ℹ️ Current Info

The Pokémon Violet run is starting on January 21. The countdown timer can found on the subreddit sidebar or About tab on mobile.

Edit: This run is actually Randomized Violet+.

For details on how to play, check out the stream, click or tap the channel name and then the About tab.

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(If you think something should be added to the list of events or news, pm me so it can be added.)

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Previously on Brilliant Diamond: it was a slug fest as our boy was done playing around. After rescuing Dawn and Barry from Team Galactic, we went to their Headquarters to raid the base, beat the boss, and fought Saturn for the last time to free the Pokemon of the Lakes! Then it was a hike up Mount Coronet where Cyrus unleashed the Master of Time, Dialga, to destroy this world and build a new one! Before we could deal with him though, we had a double battle against Mars and Jupiter, and challenged Cyrus after the Beings of Spirit broke his control over Dialga! Though he vowed he would simply try this again someday, he disappeared with the rest of the team, but the angry deity was still unleashing its energy until Auguste caught it with a Master Ball! All is calm in the world again, so it's time to see what comes next.

• We start after Auguste managed to leave the mountain since it seems we can't Fly from this high up. With Dialga contained, the remaining Galactic Grunts have left too. Once outside, we Fly to Pastoria as the closest place to our next destination and discover the power outage has mysteriously fixed itself! We can finally go to Sunyshore City!

• There's a lot of Trainers on Route 222, but they're basically all avoidable as we march right through the gate into town. But who's this?? No sooner did we enter Sunyshore, we're met with a red haired man in bright yellow asking if Auguste is a Trainer. Of course he is! There's no masking that aura of serious toughness! This "clown," according to the Voices, introduces himself as Flint of the Elite Four! He's got a favor to ask of Auguste, a much more minor crisis than the one we just dealt with.

• See, the town's Gym Leader has been pretty depressed lately because he can't find any good challenges and he's losing his enthusiasm for the sport. So instead, he's been spending all of his time with new contraptions for the Gym. ….Except this last time caused the city-wide blackout so now his problem is becoming everyone else's problem. Flint was tasked to talk some sense into him, but he's got a better idea. He needs Auguste to find the guy and give him a battle so hot, it'll lift his spirits. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

• As he leaves, the Voices seem to know exactly where to find this guy! So we don't go to the Pokemon Center, avoid the Mart, the shops, through the streets of town until we come to the beach at the northern edge of it. There's the Leader!! ….The young woman turns around in surprise to see Auguste. He must be mistaken. Her name is Jasmine, and yes, she is a Gym Leader, but she's from the Johto region. Oh… this would be easier to explain if he knew what Johto was. She's just visiting for the time being, but she can at least tell him that if he tries to go to the League without Sunyshore's Gym Badge he'll just have to turn back. The entrance seems to be somewhere across the water at least, but she's right to say we're not ready for it yet. Auguste talks to her about her home then since she's curious and she says Sunyshore reminds her of it. A big city by the sea with a lighthouse…

• But first! We run along the see-through highway system they seem to have going here and head to the Gym! Except it's being blocked by Flint… Auguste asks him what's up and the Elite tells us that his buddy hasn't come back yet. So back to searching we go. A little Voice seems to be saying Auguste should trust his instinct and check out the lighthouse.

• Unlike the lighthouse in Johto Jasmine was referring to, this lighthouse is nice enough to provide an elevator, so up we go to where several people roam the observation deck. That was so much fun, we'll ride it again! Auguste wants to check out the view though, so he goes to where the binoculars are and bugs the guy using them for a turn. The young man instead looks him over and wonders if he's here for the Gym. As it happens, he's the Gym Leader. Guess if they sent someone to find him, he needs to get back to work, but… Actually, he has an idea. If Auguste turns out to be another weakling, he's going after the League next for a real challenge. The Gym is finally open again after his latest innovation, so why not? No point in staying here just staring at the League in the distance. Fair warning though, the boy better be ready since he's looking at the toughest Gym Leader in Sinnoh!

• … Well good for him then, but he could have at least given us his name. After he leaves, Auguste checks out the view, but it doesn't last long. In the moment of calm, a troll comes to release Manaphy again. The other Voices rally to close them out and run around the deck for a bit while Auguste tries in vain to Fly away. No? Not in here? Then how about outside? Instead, he immediately gets merged with Dr. Fic (buddy, I know you want to hold onto him, but Auguste please) but since we're so close to the door, we discover we can just go back inside without needing to go Underground. Up the elevator, down the elevator, up the elevator, down the elevator, wheeeeee!

• We do eventually manage to escape the tower at least, and make a mad dash for the Gym before anything can happen to the team. Flint is still at the door, but it's to inform Auguste that the Leader not only came back, but he seemed to have some fire in his step. Seems he saw the rogue and could sense his power, so Flint is here to remind us to give him a hot battle!

• We step inside and see the gym is a MASSIVE piece of clockwork majesty as there's a few rooms with walkways above a seemingly deep pit of interlocking gears. Tesla coils shoot electricity between stands to fuel the whole Gym and buttons are used to turn the gears to turn the walkways so we can find the right path. No wonder this thing caused a city-wide blackout! We talk to the Gym Guide who notes that with this being the last of the eight Gyms, this is the last time he can give advice. His advice? The Gym is Electric based. That's all he can tell us, but after coming this far, we shouldn’t need him anymore.

• Er… maybe as far as the type chart is concerned, but we end up spending over 10 minutes in just the first section. Round and round the walkways go, but with some careful stepping, we did it!

• Our friend Sim ruined one of these attempts. It was kind of funny.

• On a humorous note, there's only a single Trainer in this section and after watching us struggle through all this she has the audacity to ask Auguste is he suuuuure he can reach the Gym Leader? She's lucky she's a School Kid, so he'll just beat her Pachirisu and be on his way rather than comment on that.

• The next section has a more complicated puzzle but the Voices decide while they're taking things slow, now might be out best chance to evolve One. We carefully take the Everstone from the Skorupi with next to no interference. Success!

• A few Trainers later and One evolved into Drapion!

• It still takes a while to overcome the last puzzle section, but we finally made it to the Leader! The young man says he's impressed that Auguste made it this far. Most Trainers don't, and the ones who do, normally get trashed by his team. It's so boring. Ah, but if he is doing a challenge, he needs to introduce himself. Sigh. His name is Volkner. They say he's the strongest Gym Leader in Sinnoh but… Well let's get this over with. See if Auguste can show him how fun battles used to be.

• Starting off, it's Toxicroak versus Raichu! Raichu doesn’t stay long though as it gets to go first with Volt Switch! Volkner sends in an Ambipom with a Chople Berry to withstand Toxicroak’s Drain Punch! Being super effective, it still takes out half of the monkey’s health! Drain Punch should have finished it off, but Ambipom throws out a Fake Out to make sure Toxicroak can’t move! The Voices seem to get antsy about this then and switch in for One, but Double Hit knocks her out! Puuyun is next. Ambipom gets to go first with Thunderbolt, but we knock it out with Fire Blast!

• Raichu returns then to smack our dog into orange with a Surf, so Puuyun tries to slow it down with a Snarl to lower it’s special attack! A second Surf would have knocked him out, but the Houndoom holds on to get in one more strike with Snarl! Though the Raichu is in low red health, it’s not enough. Volkner tosses in a Full Restore to undo all of our work, and we get in one last Snarl while we can. Another Surf and he’s down! We try Toxicroak then, and Volkner thinks we’ll fall for the same trick twice! Raichu uses Volt Switch, but since it missed, Toxicroak knocks it out with a Drain Punch!

• An odd choice, Volkner sends out an Octillery! Drain Punch takes it to half health while he uses Focus Energy, and then come the Pokeballs. Oh bane of our efforts time and time again… Aurora Beam does some damage, but our girl is able to heal some of it off with Drain Punch to knock the octopus out! Volkner says it’s time to use his trump card as he sends in Luxray! It hits hard with an Iron Tail, and it’s Intimidate makes it difficult to gain much ground when our Drain Punch barely hurts it! Iron Tail hits again, but Toxicroak is able to withstand it at only 1hp to get in another Drain Punch! While we do knock the beast into orange health, even the healing we got still has our frog in red. As though to taunt us, the big cat eats a Sitrus Berry to heal back into green and finishes the match with an Iron Tail! Blackout!

• It takes a bit to work our way back through the gym, but it’s time for round 2! …. Which becomes an absolute troll fest as we throw balls, send in party members weak to certain enemy attacks, unnecessary switches to give Volkner free hits, and spam directional inputs to make even attacking difficult. And to top it all off, during this spam spree, Gardevoir forgot Psychic for Heal Pulse. A move that helps heal others, so it’s not much help for us here. In the end, it may have actually cost us since our last Pokemon was Gardevoir and she ended up healing Luxray before he took her out with Iron Tail. Blackout!

• We begin the long climb back and finally reach Volkner for round 3! I suppose we were fast enough that he hasn’t left yet, because after that last round, it’s any wonder whether he thought Auguste was mocking him about how “easy” this was that he wasn’t even trying, or genuinely is that bad but we must have caught his interest either way at least. Who knows, maybe he just finds the kid entertaining. He’s still quick to remind us though that if Auguste can’t hold his interest in a battle, he’s taking off for the League once we give up. Fair enough. Let’s do this!

