hassle to deal with. People with antidotes and Pecha berries would have an easy time, but I wanted to challenge myself. Still, the bad part was Mereanie and Grimer. Mereanie is just an awful choice for a poison team as while it can tank, Qwilfish does the same role but better and Roselia can serve as a utility similiar to Trubbish. While Muk is not a bad choice, I question why it didn't have Mud Bomb and had fire punch of all moves. Anyways, all of these mons could easily be raised due to the sheer scale of experience you earn (15-18 range). They need to match the player's level so that the player doesn't feel like they are grinding too much or feel they are too strong and plow through a leader.

 

The Seviper though is my biggest complaint. Yes, it is hard to nerf a seviper for a first gym for it's insane stats. The issue is that all it has were poison moves. I would like to see a nerfed Seviper (maybe a nature that decreases its offense, but increases speed) that does some clever strats to throw people off their game. All it is right now is a hard hitting mon that at proper level could OHKO most available Pokemon. But even then, Seviper still took out half my team alone.

 

But if you want me to put this in layman's terms: Nerf the Seviper's offense, but raise everyone's levels to be 16-18. Not a major change, but more of a psychological change. Anyways that's it for this chapter and the next one will be a recap covering info on all the previous chapters.

 

And don't worry I didn't forget about this:

 

(Dr Mario? Is that you? What happened to your hair?)

 

(I know. She's quite the beauty)

 

(Something tells me that this is a bad idea. A very bad idea.)

 

(Excuse me while I'll play Mr. Hide)

 

(There are coconuts though, right? And I'm not talking about the fruit)

 

(...This bed is starting to make me uncomfortable)

 

(I'm slightly interested)

 

(NO I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH YOU!)

[Commander]

And now the Recap Post:

 

Recap 1: From the Prologue to Venam (or the One Night Stand With Dr. Mario):

 

So we started our little adventure with a flashback of Maria...nette. I've seen those flashbacks numerous times, but while I always felt like it was unnecessary, I still kind of like how it was written. The boat on the other hand I thought got a well needed revision and was actually entertaining. After that we went into Gearen City which while I still don't really like the place the apartments aren't nearly as bad as they were before. We recieved our starter Loewe, the Oshawott and after some rants moved on to basically catch Pokemon and do anything but advanced the plot. After our fun detour, we met Venam, saved Melia in the sewers, then in Goldenwood from a blonde guy with a giant water dragon, and then are going to save her again since she teleported off to god knows where. But first we had to fight and defeat Venam for a badge in order to save Melia. Actually, I think this section was more about Melia than the player themselves.

 

Alright, I'll start off with all the good things so far. The game is pretty well balanced and despite the long segments in this 8 hours (yes, I spent 8 hours in the episode alone) nothing felt to drag on for too long. The graphics are really well done in some areas especially for a fan-game (graphic consistency is something uncommon amongst fan-games due to the lower amount of workers and skill), but believe it or not the best thing had to be the mon availability. Unlike Reborn, I felt like I had options to pick from and quite a variety from Buizel to Growlith and even the lovable Rockruff. It made picking a team kind of fun even though it was slightly limited. I mean I didn't even use my starter for half the section and I think quite a number of mons stood out that I showcased like Lifesupport and Ratigan. The emotion icons above characters as well the little character animations also really add to the dynamic of the story and moments making characters feel a bit more alive compared to the normal stiffness seen (one of my biggest complaints with RPGmaker though). Definitely would say this was fun and interesting even if I went through it the first time and compared to the original, I'd say it's worth trying out as it brings a lot of good ideas to the table. Also Snag Machine and Shadow Pokemon, but that's always a plus from me as Colosseum is my second "official" favorite Pokemon game.

