Pokemon Desolation Episode 5

[vadam324]

Thunderstone can be obtained as a reward from one of Addenfall Ranger Guild's jobs, "Find my Seviper!".

You're the best, thanks a lot.

[Caz]

Do I miss that explination if I don't replay the game?

This is touched upon in the Episode 4 storyline so no, you don't.

[Jmanultrax1]

The black foxes now have a more described role in the story.

I knew that they weren't much of a side group when I found out that hardy was one of them, and figured that their going to have a much important role and continue too later on in the story. With the new intro I feel that coming closer.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Jmanultrax1

[thatoneperson1123]

Okay, so, since I went to the trouble of creating an account just to get that pesky Arcanine, I suppose I’ll give my general thoughts, criticisms, theories, etc., on the game. Keep in mind that although I’ve finished the main storyline, I haven’t yet completed ALL the side quests (an oversight that shall soon be corrected).

I’ll start by saying I like Desolation. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I definitely prefer it to Rejuvenation, and I almost think I like it better than Reborn. Not that I didn’t enjoy either of the other two games, but this one just seems to perfect and expand upon their formula in a very satisfying way.

There aren’t a whole lot of memes in this game, either, and the ones that are there actually feel fresh and clever for the most part. I wasn’t expecting John Cena in my Pokémon game, but it definitely got a laugh out of me. I’ve never found memes to be all that amusing, and Rejuvenation in particular has a tendency to dip into that well all too often. Although it feels like there are three or four Joey mentions in this game, which may be going a bit overboard, haha.

In Rejuvenation, motherhood plays an important thematic role in the story. In Desolation, it feels like one of the major themes revolves around the relationship between siblings. You have Conner and Emily, Hardy and his sister, Ava and HER sister, and, of course, Shiv and Keegan. There’s a bit of a pattern there and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn of more along the way, as well as how these relationships shape and define one another.

Speaking of Hardy, I did feel that the explanation for why he joined the Black Foxes felt more like an exposition dump than an actual explanation. It kind of took me out of the moment. Like we’re in the middle of this tense, emotional “peak” (get it? Because it takes place on top of… never mind) and Hardy kind of derails it with his life story. For the most part you do a good job pacing out exposition, which made it even more jarring. I feel like it would’ve been better if he teased that he had a very good reason for joining, but won’t say why, and the actual revelation is saved for later. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Hardy in general is a bit of an undefined character to me – we only fight him twice and suddenly we have this deep connection with him? It’d be nice to have the opportunity to do something with him before the reveal, because I had very little attachment to Hardy and didn’t care all that much about what Ava did to him, outside of the fact that he, too, has a sibling that plays an important role in his motivations.

Ava is pretty cool. I like her. She’s flawed but interesting. I’m not really sure how she met up with the MC and Scarlett, though, so I hope that’s something later episodes delve into. Scarlett is also an interesting character, although in my save I didn’t find the bow. I wasn’t terribly invested in Scarlett, but I did want to learn more about her motivations and figure out when, exactly, she joined Team Crescent. Character death is something that frustrates me more often than not, because it feels like a cheap attempt at providing shock value while simultaneously closing off interesting stories before they have a chance to bloom. But I feel it works here because there’s still an opportunity to save Scarlett, so it’s up to the player to decide whether or not they want to close that route (whether they know it or not).

This is running long, and I could probably make it longer, so I’ll try to be a bit more concise and focused. I feel like there’s still a lot of potential in Addenfall. The death of the Chief and, of course, the mystery that is Tristan hold a ton of potential. I feel like the two are connected in some manner. I also thought the kidnapping of the Addenfall people was a little weird, mainly because no one but the lady in front of Tristan’s mansion and the guy in the house really had any sort of comment on it. It’s like, well that was our weekly scheduled kidnapping by the Black Foxes, back to business.