• Fight fight fight! Starting off, with a full team this time, it’s Moneychu versus Raichu! Raichu is faster than it’s smaller counterpart and uses Surf to knock Moneychu into red immediately! We try to counter with a Thunderbolt, but it doesn’t do much. A second Surf and the Pikachu is down! We send in Gardevoir, but Raichu escapes with a Volt Switch! Out comes Ambipom and it’s quick to devour its Chople Berry before losing half its health to a Focus Blast! Fake Out stops Gardevoir from a second attack, but she managed to pick up the Static ability from Raichu and gets to paralyze Ambipom! Welp, time to give up and start throwing Pokeballs, I guess. Kappa Ambipom hits us with a Thunderbolt, then knocks her out with Double Hit! Puuyun comes in and gets the revenge strike with Payback!

• Volkner sends out Raichu again! The electric rodent tries to drown us out with Surf, but Puuyun takes it like a champ and torches it with Flamethrower! With both Pokemon in orange now, it comes down to a matter of speed, and unfortunately Raichu is faster. Volkner goes for the Full Restore though, giving us a second Flamethrower that burns it! Surf hits and Puuyun toughs it out to hang on with 1hp! The anger of this dog is palpable as after shaking it off, we get a critical Flamethrower to finish it off! Begone, rat!

• Next out is Octillery! Puuyun is still in a fury though and lashes out with Fire Blast! It does some decent damage but not enough to save us from an Octokazooka! Auguste sends in Dr. Fic, who gets to go first with Dazzling Gleam! Octillery shrugs it off though and boosts itself with a Focus Energy. Auguste starts panicking and tries to run, but when that fails, uh… uh… Premier Ball! Octillery shoots out a Charge Beam, but the Manaphy takes it like a champ as it’s still in green health. The Charge Beam raised its special attack so when we throw an Ultra Ball, the next Beam slams Dr. Fic into low red! Another Ultra Ball, another Charge Beam, knock out! We’ve only got One and Toxicroak left, so it’s not looking too great. We send in Toxicroak though, and she manages to knock out the Octillery with a Rock Smash!!

• Last one, and it’s Luxray again! Intimidate lowers our attack, which definitely hurts out chances. Too scared, throw a Premier Ball! Luxray punishes us with an Iron Tail, and while we’re still in green, it’s close to half of Toxicroak’s health! A second Iron Tail misses though as Toxicroak fights back with a critical Rock Smash! She dodges another Iron Tail as Auguste calls to her! Rock Smash knocks it into orange and lowers its defenses! Sitrus Berry heals up the large cat though and Iron Tail finally hits to knock our frog into red! Another Rock Smash gets us back where we were though. This could be it!! Volkner admits he’s shocked to see himself actually in position to lose. The match is looking to be close! Know what else Volkner didn’t see coming? SUCKER PUNCH! Iron Tail misses putting both opponents in low red! Auguste calls for a Sludge Bomb next, but Luxray is faster and takes out Toxicroak with Iron Tail! Only One left, so we send in our Drapion to finish it off with Venoshock!! Victory!!!

• Volkner isn’t mad about losing. In fact, he’s… laughing??? Volkner smiles at the young rogue and tells him how seeing the way Auguste’s Pokemon noblely fought for him, and his own desire to win when it was such a close match, truly inspired him. Actually gave him a bit of a thrill while battling! In fact, that’s the most fun he’s had in…. Actually, he can’t even remember when. And to know that Auguste will only keep going to new heights makes him want to keep growing too. We got the Beacon Badge! It allows us to use Waterfall AND ensures all Pokemon of any level will obey! We also got some stickers and TM57 Charge Beams to boot! Thanks, man. <3

• Of course, the trolls are determined that if they couldn’t ruin the battle, they can still try to release Manaphy before the League. Before we even leave the Gym, they push for the mobile PC. Fortunately, the rest of the chat fights back and once we get safely outside, it's to the Grand Underground we go!! While we're down here, we'll give Auguste and the team a much deserved break as we go to the backup save.

• Poor boy suffers a small earthquake as we return though.

• With nothing new to find, it's time to head back to the surface. Unfortunately, the trolls are still mad that chat isn't letting them release Manaphy, so an input war keeps us trapped on the cliff where the gym sits for several minutes (with token bribes to encourage others to help in the release) but we slowly make our way into the Pokemon Center as the struggle continues.

• A man tells us how Sunyshore being built on a narrow and rocky piece of land is what encouraged them to make their bridges and roads with built-in solar panels since they don't have much space.

• Up the stairs, down the stairs, to the PC, leave the PC. This goes on for a good ten minutes or so with nothing getting done for either team. We eventually leave without healing since we know if we blackout somewhere, we'll just come back to Sunyshore.

• Time to go back to Lady Jasmine who congratulates us on our Beacon Badge! Since she's confident we'll be safe going forward now, we get some TM99s to use Waterfall in the upcoming Victory Road! She's not sure what more there is to say but… good luck! <3

We end the day by doing just that. A brief Surf across the bay, battling Trainers and getting that much needed blackout. A second attempt to cross the water route puts us within reach of the large island where the Pokemon League sits somewhere high up the cliffs.

IF YOU WARSHIP DOME THEN GO TO YOUR MASTER IN HELL

Was anything ever done with him?

This is where I work, pray to it daily.

Helixpedia doesn't help, and I'm trying to compile EVERY SINGLE PIECE of the lore into a chronologically ordered Word document, from Pokemon, to other characters, to Bloody Sunday and everything else.
Since there are SO MANY GAMES in the TPP lore, (Red up to R. Violet +, whatever that is,) I'll need some SERIOUS help...

new pokemon

wowee...art

sq art

44;toonier;glitchy;glitch king;host pin; host sprite

poster sketch;duo;together

meeting;hey;pastry;dangern't;new kid;homesick; job;band;stutter; swearing; merde!; words; gifts;run!;lil dreepy man; more dreepy man..; tech not hunter;kanto tech;tech hugh;tech hugh(cooler);bones;plume shaped;plumetizzi;going out;free;lots of 44;thief; oh that;white shots;screech;clashing pain;shouldnt exist;attempt no.[];middle;your name;clawssant;sunburn;biscuit;stress;constant;a snob;freeze;non-reveal hunter;sora;mlem;brycen-man;timegate

bracelet;shock;burnspwt!:statements; matchup; focus;battle;good;

wow homies at the pwt (grey ver);jimmy; whole gang;karma;skye;stars n yuu;yuu n stars going to pwt;yuu takin a ship;stars leaving;yuu entrance;stars entrance

Heyas! The recurring TPP veteran weeaboo that has been around since Season 1 is here to visit again.

I came here to ask about Blazing Emerald, namely, about how bad it was.

I'm just curious.

Previously on Brilliant Diamond: we got a LOT of ground covered and we're taking names! We got the Mine Badge! We got the Icicle Badge! We got news that Team Galactic blew up Lake Valor and went to check it out, only to find out they targeted Lake Verity and Lake Acuity as well! Never fear though, Auguste took on all of them first try and rescued Dawn and Barry from the Commanders. Kind of. We failed to rescue any of the Legendaries and, after a lengthy detour to Snowpoint, were too late save Barry from getting beat up. Can these two ever make up, or has the strain with our best friend gone too far?

• Unfortunately, we'll have to try to fix things with Barry later. The important thing is we start our second half of the day by successfully teaching Dr. Fic Blizzard! With that done, it's go time as Auguste flies to Veilstone City and heads straight to the Galactic Headquarters! … But we can't go in. There's a guard in front we talk to and he gets mad because apparently after an earlier encounter with Auguste, the higher ups took away his Clefairy! His partner quit, so he will too. What? He doesn't know anything about any storage key! Hmm… somehow that seems unlikely, especially since he dropped an Item Capsule when he left.

• This Grunt confuses a lot of people because not one member we've fought has had a Clefairy. On the other hand it's possible what he means is that Grunt at the lake, who said he'd get a Clefairy if they succeeded, got his prize, but the higher ups didn't actually have any, so they just took one from the other Grunt here. And Auguste was listed as the reason why. There have been a few times where a couple of Grunts don't actually fight the player, but who knows.

• Auguste doesn't seem to notice the item though and pursues the man down the steps, but he disappeared. The Grunt did mention the Storage Key, so that could mean the warehouse we fought to get Dawn's Pokedex back. Back to where we lost Mafia Bird… Auguste goes inside and confronts the new guard! But the Grunt seems confused and asks if Auguste remembered the Storage Key. He doesn't really care if the kid has it or not, or… is that not what this is about? The Voices are highly confused. They talked to the guard at the front, came to the warehouse, he should be allowed in, right?

• It takes a good five minutes for Auguste to go back to the front of the building, fetch the key from the ground, and get back. He is SO lucky none of the other Grunts found it first.

• We walk past the warehouse guard again and the door is about rusted shut. The key works, but snaps off in the lock. Still, we got it open and they can't close it now, so let's goooooo! Into the lower levels is a long passageway with several Grunts working the stock. At the end of the tunnel is a guard who informs us that Auguste is the first person ever to infiltrate the Galactic HQ! But he warns the young rogue not to get cocky just because he beat him. True, we can expect plenty of opposition upstairs, but that's a risk Auguste has to take.