 

Now for the bad. One of the easiest things to notice is while they are some amazing graphics...there are some awful ones. I'm sorry, but that help center looks ugly. My bigger issue comes from the elephant in the room: the silent protagonist. The writers (I presume Jan) just cannot make a good silent protagonist and a story revolving around it. The first half of the episode literally contradicts the second half as they go from cannot talk to basically telling and filling in player roles. Maybe it's just me but writing a good story with a silent protagonist rarely works out very well. I'd say even Reborn struggles with it at times since it relies heavily on having more than one other character on the screen to progress the story or fill the players in (to the point they are invisible). Let me explain why this is:

 

There are two types of protagonists: player inserts and pre-defined characters. Player inserts are generally customizable characters who have little to no backstory and little involvement in the story so that a player can get invested and fill in those traits to their own desire. In the old days, this worked really well, but over time its began to dwindle as games are getting longer and more advanced. This works with Pokemon though since they run off barebone plots which is basically focused on mindless fun. That's why those games are so easy and why so many people like them due to their simplicity. Pre-defined silent protagonists are characters with a backstory and history who are not the player, but choose not to talk for various reasons. Paper Mario is my favorite example as the writers use their talents to have Mario speak without saying a single word and you understand exactly what he's saying. It's also a story you're helping to write.

 

So why do I think it takes a lot of skill to do well over a talking protagonist? It has to do with dialogue. When a character can speak, they can respond and react to what another character is saying. Maybe a character is feeling depressed. Our character could talk with them to help cheer them on and maybe learn a thing or two about them. A silent protag could do that as well without words. What a silent protag couldn't do is tell that character to shut up and get over himself shocking the depressed person. He then says that we all are having tough times and if he keeps this up everyone will be following his example due to how influential the depressed character is. Maybe the protag even looked up to him which is why he became a Pokemon trainer in the first place. You have a lot more options since you don't have to make assumptions when writing the player in (which is similar to a self-insert and all those problems).

 

This leads to a lot of things unexplained or poorly explained such as why Melia became so fond of you so shortly, Amanda's sheer ignorance, and Jenipper's trust in you. This cannot be changed so I won't say much, but I think my bigger issue in the writing is conveying emotions. Maybe I'm reading too into this, but a lot of my comments about things I disliked were often why something wasn't explained as you'd think a character would act like this, unless something happened to change their tone or actions. Melia didn't seem stressed or scared during the whole Gyarados situation. I mean a lot of tragic things happened in this episode, but most characters were at a point where they more or less shrugged it off. Ren seeing Melia in danger was more or less "We gotta go help her." I'm not saying people have to be emotional trainwrecks, but...I'd like to see a little bit more or at least a show a little bit stronger.

 

Then there's Melia. This whole section basically was Melia's adventures with the Protag serving as her white knight. Every single thing the protag did was for Melia in the plot. Going to the sewers to find Melia. Going to Goldenwood with Melia to save her. You are getting a badge for Melia in order to save her. In Reborn, you kind of push yourself to drive the plot. Yeah you're doing stuff for people, but it's you who traveled Peridot Ward and you who went through the slums to get through to the other side. I kind of wish Ren was more like Fern here as Fern at least would've challenged Melia and called her a freak (which in a sense she kind of is when you look below the pretty face). However, every character treats her like the perfect angel or the bloody chosen one. She has some childish traits now, but that whole section made her a Mary Sue, but Alpha Metronome sealed the deal on that. It's a bloody mess that really isn't fixable.

 

The story is workable, but I'd say there should be more time invested in fleshing the characters out better than they are. Also, I want one NPC to call Melia a creepy little girl as she kind of is. I volunteer myself.

 

The gameplay perspective was actually really good for the first two thirds of the section. The help center quests were a little lopsided though that could be fixed by saying the protag needs to get stronger before they can complete a couple of them. I beat them at a very low level so it's not that hard though. The Growlithe quest I feel can be improved simply by dropping the Arcanine down to level 18-20 and giving the Growlithes a few egg moves like Thunder Fang. Nothing wrong with them being breedjects. I do feel post Goldenwood it's a little lopsided as their are trainers who use 2nd stage and final stage evolutions in the gym basically at the same level as Venam or higher. The curve is fine and with speedup its no big deal so I think she can be beefed up a little bit if the Seviper is nerfed a tad bit. And by nerf I mean lower its stats and give it better attacks. Also, get rid of Mareanie.

 

Thankfully the next section of the LPish thing was my favorite part of the game so likely it won't be as pessimistic as this part was.

[Smooge]

4 hours ago, Commander said:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

(NO I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH YOU!)

This made me laugh way too hard, its way too late for this and now my chest hurts.

[Anime]

Commander pls, Dr. Jenkel is right Bed = good :]

[KmK]

I keep coming back to this because I keep laughing at the funny comments in between. Keep it up! And I think it's kinda funny that you can't stand Melia when most people have a problem with Ren...