The Black Foxes and Team Crescent are both interesting villains. The Black Foxes feel like Team Rocket but with teeth, while Team Crescent reminds of me of Cyrus and Team Galactic. And then the way the two oppose each other is like Team Magma vs Team Aqua, only not dumb. At first I thought Nova’s plan was kind of stupid, but she won me over near the end of the episode with her talk about creating her own reality. I mean, really, why SHOULD we bow to reality if we have the power to change it? A bit of devil’s advocate, because Nova is clearly unhinged, but still fascinating nonetheless. I also think Shiv is hiding things and isn’t as “good” as he appears (chaotic neutral, perhaps?) so he also is quite intriguing to me. Although we all know the true ending is a face off with Jarred in matching swimsuits.

Okay, I’m going to wrap this up because it’s a borderline novel, by saying that for the intro, I think you should change Amelia’s ending dialogue to “bathe in your blood” or something along those line. It has stronger connotations and ups the drama by sounding more vicious, as well as providing a better flow. A small thing but it stood out to me because I’m a weirdo who notices stuff like that. I could probably write another two or three paragraphs about game design and game elements, but I feel there are people out there better equipped for such critiques than I. So I’ll end by saying good job, keep up the good work, and know that your game finally got my lazy ass to make an account for this site. Which doesn’t count for much, but hey, it’s something.

Edited May 22, 2016 by thatoneperson1123

[FairFamily]

Okay, so, since I went to the trouble of creating an account just to get that pesky Arcanine, I suppose I’ll give my general thoughts, criticisms, theories, etc., on the game. Keep in mind that although I’ve finished the main storyline, I haven’t yet completed ALL the side quests (an oversight that shall soon be corrected).

I’ll start by saying I like Desolation. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I definitely prefer it to Rejuvenation, and I almost think I like it better than Reborn. Not that I didn’t enjoy either of the other two games, but this one just seems to perfect and expand upon their formula in a very satisfying way.

There aren’t a whole lot of memes in this game, either, and the ones that are there actually feel fresh and clever for the most part. I wasn’t expecting John Cena in my Pokémon game, but it definitely got a laugh out of me. I’ve never found memes to be all that amusing, and Rejuvenation in particular has a tendency to dip into that well all too often. Although it feels like there are three or four Joey mentions in this game, which may be going a bit overboard, haha.

In Rejuvenation, motherhood plays an important thematic role in the story. In Desolation, it feels like one of the major themes revolves around the relationship between siblings. You have Conner and Emily, Hardy and his sister, Ava and HER sister, and, of course, Shiv and Keegan. There’s a bit of a pattern there and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn of more along the way, as well as how these relationships shape and define one another.

Speaking of Hardy, I did feel that the explanation for why he joined the Black Foxes felt more like an exposition dump than an actual explanation. It kind of took me out of the moment. Like we’re in the middle of this tense, emotional “peak” (get it? Because it takes place on top of… never mind) and Hardy kind of derails it with his life story. For the most part you do a good job pacing out exposition, which made it even more jarring. I feel like it would’ve been better if he teased that he had a very good reason for joining, but won’t say why, and the actual revelation is saved for later. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Hardy in general is a bit of an undefined character to me – we only fight him twice and suddenly we have this deep connection with him? It’d be nice to have the opportunity to do something with him before the reveal, because I had very little attachment to Hardy and didn’t care all that much about what Ava did to him, outside of the fact that he, too, has a sibling that plays an important role in his motivations.

Ava is pretty cool. I like her. She’s flawed but interesting. I’m not really sure how she met up with the MC and Scarlett, though, so I hope that’s something later episodes delve into. Scarlett is also an interesting character, although in my save I didn’t find the bow. I wasn’t terribly invested in Scarlett, but I did want to learn more about her motivations and figure out when, exactly, she joined Team Crescent. Character death is something that frustrates me more often than not, because it feels like a cheap attempt at providing shock value while simultaneously closing off interesting stories before they have a chance to bloom. But I feel it works here because there’s still an opportunity to save Scarlett, so it’s up to the player to decide whether or not they want to close that route (whether they know it or not).

This is running long, and I could probably make it longer, so I’ll try to be a bit more concise and focused. I feel like there’s still a lot of potential in Addenfall. The death of the Chief and, of course, the mystery that is Tristan hold a ton of potential. I feel like the two are connected in some manner. I also thought the kidnapping of the Addenfall people was a little weird, mainly because no one but the lady in front of Tristan’s mansion and the guy in the house really had any sort of comment on it. It’s like, well that was our weekly scheduled kidnapping by the Black Foxes, back to business.