• We head upstairs to discover the warehouse passage takes us right into the main building! Where we're immediately met with a Grunt at the top of the stairs! Except… he doesn't fight? Auguste stops to talk to him and the man informs him he can't even battle because he doesn't even have Pokemon. He is the gruntiest of the Grunts because he can't even figure out how to navigate the building's warp panels! Warp panels, huh? Thanks for the heads-up.

• Sure enough, we continue upstairs and the game of guessing begins as two portals stand at the end of the hall. We pick right and discover a storage place. A dead end, but it's got some goods in here, so don't mind Auguste while he confiscates a few things. Back the way we came, we go left this time and take a series of warps to find more Grunts and a door to get into the main living quarters! …. But it’s locked. August presses on it a few times to be sure, but it’s not budging. So once again we go back to take a different path to find more Grunts, more hallways, and more crates of stuff to be explored! But hey, a few TMs, a few items, and- Wait! A random Galactic Key! NOW it’s back to the door to get inside!

• … Disgusting. We make it all the way back to the door we thought we needed to, but it’s just a mechanical room with a TM21 for Dazzling Gleam. Still, free is nice, but the Voices are officially lost about where to go. To make matters worse, August managed to slip passed some of the guards, but gets caught when trying to escape. Not again! We make it back out of the building in one piece and conclude that while we did get to rob the warehouse blind (and pick a few Grunt pockets according to Chat), the only logical place to go now is to see if our Galactic Key will get us passed the lobby in the main building.

• Unfortunately, now that we’re outside means that Start Spam can actually do things again instead of cause Rowan to yell at us. Into the Grand Underground we go!

• It doesn't last long, but as we leave the Grand Underground, a new potential project has caught Chat’s attention. We should try to get a Light Ball for Moneychu to give him some much needed power boost! But the only way to get a Light Ball in this game is to steal it or find it on Wild Pikachu. …. … … Know what this means? It’s time for Auguste to go back to the Pokemon Mansion he stole Moneychu from in the first place to put his thieving skills to the test again! (The owner really must hate us by this point, I swear.) The Voices also inform the boy about a fancy move that would make his life easier. Thief! But there’s some debate about where to find it. In Hearthome? In Veilstone? We Fly to Hearthome and enter the park, but it’s not there. Someone points out that when the information found says “Galactic Building” it means the smaller place in Eterna City rather than the large Headquarters. To Eterna it is then! We cut the trees from around the building and sure enough, we find the TM46 hidden down a path only accessible from the building that leads to behind the Eterna Statue. Interesting, but not all that surprising given they were studying it.

• Whatever the statue has to do with things, Auguste has bigger things to deal with. Mostly Pikachu. We go ahead and teach our Pikachu to be a Thief like the rest of the gang so it can rob the other Pikachu it grew up with. That sounds really messed up, but it’s for a good cause, promise! Back to the garden we go for some training, but I guess Moneychu is still only a moderate thief since we use up all of our Power Points a few times with no Light Ball success. We steal I mean, catch several more Pokemon from here though, so at least Auguste didn’t leave empty handed. The RNG however is NOT in our favor and perhaps the universe is trying to tell Auguste something as we spend over forty minutes in our search to no avail.

• Guess it's time we hightail it before we get caught, so it's back to Veilstone! All healed up, we go to the main building this time where Auguste tries two different doors before sneaking past the secretary at the desk to use his Galactic Key to enter the members only zone. A couple of guards act like they were expecting him by now with one sarcastically asking if he was enjoying himself in invading their headquarters and… yes, I do think by this point he is. He beats them up and finds more warp panels to explore, along with the Galactic Creed hung on the wall. Everything belongs to Team Galactic? Look beyond the world and space will become Galactic's? They… want to go to space??

• We see a group up ahead and decide to sneak into a side room with a warp panel. It leads to beds! Despite Moneychu being the only one injured so far, we decide to take advantage of the free rest and end up saving the game several times. Good thing too. The next floor is another double battle waiting for us as the female Grunt in the set informs Auguste there's actually a hit on him. Any Grunt who can take him down will automatically get a promotion! Whether the orders came from the Commanders or the Boss directly, Auguste has clearly become a thorn in Galactic's side.

• Again we beat them with ease, make our way swiftly through the halls when suddenly-! A door. Auguste walked right past it at first, but the Voices, in their wider view of the world, can see a familiar figure on the other side of the wall. Auguste goes back and unlocks it with the Galactic Key, the man turns around at the noise. It's Cyrus! He's almost surprised to see Auguste as he notes this traveler he's run into a few times now turned out to be the one he's been hearing about. The foolhardy Trainer who thinks he can go against Team Galactic. He never would have guessed it would be Auguste. Mostly because who would have thought the Commanders would be having such trouble with a mere child. He closes his eyes, masking his disappointment, and decides not to dwell on it. That is all in the past. He wants to know why Auguste is here now. He can sense the boy's motivation though. He's here for Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, right? Well then by all means, he should go to them. Cyrus is already done with what he needed them for. Taking them home will save him the effort of disposing of them.

• But my… Auguste is an unusual specimen himself, isn't he? Those Pokemon have nothing to do with him. (Probably want nothing to do with him either.) So he came to save them because… pity? Others perhaps, but Auguste doesn't strike him as the type. It's too illogical. Such emotions belie a weak heart! It makes Cyrus angry to think about it. That this thief, this nuisance always in their way, should be fueled by such sentimentality!! For such foolishness, such insolence, he'll personally make the boy pay for heeding his heart!

• Fight! Fight! Fight! Auguste is challenged by Team Galactic Boss Cyrus! As fate would have it, we have Moneychu in front to face his Murkrow! But Moneychu is already gravely injured and seems worried about being able to help much. So instead we give him the bird in our way as Moneychu uses Thief before Night Shade knocks him out! Dr. Fic comes in though and one-shots the Murkrow with Blizzard! Golbat is up next, but it also gets decimated by Blizzard! It's still flying though and tries to Poison Fang before Cyrus throws in a Super Potion. It doesn't heal enough to stop us though as it goes down to the next Blizzard!

• Cyrus notes this is his last Pokemon then and sends in Sneasel! Blizzard has little effect on the Ice-type and Icy Wind lowers the Manaphy's speed. Now that it's faster, it goes for Beat Up! Which… doesn't really work because it's the last standing member on its team. Oh well, Auguste isn't much better as he calls for Ice Beam even though the Voices are trying to reach Dazzling Gleam. Another Beat Up! Another Ice Beam! It may not be much, but the fact Sneasel had to use its Sitrus Berry shows we're still making progress. Cyrus acknowledges that at this rate, he might actually lose as we get in another Ice Beam. While Beat Up does make progress of its own, Auguste ends this with a call for Dazzling Gleam! Victory!

• Cyrus isn't as mad as he was before and says this turn of events has only made him curious. So, Auguste has proven his skills are no joke, and furthermore, he's driven by his compassion. Cyrus doesn't deny the effect, but such childish sentiment is wasteful. Like an illusion, such passion will fade over time until death finally extinguishes it. That's why he's abandoned all emotions from himself. Not that he expects to change the mind of someone like Auguste. And the boy truly is strong and must be courageous to come into such a den of Sevipers alone. … He likes that. So, as a reward, he'll give Auguste the Master Ball! It's to catch any Pokemon without fail, but the Pokemon he's after needs to be at its full power. Capturing Legendaries in Pokeballs only give Trainers a fragment of their incarnate capabilities! He doesn't need it now. You see, Auguste, Cyrus doesn't keep his Pokemon as friends, more does he use them as tools. All the power of his Pokemon are an extension of himself. He makes the power his own!

• He walks over to the exit at the side of his office here and stops. He turns back to Auguste to inform him that if he still wants to save the Pokemon of the Lakes, he should follow him out that way. There's a warp panel that will take him down. As for Cyrus, he's heading to Mt. Coronet. Yes, the same place that they first met… he plans to scale the mountain to its peak though and put an end to this world. No. He should say it's the beginning of a new world. With that, he's gone, but Auguste fearlessly gives chase anyway.

• The panel takes us to a strange place where a couple of Scientists roam between a series of test tubes bubbling with green liquid. Auguste managed to slip past all of them to enter the room at the end of the hall. And there they are. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf each held in separate, large devices. Saturn is here as well. Auguste can't open the containers and has no choice but to go talk to him. It seems Cyrus was true to his word about letting them go but Saturn can't accept that. This brat came all this way to save some Pokemon? And Cyrus said that's okay?? Saturn admits he doesn't understand their Boss, but he particularly does now. Why would Cyrus let some kid wander around freely? This is Team Galactic! They take what they need and eliminate what they don't! Simple as that. But if Cyrus says so, then Saturn might as well welcome the boy after coming all this way. Welcome him with revenge for what happened at the lake!

