V13 review part 2

[Magus543]

Before I start this, I'd like to comment on the Interceptor's wish mechanic last time. Personally I never used it, and the teams the other characters use like Erin and Melia were good enough IMO. It helps that Erin's team was better equipped than mine to handle Angie, and Melia has my two ace Pokemon, a Hydreigon and Mimikyu with optimized EVs and perfect IV's. Must be nice to have such great Pokemon with such stats. Did the dev team show mercy and give us a way to get perfect IVs outside of breeding? That would be REALLY nice. 

 

 

But on the topic of the Pearl path, this one stars the Gearen trio, Ren, Venam, and Melia. Now this is an interesting setup, unlike Erin and Kanon, who are strangers becoming friends, the trio are friends who have sort of become strangers to each other despite still being close. Ren is still a member of Team Xen and more confident , Venam is trying to reign in her delinquent personality and be more supportive to Melia, and Melia is coming to terms with all the shit that's happen. Despite this set up, the trio's past isn't really explored, and Nim and Melia sort of become the focus along with more plot twists and lore dumps.

 

 

We begin in Goldenleaf, and now suddenly Ren's mom is a hippie. Okay weird change but at least she has a personality now, and we get some character interactions with her and the trio. She either mistakes or teases Ren that Venam and Melia are his girlfriends, which makes Venam uncomfortable but Ren just brushes it off, probably being used to his hippie mom saying stuff like that. Melia goes out and meets Mosely who has once again gotten in trouble, and battle Sariah who has mellowed out a lot more. After rescuing her, Melia and Mosely talk for a bit, and the latter seems to know stuff she shouldn't like the Bad future and then promptly passes out. I see that Mosely is now plot relevant again, so Melia leaves her with Ren's mom, and the trio go to get the Pearl Plot Device. 

 

 

But "GASP" turns out the identity theft duo fooled the Golden Trio and are holding Mosely and Ren's mom hostage. And like before, we won't get to do anything to stop them. Not sure if V13 fixed it but I was always bugged out on how Cosmia and Comet stole our identity and sullied our name but we don't do anything to pursue them and just leave it. Identity theft is no joke, millions of families suffer every year, and stealing our dead mom's identity is an insult. Hell, they impersonated the rest of the team for the tournament so you'd think our protagonists would be more concerned but nope. 

 

 

Anyway, the Golden Trio go to the Arceus statue and meet Nim who is still suffering from mind control. I fought her with Melia solo and I'm not sure if teaming up with Ren or Venam gives any advantages. Luckily for Nim however, she uses plot erasing victory and just blows us away with a tornado down the den of souls. (side note, V13's rewrites made this a thing and explained it in Sirius's lab, if you are like me and continued from V12, you might be confused at what the hell this is.) 

 

 

Man, if only we could just our super-powered pets to restrain a defeated trainer. Just think about that.

 

 

Anyway, so the next scenes confirm that the Garufa weren't actually a tribe, but a corporation. Which honestly makes them much more interesting than the usual lost civilization, it recontextualizes certain scenes like the pyramid and the magic that certain characters like Karen uses. Also there's some drama with Venam and Melia, about how the former is being over-protective of Melia and the latter not buying it since Venam needed help. Personally, I'm not interested in stuff like this but from a character perspective, it's much needed for Venam. I'm not sure how much V13 changed Venam's scenes yet, and she is at least more likeable in Mansion chapter, but honestly, while I enjoy Venam's character, it's getting old that she's in this loop of saying she'll change only to fuck up and promising to change and then doing another asshole thing. I'm going off my memory of V12 but before heading to the past, Venam promises to Melia she'll change for her, and then promptly uses a Charizard, that she stole, in a restaurant full of people, because she picked a fight with Kanon over petty jealousy, then apologizes to Melia and promises to return the Charizard, and THEN when Amber rightfully confronts her about it and demands her mom's Charizard back, Venam promptly bails out to the train, once again lying to Melia, and gets Amber in trouble.  And we are supposed to find this funny? Last I recall she still has the Charizard when we fight her to decide which Ribbon is given to Melia.  This is not cool at all, Pokemon are sentient creatures, and this borders on abuse, but I haven't seen all of V13's rewrites yet, so maybe Venam gives the Charizard back. If Venam has actually made up for her theft, then I'll take what I said back. But as it stands, this is the latest in a long list of fuck ups by Venam after promising to change since she was turned to stone. But this scene in particular is at least promising in that Melia actually confronts Venam meaningfully over her actions, and perhaps it will actually lead to the latter committing to changing for the better. It is admittingly human and changing for the better doesn't come overnight, but I just hope Venam actually does something to redeem herself in Melia's eyes and commit to being a better person instead of just empty words and more fuck ups.