[Commander]

So while cleaning out all those screencaps, I decided to empty them all out...and I may have deleted my save. Not to worry though, it can always be recovered from the good old recycling bin:

 

 

 

 



(Sadly this was easier than digging through 800 backup saves for my current save)

 
 

 

 

Chapter 7: Three Weirdos and a Gangster

 

*Ahem* Now to finally to answer the question you've all been dying to know. Did Commander sleep in Dr. Jenkel's bed?

 

(There is scientific reasoning behind this)

 

I didn't really capture any pics of goldenwood, but nothing super interesting happened in there other than the rematch with Zetta which was anticlimatic other than the Weezing. I got a thunderstone out of it plus some experience so it was worth the trip. Now to get Rock Smash:

 

(I'm pretty sure that's an unCOMMAn name)

 

(Any Potter fans know that this image is a little too perfect)

 

Meet Sirius Black. I was originally going to call him Sirius from Reborn, but I thought that was a little too cliche so I choose to make him black. This Seviper will be joining us for a little while on our merry adventures considering who the next leader type is.

 

(You know, it must really suck living here. You have to battle like 8 trainers a day just to eat)

 

But finally we can get Rock Smash

 

(Yes, but I'm willing to take something else if your offering)

 

(...Gangster life...not for me)

 

(Finally time to put that nutty man's techniques to use)

 

(...You almost had me).

 

And now we go back to the hotel...again. Seriously, this would've made more sense fighting outside, but oh well.

 

(...Remind me how a battle would prove I have the ability to break rocks.)

 

And so the...anticlimatic battle begins.

 

(Since when did gangsters wear purses?)

 

(...And I especially don't think they are fond of pink emos)

 

What's really funny is that I tried to switch out, but Shadow Tag prevented me from doing so. I really expected Sirius to die but...

 

(That was quite so, Sirius.)

 

(And to *Ahem* Feel..)

 

(You little...)

 

So Tarracat used roar to swap me out to Agate, but...

 

(Nothing burns brighter than the burning flame)

 

Flame wheel finished off Torracat. I think I overwrote Bite with Reversal or Agate never had Bite strangely enough.

 

And now it's time to...

 

(Feel the)

 

(Sting of)

 

(The swordmaster's blade)

 

Loewe does what Loewe does best

 

(Let me go get my Mega Alakazam and hear you say that again)

 

Anyways we now head back into their HQ and...

 

(It's not 1984, is it? Oh good it's 2017. Scared me there for a minute)

 

(...These people are starting to terrify me.)

 

(And you're sure it's not 1984)

 

I'm not sure how I actually feel about these people now. Part of me thinks I actually joined an evil gang of people who believe they are doing good for the city. Maybe I'm wrong and they're supposed to be good Samaritans (actually being used properly), but I highly doubt it. If this comes back and they are evil, that would be really, really cool tbh.

 

(Gangster fight. Sweet! I'll bring my own weapon)

 

(You are literally spying on a nurse...and hello Nurse Joy! What are you wearing?)

 

With that...strange adventure out of the way, we can go back to...saving Melia. At least this can't get any weirder:

 

(I may have spoken too soon)

 

Now we meet this girl. Oh boy do I have a lot to say about this girl.

 

(...And after checking to see how much she stole, I learned that I'm actually rich)

 

(...It's times like these I should have Walter use Rock Throw)

 

(It's a good thing your not a ginger...or a man. I hope you have bread though).

 

But this is a good old classic chase. Not really much to talk about...

 

(....That is the strangest Sudowodo I've ever met)

 

(I don't know. It seemed pretty normal to me)

 

Honestly, I feel Rejuv is at its best when it's not taking itself seriously. If I told any storywriter that having a girl disguised as a walking idea was a brilliant and amazing concept, they'd probably just stare at me and question if I'm on drugs. Nim's so far out there and such a light hearted personality that it really works.

 

(You...I will be back for you)

 

(A talking tree is new to me).

 

(It's the nuzlocke motto. Must follow always) <<< What's our motto: NEVER GIVE UP!

 

(...I thought you took more)

 

(I thought I did that already. Then again, I never really spend it on anything so...)