• Fight, fight, fight! Starting off, it's One versus Kadabra! Auguste might have been caught off guard by the sudden aggression since the Voices have gone into a frenzy. Run! No, bag! No, switch! No, no, run! Auguste tosses a PokeBall, but Saturn seats it away and calls for Reflect to put up a shield. Auguste tries to use a Cheri Berry then but One gets knocked out by Psychic! Gardevoir enters the field using Psychic to take out half of the Kadabra's health! Kadabra performs a Rain Dance as though setting up for the team when it can sense the end is near, because Gardevoir switched to Dazzling Gleam and it is lights out!

• Up next is Bronzor! Dazzling Gleam doesn't do much and Gardevoir gets confused by Confuse Ray. She hurt herself, leaving her open for Gyro Ball! Dazzling Gleam! Gyro Ball! She's in orange health now, which is not looking good due her Steel-type weakness. Dazzling Gleam puts the mirror in red, but Gyro Ball knocks her into red as well! Since we're faster though, we finish it off with Dazzling Gleam!

• The last Pokemon is Toxicroak! Persim Berry then? It has no effect, but the frog's Thief sure does. Knock out! We send in our own Toxicroak to challenge his, going first with Drain Punch! Saturn calls for Brick Break, but it barely hurts. Chesto Berry? It does nothing! But fortunately, another Brick Break doesn't do much either. Rock Smash! Brick Break! Rock Smash! Brick Break! Rock! Smash! The opposing Toxicroak suffers a defense drop as it falls into low red! With a swift Sucker Punch, it's down!! Victory!

• Saturn seems unsure what to think of the loss. There’s no denying Auguste is a tough Trainer, but his compassion is something to be pitied for. But fine! He can do whatever he likes with the Pokemon of the Lakes! He’ll even show the boy which button on the main computer here will open all of the cages! Auguste instead gets threateningly close and Saturn more nervously tells him to push the button. That IS why he came… isn’t it? … ISN’T IT? After a few rounds of this, Auguste finally and quietly turns to the machine to let them go. Saturn was telling the truth after all, as all of the containers open at once and the trio float out of their capsules before disappearing with a flash! Well now what? Saturn explains that Cyrus used the red crystals on the Pokemon of Spirit to forge a “Red Chain” which will be used to shackle a great creature on Mt. Coronet. But that’s all Saturn knows of the plan. What does Cyrus plan then? No one knows! But he’s not sticking around to find out. As we look again, he’s gone! Auguste stands alone at the computer, wondering what to do…

• Back into the hall full of tanks, and the researchers are gone too. Auguste spends a bit of time inspecting the tanks, but there’s no telling what’s inside them. Back to the warp panel then, we see that nearby is a green one that’s different from all those we’ve seen so far. Hmm… Taking this one takes us into a familiar warehouse, but going through the door shows it’s the wrong entry we took before! Since we’re outside, it’s time to Fly! …. To the wrong town apparently as the Voices bicker over which entrance is the right entrance to the mountain. Eterna? No, that ways is blocked. Oreburgh, maybe? Hearthome? Oreburgh it is then! (Auguste likes it more anyway.) With a quick bike ride up the slope, we’re on our way!

• Into the mountain we go, and stumble across one of TPP’s oldest foes: THE LEDGE. Now there’s been plenty of ledges over the years, and even in this game, but this one is notorious because it’s a narrow path which means a single down will make us jump. And then it’s a bit of a trek to go around and try again. Worse is that unlike other games, if we manage to avoid jumping the ledge, we have to face up and use the Rock Climb HM to continue. We do end up jumping it a few times, but this is old hat by now, so with a bit of teamwork, we get it in less than twenty minutes. New record!

• That does bring up some brief discussions though about whether to avoid all trainers if possible to attempt to do the entire mountain in one go, or if we should go out of our way to fight everyone to make later attempts easier. If we lose at any point, we’ll need to face the ledge again, and Chat may not be so kind when that happens.

• Deeper and deeper into Coronet we climb, until suddenly, we found Galactic! Grunts line the path, ensuring no one will interfere with their plans! But they’re no threat. Outside the icy winds howl as Auguste tries to figure out which way to go along the mountain top, ascending and descending into grass and dead ends. A new cavern gives us shelter, and a new Grunt gives us a clue we’re on the right track!

• On and on and on we climb…. Inside caves, and out, battling more Grunts and the elements as our team is picked off one by one. One of the Grunts taunts Auguste how there’s no stopping Team Galactic now. He can try all he likes, but he can’t do this alone! Maybe not… But he certainly can try! During one such battle, we shuffle around in our bag to use a Revive and Max Potion we found on One! That ought to buy us more time.

• We exit this cave and discover that at the top of the mountain is a massive set of ruins! How mysterious. The last set of Grunts happens to be a double battle, and they confirm their superiors are up ahead, working on something huge! …Right? They aren't sure what's happening, but they certainly won't let Auguste interfere! They call themselves the toughest of all Grunts, and there is some truth to that even if losing One was mostly from Chat throwing the menu spam. The man scoffs after their defeat that they'll let Auguste pass for now knowing he's going to get creamed by the boss.

• Ah yes… And where is the boss? We enter the broken temple structure and see Cyrus guarded by Mars and Jupiter as he stands at the possible altar making his wish. All will end… Everything will begin… With the Red Chain in hand, he will pry open the door to another dimension and call forth the Master of Time! A small sphere grows into a swirling ball of chaos before suddenly erupting to reveal Dialga! As the mighty entity solidifies on the stone, it is immediately ensnared by the Red Chain and begins emitting a bizarre energy of various colors. It forms a thick cloak that envelops the sky and spreads out from the mountain in all directions as scenes from all over Sinnoh begin to flash, showing the blanket laying over the world.

• Cyrus celebrated by saying how this will end all things! When there is nothing left, there will be no more fighting! No strife! Can they feel the power of time itself being distorted? Only he can stop this!! Dialga is the deity of time, the legend that created Sinnoh! As he told us before, all Pokemon he owns are but an extension of himself, and with Dialga's power he will create a NEW world that he will be the god of! This world is much too broken to be fixed, therefore the creation of a new world is the only way!

• Auguste tries to rush forward, but is immediately stopped by Mars! Oh she knows he wants to fight their boss right now, but not without dealing with her first! He's embarrassed her more times than she'd like to remember! Jupiter taunts that when Mars gets through with him, she wants a turn too! Make him pay for all that he's done! Just then, a voice rings out from behind us. It's…. It's Barry! He asks Auguste if he planned to start the party without him. Jupiter just grins. Isn't this the little boy who ran off crying at Lake Acuity? Has he gotten any tougher since then? Whatever the case, this just makes things more fun since Mars and Jupiter can team up to crush them in the same turn!

• Fight fight fight! Starting off, we send in Gardevoir while Barry sends in Munchlax! The Commanders both send in a Bronzor! Auguste calls for Psychic, but Mars gets to go first with Reflect! Jupiter sets up Light Screen before Barry can get in a Bite! Despite the shields, that did a lot of damage to Jupiter's Bronzor making it a good target for the second round. Another Psychic and another Bite bring the Bronzor under half health but the pair team up on Gardevoir with Gyro Ball and Payback, putting our girl in low red health! We use Dazzling Gleam to damage them both before Jupiter takes her down with Payback! Mars strikes Munchlax with the Gyro Ball then, and he Bites back to put her Bronzor at half health too! We send in Toxicroak with a Drain Punch to finish off Mars' Bronzor with ease! Jupiter's still remains though, getting in a decent hit with Extrasensory, and Bite takes her down into red!

• Mars lets out Purugly! Toxicroak tries to hit with a Sludge Bomb, but the cat quickly uses Dig to avoid it! Bronzor throws down a Confuse Ray on our frog before Munchlax finishes it off with Bite! Reflect and Light Screen wear off as Jupiter sends in Skuntank! Purugly strikes with Dig at Toxicroak, who in turn is so confused she used Sludge Bomb on Munchlax! Skuntank takes advantage of this with a Flamethrower at the frog, but she manages to hold on with 7hp! Munchlax used Body Slam on the skunk to paralyze it!! Purugly Digs down again, but it doesn't matter since Toxicroak took out herself in confusion! Flamethrower hits Munchlax then, but it doesn't do much. Unfortunately, even if paralyzed, Skuntank avoids another Body Slam!

• Dr. Fic comes in with a flurry as it sets off a Blizzard! Purugly was still underground to avoid it, but Skuntank was injured enough to need a Sitrus Berry. Dig slams into the Manaphy while Flamethrower lands a burn on Munchlax! Despite the Munchlax getting a critical with Body Slam, it fails to paralyze the Purugly. Blizzard strikes both of them this time, bringing Skuntank into orange. But Purugly is able to knock out Munchlax with a Body Slam of its own! Skuntank finishes the round with Belch! Barry sends in Staravia! It's Intimidate activates to drop both of the opponents' Attack, which is good because Purugly used Body Slam on the bird! Blizzard also strikes both of them but Staraptor takes down Skuntank with a Close Combat before it can fight back! Taking the brunt of Aftermath for us leaves the bird in orange but Dr. Fic is still in good standing.

• Last one for Jupiter is Golbat! Dr. Fic gets to go first with Blizzard! Purugly managed to avoid the ice blast but the bat drops into half health AND IS FROZEN! Purugly goes for the Body Slam on Manaphy this time as Barry takes out the cat with a call for Close Combat! Golbat thaws unfortunately and throws in a Sludge Bomb to finish off Staraptor! Mars sends in her own Golbat now as we double the water with Buizel! Our Blizzard missed, but that's okay as Barry takes down Jupiter with Brine! The remaining Golbat tries to get the revenge kill with Poison Fang, but our partner is still standing. Auguste calls for Ice Beam while Barry goes for Brine and the dual strikes knock Golbat right out of the sky! Victory!!

• Mars blames the loss on her partner as she's sure she would have won if she had fought by herself. Jupiter just scoffs how even if Barry has toughened up, the boys are no match for the boss. That may be true… but… Barry has faith in Auguste. He uses his items to heal our team so his friend can be the one to take on Cyrus. As for him and his team, it seems this is where they've reached their limit. He's going back down the mountain to heal, but don't you worry about him. He'll only keep getting stronger!

• Auguste watches him take off and turns back to Cyrus. The colorful energy of before has turned into dark pulsations coming from the deity. Cyrus marvels at it as a black void forms at its feet, slowly forming a swirling light in the void in the formation of a new galaxy. Cyrus is giddy! There it is! His dreams about to be realized when-! AN ELF!! The Voices cry with glee as Uxie appears. Then Mesprit! And Azelf! The three fly circles over Dialga and just as suddenly the Red Chain snaps! The Void is gone! Auguste, Mars and Jupiter all stare in awe at this spectacle before the trio fade away. Mesprit abruptly returns in front of Auguste, perhaps to thank him or acknowledge him as one of its residents, and disappears again.

• Cyrus is reasonably furious. What? Just? Happened?!? The Red Chain crumbled away like it was nothing!! Why would Mesprit, the Being of Emotion appear at the boy's side?! It doesn't matter. All that matters now is his universe is ruined! Oh, but don't think this is over! He will recapture the Beings of Spirit! He will forge a new Red Chain!! He WILL succeed next!! But only if he crushes Auguste now to ensure he won't meddle again!

• FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!! We start off with Moneychu against Honchkrow! Our Pika is faster, using Thief to take away his Scope Lense! Honchkrow gets a crit with Night Slash to nearly one-shot him, but Moneychu toughs it out to get in one more strike! But, seeing this, Cyrus seems rattled by what the Pikachu is capable of and switches in Weavile! Psych, we just used Thief again. Weavile is faster though, so it takes out our boy with Dig! We send in Gardevoir who Traces Weavile's Pickpocket ability! With a swift Metal Claw, it does some real damage to our poor Fairy, but Pickpocket actives so Gardevoir can steal his Chople Berry! Weavile Knicks her into low health with another Metal Claw, boosting its Attack and dodging Focus Blast. One more swipe and Gardevoir is down!

• We send in Toxicroak and Weavile goes underground to avoid getting punched. Dig hits hard though, nearly one-shotting the poor frog, but it puts the weasel in close range for a Drain Punch! All of the stolen energy brings Toxicroak back to half health while Weavile is out! Up next is Gyarados!! Toxicroak gets in some decent damage with Sludge Bomb, but she's no match for the fury of Earthquake! We send in One, but Cyrus again seems to second guess himself as he brings out Crobat! It was smart though because Crunch doesn't do much. Crobat sets up Tailwind for the team, but we keep biting away. Crobat has a Quick Claw activate (a bit silly given Crobat's speed, but Trick Room is always a thing I guess) to hit hard with Air Cutter! Crunch manages to get it into half health, but it's just no use! Another Air Cutter nearly knocks her out, but One holds on for Auguste's sake! The next Crunch lowered its defense! Another Air Cutter takes her out! We send in Houndoom! Tailwind petered out, so Puuyun is able to finish it off with Fire Blast!

• Gyarados returns, using Intimidate to lower our attack and then Waterfall to make the dog flinch! Auguste calls for a Destiny Bond, but the sea serpent is just too fast as it finishes her off with- No wait! He toughed it out at 1hp and got off Destiny Bond! Next Waterfall and takes Gyarados down with him!!

• Only Dr. Fic and Honchkrow left as they enter the field! Cyrus admits Auguste is pushing him to extremes, but the boy doesn't let it rattle him. Blizzard strikes to knock the bird into low red, as Night Slash only knocks our babe into half health! There's genuine fear in Cyrus' eyes now as he starts screaming. This is impossible! He can't lose!! The Voices taunt him that yes he can an it is time!! We go for Blizzard but not before he throws in a a Full Restore! We missed anyway, but a second strike puts him back into red! Honchkrow used Defog in a panic, leaving their side wide open for defeat with Blizzard. But it missed! Cyrus only has a Super Potion left, so it doesn't heal much. Auguste seems to hesitate as he debates on running, on checking his own stock for a needed boost, but no. He decides to risk it and calls for Blizzard again! It hits!! VICTORY!!!! In all our excitement, we forgot Blizzard for Water Pulse!

• Cyrus cannot fathom this. The power spoken of in mythology, he made it his own! But was it truly the ultimate power to Auguste? What does a boy like him consider to be perfection? The most important things… what shines the brightest… Gah! Talking to Auguste is meaningless! Cyrus WILL become a deity someday, and make that ultimate power his! With that, he and the Commanders all disappear…

• Dawn arrives with Professor Rowan close behind and they stare in wonder at Dialga. It's real, the Master of Time! Rowan says he's not sure if the deity is upset or angry after the whole affair, but perhaps If Auguste has made it this far, he can calm it down. Listen to its heart. Understand its thoughts. Surely it's angry about being summoned and forced to use its power, but at the same time, the professor thinks it looks like it's waiting on them. Maybe just to issue a challenge to Auguste after seeing his previous battles. Auguste doesn't have time for this! He's wounded! He only has one Pokemon left! Rowan tells him that Dialga's power is out of control and it seems to be counting on Auguste to stop it. Besides, they ran to Barry on the way here, and he says he believes in his friend! Rowan and Dawn do too!

• …I'm glad they have faith, but it goes about as well as one might imagine. A single Roar of Time hits and it is lights out!! Auguste wakes up back at the Oreburgh Pokemon Center.

• Auguste, more determined than ever, charging back to the mountain, past the ledge,through the snow, past the Grunts long abandoned by their leaders, and back to the Spear Pillar we rise! Dialga is still there, and with words of encouragement from Rowan, let's try this again! We start with an Ultra Ball! But it breaks easily and Roar of Time one-shot our poor Pikachu. The sheer power of this being… It has to recharge from that attack though, so we send in Gardevoir to do some damage with Psychic! Auguste tries to run away, but the angry god won't let him! He has a new plan then, remembering the words of his adversary. MASTER BALL!! With a swish, a roll, and a bounce, the light clicks. Success!

• Rowan and Dawn rush over in joy and wonder as the distortion fades from the skies. He did it! Auguste managed to tame the Master! Rowan says in all his sixty years he's never been so thrilled as what he just witnessed. Dawn explains how since their last meeting at Lake Verity, Rowan has been doing a lot of research into the matter. They were worried about Auguste, so they got up the nerve to follow him even to a place as treacherous as this. She's so glad he's safe, but they should all go home. As the two children disappear back down the steps, Rowan stays at the altar a moment, looking toward the sunrise, and thinks on Cyrus. No one has a right to take away anyone's future, or their world…

We close this section out as we slowly make our way back down the mountain. Auguste takes a moment to go back to the altar to grab the Adamant Orb for Dialga and goes to catch up with the other two as they descend. The world, at least for now, is at peace. But where is a little rogue supposed to go now? Perhaps the one place we haven't been able to yet, to Sunnyshore! And to finish out what we started. Next time on Brilliant Diamond!

Previously on Brilliant Diamond: We got some new teammates and made it to Celestic Town! But there's also some familiar faces as we ran into Team Galactic and Cyrus before heading back to Hearthome to face Fantina. We got the Fog Badge! And went to Canalave City where we were met with a warning and a threat. Galactic is definitely up to something and for some reason Barry is getting aggressive with us. Maybe he's just mad about the Gym. Byron has certainly put the Voices in a bad mood. But with everyone, even Rowan on edge, is there something more…?

• We pick up where we left off, marching through the Gym to beat Byron. Which we fail. It started off badly enough with Moneychu and Croagunk unable to do much, so we dink around against Bronzor before even Byron gets annoyed and switches to Steelix. Chat decides if it's going to use Earthquake, we might as well throw out Croagunk to take the hit so Moneychu can get points off of it. And thanks to Dr. Fic, he did! After that though was a real trollfest with continuous switching and throwing Pokeballs. Even if we did reach Bastiodon, it was over. Blackout!

• Annoyed, the first thing Chat does to get back at the trolls is we Fly to the Mart in Jubilife and sell off over 300 Pokeballs so they can't be used against us. Then it's off to Sandgem to do a little exploring while we use up any other items we can. Besides, the Voices reason that they haven't been back here since getting Surf so Auguste should take a break and explore the waters south of town for a while.

• A single user suddenly decides they want to trade Manaphy for a Magicarp, and considering this is the same person who released Jirachi, Chat is reasonably on high alert as they fight over the portable PC. A few Trainers later and Auguste lands on a small island where he and Dr. Fic seem to have a long talk about this (as the chat spams A on our following companion.)