 

 

 

Moving on, we have some scenes with Madelis and Cassandra over Xenpurgis, and Madelis continues her redemption arc by expressing reluctance over Xenpurgis which Cassandra refutes by pointing out the former has already done terrible things like Shadow Pokemon, trying to melt Sheridan, and killing Keta. Which Cassandra has a point, like Madelis has actual blood on her hands after all, and was still willing to melt Sheridan but suddenly Xenpurgis is too far?  Must be pretty terrible then. Madelis's redemption arc so far has mixed feelings from me, on one hand, it's a waste of a perfectly good villain, it's already been done by Zetta, and up until GDC, Madelis has expressed NO remorse for her actions and was gleefully willing to commit mass murder and it just feels so sudden that she's drawing a line, and the reasons aren't really convincing( more on this later). But on the other hand, it has potential to be interesting character development if done right, and I have faith in the writing team's ability. Like this patch made Saki into a deep character with complexity after all.(more on that later.) There's also some hints that Cassandra wants revenge on Tesla and Amber for something but for now it's another mystery box for Rejuvenation's plot. (Bet it was just because of bad service at the resort.)

 

 

Now we move on to the highlight of the path for me, Melia and Nim's journey. I've said it before, but I really feel that Melia bounces off characters who are acidic and cynical, like Erin, so she's a great foil for the now dour and edgy Nim, and they have great dynamic and development through this chapter. At first I was doubtful I would enjoy this since the Nim I liked, the optimistic, amusing and random girl is now a friendship hating loner, but it worked. I have a soft spot for those plot points where two characters hate each other but are forced to work together and come to develop mutual respect. So Golden Trio pursue Team Xen into this building after learning Cassandra is Team Xen (DUN DUN DUN.) and meet up with Nim who wants to work with the team, while Venam and Ren are skeptical, Melia decides to take a chance and allows her into the group. Eventually Melia and Nim are forced to separate and discover that the building is actually a training ground for people who use the not-triforce.

 

 

The two go through some trials, Nim even saves Melia a couple of times, despite herself, and the two start bonding. There are also some crazy twists like mental mindscapes, and how the Melanie in the last chapter was actually just a memory not the real deal, Nim also has memories of someone else, and Triforce cancer but honestly, the real important thing is how the two react to to all of it, not the twists themselves. There's a nice moment of Melia wanting to get scanned for her not-Triforce and Nim being REALLY tempted to just drain her but resists and scans her instead. And Nim is genuinely distraught over learning that Melia doesn't have long to live thanks to the Golden Power draining her because despite Nim doing her best not to care. Nim even begs Melia to tell her friends of her condition since hiding something like this will just lead to heartbreak, all these actions especially resisting the urge to just drain Melia is pretty noble for the girl trying to be as cynical and edgy as possible, proving Damian wrong and that Nim does have the right to live. 

 

 

Oh and there's some reveals about how Melia is actually 85, that Garufa Inc's machinations lead to war, and Ardrest's mom killed the higher ups with a pistol. Maybe instead of using Pokemon, the dev team should just let us bust a cap the next time Madame X shows up. 

