Welcome back to another chapter of Diary! This is the last chapter of the arc, so there will be a break in chapter uploads as the next arc is completed. However, the story will still be my active one, as chapters will be uploaded all at once as the arc is completed like usual. Other than that, I do not own Pokémon, and enjoy this final chapter of the fourth arc!
42. Night Falls
Day 41 (October 27, 2019): Sinnoh
And a new chapter begins! Off to the last battles, and the final chapter in this arc! It's bittersweet, because I'm glad that the story is finally moving forward and starting new arcs after not doing so for such a long time. On the other hand, one of my favorite games and one that really influences the Traveler series overall is coming to an end, for what will probably be the last time… I have no other plans do challenges on it, so I probably will not really play it again after this…
Regardless, to the end I must go.
So, after getting Waterfall from Jasmine on the beach, I'm off to the waterways that lead to Victory Road. Also, the game doesn't really explain why Jasmine is here in the first place. It doesn't really do a good job with cameos anyway, but some explanation would have been interesting. At least, the anime shows that she is practicing for Contests… But there are a lot of fan theories otherwise…
Regardless, I begin to sail the seas. The water Trainers are nothing special, being taken out by Gracie's typical Grass and Electric Type moves. It isn't long before she climbs up a waterfall, making it to the imposing Victory Road.
Though I have walked this road many times, it will always be a final test.
And so I am prepared for one, as I head in.
It's a bit of a challenge, but not as much as I anticipated. I'm not familiar with the layout, so I have issues there. There's one particularly troublesome puzzle that I get wrong three times before I figure out I pushed a boulder in the wrong direction. And that's not before I had to go back all those three times… Gracie also runs low on Power Points, and runs out of Power Points for all of her attacking moves right as I reach the end... I'm not sure whether to laugh or just breathe a sigh of relief at my dumb luck… There's a Tangrowth that causes issues with Toxic, but that's only after Gracie was weakened by other things…
Another short trip across the water, up a waterfall again, and I'm at the League gates.
So this is it. The end, and the pinnacle of power. The final step, containing the strongest battles in the main game.
And yet, as Gracie and I stare at the building in front of us, music plays with a soothing, almost welcoming, serenity. Beckoned by its notes, there is no choice but to go in.
Of course, I long to stay outside, if not because of the challenge awaiting me, then because of the challenge before. The music is so peaceful, and much different from the intimidating, formidable tone that the music of the other Leagues sets. I always thought it was music of reminiscence, as the player thinks of how far they've come... And it's a means of calming down before the final set of battles… I always preferred the night music over the day, but it may be because my first time that I came here, it was at night, and it took me a while before I finally came in the day… And at night, everything appears to be glowing, so the scenery is both mystifying and carries an air of intensity…
Regardless, now is not the time for nostalgia.
It's time to sell off all my items that I don't need, deposit my remaining Pokémon, and stock back up on healing items. It's a short process, including buying only Full Restores, and selling off a few extra things for money. Not like I need it at this point. I have a lot from battles before, and I don't spend very much in this run.
At last, I am ready to head to the League doors.
But before I can be verified, there is one last challenge.
Barry.
He wants a final fight, and with my preparations complete, I will gladly give it.
Luckily, it's not a difficult one, with Type advantages destroying the majority of his Pokémon. Even the one Pokémon I don't have a Type advantage against (Snorlax) goes down in two hits. Of course, I am over 20 levels higher than him, at level 77, so it makes sense why the victor is so clear.
After that, Barry runs off, hoping to train even more. He can be re-matched at a place called the Fight Area, where his levels are even higher. Gracie won't be going there this playthrough, unfortunately.
Speaking of the Fight Area, there is a character that only appears there.
And that character is Buck.
Buck only appears if the player starts a quest after the main game is cleared. Buck lives near Stark Mountain, and will become the player's partner during the quest. He is often associated with Heatran, and wants to drive the remnants of Team Galactic from the mountain. When they attempt to steal Heatran's Magma Stone, Buck makes sure it gets back to its rightful place. During the quest, he is also revealed to be the Elite Four member Flint's younger brother. However, he instead specializes in Pokémon that have high defense stats. His grandfather also runs a restaurant where Trainers come to battle, and Buck can also be fought there.
In the anime, Buck is traveling to islands looking for treasure. In this medium, he also has a Baltoy. In every other medium, he is shown to instead have its evolved form, Claydol, as his main Pokémon. However, he does manage to capture a Claydol later on, and has an additional goal of wanting to become an archaeology professor. In another anime, Pokémon Generations, he tells Looker that he is also traveling to become the greatest Trainer ever.
In Pokémon Special, he works both directly with and against Looker. When Buck notices Looker spying on him and Marley, he chases after the officer. However, Looker escapes, and Buck finds him later. Buck takes off with a photo Looker has of Team Galactic grunts on Stark Mountain. Buck climbs mountain to protect Heatran, but Team Galactic has begun to follow him. Unfortunately, Buck realizes he can't defeat them, because they simply rise up and attack again after they are beaten. Buck then opts to flee, ending up in the room with the Magma Stone. After Buck takes the Magma Stone, Heatrean awakens. However, Charon takes Heatran's power for his own. Buck tries to run again, but Heatran is too powerful. Looker comes and rescues him, and both escape. However they are also both seriously injured, and are transported to a hospital. Buck's condition causes the others to swear revenge on Charon.
Unfortunately, I don't have much of an opinion on Buck. He appears far too little in all media to really get a sense of his personality. In the games, he's completely optional, and there's no hints that he even exists. He seems young and reckless, but being Flint's brother means that he could be older. He's still fairly reckless though, such as when he runs off to take on Team Galactic and Charon by himself. Buck also doesn't really give Looker the chance to explain himself either, or even help out. Even though there aren't any permanent injuries, there are still disastrous consequences for both of them. So it is not a character with particularly positive traits of the few he does display.
