(Reminder: Red Emeras () represent scenes that I put into the game.)



I know this isn't actually part of the let's play, but I see this all the time on hacks. What even is the "1M sub-circuit board"?

(Looks it up)

... Oh, it keeps track of hard saves. Looks like we wouldn't be able to do any postgame stuff that requires saving.

You can actually hear Arceus's cry if you press start on the title screen, which is kinda neat they got that working.



Ugh, tutorials. Like anybody needs instructions to know how to play Pokemon.





A LITTLE OFF THE TOP, I SEE.

Poor Pikachu didn't deserve to be glitched like that. Let this indicate the overall polish of the game.



Well, there's god. What better way to start the story than that?



[Song I would use here instead of the normal song: Opening Demo]

: ("Dear child, I have chosen you, one of pure heart, to save me and the world itself.")

Us, apparently: "Wh-what? What's going on?!"

: ("This world... Inhabited by humans and Pokemon, is in grave danger.")

[Arceus sends out a Pichu for some reason]



("An evil, dark entity has reawakened from its slumber. I've chosen you to free me from my chamber and wield my power. Quickly, the last of my strength is fading.")

You expect me, some average joe with no Pokemon, to help you? Sure, I'll consider it.



I must.



Since I was a guy in the last game, let's be a girl instead. Monica is a pretty name to me.

(The default names are much more reasonable here than they were than Snakewood, by the way. Oren and Orena may be kind of uncreative but they're infinitely better than Wraith, Eye, etc.)



He looks like Gary here, but he's definitely not Gary when we actually meet him. Let's give him a proper name.



I have no reasons for these names aside from just trying to make them sound nice.

: ("Ah, I see. Your best friend Noah is worthy.")



"A new chapter in your young life is about to begin. Free me and we will defeat Darugis!"

Darugis, huh? Not a bad name for a formless evil abomination.



[Theme I would use for Monica: Cave Story - White]

"That was some crazy dream... Well, I'd better get going."

That we will.



This is what Monica looks like. Honestly, I don't like how she looks. She looks like a bad cosplay between Leaf and Mario.



Oh, and I have to put this to Fast otherwise I'll definitely skip through the text. That's not good when the primary focus of the game is the story.



Poor Wii U. Everybody gives you muk.



Something tells me we'll be needing this. Technology in the Pokemon world is weird if we can already store items and living beings as data and vice versa.

I chalk it up to magic.



(Note, "Mom" has the blue colored text usually reserved for guys, which is really weird when you think about it)

"You were in dream land last night, huh?"

: ("Dream land?")

Mom: "You were talking while you were asleep, silly. You looked really cute."

: ("Talking to... myself? Also, eww.")

Mom is sort of a creeper.



Oh, and now she gets the correct color text? My kingdom for some consistency.



"I bought you new shoes."

Oh?



Nice. At least we don't have to wait, seeing as it usually takes forever to get Running Shoes in these games.

Mom: "Are you going to be with Noah? The Core region is undergoing a lot of unusual weather."

: "I'll be okay, mom."

Watch this line take a much darker turn later on when things get serious.



Our first step outside, and it's raining. Good start.



"Follow me."

Hey, it's our friend. He may look like a blue palette swap of Landon, but I swear he's his own character. Honest.



Hello, black-haired Professor Oak.

: "Well, you see... Last night, a strange event occurred and because of that, the delivery men became afraid to travel to the Core region."

Dark Rising Girl inexplicably capitalizes some words in the actual game, by the way.

: "What happened?"

: "I'll get to that later. But first... Monica, I need you to pick up my package at the station. And Noah, I need you to pick up some ingredients from the Twist Woodlands."



"The guard never lets anybody past without permission."

: "Don't worry, I'll send him a text to let you pass."

: "You text?"

: "That's news to me."

Just because he's an adult doesn't mean he can't do cool kid things.



: "What?! You're just gonna give us your Pokemon?"

: "Yes. Due to the sudden disasters, I cannot risk both of you to be in danger... They are all dragon Pokemon. They will keep you safe from harm."



As amazing as this is, however, the fact that all the starters are Dragon-types should be a large red flag regarding this game's difficulty.

: "Monica, can you believe this?! We're finally getting our own Pokemon!"

: "Uh, Noah... I think he's just letting us borrow them."

Monica, while not the sharpest tool in the shed, is still bearable. Let's see if she can keep it up!



You're the raddest professor ever!

: "Really!?"

: "SWEET! I can't wait to pick mine!"

[Noah turns his back to Monica]

:"You alright, Noah?"

: "Yeah, I just want to be surprised!"

:"No peeking, then!"

: "Of course not!"



You two are adorable.



Very... interesting starter choices. It's hard to pick just one, but alas we're limited by game design.



Garchomp is a beast, like are you kidding? Of course I would choose them.

(In hindsight, this was actually the correct choice. As it turns out, Dark Rising Girl unfairly prioritized the Garchomp line over the other two due to it being her favorite. Bias already? Oh, this is bound to be good.)



I haven't even played FE Fates and my only reference for this name is Super Smash Bros., but screw it. It fits.

: ("Nice to meet you, Monica! I just know we're gonna be great friends.")



And Noah picks the Bagon. I approve, as Salamence is pretty kick-ass.



Oh boy here we go. The rival theme is playing in the background, by the way.



: "Yeah, let's do this!"

It's not a Pokemon game if the rival doesn't stop to fight you.



Our first fight, and it's with dragons. Is this an omen? I sure goddamn hope not.



: ("It's that voice from the dream!")

: ("When battling opponents such as these, simply attacking will not lead you to victory. Use strategy to overcome him.")

Very basic advice, but I'll admit: Rom hacks tend to have giant leaps of difficulty where the only way to win is to either overgrind or science the muk out of everything.

I heard somewhere that Arceus says "use strategy to overcome him" even when you fight something ridiculous like a level 50 Landorus with your unevolved starter. I'm definitely looking forward to that.

(Future Dan: Hahahaha.)



: "Okay, I appreciate the advice but give me some credit."



... It says Oak even though he's nowhere around. PHANTOM PROFESSOR!

Seriously though, that's a bit of an oops.



The entire fight was just me using Mud Slap while Bagon hurt himself on Corin's rough skin. I knew I made the right choice.



He's a very graceful loser, so that's good.



"Battle other Pokemon trainers to make you stronger."

: "Okay, I know. It's not that hard to understand."

() : ("... Impudent child...")



"Make sure to train!"

[Noah leaves]

We seriously need to heed that advice given what's up ahead. But for now, let's mess around a bit.



"I heard this place attracts Pokemon from every other region in the world."

: "Yeah, that's why I love this place."

Pokemon from other regions, you say? Interesting...



There's a weird tiling glitch where it looks like you climbed up to the roof of your house. I like it because it lets me do this:

[Monica stretches up her arms and looks up at the cloud-covered sky]

: "I'M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!"

: ("A-are you sure that's safe, Monica?")

: "Pfft, are you kidding? I've done this tons of times."

: ("Oh no, don't tell me my trainer's a kook...")



"How about we test it in a battle?"

: "Sure, let's go!"

Trainer Trio: "Wait, before we start here are the rules. We are called the Trainer Trio! You have to battle the three of us in a row. Don't worry, if you defeat one of us, we will restore your Pokemon back to full health and we will reward you with something special if you defeat all of us."



Interesting - an optional challenge already. However, we're on sort of a strict schedule so I won't be doing it now. I'll definitely come back later, though.



We live in [strike]Feels[/strike] Fells Town, apparently.



"I know, take this!"




Oh snap.

I'll admit, though, all of these nice things are making me very suspicious of the road ahead.



Yep. A selling point of the game was that Pokemon from Gen 4 and 5 were going to appear. I'll say Snakewood did it too, but in that game it was more like a novelty thing that was tacked on at the end while in here it's an integral part of the setting.

Hey, at least I can get new Pokemon without being limited to just Gen 3's assortment of mons!



Corin learning Bite is actually a blessing in disguise as it still counts as Special. That doesn't sound like much, but she definitely needs something to counteract people who use Intimidate on her.



This lady gives you a Potion, which I skipped for some odd reason. Ooops.



"Don't you just hate the rain? My Quagsire loves it, but I can't stand much more of this."

: "Then why not just give it a shower?"

This woman asks all the right questions.

Oh yes, I should mention right now before I forget: Dark Rising does not have custom music - we're using the FireRed soundtrack from start to finish, which I've heard actively hinders the "dark and forboding" atmosphere that it's supposed to have. Oh well, I'm glad I have my own music for this.



"Sorry. By order of Blitz, no one is allowed to pass because of the three disaster Pokemon! We will let you pass after he has driven them all away."

: "Then why did Noah get in?"

Officer: "He has permission from Dr. Ivan - that's why I let him pass."

I've just realized that Ivan never told us what the "strange occurrence" was. I can't really complain seeing as this isn't where we need to go, though.



... The station is a cave. The Core region is weird.

But hey, there's someone in front of the cave-station. Let's say hello, shall we?



: "Hey, Pete. I'm off to pick up a package for Dr. Ivan. I just got my first Pokemon, too!"

: "Really?! No way! Oh man, this is so exciting! C'mon, let's have a battle."

: "I guess Prof. Ivan's package could wait."

Oh, you wacky kids.



Pete, aside from being a victim to the Sudden Capitalization Disease, is actually a bit tough for a beginning trainer.



He has a level 10 Trapinch that hits like a linebacker due to how intense his Headbutt is. It doesn't help that he likes to keep using Sand Attack on you, which is very pleasant to deal with after a while.

At the very least I have Mud Slap so everything evens out.



In a fit of absolutely delicious irony, Corin bites Trapinch and takes him down. That's my girl.



Fun for you, painful for me. I had to use a Potion just to survive the first Headbutt.



Probably not. I'm busy.

If you talk to Pete again, he mentions something about a lady who's looking for Darugis... which is very interesting considering how nobody should know that name but us.



I love FireRed's area transition pictures. They're really well drawn for the Gameboy Advance.



The Mainland Cave is literally just the Altering Cave from the normal games. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Altering Cave change based on if you went to get a Mystery Gift Pokemon in real life?

It's always something that's confused me in Emerald because... well, I wasn't one of those lucky kids who had a Link Cable. I find it hilarious to imagine that Link Cables used to be cutting edge accessories while today they're an artifact of the past due to the rise of wireless connections.

Future Dan: No, it was just straight up scrapped content because they couldn't make it work outside of Japan.



With that said, there's not much here unless you want to grind on Geodude and Drilbur. Then again, I like Drilbur so I might be coming back here later.

[We move towards the exit only to bump into a blue-haired lady]




: "Kid? I'm not a kid... Who are you? I've never seen you around here before."

Since I doubt it'll ever be stated how old Monica is, I'll just assume she's like 18+. Old enough to travel on her own.

???: "Hmm, so you live around here? Do you mind answering some questions?"

: "Uh, sure. If you're not going to be rude about it..."



: "Darugis...? That name sounds familiar... Why is that?"

???: "Aha! So you must be under its spell as well! Prepare for battle!"

: "What?! A spell? What are you talking about? But if it's a battle you want... You'll get it! Let's do this!"

I love this woman already.



Hey, it's Mars from Team Galactic with blue hair. Look, I'm not going to criticize the palette swaps because it's not only too obvious but also because I don't have the same beef with DarkRisingGirl like I do with Cutlerine.

(Future Dan: YIKES. This comment sure aged well.)

That said, I'm not quite fond of the palette on Miss Twenty Questions here.



Her only Pokemon is this Axew that knows Intimidate, which is clearly designed to screw you over as I doubt any of your Pokemon would know any Special moves at this point. Then again, Bite is a Dark type move...



Not only that, ???'s Axew loves to use... Razor Wind?? I assume this was done on purpose so that we could have a few free shots, but damn. One hit took out half of Corin's health and this is after we grinded a bit.



: ("Two for flinching!")

Thank god that flinch happened by the way, otherwise we'd be in trouble. The game wastes no time with the hard hitters, doesn't it?



That is a lot.

We're gonna be swimming in EXP by the end of this, aren't we?

(Future Dan: If you count swimming in Rare Candies then yes.)



: "And all I had to do to convince you was to beat you up. Like come on."



: "Wait! What is a Darugis? I need to know..."

: "Hmph... We will meet again."

I thought Monica paid attention to when Arceus told her that Darugis was some ancient evil creature. Oh well. Our mystery lady is still a pain in the ass.

[Mystery lady walks offscreen]



: "Cryptic nonsense and a bad attitude? Sure hope I don't bump into her again."

As much as I'd love to continue, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for chapter 1. Next time on Dark Rising, we're going to get the video game equivalent of a booster shot. See you then.

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

(Corin, level 11, , /) - "Hey, uh... I'm not imagining the draft inside of the cave, right?"

Portrait Credits:

If I could accurately summarize the last chapter in a few words? There was a ton of fighting. This chapter will be more of the same with some key differences.



Who hides their store in the middle of a cave? Also, I thought this was a station, not a Pokemart.



"Here's Prof. Ivan's package!"

Those two sentences practically have nothing to do with each other without further context.



I would say something about how it's still called Oak's Parcel, but believe it or not they actually wrote around this.

Anyway, that's all well and good. Let's get out of this strange cave-mart.



... I knew something bad was going to happen when it started raining.



: "Whoa! What kind of Pokemon is that?"

: "I'll battle this guy to see how strong I've gotten."

Sweetie, I know you're eager but you should recognize that's definitely not a normal Pokemon.

: "I don't think that's a good idea, Monica. It looks really powerful..."

Sensible comment.

: "Nah, don't worry about it. Me & my partner Pokemon can handle this. We're always ready!"

Told right off.

: ("... Monica is going to get me killed.")

Woman, you are suicidally overconfident. Who looks at this:



And goes "Yeah, I can totally beat this up with the Gible that I just got."

It doesn't even make sense, either - Monica hasn't done anything outstanding at this point to warrant the arrogance. At least in Snakewood, Jack (or Wraith, as the default name apparently is) had done a ton of impressive feats before he even reached the bad guys. So you got me.

Oh well. It's Monica's funeral.



: "What?"

???: "Your agony will satisfy me. Prepare to fall!"



Tornadus isn't even facing towards us due to sprite limitations, but I'm still impressed they got it in there.



Hello, Lance. Like no seriously, that's Lance - who are you fooling?





: ("... Oh. So that's what hubris looks like.")

[Theme I would use for this encounter: A Crisis]

I hate forced loss battles, but at the same time it makes perfect sense - in real life, you don't fight a ton of disposable mooks before fighting the really tough guy. So I'll give you that at least.



God, what do you want now?

The exchange is the exact same as when we fought Noah, by the way. Including this bit.



: ("Use strategy to overcome him.") [Snicker]

: "HOW?!"

I can't interpret that part in any other way. But then again, God isn't meant to be a troll here... so I'll laugh even harder.

[Tornadus used Hurricane!]





What did you expect to happen? A come from behind victory with a level 100 hack mon? Please.



(Yeah, you're telling me)

Oh wait, you're the bad guy. I'm supposed to disagree with you... Nah.

: ("Hm... How disappointing.)



"I will use some of my power to create a payment for your opponent. However, I will not always be able to do this. You are the Chosen One... I need you to be stronger in order to use my power."