 

 

Moving on, Nim reveals that she's dangerous and that her mere presence is actually draining people of life but she needs the life force of others or she will die, and Melia gets to show off her development by risking her life by using the Tri-force of wisdom to give more life to Nim. Like this is such a powerful moment for both characters, Nim is confessing her vulnerability and shows how heroic she really is by refusing to drain the life from Melia despite how desperate she is, and the persecution she faced from Damian and Sashila could have easily turned her spiteful, while Melia shows her caring side and tries to save a girl, Melia once said she would have killed off for threatening her and her friends. Great character development for both, and truly a powerful scene IMO.

 

 

Also there are some ghosts and a pink haired one possessed Ren's robot body and explained how she and a lover were on opposite sides of a war. 

 

 

 

Sorry if that was out of place and came out of nowhere, but so was this moment. I'm sure it will be more relevant in the next time travelling section but I don't care RN. So then the trio confront Cassandra and Madelis. The latter continuing her redemption arc by not fighting Melia. It sort of came to my attention in this scene that Cassandra is basically what Madelis was back in Chapter 3. I guess that's sort of why she was introduced so Madelis can look sympathetic and her redemption arc more believable? Meh. So Melia fights Cassandra, and OH MY GOD A SHADOW POKEMON! HOLY SHIT! I HAVEN"T SEEN THOSE IN YEARS! AND A BISHARP! I'll just grab my Ultra ball and.....

 

 

 

No Pokeballs in the inventory. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

I love you dev team for this game, but holy shit, you guys are mean sometimes.

 

 

 

So Cassandra is defeated and in a rare moment of common sense not seen in this game, the Trio decide to tie up Cassandra and take her to jail. Unfortunately this moment of common sense is ruined when they decide to let Madelis go. I mean sure Madelis is showing remorse but she's still part of a terrorist organization and has committed murder. Just tell the court that you have an ill sister or whatever, and that you saw the light because you talked to a child, I'm sure the Jury will buy it. 

 

 

 

So then the den of souls goes out of whack and a mass of souls tries to possess Ren's robot body. Gee if only the team had Pokemon that could defeat ghosts, like say a dark type? Melia's Hydreigon could easily blast her way out of there with dark pulse but no, let's just forget we have Pokemon and flee from ghosts. After some cool art, Nim saves the group and teleports them out of there. And lets the ghosts consume her because she tormented them. Great, Madelis gets to go scot free from her crimes but Nim has to pay for hers? Talk about unfair but we'll see where this goes.

 

 

 

So overall, this chapter was great, Melia and Nim were the MVPs, and had great development and interactions in this chapter. Hell despite joking about it, I really did enjoy the lore reveals about Garufa Inc and related characters. My only problem is that I still don't buy Madelis's arc and worry that her crimes will get swept under the rug and be forgiven. But I have faith it will be handled well. 

 

 

Next part, the best path. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dausk]

@Magus543 Just curious, are you planning on covering the balance changes in future parts of your review. Those represented some of the most questionable changes/additions in this version, in my opinion. I am interested in hearing your's and other's thoughts on them.

[Magus543]

1 hour ago, Dausk said:

@Magus543 Just curious, are you planning on covering the balance changes in future parts of your review. Those represented some of the most questionable changes/additions in this version, in my opinion. I am interested in hearing your's and other's thoughts on them.

 

I'll think about it, and I am still playing through V13's redone parts. 

 

Personally, I'm mostly bummed out that Rockruff has been pushed so far, but am glad that certain fields don't nerf the Dark Type now like Narcissa's gym. More later. 

[Dausk]

10 minutes ago, Magus543 said:

 

I'll think about it, and I am still playing through V13's redone parts. 

 

Personally, I'm mostly bummed out that Rockruff has been pushed so far, but am glad that certain fields don't nerf the Dark Type now like Narcissa's gym. More later. 

I can understand pushing a pokemon to later in the game, especially if it is over represented in player's teams, which Rockruff most certainly is. I'm just not a fan of some of the other balance decisions taken in this version. The "omniscient" AI, trainers using pokemon above the level cap, and the movement of EV cards and EXP All (especially with how new players are now susceptible to wasting their AP before knowing they become available) all detract from the enjoyment in my opinion.

