playthough From Everland to Reborn ~ A fairytale themed run [Last defeated: Amaria]

[seki108]

1 minute ago, Candy said:

Can't see someone with a narcissistic persona, who gets annoyed because their spotlight was stolen, becoming the hero who tries to fight the evil forces to protect the innocent civilians xD But well, like I described in the last episode, people on parallel universes / timelines are totes different people regardless of whether they're the same person (in this case Vanilla vs fake-Vanilla).

 

Maybe an alternate Fern had a more expressive Florina to give him some of that attention he so desperately wanted

Spoiler

from what I remember of seeing the alternate 'Fern/Blake' vs You/partner battle, Florina's detached personality seems to have impacted Fern emotionally on some level.........or maybe I'm just reading into things.

 

The fun of alternate timelines is one of my favorite parts of fanfiction, if the author can give reasonable explanations for said changes.......butterfly effect and all.

[GenEric]

12 minutes ago, Candy said:

Can't see someone with a narcissistic persona, who gets annoyed because their spotlight was stolen, becoming the hero who tries to fight the evil forces to protect the innocent civilians xD But well, like I described in the last episode, people on parallel universes / timelines are totes different people regardless of whether they're the same person (in this case Vanilla vs fake-Vanilla).

 

Funny anecdote is that I had three fake-Vanilla candidates and settled in the mentioned two (the ponytail one never went down the rabbit hole in Everland, as you can judge from her cheery talkative persona, and the one with Pikachu and Wolfie who did go down the rabbit hole but made the "right" choices, resulting in no deaths of her friends). The third one was a Vanilla who was eager to help fight Team Meteor, but for a different reason: she had developed a power-thirsty personality, and wanted to conquer Reborn for herself xD So yea, I think the essence of a person is in his/her experiences, and different timelines would have had the person go through different experiences.

 

An extra anecdote would be the one in which Victoria is the hero - in this timeline, Vanilla was not born, which I guess is like the fortune-teller's Fern.

i want the vanillas to travel together!

[Candy]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 34

I didn’t meet anymore strange visions after that, until I was way closer to the destination.

I had just found a slope to join the floor above mine - the one I assumed Radomus was still on - when Nilla’s buzzing caught my attention. She was pointing in the direction of a group of people who were apparently in a hurry. I caught a glimpse of four familiar figures. One black figure had just ran and turned on a corner so I missed that person, but the others were without a doubt, Fern, Cal, Anna and... a spiky-haired guy I remembered seeing somewhere, but perhaps was someone I might’ve passed by on the streets.

“Hey,” I shouted, confused as to what even they could be doing down here, and more so at the combination of very colorful characters.

However, all of them were either too far from where I was, or were too focused on their activity that they didn’t hear me. In any case, they all disappeared to the same corner as the person they were following.

I tried going after them, but I only managed to crash into Radomus when I turned around the corner.

“Ah, there you are,” Radomus said, but somehow he did not seem to be in his usual high spirits. “Come, we’ve found the place El ran away to.”

With a somber face, Radomus guided the way. I wasn’t sure what could’ve happened in the minutes that we were separated, but I didn’t care enough to ask him. On the contrary, if his melancholy was due to something similar to what I had witnessed recently, I would prefer not be asked any nosy questions.

 

The place Radomus referred to was not what I expected at all. I thought Cain had cornered El at a dead-end, but instead he was standing by the opening of a wide space with more wildlife than I thought would be possible in this cave underground. The cave’s gem-lined floor gradually gave way to a green grassy terrain, on which I could observe various psychic type pokemon levitating around. If I didn’t hold Nilla off, she would’ve probably joined them in their peaceful strides around the place.

In the middle of the garden stood a building, which was definitely larger than my home back in Everland. It was surrounded by four pillars connected by bridges to the core. The sight was almost surreal, except, it was surreal.

There was a literal castle underneath the city.

The main entrance to the castle opened, and from therein came a person who, at first glance looked like a woman with long silver hair and a light blue crop-top, but as she came closer, I started to think it as a cross-dressed man. Following the person was the goal of the quest, Gardevoir. Perhaps Gardevoir asked this person for help and they beat El?

“Don’t dare take a step closer,” xe told us.

“What’s the matter?” Cain said. “I haven’t even taken my first step with you~”

The person and all of us ignored Cain’s double entendre, and instead xe addressed Radomus.

“I have been told of your abuse of pokemon,” the person said. “Are you not ashamed? How could you even come all the way here to take back your pokemon, only to continue mistreating it?”

“Is that so, Radomus?” I questioned him, even if I was perhaps already brainwashed in the bloke’s favor. “I knew there was something odd with your pokemon and Luna, but I didn’t expect you to be the type to abuse them.”

“I certainly don’t believe myself to be the type either,” Radomus replied.

“You can lie all you want,” the crop-top person rolled xyr eyes. “However, I’ve gotten a convincing witness testimony, and that is enough for me to see through your facade. I mean, what did you do to your poor gardevoir?”

“I beg your pardon?” Radomus asked, without betraying off-guarded surprise.

Gardevoir stepped forward where we could see her better. Of course, all gardevoirs look like the split image of each other, but we knew this one was the correct one when she started speaking with the same voice as she had done back in the mansion.

“I- I had always been afraid of Radomus to say anything, but the truth is that he’s the worst. You’ll protect me, won’t you, Adrienn?”

“Of course. I’m not going to stand for anyone who mistreats their pokemon.”

Radomus was silent for a moment, but laughed by himself without minding our confusion one bit.

“Oh-ho, so that’s how it is. Interesting.”

Gardevoir looked furious at her trainer’s attitude, much like I would’ve felt had I not been so utterly confused.

“I’ve always hated being with him,” Gardevoir added for effect. “I was so relieved to be kidnapped by El!”

“But you seemed so happy back at the castle,” Cain hesitantly said what was on my mind.

“I was brainwashed, much like Luna and the other pokemon were,” she explained. “Only when I could get away from the castle, did I wake to my true feelings.”

“Brainwashing? Radomus, what kind of cheap tricks have you been pulling?” I asked.

“How even would I do that?” was his reply.

