Let's Play Dark Rising: Order Destroyed! Chapter 2

So last time on Order Destroyed, we learned that the world's getting flooding with zombies and that the rules of nature have been turned upside down because... because... I don't know, Hoopa did a thing.

Doesn't get much better than this, folks.



We have Zyro in the room over. Let's see what the little brat has to say.



They don't say anything too terribly interesting - just a recap of how we can't catch Pokemon anymore and how we have to go through Redwood Field (cause you know, this is a "zombie apocalypse" story and they have to shove in Resident Evil references) to get another of Noah's Pokemon.

Noah mentions how Monica once worked with God to take down Darugis, but Zyro's just like:



"If there was a god, this wouldn't be happening."

Remember what Zyro says here for later because things are going to get especially confusing.

There's also this message:

("In Order Destroyed if your Pokemon faint, they can no longer be used in battle ever again. If all your Pokemon faint, the game is over. Good luck.")

This is easily the worst series to have that kind of limitation due to the kind of sadistic shit DRG pulls with enemy trainers... and even then, the "faint = dead" function is just plain incorrect.

I'll show you what I mean later down the chapter.



There was originally another zombie here, but talking to Zyro made him leave for whatever reason.



And wouldn't you know, the tiles are fucked up here too. They try to excuse this in 3, 2, 1...



"That's what I was talking about. It's rips in space."

But. But why. I don't understand what Hoopa's doing or how this is supposed to be significant, mostly because isn't it enough to swarm the world with zombies? Let alone the Trainer's Curse?

Zyro mentions how his sister was always better at survival horror and strategy games than him. Even Noah's like "this isn't a game", but whatever.

He does bring up that there's Pokemon in this room we could grab, so that's nice.



("Therefore, finding Pokemon is the key to survival in Order Destroyed.")

Didn't... we just talk about that not even a few screens ago?

Not only are these completely unnecessary, but it's super hand-holdy even by normal Pokemon standards.



We just... find an Electrike in one of these screwed-up looking boxes! Nice.

You can't nickname them for some odd reason I can't hope to comprehend, so that's already getting on my bad side. Oh well, let's just call him Ivan.



Huh. The Pokemon tab finally shows up for some reason. I was wondering what took it so long.



Redwood Field isn't too dangerous, but I'm just glad I got a shot in the rain that didn't get oversaturated by lightning.



I'll take these, thank you very much.



Don't think I don't know where that gentleman sprite is from, by the way. I've played Pokestar Studios too.

Context for anybody who doesn't know about that: There was a Ghostbusters spoof movie in Black and White 2 and this guy was one of the actors... hence why his sprite (and the janitor from Chapter 1) aren't green/blue human-shaped blobs.



Malamar's cool and all, but if I don't get to use them then it's a shame. Contrary Superpower is a hell of a combo to have.



Umbra busts up a Cloyster with Play Rough (here a recolored Double-Edge) and that's all I'll dare to say about that.

The zombies don't really turn into dust or evaporate after you beat them, so... I dunno.



Chimecho is not exactly known for their fighting prowess, but damn it if they're not cute. I kind of want one.



I will give you that one - zombie kids are pretty disturbing.



Their Slurpuff, on the other hand, suffers a gruesome death at Ignell's wings.



These are pretty generous. After this though, I might only document brand new items because there's definitely no shortage of these.



I just... can we take a moment to bask in the progression of edge? In Dark Rising 1, she was too afraid to say Hell and used Underworld instead... yet Zyro the Champ here calls Katherine a bitch and doesn't feel bad about it.

Truthfully? He kind of has a point.

Katherine is hellbent on getting the Pokeball from Zyro but Noah intervenes and says that it's his. She's like "even if it's yours, I still want it" which all sorts of .



She decides to go into full dumbass mode and wants to fight Noah for the Pokemon while being fully aware that one of them will die if they go all out. She even says "I don't know about you and I don't care about you!"

Say it with me now:





You will not be missed.



Her first Pokemon up is a Sawk that comes with Dual Chop and Knock Off... not much else, to be honest. They're surprisingly not that threatening.

Sure, Sapphire lost a Hard Stone but I don't think that's much of a problem.