Why pay him? Why are we even talking about money? I know I'm harping a bit on what's happening but damn, this is too silly.



In-Game Monica: "Oh shucky darns, my Pokemon just got atomized by a force of nature."

Let's Play Monica:



???: "You don't have the potential to stop us... I'll leave for now."

Classic Bond villain mindset - "If the main hero is severely incapacitated and I clearly have the upper hand, let's just leave instead of finishing the job."

: "Aargh..."



"Speak to me!"

: [Ellipses]

The fact she's not atomized is a miracle to begin with.

???: "HAHAHAHAHA! You can't even speak! Hahahaha!"

Does this guy get excited for everything like this? Because beating up a kid (well, not kid...) with a level 11 Gible is playground bully stuff.

: "What have you done to him?!"

...

The last time I checked, Monica was a girl.

???: "It's none of your business... We'll meet again, Monica..."



Pete is honestly the best character right now. He's reacting to all of this like a normal person would.

: "They disappeared right at the same time when the rain stopped... C'mon, Monica, I'll take you home."

You're the best, Pete.

So the Tornadus was causing all of the rain? That's a nice attention to detail, actually.



()

[Theme I would use for this scene: Kindertotenlied]

: ("Monica, you have many trials ahead of you. Some harder than others. But if there's anything I have to warn you about... It would have to be about an entity that threatens to turn your kindness against you.")

: ("What? What even is it?")

: ("They are a red Riolu with white hair and blue eyes. I consider them as much of a threat as Darugis.")

: ("If you see them, kill them on sight. I have faith that you'll make the right choice.")


: ("A Riolu...? Wait, hold on!")

[Monica abruptly wakes up]



: "Ah. I passed out, it seems. A red Riolu with white hair... I don't think I could have the heart to do what he says, though. Who am I to trust some random voice in my dreams?"

This is all building up to something, I swear.



[Theme I would use for this & the scene after: Safety]

"You got beaten down by that strong Pokemon."

: "Where is it now?"


: "Don't worry, it's gone already..."

Mom: "Oh, sweetie, I was so worried when Pete brought you here hurt... Are you alright? No broken bones, no dizziness--"

Awwwww. Characters that actually care about our well being! Not gonna lie, forgot how that felt after playing Snakewood.

: "I'm alright, I just needed some rest."

Mom: "Oh, what a relief! Next time, take care of yourself, ok?"



"I'll be going now, then."

: "Okay, Pete, thanks for everything."

: "Heh, no prob! I'll be back in Douba Road if you need anything."



[Pete goes offscreen]



"Didn't you need to deliver that package to Dr. Ivan?"

Long story short, we say bye to Mom again and hope more bad things don't happen.



Oh yeah, one vital piece of information I forgot to include last chapter: Don't walk on the sides of the entrance here.

By some incredible glitch, you will instantly be frozen with no chance of escape if you move one space to the left or right. When I first discovered it, I had to reset the game.



"You're finally here. Did you get my package from the station?"

: "Yeah, it's right here. A lot of weird stuff is going on in the Core region... Anyways, here's your package."

[Monica delivers the package]

: "This package is from Prof. Oak of Kanto."

See, I told you there was a reason. Also, if we say package one more time, I'm going to scream.

: "Whoa! This is really from Prof. Oak? Amazing!"

Short little discussion break: You can already tell that Dark Rising Girl has genuine respect for the Pokemon franchise despite the wonkiness of the writing/gameplay. Contrast Cutlerine, who was arguably more talented in some respects but was like "lol my game is much better than the actual series i am such a genius".

(Future Dan: Oh my god I was blissfully unaware of what this series really had to offer at the start. Also, Cutlerine was younger than you when he first made Snakewood, you dope.)

Anyway, Noah is here.



Aaaand the text says he's Monica. It does this twice, by the way. Oooops.

"You're already here! Man, those woods were crazy! You'd hate it there!"

Guess where we're going.

: "Here's the ingredients, Dr. Ivan."

Is he a doctor or a professor? Make up your mind, dude.



: "Oh! Thank you both. This is really important."

Do we ever get to see what the ingredients are used for?



"The Core Region has been in such a disaster lately... I really wanted to give you these days ago. Take these, you two!"





: "You can't get detailed data on Pokemon by just seeing them. You must capture them in order to obtain complete data. So take these Poke Balls..."



Hell yeah. Now we're talking.

Be careful with these, though. There's no Pokemart around here, and the place in the Mainland Cave doesn't count.

: "You two have been studying on becoming a Pokemon Trainer since you were kids. So I'd expect you already know the basics. So get going! This is a great undertaking in Pokemon history!"

It's not that big of a deal, Prof. Then again, I somehow managed to complete the national dex in Omega Ruby - a great undertaking in of itself.

: "Okay, let's both have a contest! Whoever becomes the Champion first wins! Let's meet again somewhere..."

[Noah goes offscreen]

Yeah good luck, buddy.

Anyway, we have the Pokedex and some balls. I think we're good to go.



Remember these three from chapter 1? Now we're actually taking a shot at them.



The first one has a Minccino that Corin defeated just by slinging mud at her. Must have went straight into the eyes, ouch.



Second verse, same as the first. Except that really has to hurt, being part .



Oh really?



Oh damn, you actually survived more than one hit. Still in the bag, though.

There is no way you're losing this even if you just got your starter, so rip 'em apart.



"You defeated the three of us in a row. Here's your reward!"





Free money everywhere. But seriously though, let's go use our brand new Poke Balls.



At this point, anything is good, so...

[A small, shadowy figure stares at Monica from a distance. It jumps out in front of her]



()

[Replay Kindertotenlied]

OH WHOA, THAT'S NOT NORMAL!

: "Wh-what in the world?! It's a red Riolu!"

: ("Oh man, I finally decide to go up to a human and I might have scared them instead...")

: ("U-uh, hi! I-I don't have a trainer to take care of me. Do you mind if I go with you?")

: "Awww, you poor little guy. You must be... Wait. A red Riolu with white hair... That's the same thing the voice in my dream warned me about."

: ("A... A voice in a dream? What's that all about?")

: "I don't know either. They said I had to kill you, but I don't--"

: ("What?!")

: ("M-Monica, what should we do?")

Oh boy, here we go. What's all this about, you might ask? Let's spare him first and then I'll tell you.



: ("Oof, dodged a giant bullet there...")



(!!) [Their theme: On Broken Wings] (!!)

Yep. It's exactly what it seems.

I hacked this little guy into the game.

He is / type and has a stat spread of:

50 / 80 / 60 / 50 / 60 / 70

He's stronger, bulkier and faster than a normal Riolu. Not only that, he has a catch rate of 255 so there was absolutely no excuse for me to not get him. Despite this, he managed to resist being captured at least three times in practice. That doesn't even make sense storywise!

Also take note of the Live A Live leitmotif. I have not been using the tracks from that game just because I like them. (Though I do like them a lot...)

: "So what's your name?"



: ("Just call me Sigurd!")

Sigurd is the name of a hero from Norse mythology, by the way. A dragonslayer of sorts. So let that be a sign of what this little guy is going to be like.

... Oh wait, dragonslayer?

[Looks at Corin]

: [gulp]



Sigurd has Shadow Tag and starts off with a pretty poopy moveset.

Aura Sphere is good, but the other two are relatively worthless.



Aura Sphere has a functional animation, surprisingly enough. I feel it fits, despite this actually being Mist Ball.

Mist Ball is the signature move of Latias. Whereas Latios's Luster Purge is a -type version of Dazzling Gleam, Mist Ball is a -type rain ball that has a 50% chance to lower Special Attack. You got me.



I grinded for a bit and Sigurd has Shadow Claw now. I gave him better moves to balance out his crappy initial line-up, so that's good.



"You were hit pretty badly by that Pokemon. I searched the Pokemon in Google by the appearance, and I was able to identify it."

GOOGLE? SERIOUSLY?!

Not even a two-bit bootleg version? This is going to be a long game, isn't it?

: "What kind of Pokemon was it?"

: "It was a Tornadus - a strong Pokemon that controls the wind."

Who documented legendaries? Is this real life Google that he's using? Because if so, that's a major mind screw.

: "That makes it really strong, huh? I'm going to defeat that Pokemon someday..."

She is really determined to take down Tornadus after what happened, christ. Monica should be gunning for the guy who controlled him, not the actual Pokemon.



"Blitz must have driven the disaster Pokemon away because the rain stopped! You can go through here from now."

I don't think we get to meet Blitz soon. Oh well.



Some more gorgeous sprite art...

Oh wait, this was the area that Noah never stopped complaining about.



Awwwww, it's one of my favorite Gen 5 Pokemon. Cottonee & Whimsicott are so cute.

She's definitely a new member of the crew.



Sathala is a pretty name, wouldn't you agree?

: ("Hi! You seem nice.")



Actually, before we do anything else, let's check the school here.



"It's one of my fine graduates, Monica. Please come with me."

... Monica actually has some form of education? Okay, now I can understand why she had an ego the size of the sun back there.



"I just happened to pass by, I'm on my way to challenge the Core League."

[The children erupt in a synchronized "Ooooh!"]

Ms. Weatherbell: "Settle down, class. That is wonderful news, Monica. I am very proud of you. My students today have been hard at work, so I have an exciting idea. Let's give them a Pokemon battle. Teacher versus student. What do you say?"

: "I never thought this day would come. Alright then, Ms. Weatherbell!"


Okay, this is actually kind of intriguing. You could argue that we didn't have to do this as there's no real reward waiting at the end of this, but the fact Dark Rising Girl put this in adds some more charm regarding our main character.



Being a teacher, she has a relatively strong Pokemon and another one of my favorites. Then again, if you beat Pete and the Mystery Lady from before then this should be no challenge to you.



^ What she said.



Aww, that's cute.



One thing I've always questioned - why do these kids use bug-catching nets when they have Pokeballs? I guess that's not important.



Sigurd's backsprite along with Shadow Claw's animation. Poor Caterpie got wrecked.

I'll admit, it was very tempting to make him completely busted with a ridiculous moveset - but I feel this is a better sequence of events. He's only a small boy anyway, so...



Oh. Well, this is a bit awkward.



One thing that I've always found hilarious about Pokemon: Someone could be asking an innocent question like "where is the bathroom", but the instant that exclamation mark balloon pops up?

Heads will fly.



Venipede is cool and all, but he is an absolute prick for this part of the game. See, due to the lack of a Pokemart, we have no way to heal from status conditions. So if this thing poisons you (which is practically guaranteed), it might as well be a death sentence.

The only way to get rid of that is to run back to your house and have your mom heal you, but by the time you get there, you're probably already dead due to how long the walk is. I pity the Nuzlockers who get to this point without a Pokemon, really.

Future Dan: Holy hell that's like the most basic mistake you can make when creating RPGs. Shockingly, there are actual games out there that don't even have the courtesy of handing you an antidote before going into an area with poisonous enemies...



Oh, and Sigurd has been hit! Poor bastard.



But look on the bright side: Corin got to learn Dragonbreath!



Tangela is one of the Pokemon you can get here. They're not a good choice to keep, but I'd recommend you beat them like a pinata because the EXP they drop is absolutely delicious. (250+ a pop)



* laughs immaturely at the word boo boo *

I mean, ouch. Look at the scenery, by the way. This may as well be called the Wild Encounter Forest due to how many patches of grass there are. Could you tone it down just a bit?



Shroomish is a Pokemon I might never get. It's not because I don't want it...

Future Dan: Is Gen 3 pre Physical/Special split Breloom even good? Like at all? I don't think you'll exactly be getting a killer like Gen 9 Tera Fire Breloom in romhacks any time soon...



Funnily enough, beating up that Shroomish leveled up Sigurd enough to get another move: Knock Off.

See, when I was editing the hack, I discreetly buffed up Knock Off to have 60 base power (which is close to how strong it is as of Gen 6) instead of a pitiful 20. So uh... Yeah, that's gonna be fun to use.



You might want to get something to disinfect that.

: "Nothing a little spit can't fix!"

... Yeah, have fun with that.



Oh? What would it be?



Ah, these two. Shelmet can shrug off physical hits pretty well due to having Acid Armor (2x increase in Defense per use) as a move, and Karrablast is... well, a bug.



This fellow says... absolutely nothing. I went over to talk to him, but no text box came up.

There's either something really spooky going on or he's a mute.

Future Dan: Ooh, the first one of these! It only gets worse from here, folks.



All of the trainers around here have Pokemon that you can catch in the grass, which is kind of neat. The Core Region has a good assortment of Pokemon to catch, even if none of them are brand new Fakemon.



"Like, is it an orange peel? Or a ringing bell?"

I don't know, man. But that does raise an interesting question...



Excuse me, what?



Since Corin and Sigurd were stealing the show for a while there, how about we put Sathala to use?

She has Leech Seed, Growth and Absorb, along with Stun Spore. In her own way, she's pretty dangerous - especially if this were Gen 6 and she had access to Prankster. (+1 priority to support moves like Toxic, Substitute, etc.)



And you're blocking my way to solve the problem!



Sathala got to work on his Blitzle.



Oddly one of the most reasonable intros into a battle yet.



Oh my god, look at that dude's Mechachu. I want one.



FEEL THE WRATH OF THE MIGHTY LAND SHARK DRAGON



Sathala cleans up house. I got a good feeling about this team, guys.

But now for some more plot!



Guys in black... Well, this doesn't look good.

Pay attention to where we are in the map, though. We're directly to the left of the entrance to the Twist Woodlands, which implies that patch of trees behind us is the forest we just came out of. That is really bizarre and hurts my head because of how poor the mapping is.



"Get lost or we'll make you pay!"

: "What? Who are you guys? I'm not going anywhere."

She's bringing the sass.

Grunt: "Ah! Making excuses, eh? Take this!"

Grunt 2: "Wait! You look familiar... Have I seen you before?"

Grunt: "I don't care if you know her! I'm gonna take her down!"

Wow, he got really salty from what Monica said.



[Theme I would use for the Dark Thugs: Chrono Trigger Battle Theme]

They're recolored Rockets, but they're a slightly cooler in my opinion. It's the green.



I think Croagunk and Toxicroak are cool. Not when they're used against me, mind you...



Corin shows him the door.



: "What?! You know my father?! Where is he?"

Grunt: "Why would I tell you? Hehehe..."

Our dad is important? I didn't know that.



* she

"Well, that changes everything! I'm gonna crush you!"

You know, when a kid with a level 4 Patrat says that before you, it's suddenly a lot less intimidating.



Skorupi here is a hassle because he has Pin Missile. That doesn't sound like much until you realize we have no healing items and every point of damage builds up after a while.



You see that damage? Corin got wrecked, and she's not even weak to it. Sigurd would probably get murdered and Sathala is dead on arrival.

I'm getting some serious deja vu flashbacks to Snakewood, because the same thing happened back then too.



: "Noah is in Tiki Village? Where is my father?"

Wait, how did Noah get here before we did? Oh right, he has Bagon.



: "What are you doing in this village?"

Grunt 3: "Master Darugis has sent us to conquer it. We obey whatever the Master says."

: ("That name... So it's time already!")

: "Sounds like a bunch of dogs to me."