Indeed, I knew he was a psychic-type Gym Leader from reading the guide, but brainwashing? That was just not something I could see happening in the realm of mundane possibilities.

“He’s neglectful and lies all the time, just like he did now,” Gardevoir shook her head. “How can you say that, when I was there to witness everything! Poor Luna, she must be saved, Adrienn.”

“I don’t know what kind of underhanded methods you used to make that girl think you’re his father,” Adrienn said. “But don’t think I’ll rest until I see you behind bars. I’ll help El in anyway I can, so he can get his daughter and stolen property back.”

“Stolen property?” Cain batted his eyes. “What are you talking about now?”

“Vanilla knows, for she stole them,” Gardevoir said and approached me. Perhaps she thought she could sneak in on me and steal Heather’s Ruby Ring from my bare fingers.

However, I saw the intention and pushed her away. In the moment that Gardevoir wobbled backward, I sent out Wolfie, my lycanroc.

“Take one more step, and I’ll make all the gems from this cave rain over you,” I told her.

Obviously I was not joking around. Whatever this ring was, it was the one thing that guaranteed further encounters with Team Meteor and its pathetic grunts.

“I see that scum mingles with scum,” Adrienn commented.

Nilla didn’t like what she heard and headbutted Adrienn. Luckily for them, Nilla’s skull isn’t pointy like Bambi’s or as hard as Golden Key’s.

“Disrespect me any further, and I’ll make you regret it,” I said, cracking my knuckles.

“‘Kay, Vanilla, calm down,” Cain said, placing a hand on my hands, which I then brushed away.

“That Ruby Ring rightfully belongs to El,” Gardevoir said.

“That’s not true,” Cain interrupted. “Isn’t that Heather’s? If I remember correctly, the doctor and that eyepatch guy stole it from her.”

“Yes, and I don’t plan to let go of it,” I said.

“I have to get it from her, or they’ll follow us upstairs,” the annoying speaking pokemon begged Adrienn.

“Thieves and liars seldom relinquish things easily,” Adrienn sighed, still rubbing xyr forehead. “Let’s go. If they come, and don’t have any intention of releasing Luna, I’ll fight them with El - I’ll show them the fury of the fairies.”

I called back Wolfie into her pokeball.

“Of course we’re going in,” I said. “And I’ll show that arrogant fool the fury of my fists.”

“Please don’t joke with a serious face like that,” Cain said as both of them followed me.

 

Inside, we saw as El, together with Adrienn and Gardevoir, shut a purple striped door behind them. As I could deduce, the Ruby Ring served as a key to one of the four doors of the castle. Not much guesswork was needed, given that the doors were color-coded for our convenience. El must have another one of the keys - since he used the purple door, perhaps Amethyst?

We went upstairs, after solving a small light or dark puzzle, perhaps meant to slow intruders down back when the castle wasn’t sunk into oblivion. Adrienn was waiting for us alone.

“Listen, Adrienn. We really are at a loss at what’s going on. Everything is really weird,” Cain said, trying to talk sense into the crop-top jerk.

“Well, I can’t deny that everything is rather strange,” Adrienn nodded. “I mean, when I fell down while inspecting the Grand Gates, I thought the place would be deserted forever, but it only remained quiet like that for an hour or so. I saw a girl climbing the cave wall, and then all of you came running in. Is this a tourist spot I wasn’t aware of?”

“If it is, then I’m displeased with the customer service,” Radomus shrugged.

“You stay silent. I’ve not forgiven you,” Adrienn barked. “I’m here to take away the Ruby Ring so you can’t follow us to the aerie.”

“In your dreams,” I said. “Try taking it by force, and I won’t take responsibility.”

“I thought so, but it’s been confirmed that El is the owner of these jewels, for how else would he have known that they open these doors?”

“The Ruby Ring belongs to this brat called Heather, and the Amethyst Pendant, which I assume you used to open your door, belongs to Anna,” I stated. “I don’t know much about El, but I do know he’s a shady man.”

“What about Radomus?” Adrienn asked me, after gazing at me for clues that might indicate deception.

“I don’t know about him either. He might as well be a shady man.”

“Then why are you taking his side?”

“Because that Luna girl doesn’t seem to be under a spell, and wants her pal Gardevoir back,” I said. Although the whole truth was that my own pokemon forced me to come, I guessed a white lie wouldn’t hurt.

“Luna absolutely despises the idea of being brought to El,” Cain added. “I don’t want to see her returned to El, even if he was her father. She doesn’t deserve abuse.”

Adrienn was visibly at a loss of words.

“I- I don’t know. El does strike me as a weird person, for he seems to be part of a religious cult or something. But he could be telling the truth, and then I’d be falling into your trap.”

“Why don’t we all go upstairs? The truth might become clearer as we press forward.”

“Yes, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Cain nodded but then retracted. “Or I guess top, since we’re going up… Oh well, bottom, top, whatever. I’m a switch; I don’t care~”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t catch that,” Radomus shook his head. “Now, let’s go.”

 

On the topmost floor, we found El trying to open large gates in the center of the castle.

“El, we have some questions that need to be addressed,” Adrienn told him.

El turned away from the gates and faced us.

“Questions… Answers… Such meaningless words of mortals,” El sighed. “This is a holy place, and beyond these gates lies that from whose dreams our world unfolds.”

“Can you cut the unintelligible crap and-” I said, but El interrupted me.

“Behold, o unworthy ones: the birthplace of Arceus.”

Since El obviously had no intention of saving us minutes of doctrine, we allowed him to talk of his religious nonsense. Apparently, a meteor crashed in this zone, and was what gave birth to Arceus, the God who created all other pokemon species.

“How despicable it is that this sanctum should be buried beneath the filth that is Reborn City,” El carried on. “My lord, I beg your forgiveness for humanity’s sin. Ignosco, Venia, Defaeco.”

I thought the unfamiliar language would be the end of it, but unfortunately, there was more. As I understood, El wanted to open the gates so Arceus could be born anew - or Reborn - and cleanse the filth from the surface of the planet. I couldn’t help wonder if that act would also wipe himself out.