It's not known what role Buck will have at this point in Traveler. However, it's likely that he will not be related to Flint. The two do not look that much like, and I envision Buck as being much younger than Flint, when the two probably wouldn't be that different in age if they were related. Granted, certain circumstances could make them have a wide age gap (such as someone in the family having a second marriage and a child born from that). However, the game never mentions anything despite Buck having other family. His connection to Heatran will be preserved, and is stronger than it is in canon. This is because Buck is currently slated to be the Vessel for Heatran, communicating with and wielding its power. Just like in canon, he will have a reckless disposition that will get him into trouble. Unlike in canon, the consequences will be far more serious, although it's unknown what these consequences will be at the moment.
Regardless, with the last character before the final battles explained, I can finally challenge the Elite Four.
First up is Aaron, who uses bugs. This might pose a problem for Gracie, because although his bug Pokémon have a lot of secondary weaknesses, Gracie is still weak to bugs. Aaron's first Pokémon is Yanmega, a fast but frail Pokémon that also has Flying Type abilities. It gets taken out in one Thunderbolt without any issues. The next Pokémon is big, bad, Scizor. Scizor has good defenses, and it can only be hit with neutral damage from Thunderbolt.
It lets me know of my disadvantages right away.
Scizor survives a hit from Thunderbolt, and retaliates with X-Scissor. The attack leaves Gracie with only 56 out of 232 HP. Since the next attack will either do a lot of damage to Gracie normally or destroy her completely with the critical hit, I can't really heal. Therefore, I attack with a Thunderbolt, and my opponent is down.
The next foe is Vespiquen. It may be powerful, but it goes down easily enough to another Thunderbolt.
But I'm not out of the woods yet.
No, I'm far from it.
Because the next Pokémon Aaron sends out is something called Drapion. This is the only Pokémon in his team that is not a Bug Type, despite evolving from one. Drapion is Poison and Dark Type, having only a weakness to Ground Types. Since Gracie doesn't have any Ground Type moves, (and under most circumstances, can't learn any) there are no Type advantages to exploit. To make matters worse, this also gives Drapion multiple options to use a super effective move against her. And right now I can't even attack, as I'm too injured to take another blow.
So healing quickly becomes my only option.
I heal to full HP, and a critical X-Scissor takes me down to 90 HP.
Another heal, and a second X-Scissor doesn't do as much damage. Gracie fights back with a Thunderbolt, but it only weakens the opponent. Said opponent then bizarrely uses Cross Poison instead of X-Scissor, doing hardly any damage. A second Thunderbolt destroys it. Aaron's last Pokémon is Heracross, but a single Psychic takes it out.
Interestingly, this is another battle that would've gone a lot differently if Gracie had the Fairy Typing. Perhaps Aaron will comment on that.
Speaking of Aaron, I guess it's time to talk about him now.
Aaron doesn't do much in the games other than have a dramatic starting battle pose and have his position in the Elite Four. He doesn't do much in Pokémon Special either, just being one of the ones to decipher Charon's notebook. In the anime, his role and character are expanded upon. Aaron is having a public training session in a small town. Many people, including Ash's group, go to watch. Aaron finds out the group knows Cynthia, and invites them to his personal training center. He then explains that his first Pokémon was a Wurmple and the two were close friends. However, one day he became angry over losing a match, and abandoned the Pokémon. He regretted it ever since, devoting the rest of his life to training bug Pokémon so that the incident would not happen again. Aaron's Pokémon later returns to him as a fully evolved Beautifly, and travels with him from then on.
I don't have any particular opinions about Aaron, because he doesn't appear in the game much. However, I do enjoy his battle intro, and Aaron's role in the anime greatly expands his story. It will most likely be kept in some manner, but changed for Traveler. In canon material, most Trainers abandon their Pokémon without many repercussions (if there are repercussions at all). In Traveler, it's can be considered as a serious offense, and even breaking laws depending on the circumstances. Unfortunately, Aaron can't abandon his Pokémon without running afoul of that. It would give him a negative reputation, and the League most likely would not accept him. Even if he did abandon his Pokémon and was accepted despite that, the negative encounter would still hang over his head. If word got out (and it very well could, given Aaron's fame), it would give the League an even more negative reputation that it already has in Traveler, effectively having Aaron drag the rest of the members down with him. And no matter what happens, he would still have to live with the guilt and regret for the rest of his life.
So instead, Traveler may change Aaron's backstory so that the Pokémon is frustrated from the repeated losses, has a falling out, and leaves. This would still leave Aaron emotionally devastated, show him as a flawed character who could have really been a weak Trainer or truly have done something wrong to merit that response, and give them motivation to try and understand Pokémon more and generally be stronger. Aaron gains all this without having a possible criminal history, or something that could never be lived down. He might react in horror when realizing that he could have been the one that chose to abandon his Pokémon, or may have even been thinking about releasing it before the incident actually happened. This would make him strive to make sure no one else does what he did, also striving to warn others about unlawful release and similar practices.
Which leads him into meeting Traveler's protagonist.
In Holly Rising, one of the protagonists talks about a Pokémon named Cheyenne. Cheyenne is a species called a Mightyena, and said protagonist claims the Pokémon was very strong.
Unfortunately, said protagonist also turns out to be unreliable, and Cheyenne is just one of the reasons.
Because, no matter how far the protagonist got with Cheyenne in her journey, the Pokémon would actually be very weak.
This has to do with Mightyena's species as a whole.
Mightyena was an extremely useful Pokémon at the time it was first created. This is because it was an early game Dark Type in a region that was full of Types that were weak to it. Due to new mechanics preventing transfer of Pokémon from older games at the time, there was a limited number of choices for the Dark Type initially. This made Mightyena even more useful. However, the missing Pokémon were eventually made obtainable via side games and remakes. It wasn't long before every Pokémon created at the time could be used. So Mightyena was quickly discovered to be weak and surpassed, becoming nearly useless both in the games and in competitive play. Later Pokémon generations only made things worse, as even more powerful Pokémon were introduced. Mightyena eventually got some upgrades, but it was not enough to keep up with other Pokémon (at least, at the time of this writing).
So what was the result of all this?