Damn, you got roasted.

: ("Wow, I like her already!")

: ("Took her a while to crack out the corny one liners!")

: "Let's finish this!"



The final opponent is a lady grunt who has an interesting mon. Frillish here isn't very powerful, but they are really bulky.

Their primary strategy is to use Confuse Ray, Absorb and Recover of all things. I guess they're trying to stall you out, which is more novel than the whole "attack, attack, attack!" loop we've had for a while.



Funny thing - they expected me to attack them only to heal it off afterward... hilarious, but I'd rather not let this drag out.



: ("Okay, this shouldn't take long...")

[One fight later]



: "I think I hate jellyfish as a whole now."

To elaborate: Sigurd was confused for about three turns and I was losing my patience with this Frillish. If Sigurd actually knocked himself out from confusion, then I would have been like "WAY TO GO, HERO."







"Master Darugis is waiting for us."

Grunt 3: "You better stay out of our way, kid! Alright, move out!"

Ha ha ha. They're trying to sound tough, but they just got beaten up by two teens with type Pokemon. That has to be embarrassing.



The exclamation point balloon pops up but nothing happens until you move forward. So... I dunno?



He feels the need to say her name twice.

"You hated those woods, huh?"

: "Yeah, you were right."

100% agreed. I wish we had some repels to ease the crowd of wild Pokemon in there.

(Also, if I'm not mistaken, isn't the forest we just went through from the Sevii Islands? Oh no we're already recycling even the uncommon maps from FireRed...)

: "Did you also have to deal with those grunts?"

: "Yeah, they were all pretty weak."

Glad to know we share the same brain cell.

: "They said they had my father somewhere."

: "What?!

: "Yeah, I don't know what's going on with these guys. They have been babbling about a 'Master Darugis'."

: ("Apparently Sigurd knows something about him too...")

: ("I only know the name and some bad feelings, though. Sorry I'm not much of a help.")

: ("Aww, it's okay. Maybe we can beat some more info out of those guys if we meet 'em again.")



"Oh! Right, it was in a dream!"

: "What?! You too? I also heard it in a dream."

: "There was also something about a red Riolu with white hair..."

: [Gasp]

: "Instead of talking about dreams, let's focus on what's going on."

: "Okay then, up ahead is Lavaburn Path. You should be careful going there! I'm going to train my Pokemon in the Twist Woodlands before proceeding there."

Good idea, how about if I steal it?

: "Alright.."

: "Well, I'll be going now!"



Alright, cool. Next time on Pokemon Dark Rising, we're going to the very obvious hot place. See you then.

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

(Corin, level 19, , /) - "I'm up for some training. I really want to evolve into a Garchomp soon."
(Sigurd, level 15, , /) - ("This could be bad...")
(Sathala, level 12, , ) - "Sigurd, are you okay?"

Portrait Credits:

: "Awww, you poor little guy. You must be... Wait. A red Riolu with white hair... That's the same thing the voice in my dream warned me about."

[In My Way]

: ("A... A voice in a dream? What's that all about?")

: "I don't know either. They said I had to kill you, but I don't--"

: ("What?!")

: ("M-Monica, what should we do?")

: "Well... if you're really a threat like they said, then I guess we have no choice."

: ("N-no!")



That's not going to save you.



[Cry-A-Live]

:("... ")

: ("I guess it was never meant to be... history repeats, even in the end...")

[His body fades into black dust that blows away in the wind]



...

: "... Let's just go, Corin."

: ("Of course, Monica...")



: ("I knew you would make the right choice.")

Tiki Village, huh? This place doesn't look half bad.



"Most cities after our village have strong gym leaders that represent a specific type of Pokemon. My favorite is Serena of Mystic Falls. She's beautiful and has psychic powers."

Serena, huh? I know this was made a year before X/Y, but I can't help but imagine a combination of the playable character and the psychic gym leader from that game after hearing this.



"You're a new trainer, right? You get a couple wins, and think you're a hot shot. Well, if you can't win any gym badges, you're weak."

Wow, aren't you a charmer? At least wait for me to actually fight and lose to a gym leader before you say that, prick.

Bah, let's go into the Pokemon Center already. The team must be roughshod after all of the fighting we did to get here.



"Thanks for helping us out. I would like you to have this Pokemon."

Oh damn, we actually get some respect and a reward for getting rid of the thugs? This is a good way to start things out.



Oooh, nice. A Munna is bound to come in handy, seeing as it's probably the only Psychic Pokemon we're going to get in a while.



I have no idea where I pulled out this name, but it still fits.

: ("You will not regret this.")



"It's a rare Pokemon, raise it with love and care. Well, I'll be going - good luck on your journey."

[The girl walks past Monica]

I can't say that wasn't a good surprise.



"Those bullying thugs seem to have calmed down, but they refused to leave. If I were a few years younger... I would teach them a lesson about respect."

Watch yourself, we have a karate grandpa over here.



Oh hey, there's two people behind the counter. We'll see why that is in a second.



Okay, what this woman says is going to be hilarious.

If you say Yes: "They're really bad Pokemon, someone should stop them!"

If you say No: "One controls the Wind, the other controls the Lightning, and their big bad leader controls the Earth!"

Like come on, have some dignity at the very least. I can see why Tornadus and Thundurus would be the assholes of the Kami trio due to them summoning thunderstorms and hurricanes just by being there, but Landorus is the one that's supposed to mediate between the three of them. Basically, he's the one who tells them to knock it off and clean up after their mess.

Though you can't say the same thing for what he does to competitive Pokemon, hey-oh!



Anyway, let's go to the shop and rebuild our stock of Poke--

wait am i imagining the last item on that list



They've already got these little psyduckers for sale?! We haven't even upgraded past the regular potions yet!

Aaaaand there goes all of my money.



: "Nice to meet you. I'm also just starting out on my adventure."

: "Cool! Let's have a fun battle. This'll be a warm up before I travel to Flamen City for the first time."

I do like that we encounter other people that have plans to do the same thing we do - aka. become the champion. Kinda shocking that we barely see that even in the actual games.



Anyway, the first Pokemon Karla has is Chikorita here. They're not dangerous at all, but they do have two moves in particular that makes this fight just a tad more frustrating: Light Screen and Reflect. Suddenly everything is doing half damage and I'm just sitting here being like "damn I sure wish I had Brick Break."

If Karla was a more important NPC and had a developed team, I'd argue that she'd actually be hard to fight.



Sigurd shuts him down with an Aura Sphere, and with a crit to boot.



Karla's next Pokemon is Eevee... interesting choice.

Iron Tail is a move that can lower the opponent's defense, but has the chance to whiff due to not having 100% accuracy. It's great when your opponent misses, but you'd... probably not have this move to begin with seeing as there's much better ones you could be using.



: ("Maybe this is a bit unfair.")



The last one up is Gothita, who has Shadow Tag as an ability. She would be somewhat threatening if Sigurd wasn't the one she got stuck with.



: ("Guess I'm the winner of Shadow Tag.")

Nothing interesting happens if you beat Karla - she wishes you good luck on your journey and that's about it.



: "Yeah. I thought Nurse Joys handle the Pokemon Center. And who's the guy in white?"

Nurse Joy: "Oh! That's Doctor Roy. You see, in the Core Region, Doctor Roy is in charge of the Pokemon Centers and Nurse Joys are their assistants. After a year, we travel to other regions to be in charge of our very own Pokemon Center."

: "Cool!"

In all fairness, this is a nice idea.

Nurse Joy: "However, we can interest you in a Pokemon battle instead."

: "Pokemon battle?!"

I can understand this reaction. You go to Pokemon Centers to heal up your Pokemon - not risk turning them into bloody scraps on the ground.



"You must have two Pokemon to battle us."

: "Okay, then let's do this!"

I've noticed it before, but "Let's do this" is supposed to be the protagonist's opening line into battle. It's... alright, I guess. It gets the job done for this "anime-like" game, as other people have described it.



Ah, I see what you did there.

... I'm curious, how do you put custom trainer sprites into these games? That knowledge would be very useful for someone like me.

Future Dan: Give him some time folks, he eventually figures it out to pull off Snakewood Chapter 31.



As for the actual fight, the medical duo don't have much going for them. It's almost like... their day job is fixing people up instead.

Shelmet is the only one that's a genuine pain due to Acid Armor, but Dragonbreath ignores that.



Trust is only one part of the equation, good sir. There's also type match-ups, stats, good movesets...

Hell, there's even some weirdos out there that deliberately make their Pokemon hate them just so they can make Frustration work. I'm calling you out.



I went back into the forest to grind and I managed to find a Cacnea of all things. This makes no sense if you know how cacti work, but it still adds more variety to the Pokemon you can catch.



Sigurd tries to learn Rock Slide, but I go against it. This might be a decision I regret in the future, if only for one fight.



While I was here, I picked a Karrablast of our own and called him Arthur. The best part about this is that, unlike the real games, he doesn't need to be traded to evolve into the badass known as Escavalier. Escavalier not only has a great knight-jouster design but hits like a tank and is built like one too.

: ("Aye, lass! I hope I get to bust some heads with you!")

He has this accent because the real King Arthur is very likely to be of Celtic origin. Also, Ghosts and Goblins.



Who came up with the line-of-sight names for the areas we go to?



"Did you know the starter Pokemon trio of Fire, Water and Grass have all made their way to the Core Region?"

: "Whoa, cool!"


More rare Pokemon to catch and add to the crew? Sign me up.

... Wait, is this the same girl that we met back in our hometown? Is she stalking Monica?



Wow, we're really picking them up today aren't we? Gale will be our ace pilot for this adventure.

: ("... Hi.")



"Do you know that Cyndaquil have recently been appearing around here?"

: "Really?! I'm gonna catch one."


As tempting as it is to go and catch a Cyndaquil, I feel I'm going to hold off on getting one... Mostly because I don't have any good nicknames.



"I caught the last Larvesta in Lavaburn Forest! Well, I've been searching for an Abra around these parts for years. I'll do anything to have one! I'll even trade my Larvesta for it. So do you have one?"

Oh man, the game really wants me to go after all of the good Pokemon. I'll decline with this one too, seeing as... well, it's a traded Pokemon. I do things my way, boyo.



I don't know why this guy had such trouble trying to get Abra when they appear right outside of his doorstep. This is just to demonstrate how easy it is to get one.





... Uh, what? It's the male protagonist sprite and he's stuck in the bushes.

If you talk to him, the game indefinitely freezes... so that's hella creepy.



WHAT THE MUK WHY IS THIS ABOMINATION HERE

... Believe it or not, I actually have a reasonable explanation for this. See, the Munna event in this Pokecenter must have set off hack detection (the same kind that punishes you for using a million gameshark codes at once) and created this vile creature as retaliation.

To elaborate: A Bad Egg never hatches and turns the Pokemon next to it into another Bad Egg, which is why I'm glad it didn't appear in any of the boxes where I normally keep Pokemon.

If you move the egg and log off the PC, it inexplicably restarts the Munna event in the Tiki Village Pokemon Center. That's right, you get another Munna along with a new Bad Egg each time.

I don't know what Dark Rising Girl and her friend did to the code to make this happen, but that's some freaky muk.

Future Dan: YES, IT BEGINS! The game is already unraveling!



"Surprised I'm here, aren't you?"

: "Pete, what are you doing here?! Your dad will go bananas if he found out you're this far away from home."

I love how she brings attention to the fact that Pete's dad will lose his mind while our mom will just be like "meh, whatever" after we've traveled across the entire country.

: "I know, I know... I wanted to prove myself after seeing you leave on a journey."

: "So you're blaming me for this?"

Blame is a very strong word.

: "No, no! It's not your fault. I'm the one who wanted this..."

: "But you're too young to take care of yourself."

"Me on the other hand? I'm 18 and I already make monster cash."

: "I know, already. Okay, so here's the deal. If you defeat me in a battle, I'll go home. If I win, I'll get to travel farther. Deal?!"

It's me or you, man.



"Deal!"

: "Alright! Let's do this!"

See why Monica needs to come up with a better pre-battle liner? It's so generic anybody can just steal it.



[Theme I would use for "boss" encounters: Heroic Struggle]

Pete's packing a few new Pokemon, but so are we. In all fairness, I could have thrown Gale at the Taillow just to see the massacre happen... but Corin got to him first.



The next one up is a Scraggy who thinks Intimidate will save him from Arthur's rampage.

: ("Ya cannae stop my wrath, laddie!")

[Arthur used X-Scissor!]





: ("You put up a good fight though... ouch...")

In hindsight, another perfect match for Gale. What can I say, I'm trying to spice things up.



And then there's you. This is a horrible idea, never do it yourself because I'm a completely reckless daredevil.



Instead of being punished for throwing caution to the wind, Sathala somehow survives the assault and sucks him dry. Expect this to happen a lot from now on.

: ("How'd you like that?!")





Things are going great.



I don't even have to show what Sigurd does to this poor Drilbur.

: ("Let me punch in your ticket to dreamland.") [Cracks knuckles]



Jesus, dude, all we did was spar a little. I didn't steal your resol-- wait, technically I did. Oops.



: "Sorry Pete, but I have to do this for your sake."

: "It's okay, I'll challenge you when I'm ready. Just wait 'til I get stronger!"

: "Can't wait to battle you again!"

I like to imagine Pete is super pissed while Monica is smiling like nothing happened. In-Game Monica would be that socially incompetent.

: "Well, I'll be off!"



That was a thing. Poor Pete got his ass whupped and by us of all people.



[A recording of Dan saying "Some more gorgeous sprite art" from Chapter 2 plays]



[Theme I would use for the Lavaburn Forest: Firetop Mountain]

Wait a second, something's not right here.

But seriously though, the Lavaburn Forest is literally a lava forest. I'll give them points for originality and for using a unique tileset.

... Where is this tileset from? It has to be from one of the Sevii Islands in the original game or something... Or it could be completly custom. If it's the latter, then major props to DRG.



"They're all itching for Pokemon battles."

Come to think of it, would it be right to call this the "Viridian Forest" of the Core Region? Only instead of grass and bugs, we have fire and brimstone... Damn.



There's so many good Pokemon around here! I can't just pick one!

(that, and I don't want to retread the Pokemon I already had in Snakewood)

Fun fact: The Vulpix around here have a chance of having DROUGHT as an ability. Something that would have made Jeanne a beast in Snakewood.



PUPPY!



You're gonna be called Cinder.



"This place has no more cool Pokemon."

You're kidding, right?



I hope you like the taste of trash, cause that's where you're going.



Gale finally gets to fight... and you see that nice little Poison symbol? Get used to it. She may as well dye her feathers purple from how often she'll get poisoned.



"Come on, let's battle them!"

: "It's freaking hot here! But I guess I can humor you with a fight. Let's do this!"


Monica tells him straight up "it's freaking hot". That tickles my funny bone for some reason.



Oh, this could be a problem.

: ("... Minor setback.")



Cinder has to pick up the slack.

: ("Haha! That was fun. Let's do it again!") [He chases after his own tail]



Since I knew leaving Gale behind would probably actually kill us in the long run, I decided to grind with her for a bit.



: ("... Thank you, Monica. Let's go kick some ass.")

Staraptor is too good to pass up.