“Now, to the present matter,” El coughed. “Return Luna to me, and I’ll return your gardevoir.”

“If gardevoir even wants to go back,” Adrienn said, narrowing eyes at Radomus.

“Please, I beg you. Don’t return me to that mind-controlling monster,” Gardevoir begged. “I hate you, Radomus. You are the biggest filth that ever walked over this Earth.”

“How long are you going to keep this up?” Radomus asked with total disregard for Gardevoir’s shrieks.

“Radomus, your pokemon just shouted at you some really questionable words. How can you remain so dazed if I am to believe you are right and El is wrong?” Adrienn asked.

“Yeah, Radomus. Even I, who am supposed to be on your side, am starting to doubt you,” Cain added.

“A pokemon like that? Why should I care? Let her say all she wants,” Radomus replied, taking off his monocle to clean it with his shirt.

“Oh! He says such cruel things,” Gardevoir looked down to her feet.

“Radomus. Stop fooling with us, and tell what’s on your mind already,” I snapped. “I can tell you’re enjoying this mystery game at our expense.”

“Was it obvious?” Radomus smirked. “But well, what do you conclude, Vanilla? Tell me, who do you believe is about to be on checkmate?”

“The question is better phrased: who I distrust less. I know for a fact that El is shady, given that he took a brainless kid away from his mother, selling him fantasies that quite frankly sound fishy.”

“So you’re saying we should side with Radomus?” Cain asked for confirmation.

I nodded.

“Now let us join the interesting game, will you?”

Radomus laughed, but I did not, since I was at the peak of my patience.

“I’m relieved that I’m not the only one to whom this charade is transparent.”

“Charade? What are you talking about?” Adrienn raised an eyebrow.

“Aren’t your reasons for distrusting me, the accusations of my gardevoir?” he asked. “However, you have never met her… and what if I told you, the gardevoir you see is not my Gardevoir?”

All of our eyes shifted from Radomus to El. He needed not ask what our thoughts were, for the question on our minds was one and the same.

“So you knew all along,” El sighed.

The confusion on Adrienn’s face was almost pitiable, but I couldn’t pity someone who called me scum to my face. The gardevoir standing next to El slowly reverted into its true form- first gaining a pink blush and then shrinking to the floor where it formed a semi-solid blob of purple jello.

“It was a ditto all this time?” Cain gasped.

“Sometimes light can be more blinding than darkness. I for one, thought it foolish to take in what was so publicly exposed- a confession of a fake pokemon.”

“You’re obstinate as ever, Radomus,” El said. “However, it’s ironic that you would mention blindness. Look into my eyes.”

“I did notice they were cloudy, but you aren’t going to tell us you’re blind, are you?” I questioned.

“Not anymore, or I would have betrayed an indication of my being so, but I once was,” El closed his eyes. “Yet, no sooner did I undertake a prayer to the Lord Arceus did he bless me with my vision. I have followed His name ever since.”

“That’s not possible,” Cain said, but was quickly shut up by El’s loud voice, which started echoing all around us.

“Behold the holy energy that emanates from the stone of Arceus. O, ditto, embrace the Lord’s blessing and take the energy into thyself!”

As El chanted more foreign language, presumably religious phrases, we widened our eyes in shock as ditto took the form of no other than the pokemon God himself. Are you kidding me now? I had prepared an interesting technique to use against Radomus, but he is a mortal and definitely not a God! I guess I should’ve brought my powerhouses instead.

“Let judgement rain down upon thee! In thy qualms, a new light awakens. Let it be thus revealed!”

I hope the others brought backup power.

Spoiler

 

 

“You… won, Vanilla,” Cain said. The poor kid’s eyes looked as though they could pop out of their sockets at any moment.

Honestly, I couldn’t say that I wasn’t surprised myself. I was ill-prepared, and battling against the God of pokemon. What did I do? Probably nothing- my pokemon carried it out for me.

“Well, a mere forgery of the Lord cannot compare to his true power after all,” El shook his head. “I guess you win this round.”

“Yes, and I believe I’ll take a loyal butler for a prize,” Radomus said, though I didn’t understand his meaning… yet. “Gardevoir, come here now.”

“Eh?”

Right then, the true Gardevoir, with all her eccentricities appeared out of thin air.

“Gardevoir, give the heretic a little good night’s kiss.”

“Yees master! Your wishes are my command~” Gardevoir smiled and approached El. “Good night, muwah!”

El struggled to stay awake, but in the end, the power of Gardevoir’s hypnosis attack won him over. The religious cultist fell to his knees and his upper body followed.

“It’s a One-hit KO!” Gardevoir jumped around, and Nilla joined in the victory dance.

“Indeed. That about makes this case closed.”

Out of nowhere- I guess I should be getting used to Radomus’ style- Radomus took out a blue cop hat and jacket, and wore it over his detective outfit. With some effort, or perhaps Gardevoir’s psychic attack, Radomus lifted El from the floor and carried his limp body on his shoulder.

On our way back to his castle, he answered the question that was bugging Cain’s mind- why he’d bothered to come all the way to the aerie if he could’ve just told Gardevoir to teleport over.

“Didn’t I tell you before? Because Luna asked me to.”

This person might be the first person I really can’t read, was all I could think of, as I heard Gardevoir chit-chat with Adrienn about her master.

We walked the route that Radomus had taken, back to where the Escape Rope was hanging. Fortunately we did not have any visions of the sort that haunted me when we were alone. It was better for me, if those visions were just a figment of my imagination, but I wasn’t sure what could’ve triggered them in the first place.

Perhaps only time will tell.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Cain (+1): 6/10 Well I think I don't dislike the boy as much now, and his thoughts were pretty in sync with mine.
• Radomus (-1): 2/10 Making me look like a fool all the while enjoying our confusion is never a good look.
• Adrienn: 2/10 Even if it was due to a misunderstanding, xe never apologized to Radomus or I for doubting us.
• El (-1): 0/10 Didn't really need confirmation, but the man's up to something.

Tfw you want to get to a certain, cute part but then I'd have to cover all of Adrienn's bamboozlement so I have to leave it for the next episode :sadpepe: But thx for 6,000 views and counting~ This smol candy is happy

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[seki108]

32 minutes ago, Candy said:

...........................I really didn't need to see this today but good job though.  I am thoroughly shocked and disturbed by this.