[Magus543]

Oh that sort of thing, yeah, 89 lvl pokemon is kind of a kick in the gut. And speaking of the A.I. I have noticed that enemy trainers are more likely to switch out if your pokemon has a clear advantage which is pretty annoying. 

 

 

And as other users have noted, the early game grind is pretty bad, which at least was mostly resolved with Audino trainers. I do notice it's because a lot of fat has been trimmed, and there are less story mandated fights. Like you only fight Zetta once in the early game which deprives us of a lot of XP.

 

 

But more later, good night. 

[MhicKy]

Like in the part1 of your review, the story isn't much issue for me but the team compositions..

Melia's Togekiss didn't had a single Flying type move which made me constantly switch to it when I saw a Pokemon weak to Flying just to be like "Oh yeah.. Crap.." since it seems odd not to give it a STAB move but OK, there's also the biggest disappointment being the fact that Jan gave her an Aegislash for no other reason than to make our lives a nightmare since she doesn't bring it with her.. Which, in a story perspective, makes no sense since you would want to bring your biggest guns to dangerous missions but oh well and the fact that she has 2 dark type Pokemons with her, Hydreigon and Zoroark, so we can't have Aegislash, the Steel/Ghoost but have to play with 2 Dark Types, riveting.. Hydreigon isn't much of a problem since it is also Dragon but Zoroark is just pure Dark.. Hydreigon is already fitting this role so.. Give me the Aegislash please!

[321_King_123]

 

On 7/26/2021 at 1:06 PM, Magus543 said:

Before I start this, I'd like to comment on the Interceptor's wish mechanic last time. Personally I never used it, and the teams the other characters use like Erin and Melia were good enough IMO. It helps that Erin's team was better equipped than mine to handle Angie, and Melia has my two ace Pokemon, a Hydreigon and Mimikyu with optimized EVs and perfect IV's. Must be nice to have such great Pokemon with such stats. Did the dev team show mercy and give us a way to get perfect IVs outside of breeding? That would be REALLY nice. 

 

 

 

 

Actually.. There IS a way to make your mons IV perfect, whithou the debug mod.

I suggest you search it, but going down on the hospital of hope (forgot the name of the place under it..) you can actually make an appointment with a doctor that cost 50k, that will either give your mons Pokerus, or maximize a complete random IV

 

By the way, nice review! Loved your first, there was a lot of things i though that was strange in the Erin route, but i was too amazed to continue the game to stop and think haha

[Magus543]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:49 PM, 321_King_123 said:

 

 

Actually.. There IS a way to make your mons IV perfect, whithou the debug mod.

I suggest you search it, but going down on the hospital of hope (forgot the name of the place under it..) you can actually make an appointment with a doctor that cost 50k, that will either give your mons Pokerus, or maximize a complete random IV

 

By the way, nice review! Loved your first, there was a lot of things i though that was strange in the Erin route, but i was too amazed to continue the game to stop and think haha

TY.

I'm going to have to get a lot of cash for this one. 

[321_King_123]

4 hours ago, Magus543 said:

TY.

I'm going to have to get a lot of cash for this one. 

 

Me too haha. inicially i wanted to get the money to IV max all my 6 special mon´s (Because y´know, sentimental stuff, knowing im using the same ones as before and not new ones) But it cost so much to so little... 

The best you can do is capture a ditto, IV max him and breed the rest. Ill do this to all my mons, will breed them all except Silavlly and my future zygard-10%

 

What i recommend, is you get a Persian with Payday, put either amulet coin or luck essense (those items make payday give you more money) aanndd have 5 pickup-mons lv 81 to max profite (you could after finnish V13, up them to 90 , and use a rare candy in each one, then youll have a 91 pickup mons that will not obey you, but, will give profit. Im not dooing this soooo idk if they will still pickup items, i think so at least) then just payday wild mons, pickup the items, sell, and profit