There's a ton of items scattered around this place: Poke Balls, Potions, etc. It saves me more money at the store, so that's great.



Doug here doesn't really have anything new, but I do like the Bird Keeper sprite in FireRed.



Aww, that's cute. DRG changed the item balls on the overworld to be little present boxes. That's really neat.



Stranger danger.



STRANGER DANGER

RUN MONICA



Oh god not this thing again. Torkoal is a pain not because it's strong (although it is pretty damaging) but because it's a tank of a Pokemon. No matter the game, it always manages to survive through 80% of what I throw at it.



I mean, look at that. It took practically the entire team just to take him down.



You see this 207 exp? That is split between Corin, Sigurd and Gale - aka. this guy was worth a lot.



"I'm preparing myself for the long road back home."

: "Good luck on your way home."

Old man: "Thank you, trainer..."

I dunno why I threw that in, it was just cute.



"Me and my boyfriend used to have really fun times in there..."

: "Like what?"

: "Hehe..."

Monica, you poor, sweet summer child.



Upon leaving that checkpoint, we're immediately confronted by this dickweed.

Future Dan: Oh, NO.



"You are Blake's child..."

: "Who are you? Where's my father?"

???: "Your father is preparing to be sacrificed. He will not exist in this world any longer."

: "What are you talking about? You're not doing anything to him!"

???: "I refuse to take chances like I did 27 years ago with your father."

Mess with Monica's family and you get the business end of a Dragonbreath.



"I will send you to the underworld right now before you grow too powerful. Prepare to lose..."

: "Better get ready. Let's do this!"

Who says "I will send you to the underworld" when they're trying to kill you? This isn't a 4Kids dub, dude.



... Wow, so threatening with the pink vest there, palette swap Cyrus. The name isn't much better. Despite this, you should probably watch out for him.



The first mon up is Murkrow, who is probably your first real wake-up call for this point in the game. What is it with Murkrow being insanely powerful for an unevolved mon?



It took Corin's Dragonbreath to paralyze him and Arthur's X-Scissor to take him down, which is impressive considering we don't have an electric Pokemon to take down this beast.



Next up is a Golett who shouldn't be much trouble as long as you have a decently powerful Pokemon.

()

[BGM Change to: Organization XIII]

: ("Wait. Your appearance... Your power...")

: ("Could it be possible that you, of all people, have returned...?")

: ("I don't know what you're talking about.")

: ("Strange of you to put on this facade, master Sigurd. Are you trying to run away from your past?")

: ("Don't talk as if you know me!")



: ("What a shame. Our lord is still more than happy to accept you into his ranks.")

: ("... Your 'lord' only wants me gone. Nothing's changed.")



With all of that drama out of the way, V's final Pokemon is this Misdreavus that likes to use Toxic and confuse you. It's pretty vile, all things considered.

Gale, on the other hand, brute-forces her way through everything and smacks him around like he owed her rent money.



: ("Thanks for the poison - only made me stronger.")



"Maybe you're not a threat after all."

: "What?! I just defeated you!"

: "Muahahahaha! I pity you... I didn't use my full power on you. You're not as strong as your father."

Translation: He's salty that he lost and doesn't want to admit it.



: "My name is V... Run along, child. You'll not get any answers from me."

[Fade to black transition]



"He's gone!"

How do villains keep doing that? Can you imagine how unbalanced it would be if we were just allowed to teleport like that?



This looks very familiar... Too familiar.



[Theme I would use for Flamen City: Smoky Field] (Warning: a bit loud)

Oh boy, Flamen City. This is going to be a riot, I can tell.



Some relief, thank god.



The man here tries to "scam" you by giving you Magikarp, which is actually a very good idea for this part of the game. I don't take it because I trust Corin.



"Gym leaders are much stronger than any basic trainer you'll bump into on the road. But I heard the Elite Four are even stronger."

*PTSD flashbacks to the Snakewood Elite Four*



Oh damn, this could actually be important.



... Aura? Well, aside from me having to pull out the "stranger danger" alarm, our mystery lady has a Riolu too.



You can't go through this cave because Monica will instantly get overwhelmed by the heat, so that just leaves the question of what the hell is even in there.



I tried to leave the city only to get stopped by this guy who tells me to fight the gym leader. I'll definitely go after her, but not right now.

(Fiery and Flamen town... I know the real Pokemon games do it too, but even they have a bit more subtlety than that. Or not. I dunno.)



Oh wow we can already evolve Cinder!



Anyway, that's the end of the chapter. Next time on Pokemon Dark Rising, we go to fight Fiery and hope she doesn't give us third degree burns. See you then.

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

(Corin, level 20, , /) - "There's so many strange things happening around here... I guess I'll take my mind off of it by thinking about our first real Gym Leader battle! I'm pumped, are you?"
(Sigurd, level 20, , /) - "Yeah! I haven't had fun like this in a while."
(Sathala, level 13, , ) - "Welp! You can count me out for the Fire Type gym. Have fun with that, guys."
(Gale, level 16, , /) - "Maybe being poisoned is actually a bad thing for me. Feeling pretty barfy..."
(Arthur, level 17, , ) - "Oi! Sathala! You're just trying to find an excuse not to fight!"
(Cinder, level 14, , ) - [Runs outside of the Pokecenter chasing a Butterfree]

Back up team:

(Lumis, level 7, , ) - "What was with the conversation that Sigurd and V's Golett had? Just what connection does Sigurd have to Darugis...? Not only that, why is nobody addressing this?"

Portrait Credits:

You ever wonder why Pokemon cities are called cities when they barely constitute as - oh hey, a new chapter!

Let's look around a bit.



"Luckily, Fiery, our Gym Leader, saved us all."

Ooooh, so she's a hero around these parts? Interesting. I want to fight her a bit more now.



Wasn't Monica's dad called Blake? This could be important.



"You're Jean Blake's child!"

: "How did you know?!"

: "Please come with me..."



: "Hey mister, you seem to know about my father. Do you have any idea where he is?"

: "No, I'm afraid not. But..."

: "But what?! If you know anything, please let me know..."

Poor Monica.

: "I made a promise to your father years ago to never speak of this with any of the children."

: "The children? Is my father alright or not?! And what's going on in the Core Region?!"



"Very well. If you can prove to me that you're strong enough, I will tell you!"

Why do we have to fight? Why can't you just tell her if you know anything?

: "Now you're speaking my language! Let's do this!"

She's into it, though. Never change, you huge dork.



Even though he's trying to test your skills, Cole is super easy. If you lose to him, then you're obviously not prepared for the Gym Leader ahead.



His first Pokemon is this Slowpoke that Corin chomps on for a bit. I don't think he even realized what happened until the last second.



Sigurd pops a balloon.

[Sigurd used Shadow Claw!]



: ("Oops...")



Cole's final Pokemon is this Absol that would have been much more terrifying if it weren't for all of the bug Pokemon around here.



... Bad idea. Really bad idea.

: ("Oh, you've done it now...")

[Arthur used X-Scissor!]





Finally, Monica gets some respect. This needs to happen more often.



[Theme I would use for this scene: Time Circuits]

: "Alright..."

: "Years ago when your father was the same age as you, he joined a group. A group of remarkable people-"

: "What, the Avengers?!"

Really?

[Cole lets out a sigh of disappointment - I do too]

: "A group of remarkable people that defeated one of the most evil creations that the world has ever known."

: "Sooooo.... Avengers?!"

god damn it monica



"People never speak its name anymore."

: "What's the name?"

: "Darugis..."



No, my computer! Damn it, Cole!

: "Hm, I heard some thugs talking about it..."

: "Then it is true. I'm afraid Darugis has somehow broken the seal and returned. He must have captured your father because he was the only one strong enough to seal him away. If this is true, the Core region... No, the entire world is in grave danger."

: ("Bit of an understatement there.")

: ("Then I'll do it. This time I'll seal Darugis away.")

Monica, sweetie, I appreciate the bravado but maybe this is way out of your league.



Yeah, listen to him. He's not kidding.

: "I must contact Professor Oak on this matter. Only one trainer can stop him..."

"You know, aside from your father. Who is currently rotting away in some hellish prison."

: "Who?"

: "Ash Ketchum... The Pokemon League Champion."

How did that dink become Champion? Also, wow. We're really doing this? Bringing in characters from the anime?



This game is going to be longer than I thought.

Future Dan: Okay, but Ash actually DOES become champion later in the real anime. He can finally come home.

: "But that's my father out there! I'm not just going to sit around here waiting for him to be rescued! I'm also going to save him! I'll train as hard as I can just to save my dad."

Monica, you truly are a sweetheart. Bonus points for not being immediately "omg ash ketchup" when he was brought up.

: "Very well... I admire your bravery, young one. So what are you still doing here? Get out there and save your father."



You made the right choice.



()

: ("Hmm... Maybe I should tell them now before anything else happens.")

: ("But how will they react...?")

: ("Hey Monica? Do you mind if we talk outside? It's important.")

: "Huh? Okay, Sigurd."



: "So what's going on?"

: ("You see... There's been something heavy that I've wanted to tell you for a while now.")

: ("And if we're going to be friends, I have to be completely honest.")

: "Uh... sure. Shoot."

[Theme I would use here: Organization XIII]

: ("I've... technically been lying about not knowing about Darugis other than his name and some bad memories. It goes deeper than that. Much deeper.")

: ("How so?")

: ("See... The more relevant Darugis becomes, the more dangerous things get. You guys are smart. I know you've already figured out something based on every encounter we've had with the dark thugs.")

: ("Well, of course. We were going to leave it alone because you seemed like a nice enough person. That's why we didn't say anything about that encounter with V's Golett. Why lie, though?")

: ("There were... a lot of reasons holding me back from telling the truth. For one, the way me and Monica met was so terrifying that it may have shook me a bit. I... apologize for that.")

: ("Understandable. But is the truth really that incriminating?")

: ("Let me put it like this.")

: ("... Darugis is the opposite of me. If there's anybody in the world he wants to get rid of the most, it's me.")

: "... Huh? But why?"

: ("The opposite? Is that some kinda fancy way of saying you two were close?")

: ("Oh yeah - not just close, we used to be family. He used to be a man I loved and respected, but my mistake turned him into the tyrant he is today. I've been fighting him for as long as I remember - to give him the peace he deserves and to stop his reign of terror.")

: ("The reason I've been so nervous this entire time is because I don't want any of you to be caught up in our endless feud. I can't stand to lose more people to him.")

: ("But at the same time, I know we're close to something decisive. Ordinarily I'd wait a bit more to find a suitable trainer, but every moment I waste is more time he gets to regenerate. Hence why I approached you, Monica.")

: "Wow, that's crazy..."

: ("But why would the voice in Monica's dreams want you dead if we're all after the same guy?")

: ("Now that I don't know. They're likely another force that also has a grudge against me. Wouldn't surprise me either - I've made a lot of enemies in my time.")

: ("But yeah. This must all sound pretty insane. I don't blame you if you can't believe me.")

: "To be fair, kinda. But at the same time, the way you act and the way you talk... You're definitely not a bad Pokemon. Plus, you're so cute."

[Monica tugs on his white fur buns - theme changes over to Warm A Live]

: ("H-huh?! What's the deal?")

: ("Monica's right, you know. If you need any help to take down Darugis, we're there for you.")

: ("I'll admit that you had me going, but if Monica and the others trust you, I will too.")

: ("Aye. I know how it's like to be the odd man out, so I can sympathize with ya, laddie. Especially in regards to the family trouble part.")

: ("Same deal for me. My last trainer before Monica didn't treat me well at all, so that makes three of us.")

: ("Hmmm.... You do realize he's powerful beyond mortal comprehension? This Riolu form I've taken on isn't a disguise - I've lost almost all of my strength from the last time I fought him. I appreciate the pep talk, but I can handle this alone. You and the others don't need to get involved.")

: ("Oi! Don't start putting up barriers after you opened up, lad!")

: ("Whether you like it or not, we're a team now. Quickest way to get yourself killed is to think you can do everything alone!")

: ("If this Darugis is as tough as you say, then it makes more sense for us to team up! Plus I've had dreams of becoming a hero after slaying the demon king.")

: ("... Whoa. Not the response I expected.")

: ("I mean, we accepted you regardless of what your circumstances were. So it'd be weird for us to suddenly back out, especially after learning all of... this!")

: "I gotta give it up to the crew. Only way Darugis is winning is if he scares us into giving up, so I'm not intimidated by whatever cheap trick he throws at us."

: ("...")

: ("God, have I actually forgotten how to trust people? Most other groups would have shunned me by now - I was ready to repeat that process, but...")

[Sigurd wipes his tears]

: ("You guys are special. Something tells me we can really do it.")

: "Glad we could help make your day better. Besides, I want to save my dad and become famous for saving the world. Call me stubborn, but you're sticking with us until the very end, Sigurd."

: ("Ha, I guess you're right. It's not like I mind.")

: "Awesome. So let's stop standing around here and get stuff done!"

[The team erupts in a synchronized cheer]



Alright, with all of that out of the way, let's tackle the gym.



... Is that Lorelei?



: "What? Who are you? (I'm really getting sick of asking people that.)"

Not Lorelei: "Will you accept my service?"

Let's humor her and say yes.



... Tarea is the spanish word for homework, by the way. Clever.

Basically, she tells you that you lack Water Pokemon but your Dragon should be good enough. Honestly, even if we did have a Water Pokemon, it wouldn't help at all.



"My queen doesn't have to waste her time with you!"

I think this dude is trying too hard to win her affection.



His setup is not threatening in the slightest. Do I even like the Magmortar line? I guess I do, considering I tried to get them twice in the real games.



Darumaka and Darmanitan are honestly one of the coolest Gen 5 Pokemon. Not just because of them being a fire gorilla, but also because of their Zen Mode form that turns them into a / type. I dunno, I find that really neat.

Now, don't be fooled. This guy is incredibly easy, but Fiery is the gym leader for a reason. This calls for a grinding session.



Everybody's now just a bit more badass, but this is the most important change.

Corin swaps out Mud Slap for the much more blistering Dig. Hey, at least we can get out of caves without having to use an escape rope now.



"I see this is your first Gym Battle."

Don't tell me, she's a recolored Flannery.

: "Yeah! Don't think I'm weak just because I'm new! I've seen your battles and tactics on TV."

Fiery: "Well, well, you seem like a bright beginner. However, you are too weak to win against me. My fire burns with desire and passion, but also with the power of ten infernos! You will not be able to defeat me."

This woman is a complete cheeseball, but at the same time she's not lying. I had to prepare for a reason.

: "Let's do this! Bring on all you got because the one that's going to be defeated is you!"

Fiery: "Strong words from a young trainer. But are you ready to eat them?"



I don't think the sprite was even changed. For shame, Dark Rising Girl.

Despite all of the issues I have with the presentation of this fight, she's by far the most powerful opponent yet.



This is one of the reasons why. A Fire team that has Drought on their side.

Be afraid.



The Vulpix themselves are not very threatening, but they don't need to be considering all they needed to do was set things up.



Sigurd doesn't even look at the Houndour to shoot them with an Aura Sphere.



OH BOY HERE WE GO

Heatmor here is the most brutal Pokemon the team will have to face in a long time. Not only is the sun doubling their fire attacks, but they're fast and relentless. They also have perfect coverage, as they have Thunder Punch to shut down any water type you could conceivably have at this point.