 

The inquisitive force meets the unreadable object..............that sounded a lot better in my head.  Anyway, so not ever Vanilla's experience with questionable people can let her get a read on the Radstar........

 

P.S.  I hope she likes chess............though I guess she probably actually knows how to play given her upbringing.

[J-Awesome_One]

I feel like I took acid and LSD for the 1st part of that Episode. WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHY DID VANILLA SEE AN IMAGE OF FERN, CAL AND ANNA AND SOMEONE ELSE? (An interesting faction there btw) Love it though! You just keep getting better and better.

[Candy]

1 hour ago, seki108 said:

...........................I really didn't need to see this today but good job though.  I am thoroughly shocked and disturbed by this.

 

The inquisitive force meets the unreadable object..............that sounded a lot better in my head.  Anyway, so not ever Vanilla's experience with questionable people can let her get a read on the Radstar........

 

P.S.  I hope she likes chess............though I guess she probably actually knows how to play given her upbringing.

HAHAHAHA I mean the thing is, when I went down the cave Grand Stairway, Unown spawn there and my dear fren Corso was disappointed I didn't even mention the unown xD So this time I made sure to make a smol mention for the lols I swear this image tho

Radomus is a plain weirdo that plays with everyone's minds - at least Vanilla's "questionable people" were peeps that made clear what their intent was (eg. that girl who right off told them they were gonna get made into stew)

 

1 hour ago, J-Awesome_One said:

I feel like I took acid and LSD for the 1st part of that Episode. WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHY DID VANILLA SEE AN IMAGE OF FERN, CAL AND ANNA AND SOMEONE ELSE? (An interesting faction there btw) Love it though! You just keep getting better and better.

Oooo I forgotsies to mention Seki's input in this rip. The thing is, dunno if you have gotten to E16 content where there apparently is a fortuneteller... but I'll not spoil anything if you don't know  you can google it tho~

[J-Awesome_One]

7 minutes ago, Candy said:

Oooo I forgotsies to mention Seki's input in this rip. The thing is, dunno if you have gotten to E16 content where there apparently is a fortuneteller... but I'll not spoil anything if you don't know  you can google it tho~

Was that a sidequest? o.O

[Candy]

4 minutes ago, J-Awesome_One said:

Was that a sidequest? o.O

Yup I also didn't know about it. A glass ball or something...

[J-Awesome_One]

3 minutes ago, Candy said:

Yup I also didn't know about it. A glass ball or something...

I really gotta learn to learn to keep playing Reborn even when I get done with the latest episode. xD

[seki108]

6 minutes ago, J-Awesome_One said:

I really gotta learn to learn to keep playing Reborn even when I get done with the latest episode. xD

An extended, but classic trade-quest, really.  Starts with searching the lake for a woman's ring if I remember right.

[GenEric]

ehehe

adrienn seems a bit douchey in this one

[Jess]

@Candy Candyyyyyyyyyy!!! That Unown is gonna haunt me for the rest of the day now RIP me

By the way, it was so amazingly edited that I went into the Reborn sprite folders looking for that sprite...  

Vanilla is becoming more composed and patient, I thought she would've snapped at Radomus a lot more for being dragged into stuff for nothing (even though I think this might happen when she notices how Radomus brings El in his manor as a servant later... I sense Radomus' points dropping...)

 

Spoiler

Also, Switcheroo Black Sludge? Damn that's something I've never used! I mostly Brute Force the Arceus, since it's kinda easy to tank one Judgement with some luck  

 

 

[HellBoyOnEarth]

Nice fight against El

Hope you guys will enjoy my fight against him too in my Psychic run

I will upload the part today

[Alistair]

5 hours ago, Candy said:

The cave’s gem-lined floor gradually gave way to a green grassy terrain, on which I could observe various psychic type pokemon levitating around. If I didn’t hold Nilla off, she would’ve probably joined them in their peaceful strides around the place.

BEGONE FOUL DEMON :peepochrist:

[Corso]

CANDYYYYYYYYYYYY I was joking that time, why do people always take me seriously??? I'm so embarassed now, why did you mention me!?

Anyway you've won +10 relationship points with me and one "Corso will do whatever you want him to do" ticket (I'm sorry but I can't think of a better reward).

[Candy]

17 hours ago, ArcherEric said:

ehehe

adrienn seems a bit douchey in this one

I think they just started on bad terms, but I think Adrienn might improve in Vanilla's eyes when xe takes the leadership of city restoration (which is a long way down the road rip).

 

17 hours ago, Jess said:

@Candy Candyyyyyyyyyy!!! That Unown is gonna haunt me for the rest of the day now RIP me

By the way, it was so amazingly edited that I went into the Reborn sprite folders looking for that sprite...  

Vanilla is becoming more composed and patient, I thought she would've snapped at Radomus a lot more for being dragged into stuff for nothing (even though I think this might happen when she notices how Radomus brings El in his manor as a servant later... I sense Radomus' points dropping...)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Also, Switcheroo Black Sludge? Damn that's something I've never used! I mostly Brute Force the Arceus, since it's kinda easy to tank one Judgement with some luck  

 

 

This is one of my fave battles because of that interestang technique I used lel I didn't want to repeat the Destiny Bond tactic (besides I do like to save my focus sashes) so I came up with something interesting to watch but also effective  Prankster is one of my fave abilities. And yup, a little bit of confusion on Vanilla has made her not able to react as harshly as if she were reading the whole thing full-on, but I also think the society is making her use her head more than her fists lel

 

16 hours ago, HellBoyOnEarth said:

Nice fight against El

Hope you guys will enjoy my fight against him too in my Psychic run

I will upload the part today

I look forward to seeing your take on Dittoceus  It has shadow ball so it can't have been fun...

 

16 hours ago, Alistair said:

BEGONE FOUL DEMON :peepochrist:

Holy, didn't expect to see you here Ali boi~ but this pic should become a meme forrealss

 

10 hours ago, Corso said:

CANDYYYYYYYYYYYY I was joking that time, why do people always take me seriously??? I'm so embarassed now, why did you mention me!?