Realistically, Mightyena would not be winning battles.
It would be losing them.
And that realistic outcome is what plays into Traveler.
A few years before Usurping, the story's protagonist, Kristine, decides to release Cheyenne. Said protagonist lives a life of battle, and is thinking the constant ones are making her Pokémon suffer. This is because the Pokémon is weaker, will probably never win many battles, and is constantly losing. She heads out to do the release, but before she can, Aaron finds and stops her. At first, he is angry, but one Kristine's hears her sincere and good intentioned reason, he calms down. Aaron gently explains his own story, and tells her about the laws of unlawful release. He does this thinking Kristine will go to the area's League representatives and have them help her conduct a proper release. Otherwise, she will put the Pokémon in the care of a Trainer who can handle the whole situation better.
But neither happens.
Instead, upon hearing Aaron's story, Kristine believes that what is happening is because she and her Pokémon are not strong enough. Therefore, she decides to train a lot more in order to remedy that. The compulsion to train ends up getting her to close to a wild Pokémon nest and agitating the creatures there. The result is that she is badly injured, Cheyenne is killed, and the event causes her to carry regrets for years. Aaron is one of the Trainers that comes to Kristine's rescue, but by then, it's far too late. Aaron tries to console her and explain what he meant, but his explanations fall on deaf ears. The protagonist only blames herself, and by the time of Usurping, she still has not stopped doing so. This is despite the fact that the whole scenario was ruled an accident and something that could've happened to anyone. By the time of Usurping, the protagonist still has not forgiven herself, and Aaron and others are a bit worried. However, things only get worse from Aaron's side. Those against the League see him as responsible for the Pokémon's death, due to his involvement in the events leading up to it. This is despite the fact that he tried to help Usurping's protagonist, and was not held responsible for decision. However, the two of them realize that, and neither blames the other for what happened.
It's worth noting that originally, Aaron was planned to be Bugsy's father. However, Aaron seems too young to have a child and doesn't really seem to have any romantic interests. Therefore, he was changed to someone Bugsy idolizes and looks up to instead. The respect is mutual, because Aaron applauds Bugsy's diligence and drive. Bugsy does eventually mention Aaron and that he can't wait to tell him of the protagonist's deeds where said protagonist can hear. The protagonist only flinches, wondering what Aaron will think of her with everything that's happened. It's revealed later on that he doesn't think badly of her at all, but it takes a long time before she finds this out.
With Aaron's role completed, it's time to move onto the next Elite Four member, Bertha.
Her Pokémon are all weak to Magical Leaf, and their attacks mostly do neutral damage. Hopefully, I will have an easier time…
And I do.
Four out of her five Pokémon fall to Magical Leaf. There is one that only has a normal weakness to it (Hippowdon) and three that are doubly weak to it (Golem, Wishcash, and Rhyperior). There is one Pokémon that is not weak to Magical Leaf that I forgot about (Gliscor). However, two Psychics takes it down. It's also worth noting that Bertha would typically use an ability called Sand Veil to have some of her Pokémon dodge attacks in the sandstorm her Hippowdon sets up when it comes into battle. However, due to Magical Leaf always hitting the target no matter what, that strategy is quickly invalidated. Overall, it makes for much easier fights, and refreshing.
With the fight over, time to talk about Bertha. She has the same role as Aaron does in the games and Pokémon Special. However, like with Aaron, her backstory gets expanded upon in the anime. There, she chooses not to refer to herself as an Elite Four member in public, not really liking the connotations associated with that title. When Brock realizes who she is, she asks him not to tell the others, and he obliges. She then goes on to indirectly teach Ash's group different battling techniques, mostly centering around observing what's going on. The anime also reveals that she has an unnamed cousin, and said cousin has a child named Roland. Bertha also teaches him, and assists in getting his Pokémon back from Team Rocket. It's not known if Roland and his parents will be present in Traveler, and currently there are no plans to include them. That doesn't mean they won't be included sometime in the future, though.
As for Bertha herself, I find her interesting as a character, but not alone. Instead, I find more interesting that she has a lot of similarities (such as her appearance and speech patterns) to Agatha. This is despite the fact that the characters have completely opposite personalities and are living in different regions. Unfortunately, the two never meet, so it's not know what the relationship would be like. However, that doesn't stop me (and other fans) from wondering what it would be like if the two interacted with each other and were actually related.
So, Traveler make makes Agatha and Bertha sisters. As mentioned all the way back in Agatha's entry, the protagonist of Usurping has a good relationship with Bertha. With Agatha, that's not so much the case. However, the relationship is better than it was when the interactions between the two were initially created. Now, with her connections to Blue and Lorelei, she knows more about Agatha and is less antagonistic. She also has more skill, experience, and connections to Ghost Pokémon and possession. Therefore, Agatha is someone that she would at least respect for her powers, if not for her experience on the subject. However, she still doesn't really like Agatha much as a person. The previously more intense parts of the dislike turn to fear, as she is terrified of what Agatha would do and say to her upon finding out about her unusual and possibly uncontrolled supernatural powers. The dislike is mutual, with Agatha believing that Kristine is acting the same as other rouge vigilantes and that she doesn't have much of a will of her own.
These misunderstandings are eventually cleared up, but by then a lot of damage has been done, and everything seems to be almost too late. Before the misunderstandings are cleared up, Bertha tries to smooth things over between the two. However, the most that happens is that Kristine deliberately avoids Agatha, and Agatha doesn't really pay attention to her specifically. Although she doesn't approve of Lorelei's decision to act similar to a mother and support Kristine, she understands her feelings. Agatha later realizes that Lorelei's decision is justified, and wants to apologize for what happened. However, Kristine is still avoiding everyone at this point, and is very close to being emotionally broken, so it's not known how much they can help her. Bertha volunteers to deliver the message, but Kristine is too emotionally heartbroken to listen much, or even ask for help. Due to the Kristine's specific situation, the League cannot force her to get professional help, and it's implied they may never be able to.