Damn, I have to admit that's pretty clever.

(I should also mention that this is the shiny sprite of Heatmor, but it's not counted as shiny here. Oh well.)



Oh, and to punish physical attackers like Sigurd, they have Will-O-Wisp. No wonder why Fiery is the Gym Leader, god damn.



: ("It's... too hot...")

[Sigurd collapses]

Well muk, that's not good.



Gale fills in for Sigurd's spot, and yeah there's this too. It's not even like it matters - Fire and Thunder Punch are considered special in this generation, so lowering attack wouldn't do anything anyway.

[Gale used Quick Attack!]





Thank god we roasted that friggin' anteater, otherwise this would have been nasty.



"As proof of your victory, I confer this to you. The official Pokemon League Flame Badge!"

Well, what did you expect? People who boast "oh i'm so invincible" are bound to lose, no matter how strong they actually are.



Thank you kindly.

Now we can use Flash outside of battle. Man... I know it was her first game, but she could have been a bit creative. She changed the overworld tilesets and added in a new region, so you got me.

Future Dan: You're gonna regret that statement about a new region in just a bit.



Nice reward. I'll probably never use it, but it's the thought that counts.



Oh hey, more Dark Thugs and an evil redhead. This ought to be good.



[The grunts respond in an organized "YES SIR!" before marching away]

Waters Cavern? So we immediately hop from fire to water. Okay, you're the boss, game.



As we try to follow the dude with the red hair, we get jumped by a ton of trainers.

... No, there is no reason why they're all aligned like this and you're not rewarded if you beat them all.



This guy brings out a Growlithe while it's raining. Way to go, genius.



The Gliscor family is cool, but Corin is our primary Ground type.



Oh hey, it's the Cyndaquil I never caught...

I think I do regret it... just a little bit.



Monica doesn't roll that way, sister.



I do like how the game suddenly throws out Double Battles from time to time. It mixes things up.



Ah, yes. The infamous shorts kid. Good to know he lives in the Core Region too.



We still fry his team anyway.



Have we actually met this bug catcher before? I don't remember.



Fun fact: For the longest time I just assumed Pineco was just a pinecone as a Pokemon. Turns out they're based off of a bug that mimics pinecones called the bagworm, so that's neat.



Awkward. I bet your girlfriend is a way better trainer than you anyway.



Upon clearing that route of surprisingly unrelated trainers, we make our way to the DREAD SWAMP.

I don't see what's so dread-inducing about it - it looks like a parking lot.



There is a guy here that will give you a crappy Old Rod. I... appreciate it?



Good advice, I'll be sure to -



Damn, right on cue. At the very least she doesn't waste time.



"It's the kid I mistakenly thought to be nothing more than a vessel for an evil monster."

: "Who are you? Are you also trying to find out something about Darugis? If that's the case, we're on the same side, okay?"

: "Hmph! You know nothing about Darugis. You're only a kid. A curious kid. I seek revenge on Darugis."

() : ("She's not the first person to do so, by the way...")

: "Revenge? Look, I don't know who the heck you are, but Darugis has my father and I'm going to rescue him!"

: "At least you still have a family. Last time I was merely testing you. Now let's see what you really got."

: ("... Ouch. Still, that came out of nowhere.")

: "Bring it!"



After Fiery, nothing scares me.

Volcarona is a great Pokemon and I wish we had one. Alas, all we have is a fire puppy.



[Parts of Gale's body are engulfed in flames]

: ("This is fine. Nothing is going wrong.")

Gale takes him out, but gets burned in the process. Don't worry, she'll shrug it off later.



Oh, this ought to be interesting.

: ("Y-you! Your aura... It's so thick and clouded by darkness. Just what are you?!")

: ("A Riolu just like you. Well, not exactly... but you get my point. I'd rather not fight you.")

: ("You can't fool me!")



[Sigurd used Aerial Ace!]





: ("I guess it couldn't be helped.")



The final mon is the Axew again, who tries to copy Corin and dig for some reason.



Corin comes out on top not only in battle, but as a better digger.



"Maybe Riolu was right..."

I find it surreal that she even has a Riolu while we have Sigurd. I didn't know that before putting him in the game.



Huh? Already?





: ("Awesome.")

Now all we need is for her to evolve into Garchomp and everything will be set.



[Mystery lady walks away]

Of course we will, but I'm not worried. More free experience.





"Are you teamed up with that blue-haired woman?!"

: "Not really. Wait, you're one of Darugis's grunts!"

Grunt lady: "Yes, so what? Darugis has already infested all of the Tynamo in this area. You think you can stop us?"

Infested the Tynamo? Oh, that can't be good.



It's the same lady who tried to take over Tiki Village, and with the exact same Frillish.



They even expected me to hit them as I swapped out! History is repeating before my very eyes.



Thankfully, Sathala shows him up.

By the way, I checked. There is no female Frillish in this game for some odd reason. I guess they just didn't want to go through the effort of hacking them in.



Ha, you get it? We're in a cave where it's raining?

Future Dan:





"There's two fossils deep within these caverns that Darugis is after. Don't even bother getting them!"

Thanks for telling me. I'll be sure to get them now.



[Theme I would use for Waters Cavern: Waterfall]

I had to. So I hate to ask, but - how is it raining inside of the cave? Is that possible in real life?



Science questions aside, Tynamo is the Pokemon she sends out. It's an Electric Pokemon that has Levitate as an ability, which essentially means it has no weaknesses no matter which generation it appears in.

That is, unless they introduce something that allows Ground moves to hit Levitating/Flying Pokemon... Which I know isn't going to happen soon. (cough thousand arrows cough)



Say hello to Wave the Buizel. She'll be our primary Water type for the time being.

(Future Dan: Scratch that. She'll be our primary Water type period.)

: ("Yeehaw! Finally found a new trainer! Nice to meet y'all!")



Sorry, Cinder. You have to stay in the box for a bit.

: ("It's okay, Monica. I need a rest anyway.")

[Cinder curls up next to Lumis]



Back in Waters Cavern, we immediately put Wave to work. The rain here gives her a nice boost.

... Isn't this the same team that beat up Gale when she was just a Starly? Oh, I didn't even think of the revenge value.



Over here is Bullet Seed and a Paralyze Heal.

One is more valuable than the other, and I don't have to say which one it is.



Arthur gets the TM anyway just to add more variety to his moveset.



Do these guys make all of their Mechachus or do they buy them from a store or something?



Despite Bullet Seed being absolutely useless (due to being Special and only having 10 power), Arthur still manages to one shot a Geodude with it. Fancy that.



Aw, snap. That's actually really good.

I don't care about effort values in fan games, if you've probably noticed. Besides, we fight so much anyway that it doesn't matter. Again, grinding is cringe.





Whoa, that's a psyducked up looking Tynamo. Is this what the grunt meant when she said Darugis infected the Tynamo here?

... Believe it or not, I know the real reason why they have pepperoni spots on their skin: Tynamo replaces the spot for Spinda, complete with the neat little side effect of spots appearing over their body.

I like how Dark Rising Girl actually wrote around that. We give her crap, but she knows what she's doing.

(Future Dan: Good lord, I was in heavy denial back then.



... Can I take back my comment? You can talk to this guy, but he only speaks in exclamation bubbles. This is clearly a trainer that was never coded in properly.



Yes, I came in "too" show off.



Awwww snap. Gale is gonna kick ass with the best of 'em.



: "Well, you got to show off to one. Way to go, pal." [Monica pats him on the back]



This wasn't a wild encounter - there was a Hiker around here and he had Geodude. I do like how they're the punching bags of this episode.



Sweet. Now we can evolve Lumis if we really wanted to.

... Not just yet, though.



Three exits, huh? Let's take the right.



Thief is situational at best unless you're trying to steal rare items off of wild Pokemon.

... That said, I'm sure to get some money selling the Thief TM.



Speaking of shady individuals...



I don't even have to show what the team does to this guy.



Ooh, he did have a Sandile though.

People give Gen 5 crap for its monster designs, but there's a lot of them I thought were pretty cool. Krookodile was one of them.



Given what's up ahead, he's not joking. He's seen some muk.

Anyway, if this place is exactly what I think it is...



Yep. This place is pretty much just a flooded Mount Moon.

Woman, you ain't slick. Thanks for leaving the Ether in the same place, though.



With that said, that's the end of the chapter. Next time on Pokemon Dark Rising, we get a bit more wet. Maybe too wet. See you next time.

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

(Corin, level 25, , /) - "I like the rain in here. It's so calming."
(Sigurd, level 23, , /) - "That fight against Fiery was intense. Maybe I should take a swim around here."
(Sathala, level 18, , ) - "That sounds nice, Sigurd. Mind if I join you?"
(Gale, level 23, , /) - [Demonstrates how sharp her new Aerial Ace is by creating a gash in a nearby rock]
(Arthur, level 21, , ) - "How is it raining inside of the cave anyway? Nature is weird."
(Wave, level 20, , ) - "I wouldn't go into the water if I were you, 'lil partner."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back up team:

(Lumis, level 7, , ) - "Aww, he's so cute. I wonder what he's dreaming."
(Cinder, level 18, , ) - [Dreams about chasing the mailman]


Portrait Credits:

Last time we left off, we were still in the Waters Cavern.

Seriously, if you're gonna name something, at least be creative about it. Doubly so if it's a person.



'Kay. I don't need to move to beat you up.



Proof.



Oh wow, that's a lot of EXP... and she's poisoned again. Good thing this isn't like the earlier part of the game where I had nothing to alleviate that.



This man speaks the truth. Monica would be wise to listen to him even if she is on the opposite side.



... Huh. I don't know why I gave Sigurd Confuse Ray. Maybe it was to make fights less obnoxious, but it also means less space for moves that actually matter.



More money is never a bad thing. Although I have noticed our funds aren't building up as quickly as they were in Snakewood. That could be a bad thing if we need to go on a shopping spree.

(Future Dan: Spoiler alert, we never get into a situation where money becomes a problem. Especially as the game goes on - if you know, you know.)



Oh hey, our first electric type and it's one of the Tynamo. She doesn't have any spots, so I assume she's fine.

: ("Thank you. Things were getting a bit weird around here.")




[One quick battle later]

"You can't stop us or beat us!"

Okay, you know what? Whatever you say, faceless goon. It's not like Monica is the main character or anything, no.



: "Huh? What's the matter with you?"

If some random dude started screaming at me in a demon voice I'd probably have a heart attack.



()

: ("Wait, I know that voice! It's him!")

: "What?! This guy is Darugis?!"

: ("No. It's someone that's being possessed by him. Still, this can't be good.")

[Theme I would use here: Demon King Odio]

: ("Heh... You're as sharp as ever.")

: "Who was that?!"

[The visage of a Darkrai manifests over the scientist's shoulder]

: ("I assume this girl is your most recent puppet. You could have done better, Sigurd.")

: ("That's a laugh coming from you. Who's the one who has an army of thugs ready to take over entire towns?")

: ("It's not my fault I have this much charisma - all I do is speak to the darkest part of a person's heart. You, on the other hand, actually begged Monica to take you in like a stray dog! That's adorable.")

: "B-but I don't get it. You sounded like a monster a second ago, but now you just sound like... a guy."

: ("You'd be amazed at how far a little presentation can go. Granted, I would have kept up the act if you were a normal human being. However, seeing as you're Sigurd's "trainer", I couldn't help but intervene.")

: ("Try to live longer than the ones who came before you.")

: "Excuse me? What's that all abou--"

: ("Watch out, Monica!")

[He pushes her out of the way of a charging Bastiodon]



[Megalomania]

Miguel here has two Pokemon that are a bit overleveled when you consider that the rest of the team is barely level 20.

Bastiodon is tedious due to how much of a wall he is, but a good Water type (the rain boost helps out a lot here) or Gabite is invaluable here.

Surprisingly enough, my method of success involved neither of those, as Sigurd killed him in two non-critical hits with Aura Sphere. I wish I were kidding. His friend, on the other hand?



HOLY HOMBONES

You do not psyduck with Rampardos.

He can rip you apart with the same consistency as a machete to wet toilet paper thanks to his absolutely disgusting 165 base Attack. That's as high than some of the enemies in late game.

Not only that, he has Intimidate (which is not their actual ability in any game) and appears to outspeed all of my Pokemon for some reason. It'd take a ridiculous amount of grinding to get past him... or you could just rush into it with zero concern like me.



: ("Good thing that's over with...")

: ("I'm impressed. You're better than I expected, even in this form... But can you keep it up?")

: ("I've had enough out of you. Get out of here!")

: ("As you wish. I have better things to do than bother you anyway - uprisings to quell and all that. Don't disappoint me, Sigurd.")

[The shadow of Darugis vanishes]



"Where am I?"

Thankfully, you can exorcise the devil out of someone by beating the piss out of them. It works every time - just ask my neighbor.



"Sorry if I did anything to you."

: "It's okay."

It's all cool, man.

Miguel: "See those fossils? You can have one of them. Just pick what you like and I'll take what's left!"

: "Hey, thanks."



Huh. The fossils here have nothing to do with Bastiodon and Rampardos, which is kind of weird.

The Plume Fossil gives you Archen and the one next to it, the Cover Fossil, gives you Tirtouga. I would recommend Archen over Tirtouga due to being far more powerful (140 attack - mind, that's 10 more than fully evolved Garchomp Corin) and not having the hilariously awful Defeatist ability. (Halves stats if health is below half)



Hey, it's the perfect thing to get rid of Gale's poison.

: "... Hey, Sigurd. What's this about 'the ones before me?'"

: ("He... wasn't lying, as much as I hate to admit it. Monica, you're not the first trainer I've come across.")

: "I figured, but did they really... die like he said?"

: ("... Not all of them. But at the same time... maybe it's better that some of them did after what he did to them.")

: ("Oh cool. Awesome. No, this is fine. Not regretting this journey, no sir.")


: ("Listen, Monica. You have incredible potential as a trainer if I'm already this strong again. You have nothing to fear.")

: "Really? I hope you're right."

: ("We can get through this.")



What do you want, red-haired stepchild?



: "What? Wait, I've seen you before... Aren't you a part of those thugs in the cave?"

Mystery Person: "What a typical thing to ask. I will dispose of you here and now."

Your Bad Guy Banter needs some work, dude.

: "Just as I thought. Let's go!"



Hello, Silver. Glad to see you're here too.

What is it with Dark Rising using unedited sprites and saying that they're completely new characters? It reeks of bottom of the barrel design, and I don't care if it was Dark Rising Girl's first game - you need to be more creative than palette swaps of existing characters.



That said, Not-Silver has a pretty unique team. Ferroseed is extremely vulnerable to Fire and Fighting, but we only have one of those on hand.



I love Aura Sphere, okay? It's so spammable.

... It also claims to never miss yet it only has 100 accuracy. Oops. This one is on me too, because I could have changed that to be always accurate any time I wanted.



Another victim. I'm not apologizing for how strong he is.



Since Sigurd was getting too much of the spotlight, Arthur gets to beat up this Solosis.



: ("You can't slow me down, lad!")