Anyway you've won +10 relationship points with me and one "Corso will do whatever you want him to do" ticket (I'm sorry but I can't think of a better reward).

Were you? I'd have done it even if I knew you were joking tho >:) It was on my mind for a long time, and now it was my time to deal the shining blow~ hehe

First I wanted to encounter a C-shaped unown but the fuc*er just decided not to appear... instead an A-shaped unown appeared, so I was like fucc dis I'm gonna use my nonexistent editing skillz and place in that "megaunown" you showed us a while ago~ 

I wonder what to use that ticket for... >:) I'll keep it, so I can use it when the time is right...

[Candy]

Updated opening post with some important information...

[Candy]

Y'all sad reacc ppl: REJOICE

for it was all an April Fools PR4NK boisss

And for those who were like "finally": too bad y'all dis thread ain't ova till Vanilla finishes the marathon or I die~

Expect an episode sometime next week but I seriously have a yabai exam on wednesday so prolly not before then

[GenEric]

dammit candy

[J-Awesome_One]

14 minutes ago, ArcherEric said:

dammit candy

Your profile pic is like the best reaction I'm pretty sure everyone had/has when they read that it was a prank. xD

[DigitalAmber]

More or less caught up with the run, I am really enjoying this and Vanilla's personality. Good job breaking the silent protagonist

[Q-Jei]

I don’t know why, but I expected it a bit. Good job @Candy for having Aprilfooled us! And good luck with your exams, Vanilla rocks whatever happens

Edited April 2, 2018 by Q-Jei

[Candy]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt3HYcezYIg/VhfF0DTDNZI/AAAAAAAADEA/oHPy5n8Djqk/s172/tumblr_lp0mal7AcQ1qg3clto1_250.gifFrom Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 35http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt3HYcezYIg/VhfF0DTDNZI/AAAAAAAADEA/oHPy5n8Djqk/s172/tumblr_lp0mal7AcQ1qg3clto1_250.gif

Upon returning to the back of the Grand Gates, I noted something off.

“Ah, it’s great to be back,” Adrienn stretched and walked with a fast pace, taking care not to bump into the gigantic rotating gear.

When Xe had exited the gates to the south, all of us that remained looked at each other. Perhaps this would be the first and last time I’d see Radomus looking confused. The motive of confusion, of course, was the same for all of us.

“The Grand Gates! They’re open!” Cain exclaimed.

“I thought the gates had been inoperational for years,” I said, raising an eyebrow without singling anyone out.

“Believe me, Vanilla. It is true,” Radomus nodded. “There is something strange going on.”

“Yeah, I can confirm that hat-guy is telling the truth,” Cain agreed.

Given that there were two witnesses, I chose to believe this to be the case. Anyone who had seen the visions down in the cave, though, probably had at least one clue as to what could be happening.

In any case, the lot of us followed Adrienn’s footsteps and exited towards North Obsidia Ward. The tank-top jerk was still standing on the staircase, xyr look frozen upon xyr surroundings.

“What’s this?” xe asked.

We thought xe was asking about the staircase’s damaged state, though it was curious for xem to ask that since the bombing had taken place days ago.

“It’s the Grand Staircase. Team Meteor blew it a little but Ame’s sending some people to repair it,” Cain explained.

“No. Where am I?” xe now asked.

“We’re in Reborn City. I thought you were familiar with the place?” I said without an ounce of care.

When I said this though, Adrienn’s face became as pale as mine. Xe started pacing around, trying to make sense of whatever was bugging xem. I heard xem mumbling some unintelligible words, but then xe stopped in place and looked back at us.

“T-That’s right, I’ve lived in Reborn City my whole life,” Adrienn blinked hard. “But this… this isn’t it. This can’t be Reborn.”

“The place is exactly as we left it about an hour ago,” Cain said in a low voice, as though e was afraid to disturb Adrienn further.

“That can’t be… I mean, where are the ports? Where is the center? And the lake… it’s… it’s brown!”

I grabbed adrienn by the shoulders and made xem stop pacing.

“Get a hold on yourself,” I told xem. “Don’t go crazy before we find out what is going on. We know some weird stuff is happening here.”

Adrienn, who by now had turned into something like a shell of a human being, at least managed to meet my eyes.

“... Alright.”

I let go of xem, and Radomus carried on with the detective work, even though he was wearing a police officer hat and was still carrying El on his shoulder.

“So, Adrienn. If I recapitulate what you said, the lake as you remember it was more properly colored. Is that right?”

“Not just ‘more properly’, but it was a dazzling azurine color. That’s why we named it Azurine, after all,” xe explained. “This cascade, Celestine Cascade pours into a river that is connected to the lake… and at the corner of Azurine Lake, there’s a beautiful port and my Gym.”

Adrienn seemed to have entered a peaceful daydream until the last thought brought xyr despair back. Xe jumped in xyr place and exclaimed: “My Gym!”, before running off in the southward direction.

Given xyr state of mind, Radomus deemed it wise for us to follow xem for now. We ran after tank-top jerk for what felt like a marathon, until we entered Coral Ward.

Of course. I had already forgotten my Reborn City geography, but now I remembered that Coral Ward was where the inabilitated port was. I quickly sensed that Adrienn would probably faint at the sight, if xyr Gym was indeed that Gym.

We found xem staring, as expected, at the Coral Gym.

“I… This is a joke, right? I must be dreaming.”

Adrienn lowered xyr eyes and clenched xyr fists on xyr sides.

“Were this but a dream, it would be all the easier,” Radomus shook his head. “Judging by your reaction, I can assume you were not expecting to find this building in such a condition. Is this correct?”

“When I left this morning, it was perfectly clean and well maintained,” Adrienn muttered. “Ugh, I don’t feel well.”

Radomus helped Adrienn sit down on a nearby rock, and Cain went into the nearby Pokemon Center to fetch xem a cup of water.

“None of this… this whole city is wrong.”