Prior to all of this, Kristine has interactions with Bertha and others close to Agatha. Eventually, she works up the courage discreetly ask for help considering her supernatural powers. She never completely reveals that the conversation is about herself or the true extent of her powers. This is because she still fears what Agatha will do when she learns about them. As a result, Agatha's suggestion ends up being the wrong one for her situation, and the whole thing ends up in disaster. This makes Kristine even more reluctant to ask for even receive professional help. Bertha laments the whole situation, to which Agatha responds a lot of it could've been avoided if Kristine opened up and communicated more to others. This leaves the others to state that she did open up, but everyone denied what she was saying. Bertha also points out that those in the League, especially Agatha, are not entirely blameless either. If they had listened to and believed what Kristine was trying to say, then she would have been more receptive to getting professional help, or least had gotten the support to overcome the stigma of that. As things are now, she is taking the first step alone, if she even does, and there's nothing anyone can do. And as it is, the damage will be long-lasting, no matter what she does to heal. Bertha tries to maintain a relationship with Kristine, though it's unknown if the latter returns the former's efforts.
Outside of Usurping's protagonist, Bertha still plays a role. In Traveler, she is retired, but still tries to actively pass on skills to the younger generation. She noticed potential in Riley, recommending that he succeed her in the Elite Four. This recommendation was seconded and approved by many, leading Riley take the new position. Bertha still teaches others about things like observation, with Ash and some of the other younger Trainers having trouble with the concept. When Bertha is battling Kristine, she notices that she has a particular trouble despite being sharp. The reason is that Kristine tends to hyperfocus on one particular subject or talent, leaving her other ones to wither or even be explored. Hence, she's still not observing everything around her despite having the talent in observation otherwise. Kristine is confused, because others say she has multiple talents, and her team composition demonstrates that. However, this comes back to hurt her later, as she so focused on things like battling and certain careers that she neglects looking for other ones. When those ideas fall through, she's left lost and not knowing what to do. Even though she tries taking steps to fix it, her hyperfocus gets in her way by making her focus on a single path yet again. At that point, she realizes would Bertha is saying, but doesn't know what to do to help with the problem.
Even with Bertha's role with Kristine and other characters, it's not unknown what one she will play in Gracie's story. Bertha being retired means that Gracie will face Riley in the context of the Elite Four. Riley has an entirely different team and battle strategy, so everything would go a lot differently. So it's possible that Gracie may interact with Bertha before this, and just have a friendly match. I am also unsure of Gracie will learn about the skills of observation or anything otherwise, because she's shown to be observant. Gracie is also a highly seasoned battler at this point, in addition to having been taught by many other people.
Regardless, time to move on to someone who actually is in Traveler's Elite Four: Flint.
The battle is one I've been dreading.
Flint's Pokémon can easily power up their own attacks, and Gracie has no weaknesses she can hammer to compensate. To make matters worse, one of Flint's Pokémon is particularly troublesome. However, I will get to that later.
For now, the fight must go on.
Except it isn't much of one.
Flint starts with Houndoom, setting up with Sunny Day. However, that turns out to be a waste time, as Gracie destroys it with two Thunderbolts. Rapidash gets off a Solarbeam, but that does almost nothing. I take it down with two Thunderbolts. When Infernape arrives, I remember I can use Psychic on Flint's Pokémon. Gracie does so without hesitation, destroying Infernape in one hit. Flint's Flareon tries to use Overheat and his Magmortar Flamethrower, but they're both effortlessly dispatched by two Psychics. The most that happens is a little bit of lost HP and getting a bit low on Power Points, but those are both easily corrected with healing afterward.
So that battle wasn't very impressive, but Flint himself isn't either.
What he does in game is covered by Volkner's section. That also goes for most of Pokémon Special and the anime. There are a few more things about him, however. When Team Rocket's actions cause a power outage, Flint chases after them with Ash's group. However, Flint ends up falling as Team Rocket takes off into the sky. He survives the fall uninjured, and stays behind to help provide pedal power to the local Pokémon Center. A later episode reveals Flint has some skill with Pokémon Contests, and he's able to win against Jasmine in an exhibition match. Flint also tries challenging Cynthia for the Sinnoh Champion title, but loses against her Garchomp.
In the Pokémon Special manga, Buck alerts Flint about Stark Mountain and the Magma Stone. However, the phone reception is lost before Buck can explain everything. Flint later sees the character Platinum and a few others enter the Distortion World. He and Volkner, enter the Distortion World themselves. However, Giratina attacks and chases them throughout the place. They attack back with a combination strike, but are defeated. Eventually, the two get back up, and Giratina leaves. When it tries to attack Platinum one last time after the defeat of Charon, Flint and Volkner attack from behind, successfully defeating it.
I don't really have an opinion on Flint, which is probably why he is the only character in the Sinnoh Elite Four not to have some sort of role in Traveler planned out at this time. Flint is more energetic and silly compared to Volkner, so that aspect will be kept. As discussed before, Flint will most likely not be related to Buck. However, Flint could be someone Buck likes and respects. It's also worth noting the in the anime, Flint is stated to have begun his journey extremely late. Flint didn't begin his journey until he was 20, when most Trainers start their journeys at half that age. It also stated that Flint was doing vigilante work with Volkner prior to that. Since he also became an Elite Four member after his journey, it makes him at least 21 by the time he meets Ash and his group. Due to the way vigilantes and Trainer journeys work in Traveler, Flint would probably begin his journey earlier (possibly alongside his vigilante work). He would also probably older in the present day.
The final difference with Flint is that he no longer has any association with Contests. Perhaps he tries a Contest, but he doesn't do very well, and/or Jasmine beats him. The reason for this is that there's never any hints that Flint is good at or even interested in Contests. So, Flint suddenly fighting and winning a contest match in the anime makes no sense. Jasmine, on the other hand, is incredibly skilled at Contests. The player must get to the highest rank in order to even reach her, and when fought, she's a formidable opponent. So it would make more sense that she would be able to defeat someone who seemingly had no experience in Contests, regardless of what rank the person held in the League normally. Flint would probably still meet and battle alongside Jasmine anyway, however. Since she is close friends with Volkner, I imagine she would be close with Flint, too. Or at least, Jasmine would know quite a bit about him. Perhaps Jasmine could even battle someone else and win against them, like Dawn.
Regardless, with Flint out of the way, there is one more and Elite Four member standing in between me and the last battle the game.
Lucian.
He's a Psychic Type specialist, which means he could cause some trouble for Gracie.
But the only way to find out is to battle.
So battle I do.
The first Pokémon, Mr. Mime, is destroyed by a critical Thunderbolt. The second Pokémon, Espeon manages to hit Gracie with a super effective Shadow Ball. A third, Bronzong, hits with Gyro Ball, but doesn't do much damage. Both are taken out with two Thunderbolts.
With that, I think I am ready for Lucian's strongest Pokémon, Gallade.
But it turns out I'm not.
Not completely, at any rate.
Gracie uses a Thunderbolt on Gallade, doing some damage. Gallade responds with a Stone Edge, almost injuring Gracie. The two exchange blows again, using Thunderbolt and Stone Edge. Thunderbolt still is not enough to take out Gallade, and Stone Edge now injures Gracie. At this point, Gallade now heals with a held berry. However, I don't think too much of it, and believe one last Thunderbolt will destroy him.
Except it doesn't.
The Thunderbolt leaves Gallade standing with only one HP.
Gracie currently has 72 out of 238.
Which means one more attack against her could end the match.
Gallade launches a fatal Stone Edge.
But it misses.
And I breathe a sigh of relief.
With both the Pokémon badly wounded, my opponent and I take a turn to heal.
It's at that point that I realize Gallade is part Fighting and will take normal damage from Psychic.
So I waste no time using it.
Gracie gets slammed by another Stone Edge, but the foe crumples from two Psychic strikes.
The final foe, Alakazam, goes down almost without a struggle. It does a little damage with Energy Ball, but two Thunderbolts make short work of it.
And now that the fight is over and done with, it's time to talk about Lucian himself.
Lucian is known to be an extremely intelligent bookworm, carrying a book right into the field of battle. As the last of the Elite Four, he also has power to back it up. Lucian is also the only member of the League other than Cynthia to make an appearance outside of it. After the main game is cleared, Lucian will make an appearance at Canaclave Library. Speaking to him reveals he is reading one of five different books. These books range from lore about Pokémon themselves to references to other parts of the game, to even stories that really don't have much of an impact. He also comments on the player's love of books, and wishes them well in their journey. In the Pokémon Special manga, his love of books also extends to decoding them. Lucian is the one that decodes Charon's journal, giving the protagonists the information they need to stop the latter.
In the anime, Lucian also has an extended role. He is first seen on a television program Ash's group watches. He then informs the group about the structure of the Pokémon League, and battles Dawn. Dawn uses her newly caught Buizel, but the Pokémon does not obey her. As a result, Dawn is defeated. Buizel is unsure whether to continue battling or not after the loss, but then gets captured by Team Rocket. Once freed, Lucian himself uses Buizel to take out Team Rocket. After that, Buizel's confidence is restored, and Dawn challenges Lucian again. Even though Lucian ends the battle prematurely, he can see that Dawn and Buizel have improved. After that, he is shown challenging Cynthia, although he does not win.
Overall, I love that Lucian is a bookworm, and found his attribute of carrying a book into battle hilarious. His scene in the library is quite interesting because of the lore that is talked about there. Lucian is shown to be a keen strategist in the anime, and willing to teach others about battle. All of these aspects will be kept in Traveler, and his character will probably be mostly unchanged. In fact, the only reason Lucian doesn't feature as a major character in Traveler at the moment is because there are other characters that I like better, and I chose to have the story focus on all regions, rather than just the League in Sinnoh. That, and the main story and character both began developing in a different direction where Lucian wasn't as important.
He does still have some role in Traveler, however.
For starters, the scene in the library discussed in the earlier chapters was based off of his scene in the postgame. Lucian was even planned to be used for the scene, originally. However, I chose not to use him because I liked Shauntal better, and thought she could work better with the main protagonist. Additionally, using Lucian for a scene at the Canaclave Library would be a bit too much like the original, even with the different outcome and background.
This doesn't stop Lucian from having a role in the final version.
In this version, Usurping's protagonist, Kristine, learns about psychic monitors and what they do from Agatha. Agatha says that anyone with uncontrolled power should be monitored, as they can be a danger, and that not being monitored is irresponsible. Kristine then takes these words to heart, believing they apply to her situation as well. Believing her uncontrolled supernatural powers to potentially be dangerous, she eventually finds Lucian. The protagonist explains her situation and requests a psychic monitor. However, Lucian refuses, stating that that would not be the correct action. He explains the Kristine doesn't appear to have any dangerous supernatural powers that could go out of control, and the emotional issues preventing her from using her powers normally would also act as a means for them not to go out of control. Lucian states that psychic monitors are only for cases that could become severe, and Kristine isn't anywhere near that severe.
Kristine retaliates that she very well could be, and that is why she needs the monitoring. She then tells Lucian that she believes that she was responsible for an incident with an Ultra Wormhole in Kanto years ago. Kristine then goes on to explain that her uncontrolled supernatural powers summoned the Ultra Wormhole and dragged another person through it. Even though said person managed to act quickly enough to save a few other people, the person's life was still at risk. Thanks to that power, Kristine herself almost died. It's only because of a miracle that she's talking to him right now. Lucian shakes his head, stating that there is no proof that Kristine caused that incident. And without any proof of her being a danger, a psychic monitor is not appropriate. Kristine tries to say that there are other times, many times, when she has had uncontrolled power. She tries to tell Lucian of the visions of the future, and unintentionally summoning and speaking to the dead or dying. Lucian states that there is still no proof that she has those powers, and what has been seen is nothing of the ordinary. None of the instances Kristine described make her a danger at all.
Kristine becomes almost desperate, stating that at the very least, let her have a monitor as proof of her powers. She then goes on to state that monitors can do that, and that if she's not sure she is a danger but Lucian is sure she isn't, at least let her have that confirmation. It would bring her peace of mind if nothing else. Lucian still doesn't trust what she's saying, sternly telling her that the proof is before her eyes. Kristine looks shocked, but before she can reply Lucian responds gravely. He states that the only time Kristine has ever been seen using supernatural powers is borrowing them from someone else. Since Kristine doesn't use supernatural powers on her own, she probably doesn't have supernatural powers at all, nor would she ever be able to use them beyond the scope of a normal person. Kristine tries to defend herself by saying the visions, but Lucian counters that if the visions sees speaks of are real, they are probably borrowed from someone else too. And when the borrower inevitably goes away, there will be nothing left. Lucian narrows his eyes, continuing by saying, "borrowed, perhaps even stolen. It makes you seem rather low. And if everything you have is the property of someone else and you are simply being guided along the path they want you to take, then perhaps it's true that you never had a will of your own."
Kristine, unflinching, asks about the other psychics, and how they detected there were massive amounts of supernatural power in her. Lucian replies that potential for supernatural powers does not mean someone has them, and continues to say that perhaps Kristine's potential also belongs to someone else. Lucian asks her if she doesn't find a person with a large family, interests in magic, and being the only one that can genuinely use supernatural powers the least bit suspicious. Kristine retorts that if he's that suspicious, then least give her the chance to see whether that suspicion holds weight. Lucian still refuses, and Kristine states that now he sounds like he's the suspicious one.
After that, Lucian speaks wearily. He explains that should Kristine's powers be real, she can easily be the most powerful supernatural ability user ever seen. With strength like that, what makes her think she will keep a psychic monitor on? Kristine tries to retaliate again, but Lucian states that with her strength, if true, she could easily use another's power to break the monitor over her, and then turn against those who put it on her in the first place. Kristine states she would never do that, and Lucian states that she would never do that now, while she was free. Before Kristine can respond, Lucian wonders what she would do with some of her freedom being taken away, if she knew she was being watched and knew exactly who her watchers were. She's so used to believing she has freedom that she would probably do anything to get it back. Before Kristine can defend herself, Lucian continues that it's not just her either. From what he understands, Kristine is incredibly influential to all Trainers, and good at winning arguments. It would not take long for Kristine to switch others to her side, have one of them break the monitor, and then use them however she would see fit. And by then, she'd be nothing more than another enemy.
Kristine snarls at him to stop assuming the worst, but Lucian still speaks in a weary tone. He asks what the best case is, and Kristine replies that her power is proven by the monitor. Lucian still counters, asking at what cost. Psychic monitors still have a massive stigma, even if being used for an honest purpose. Kristine would get dragged into that, and since she's already dealing with a lot of stigma, that would just make her problems worse. Even if Kristine chose to behave herself with the monitor and didn't try to get rid of it, that doesn't mean others wouldn't. And then there might be the issues Lucian was talking about before, in addition to the chaos that would happen if Kristine fought against those people. Even if no one attempted to destroy the monitor, they're still the problem of Kristine being a very public figure. Everyone would notice, many would ask questions, and Kristine would just receive unwanted attention. So no matter what Kristine does with a psychic monitor, there is no good outcome.
Kristine shouts, "What am I supposed to do?" Lucian simply says to leave, and reflect. Kristine does so, frustration boiling inside of her because of what had happened. Later on, she states she can't fault the League because there so many cases where psychic monitors have been abused and misused that it's difficult to distinguish someone who has an honest reason for one from the abusers. Kristine also things that says since the members of the League have seen the worst of the worst and Lucian is right about her not having any proof, the League itself doesn't know what to do with her. She sighs, says it's the same way it's always been, and then moves on in her journey.
Even further down the road, Kristine finally finds a way to obtain proof of what happened, and that proof is shown to many members of the League. This proof shows that Kristine does indeed have supernatural powers, and that the supernatural powers are both a gift and a test. As a result, they are neither stolen nor borrowed, and can be considered hers even if she can't use them directly. Lucian is among one of those that sees the proof, and is deeply saddened by what is going on. He mutters that he should never let Kristine walk out of the room they were in, at least without some help. Bertha comfort him, saying that Kristine herself is still not a danger to anyone, and as long as that remains so, she has to initiate getting the help. If she does not trust them or anyone else that could give her help, she'll just continue wandering like she is and not sure what to do.
Agatha throws up her hands, saying, "Why would she trust us if we didn't trust her? Why would she trust anyone? She has every right not to, and now I don't think she will." Aaron points out that she trusted someone to allow her vulnerable memories to be searched, and to bring the League the information. And even with all the issues involving the League, she trusted them enough to believe that they would know what to do with the information, and proof that she is innocent of any crimes. If she has that amount of trust left within her, then surely she'll find someone she can trust to help her. Lucian simply states that he hopes Aaron is right. It's worth noting that Lucian's exact involvement in the scene, and who says what is still unknown. The people speaking during this scene are mostly placeholders at this point, and the lines are not final. But it is confirmed the gist of the scene will be the same, and Lucian will have some involvement in it.
As far as Gracie's story, Gracie is confirmed to learn about all this at some point. However, it's not known when she will learn it, and who would tell it to her. Regardless, she shudders as she thinks of what Anne said. She recalls the conversation about how because of all the backlash against monitors and psychic ones how people with legitimate reasons cannot get them, and are left in what could possibly be a horrible situation. Gracie realizes that Kristine is one of those, and although her current situation doesn't strictly demand she gets one, a lot of the issues people had with her and her powers could've been avoided if she had it. Even though it wouldn't have solved everything, it would've made things a lot easier, and maybe paved the way for trusting others and getting help down on the road.
Thanks to that, Kristine is stuck in a sort of limbo, where she knows she has to receive help, but due to her issues, she's not sure if it will be the right type of help, and will never be a case where she is forced to get treatment or get help instantly. And since she's the only one that can initiate it, it's not known if she will ever get the care she needs. Gracie realizes that unless someone changes things, cases like Kristine will keep happening, and the treatments like monitors will just keep being stigmatized. And if the stigmatization keeps going, then people will be afraid of getting over their issues, and they will keep refusing to get help until it is too late. And by the time a supernatural power goes out of control and someone hurts themselves, everyone suffers. Gracie doesn't know how someone would change the system though, and is certain it's not just a job for a single person. Not knowing what else to do, Gracie just keeps the situation in mind and continues on her journey.
With all the heavy story aspects out of the way, it's time for the final fight of the game: Champion Cynthia.
Since Cynthia's role has been elaborated on before this, there's not much to say here. One thing worth adding is how she would fare against the entity that attacks Gracie at the end of every run. While the story has it where Cynthia cannot kill or truly defeat the attacker, she could still temporarily cripple the invisible opponent, or least cause said opponent to flee. And even if she does any of that, the attacker could just strike Gracie when the former is away from Cynthia. Since the attacks also need to happen for Gracie's story to progress, Gracie won't truly be fighting Cynthia at the end of the game. She may be fighting an illusion or shadow of Cynthia, perhaps even the entire League. The latter would also mean Gracie would never make it to the League, instead going right into the illusion as soon as she would fight them. It would make sense with Bertha as well, since Gracie would not fight her at the League otherwise, and would have probably already met Riley earlier. If she wanted to battle with him, it might've been at that time. Riley's actual battle isn't until the main game is cleared, so there may not be one at all.
Regardless, Cynthia still isn't around to save Gracie, and the attack and power depletion still happens.
But no matter what, it's time to jump straight into the fight.
Except it's not easy as it seems.
Cynthia is one of the strongest Trainers in the entire series, and for good reason. She carries an incredibly diverse team of powerful Pokémon, some of which the player may not have even seen before this point. Their moves are also extremely powerful, giving her one of the toughest team movesets ever compiled. In addition, Cynthia heals more than most of the other Trainers the player has seen at this point, allowing her team to keep going for longer. To make matters worse, she has a significant level advantage over what a player might usually be using at this point, meaning she will typically be doing more damage and taking less from them.
But that's not even the worst of it.
The worst lies in the value that can't even be accessed normally in the game.
This value affects Pokémon stats, and is called Individual Values.
Individual Values, IVs for short, are the Pokémon equivalent of genes. A Pokémon is assigned a number from 0 to 31 when it is obtained (or 0 to 15 in the games on the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color). There is one value per stat, and the higher the value is, the higher the Pokémon stats in the area are. While IVs can be influenced by various factors, once they are assigned, they typically cannot be changed. In rare cases where they can be changed (excluding changing them through a cheating device), it's usually in a roundabout way, and it is quite costly. So getting the best IVs is often extremely difficult.
So what does all this have to do with Cynthia?
Most Trainers the player faces (at least outside of postgame battle facilities and fan created Pokémon games) only have Pokémon with zero IVs. This means that the player's Pokémon will almost always have an initial advantage over them, and that the majority will be easy to take down.
But Cynthia is an exception.
Instead, her Pokémon have 31 IVs in all stats.
This means that her Pokémon have the maximum amount of stats they could have just by being obtained alone at the start. This already makes her much stronger than other Trainers the player faces, and it's likely that the player will also not have the power by the time they fight her. For the casual player, getting that power is next to impossible. Even if the player knows where to look for that power, it's still extremely difficult to find and obtain.
So Cynthia seems to have advantages over most teams that face her no matter what right off the bat, with little means to counter them.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, provide the player knows what's coming.
Cynthia starts with a Pokémon called Spiritomb. Spiritomb has no weaknesses and resists a lot of Types, in addition to having a balanced moveset. To make matters worse, it also has very high defensive stats. However, Spiritomb doesn't have too much in the way of attacking, and its speed is horrible. Thus, if the player has a Pokémon that can resist Spiritomb's attacks while increasing its own stats (or having items that can do so), they can potentially boost all their stats while the opponent does little damage. After that, it's just a matter of taking out Spiritomb and then destroying the rest of Cynthia's team.
And I had Gracie keep a move throughout the entire game just so I could do this.
I didn't use it much, but it's here just for this fight.
That movie is Calm Mind.
Calm Mind increases the user's Special Attack and Special Defense by a single stage. Since all of Gracie's moves are special and her defense against those attacks is already high, she can do a lot of damage and take little in return. Furthermore, I also have leftover items to boost other stats, so I can power up Gracie even more if need be.
However, I'm still not without things to be wary of.
Gracie is weak to Spiritomb's main attacks, and the opponent has ones that can lower Special Defense. So while my attacks are getting stronger, my defenses may not be. Additionally, Gracie's defense and speed aren't too great either. So I might either risk losing to another one of Cynthia's Pokémon, or use up a turn boosting those. Either way, if Spiritomb or any other Pokémon gets a critical hit, the attack will not only do double damage, but also bypass any stat boosts I've given myself. As a result, Gracie would probably end up fainting and I'd have to do the fight again.
But, risky though things are, it is the only plan I have.
So I have to head in.
As I enter, I am greeted to one of the most intimidating, energetic, rapid, and simultaneously hauntingly beautiful pieces of piano music in the entire series. As Cynthia greets the player character for the last time in the run, the intense atmosphere makes it clear that there's a lot at stake. And that the battle will be one that neither side will forget, as is both tense and something to look forward to simultaneously. It's almost majestic, in a way, and to say it fits the atmosphere is an understatement. It really gives the feeling of going up against the strongest Trainer in the region, possibly the world, and how much takes to even dream of getting there. I remember when I first entered this section, I was blown away by everything. Even today, I'm still amazed by the atmosphere and the amount of work put into it to make it come to life. It seems I'm not alone in that either, since a postgame quest allows the player to play Cynthia's song on command. She's also appeared with at least one variant of her theme in almost every game since her debut.
And that's not even getting into the battle theme.