The Black Foxes and Team Crescent are both interesting villains. The Black Foxes feel like Team Rocket but with teeth, while Team Crescent reminds of me of Cyrus and Team Galactic. And then the way the two oppose each other is like Team Magma vs Team Aqua, only not dumb. At first I thought Nova’s plan was kind of stupid, but she won me over near the end of the episode with her talk about creating her own reality. I mean, really, why SHOULD we bow to reality if we have the power to change it? A bit of devil’s advocate, because Nova is clearly unhinged, but still fascinating nonetheless. I also think Shiv is hiding things and isn’t as “good” as he appears (chaotic neutral, perhaps?) so he also is quite intriguing to me. Although we all know the true ending is a face off with Jarred in matching swimsuits.

Okay, I’m going to wrap this up because it’s a borderline novel, by saying that for the intro, I think you should change Amelia’s ending dialogue to “bathe in your blood” or something along those line. It has stronger connotations and ups the drama by sounding more vicious, as well as providing a better flow. A small thing but it stood out to me because I’m a weirdo who notices stuff like that. I could probably write another two or three paragraphs about game design and game elements, but I feel there are people out there better equipped for such critiques than I. So I’ll end by saying good job, keep up the good work, and know that your game finally got my lazy ass to make an account for this site. Which doesn’t count for much, but hey, it’s something.

I thought it was made very clear that Shiv wasn't the good guy in this story. I mean he still has that stone even though he shouldn't since he said he would destroy it and he also killed his own brother. Therefore I don't trust Shiv as far as I could reach and even that is way too far.

About this line "why SHOULD we bow to reality if we have the power to change it?". I don't think that Nova has the power to change it even if she had the stone. I mean she wants to create a world of peace and without suffering where everyone is happy: a perfect world. However humanity is too deeply flawed for that too happen: we have sadists and warmongerers. Even if you removed those people from the equation you still would have flawed people: what if someone wants to be a hero? That is noble right?. A hero requires villain/threat, a threat requires victims, victims requires unhappiness. So deep down they desire unhappiness of others to supply their own fantasy. Even if we give each person their own reality, the people required to fuel desires of the original people, are suffering as well. Are those people not real? After all you created a new reality with real people. So their desires should matter. So basically you're back to square one.

[Samalet]

I thought about that too. Trapping the whole world in a dream is honestly not the best way to create a new reality. Especially since there are beings in the Pokemon universe which could fundamentally change the world much more efficiently, namely the Creation Trio. Dialga and Palkia have the ability to channel incredible cosmic power and warp reality on pretty much a whim, without needing any form of primal reversion or ultimate form. And Cyrus still failed even after bringing both of them under his control, I highly doubt that Nova's plan would work even if she got rid of Shiv and Darkrai obeyed her orders. There's always a balance with legendary Pokemon, so Cresselia shouldn't be far away when its counterpart gets out of control.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Sohn der Höhe

[Caz]

Okay, so, since I went to the trouble of creating an account just to get that pesky Arcanine, I suppose Ill give my general thoughts, criticisms, theories, etc., on the game. Keep in mind that although Ive finished the main storyline, I havent yet completed ALL the side quests (an oversight that shall soon be corrected).

Ill start by saying I like Desolation. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I definitely prefer it to Rejuvenation, and I almost think I like it better than Reborn. Not that I didnt enjoy either of the other two games, but this one just seems to perfect and expand upon their formula in a very satisfying way.

There arent a whole lot of memes in this game, either, and the ones that are there actually feel fresh and clever for the most part. I wasnt expecting John Cena in my Pokémon game, but it definitely got a laugh out of me. Ive never found memes to be all that amusing, and Rejuvenation in particular has a tendency to dip into that well all too often. Although it feels like there are three or four Joey mentions in this game, which may be going a bit overboard, haha.