“This might be hard to assimilate, but it is regardless information you ought to know,” Radomus said. “Reborn City as I know it suffered a series of earthquakes that destroyed most of the city. The condition was much worse than now, I assure you. Ame, leading the restoration project, designated some buildings to remain untouched, and one such building was this Gym. Perhaps she believed its original owner, that is, if I am not wrong, you, would eventually come to take care of it.”

By now, Adrienn didn’t have anymore energy to be shocked but his expression was blank. Xe took the glass of water Cain brought xem and looked at Radomus with knitted eyebrows.

“Earthquakes? What earthquakes are you speaking of?”

“Unheard of to you, as I suspected,” Radomus nodded. “Now, one more piece of information you must know is that, though you earlier mentioned the Gym being in pristine condition when you left it ‘this morning’, but I have known this Gym to be just like you have seen it for years now.”

“Now, will you cut to the results of your investigation?” I asked, my temper almost about to snap. I couldn’t stand watching the dude playing the same game over again.

“There’s no need for haste. In any case, I believe there is only one conclusion that can be reached: Adrienn, you have been frozen in time.”

Even though the conclusion I expected had been the same as the one Radomus said, the idea still seemed as though it were, for lack of a better word, out of a fairytale.

Radomus also supported his conclusion with the fact that the current Grand Gates had been inoperational for about a decade, until only now when we exited the cave with Adrienn, even though Adrienn had always remembered them to be open. Even with all this evidence to back up the case, the idea, as expected, was met with disbelief.

“How does that make any sense?” Cain asked, since Adrienn wasn’t in the spirits to ask xemself. “I mean, if Adrienn was stuck down in time down in the cave, shouldn’t we have been as well? Yet we managed to escape.”

“A logical question, but you forget that we had something Adrienn lacked.”

“The Amethyst Pendant and Ruby Ring,” I muttered to myself.

“Yes, the keys,” Radomus echoed my words. “If what sleepyhead here says is true, then there’s no telling what kind of energy that meteorite might be emitting. It is possible that it has the power to distort time.”

Though I hardly wanted to do so, I recalled the four visions I had while I was down there. I was sure Radomus had had at least one too, but I didn’t want to publicly ask the others whether they had had the same experience.

“So I was down there for a decade, and didn’t even realize it,” Adrienn finally spoke again.

Yes, pretty much, I thought but did not say.

“I am sorry, but the evidence points to this. It must be a lot to take in.”

“My my, this will definitely make a juicy story tomorrow on the show,” Gardevoir commented. “If I may ask, Adrienn, what do you plan on doing now?”

“Well, first I’ll take some time off, but I’d like to repair my Gym. I also want to fix the whole city. This can’t remain like this. I admit the whole thing has hit me hard, but only seeing the city back to its original form will cure me of this nightmare.”

“Fixing the whole city will be no easy task for a pair of hands~ I’d say you should talk to Ame in the Grand Hall, so two pairs of hands can work on it.”

“Alright, I’ll do that,” xe said. “But if you could leave me alone for a while, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help,” Radomus offered, and Adrienn thanked him for the gesture.

“Now, let’s head back to the castle, shall we~?” Gardevoir smiled. “Hang on tight!”

“On where?” Cain asked but we all teleported before anyone gave im an answer.

 

We made it just outside the castle, but way too high on the z-axis. As a result, we fell down from about 1 meter high.

“Not my fault~ We would’ve had a smooth landing inside the castle, if purple boy had hung on tight as I instructed,” Gardevoir said, pointing her lips.

“Well, I thought I’d get kicked if I even tried to hold on to Vanilla, even worse if it’s tightly~”

“You have a working brain,” I complemented.

Radomus opened the door for us, and the first thing that picked my curiosity were the female voices engaged in conversation inside, for we had supposedly left Luna all alone. Upon entering, Radomus swiftly excused himself by walking straight ahead in long strides. I didn’t think much of that, because I guessed he was going to lock El down in a basement or something before he woke up.

The conversation stopped when it appeared that Luna caught a glimpse of Radomus carrying none other than her birth father.

“Ah, Master… that person,” I heard Luna gasp.

“Don’t worry Luna. He’s asleep,” Radomus replied. “Gardevoir is safe. Go meet her at the entrance.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news,” Luna said. She stood up so quickly that her chair made a loud noise, and her frantic footsteps approached us. When she saw Gardevoir, she smiled widely and gently embraced her.

“How I’ve missed you,” she said. “Please don’t go disappearing like that again.”

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Gardevoir replied. “But what’s a girl without a little excitement in her life, hm? Besides, I had my gallade-in-shining-armor come all the way down to rescue me!”

“Master is so wonderful, and I am pleased to be in service to him.”

Just then, Luna’s conversation buddy slowly crept into the small entrance ante-foyer. Nilla, who was flying next to me, brightened up and charged across the small room in a split second. However, unlike her, I was not pleased with whom I saw.

“H-hello, Vanilla and Cain,” Shelly said, while getting her hair all messed up with Nilla flying about and nuzzling her.

“Shelly? What in the world are you doing here?” I said, perhaps louder than I expected. “You should be back in the cove with Saphira.”

Shelly shrunk her neck like a turtle does when it’s been startled.

“Um, I’m sorry. I- Charlotte told me that, um, if I wanted to… that I should c-come here,” Shelly said, with visible trouble breathing and inability to meet my eyes.

“I thought Charlotte could be a guide to you, but I guess I was wrong,” I shook my head sideways. Of course, all those orphaned sisters had only themselves on their minds. What damn would they give about anyone else’s safety?

“Now calm down a little, Vanilla, ‘kay?” Cain told me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s hear Shelly speak. If you keep grumbling, she’ll be too intimidated to speak, right?”

“Fine.”

Both we and the other two who just happened to be there, directed our attention to the trembling bookworm.

“Um, actually, I wanted t-to come,” Shelly repeated the sentence in a more direct way, but with a barely audible voice. “Charlotte h-helped me make up my mind, um, and… and I d-decided to come.”

“Shelly, I have Heather’s Ruby Ring with me, and Radomus is probably retrieving the Amethyst Pendant from El as we speak. I agreed with Saphira’s proposition of carrying the Ring, because it meant I would be able to keep using Team Meteor as a punching bag for my pokemon,” I explained. “But that means I’m a constant target to them as well, and I am not foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.”