Cynthia's battle theme is a higher pitched, rockier, longer, and faster version of her initial theme. The transition from an intro into a battle theme is smooth and seamless, and makes it clear that this theme is designed for Cynthia alone. At the same time, the music showcases that Cynthia is a powerful Trainer that's meant to be respected in the game. It's another thing that simply blew me away when I first encountered it, and it still does. Strangely, the theme simply gets higher and higher pitched as Cynthia reappears with it in later games. I unfortunately don't like the higher pitched themes as much of the original, because the atmosphere just isn't there. Also strangely, despite Cynthia getting custom music, the Elite Four just have a differently pitched version of the Gym Leader fight theme. It's very odd considering they got their own theme in the last set of games, and they've gotten one in every game since (excluding remakes of games where they didn't have their own theme). The theme they have here is still good, but it doesn't make the decision any less odd…
Regardless, I can't let myself be distracted by the music any longer.
The last battle of the game now looms before me.
And with that, the completion of the first arc in around a year and a half.
So my only response now is to charge forward.
The battle begins as expected, with Cynthia sending out Spiritomb.
What isn't expected is my insanely good luck.
I start setting up Calm Minds, and Spiritomb alternates between Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse.
During this time, there is not one Special Defense drop.
There is a critical hit, but near full health, so I only get injured and just heal easily. A second hit was done earlier on, but Spiritomb still didn't do much damage.
With minimal issues, I am now prepared to attack.
And prepared to destroy.
So destroy I do.
Spiritomb goes down to one Thunderbolt before it could even launch an attack.
The same thing happens everything else with either Psychic or Thunderbolt. The latter is used only if the Pokémon are weak to it or otherwise cannot be hit by Psychic. Spiritomb, Milotic, and Togekiss go down to Thunderbolt. Psychic takes care of Lucario, Garchomp, and Roserade.
And with that, one of the most powerful Trainers in the entire series is defeated effortlessly and in only a few minutes.
Perhaps that would not have been the case if I had not been so lucky in the beginning of the fight.
Regardless, there is one last thing I have to do.
I ride up the lift of the Champion's room, with Professor Rowan and Cynthia exchanging a few words.
At last, Gracie is inducted into the Hall of Fame. She has reached level 80, with the moves Thunderbolt, Magical Leaf, Psychic, and Calm Mind. Her final held item is a Shell Bell.
Finally, the arc is over, after a year and a half of waiting a long time.
And that gives me a lot to reflect on.
I really enjoyed getting back into the swing of things for this story, and Gracie's triumphant return. However, I also enjoyed playing my favorite game in the Pokémon series, and seeing if it truly withstood the test of time.
The answer is it did, very well.
This game still remains one of my favorites, even despite it being over a decade old at this point. It has many memorable characters, with some of them being only accessible or having expanded roles in Platinum. These characters include the well-meaning, kindhearted, and ultimately hilarious agent Looker, the powerful and mysterious female champion Cynthia, the stat Trainers and their backgrounds, and even the hyper but also enthusiastic Barry. Some of these characters, mainly Looker and Cynthia, would become so popular that they would appear in almost every other game since, having their stories expanded even more. It's one of the things that really makes the world come to life, and feels as though it is a world a person would live in rather than just one that someone would be looking at from far away.
Platinum is probably also the most difficult game in the series. Containing everything from opponents with powerful moves, fairly well-balanced teams, opponents being a decent level if not higher than what the player would have, and even opponents that used moves outside of their normal level up ones, Platinum was not only challenging, but also extremely interesting to play through.
But one of the best things Platinum did well is with Cyrus and Giratina. Cyrus was not only one of the franchises darkest villains, but also had a past that made him relatable, and solid reasons for doing what he did. He truly was almost humanized, and not just someone the player had to take down. He still had that humanization in Diamond and Pearl, but his expanded backstory made that even more apparent. And Giratina really went above and beyond what Pokémon, and perhaps even the DS in general, could do. Its own intro is marked as one of the most memorable scenes even today.
But just because the game is my favorite does not mean it's without flaws.
One of the flaws being Diamond and Pearl. Platinum was the third version of the fourth-generation games, with the latter being the first two. In most cases, players could buy one of the first two versions, or both, and still get mostly the same experience if they chose to skip out on the third version. The third version might just have a few extras, some more significant than others (e.g. Pokémon Yellow being based off of the anime, or Pokémon Emerald's Battle Frontier).
Pokémon Platinum was the first game to change all that.
Now, those who chose to stick with the first two games would be missing out on a noticeable amount of content. This content includes not having little updates that would allow the game to move faster, the Distortion World and associated events not being present, not having several Pokémon Trainers that were supposed to have Type teams sticking to said Types, a much smaller amount of Pokémon available in the game without transferring, and even not having all of the new Pokémon introduced in the generation available in the main game. This doesn't make Platinum a bad game in itself, but it really makes it feel as though those that stuck to the other two games or bought one of them and Platinum got the short end of the stick.
Additionally, although battles was where the game excelled, other areas was where it didn't. There's no further evidence than Contests, which were nothing short of annoying. Amity Square was mostly useless, and that's assuming the player can even get into it. Platinum added additions to make it more interesting and easier to access, but that was not enough. Though the Battle Frontier came back from Emerald and could be enjoyed again, it wasn't nearly as memorable as it was in the previous games.
Even with characters and environments being as memorable as they were, there were plenty that weren't. Some of them didn't even make sense, and though it isn't enough to drag down the game much, there is some confusion. Characters like Volkner and Maylene could have been interesting if they were expanded upon or just had things clarified, but that was not the case. This game brought with it one of the most frustrating areas in the form of snow, and one of the most frustrating Gym puzzles in the form of Candice's. Other frustrating environments exist, such as the Great Marsh and Maylene's redesigned Gym.
But even with all its flaws, the game remains my favorite in the series, the game that got me back into Pokémon after a bit of a break, and probably one of my most favorite games overall. Seeing as this game has still got that title even after around a decade, it's going to be difficult to top.
But new games will still try, as Gracie enters a land far away from any seen before.
However, that begins the tale of another saga.
A saga that will begin on another day.