Oooh, a Zorua! If Sigurd didn't exist, I'd totally get one.

... Hell, I'd still get one anyway.

(Future Dan: Have I got news for you, son.)



He goes straight for the scumbag strategy and tries to buff himself up to unreasonable levels, but it doesn't work thanks to Gale being a beast.

[Gale used Take Down!]





: ("Thought you were clever, huh? No plan can survive a beak to the face.")



Not-Silver's final Pokemon is this Deino who has no chance of defeating Corin.



Where's your game at, son?



() : "What."



... Who says "noob" unironically? I would refrain from using internet lingo for your "serious story". It might be a smart thing to do.

: "Hey. If you see a girl with blue hair, tell her Kayo said hello, will you?"

: "Huh?"

Poor Monica, you just had to get sucked into this.

: "We'll see each other again, Monica."



"Are these guys ghosts?!"

I'll admit, that made me chuckle a bit - I sure would laugh my ass off if all of these are just hallucinations Monica is having. Thank god for the Pokemon Center being here.



Excellent.

But wait, what's this?



()

"Take this and use it on Sathala. I'm rooting for you. - anonymous"

Nice! Someone's looking out for Monica, it seems. We definitely need all the help we can get. (Also this is a cheat.)



: ("Oh, is that for me?! Slap it on me, sister!")





: ("Aw man, this feels great! Thanks, Monica! You're the best.")

: "Aww, stop."



Sathala no longer has to wait to be good, so hallelujah. That said, her abilities are still support more than anything else.

One interesting thing about Stone Evolutions that Dark Rising Girl changed for this game is that they are still able to learn new moves, as evidenced by the crazy spread that Whimsicott is bound to get.



: ("Finally...")

; ("I-I mean... Thank you, Monica. I appreciate it.")



: ("I'll keep you safe no matter what. I promise you.")

Musharna is an awesome default name for a Pokemon. Lumis will also get to see more use as this grinding session is specifically for her and Sathala.



Oh yes, I forgot this was a thing. Apparently, you have a 10% chance of finding every starter in certain locations.

That's really neat and gives more credibility to the Core Region being an excellent place to catch Pokemon.



[Theme I would use for the Dread Swamp: Peaceful Rest Valley]

These two karate studs will teach you Drain Punch or Mega Kick depending on which one you talk to. Drain Punch actually heals you and is a move, whereas Mega Kick is just a flashy attack.



If anybody was capable of learning Drain Punch, I'd definitely give it to them.



Lumis steadily grows in power...

I originally thought Moonlight would be super useful, but there's something coming up that will almost immediately replace it.



I'm not one to diss Roar due to how it removes buffs and pierces through Protect... but it's useless here.



"You must be tough to come out of the Caverns alive."

Excuse me, what?

I thought the Water Cavern was how people got from Flamen to the town coming up? This guy is implying that people have actually died in that cave, despite the fact there's no ghosts and no creepy old hooded man asking me to go on a boat to the underworld with him.



Lumis embarasses another Geodude by spitting stars at him.



Huh. Neat little side area... What's down here?



WHOA! HELLO! The bastard-o-meter is back with a vengeance!

I think we'll just... ignore this place and move on.



... Who's this finely dressed chap?



: "What the-? Is this Eon? He must be under Darugis's control..."

Excuse me, Monica. Who the hell is this? How do you know his name?

Eon: "Must eliminate...!"

: "It's time to wake up, Eon!"



Who is this guy and why is he a yellow Falkner?!

Like damn, at least have the courtesy to introduce us to him before you make him fight us.



Yellow Falkner here has a team of primarily Electric type Pokemon, so at least his color palette corresponds to his type proficiencies.



Joltik is as threatening as they look. Don't let the halved health fool you - this thing was a pushover.



Corin goes savage on his Jolteon. Poor bastard didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.



This is so out of the ordinary for so many reasons that I'm just basking it in.

They were really desperate to get a hit on Corin, the killdozer that she is.



Unfortunately, he had the last laugh.

: ("Ugh! Typical.")



There's so many stupidly powerful Pokemon stuffed in just this one part, it's amazing.

Obviously, Sathala doesn't face him in straight combat.



That's what Sigurd is for. Knock him dead, baby.



: ("Whoof... Are you alright, Sigurd?")

: ("Never better.")



Team:

Monica:

Me:


Eon snaps to his senses because that exorcism thing always works.



: "You were under a spell."

Eon: "A spell?"

: "Yeah, about that... See, there's this monster that can control people's minds. I'm still trying to figure out the whole thing myself."

: ("To be more precise, it's not just mind control. They're realistic illusions that Darugis creates and I'm able to break them whenever we fight someone that's possessed.")

Eon: "... Ah, I see."



: "Heh, I already knew that... I watch your battles on Poketime."

... Ignoring the fact that the actual series would use Poketime as a pun unironically, this explains a bit. But... I dunno, why was there no foreshadowing to Eon whatsoever? His presence here is practically irrelevant. I don't think he even comes back after this scene.

Eon: "Oh, I see. You're a fan, eh? It's my first time here in the Core Region. I don't think I'll be coming back here after all of this tragedy."

: "I don't blame you."


Eon: "Well... Young trainer, if you have time, you should travel to the Omni Region and challenge the Omni League."



Now watch the Omni Region become the main setting of Dark Rising 2.

I am 100% convinced that this is the case and I haven't even seen the stuff for Dark Rising 2 yet.

Long story short, we say goodbye to Eon (who's very confused, apparently, given how he abuses question marks) and that's about it for him.



[Theme I would use for Atlantic City: Remains]

I can imagine this place being nice and quiet.



Wow, that makes all of the water around here take a darker turn.

Although it's kind of... weird. Flamen City had an eruption and this place had a flood. They're right next to each other, so how did they... not cancel each other out...?

Fangame logic gets really weird sometimes. That or I'm reading it incorrectly.



"Our gym Leader Typhoon has a very playful, yet mature view on things."

Atlantic City and Typhoon are better than Flamen City and Fiery by a long shot.



Much like Flamen City, they sell elemental stones here too. That'd be pretty cool if we had any Water Stone Pokemon.



"My cousin Paul used to have great battles with him."

I think the worst part about not watching the anime except for the movies is that I wouldn't have context as to who Paul is. But even then, REALLY?

Why even shove in elements of the anime? This isn't Ashgray!



"Long time no see. I'm guessing you're becoming an awesome trainer."

: "Thanks..."

: ("I can't tell him that my Father's gone missing. He might go back to Fells and tell mom.")

Oooh, we wouldn't want that. It's bad enough Monica knows it. Our mom freaked out when we got slightly bruised from the Tornadus fight.

Pete's Dad: "Well, keep up the good work. You're making all of the people of Fells Town feel honored."





How did he beat us here? Did he learn the magic teleporting trick that all of the villains seem to know for some reason?

Pete says that he's here with his pops to do some research and challenged the Gym Leader. Predictably, he lost. He's not feeling beat up about it though. so that's good.



Another unchanged area from the original game? Chalk it up to the infinitely growing list.



Guys, I honest to god forgot Noah was a thing.

Did anybody remember that he existed before this screenshot? Pete was more relevant than him, and that's saying something.



I like to imagine this dude actually yelling out loud "SPLASH!" instead of it just being the noise he makes.



[Sathala scoffs before draining the Horsea dry]



She's kind of scary now that she evolved.



Blue Brawly is guarded by his favorite fangirl.



... To which Sathala immediately destroys.



Gyarados here had to force Sathala to work with Lumis, but damn. When Gyarados is one of the fodder Pokemon they throw at you, you need to start worrying.



: ("Oh ho, this is bound to be entertaining. Come to me, delicious dreams...")

Okay, I take it back. Lumis is now one of the most terrifying Pokemon I've ever had on the crew.



"You said I'm next, huh? Riiiight."

: "That's right, Typhoon. I'm gonna take you down."

Typhoon: "You sound like one of them anime dudes, pal. Alright, prepare to get washed away by my tidal wave!"

Can I just say I love how this dude talks? Like it's goofy as psyduck but it's better than boring.

: "Let's do this!"



[Great Battlers]

At the very least he was changed instead of just being an unedited sprite.

Typhoon, much like Fiery, is the Gym Leader for a reason. Despite this, he's actually less tough.



His strategy is basically the same as Fiery's but with Water types instead. It is just as effective and fiendish, as Typhoon has Swift Swim guys on his team. Poliwhirl is another fodder mon whose only purpose is to buff the rest of the team.



Lanturn is a good choice for a Water Gym Leader due to how it nullifies an electric weakness. I'll give Dark Rising Girl crap for some of the more obtuse bullmuk in the game, but some of the Gym Leader fights are genuinely well thought out.



Great Battlers is in full force here, because despite Sathala being underleveled... she's going to take on the challenge of sweeping through this guy's entire team by herself. This is her moment.



We have a Marshtomp here who thinks Facade without any status effects on him is a good idea. Despite this, it manages to take out half of Sathala's health in one hit, which is proof that the Swampert family is hyper-buff.



That said, he made a delicious meal thanks to a four times weakness to grass.



There he is.

Seismitoad is much like Heatmor in that he's tough, fast and has a buff that makes him even stronger. Even a four times weakness to Grass can't slow him down as he's surprisingly very resilient.



The worst thing about him is that unlike Heatmor, who was primarily brawn and not much else, Seismitoad tries to fake you out with Substitute.

The amount of cold sweats I had during this fight left me in a puddle by the end.



You can do it, babe!

[Sathala used Mega Drain!]





Holy muk. She actually did it.

... Albeit the same way as a vampire but she still did it!

: [Slaps her tiny hands against her chest] ("What?! What?! I'd like to see you mess with me now! Hahahaha!")

That's my girl.



"You're too much! Alright! You can have the Tsunami Badge to show that you've defeated me."

You got that right, son.



That's cool, but we don't trade with anybody in this game. It's a fan hack, after all...

We can use Cut outside of battle now, but I've always found that weird. Why can't Pokemon with claws or blades do that naturally? Ah, video game contrivances.



This, on the other hand, is a bit more useful because we won't have Wave forever.

Future Dan: Yes, you will.



"Arceus chose the right one."

: "... Uh. Excuse me?"

... How the hell does Not-Lorelei know that we're associated with Arceus? But with that said...

That's all the time we have for this chapter. Whoa, just kinda blew past that one. Next time on Pokemon Dark Rising, we go foraging into parts unknown and face someone very familiar. See you then.

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

(Corin, level 27, , /) - "Sathala, that was amazing. You didn't need our help at all!"
(Sigurd, level 28, , /) - "Whoa... Sure, it was awesome, but it was kinda freaky, man."
(Sathala, level 23, , ) - [Parades around the Pokemon Center wearing the Tsunami Badge]
(Gale, level 26, , /) - "Just when you think you figured someone out."
(Lumis, level 21, , ) - "She has a lot to be proud of. This team is really coming around, wouldn't you say?"
(Wave, level 23, , ) - "I'm with Sigurd. Is... is this a normal day for y'all?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back up team:

(Arthur, level 22, , ) - "She really showed 'em! She's a girl after my own heart!"
(Vera, level 20, , ) - "I think I'm going to like it here."
(Cinder, level 18, , ) - "Awww man! I didn't get to see all of the cool stuff happen!"

Portrait Credits:

Last time on Dark Rising, Sathala managed to sweep through an entire Drizzle-Swift Swim by herself despite being eight levels lower than everybody there. I am so proud of her for that.

Unfortunately, I think that's the most fun we'll have in a long time.



"But there have been reports of aggressive wild Pokemon and a well known breeder by the name of Brock attacking people of late, so you better be careful."

: "No way... Brock? I'll go check it out."

I would have let Brock slide because he's an actual character in the games, but the breeder stuff is all from the anime. I still don't understand these decisions and I probably won't even when the game is actually finished.



Wow, Brock sure took this place apart... and left a ton of animal footprints everywhere.



"The world's most known Pokemon breeder and doctor did this to our home. I used to respect that man, but now I want to use my Mankey's Close Combat on him!"

: "I'll figure things out."

If someone came into my house and did the exact same thing Brock did, I'd want to beat the piss out of them too.

Poor guy was going about his day and all of a sudden a plot dump destroys most of his house.



Excuse me miss, what is a "belive"? I know she means Brock but I can't not make fun of this.



Well, speak of the devil. What wacky circumstances are we going to get ourselves into now?



[Demon King Odio]

()

: "BEGONE YOU FOOLISH CH-- Oh, it's just you, Monica."

: "So you possessed Brock too. You really are a monster like everybody says."

: "You flatter me. Anyway, the power of Entei will be mine soon enough... So I may as well tarnish Brock's reputation while I'm at it. It's not like he can do anything about it."

: "But I can."

This is significantly different than what is in the actual game because I cannot take Darugis seriously when he acts like a screaming idiot.



[Megalomania]

I don't know what it is, but I like Brock's sprite here. Sure it's just his head lazily copy-pasted on to another sprite but I still think it looks nice.



The fight with him is a Double Battle for some reason, but I'm not complaining. More experience is a good thing.

Gale rips the Ludicolo apart with Aerial Ace while Lumis puts the Crobat to sleep and swallows his dreams. That's terrifying and badass all in one.



Arguably the toughest Pokemon Brock has is his level 32 Steelix. It's a vast upgrade from Onix, but at the same time... If you brought a Drought Ninetales (which, in retrospect, is hilariously overpowered and something I should have taken advantage of), he's brown bread.



Thankfully, the RNG is on my side and Steelix gets confused from Wave's Water Pulse.



: ("Wait, Headbutt? I don't think I really need--")

[Steelix used Dig!]







: ("I... I can't feel my legs...!")

Damn, Wave got turned into a punching bag.

Poor girl didn't deserve that. Honestly, I thought Steelix would aim for Corin... so oops.

[Sigurd used Aura Sphere!]





Sigurd revenge kills in response.

Anyway, the Blissey there is completely inconsequential. All our big hitters have to do is poke her and she dies, so I let Sigurd have that one too.



... Why did I give Sigurd Needle Arm??

This isn't completely insane considering how he gets a wicked special attack stat when he evolves, but still. I don't think I want to obsolete Sathala just yet.



Brock's team seems to follow what I remember from the anime.

... Also, again: Woman, you ain't slick. That Swampert is very legal. It's so legal it evolved 12 levels before it actually should be able to.



Christ, that was close. I kept forgetting that Sigurd is weak to Fighting types thanks to being part Dark, so Lumis laughs off the next Drain Punch thrown for him.



Brock is easy peasy if you've prepared. Then again, given how this game works, you'll probably never be prepared for what's ahead unless you grind your heart out.



... Is what he actually says. Personally, that's stupid.



[Darugis's shadow clings to Brock's body]

: ("Close call.")

: ("I'm not done with Brock quite yet, but I believe this is where we part ways again.")

: "What?! Don't you dare get --"

[Darugis vanishes along with Brock]



: "... He got away again!"

: ("It's frustrating, I know. But I wouldn't worry about it... He'll be back soon. In the meantime, I feel we should practice our skills a bit.")

: ("I have a terrible feeling for what's ahead, so we need to be ready.")

: "Alright. You're the boss, Sigurd."

Grinding sessions are now a necessity. It is not something I can just gloss over, unfortunately.