“What mistake are you talking about?” Cain asked.

Of course, that was left deliberately unclear. I didn’t want to relive that time when blood bathed everything around me, and I also didn’t want to imply that Shelly could be a blind spot of weakness to me, just like Pikachu had been. That would be a lie.

 

A reply to the question, however, was luckily unnecessary, since Radomus came to join our congregation. He had now changed out of his makeshift police costume, and was now wearing a green hat on his head.

“My gallade-in-shining-armor,” Gardevoir exclaimed.

“I thank you, Master, for rescuing my dear friend,” Luna said.

“Now now, there wasn’t much rescuing involved in this occasion, but I am pretty pleased with the result,” Radomus said, and then, noticing Shelly, addressed her. “Oh so we have a new visitor?”

“Yes, Master. She is Shelly, the Lapis Gym Leader,” Luna explained. “She came to our doorstep while you were out. I was scared to open the door to a possible foe, but even through the door I could hear she was not someone to be afraid of.”

Shelly seemed a little off-put by Luna’s remark, but I had to admit that nothing but the truth had been spoken.

“She’s also one who helped the orphanage Gym Leaders escape~” Gardevoir joined in with her scoops. “And she’s Johto Region’s bug-type Gym Leader, Bugsy’s sister! It’s but a shame that the siblings don’t get along very well.”

Cal’s self-pitying talk about his brother crept on the back of my mind. When I heard Cal telling me about Shelly back at Pyrous mountain, I was too concerned with what him hurting Shelly and simply getting over his battle so I could battle Kiki, but in hindsight… a Cal-Shelly friendship does look quite odd until you add what Gardevoir just said to the equation. I assume that the unlikely friendship might’ve formed thanks to both having sibling issues. Not that it mattered, since I won’t be seeing Cal for a while at least, and I hoped it would remain that way.

“Well, nice to meet you,” Radomus said and shook Shelly’s hand. “I have someone to introduce to all of you, and hope you will be courteous to him.”

Radomus took off the green small hat he had, which now I noticed it had been shaped like a gallade’s comb, and swapped it for a much larger one with a light wine color which matched his clothes.

“Where do you even get those hats from,” Cain said without amusement.

“There’s always the right hat for the right job, haven’t I said it before?” Radomus waved his staff, which he had obviously obtained while I wasn’t paying attention. “Now, come in and introduce yourself, Elias.”

 

Needless to say, everyone was shocked speechless when the gray-eyed supposed enemy entered the room dressed in a black suit and his collar adorned with a bow tie. Along with Radomus, he was the only other person who looked as though they thought nothing was amiss.

“Master, what is the meaning of this?” Luna asked. It appeared that the prank was bewildering even for the girl who plays roles all day long.

“This is Elias, the estate’s new butler. He will be a good counselor for our challengers here present.”

“I am pleased to serve,” Elias, or El, nodded in agreement. “Please do let me know if there is anything I can help you with.”

Luna made a gesture as though she wanted to say something, but was physically unable to.

“My, Luna dear. You look as if you’d seen a ghost,” Radomus said, though I wasn’t sure if it was with genuine concern.

“I don’t like the feeling of that person,” Luna complained and took a step back to hang tightly on Gardevoir.

“No joke,” I said in a loud voice so everyone could hear. “I thought you said you couldn’t brainwash people.”

Radomus shook his head. How audacious for him to do so.

“I believe you are not recalling properly,” he said with a smirk. “I asked how I would do such a thing, but never said I couldn’t do it.”

That was it. I had reached my limit of patience. I’d had enough of this jerk, who had all along hidden his true self under the pretence of a noble gentleman with odd mannerisms.

I jumped to just in front of him and grabbed him by the collar. Evidently, Radomus was much taller than I was, so he had to bend over to look at me on eye-level. For once, the face looking at me seemed as though he had been taken by surprise.

“You get on my nerves. Do you realize?” I asked, but the question wasn’t meant to be answered. “Your stupid hats, your enigmatic language… but that is not even what annoys me the most. It's like all of us are pieces in your game of chess, yet I can’t find a way to escape.”

Radomus closed his eyes, and brought back his arrogant smirk.

“Life itself is like a game of chess. The player with the best strategy is destined to win, dear.”

“Stop it. What right do you have to play us like this?”

“The same could be asked to you or anyone really,” Radomus opened his eyes. “What right do you have to seek success when it angers someone else? Do we even care for such a right?”

I couldn’t think of a response; however I did not let go of the man’s collar despite being persuaded by Cain. Radomus never broke eye contact with me, but since I remained silent, closed his eyes once more and carried on talking.

“My way to capture success has always been to be one step ahead of life. I like to know all the possibilities before irrevocable mistakes happen, so I can choose the action that befits the situation. Granted, I cannot always predict the future correctly,” Here Radomus took a rather long pause, as though he were deep in thought. “But for the most part, once you know how certain people are, you have a good chance of checkmate. Can you tell me that my way is incorrect?”

He opened his eyes once again, and though he didn’t say it with words, I could feel as though he were asking me another question - one which resonated in me like nothing had ever done. Do you not live in the same way?

Instead of an answer, I lowered my eyes and softened my grip on his shirt. My arms flung down as two pendulums would. I felt every fiber of my body relax so much that even lifting a limb would feel like a workout. It reminded me of the sensation I would get from working out almost all night under King’s supervision, but in this case it was worse because the pain of sore muscles was replaced with a sense of hollowness that engulfed all of me.

Radomus fixed his shirt’s collar and cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that, where were we? Oh yes, now I can finally do my duty of battling you as a Gym leader.”

Shelly slowly approached me, but Cain spoke before her.

“Do you feel like you can battle now? I can go first if you’d like,” he said. I guessed my expression was an open box to my emotional state. I shrugged off the concern and tightened my facial muscles. Regardless of how dizzy I was, at least I knew what my ultimate aim was.