... Don't you mean Dazzling Gleam? Whatever. Sapphire killing a man by flashing him is too hilarious to pass up.



She has a Mega Sceptile that looks.. [vinesauce joel voice] amazing.

You'd think that with them being another Mega this would be the hardest Pokemon to deal with, right?



One Wing Attack and they're dead. That's kind of... sad.

However, Ignell does have a type advantage and is pretty buff thanks to Tough Claws.



Her Sylveon, though.

They have access to Moonblast and Shadow Ball and they hurt. You better have a good answer to this thing or you're going down quick.



Here's Moonblast in action and I'll admit it looks great... but it becomes a lot less impressive when you realize that both the Sylveon sprite and the move are because of the base that DRG used - not anything she did herself.



Sapphire raises up the Light Screen to ease the damage a bit, but I had to swap quick because she got a Special Defense drop from Shadow Ball.



Oh and to top it off, she has Calm Mind. I find it funny how the Mega was one-shotted but it takes all of our effort to take down the cute little Sylveon.

Fairies are scary.





Ignell finally puts her down with a Wing Attack and ends Katherine.



Oh boy, there's another person we have to kill. How exquisite.



Katherine: "You... you defended yourself. This isn't our world anymore. This world is ruined by "them"."

I'm glad she doesn't try to guilt trip us by being like "oh you killed me noah, you're a piece of shit". She's going out with some dignity, I guess.



... And her method of death is being swallowed by a random black hole.



I already forgot she existed.



But yeah I already collected the Pokeball. It didn't give me any fanfare or really asked me anything, we just... get them.

Must have gotten lazy with the programming.



But hey, he's another Lucario. He'll make an appropriate replacement for Sigurd, I guess. (Okay, I lied.)

He shall be called Rodrigo because I can't think of anything particularly interesting.



Zyro tells Noah he did the only thing he could do and that he shouldn't get hung up over it. Noah goes on to say that it's only appropriate considering how messed up the world is now.

Zyro bemoans that he's not strong enough and that he can't always have Noah to protect him, which is like... you do realize him and his sister are slated to be the protagonists of 3, right?

Whatever suspense happens here is pretty moot if you know they'll make it to the third game.



Right on cue. Zyro decides to run ahead while I stay and sit here wondering why I didn't pull out the "Zygarde gyro sandwich" joke when I first saw him.

... How the hell did Zygarde have relations with a human woman? Isn't he made up of multiple tinier cores?

Oh god I forgot one of Zygarde's forms is a dog.



She finally gets out of the way of the cave and... there's some dude.

I hate to admit it, but the lack of a Pokemon Center does keep me on edge. The survival aspect of this is surprisingly well made... but just wait until she messes it up.



"You seen a girl out there with blue hair, red jacket? Her name's Katherine."

Zyro: "Actually, yeah. We -"

Are you trying to get us in trouble, you little boy scout?

Noah comes in with the save and lies to Vincent (because it's obviously him) that we didn't see her. The only real interesting tidbit he gives is that there's high level Drifblims and Steelix around the area (level 40).

Given what I've heard of this game, level 40 is around the highest we'll be getting... I told you it was short.



Vincent gives Noah a serious glare before leaving so you know what we're doing at the end of this.



Noah contemplates that fighting more trainers would be a bad idea with a limited inventory and I normally I would agree with him...

Then again, I'm willing to be one reckless son of a bitch.



Zyro tried to use "Let's get it started" as his catchphrase, but at this point there might as well be a laugh track every time they use a catchphrase.



Ooh, nice. The Level 40 Steelix and Drifblim aren't good enough reasons for me not to use this.



... Huh. If this were a normal Pokemon game, I might have gotten this Shuckle. Too bad, huh?



Escape Ropes are always nice, especially with the kind of backtracking these games usually make me do.



We get it, zombies everywhere. Speaking of which...



I mean... your chance of survival in this world is now relegated to whether you're good as a trainer or not.



Yikes. No wonder this guy sucked and died.



these sprites never cease to amaze me

In all seriousness, Rodrigo (ignore that his name isn't changed in-game) is a beast. He's easily the second most powerful member of the team next to Ignell thanks to Adaptability and well... being another Mega.

Everything in Rodrigo's arsenal is priority, although I can't wait to get rid of Quick Attack and put something better in its place.