To apologize for the Steelix car crash incident, Wave finally gets her time in the evolution limelight.

: ("Don't worry about me, y'all - just had to get a bandage or two. I won't disappoint you this time!")



Gale gets Steel Wing... just because, I guess. I know the text prompt is blocking the screen, but we're about eight levels higher than before. It sounds like a lot of time was wasted on grinding but I have a trick to make it go by faster.

Basically, I have a specific set of codes that can summon clones of Sigurd due to him occupying the Bulbasaur slot. He has a base experience yield of 255, so each time someone kills him they get max experience. I hand-waved this as "training with Sigurd" just so it could make sense in the context of the story, but trust me - it's incredibly valuable for what I'm doing.



Anyway, remember how I brought up the Omega Boss theme for this area? Now that we're sufficiently leveled up, I feel confident enough to go down here.



There's... a kid down here accompanied by two signs. Let's see what he has to say.



"I thought I told everyone upstairs I'll be done in a minute."

: "Urm... I'm sorry, I guess. Who are you and why are you down here?"

Question Mark Kid: "My name's Max and I'm from the Hoenn region. My dad's a gym leader there. I'm here because I'm looking for clues to find the evil organization that hurt my mom."

... Oh. Max? As in that one bratty kid nobody liked from the Gen 3 anime?

: "What evil organizations?"

Now... alright. I'm not going to transcribe the rest of this dialogue because it goes on forever, so I may as well cut the fat:

Max: "There's an evil organization that wants to take over the world. I trained for months to be able to defeat them."



"Something like a movie."

Max challenges us because we look new, so Monica busts an artery and throws out the entire team.



Max has a very strange skin color, as if he's too pale to be human.



That said, Vampire Max here is rocking some high level Pokemon. How the kid with no experience in battling even accomplishes this I'll never know.

Max doesn't even get Pokemon in the show other than the brief time he meets Jirachi in that one movie, if my information is correct.



Gale tears his Leafeon apart because Max is ultimately a pushover despite the over-inflated levels.



At the very least they used the updated Nosepass sprite instead of the really wonky Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald one.

... Too bad Sigurd immediately makes his face concave.



You have to be joking. This poor Ralts is way overdue to be a Gardevoir or even a Gallade, so what the hell are you doing?



Sure, you give him something to boost his Psychic powers... but why not just evolve him then?

Whatever. Sigurd, kick his ass.

: ("Of course.")

[Sigurd used Knock Off!]





Ralts is one of those Pokemon that you can't make intimidating no matter how high their level gets.



The last one is this Dwebble that Wave dips into a pool of water. It only took one Water Pulse.



Boy, you haven't even started. Using the Rare Candy code isn't enough to get you through the game.



"You wouldn't stand a chance against my sis."

I severely doubt that. In-Game Monica mentions something about hidden items being down here, but I can't be assed to look for them.

You get nothing for defeating Max, by the way. He doesn't even talk to you unless you approach him... which is a disturbing trend I've noticed from all of the NPCs and plot sequences in this game up to now.

DRG doesn't know how to trigger region-wide events automatically. And judging by the later games, she never learns how to do it!



"Wait, it says something about a team reforming."

Long story short, this note explains how every villainous team from the real games is reforming to become the evil empire that Darugis is planning on using to take over the world or some muk. Honestly, this would be a much cooler and more promising concept if the story wasn't... average at best.

Future Dan: Team Rainbow Rocket would like to have a word with you.



Some more grinding offscreen and Corin learns Dragon Claw. A very nice substitute for Dragon Breath if I can say so.



Oh hey, he finally makes an appearance after being gone since Tiki Village.

: "Noah?"

: "Brock got away from me... Good job on defeating him! You've really gotten stronger from last time."


: "Yeah, no kidding..."

() : "I know, let's have a ba-- Wait a second. What's with the red Riolu you have there?"

:"Excuse me?"

: "Monica, get away from him! I was told to kill this monster on sight!"

: ("How did I know it would come to this?")

: "Back off, Noah! He's a good kid!"

: "I can't take that chance."



[Current OST: Heroic Struggle]

The real reason for the fight is nowhere near that intense, but still. Why are we fighting Noah again? This is immediately after the Brock-Darugis fight, so what the hell's with the timing?

Anyway, Noah's Rufflet is actually pretty tough as he has Aerial Ace and all of that good stuff. To make matters worse, he can use Bulk Up which lets him hit harder and boost his defense... so that's fun to deal with.



He... anticipated the Hypnosis. That's pretty smart, but at the same time I can just apply another one. It's not that hard.



: ("Heh heh heh... Such delicious dreams. The ones with positive emotions are the most delectable.)

What kind of team have I assembled?



Shelgon is a pain. They're essentially a hard counter to your Dragon starter, complete with Dragon Fang and a better attack than Dragon Breath.



: ("This one was very bitter. He was very disturbed about... Arceus? Interesting... We should look into this a bit more.")



You know, I seriously have to wonder what was going through Dark Rising Girl's head when she was setting the levels for this game. The difference between Noah and Darugis-Brock is staggering, and they're only like, what, three steps apart?



That said, Wave obliterates the Charmeleon in no time flat.

: ("How'd ya like that, varmint? ")



Oh, I don't even need to show off what happens here. Poor bastard.



: ("Okay, this one was just plain disgusting. I'd... rather not disclose what he was thinking about.")





Yes, but do you know how many fake Sigurds I had to kill how much time I had to spend training with Sigurd to reach this level?

: "... Hmm. I guess you're not so bad after all."



"But something got into him. Me and Ash tried to stop Brock, but he got away."

: "Ash is here?!"

: "Yeah, he's at the Atlantic Cape having a date with Pikachu."

In-Game Monica is like "heheh" like she finds that funny. Ours, though?

()

: "... Whoa, TMI. I know people have their preferences but good lord."

: "... I was just kidding. He's investigating some ruckus in Atlantic Cave."

: "Ah, cool. Thanks, Noah."

[Noah leaves but turns around to face us]



Neat. He gives us the VS Seeker to see if we can find our dad, but it's not really good for much unless you want to fight against previous trainers. None of the rematches are even edited so there's no reason to it.

: "Catch you later!"

[Noah leaves for real now]

Cool. Let's go up and -



Oh my god, it's the Nugget Bridge from the original game. How is the Core Region its own region if it's literally just Kanto with a paint job?

Let me guess, the Omni Region is a refurbished Johto with nominal differences. (if this is actually what it is, then I'll legally change my name to Cassandra because that's the truth)



: "Nope."



: "Tear him a new one, Gale."

: ("With pleasure.")



"Beated?"

... Oh. What the hell did Noah do to this poor man?



: "You're funny."



: "I'm nineteen, you ass."



The same can be said for all of you.



I'm surprised these guys want to keep fighting Monica after they see how dangerous we are.



Oh hey, even In-Game Monica said nope too. That's hilarious.



'Kay, cool.

To be fair, these Golbats are a damn sight better to look at than Snakewood's. I still have nightmares.



You're the strongest of a group of cannon fodder. I bet you feel pretty proud of yourself.





I was not prepared for this.



She's beautiful

: ("Excellent timing. I'll make quick work of whatever's out there... just for you.")



Oh no, it's the Pretentious Pink Vest Man! (PPVM)

: "CONGRATULATIONS! You have defeated five of my Grunts! Therefore I want you to have this."





: "What the--? An Ultra Ball? Why are you giving this to me?"

That's a very good question.

: "Because your father gave me something as well. It's called a lifelong suffering in the pits of evil!"

You can't say hell? Come on, man.

: "My father wouldn't let another person suffer. You must be under Darugis's spell."

()

: ("Funnily enough, he's not. Despite that, he's still valuable entertainment. Have fun, Sigurd.")

: "What?!"

: ("Wait, what do you mean by--")

[Sigurd collapses to the ground, his entire body shaking. Monica runs over to him]

:"Sigurd!"

: ("How about you humor me and play with a handicap? It won't last long given your strength, but a few minutes is all this idiot needs to fight you.")

: "You think you're clever for fighting dirty, huh? Two can play that game!"



V is stronger than last time, but he's a far cry easier than what you had to deal with to get here. Misdreavus likes to debuff you with status effects and so on, which makes them the most problematic of the team to fight.



[Wave kneels, gasping for air]

: ("Sweet mother of lemon pie, that smarts...!")

GOD DAMN, WAVE!

This is after the big training session too, so the fact she's still standing is a testament to how she doesn't want to become the punching bag again.



... This would have been incredibly useful a few minutes ago. I love my luck.



Oh, this is going to be cathartic.

[Murkrow tried to attack Gale!]



: ("Oh, you're done? Then allow me.")

[Gale used Take Down!]







There was no contest.



(Look at Sigurd's health, the max is lower than normal)

: ("You've returned, Master Sigurd. You seem more confident.")

: ("That's because I've told them everything and they still accepted me, Gaspar. I think your chances of winning me over have slimmed into the negatives.")

: ("Is that so? What a pity. You could have been more useful to Lord Darugis alive had you cooperated.")

: ("Bring it on. I may be suffering a bit right now, but you've never been a match for me!")

[One fight later]



Damn, the reduced health nearly killed Sigurd.

Believe it or not, this was not intentional on my behalf. See, I was editing around stats for Sigurd so it would be easier for the team to kill the experience pinata clones of him... and I inadvertently reduced his health to half. Yep, a mistake on my part and I still make a story element out of it.



Basically, V goes "yeah your dad was a dick" and Monica's like "THAT DOESN'T HELP". We're not missing much if I don't transcribe this.



Yep. I want to know the secret flash step technique that the villains use just so I don't have to walk everywhere.



... Hah. It'd be cute if someone could even use this. Then again, Attract is situational at best.



"You're awesome!"

Well, I don't like to toot my own horn...

Oh wait, yes I do. Check this out:





Fun fact: When you beat this dude, he immediately takes back the "you're awesome" compliment... I guess we were too spicy for him.



DRAGON DANCE?!

Okay, seriously. I'd love to see someone make movesets out of the crap I give Sigurd for his level-ups. It'd certainly be interesting.



If you can be bested by a or type that anybody can just pick up on the side of the road, then you're not even 5% prepared to fight Ash. (as much as I hate to admit that)



"I got to talk to Ash!"

There's so many people around here that want to see/fight Ash for some reason. Sure, he's the champ, but at the same time the only thing he really has going for him is that he's the protagonist of the anime series. (Even then, a large amount of people don't even like him due to the objectively boneheaded decisions he makes...)



Anyway, Ash Fangirl #10 here has a Wartortle and a Quilava. Not that they're notable in any respect, but I like to bring up brand new Pokemon from time to time.



"That's why you were so rough!"

: "Dude, I don't even care about that. You were in the way and battled me for some reason."

Yep, pretty much.



: "Ah, cool. Good for you."



I can't stop thinking about the possibilities with Drought Ninetales now. That or stealing Fiery's style and creating a Drought team.



Honest to god, I like Emolga a bit more than Pikachu. Not to diss on my boy Ambes (Snakewood Let's Play team member for the uninformed) but I think Emolga is cuter and more creative looking.



I'm taking this line a bit out of context, but this is how Monica feels about the Ash Fanclub.

... Hell, the actual context is that this dude went "Go, my awesome Pokemon team!" and it was so unsubtle that even In-Game Monica was unimpressed.

[One fight later]



: "No..."

Wow, that's both hilarious and depressing. Dream killer over here!



Sure. What do you got for me, son?







Secret Power was here, so that's some more money if we desperately needed it.



[Initiates a battle]

Wow, all I did was walk up to where I need to go and you attack me. The paparazzi that follows Ash around is vicious.



Sigurd and Gale kick some more ass and ignore the camera trying to steal their souls.



I think this is Dark Rising Girl projecting her thoughts about Ash more than anything else.



Speaking of which, there's the man himself and his ridiculously overpowered Pikachu.

"Oh, you must be Monica, right?"

: "How did you know?"


Ash: "Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Ash. Noah told me a lot about you."

I would put a portrait of Ash here, but I'm not going to dig through the game files to see his trainer sprite.

: "Really?"

Ash: "Yeah, I'm off to save Brock. I saw him run through this cave a while ago..."

: "Brock? We just fought him."

Ash: "Hmm, I see..."



Oh, hey! He gives us a gift.



... An S.S Ticket. Given how Ash suddenly has a ton of connections due to being the champion, I can understand why he has this... but still.

Ash: "Well I'm off now. See you later, Monica."



If I had to make a translation of what he's saying, this would by my best bet:

("Let's go before we embarrass them.")

I remember Ash's Pikachu being an ass, so...



If I'm not mistaken, this is different art than before. Still very nice looking, though.



What did we even accomplish this episode aside from running around and beating up everyone we saw? Oh, and meeting Ash? Bah, whatever.

Next time on Pokemon Dark Rising, we do much of the same but with actual plot progression attached to it. See you then.

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

(Corin, level 31, , /) - "I'd like to see that little punk Pikachu say that again! Who does he think he is, anyway?!"
(Sigurd, level 35, , /) - "I don't know, but there was definitely something off about him."
(Sathala, level 25, , ) - "That's a bit of an understatement, haha. But man, Gale was friggin' amazing! She knocked the stuffing out of those guys!"
(Gale, level 34, , /) - "I'm glad to hear that. It takes guts to do that kind of thing, you know?"
(Lumis, level 32, , ) - "Indeed. I must say... I'm not quite looking forward to what's up ahead, but I'm glad we have Monica to guide us."
(Wave, level 33, , ) - "So that Ash feller was a hot shot? Shoot, I'd like to have a word with that Pikachu of his, type disadvantage or not."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back up team:

(Arthur, level 22, , ) - "Huh. Everybody's training with Sigurd and they didn't bring me. Okay, I guess I'll just wait my turn."
(Vera, level 27, , ) - "I'm still reeling at how strong our opponents are becoming. It's insane how easily they do it!"
(Cinder, level 18, , ) - "Everybody looks so cool when they evolve... I wanna do that too!"

Portrait Credits:

The first Repel we've gotten in a long time. Let this be a sign of how generous the game actually is.



Pfft - are you joking, faceless goon? I won't stop until this game winds up in the trash.



: ("I have nothing for this one. It was a little abstract but still very delectable.")



: "What, are you kidding? I love you guys. Well, I love tearing you apart, anyway."





Looks like muk's hitting the fan down there. I'd say I want to be part of what's happening, but this game has not convinced me that anything that happens here is fun.



You can find Sandiles here. I guess they'd be a good substitute if you never got the Garchomp line, but that's just a bad idea all around here.



This is easily the laziest reason to fight someone that I've seen yet.



I don't know what's up with this dude - he wants to look for Charmander yet he's wasting time fighting us. Did he hope we had one, or...



A Revive out of nowhere would be a nice surprise if it weren't for every shop in the game having them.



Take note of what she says, because I had ran into a Phanpy immediately before fighting her. Basically, if you mention it, I'll find it in a sheer stroke of luck.



: ("Heh heh heh... I'd like to have your beautiful dream.")

Oh god. Lumis, don't Maui his Mallard. It won't end well.



: ("Saved your dignity, hun. I think we'll be better off not hearing that kinda sweet talk ever again.")

: ("But he had such a boyish charm...")