In Rejuvenation, motherhood plays an important thematic role in the story. In Desolation, it feels like one of the major themes revolves around the relationship between siblings. You have Conner and Emily, Hardy and his sister, Ava and HER sister, and, of course, Shiv and Keegan. Theres a bit of a pattern there and it wouldnt surprise me to learn of more along the way, as well as how these relationships shape and define one another.

Speaking of Hardy, I did feel that the explanation for why he joined the Black Foxes felt more like an exposition dump than an actual explanation. It kind of took me out of the moment. Like were in the middle of this tense, emotional peak (get it? Because it takes place on top of never mind) and Hardy kind of derails it with his life story. For the most part you do a good job pacing out exposition, which made it even more jarring. I feel like it wouldve been better if he teased that he had a very good reason for joining, but wont say why, and the actual revelation is saved for later. Of course, thats just my opinion. Hardy in general is a bit of an undefined character to me we only fight him twice and suddenly we have this deep connection with him? Itd be nice to have the opportunity to do something with him before the reveal, because I had very little attachment to Hardy and didnt care all that much about what Ava did to him, outside of the fact that he, too, has a sibling that plays an important role in his motivations.

Ava is pretty cool. I like her. Shes flawed but interesting. Im not really sure how she met up with the MC and Scarlett, though, so I hope thats something later episodes delve into. Scarlett is also an interesting character, although in my save I didnt find the bow. I wasnt terribly invested in Scarlett, but I did want to learn more about her motivations and figure out when, exactly, she joined Team Crescent. Character death is something that frustrates me more often than not, because it feels like a cheap attempt at providing shock value while simultaneously closing off interesting stories before they have a chance to bloom. But I feel it works here because theres still an opportunity to save Scarlett, so its up to the player to decide whether or not they want to close that route (whether they know it or not).

This is running long, and I could probably make it longer, so Ill try to be a bit more concise and focused. I feel like theres still a lot of potential in Addenfall. The death of the Chief and, of course, the mystery that is Tristan hold a ton of potential. I feel like the two are connected in some manner. I also thought the kidnapping of the Addenfall people was a little weird, mainly because no one but the lady in front of Tristans mansion and the guy in the house really had any sort of comment on it. Its like, well that was our weekly scheduled kidnapping by the Black Foxes, back to business.

The Black Foxes and Team Crescent are both interesting villains. The Black Foxes feel like Team Rocket but with teeth, while Team Crescent reminds of me of Cyrus and Team Galactic. And then the way the two oppose each other is like Team Magma vs Team Aqua, only not dumb. At first I thought Novas plan was kind of stupid, but she won me over near the end of the episode with her talk about creating her own reality. I mean, really, why SHOULD we bow to reality if we have the power to change it? A bit of devils advocate, because Nova is clearly unhinged, but still fascinating nonetheless. I also think Shiv is hiding things and isnt as good as he appears (chaotic neutral, perhaps?) so he also is quite intriguing to me. Although we all know the true ending is a face off with Jarred in matching swimsuits.

Okay, Im going to wrap this up because its a borderline novel, by saying that for the intro, I think you should change Amelias ending dialogue to bathe in your blood or something along those line. It has stronger connotations and ups the drama by sounding more vicious, as well as providing a better flow. A small thing but it stood out to me because Im a weirdo who notices stuff like that. I could probably write another two or three paragraphs about game design and game elements, but I feel there are people out there better equipped for such critiques than I. So Ill end by saying good job, keep up the good work, and know that your game finally got my lazy ass to make an account for this site. Which doesnt count for much, but hey, its something.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll take this into account and will make a few changes. Edited May 22, 2016 by Caz

[Atlas105]

I don't trust either of these wierdos. I personally am sticking with Shiv because I do agree with the thought. I'd rather suffer a reality, then prosper in a fake make-believe world. So I obviously don't trust Nova or agree with what she wants (or think she can pull it off actually). Also that other guy, with the dragons, that Ava fought, whatever his name is, he is suspicious. I don't think him and Nova have the same plans. But Shiv also seems very untrustworthy because he's overall sketchy as hell, and he really does seem like he's hiding something. You have to kinda go with what you believe to be the lesser of two evils.

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

Yeah, it really is a "lesser of two evils" situation.