 

(...Am I like the only one here who can't teleport? I want teleporting powers.)

 

(Those Vivillion are taunting me. They know I can't catch them).

 

(...Trust me. I couldn't even if I wanted to).

 

(...Nim would make a great banker)

 

(...I don't have a bag)

 

I'm skipping a bit because eh, nothing too major happens.

 

(...Yet she spotted me going into her secret hideout from a few 100 feet away)

 

(...I understand. I to would watch Venam from the shadows.)

 

(Hmmm....has my fame reached this region already?)

 

(...I think you're the smartest character I've met so far. Finally someone who understands me.)

 

(...Something tells me this is going to be anticlimatic)

 

(A certain female gangster taught me that fighting in big open areas is unpractical so no, I didn't think we were fighting here).

 

(....I may have just wet myself)

 

(I'm pretty sure it'd take four times the energy. Been a while since I took physics.)

 

(When the best mons you get are rats and birds, nothing is in your favor)

 

But yeah Nim is honestly I character who's really hard to caption for as she already is crazy to the point adding sass or anything is rather hard. She also makes no sense, but that's just how her character works. I can easily understand why people would dislike her, but since she plays such a neutral and not vital role for a long while, her...whatever you call it entertains me. As I said before, Rejuv is at its best when it's not taking itself seriously and Nim is the best example. And that entrance and character introduction is one to remember.

 

(How the heck do you even cross your eyes like that?)

 

I really like Nim's sprite way more than her old one which felt like a Reborn Protag more or less...in fact I think it is one. Anyways, the cross eyed thing bothered me the first time I saw it, but it's grown on me.

 

(I immediately regret putting Ratigan in the box)

 

(Even Loewe cannot save me now)

 

Yeah...let's just say this ended badly for me. And here's attempt two:

 

(The world's greatest criminal mind returns)

 

 

 

 

Yeah...that battle was very anticlimatic with Ratigan on the team and Loewe in the lead spot. I almost beat her without Ratigan, but since Solrock put a number on all my mons...yeah...but anyways you can see Loewe and Ratigan destroyed her.

 

(You have like 20 or so. Be grateful)

 

(The only thing creepy here is that Espurr)

 

(You and me both. It's probably not good we have so much in common).

 

(...I fear what happens if I don't).

 

And I'm going to stop right here. Not a very good post from me imo, but a lot of the fun or funny stuff I was prepping for wasn't there like the Harden Magikarp, the Headbutt Aipom guy, or even that old stage section where a couple events took place. That threw me through a loop. And yes, Nim is one of my favorite characters, but the first time I saw this scene I really, really disliked her and thought she was annoying. She grew on me after Version 4.

[Anime]

OH nice, its been updated^^

[Sceptilespy]

*Insert cricket sound effect*

[Filthy Casual]

I really like this run! It's nice to see a perspective from someone playing this version for the first time in a long time.

[Commander]

Previously on Pokemon Rejuvenation:

 

(...It'd be a miracle if she survived for this long.)

 

So if you guys are wondering "Commander, what's taking so long to make updates on this?" Well first off I juggle quite a bit in my life which we could really go into but right now I'm in Summer classes which ends in a little bit, but there's a ton of other stuff going on as well. There's also the move going on where I have to move stuff plus my job as well. The really big thing though is that I'm working on Hardcore since there's a mound of stuff to get through before the final release and I try to chip away at it while I can. And one thing I want you guys to know is that just because there are long periods that this isn't updated doesn't mean I've abandoned it. August is where things'll pick up so please be patient until then. Without further ado:

 

Chapter 9: Caving In

 

(Ren, my boy, you pretty much summarized what everyone was thinking)

 

So huh? I guess I missed Venam spitting more nonsense which Ren calls her out on.

 

(Yes, Ren. About one month's timeframe. Though Venam, you look good for being one month older)

 

Seriously, I always though Ren was a decent character around this part and sure he could get on your nerves, but not really. I'm going to bring Fern up for a moment. Fern acts like an immature little prick which goes well as he doesn't handle situations well. Ren on the other hand shows that he actually cares and it reflects that. There's one thing that always bugged me, but that's the writer's fault and not Ren as a character we'll get into later. That's a full rant topic though.

 

And then we meet this guy...which is new:

 

(Wait a minute, I recognize you. I thought you jumped off a bridge. Wait until I tell Ame the good news you're alive.)

 

(Do you not see me hiding behind Ren?)

 

(I think that fall did some brain damage to you. Just a little bit)

 

(But you're still the same old leader we know and love)

 

(Such as jumping off a bridge)

 

But all that mumbo jumbo was fancy for this:

 

(Just like every male driving to some place new)

 

But what if Melia was a responsible driver and made the right turn:

 

(Yes, Ren)

 

(.......Excuse me while I facewall over in the corner there)

 

(Why thank you. I took my Elementary School very seriously)

 

I'm not going to deduct any points off the Mr. Cloaked Gym Leader over there since well his logic is very sound. Ren's logic is also very sound under normal circumstances as well. You know what the problem is though. This is Melia we're talking about. The girl who literally escaped an entire raid as well as evaded one of Xen's highest ranked admins all due to a single power. She has the ability to freely teleport and pretty much do anything. Unless team Xen literally had the entire city not only on lockdown, but an entire very powerful group right there and ready to launch dozens upon dozens of Pokemon there, Melia could just make a disguise to last long enough to get to the Pokemon Center, heal her Pokemon and teleport to Goldenwood City or wherever. Other than that, I think the scene was really good and I really liked it.

 

And a different note:

(Just how I like 'em)

 

I'm probably not going to use Meditite, but I pretty much abused that thing when the level of BS in the game spiked. Like bloody hell.

 

But then I kind of realized I forgot to do something:

 

(What can I say? I have a thing for purple haired chicks)

 

Yeah...that brings me back to the Rejuv TMs. The new TMs imo are kind of a why bother. Low Sweep is a pretty good move for the early game as it allows bulky fighting types to drop a dangerous Pokemon's speed so something else can come in and kill it. Poison sweep is kind of worthless as poison types want to either hit really hard, set up, or stall. This does not accomplish any of these and Poison really isn't a good offensive typing most of the time. Fields do wonders for it though. But I would've had no problem with leaders not giving out TMs over Jan's whole runaround as you're there to earn badges to get stronger.

 

(Spiders. Why did they have to be Spiders?)

 

But...I kind of wish you could capture the Joltik as it's kind of a tease which from Reborn got old very quickly. The number of Murkrow and Starly from that game drove me up the wall as I literally clicked every single on of them hoping it was the event one. That was painful. Joltik also really isn't that good of a Pokemon and is only okay when it evolves so...I don't see why it wasn't a very, very rare Pokemon to capture.

 

Gonna skip this part as it's nothing much other than this:

 

(Where else do you think? The ceiling?)

 

You know what bothers me. The fact that they act like it is so far down when it is literally a single staircase below. And it's not even like it's that hard of a fix to fix since it's just adding a map that consists of stairs or a spiral of them. Yeah, I do some mapping and I know something like that isn't hard.

 

And suddenly we see Zetta...again

 

(Even all this time, you still remember my name. Thanks, pal.)

 

(Meanwhile I room far, far away, a certain developer is saying the same thing)

 

(And Melia. Can't forget about Melia. My brain suffered enough from her already)

 

But insert more Zetta being Zetta commentary here.

 

(Darn. I really did think you were Michael Jackson's brother)

 

Suddenly, I'm imagining Zetta dancing to Smooth Criminal. I could totally see him doing that. Anyways, Melia...since that's what this is about

 

(Well she's clearly not here)

 

(...Excuse me, I need to be alone for a minute)

 

But yeah basically this is how I feel right now:

 

 

 

 

 

But due to a certain overused cliche which originated in Superhero comic books, a person ain't dead unless you have the literal body and a grave. It applies to literally almost every work out there. I'll even admit I use this cliche with a character, but that was actually to make a character look suspicious and the audience to start wondering about him. And thinking about it, I'm pretty cut and dry about death. If someone is stated to be dead, they are dead. But...

 

(I don't even wanna know where he stored the body)

 

...

 

(.....The girl has a very big ketchup fetish)

 

(...With a statement like that, I don't think a Pokemon is the culprit of her 'murder')

 

(Hey man, all I was doing is catching Shadow Pokemon. You're the one who wanted to show off and lost)

 

But I'm going to get to the blood stains there in a minute.

 

(If that didn't happen, Melia and Venam wouldn't be friends. Just think about that)

 

(I'll take the blame for this one. Guilty as charged)

 

(No, I'm pretty sure I'm late)

 

(This is something I'm glad I was late for)

 

But where have I seen that line before:

 

 

 

 

But okay before we get into the battle I want to make something clear. Zetta's logic is very...not sound. I mean it's clear he's not very smart, but a person even with that much blood loss could survive. Heck, I've lost a ton of blood (I'd say a gallon almost) and I was still fine. And while a Pokemon could've killed her, the Pokemon found in this place, including the one behind Zetta. Very few Pokemon eat bones and often leave excess behind. Mightyenas I believe is the only Pokemon to not do this and the ONLY Pokemon to be able to fit this as if a Pokemon swallowed her whole, they wouldn't leave a bloody bag behind as it would've had to be ripped off. Only issue with this is A) Mightyena don't live in caves and B. It'd take way too long before Team Xen would show up and notice her dead body before it was completely rid of. 

 

Now if you really wanted to through players through a loop, Ren could've said something like "Just because she lost a lot of blood doesn't mean she's dead" or something like that and Zetta could say "I thought the same thing, but then I found this" before throwing one of Melia's arms on the ground. That'd throw players through a loop as people would debate if she's really dead or not. 

 

Now onto Zetta who I picked Venam to fight as my partner:

 

I'm just going to make a picture thing this time though

 

('cause I'm 2 Legit 2 Quit)

 

While this is a 2 v 1 battle, I think that team is a little bit ridiculous as seen by my levels I'm barely even in the 20s. The upcoming gym leader isn't even in the mid 20s on some of his Pokemon. The Pokemon themselves are fine and workable, but it would've been better if there wasn't anything ridiculous like Play Rough Persian which was a really? moment. So pretty much Venam was putting in all the work while my Pokemon were fodder since they got 1-2 shot. Those were not weak Pokemon given to him and Absol is actually stronger than type: Null in a sense. Just think about that for a moment. But seriously, bad battle design for a mid-boss even though it's a 2 vs 1.

 

(Says the man with an Illegal Persian, Absol, and pseudo(ish) legend)

 

(I wonder how the bag didn't get sucked in)

 

(Judging by the red on the wall, I'd say Ruby Cave)

 

(Never seen a black Joltik before? What are you, racist?)

 

I also love how when Ren touches the Joltik it just goes poof and wish I screen capped that as that is golden dialogue since it makes so little sense. But anyways, I never really liked the dimensional rift segments. The summoning of a demon from a gate always sounded more menacing and definitely brought more tension than going into its den. But there's not much to talk about before the fight since well this is more or less a back to back fight with an interlude which is pretty uneventful.

 

(Maybe all it needs is a hug)

 

(Seriously, how does Jan expect my levels to be that high right now?)

 

(I also love how it's a normal Galvantula at the start)

 

(What's even better is that it's smaller than the Joltik)

 

The tiny Galvantula always bothered me so much, but the Joltik on top bothers me even more. But alas, I can't complain unless Jan changes the sprite entirely to make it look more menacing. Minor gripe though. There isn't much to talk about from memory as it was mostly Venam poisoning all the Pokemon and mine more or less constantly dying. This was mostly due to being super underleveled and having a weak team to take it on. But AI mess ups are the only reason I won. Gotta love them.

 

(Told ya all he needed was a hug)

 

And with the DG down, we get out of the dimensional rift.

 

(We probably should move that bag before I get bloodstains on my coat. I don't need that filth on me)

 

(Given that Zetta has no Pokemon left and it takes time to summon a dimensional Pokemon I'll...)

 

 

 

 

(...I swallowed my pride the minute I dressed like this)

 

(......Her name has something to do with the moon. I wonder what that could relate to)

 

(I would, but Melia's dead. I guess Zetta will do though)

 

(You must have some really fine tastes in men then because he is anything but monotone)

 

(The same thing I do: the salt and tears of thy mortal enemies. And the playerbase)

 

(And you wonder why she doesn't have any friends)

 

And then Zetta is bye-bye a go-go

 

(We're teenagers. Ignoring people is in our blood)

 

(Which is why you throw it in the washing machine)

 

(I wish that were true, but even when she's dead she never goes away.)

 

(So basically you're saying to let them to do whatever the heck they want)

 

And then Crescent leaves. An no, we aren't even close to getting done with this scene.

 

(I'm only in it for the Shadow Pokemon)

 

(Are we seriously not going to do anything with that bag?)

 

(I'd do that to but uhh...I'd probably be taken in for questioning about the missing Professor and his family)

 

(I mean she has a togepi with the power to do anything. We couldn't have stopped her even if we tried)

 

(Something with this is bothering me but we'll get back to it later)

 

(All Crescent did was get rid of annoying people. She did nothing wrong).

 

(I feel like I'm the third wheel in a love story right now)

 

(...Considering what you home town is...it's going to take more than man-power to fix that screwup)

 

Okay we're finally done but before I talk...

 

(Hey, it's not like she was going to be using any of this stuff anyways.)

 

But after relooking at this scene, I can't put it any other way than saying it was...pretty bad. This whole scene was more overdramatic than a game series where a total of 5 people died across 7 games. And dying is a very huge deal in those games. It's just way too in your face that Melia is dead but spoiler alerts I knew then and I know already that she isn't dead. It's an obvious cliche which just makes this worse. Even Crescent pretty much accepted Melia is dead without any questions or denial. Which makes this honestly a really, really bad death scene.

 

You want to know the icing on the cake. One character did act the way they should over a death like this. It wasn't Ren or Venam. It was Zetta. He was so distraught and angry in which all he could do is lash out on the people closest to blame. He screwed up and it costed them their most important piece. Honestly, I think he acted a bit too tame because depending on the organization, you could be killed for a screwup like that. But he did his role fine. Venam and Ren we're barely even phased by losing one of the closest people in their life. They blame Team Xen for her death but as Zetta said it wasn't their fault. She got her own damn self killed.

 

But now I get to talk about death 'cause trust me I've used it and I've used it many times. I'm a firm believer that when someone close to you no longer exists, you feel nothing but pain and more pain. You question your every decision and may straight up be very, very destructive to your being. Do you think Ren or Venam acted like that? And you don't just get over it instantly either. There's a reason why I save use death sparingly as it's a very effective tool. And then Crescent rubbing the fact Melia is dead to our faces kind of was overkill at that point. But bloody hell. I know I never really liked it, but remove the Dimensional Galvantula and there's not much good left. Did I talk about the Dimensional Pokemon changes as I don't feel the whole enter the rift flows as well as the old method.

 

Erhm...back to the plot:

 

(Well there was a low outcome of success to begin with. Probability sucks.)

 

(Pretty sure Ren already told me this)

 

(That's also the sign you've spent way too much time around Shade)

 

And also someone else I forgot about:

 

(...Why did you think it was a good idea to fight here?)

 

(......Excuse me while I run into a wall and hope it kills me)

 

That remark makes zero sense. Zero. Unless your hospitalized, you should be able to grab your balls and throw them at the enemy. But if she really hurt her rib cage and was having a hard time speaking, that'd make sense why she couldn't really battle. << But she's bloody talking just fine

 

(Something tells me Karrina really did lose and is afraid to admit this guy is superior)

 

(I forgot how strong this guy was)

 

(Like he is really, really strong)

 

(And his ace should be nicknamed Disappointment)

 

This wasn't a really hard fight tbh and Zetta makes it look super easy with that ridiculously OP team. I'd say this is fine for an optional boss though. Not much else to talk about.

 

(Apparently praising people gives headaches. You really can kill people with kindness).

 

Thankfully that should be the last of the haxed OP 2nd stagers in this cave.....

 

(OH COME ON!)

 

Did I mention this is on normal mode? I hope I did because there's a lot of work needed here.

 

Anyways, I was going to throw a silly little thing at the end, but then I saw a comment somewhere about the love letter quest. I don't really talk about homosexual since there's really not much to talk about. My personal rule is to not include it unless it helps develop a character. That's fancy for don't remove it if it's there, but don't force it in either. You really don't see too many homosexual characters in gaming. I know Anelace from the LoH Skies games is debatable given she hides it pretty well, but that's has little to do with her overall character. Though thinking about the term character development, I'm actually going to in the recap talk about why Ren is the most developed character of the cast so far bar one. See y'all next time.