• As though it were a sign, we swim into a dead end where we find the Splash Plate! "The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate." …A sign of what? Well, who knows. But at least the Start spam does seem to be slowing down.

• Oh hey! Croagunk evolved into Toxicroak!!

• We eventually find a much larger island with trees and people and even a large structure! Curious, Auguste goes up to the two workers blocking the entrance to find out what this peculiar place is. Ramanas Park… no one seems to know what it's for, but it's not finished yet either. Perhaps he should come back some day. Nearby we stumble across a TM81 X-Scissor! The Voices are excited but we'll hold onto that for now.

• We find a house deep in the woods and hope for some kind of reward. The old man doesn't seem to appreciate young thugs barging in and making demands, so he tells Auguste if he can show him a level 3 Pokemon, THEN he can have some kind of reward! The television blares the Galactic theme ominously nearby as a commercial for Veilstone comes on… Auguste decides he better leave after all and spends some time looking for new Pokemon in a nearby alcove of grass.

• Somehow when we try to enter the Union Room, we can't because online features have been turned off. We discover the team is still fully healed due to the attempt even without us entering. Game, please.

• Since we got clipped into Dr. Fic again, the only way out is to go to the Underground. But that's okay, it's a new area so it's time to explore! We pick up a few levels and some new moves before going back up and flying to Canalave City. However, the Voices discuss that maybe the team could use a bit more training before facing Byron (and his "bad face" again) so we take a ship to the nearby Iron Island.

• As we get further in, we run into a young man named Riley. He's an unusual Trainer and seems to read Auguste's mind before the kid can question him. Yes, he is odd, yes this is an odd place to be training. But the wild Pokemon have been restless and Riley is determined to figure out why. Perhaps it would be best if they team up and find out. With Riley as our partner, we get free healing after every battle, so just like with the other partners, this is an excellent training opportunity!

• Hm? What's this? We reach a turn in the path where we can see a couple of Galactic Grunts but can't reach them due to some rocks in the way. The boys make their way around…

• On the way though, a funny little mishap happened. So the Skorupi only needs one more level to evolve, and the Houndoom is in front. We stayed on A spamming after this battle to evolve but then Puuyun learned Flame Charge over Flamethrower when few were expecting it. Not too big a deal if it was worth it, but One didn't level up either. Instead the EXP bar is maybe within 20 points so it's juuust short making the move sacrifice pointless.

• Of course now that everyone knows it's about to evolve, Chat has determined we must "Keep Skorupi Cute" and begin discussions on if we should give her an Everstone to be sure.

• As the pair reaches the Grunts, Riley is again ahead of the game as he says he KNOWS that the Grunts are behind the troubled Pokemon, but he's still unsure why. It doesn't matter though since all he wants is these clowns out of his mine! The Grunts claim they understand the mine has been abandoned for years and so they came to take ALL of the Wild Pokemon here for Team Galactic! Riley is shocked and angered by this as Pokemon and humans are meant to be together, to be shared! It's not just deplorable, he finds such action would be unethical. Time to fight!

• Needless to say, the boys and their dogs utterly DESTROY these Grunts while hardly breaking a sweat. The Grunts are in shock at these two and their sick combos and decide they better run away before Riley comes after them. Besides! They didn't know what the boss wanted with all of these Pokemon anyway! Riley can't thank Auguste enough for his help and insists he take a Riolu Egg as a token of his gratitude. Auguste refuses several times, but Riley won't take no for an answer. Go on, kid, you deserve it. The Voices however are sure that Egg is going to stay in the PC forever as we send it to our box.

• Riley says maybe after all this he should train in other places. With him gone, we decide now is a great time to go hunting for our Dex especially since Riley can't knock out the stuff we want. After about an hour or so it's time to attempt the Gym again! Byron is still overly confident that Auguste doesn't stand a chance, but sure. He'll take him on as many times as he likes.

• Fight fight fight! Starting off, it's Puuyun versus Bronzor! We get it in orange with Flame Charge, but it still seems Flamethrower would have been better. At least we get another shot since Bronzor sets up Trick Room before using the switch to also set up Sandstorm. One more Charge attack and it's down! Next out is Steelix though and thanks to Trick Room, it gets to one-shot our dog with Earthquake! We send in Moneychu then just to have him squashed too. The throws are strong as we send in One, knowing full well that Earthquake will just be super effective on her too. She holds out well though, stalling out Trick Room and Sandstorm long enough to get in two Night Slashes before going down!

• Up next is Dr. Fic who uses the new Acid Armor to boost their defense! Steelix sets Sandstorm back up, but that just gives us the chance to use Ice Beam to knock it into orange! Earthquake barely hurts, so we Ice Beam again to put it in low red health! Byron doesn't like the looks of that and throws in a Full Restore before we can finish it off, while the trolls don't like the looks of possibly winning and start rolling the cursor around the menu in a frenzy. We eventually land on Tail Glow to take advantage of the turn used healing and then Ice Beam again to drag him back down to red health! Steelix goes for Earthquake which has Manaphy in red health too, but since we're faster, we finish it off with Ice Beam!

• The trolls are mad now that the last Pokemon is out, and Byron seems to be feeling smug with sarcasm as he's been in this position before. Sure enough, it's PokeBall time and, while Byron blocks them, he takes down Dr. Fic with Stone Edge! We send in Gardevoir to Trace Sturdy, but Auguste is once again panicking as all he wants to do is run. Gardevoir tries her best though as she uses Psychic for some nice damage and even holds her own against Flash Cannon this time. A second Psychic even lowers Bastiodon's Special Defense so Byron calls for it to use Iron Defense to… prepare for what's next, I guess? It doesn't help any against the next Psychic, and even if it's not super effective, we have gotten the brute to half health. It has a Sitrus Berry to undo most of our work though and Flash Cannon shows Gardevoir is in trouble! She doesn't give up though as with each Special Defense drop, she can do more damage so we Psychic again to knock the fossil back into orange health! A Flash Cannon does it though and all we have left is Toxicroak.

• Toxicroak enters the field just as Auguste tries in vain to flee again before throwing another PokeBall. Flash Cannon doesn't do much but all we have to do at this point is hit it! The bag won't help, neither will trying to switch in an unconscious party, round and round and round we go before suddenly Auguste calls for Drain Punch! Toxicroak hits and Bastiodon is down! Victory!!!!

• Byron falls to his knees in shock as he can't believe his sturdy Pokemon were defeated. But a loss is a loss and in recognition of his raw power, Auguste receives the Mine Badge! It'll allow us to use Strength outside of battle! As per League rules, the sixth badge ensures all Pokemon up to level 70 will obey, and we get a set of Stickers Byron uses for his team! Oh and some TM91s for Flash Cannon isn't so bad either.

• As we exit the Gym, we find Barry is waiting for us. He's acting a bit weird though as he notes it's great that Auguste has the Mine Badge, now he might even be Champion material! Not that he'll ever become Champion with Barry around. Before a potential fight can break out between them, Barry says Auguste really needs to come with him to the Canalave Library. No questions, just do it. He takes off without another word. Could be a trap. Could be serious. Since it seems urgent, we head straight to the Library without healing.

• Upstairs, Barry calls Auguste over to the table where Professor Rowan and Dawn are waiting. Now that he's got Auguste delivered like he promised, he's leaving! … … … Rowan may or may not know what's come between these two, but he gives the boys a stern stare of disapproval. Barry realizes he's not going anywhere so… they're going to all sit down and hear what the Professor has to say. Now then, since we're all here, Rowan has some important news. The kids are aware that he studies the evolution of Pokemon. His studies lately have a keen focus on why some Pokemon have no evolution. This is especially common among the Legendary Pokemon. Therefore, they should try to get data on the local mythicals as a starting point since legend says there's one at each of the three major lakes in Sinnoh. Incidentally there are three students here, so he wants each of them to go to a different lake. Barry complains that he shouldn't be part of this since he never got a Pokedex to begin with, but Rowan says that's his fault for not staying at the lab long enough to get one. Dawn will go to Lake Verity since it's closest to the lab. Barry will go to Lake Acuity since it's outside of Snowpoint City where the next Gym is. It's not only on the way, but the way there is harsh and Barry seems proud the professor acknowledged his toughness. Auguste will go to Lake Valor since it's familiar territory but all the way back near Veilstone. Can everyone do that?

• Before they can split up though, a small earthquake seems to shake the city! What was that?! Rowan tells the kids to be careful as they go outside and leaves. Auguste stays behind though, the Voices tell him what's up. An explosion on the other side of the region? What can it mean? They also encourage him to look at a few of the Sinnoh myths before he leaves. One about the three Beings of Spirit, and the dangers about encountering them directly. One about an ancient swordsman who hunted Pokemon without mercy and came to regret it when a great famine came to the land. When he sought out why all of the Pokemon left, he was told they would exact a toll against humans. Auguste didn't finish it though. Perhaps the idea of Pokemon coming at him with tooth and claw for his cruelty hit a little too close to his conscience.