Your reward for beating him up is another Repel. Nice.



I know Noah said that we shouldn't fight and keep our supplies high, but I have to add more zombies to the body count. It's only fair.



... Litleo has seen some shit.



Oh hey, an item that nobody will ever use... that's probably how it got down here to begin with.

I'd giggle like a madman if there was an in depth, tragic backstory for how this Awakening got down here, just sayin'.



There were wild Klefki around here, but I think I would have lost my goddamn mind if I encountered a shiny one... especially since this is the game where you're "forbidden" from catching Pokemon on your own.



Ice Heal will be fun the next time a Pokemon of mine gets frozen... it's practically an inevitability at this point.



Hello, my old friend.


I've missed you. I'll definitely be needing your help by the time this is over.



He says this for the one fight I couldn't skip. Oh well, more experience for us!~



Ivan is... well, tough to train. His low level and his fragility as an unevolved mon makes him one of the most difficult to train in this new messed up survival world.

The lack of supplies makes him especially vulnerable, so I'm hoping we'll be able to get to a PC or an impromptu mart soon or something.



Even with a type advantage he can't murder this Wartortle outright, so...



Ignell picks up the slack.





This guy was the worst item guard ever. Ignoring his Pokemon choice (he has a Pyroar that's no match for Rodrigo), his vision is strictly one tile in front of him.

I think this is the most docile enemy trainer I've ever seen, zombie or not.



Huh. What's all this about?



: "No, they found me in Vendell Town and saved me. I'm just looking out for them."

This random blue dude saved Zyree from a zombie trainer and wants to give his Froakie to us? Wow, that's pretty nice of him.

Actually, the reason is because he doesn't want Froakie to suffer because of him. Aww. He also mentions that by having no Pokemon, he can't... suffer the Trainer's Curse...

Wait, what.



Blue dude: "Undead trainers only go after people with Pokemon. If you all were to release your Pokemon right now, they won't attack you."



Holy shit, this is stupid. So... the zombies don't attack anybody that don't have Pokemon. What's stopping people from putting their Pokemon away in boxes and using tools to beat the zombies back instead?

This new information just plain makes no sense.

Noah and the Zygarde twins are like "pokemon are our friends, we can never abandon them" - but honestly, if I were presented this information I'd leave all of my Pokemon in the PC and pick up a bazooka instead.



We get another Pokemon with no fanfare and no choice to nickname, so... whatever.



Julian here will be one of my favorites when we get to level him up, but really? Level 14? Ignell was higher leveled and he was our starter for this.



Hot damn.

Ivan went from being our least impressive member to being an MVP. See, that zombie cop there had a Blastoise of all things and they were ready to tear the team apart.

I send in Ivan to see if I can at least slow down my demise, but he gets a crit and dunks the fucker in one hit.

Oh you're gonna be an amazing Manectric when you grow up.



We get a Super Potion(!) and another Rare Candy for our troubles. This is absolutely vital if we plan on making it to the end, I swear.



Vincent: "Yeah, it's me again. You think I'm stupid, blondie?!"

Yes.

Vincent: "I know what you did!"

: "...I had no choice..."

In-game Noah is genuinely sorry while LP!Noah has a big doofy smirk on his face.

Vincent: "I don't care about your damn choices. I'll take YOUR Pokemon now and avenge Katherine!!"

Wow, he sure lasted long.



Vincent, much like Ka - Holy shit these guys are named after the main characters of Atlus's Catherine.

I just now got the reference and all I can say is "wow, you're serious". I don't even understand why they're here.



He's nowhere near as troublesome as Katherine, though. Ignell wipes out his Throh in a snap.



Ivan's moveset is pretty lacking, but Thunder Fang is still enough to one-shot this Mantine. Good for him.



His final Pokemon is an oh my god. Ignell is like the only appealing-looking Mega in this game, I swear.

Anyway...



Anchor Arms Swampert here has Seismic Toss and would normally be fish food when stacked against a proper Mega Charizard Y (you know, the ones with Drought and Solarbeam).

However, since we don't have either of those, he could actually be an issue.



I stand corrected.



"You and your Pokemon are nothing but damn murderers!!"