Forcing everyone into a dream world isn't a very nice way of achieving peace. But I also don't think the stone should be destroyed. It would be like if the Red and Blue Orbs were destroyed because Archie and Maxie unleashed global disasters by awakening Kyogre and Groudon. I also don't imagine Darkrai would be too happy about its stone being destroyed, so it might go on a rampage and put people to sleep anyhow.

When I first played the game, I went with Shiv without a second thought. Nova was trying to manipulate the player into not trusting Shiv by bringing up his past, but Shiv actually regrets neglecting his brother. Nova did make a strong argument in episode 3 though, about "life is what we make it" and changing reality to being better. Although again, it's questionable whether forcing everyone in a dream world would make it better. If the dream world doesn't have any ice cream, I don't want to be part of it.

Shiv's flaw is that he thinks we should accept things the way they are, even if the way they are sucks. Nova's flaw is that she thinks she's a hero, but so far has actually caused more harm than good through her followers.

[Fulano]

Someone would be nice to explain to me how I get a trapinch? And two link stones or whatever name the dev give to this

And if have any shiny stone to evolve roselia

Edited May 23, 2016 by Fulano

[Samalet]

Trapinch is in a locked house on the peak of Silver Rise. You need the Brass Key to open it, which you get after finding all the diary pages in Silver Forest and bringing them to the abandoned house there.

There is only one shiny stone, its hidden in one of the rocks on the peak of Hardened Mountain.

There is also only one Link Stone, you get it from the old man above Addenfall.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Sohn der Höhe

[Alilatias]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this to you yet, but regarding the new intro, the dialogue with Connor and the Ava/Scarlett cutscene immediately after washing up on the beach assumes it's still the old intro (Connor asking about what happened to the character, where he makes a reference to the old intro having the captain be a member of Team Crescent that hurls you overboard, plus Ava saying she made a promise to the player to go find them later when she doesn't do so in the new intro).

[thatoneperson1123]

Shiv's flaw is that he thinks we should accept things the way they are, even if the way they are sucks. Nova's flaw is that she thinks she's a hero, but so far has actually caused more harm than good through her followers.

I feel like this is my line of reasoning as well. I also think there's pertinent information being withheld from us by both Shiv and Nova. I went with Shiv too, though, because he helped the MC with Kuiki while Nova's Team Crescent has caused the MC nothing but trouble (and tried to kill Ava, which is a no-no). I've been sort of roleplaying the game, and my character has a pretty pragmatic approach to all the nonsense she's been sucked into.

Anyway, here's some food for thought. How would people feel if the game had a Fallout New Vegas style ending, where the MC pretty much says 'fuck you' to both Shiv and Nova and does things their own way? Or, to put it another way, what if we could keep the stone for ourselves? Of course, I know Caz has the story planned out already, but it's fun to think about.

Edited May 23, 2016 by thatoneperson1123

[Alilatias]

I actually have a feeling that we'll have the option to go for a neutral ending later on. It'll probably be by far the most difficult ending to get.

[Caz]

I actually have a feeling that we'll have the option to go for a neutral ending later on. It'll probably be by far the most difficult ending to get.

I always have the urge to comment on every speculation but I have to hold myself back (usually). I suppose the best way to answer any ideas about this is that the player will ultimately be able to do what THEY think is the best thing to do.

[Jmanultrax1]

Shiv's reason for wanting to accept the way things are for what he did in the past. Everything from that stone caused pain from him. He neglected his own brother cuz that thing had some sort of power over him. I think that shiv wants to destroy it because like he knows that this cant awaken darkrai's power. Maybe a little bit of moral action is in their too, cuz he neglected his brother because of stone. Maybe he thinks that destroying it will give him some closer.

Additionally that stone might unlock darkrai's power if it interacts with it, but what if its powers of that form were sealed inside it because it was too powerful. Darkrai perfection has so much power it can put the whole world to sleep and with a village it seemed like it just snapped its fingers.

[Atlas105]

Additionally that stone might unlock darkrai's power if it interacts with it, but what if its powers of that form were sealed inside it because it was too powerful. Darkrai perfection has so much power it can put the whole world to sleep and with a village it seemed like it just snapped its fingers.