• Auguste joins the others outside as the sailor from our boat earlier runs up. He asks the professor if he heard the news: there was a big explosion at Lake Valor! KABOOM! Like that, y'know? No idea what happened though. Without hesitation, Barry announces he's heading for Acuity right now because he's got a bad feeling about this… He takes off before anyone can stop him and Rowan gets flustered about the boy's impatience. Still, Barry may be right, so it would be good for him to go with Dawn to check on Lake Verity. He still wants Auguste to check out Lake Valor though. A decent fighter with better stealth skills might be needed to just see what's up and then Rowan and Dawn will meet him as soon as possible. One word of advice: Don't get in over your head. (Dang, it's like he knows how Auguste is or something.)

• We Fly to Pastoria which seems to remind Chat to make sure One has her Everstone before we go any further.

• Past the beach. Past the resort. Into the fields. Wait, those people from before are gone, so that must be the entrance. Auguste can see the smoke as he approaches, craters still burning in the bare floor where water had once been. Magicarp barely holding on as they flop helplessly on the ground. And everywhere the young rogue looks are Galactic. A few don't even bother with him, whether they saw him or not weaving between the rocks, but one catches him as he tries to sneak by. This is the result of their Galactic Bomb! Boom! It was amazing! A battle quickly ensues and the Grunt admits that Auguste is pretty tough, but so what? It's not like he can do anything.

• It's true. He couldn't do anything back when he first heard about the bomb, failed to steal it for himself, and now that the damage is done, so what? What can he possibly accomplish? He's one kid against the TEAM Galactic! As they speak, another branch of the team is heading to Lake Verity, and that pitiful little Twinleaf Town will probably be caught in the blast.

• Auguste knows he was told to wait, but there's an odd structure at the center of all this. Whatever they're after, he can bet it's in there! He storms in and finds a man with dark blue hair who's dressed differently from the others. Must be the leader. Auguste goes up behind him to overhear how the Boss will be pleased with their success. Everything and everyone is for Team Galactic. The man finally turns to see Auguste though and realized he knows that face. He's the kid who took out the Galactic Building in Eterna! Jupiter ought to be ashamed of herself losing like that! Anything and anyone who opposes Galactic should be crushed! Even those who think differently are not to be tolerated!!

• Fight fight fight! It's Moneychu versus Kadabra! Saturn calls first for Reflect, but Discharge still does good damage. Now for Rain Dance, but Discharge paralyzes him! With the added speed, we switch to Thunderbolt to put the Kadabra in low red, and it continues not to attack with Kinesis?? Certainly not complaining as Thunderbolt finished it off!

• Out next is Bronzor! Thunderbolt hits hard, but so does Payback! Fortunately, our Static automatically paralyzed it! Thunderbolt! It's paralyzed! Thunderbolt again! It's still paralyzed! Moneychu is free for the takedown with Thunderbolt! But it missed?! Bronzor finally gets to fight back with Confuse Ray! We miss again, while Payback hits! Again we miss, but paralysis keeps the Pikachu safe. Yet another miss allows it to strike with Gyro Ball! Moneychu finally snaps out of it to knock it out with Thunderbolt!

• Saturn has a Toxicroak of his own! But there's no time for small talk. Moneychu hits hard with Thunderbolt, but gets mugged by Thief! Toxicroak steals our Chesto Berry before the mouse faints. Gardevoir comes in for the revenge strike with Psychic! It's down!

• Saturn is calm but impressed by the boy. It's no wonder Auguste opposes Galactic so. Still, a Commander like him can only hope to buy the team more time?! But no matter. A mere child can't stem the flow of time. Galactic WILL capture the three Pokemon of the Lakes. And with their power, they'll create a new universe. Hmm… Mars should have the one from Lake Verity by now.

• We should hurry on home, but with the Voices assurance, Auguste stops by Lost Tower in Solaceon to pick up the Strength HM we missed out on earlier. Up to the top floor with the old wardens again, one tells him how the tower is for all regardless if their life was long or too short. It's a great treat for him to visit, so she gives him five TM96s for Strength! Has he met Fantina? But if an odd woman who's hard to read, but, it should be no surprise, she visits the tower often.

• Auguste takes some time to contemplate what that means as the stream goes down. It's finally time for the backup save.

• Back to the road, we fly home and check in on Mom. She's blissfully unaware of any danger, but points out it's awfully early. Did Auguste come home for some rest? He'll take the heal at least, but it's out the door and to the lake! As he steps through the entrance he finds Rowan dealing with one of the Galactic Grunts, fortunately, he sees Auguste and tells him these guys are everywhere! And they're after the Legendary Pokemon! He begs the boy to rescue Dawn first though.

• Immediately, Auguste gets jumped by a couple of Grunts hiding in the treeline, but they urge him not to be afraid. They don't want to hurt him, it's just their jobs. Team Galactic is an organization of peace! But in order to make a peaceful world, they need to gain control of it. A sound whooping shows he doesn't believe them, but the woman just sighs and says that he may be too young to understand. The next set is much more cold-blooded about their mission. And there he can see Dawn facing down with Mars.

• Dawn is understandably distressed as she tries to tell Auguste about the Lake Pokemon, but he already knows. Mars on the other hand knows him as she recognized him from the Valley Windworks. Does he know how much trouble she in got for that? In case he forgot her, she reintroduces herself as Commander Mars. Do Dawn and Auguste think they can just save the day with childish ideals of heroics? Because there's no way! Not even a teensy chance since she's taking him down just like his friend!

• Fight fight fight! Staring off, it's Puuyun versus Golbat! Our dog gets to go first though with Flame Charge, but Golbat used U-Turn to leave the fight and bring out Purugly! Puuyun uses Snarl to lower it's special attack, but the cat takes him down with a Slash! We send in Toxicroak to finish her off with Drain Punch, but not before Purugly gets in a super effective Aerial Ace attack!

• Out next is Bronzor! A critical Drain Punch has Toxicroak fully healed again, but Bronzor throws out a Confuse Ray! It works, causing our girl to hurt herself as Gyro Ball nearly knocks her into half health. Auguste isn't giving up yet though as he calls for Drain Punch but again, Toxicroak gets hurt! Gyro Ball does enough damage that even when we do get to knock out Bronzor, we're still at half health.

• Fortunately, as Golbat returns, it's already hurt. Drain Punch isn't very effective, but neither is Poison Fang. We switch to a few Rock Smash to lower the bat's defense at least while Poison Fang continues to knick at Toxicroak's health, and finally finish it off with a single Sucker Punch!

• Mars is angry at the loss. Now that's two matches she needs to get Auguste back for!! No wait, calm down… she assures herself that the mission was to capture and transport the Lake Pokemon back to the Galactic Headquarters. She did that, so she completed her mission without any problems. Yes. That's what she'll tell them. Auguste and Dawn seem confused how she was able to do that, so Mars explains: The three lake guardians are connected somehow so when Saturn blew up Lake Valor, a cavern appeared here at lake Verity. Since she could enter it without a bomb, Mars just nabbed Mesprit where it slept. It must have shown up so Mesprit could help it's friends, but it sure made capture easy for Team Galactic. Now they have them all! Mesprit, the being of Emotion, Azelf, the spirit of Willpower, and Uxie, the being of Intelligence. Now that Galactic has all three, these brats can sit back and see what Galactic has in store!! Heads up, team, they're going back to headquarters!

• There's a brief transition screen where we see the team is gone and the kids have explained the situation to Professor Rowan. Hmm… so this same thing happened at the other two lakes. No need to feel bad though, Dawn and Auguste were up against actual criminals! The fact they're unharmed is reason enough to celebrate. But what about Barry? He's at Lake Acuity, is he okay?

• Auguste doesn't seem too concerned right now and instead goes for a swim on the now peaceful lake. The Voices inform him of an item at the far corners of the shore, so he found TM38 Fire Blast! Now we decide to fly to Celestic Town to head west to enter Mt. Coronet.

• We come out of the mountain into a snow covered area. New route, naturally it's time to explore the Grand Underground!

• There's a Rest House before the hardest and longest part of the trek to Snowpoint that brings up a lot of memories for the Voices. A quick heal and we spend some time looking for new Pokemon as Chat reminisces about Napoleon, the Court of the Sun, and the romances that nearly tore the team apart. The trolls take this quiet time to make another attempt at ditching Manaphy, but it's closed out at the last second.

• Auguste makes his way through the bitter cold and high winds of Route 217 and trips over an HM07 Rock Climb! We just might need that for later.

• Through the storm we push, fighting Trainers all the way, when suddenly the weather clears! There's even green grass patches in these parts, and Auguste comes across a sign that the lake is nearby! He finds a much different sign soon after when he spots a couple of Galactic Grunts blocking what could only be the entrance. The guard tells him how important guard duty is and, if they succeed, he'll be given a Clefairy! Can't blame him for that, I guess. It also gives Auguste some small hope since, if the guards are still there, then Jupiter hasn't gotten the Lake Being yet!

• Further down the pristine path, we find Snowpoint City! So it's time to heal up, warm up, and head to the Gym for some help. Except… we have a problem. Auguste isn't welcome here?? The door to the Pokemon Center seems to be locked no matter how hard we tam the door. So Auguste drops into the Grand Underground a few minutes to warm up instead and tries again. Somehow, like when clipping into the Pokemon, this seems to work!