: ("Normally I'd apologize, but you and your friend brought all of this down on yourselves.")



"We were headed for the Machine."

... The Machine?



Man, that's an obscure reference even for me.

But yeah, the Machine Vincent's talking about is the only PC left in the world(?). The game itself even probes us about asking him for it:



("Try talking to Vincent to make him give you information about where the machine would be.")

Listen, if I've made it this far into the series then I'm already aware of how I have to keep pressing A to activate events. Now let go of my hand already.



He also drops an Earthquake TM for us. Thank you kindly.



Noah asks him where the machine is, but Vincent's like "screw you" and says his dying words will instead be: "I LOVE YOU KATHERINE!!"

Because... you know, he had the character depth of a tissue paper.



: "I don't really feel bad about that. Weird. Oh well."



We make it to the Auburn Forest and... wow those are some funky trees.



"You must be the other traveler with these two adorable kids."

Zyro: "Yo, Noah! She said she'd take us in!"

Zyree: "We can finally have a place to relax!"

Sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?

: "Who are you?"

: "Sweetheart, you can just call me Granny because I will treat you as my own family. I will take very good care of you."

Wow, she's not even trying I mean, ooh a character that doesn't want to kill us!



Noah asks her if she lives around here, but she states she lives in the town ahead. Zyro and Zyree get all excited and "Granny" says that they're free to eat the berries around here.



Okay, cool. Man, I can't imagine this going badly.



I just realized where we are. This is a fake Lostlorn Forest... three games in and she's still not above slightly changing vanilla maps.



Bug Catcher Zed here has two Parasect to fend us off with, but Ignell makes a barbecue out of them.



I guess it's clever considering Parasect is canonically a "zombie mushroom" Pokemon.



That sprite though is just... eugh. It's like the revenge of Microsoft Paint.



... Well, shit. We're hosed, guys.

You'd think this would finally be karma catching up to me after being so reckless, but you know what?



: [Sharp gasp] ("What happened?!")



Rare Candies can bring Pokemon back from fainting because of how leveling up increases your HP. They're effectively Revives that also level you up and given how we already have two... yeah, the "permadeath" angle kind of lost its edge.



Ignell even repairs the rest of his health with Roost, meaning that he may as well have not fainted. I love loopholes.



I can already tell this is going to be great... and a recycled event.



: "My, my. Now how did this Snorlax get here?"

Granny, please.

Zyree: "I can't hold it off for much longer!"



: "We gotta do this fast!"

So our opponent is an actual zombie Snorlax, huh? I wonder how it looks?



You know, as cheesy as Snakewood was, Gorelax was still pretty horrifying. This is just... a blue Snorlax.



Christ, that was close.

I'm so glad I switched Rodrigo out for Ignell for that one. The move he used was Fissure of all things. How was Zomblax able to do this?

He knows Metronome. Granted, not the best move for a Snorlax, but it still scared the bejesus out of me when I saw it go for a OHKO move.



His second attempt at Metronome was infinitely less successful.







Ooh. Thanks, Zyro.

[Noah faints from exhaustion]

But... Ignell was the one who was fighting and he barely took 2 points of damage.

Oh right, it's plot-related fainting.

: "Come along with Granny, children. This way..."

Oh jeez.



"Wait! Where's Zyro and Zyree?! I've gotta find them... What's that paper on the wall?"

Oh boy, it's an obvious horror trope in the making.



"That was Zyro! It came from outside!"

Riveting, but I think that's enough fun for one day.



Next time on Order Destroyed, we'll have to save the Zygarde twins from imminent danger and get out of this super obvious trap. See you then.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team setup:

A means Mega-evolved.

(Ignell-, level 30, , /) - "Perhaps I should have acted more on my gut feeling..."
(Umbra, level 24, , ) - "I could tell the instant I saw that hag that she was up to no good."
(Sapphire, level 24, , /) - "Will the kids be alright?"
(Ivan, level 24, , ) - "Whoa... I saw what it's like on the other side. Noah's like a miracle man if he was able to bring me back."
(Rodrigo-, level 27, , /) - "I don't feel so good about just charging into enemy territory... But let's go, I guess."
(Julian, level 14, , ) - "I think we better start worrying about ourselves before anything else, Sapphire."