 

Since it was my Gym challenge, the others went off upstairs, while I had to enter the large gates of the first floor into a room with a human-sized chess board. The rules, as Radomus and Gardevoir explained, were pretty simple. I had to place the chess pieces in such a way that the opponent’s king were in check, taking infinite turns while the opponent’s pieces could not be moved. I had been assigned a tutor to learn chess after school for a while, so I did know how each piece moved; there was no need for me to go into the side room and ask brainwashed El about the rules. However, I had always been more of a physical type, and hence my tutor ended up giving up on me. I was glad that I didn’t have to, say, face Radomus in a game of chess.

After the chess puzzles that seemed never to end, I was finally in a large room, again set like a chess board, but this time with all pieces cleanly ordered on each side.

“Go Vanilla, kick Radomus’ butt~” Cain cheered from the right side.

“Um, do your b-best,” Shelly said in a low voice.

“Master is a renowned connoisseur of chess. I’m sure his strategy and this chessboard field will pave his way to victory,” Luna said. Her expression and intonation conveyed that she was still displeased with me for not wanting to search for Gardevoir in the beginning and, perhaps, that bit where I said she could be returned to El for all I cared.

“Now, now, there’s no need for deep prophecy,” Radomus said. “After all, battles are one of those things even I cannot accurately predict.”

“Ah, and Vanilla, do stay for a minute after your Gym battle,” Gardevoir remembered something and added at the last minute. “I have a question to ask you, of course~”

“Fine,” I said, and got ready for action.

Spoiler

I had forgotten to check the monitor to extract the Field Effect read-out, but judging on Q of Hearts being much more confident than usual, I sent her in. It turned out that her ability, Queenly Majesty boosted her attacks’ power. When she had a super-effective move, like Play Rough against Radomus’ Malamar, she took them out with great ease, much like a Queen would the opponent’s Pawns. However, much like Luna had predicted, the field worked greatly to Radomus’ advantage. Anna was taken out in one hit thanks to Strength moving a chess piece and it crashing into her with momentum. The same could be said for Wolfie, and this even though Wolfie had no weakness against Rock-type attacks. Gossip Gardevoir was an especially formidable foe, and she alone took out two of my pokemon with one shot each. Luckily she went down to Cinderella’s Phantom Force attack.

 

“I find myself in checkmate,” Radomus said as Gossip Gardevoir hauled herself back to the reserved spot next to her ‘master’. He then gave her an energy drink, which brought her health back, though perhaps he should have given her half the drink so she would be more calm.

“Great work both of you~ That was a battle worthy of broadcast,” Gardevoir smiled. “What? You don’t think we lack hidden cameras recording every bit of juicy activity, do you?”

“I guess it’s to be expected,” Cain scratched is head. “Can’t really be helped when your pokemon is the famous Gossip Gardevoir.”

“That’s right~ and here,” Gardevoir used her telekinetic powers to move Radomus’ badge and TM from the palms of his hands to me. “Now you can proudly say that you beat my dear Master.”

The TM disk contained Trick Room, which seemed like it could come in handy, though I felt that my team’s speed was pretty decent, save for perhaps my two water types.

“Indeed, that was a great battle on both sides. Vanilla battled with more skill than I expected,” Luna said, with perhaps a hint of sarcasm. “I look forward to engaging you in battle myself, for I assume you already know I am a Gym leader of Reborn.”

Gardevoir giggled at her friend, though I wasn’t sure whether she knew why Luna was at odds with me.

“Dear Luna, will you be facing Vanilla here, or will you in Iolia Valley?”

“Oh, I would much prefer it to have it in the valley, if it may,” Luna replied. “The valley’s stones and shadows make such a splendid blackground for a battle. After all, where better than the valley of the shadow of death to stage a challenge upon the most beautiful type: darkness.”

Just at that precise moment, the lights of the castle all went out. Knowing how dramatic and extravagant Radomus was, I at first believed it to be a staged act. In fact, I wasn’t the only one who thought the same, but Radomus and Luna denied it being so.

“Well, I believe the best thing to do is to quit this place,” Radomus said. “Let us meet up outside by the entrance.”

We affirmed in a loud voice, since nods could not be seen.

Cain, Luna and Shelly took the 2nd floor exit to the right, while I had to go through all the chessboard rooms down to the foyer. Nilla led my way diligently by making her firefly tail glow a little.

On my way back, though, I stopped for a minute. Nilla noticed I wasn’t following, and turned to join me.

“Something is not right,” I told her. It was a bad habit of mine to keep talking to pokemon as though they could understand me. “Where’s that religious nut, Elias?”

Nilla buzzed silently, as I tried to form a plan. However, I had to admit that I was not as great a seer as Radomus was. He had the gift to turn everything into his chess game, but I had nothing but improvisation to rely on.

While I braced myself for what could be a trap, I heard some rustling.

“Who’s there,” I asked, but no one replied.

Nilla’s tail glow wasn’t enough to see every corner of the room, so I couldn’t even see the shadow. If only my Anna were not fainted, I could have had a better torch.

Waiting for the possible enemy to reveal themselves was a waste of time, since I heard no more rustling. I told Nilla to stay close to me, and we walked together to the antefoyer, where the action was waiting for us.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Adrienn (+1): 3/10 Xe said xe wanted to improve not only xyr Gym, but the whole of Reborn City, which I have to admit, is a remarkable thought.
• Shelly (-1): 6/10 Irresponsible in coming over to danger.
• Radomus (-1): 1/10 He looked like just an oddball, but turns out he's a jerk.
• Saphira and Charlotte each receive -1 points for allowing Shelly to come all the way here.

 

TEAM RECAP

Spoiler

Ehehe~ 7,000 views and counting Donut worry, my frens, I'll continue this journey until the end, even if it takes me years!

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[GenEric]

is that a mimikyu over there?

what a coincidence, my run is at radomus's gym too

and i suppose vanilla with her yandere attitude is my fave

[Candy]

1 hour ago, ArcherEric said:

is that a mimikyu over there?

what a coincidence, my run is at radomus's gym too

and i suppose vanilla with her yandere attitude is my fave

there's going to be a mimikyu event in the near future, which might or might not last past the original mirage tower mimikyu event~

hehe actually Vanilla already beat Luna and is at Agate... but details, details!