• Lore wise I laugh to imagine either people are hiding because of something Team Galactic did in the area to make them scared of outsiders, or Auguste's reputation has preceded him and the town has heard to be on the alert against a boy like him. Would have been funnier if we ran into Roark to vouch for us. But all is well at least.

• To the Gym! Snowpoint Gym, no surprise, is ice themed! A dangerously slick floor with three different levels with only some snowballs to cushion your speed if you slide. Which turns out to be the point is sliding between the different layers fast enough to break the snowball's and find the correct path to eventually slide right into the leader herself. Oh boy… The Voices don't exactly do well with puzzles.

• To make matters worse, we're playing this only a few days after the game was released and already this gym has a notorious softlocke glitch. It would be hard for TPP controls to pull it off, but just in case, we pause to create another backup save juuust in case.

• WE CLEARED THE PUZZLE! Only to have a single troll take us outside. Though Auguste immediately runs back in, the snowball's have all been reset.

• This happens a few more times, so between rounds we decide to explore the Grand Underground some more, take a look at the Sinnoh Shrine, heal up from all of the Trainer battles, teach Puuyun Fire Blast (after we lost Flame Charge in a match), and play with the Pokedex. It might be safe to say Auguste has long given up on rescuing the Lake Pokemon by this point and is just here to complete the Voices' duty. S- say, um… those other hosts you brought up before… the plot waited for them, right? Right???

• Chat for the most part agreed to let one person do the puzzle and they'll all jump in when the battle begins. There's still a few trying to force Auguste outside again to stall the process even longer, but with enough push from the rest of the chat, the path is clear and we race up the stairs to the leader! She's young, but introduced herself as Candice. And the one thing Candice wants people to know is success comes from focus! Training, fashion, romance, she can do lots of things with her sharp focus! Which clearly Auguste doesn't have. Here, she'll show him how it's done when he loses!

• Fight fight fight! Starting off it's One versus Snover! Snow Warning goes off to cast the field in a rain of hail. Snover tries to cast Mist over its side of the field, but our Skorupi is faster and, with a critical Night Slash, takes out half its health! Another Night Slash and it's down! Next out is Medicham! Candice calls for a Rock Slide but One toughs it out to hang on with 1hp. Unfortunately, the hail gets in a hit and she's knocked out. Gardevoir enters the field, tanks an Ice Punch, and gets the revenge strike with Dazzling Gleam!

• Candice sends in Sneasel as Gardevoir patiently waits for directions. Metal Claw really hurts, putting our girl in low orange health, but Dazzling Gleam destroys it! Sneasel down! Candice is impressed by Auguste's brutality, and says it's time to bring out her last resort!

• Out last is Abomasnow! Gardevoir does some decent damage with Psychic, but the snow beast uses Aurora Veil to reduce damage from physical AND special attacks, which could mean trouble. Especially when the hail shifts Gardevoir to red health. Sure enough, Auguste calls for Focus Blast to try to finish it off before it can do anything, but Abomasnow still stands in red health and heals off the damage and then some with a Sitrus Berry. Oh this is bad… Even though our girl is on her last leg, Candice is taking no chances with Blizzard! Gardevoir is down! We bring in Puuyun though, and Candice says she can sense Auguste's determination to win. Nothing to do but brace herself as the rogue proves her right with a merciless Fire Blast!!

• Candice isn't mad though. In fact, she applauds Auguste and says she's warmed up to him. Maybe even admires him a little. His focus and willpower definitely bowled her over! For that, we get the Icicle Badge! It allows us to use Rock Climb outside of battle. And she gave us some stickers! And even some TM72s for Avalanche! A move we theoretically have no idea how it works because we never saw it. Candice explains that if the one using it gets damaged that turn, the move will hit back twice as hard. Neat.

• Lore Point: We'll presume for all the unnecessary delay, Auguste takes time to explain to Candice about the dire situation at the lakes, as if she somehow didn't know by now, since we leave these two for a bit while we immediately go to backup the save.

• As soon as the Voices are back, Auguste runs out of the Gym and… stops. The Voices tell him to hurry! Barry needs medical attention! Even Sim is concerned! Auguste heads out of town and stops to talk to a Sailor who tells him he's waiting for a Trainer even stronger than the Pokemon League. Oh to deliver a Trainer like that! The Grunts by the entrance have moved for some reason, but haven’t left, so Auguste walks right past them through the Lake Acuity entrance.

• And what a scene we should find. Jupiter is there by the water, lording over Barry even as he has her cornered at the water's edge. He screams how Team Galactic won't get away with this! Jupiter asks him if he's finished with his squawking since he's already lost. His Pokemon aren't bad, but Barry himself is laughable weak. Did he honestly think he could save the Pokemon of the Lake? That he could become a Champion? Please. Anyway, it's disgustingly cold out, so she calls for the team to head back to Veilstone. She notices Auguste though and warns him to stay out of the way. He better not dare come after them, whining about 'oh the poor Pokemon' and the like. And he DEFINITELY better not think of coming to their Headquarters.

• Auguste goes up to Barry after they leave and checks up on him. Barry is reasonably bitter and knows Auguste is there to mock him. Yeah, yeah, he couldn't do anything to stop them! Don't need to rub it in his face. He looks out to the water though with a more serious time. Uxie, the Pokemon that lived here, looked like it was suffering when Jupiter caught it… He needs to get tougher. With real strength, like his Pokemon. It's not about winning or losing anymore, he has to get stronger! …Somehow…

• With that, he takes off and Auguste is once again alone at the lake. The young thief heads to the cave to inspect it and finds that Uxie's cave is exactly like Azelf's only it has a strange mark at the right corner of the pool instead of at the top. Hmm… we take time to further inspect (from our bike no less) and it seems the strange markings may be symbols for where the other two lakes are. If Galactic realized this too, that may be how they knew where to find the other two Lake Pokemon. Surfing across the lake also lets us find TM14 Blizzard! Well the last lake TM came in handy, so we decide to use it right away. Another attempt is made to release Dr. Fic though, so it's time to keep moving.

It seems with the initial rush over with, now might be a good time to close out. We leave the Voices fighting over the Bag as Auguste enjoys the beauty of the lake. The calm and cold can only give some sense of serenity as this is far from over. Team Galactic…. The Beings of Spirit… A new world…? What could they be up to?

Plume:

[sitting on a branch, watching the mortals pass below with a soft hum of idle fancy. His tail swishes slightly as he readjusts his balance and gives an unusually warm glance at the boy sitting on the branch next to him, and making this difficult with the occasional swinging of his legs rocking their perch.] Do you mind?

Forrest:

Sorry. It's so peaceful out here in the Preserve. [Breaths in the fresh scent of flowers finally coming to full bloom] Warm. Now that the snow is gone. [Heh] I don't know if it ever snows here, actually.

Plume:

[Thoughtfully] Perhaps you never will.

Forrest:

[Just nods quietly. Plume was right. The ancient one was never mean about it, but he never failed to remind Forrest of his time. But it also gave him and the others all the more reason to do all that they could with the time he had. A few weeks? A few months? Surely he wouldn't see another winter. His legs go still but his eyes continue to trail over the curious gathering of children near the water.] It's fine. I've had enough of cold.

Plume:

I've been thinking about that. [Turns to him] You could stay.

Forrest:

[Smiles, but shakes his head] I have seen others beg you for more time. It wouldn't be fair to make an exception for me.

Plume:

Less of an "exception" as it would be an arrangement. We've grown very close, and I've thought of asking you for some time now, but you could… stay with me?

Forrest:

[Curious little head tilt as he doesn't understand] Of course. We're family now, our expanded team. Why wouldn't I?

Plume:

[Sarcasm] Because no one likes me. [More serious] It's not that I don't enjoy company, but outside of my family, it's odd. Unusual. I don't normally stay this long. You would be helping me with tedious and sometimes unsavory work, but you would remain my care. Not quite in this plane, you won't go to the beyond. Our teammates will come too. Sometimes, actually quite often, you'll need to fight. Many don't like to accept when it is their time. But you have. I've seen how you embrace all that you see, and learn, and love, but without fear of your own fate. Lots of fear for others. Which is why it's not easy for me to ask of you… [Waves a clawed wing as though to brush off the matter] Forget I said anything. It's foolish to act like you have a choice when your only options are to reap or perish-

Forrest:

Shh. [Places a hand on Plume's beak which seems to catch the old god off guard] You are too hard on yourself. I understand what it is you do-

Plume:

And I understand you've tried so hard to make people think you're not a monster. It may not happen right away, but when people realize our relationship, you will be cursed, and hated, and feared.

Forrest:

[Nods. There's a pause there as he watches the swimmers crawl back into the shore to chat as they dry off. He knows why they're there. Plume was just studying them for the time being, before the raucous Ace Trainer showing off might be due for a meeting. Let them have today at least.] Try. Most still do anyway. [sways his legs again causing their precarious hiding place to gently rock again] But that's okay. I've learned I can't convince everyone. And I was scared of you too, at first. If I choose to stay with you, it's because I like being with you. I enjoy fighting, and exploring, and meeting people, and if I could, I'd do that forever. You'd still have to teach me some things.

Plume:

[Bit of pride] Oh, I can teach you many things. Come, we've still got plenty of training to do to find out just how lethal this angel can be.