I know right? Part of the reason I don't want to side with Nova is, even if she can unlock Darkrai Perfection, what makes her think she can control it?! She might unlock Darkrai and then it just goes berserk and puts the whole world in a never-ending nightmare!!

[Jmanultrax1]

I don't think she plans on controlling it. She just want to create this world of hers. Then what? darkrai destroys everyones dreams? no thank you. Plus as a test I gave her the stone to see what she would say. She said something like "Glad I could trust you, looks like you can reign above with me" she doesn't plan to be apart of the eternal dream. She wants to create it and watch/control it in general.

Now in the next part based on my decision I need to "join" her, say I believe in everything she does. Try to find out her goal (what I said above). This is Shiv's idea of "do the right thing".

[Caz]

Darkrai Perfection

So I don't think I ever actually shown the work put into Darkrai's Perfection form for Desolation. Many of you will of seen it in a previous thread but for those who didn't - you're welcome.

The artwork is done by hyshirey - go and show him some love. The sprite of Darkrai is done by senpai Nova, who did an excellent job.

Type: Dark/Ghost

Ability: Bad Dreams

Stats:

HP - 70 -> 70

Attack - 90 -> 90

Defense - 90 -> 100

Sp. Attack - 135 -> 170

Sp. Defense - 90 -> 100

Speed - 125 -> 170

Strategies: Darkrai Perfection doesn't have any particular play styles in contrast to some other planned mega's (Mightyena where are you) and simply plays the same as normal Darkrai - except it's a lot faster and hits a lot harder. Some would argue that Darkrai Perfection is overpowered - if it wasn't then why would I have the right to call it Darkrai 'Perfection'. It gains a Ghost Typing - making Fairy Type its only distinct weakness.

[Tempo17]

I love how there is artwork and spritework for the new mega evolutions

[Jmanultrax1]

So does this mean that this creator of nightmares will make some sort of appearance in the next episode?

[nepeta100]

that looks amazing :3

[FairFamily]

First love the art, it looks threatening andd powerfull. Just the feeling this pkmn should generate. Interesting is that the arc behind his head reminds me of a crescent moon which in reminds me of Cresselia.

Second So we got a pkmn with special attack in the top 10 while being the second fastest pkmn in the game. Scary... .

So scary I'm happy that I chose the choice scarf in both my runs, now my gengars can outspeed it and destiny bond it. Now hoping on no dark void.

[Samalet]

Nice attention to detail, you can clearly see Darkrai's legs in its perfected form too.

[thatoneperson1123]

So something just occurred to me as I wandered around Blackview City, lost for the umpteenth time, trying to find the Battle Club (which I eventually found and was, of course, in front of my face the whole time). Caz, would it be possible to use those cars within the city limits to fast travel to different parts of the city? Of course, you can only fast travel there after you've visited the place, and maybe only after the attack on Blackview, to encourage exploration. Kind of similar to the cabs in Lumiose City, ya know? The directionally challenged like myself would be quite thankful.

Also, is it possible to get some sort of quest log implemented eventually? In addition to my remarkable propensity to get lost, I'm lucky enough to also have the memory of a goldfish. It'd be nice if those hints the rangers give you could be viewed in, like, a journal or something. I've no idea if that's even possible, but it would be quite helpful, because at the moment I have to go to the ranger base, cancel the quest, get told I'm a horrible slacker, and then retake the quest to refresh my memory on what it is, exactly, I'm doing. Not to mention the quests I pick up and then forget about from NPCs (I still haven't found the lady with the Treeko, lol). If there's an easier way to do this and I'm just too dumb to realize it, I'd love to know.

Finally, I went back to the Weeping Hills to grab the Ghastly, and two of the Tombstones say Ava and Emily. Perhaps some sort of premonition? Hmmmmm... I also picked up the Aipom after fighting the mysterious spirit by Addenfall. We know Shiv uses an Aipom and is also magical in nature, so what's the connection beyond Aipom being Caz's mascot, haha?

Edit: Also, really dig Darkrai Perfection's appearance. Nice lookin' fella, but seems scary as hell to fight, haha.

Edited May 23, 2016 by thatoneperson1123