What Monica says to this poor girl is easily the best thing she'll ever say in this story. Take it away:

: "Zombies."

: "Eeek!"


That's not something that Let's Play Monica said, either - that is actually in the game and it is glorious.



: "WHY ARE WE YELLING?!"



: "We're right next to each other, come on."



: "Love you too~"



A goon? Does this mean SomethingAwful works for Darugis?!



Oh, they're just recolored Magma grunts. Still, who would call themselves a goon and consider that an upgrade?



Okay, she wasn't kidding when she said she was stronger than the normal grunts. The best part about this is that the Goons don't immediately replace the Dark Thugs, so you'll have fights like this level 37 Houndoom at one point and then have to fight baby Croagunk and Houndours again.



Houndoom here tries to be scary, but Sigurd shuts her down immediately.

: ("It's funny how they think they're stronger when I can still do that to them.")



There was another Goon on the top path, so you'd have to fight them no matter what.

I still can't get over the name Goon being used as the Admin codifier for this group.



That said, he's not threatening in the slightest, especially with Wave and Sigurd being a thing.



Monica's already done it to your two buddies beforehand. What makes you so special?



Ah, you poisoned Sigurd. That's about the only thing that's different here.



Oh cool. If Corin didn't know Dig, this would have been slightly useful.



Would you look at that, it's a -

it's a

IT'S A CHARMANDER!



Welcome to the team, buddy!



The timing couldn't be any more perfect. Sure, we have to grind to get him to be good, but this is still incredible.

Sorry, Cinder. You've been replaced.



Nice. Now she can eat dreams while having doll protection.



The legendary Baton Pass?! How the hell does Lumis have this in her learnable moveset?

I pass it up because she doesn't know Calm Mind, but still!



We've done it like a million times before we came here. Get with the times, buddy.



I like to imagine that Monica is going down the stairs all nice and calm, but all of a sudden this Dark Thug lady runs up to her from behind screaming "INTRUDER ALERT" at the top of her lungs.

Scared mukless, Monica just decks her in the face and runs away.



What, are you kidding? Monica still has a heart attack after the "INTRUDER ALERT" incident.

Stone Edge would be cool if anybody could learn it, though.



Oh what? Icy Wind? That's... the only thing we have on our entire team.

I'm definitely keeping this, especially since it's guaranteed to lower speed each time.



Believe it or not, despite how much I diss these guys for both their name and how easy they are to get rid of, the fighting actually wore us down a bit.



: [Happily sticks out tongue as she walks away]



A new member of the Too-Good-To-Use Club? Welcome aboard.



[One fight later]




: ("You already have. Be glad I'm not the kind of tyrant that executes people for failing, if only because it's more funny to see you fumble around.")



I'm just gonna take a break in the "action" for a little bit to buy some stuff and heal up.

Turns out we were rich after all, so we'd better get to using it.



If you were two Goons, then I might be worried.

[One inconsequential fight later]



I don't understand how this game's difficulty works.



Spoiler warning: He allows me to reach Entei, though not of his own free will.



This Houndoom is about to regret all of his life decisions.



Who are you, Homer Simpson? Come on.



Believe it or not, with logic that defies reason, he's actually right. Just watch what's going to happen.

Little side-note: If you approach the lady Dark Thug at a certain spot, the Goon there can leave an easy-to-walk-into space where you can skip this entire plot sequence. That is how lazily programmed this entire thing is.

It would have been more beneficial to just punch me like... I dunno, actually competent villains? Or at the very least hold me back like the Dim Sun grunts in Pokemon Ranger 2.



: "Haha! Your Charizard is no match for the power of Dark Entei!"





Ash: "Monica, you have to defeat Entei so that Brock can come back to his senses! He is not going easy in our battle here."

How does defeating Entei turn Brock back to... oh whatever, I don't care.

[Entei jumps in front of Monica]



: "Whoa! How'd he get here so fast?!"

: "HAHA! This poor excuse of a trainer has no chance to defeat Dark Entei!"

Ash: "Brock, snap out of it!"

Now, the story has been pretty blase this entire time but at least it tried a bit. What comes up here is just bad.

Ash: "This isn't you. You're the best Pokemon Breeder in the world. You'd never control a Pokemon for evil purposes! I know you're somewhere inside there! FIGHT IT!"



Christ on a pogo stick, how non-existent is your creativity if you bring out the "I know you're in there somewhere fight" verbatim? It's so cliche that I can't help but choke on it.

This is ignoring all of the other problems I have with this game (palette swap characters, glorified Kanto paint job, etc.) and as much as I hate to say this, Snakewood was infinitely more creative and even then it was still a mediocre game.

: "Haha! Foolish people... shall die!"





[A Crisis]

HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THIS WITHOUT GRINDING?! High levels do not constitute good difficulty!

There's so much going wrong here. The opponents immediately before this were at late 30s but then you throw this monster at me? Did you even playtest your game?

I'd give this a break if you at least threw him in at late-game, but why now?

Future Dan: Oh my god, I know someone who would HATE this nonsense even more than me - in fact he'd go on a tirade that stat abuse like this is not compelling gameplay.

Best part is that he would min-max the levels to prove his point.



Wait a minute. Did... Did Wave just beat up Entei - a legendary - despite being 14 levels lower than him?



Sure, she got her ass kicked left and right earlier, but this was definitely her brightest moment.

: ("Legendary, huh? Sheesh, I've met tougher Lillipups!")



: [Claps] ("I'm impressed. The fact you managed to beat up that beast WITHOUT Sigurd gives me hope that you'll be a worthy opponent. Again, don't disappoint me or I'll make sure you'll catch hell for it.")

[Darugis disappears from Brock's body]

: "Wh-what happened? Who are you?"

Ash: "It's alright, Brock."



: "What? You can talk?! Did you guys hear that?!"

I know this is meant to be Monica's main "power" thing, but telepathy between Pokemon and their trainers is one of the main staples of my Pokemon let's plays so this is just weird to me.



("I am communicating with you through telepathy.")

() : "Woah, no way! ... It's not like I do it all of the time with my Pokemon, but still whoa!"

() : ("You are indeed strong, if a bit of a wiseass. The evil controlling me was very powerful. However, if you can reawaken the god of all Pokemon, Arceus, then you can defeat it.")

: "Tell me how... I just got dragged into all of this after I got my first Pokemon. All I wanted to do was become the best trainer in the world, challenge the league and meet rivals from all across the world. That's my passion, you know?"

Despite everything that happens, Monica is still just a normal girl. She just had to get caught up with all of this nonsense.

: ("That's exactly why you were chosen. Your determination and ambition is stronger than any trainer Arceus has ever known.")

() : "Oh, stop."

: ("The Jewel of Life... It's hidden somewhere in the Core Region. You must find it and use its power to save Arceus from the evil chains that sealed him away.")

: "Okay, got it. Thanks for the information."



Charizard has the best color commentary out of everyone here.

[Ash and Brock run over to Charizard - he returns him to his Pokeball]



"I know you'll find your dad and I'll do my best to help you."

Hey thanks, man. You're not so bad after all.

: "Thanks, Ash."

Ash: "Hey, it's no problem. I know we'll have to battle each other some day."

: "I'm looking forward to that."


Ash: "Brock will stay here to treat Entei's wounds. I have more important things to do so I guess I'll be going now. Let's go, Pikachu!"

: ("Of course.")

[Ash and Pikachu walk off screen]



Well, no wonder. It's not like Wave beat the daylights out of him or anything, no.



[Monica shoots a death glare at the Dark Thug]

: "Call me that again and it'll be more than your Pokemon that you lose."

Dark Thug: "Y-yes, ma'am..."



: "No problem. By the way, how did you get under control?"

: "You know, I don't remember a thing. One minute I was checking out this hottie - she had a sick Pokemon with her. They had this really bad energy out of them, so I tried to help them the best I could. After that, I woke up and wound up here."

So even in the canon of the game itself, Darugis possessed Brock because he was a pervert. Sure, he may have had good intentions helping out the Pokemon but he was ultimately after dat trainer ass. Just sayin'.



I didn't post this screenshot out of order - this grunt doesn't stop you or say anything in response. I guess the spectacle with Entei was so impressive that every remaining grunt decided it was a bad idea to attack Monica.

Which is how it should be, to be honest.



... Did I really screencap it when the lightning came up? Wow, that's bad timing.



Thank god there's Pokecenters scattered around this place, otherwise this would be a serious pain in the ass. This, along with the items you get in shops, are some of the few saving graces regarding the gameplay.



"I'm supposed to be doing a school newspaper article on Waters Cavern. But I'm too lazy to do it..."

This is a pretty accurate summary of me with everything, unfortunately. But wait, I thought that place was so dangerous that people died in it.

Why would they send a kid to do a newspaper article on the place? Edginess is a hell of a drug.



Anyway, time to train Ignell. You're gonna have to stay behind for a bit, Sathala.

: ("Sure. Have fun, new guy.")



These are some of the new Pokemon you can find around here, although you probably won't have the time or patience to train them up.



Why is there a burn heal he-

Oh my god, don't tell me this is supposed to be your reward for defeating Entei. It makes too much sense for it not to be.



Ignell gets some very impressive moves.

At this rate, he could act as an effective replacement for Cinder, Vera and even Corin. (As he can learn Dragon Pulse later on)



: ("I'm impressed you've gotten me this strong in such a short amount of time! Thank you, Monica! My thanks to you too, red Riolu.")



While I was at it, I got Cinder to evolve too.

: ("AWESOME! I'm not just a puppy anymore!")



When you have to announce out loud that they're awesome, they're guaranteed to be the opposite.



"It's the creation to all things good."

What the hell is this guy talking about? Is he part of a cult?



Confirmed. He saw we were a non-believer and gave up immediately.



Oooh, a present! Get out of the way!



If Ignell didn't get Thunder Punch, this would be a much different story. Like god damn, he slaughtered it.



Aerial Ace is a good reward for beating up two random trainers, I suppose.



Excuse me, is that Thundurus?



"Is this the Pokemon that attacked me before? Time for some payback!"

As I've said before, Monica needs to aim for the trainer that manipulated Tornadus... not the actual Pokemon themselves. Besides, this isn't even Tornadus, despite the Kami Trio all looking very similar in their Incarnate forms.



(wow, thank you lightning effect - i love you too)

Thankfully, Thundurus makes the logical choice and runs away from Monica and her team of killdozers.

: "Aaargh! It got away. That Pokemon looked a little different than the one I battled before. Well, I'm going to have my payback some day!"

In-Game Monica has some weird motivations when you really analyze them long enough. Anyway, let's go into the cave it was blocking.

Future Dan: I genuinely don't understand this plot thread with Monica hating the Kami Trio when it's literally the trainer themselves who laughed in her face for losing. You'd think she'd get angry at him, but that would require at minimum competent writing.



[Warning beeps, followed by intense heat]

What the -



... The Bastard Meter exploded. Whatever's down here is way out of our league, so I'm not even going to bother.



So watch Ignell steamroll through a poor Bug Catcher and his Scolipede instead!

... I actually really like Scolipede, by the way. It's vicious enough to be threatening but not ugly enough to be unappealing.



He's not laughing at us, by the way. He has something stuck in his throat.



The emptiness of this post makes me very nervous for some reason. Very liminal.



Oh hey, a new town! Aroma is a good name for a Grass type town, actually. It's certainly a big step up from Flamen.

Also, say hello to Pete again.



"Guess what, guess what?!"

: "Hey Pete, what's up?"

: "I've defeated both Fiery and Typhoon!"

Wow, seriously? Then again, we spent a ton of time grinding so the time gap might be reasonable there.

: "My dad allows me to challenge gym leaders now as long as he's around."

[Disinterested tone]: "That's awesome."

: "You look down. What's wrong?"

Pete is a good kid.



Atlantic City Monica: "I can't tell them about what happened or they'll freak out."

Now: "I'm going to spill every piece of relevant information to them regarding my dad and how he was captured."

It's a complete 180 from the last time they were around. If you're going to put in NPC text that doesn't need to be read, at least keep it consistent to what you're going to put in later on.

: "I know what'll cheer you up."


No Pete, I'm afraid that won't help at all.

Why do we get interrupted by rival fights so often in this game? Is it to pad out the length of the game because Dark Rising Girl can't think of anything?

Pete says that his dad showed him some moves and that he's hundreds of times stronger than before. But is Pete's math right or wrong?




[Heroic Struggle]

Oh well, it doesn't matter. Despite using the same theme as the fight with Noah, this one isn't hard at all. Especially with Ignell the Beast over here.





I'm noticing a pattern: Every time I evolve someone, they usually get this giant crowning moment / exhibition of their skills that wipe the floor with whatever this game has to offer. I like it and I hope it doesn't stop soon.



Meanwhile, Lumis dominates his Feraligatr without even taking a scratch.

: ("I'm satisfied at the very least.")



Oh hell yeah. That's actually really good for her, even if she still can't do much to Dark types.

Future Dan: Did you forget that Shadow Ball is physical in Gen 3?



Vibrava is the least threatening of all the Dragon starters. Sure, he was painful when he was a Trapinch, but Corin's stepped up her game since then.

[Corin used Dragon Claw!]





When Shelgon is the opponent that comes directly before you, you're nowhere near as scary by comparison.



Arguably the most difficult mon that Pete has is this Scrafty. Gale and Lumis had to work together to take him down, as Scrafty are known for their bulk and I'd rather not take any chances.



Like so. Now I can finally take a break from battles before the game throws a million of them at me again.



Poor Pete must be losing his mind over this. He spent so much time grinding levels only to get swatted aside by the main character.

... An accurate statement for how I feel with the game, by the way.



: "Hehe... Thanks."

: "Oh, I just remembered something. There's this mysterious house here. It seems like no one is able to notice it but me. Can you check it out?"

: "... Sure! I'll do just that."

Is he talking about the house right next to us? I'll keep that in mind for later.



That's all the time we have for this one, though. Next time on Dark Rising, we get a few new friends, some new evolutions and tear this game apart at the molecules.

See you then.

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

(Corin, level 40, has Dragon Fang, , /) - "I like this new guy! He kinda reminds me of my dad."
(Sigurd, level 38, , /) - [Is off smelling some flowers with Sathala]
(Ignell, level 38, , /) - "Hah! A giant walks among you! It's certainly a good time to be a Charizard and I have Monica to thank for that."
(Gale, level 38, , /) - "... You're my kind of guy."
(Lumis, level 37, , ) - "Psst. Wave. Have you noticed anything... strange going on around here? Doesn't it seem like reality is warping apart at the seams?"
(Wave, level 38, , ) - "Now that you mention it... I get dizzy sometimes when I stand near certain places. Do you think we could be getting ourselves into something we'll regret?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back up team:

(Arthur, level 22, , ) - "Huh. Everybody's training with Sigurd and they... still didn't bring me. The new Charizard guy looks fun too. Man..."
(Sathala, level 25, , ) - "Ah! Aren't they pretty, Sigurd? Here's one that looks like your hair buns!"
(Vera, level 27, , ) - "The team looks like they're having fun. I wish I could join them for a bit."
(Cinder, level 18, , ) - [Pounces on Sigurd and Sathala - he affectionately licks both of their faces]

Portrait Credits: