Luri

I believe the player won’t receive gothita from Nova if they have not obtained a certain number of positive reputation points with her. As of this version I haven’t seen any other consequences for lacking/having negative reputation points with Nova…there may be more consequences related to it in the future, we’ll have to wait and see.

Persian for me. I happened to pick a meowth up in Keneph Caves since it was shiny and miraculously Connor didn’t reduce it to cave dust. I ended up really liking the Siamese coloring and it had technician, so it ended up a staple on my team. Surprisingly it carried me through some important battles to the end of E6!

No worries, same for me actually! The month of March sure has been quite crazy. Now that things are chill I’ll start checking the site more frequently. Anywhooo, onto the interesting stuff! At minimum two endings, at max, I’d guess four. That seems like a reasonable amount. Twenty sounds like a daunting task…I mean unless they go the joke-ending route or count the Bad Ends in that total. But hey if they wanna be utterly ambitious and shoot for that, I’ll be rooting for them! The cool thing about story splits is that assuming a split of some sort does occur, said split should be happening soon. There are four more badges left before Victory Road and the showdown with the Elite Three Four. Same thing for the endings. It’s gonna be really exciting to see what choices/consequences/surprises will be in store for us going forward. Correct me if I’m wrong, didn’t Nova insinuate her waning powers were due to Aurora (it’s been a hot minute lol)? She’s totally lucky either way. Nova is already a thorn in her/Darkrai’s side. All they need is for Nova to have her powers. Aurora would be in for a bad time. Haha true. Time to commit some fairly illegal things with Lilith for the good of the region! They are…the tears of fans are the most precious of treasures. The sweetest treat a writer could ask for. Right? After Ryder and Cedric nab Lilith, they need to set their sights on Waldenhall. He’s being a menace to priceless historical sites…and modern society. To the dungeons with him. Haha understandable, Jarred is quite a lot for any one of us mortals. Will do, I’ll most likely have finished the dating sim the next time I post! That’d be quite an exciting way to introduce E7 . Garret was doing something silly like holding the map upside-down or mixing up the location names and that’s how they ended up in said predicament. Absolutely! Maybe I’m a bit of a weirdo but a 20-30 page research paper on Perfection or Ayrith’s history dripping with snarky notes left by those two sounds like a great read to me. Oh we will lol. By the time we’re done Shiv’s gonna have quite a background. Just look at our wonderful headcanons of Aurora and Darkrai we have going on . In all seriousness, I’m sure some of their cryptic past will be revealed if that journal in the Waterscape is anything to go by. Just gotta bide our time and wait, we’ll be rewarded soon enough. I believe the Fire/Dragon user is Atlas and that’d be so amusing. That’s totally how he greets any trainer who just traversed Victory Road and has finally arrived at the League proper. Damien would be off in some dark corner or cool patch of shade, scoffing at the pair of them. To be honest that’d be pretty impressive though…being able to strut about in full regalia without turning into a human puddle. Wonder what else Deso will have you add to your resume . That definitely seems like Shiv’s style, especially since they are Foxes. If it were information he’s seeking then I’d hazard a guess and say that the info pertains to Perfection (or I suppose Nova’s location since he was searching for her on Bountilia later on…guess it depends on when this negotiation took place).

That is one answer I don’t have/recall, unfortunately. That’s a really good question though. Maybe the answer is floating around somewhere? If not it's definitely a great question to ask. Given the trend of endings/splits in the Rebornverse, and the choices already present within Deso I’d hazard a guess and say it’s pretty likely that Deso will end up with at least the very least two actual endings (not including the Bad endings). That’s just my assumption though. It makes me wonder how a story split will go. We’ve already had several important story choices and a bad ending. There's quite a lot of potential for one. Ya know…I totally forgot about moves like Heal Pulse. Adding that to the list of potentials! Right? It isn’t like the three of them are any old pawns either. There’s totally a vested interest in keeping them around. The illusion idea is pretty neat and would fit much better with Darkrai and its displayed current abilities. If that’s the case I can’t wait for Aurora to see Nova alive and well later on. She’s in for a surprise. Just like I was. I really like that idea! The protagonist and Lilith go from enemies to an uneasy truce, to partners in crime (minus the crime…maybe). Earning Crescent's or Lilith’s trust would be my go-to thoughts for what the Perfection check will entail. Hopefully traversing the Canyon will provide a few more clues for a more definitive answer going forward. Most likely. After all, that is what every great author/writer does, yeah? Spend countless hours plotting how to achieve the most amount of suffering for all. Yep yep, the Canyon and the priests seem like treasure troves of information! So looking forward to it :) Seriously, of all the things he’s done he had to add arson to the list as well. Quite unnecessary lol. Omg that’s amazing. Thanks Cervys for gracing the world with these gems! Jarred absolutely deserves this spotlight. Also thank you for bringing this to my attention! I must check these out, they sound like a grand ol’ time. I know what I'll be doing with my free-time xD. Haha, they really are. Alrighty, the protagonist just needs to take a quick trip to Aevium and recruit Talon to the cause. He’s a chill dude and perfect for the job of charting those uncharted islands we’ll undoubtedly visit in the future. Until then the protagonist will just keep on winging it and hopefully won’t get lost in the process! Aurora and Darkrai make for such a great duo IMO. Shiv should watch out, Aurora and Darkrai could make waves in the academic world. Imagine if the protagonist finds a few drafts of theirs scattered around Ayrith. Quite a way to learn about the region. Just you wait Shiv, you and your enigmatic origins will be uncovered one day. Count on it. Yeppers, it is on a volcano according to one of those pamphlets on the cruise ship. Hydreilius Volcano to be exact. Can only imagine what the cooling bill for the league must be lol. Also, R.I.P. little pamphlets….your valuable contents will be sorely missed. At least until another fount of information regarding Hydreilius shows up. Haha better bring some offerings so that the dearly departed don’t mind the disturbances! Luckily there aren’t thatttt many tombstones in Deso…excluding the ones in the Weeping Depths that is. Shouldn’t take too long to scour every major tombstone. They are certainly worth a gander, there always seem to be some neat little tidbits on tombstones in these games. Quite. If Shiv is involved, I’d agree. I totally suspect he must be playing the Foxes too. Makes me wonder what his ‘negotiation’ with the Foxes involved. He seems to always be in the know so it’s hard to imagine it’s for information of some kind.

Alrighty, I’m back after that slight delay! Happy to be of service~ Yeah, honestly the cast deserves the best possible outcome. Especially Tristan and Hardy, I’m holding out hope for those two. At least they will get that in your save (assuming the situation doesn’t nosedive later on)! It isn’t out of the realm of possibility she could survive an attack like that, but it was certainly framed as a death in the game, and man she bounced back rather quickly. Wonder if it has anything to do with her bubbly personality xD. In all seriousness, they aren’t normal that’s for sure. Could be that they aren’t entirely human. Someone, quick, call the X-Men XD. Tristan, at least the one the protagonist knew, is confirmed to be some fabrication of Darkrai’s that can enter reality. And some entity, which may or may not be some person who lost their physical body, is now roaming Ayrith. So, there are non-human entities in the story. Although that begs the question, what exactly would they be? They certainly aren’t fabrications like Tristan and Perfection doesn’t seem to grant those sorts of powers, as far as we know. I dunno exactly what they could be. Nova was able to siphon off Aurora’s power and seems to have some sort of connection to Lilith so she may be special to some degree. Could the reason behind her survival be because she yoinked a part of Aurora’s power at some point? Oh! What if it’s a part of Darkrai’s influence over them? It’d be quite unfortunate for Darkrai to lose one of its pawns to something out of its control like a stabbing for instance. If it can exert a level of control over them who’s to say it’s not able to make sure they don’t kick the bucket too early? There’s also the possibility Aurora didn’t hit anything vital, and Nova patched herself up ASAP (or maybe Shiv patched her up and once she was stable, she fled). She then took time to recover from the wound in the Dreamscape. Time flows differently in the Dreamscape, especially when a person’s physical body is there. Which could allow her to be up and at em by the time Darkrai entered Ayrith. It seems likely it’ll be for another check of some sort. It doesn’t seem like having more knowledge about Perfection affects it in any sort of way so that doesn’t seem very likely. Proving a falsehood or demonstrating our knowledge of Perfection could work. My first thoughts would be involving Crescent or Hardy. The insight gained could prove to Baron that yeah, the protagonist is now in the loop about Perfection and that they have a mutual goal of stopping Waldenhall. Or to convince Hardy nothing good is gonna come from subjecting his Zoroark to Perfection and that he should aid the Darkrai Destroyer Squad instead. Completely, I’m not ruling out any sort of trickery, brainwashing, or otherwise lol. Haha absolutely, that’s a bit of an understatement there xD. The preparations for the riot are underway as we speak juuuuuust in case it comes to pass lol. Seriously though, first Tristan and then Hardy. That’d be absolutely brutal, exciting but brutal. Totally can feel my heart fracturing just thinking about it For sure. They are also journal entries - a collection of the author’s personal thoughts and perspectives on the situation. Embellishment or downplaying what went on could very well have happened. Definitely, with Lilith’s absence, she may come back with some new knowledge of the situation. And Waldenhall is quite capable, he could very well track down yet another fount of knowledge. I’m just hoping Waldenhall doesn’t go torching the next historical discovery he stumbles across. I’m most looking forward to the Kanzen Priests. If they come from the same priests as the ones mentioned in the entries, they could have some stories or records about what happened back then. That’s as certain as the sky being blue! I don’t think the protagonist would ever hear the end of it from those three, especially Garret. It would be! I can see Jarred appearing from nowhere on a Ranger sidequest and striking up a conversation about Majira. Except he keeps referring to Majira as Majora for no explainable reason then peaces out. Yep, we haven’t got an extensive map of Ayrith yet. The smaller islands like Ruby or Bountilia are always shown as disconnected when they are visited. It’s quite probable many more islands will be available later on. Which also means more places for legendaries to be hiding! Honestly, it’d be pretty cool to see a map of the Ayrith region in its entirety. Maybe one day we will be graced with one (totally not cause I have ulterior motives and really enjoy maps or anything...). Assuming Darkrai doesn’t perish or end up sealed away again I’d say that would be a fitting end for it. Arceus knows Darkrai deserves it after all that it’s done. I’d also hope it could achieve some level of atonement with them as its keepers. Totally. Fabricated memories could go any number of ways, depending on who is doing the fabricating and for what reasons. I pretty much agree with any of those. With so little information to go on it's definitely on the list of possibilities. And with it already being difficult enough trying to discern fact from fiction when it comes to those two… who’s to say this isn’t the case? Hydreilius could be water-related. Hydr is a Greek root that means water so maybe it is. It also kinda reminds me of Hydreigon. Which isn’t water-related but is quite similar to Hydreilius. Or it could just be an island with a really cool-sounding name. Which I can say for certain it is. Hydreilius…sounds like an awesome place to live! Outside of the name we know the island houses another volcano which the league sits on top of, Hakari City. And of course, the gym leader Kairo. Not a lot to go on but maybe we’ll get a bit more in v7. I wonder what type of festivals they hold. It’d be interesting to arrive on Hydreilius while one is underway. Very true, seems much more preferable than dwelling on that depressing note. They are. The tombstones are a bit of an early hint at the connection between the four of them. So that last one must be linked in a similar fashion. The next character that we come across whose name starts with Si is officially on my sketch-as-heck list. That’s the impression I had of it when reading through that again. Although I don’t recall both twins striking deals with the Foxes/Amelia. What was the negotiation about? When did it take place? The only other option I could think of was the whole Aurora thing lol.

I hear ya. Totally the same way, especially when it involves kind characters like Scarlett. Poor girl doesn’t deserve that. Siding with Nova, letting Scarlett die, and then Aurora going stab-happy absolutely killed me…I actually like Nova too, so I felt awfully villainous for that. On the other hand, I really enjoy extra dialogue and morbid curiosity drives me…which seems to outweigh my guilt (and there’s a lot of guilt XD). At least I can take one for the team in the name of uncovering the truth! Haha I actually did too, I remember seeing quite a few posts saying that so this was a surprise. Granted this is just based on my experiences but it seems that way. I’ve tried several ways (giving Nova the stone then failing to read Auora’s dairy entry/siding with Aurora and giving Shiv the stone then failing to read Auora’s dairy entry/siding with Aurora). In the end, she still appears and helps out the gang, unless I’m missing something. My earlier thought about the twins being immortal? Nah, Nova’s the immortal one. She won’t die for me lol. Insight might represent the culmination of all knowledge regarding the hocus pocus that’s going on in Ayrith, Dreamscape and all. The cracks of the dream were but one fraction of the bigger picture. My guess is that the insight we gained in v6 might not be a continuation of the old insight (or at least a continuation of the cracks in the dream). Instead, the insight gained is new and most likely knowledge of other mysteries. Mysteries about Perfection and the twins. One interesting thing about it is the difference in insight text color. Insight pertaining to the cracks in the dream were a fuchsia color. The knowledge of perfection that Crescent had in their hideout was a blue. Although I dunno if this does count towards the insight value given its difference in phrasing so that’s up in the air. And the insight from Shiv's journal about their powers engulfing them and their respective blue and red dreams is a lighter shade of purple. These distinctions between colors might represent those other mysteries the MC is uncovering. We may not get insight checked regarding those cracks but maybe a check for knowledge of Perfection? Like…the more information we have about Perfection the protagonist can obtain Perfection themselves. Or maybe we’ll discover some more old journals and figure out what’s going on with the twins. Which may end up giving the protagonist a way to knock some sense into those two if enough insight has been found. That’s just my interpretation of the insight at least. Given what’s going on with everyone who’s working for Darkrai, maybe it really will turn out to be a case of brainwashing. Darkrai goes Perfection mode and a lot more insight would be required to fend off Darkrai. Failure to do so could result in some Pulse level Hypno brainwashing or something. But Darkrai pulling quiz out of no-where would be kinda fun actually xD Especially some game-show style quiz. In the end, the society will be comprised of most of the cast. That would be quite an awkward meeting, wouldn’t it? Hardy’s situation, whether he will perish in the end or not, does work well as a tragic commentary and doubles as a gut-wrench if he does bite the dust. It’s both, definitely both. I absolutely agree with the fact the journal’s author could be an unreliable narrator. In fact, I’d be surprised if they weren’t. There is a vast level of egotism and bias oozing from those entries. Especially if the author is revealed to be the entity. I’m betting some details were left out for sure. I do think they can still serve as a rough estimation of what went down back then. Their information about Perfection tracks with what we know about Perfection so far. And there is the fact the Settler’s Ruins is hidden underneath a statue which implies a level of secrecy or not wanting to be found. There seems to be a degree of truth to those entries at least. It really would be. What a way to raise the stakes for the protagonist, making the situation even more personal than it already is. Even if the protag doesn’t end up causing a Perfection plague whatever is gonna happen it’s not gonna be very good for the cast. It’ll be equal parts exciting and worrisome. Honestly might be the safest spot for Garret at this point. Plus, Rosetta and Aaron get to do something finally, it’s a win-win! If Majira had a kid and their name isn’t Majora I’m gonna be disappointed lol. I would love to see that reveal just to see everyone’s reactions to that. Best protagonist secret power ever. Puppy dog eyes. No wonder why the protag is so persuasive. Omg yeah. Here I am talking about Ruby, Bronze, and Bountilia Islands but totally forgetting that there could be other islands. There is quite a possibility they may also be found on some other tiny islands we’ll be able to go to at some point. Yeahhh chances are it won’t be thee Darkrai with the way the story is heading (besides would the protagonist even accept Darkrai as part of their team after all that it has done?). Maybe another one (or some copy) will be in the Dreamscape. Ooh that could be. Maybe their powers weren’t as stable back then and they just don’t remember. I like that idea. The only other thing I could think of is the whole “disappearing parents” thing is just a fabricated memory. It really does, which fits for a place called Arcanius. Makes me wonder what’s gonna go down on Hydreilius Island. That’s kinda sad if so. He’s just gonna be fiddling around with a fictitious fragment for who knows how long, making no progress whatsoever. True, gotta start somewhere. Huh, what if the last gravestone in the Weeping Hill that’s all scratched up doesn’t belong to the entity but instead the first dreamer Darkrai found. There’s the bit in Cellia North during the Fox raid where we can look through a folder called Midnight. In Amelia’s file, it lists a bunch of activities that Amelia was a part of, ranging from the cruise ship incident and Addenfall to some Darkroot situation. One of the events listed in Amelia’s list is the Twin Negotiation event [redacted]. I’m blanking on what that one could be. Was it when the Foxes were in contact with Aurora when she was searching for Nova? Not exactly sure how it’d pan out but it’d sure be pretty interesting nonetheless!

Haha, it’s quite alright, happens to the best of us! Also happy belated new year to everyone as well! I also agree with that. In regards to that, I’ve played around with different choices and tanking relationships and all that not too long ago actually (I’m drowning in save files at this point…). As far as I’ve seen if Nova ends up stabbed, whether it’d be because of the player failing to obtain the information from Aurora’s final diary page or outright siding with Aurora during the Archive incident, she’ll make a recovery. The events of v6 play out the same as the events do if Nova is saved. Interestingly enough she doesn’t even give a passing comment about the protagonist siding with Aurora and being compliant in her potential murder(?) in v6, especially odd given how intense the scene was. I would think there would be at least some level of distrust toward the protagonist for their choice. Going through the game again was a nice refresher though and a great reminder about smaller details that get overshadowed, at least for me. I did notice things, some of which were already discussed, so I’ll just tack that on at the end of the post. Yeah, I totally agree with that. I’m definitely excited to see the Perfection Serum in action. It has the capacity to give us some interesting snippets of a person’s past and who knows if that information will be used in a choice later down the line. While it could easily just be a way to provide some more background on a character (and maybe cut through some lies) it’d definitely be pretty neat if it was used as a means to talk someone down or something. If not a key item or the serum, then maybe we’ll have another insight check soon. We did gain a bit of knowledge in Crescent's hideout and there was that one journal written by Shiv in the Waterscape. Depending on how one views it mayyybe Scarlett is the only other person who wouldn’t. She already went down that road once and was talked out of it. I don’t see her sacrificing herself again unless it is absolutely necessary or the situation is dire enough. Other than that, yeah the only one who wouldn’t sacrifice themselves would be the protagonist. Everyone else…man what a reckless team xD. Totally. Someone getting badly injured would most likely break morale in a variety of ways. If that does come to pass it’s gonna be interesting to see how they’ll manage to pull through. Perhaps Garret will give one of his inspiring pep talks again. It’d be so tragic. The guy just wanted to take on the League and help his Zoroark. I’m keeping my fingers crossed Hardy and Zoroark stay safe! Yep yep, assuming that the fragment latching onto them could have effects on others. It is stated in the Fairbale journals that somehow Perfection had claimed the lives of multiple people which is what caused the priests to insinuate the author was at fault due to their pursuit of Perfection. Maybe fragments radiate enough energy to affect others near them or something. Which would make the player/Waldenhall patient zeroes if this is the case. Maybe it will be a repeat of what happened in the past? It is possible those people were exposed to it via serum if the journal author was conducting experiments although the author doesn’t state this when mentioning how they were being accused of being the cause of said deaths. I was wondering about the Perfection serum too. He did have direct contact with the protag and it did have an obvious effect on Garret. Crescent’s findings didn’t specify whether or not those who had their pasts read by another infused with Perfection were fine after the experiments. So, we can add yet another reason to have Garret on a watch list. Another possibility is that there will be a spike or even an overabundance of Perfection energy permeating the Ayrith region. Absolutelyyyyy. Those were some major hints that the protagonist isn’t some unfortunate soul who got dragged into things just cause they can hop between reality and dream (in the grand scheme of things they are probably still an unfortunate soul though). Big Revelations are on the way. If the protagonist can quell wars by asking politely, I’m sure they could convince Lilith and Artem to relinquish their pokémon xD. Me too. It’d be cool if the Swords of Justice respected Majira and decided to reside on the Islands he’s been on to protect the local flora and fauna. I’d so love to catch Zapdos near the Visinite Tree, that sounds so epic (the battle background near the tree is just so cool!) That is quite a problem with the beasts and birds. They could fit in the same locations. Maybe they will? Looking closely, I do think that birds seem to carry several other patterns that may give them concrete locations. Both Articuno and Moltres have been encountered on Amaria Island, and near their respective legend statues. I’m kinda wondering if Zapdos will be caught in the mountain the hiker is talking about in Addenfall Meadows. Assuming the beasts follow a similar elemental pattern, I can see them ending up in similar locations to the birds. Raikou might be hanging out in Visinite or Addenfall Meadow where I’m guessing Zapdos will be. Entei could be tied to Vejyr like Moltres, Boutilla, or Hydreilius Volcano (though if it’s hanging out in Hydreilius Volcano it may be a bit longer until we get Entei). Suicune is an odd one since it can be attributed to both water and ice. So many of the snowy mountains like Silver Rise (which may be the best location for Suicune…there are waterfalls that could lead to unexplored locations later on), the Frozen Wastelands, or Visinite Peak (if it has a cold climate) would work. Maybe the lake on route 1? I really wanna add the Waterscape too…I can see Suicune chilling at Somnium Lake. Oh yeah, Heatran is always found in the heart of a volcano so it can join Entei’s list. It’s nice to have connections! Darkrai just gets critical captured in a regular pokeball, no struggle or anything. Wouldn’t that be a scene? If it were possible, I’m sure everyone’d be hearing its muffled complaints from outside the pokeball xD. It does make me wonder how we will obtain Darkrai. Omg I really like that idea! Arceus was trying to find someone willing to walk the path of the Hand of Arceus. At the end of Arceus's Serenity’s questline, the protag has proven their kindness and devotion by helping Serenity and so Arceus wants to tag along. That’d fit Marshadow well. What if we find it shadowing some folks in the Dreamscape and it flees when it’s found out and we gotta go track it down. Or maybe it’s hiding out in the DZ. I can see multiple fun little ways to encounter Marshadow there. Okay so here’s a rapid round of revisited and other interesting bits (in hindsight several paragraphs isn’t quite rapid lol): We previously discussed the manor situated in Silver Rise. Rereading Aurora’s journal in the Archives states that the manor belonged to their parents who just up and vanished. So, it’s a family home they decided to stay in. Wonder if we’ll ever find out what happened to their parents. Also, the way Garret tells the story of Lilith and the Undercity does allude to the fact she and her parents are from Cellia, like ya mentioned. So, at some point, her investigation or training did lead her to Arcanius. Curious to see if any NPCs mention her the closer we get to Astraciel. I also noticed, while helping the Jinx Scientist collect pieces of the grid in the Dreamscape they are labeled as Dreamscape Fragments. However, when tasked to find the fragmented grid pieces in Ayrith they are called Grid Fragments. Both of these fragments carry the same description; a material with a glass-like texture that emits a strange energy. Given that, it’s intriguing that there’s a difference in name between the two when they are, supposedly, both fragments of the Grid. Nova mentions that Darkrai would say she was better than the alternative, and then surmises that Tristan must have been the alternative. If she just had this revelation, then it’s likely that Tristan wasn’t the one who led her to Darkrai. It makes me more curious as to how she fell into Darkrai’s clutches to begin with. Also, what exactly was the Twin negotiation event [Redacted] that Amelia was a part of? Was it when Aurora was in contact with the Foxes to find Nova’s location? If it is why the redacted bit? Also…sorta a crack theory, has anyone realized how often everyone brings up the fact the protagonist is late? While I quite like the fact the protagonist is always fashionably late or joins the cast at the most dramatically appropriate moment, I couldn’t help but wonder. What if there’s a reason behind it? We do learn of something that can alter one’s perception of time. Perfection. I raise you this: the protagonist was in contact with Perfection to some degree before the start of the game and that’s why they are always chaotically late. I know it’s most likely just one of those fun little jabs at the protagonist. But still, it’d be kinda neat if it was the case.

Happy Holidays to anyone who's reading this! Hope everyone is doing great this holiday season Alright, just had to say that...back on topic I go! Man, ain’t that the truth, it’s the fan-favorite curse xD. I’d also be quite shocked if that doesn’t happen. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in store for Tristan. Absolutely to both of those points. The consequences of Scarlett’s death seem like a slow burn. From v7 onward seems like the perfect time to add in said consequences. The more people to join the fight the better and Connor reallllly does need all the stabilizing influences they can muster. It’d be a good way to shake up the stakes. It doesn’t help that there are several rash people in the Hero gang who all have motives to do reckless stunts or heroic sacrifices xD. I swear if Garret dies by making some heroic sacrifice for Eden after that whole scene in the Visinite Current… But yeah, I can totally see both Reeve and Garret doing something like that! I seriously hope they don’t though >.<. I’d say any one of the characters dying would probably destroy morale, but Emily dying is actually a pretty interesting prospect now that you mention it. It’d hit Connor the most, and depending on choices and all that could be the second death that the Blackview heroes would have to face. That may make getting to the Perfection Fragment quite a bit harder in the long run. If Hardy does end up biting the bullet it’d probably be after something happens to Zoroark. Like Zoroark sadly passes away either due to its illness or the Perfection serum that it has been given. With nothing else to lose, he attempts to take out the Foxes from the inside but either Amelia or Waldenhall stops him, for good. Or something akin to that. Personally, I’m holding out hope that Hardy won’t die and will either achieve Perfection, or at least his Zoroark will. I can totally see that happening too. Maybe Amelia might dole out the serum to the Foxes under her command if they get backed into a corner in hopes that someone will be able to achieve the Perfected status and turn the tables. Or now that Waldenhall has some sort of time limit to figure out how to ascend without a bonded pokémon maybe he’ll be less discrete with his pursuits and attempt to obtain more test subjects for his goals. It’d certainly be fascinating to see in a sort of Pokerus situation. Despite the little information out there about Perfection and how it’s frowned upon most citizens probably wouldn’t have heard about Perfection. With a few honeyed words, I’m sure there would be quite a few trainers lining up to bolster their pokemon’s power, unaware of the consequences that will come of it. Reeve did liken the spread of Perfection to a plague, so rolling with that likeness…what if the protagonist and Waldenhall are like patient zeros now that they have Perfection fragments stuck to them like a bur. Anyone around them could be exposed to the energy which could lead to disastrous results if they cannot form a bond with their pokémon. Yeah, that’s quite a fair point. In that case, if something does happen to her the Umbreon could still be hanging around. Totally! Rejuv’s protagonist characterization is really great and I’m sure if Deso does go that route as well they’d have some killer charaterizations too! If not protagonist-specific text in Darkroot it’s possible that there still might be some form of protagonist characterization, once we start unraveling their past. Maybe we should go track down Lilith and Artem and ask them where they got theirs, they were using some legendaries xD. We did discuss plenty of ideas on where Cresselia is. And we know where Zapdos will be once we obtain the Lightening Orb. If Jarred is to be believed the relic and orbs will lead to Lugia. Where that encounter will take place, I have no clue. Perhaps it will be near Majira’s Rest or something, due to the ties the relic and orbs have with Majira and the Rangers. Or it could be encountered in a new place entirely. Raikou was hanging around Silver Rise a while back and seems to go back to the Visinite Current to recharge so chances are we may see it in Visinite eventually. Where the other two legendary pups are is another question entirely. If we do find Raikou there then maybe we’ll encounter the others around statues, or in locations akin to their respective typing. Virizion is protecting the pokémon on Ruby Island. Maybe we’ll encounter the other Swords of Justice pokémon on Ruby Island, inside Majira’s Rest, or on other smaller islands like Ruby Island. Course we gained Mesprit and the other two lake guardians should be found in the other lakes that reside in the Dreamscape. Beyond that I’m not sure. So, I’ll sprinkle in some creative(?) ideas here: The protagonist should go figure out where to get their own snag machine so that next time they see Darkrai they can just chuck a pokeball at it. Bam. Darkrai caught! And crisis averted lol. The Regi group seem like they’d fit well with the Depths. A section of the cavern could crumble away, revealing an entrance that leads to the inner Depths and the Regi. It’d be pretty fun to find Jirachi snoozing in some remote corner of Ayrith and to awaken it we gotta find it in the Dreamscape or something. Astraciel Wildwoods and Darkroot Woods seem like they would be pretty fitting for Xerneas and Yveltal respectively. Celebi could be responsible for the trip back in time that has the protagonist putting an end to the wars. Afterwards, it could join the team. It’d be pretty amusing to see Arceus tied to the Hand of Arceus questline. Helping out Serenity gives us the chance to catch the golden boy itself. I feel like maybe there may be more legendaries to find in the Dreamscape aside from the lake guardians but I dunno who would work the best as encounters in the dream. Since it is a dream maybe anyone of them could…who knows. Haha absolutely. It may be getting a bit too long... it’s about time Darkrai gets its just deserts!

Haha, you can certainly say that again. It’s such a treat. Omg resident poor little meow meow, love it . Seems it’s best to prepare for that eventual heartbreak when he does return as some nightmare. Very true. We ended up with a lot of mind-boggling and less death. It’s pretty exciting to see if that’ll shift a bit or if there are still mindscrews waiting for us as the narrative progresses. Or a mixture of both. Ooh yeah, that is quite an interesting thought actually. Saving or not saving Nova does have consequences tied to fending off Darkrai. Scarlett, as far as I can tell, doesn’t have any direct consequences outside of who the MC battles during the tournament and different character dialogue with most notably Connor. If I were to guess I’d say Scarlett’s death has the potential… that poor sweet girl. Unless we get another potential death down the road where the “better” choice would be allowing them to perish. I’m highly curious to see if something like that will happen too. Regarding the potential deaths, the common denominator does seem to be those who have ties to Darkrai. Definitely agree that’s a pretty viable list of potential characters. Taking that into consideration I would wager that the twins are the safest for now. Darkrai was quick to rein in Shiv since they are still valuable pawns. And besides he can’t die before telling the MC what’s up with those weird colorful shards. Once Darkrai is close to achieving its goals, however, that’s a different story. I suppose it could be on the cards to have a redemption death or two. Lilith’s current situation is also pretty sketchy. Either something bad happened to her which may or may not result in her untimely passing or she’s coming back with her whole party Perfected ready to annihilate everyone who gets in her way. Outside of ties with Darkrai the danger that Perfection poses would be a close second for possible deaths. Reeve mentions the potential of Perfection spreading across Ayrith. If things go really south and that comes to pass the death count could end up with a few more tallies. Who knows if someone besides the protagonist will end up coming in contact with Perfection fragments/energy. Depending on how the situation with the Perfection fragment goes the MC could end up dying and it could be chalked up to another bad end. Perhaps Lilith will die and Nova or the MC will adopt her Perfection Umbreon. Although that does make me wonder what’d happen to the Umbreon if something happened to Lilith. Does it lose its Perfection state or does it stay Perfected? The character that’s been an undercover Darkrai agent this whole time is finally revealed and subsequently meets their demise. Which just so happens to be Ava… 95% joking about that xD. Absolutely. It’s a town that’s been mentioned many times by Ava so there was always a general curiosity about Darkroot. But now we know that the MC was found near Darkroot and must have spent at least some time there which makes it an exciting prospect. Any flavor text about the protagonist would be really neat. I’d be satisfied if someone around town mentions the growth the MC has undergone since leaving with Ava. If we do get any information about them, I’m kinda curious if it will be an all-encompassing information that every protag gets or is dependent on the chosen protagonist. It’d be quite entertaining to see Aurora just start pestering Darkrai until it finally relents and orchestrates a massive takeover of every screen in Cellia. That’d be a hoot! Earning hero status and ending wars by being polite. A pretty nice sentiment actually. Most certainly. We totally got whatever they throw at us! They really need it. Can’t be saving an entire region from impending doom while mentally and physically exhausted. It’d be really nice to see everyone relaxing for a spell. Agreed! Palkia could be chilling in some pocket part of the Grid only accessible by some sort of portal maze and Dialga might be in the deepest depths of the Grid where time is all wonky. Seeing where we’ll find legendaries in Desolation is certainly one thing I’m looking forward to. Glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t know lol. Chances are they probably disappeared first but who knows for sure. Omg yeah, adopting Tristan’s pokémon somehow would have been so great. There’d be something poetic about taking on Darkrai with Tristan’s team. Even if he can’t fight alongside the protagonist, he’s still able to help. Mannnn, thanks for that Darkrai .

Wow, three pages, not bad at all ^_^ A nice testament to Desolation and our ability to chat about it! Yeah, as of right now it doesn’t look like there’s too much that can be done for him (totally not sad about that, nope not at all!). If someone else is to end up in a position that can lead to their death, I wonder who it will be. They could also dredge up any ghosts of the MCs past for the gauntlet. The entity does seem to know them. There are lots of neat ideas for a series of battles. Me too. He seems like a Darkroot kinda guy. Either way, I do hope to see Booker again, at least once more. Okay, that would be pretty cool. Not sure how’d that work either but hey, they are in a dream. It doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibilities there. Right? They are such a great punching bag team, it would be quite amusing indeed. Absolutely! Desolation has a lot of potential, especially with those awkward conversations. It’s certainly exciting to see where it will go and what will happen. Haha nahhh, that’s a silly notion. The world couldn’t possibly be fabricated in such a way…right? Darkrai ends up purchasing advertisement space on a fancy billboard in Cellia. Or just hijacks Rosetta’s screen above the battle tournament building to display its wondrous motto for the world to see. Ryder and his adorable slippers really are. It’s never a dull moment when he’s around. That would be one fun episode, I bet xD. Oh yeah, we totally did! Wonder if we’ll have another instance of time travel at some point. The MC does have access to Moltres at this point, that’d be pretty fun if the war was ended via a time traveling protagonist. Maybe we'd get to fight a few battles before being able to calm the two sides. And earn some interesting Ayrith lore tidbits in the process. They totally would. They might end up being too grand of a distraction haha. At least it’s only speculation at this point. We’re sure to have some tough battles ahead of us although I doubt, they will be as difficult as that. Whatever we end up facing though I’ll be rooting for your success! That would be a nice episode. I think quite a few characters should join Connor. Some of them should really take the time to talk things out, get to the root of the problem, and overcome it. Then all go out and have some nice food or something. Psychic seems pretty fitting given the overall nature and aesthetic of the Grid. I also really like the Steel idea. The harnessing of the Grid’s power through technological means could impact the Grid and enhance any steel types/moves. A really out-there guess but what if it boosts dragon. Dialga and Palkia both have dragon typings and they are the poster children for time and space, concepts that are quite prominent for the Grid. Or at the very least some effect with their signature moves. We may not be able to know for sure yet, but I do think what we know so far is pretty telling. Leaving aside the potential of it being someone we don’t know (which doesn’t seem too likely given the situation up until then), there doesn’t seem to be too many parties that the promise could have been made to. He’s affiliated with both sides, but I doubt he’d make a promise to Darkrai willingly, so Booker and Nova do seem the most likely. Since he was in the Waterscape releasing his pokémon maybe it was a promise he made to his Lopunny (or to himself). A promise that allows his pokémon to live a better life with a better trainer, to not be stained by his actions as well as make sure that Darkrai cannot use him as a threat against the Darkrai Destroyer Squad. Outside of these options, I don’t see it being much else. Speaking of which, where did the last two of his pokémon go? Bugs the Wigglytuff and Damien the Sawsbuck, did they already poof out of existence by the time Nova and the protagonist arrive in the Dreamscape or something?

Yeah, chances are it won’t be as easy as grabbing some chalk and drawing a summoning circle or willing him back into existence. I hadn’t thought about that though, that’s a fair point. Can’t say for certain but it doesn’t seem like those two know him as well as the MC so bringing him back could require all three unless something miraculous happens. What an interesting circumstance that would be, working together to bring Tristan back (again x2). Time to cash in a favor with those two! Summoning Tristan to haunt the player does seem right up Darkrai’s alley. I doubt e6 is the last time we’ll see Tristan. Honestly, it’s a pretty cool consequence. Like the more people we lose the more Darkrai can summon/create or whatever. Maybe it could be worked into a gauntlet style, where it’ll be easier if we save everyone versus accidentally (or purposely) letting them perish will add more trainers to the gauntlet? That’s a pretty interesting question. I don’t recall ever hearing about or even meeting a character in Ayrith named Booker, unlike the situation with Rufas/Dufas. I ended up curious about that, so I wandered around for a bit to see if he does. Booker doesn’t have a distinct character sprite so it’s definitely a bit hard to discern. If I were to hazard a guess the receptionist in Cellia Library could be a good contender. It’s still possible we haven’t met Booker’s equivalent as of yet. Maybe he’ll be chilling in some small library in Astraciel or Darkroot. Or he could be a resident of Hydreilius Island. Honestly, that’d be pretty neat if Booker was made up by Darkrai. His creation was the result of Darkrai trying to oppose the stagnation of the Dreamscape, someone who goes against the flow of the “established” rule in the Dreamscape to add a bit more pazazz to the dream. Although Booker did meddle in Darkrai’s plan by casting suspicions on the twins. If Booker was Darkrai’s creation I doubt it would allow him to continue existing when Darkrai was so close to freedom at that point. Or maybe his whole being is in the Dreamscape, so we haven’t met him in Ayrith. It is curious he’s not around anymore, presumably cozied up in his place but who knows for sure. Okay that would be pretty neat! They didn’t do so well in Aevium so they skedaddled to Ayrith to start anew and found out about the situation the Keneph Villagers are in. Bonus if the MC just nukes them like the MC in Rejuv and they eventually give up the Anti-Assist lifestyle and help build the resort/the village. Gotta enjoy those awkward conversations, especially about siblings. Way to one-up Eden, Keegan xD. That’d be a fun interlude where we just catch clippets of their awkward conversations and eventual side-kick team-up before they inevitably run into the protagonist. Cracks in the floor that could totally be crossed with a sturdy plank, and some nice piles of rocks…man there sure are a lot of obstacles. Cellia certainly does. If the districts of Cellia do get a nice sprucing up, I’m sure they will look absolutely fantastic. I can see that happening lol. I don’t blame Cedric. As entertaining as Ryder is that’s gotta sting. Also, Ryder would totally trip and knock himself silly after denying the obvious clue to the investigation in said room. Yeahhh, torching the whole place was overkill. It certainly didn’t get rid of the entity or rid him of the Perfection Fragment stuck to him. It’s quite sad so many books and other historical objects turned to kindling. Maybe they can get a conservator in there to see if anything can be salvaged or repaired. I wonder if Booker would know anything about book conservation and historical restoration? At some point, Aurora ends up going to Booker and begrudgingly asks if he has any knowledge on the subject. There hasn’t been too much about the wars, just that some trainer crashed the party while riding a Moltres and ended the war peacefully. And that it’s regarded as a fable. Totally true, I could see them causing major damage as well. Also, kind of concerning since Perfected pokémon seem to have a more aggravated, sometimes malicious temperament. Having them run rampant during active combat sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I’m willing to give such a battle a try though I’d rather not have to. Unless it was some double battle with Lilith and her Umbreon aiding us. If not, Darkrai can have that win lol. Haha, fighting seems like a given, all things considered. Maybe is definitely the keyword here xD. Here’s to hoping he cools off a tad! Absolutely. No clue either. I’d expect the effects would reflect the aspects of what we know about the Grid. Like giving the move teleport some stat effects or something. Or even hinting at some secrets, like how the Darkness field seems to have some Perfection connections. If we do ever get to explore the Grid (which I’m totally stoked to explore) maybe we will get a Grid field of some sort :D. Huh, that’s not a bad guess. Could be Booker. After the MC left for Ayrith Tristan went back to visit Booker and they ended up talking and possibly conspiring together, leading to some promise? Another idea is maybe the promise has something to do with Nova? Dunno if it would pan out with the Booker guess but before leaving the Dreamscape the first time around Tristan does mention Nova.

Man, it’s already bad enough Darkrai nuked Tristan’s existence, probably outta spite. But to bring him back just to force him to haunt the player… that’s devilish (-ly good for a narrative). Couldn’t even let him rest in peace. A double battle against Tristan and (deceased) Scarlett because Darkrai is just that evil. Thinking about it I’m kinda curious as to whether the MC could either find a way to bring Tristan back, at least in the Dreamscape. Aurora was over there turning bushes into Turtwigs. If the protagonist could reach that level of proficiency, it doesn’t seem too farfetched that they could figure out a way to bring him back without Darkrai. Also quite true. Whether it’s in a new or the current outfit…it’d be nice to see Tristan appear again. Absolutely. Booker’s just seen as the salty crab of the Dreamscape and that’s why his books keep getting stolen. Poor guy. He deserves some of those free cocktail refills once he is sprung from the dream. It just dawned on me normal Jarred over there is still wearing his iconic swimwear lol. Yeah, there’d definitely be some questions about that floating around… That was rather a fun quest in Rejuv, and a good way to spend some cash as well. It’d be neat if that was an option for Keneph Village and the Resort. In this case, it’d be more like ‘catch some ‘mons and fight off some Foxes’…or I guess whoever decides to impede progress on Amaria. Maybe it’d be Keegan if he does resurface. That hadn’t even occurred to me. Like we get the chance to traverse a deeper section of the Grid and stumble upon them where Keegan swears vengeance and takes her hostage or something. A rematch against him to get to Eden would be quite fun (poor guy won’t stand a chance though). Eden becoming Keegan’s sidekick could be an interesting dynamic (or heck maybe the roles are reversed- Keegan becomes her sidekick). During their Grid imprisonment Keegan helps Eden hone her battling skills (maybe offering some advice from the little time he spent with Shiv) and Eden, in return, takes him under her wing as a sidekick, giving him some relief from loneliness and abandonment he’s endured over the years. I’ll be quite surprised if there isn’t lol. Vileplume that refuses to move to flames but scatter with spices, forever locked doors that could totally be lockpicked, logs, sewer grates, two guys conveniently standing in front of an entrance for a millennium and a half… I thought so too. In the end, I presumed that the Docks fell under Rosetta’s purview given that they do lead to Central. Most people probably arrive via the west docks to enter Cellia proper, and it wouldn’t do to have the entrance to the heart of Ayrith looking dingy. Either that or whoever officially runs Cellia has some bias xD. Neo-(North/South) Cellia let’s go! Facts! Already seeing them “work” together this episode was grand. I can legitimately see that happening, while the MC tags along for the ride. I’m curious to see what’ll happen with those two once we do find Lilith. No one should tell Cedric as long as he doesn’t get caught it should be fine. Awesome, glad to hear it! Haha I just couldn’t resist that one. Yep yep, you have two supporters right here! She’d most likely be a good amateur historian. The thought of her pestering Darkrai with questions is amusing in and of itself. Waldenhall torched the place and shattered a pretty expensive-looking mirror that could have historic value. Logically murder is the only acceptable punishment fitting of the transgression (totallyyy not on Team Aurora here or anything XD). Least having Aurora’s wrath would make tracking down Waldenhall a tad easier. Seriously though, I’d be surprised if either twin at this point didn’t have any questions. No problem at all :D. Currently, it seems to be the oldest known Perfection pokémon (or at least the oldest that has survived). It does make sense if Darkrai is the ancestor or the catalyst of Perfected pokémon. If that’s the case maybe that’s why Darkrai was able to be separated from the Perfection energy/state. Speaking of Perfection history, I wonder if Perfection had a hand in the wars that took place in Ayrith. We have no indication as to what the two sides were warring over, just that a hero with the help of some legendary birds quelled the fighting. Could they have been fighting over the Perfection energy or something? Course this is assuming the fables contain some truth to them. Theyyyy could also just be fables. Who knows? Gotta add the fact that the Perfection Darkrai battle will most certainly take place on the Darkness field. So, we’ll have a scary Darkrai boosting a mega mightyena (give or take five others on her team) on a scarier field. That’ll be a battle for the ages. Is that too cruel? What a way to start off the story… Perfection of two kinds… Kinda curious to see how that would go down xD Totally. Then begins the secret fetch quest of hunting down Reeve to get Ava a new pair of shoes. I’m gonna say yeah. I think Scarlett, MC, Ava (maybe even Emily…siblings man) can do it. Some of Connor’s core flaws, as he mentions, are pushing others away and attempting to tackle challenges himself (acting rashly in the process). Given all that, it feels natural to have his growth tied to those he’s close/has grown close to throughout the game. With the support they could provide him and him actually accepting the help (and also learning to not push them away in the process) he may be a fraction more kind in the future. Although I don’t see him losing his *whole* tsundere thing he has going on. It just so happens that the events of Arcanius seem quite conducive to this type of growth, given that the group of heroes kinda needs to be working together to have a shot at success. That’s how I read his character at least. Optimism for the win! Whether or not anything’s gonna happen before he gets his moment is another question entirely. Oh yeah! I forgot about the mischievous little djinn friend. Its rings do have that sorta Grid look to them when they are active. That could be possible too. The Grid is still mired in mystery so can’t completely rule Hoopa out yet. If we start seeing golden rings around, we may have found the answer. Now I kinda wonder what a field based on the Grid would be like. Alrighty, that’s what I thought but wasn’t 100% sure. I sure hope so. Given Tristan’s whole situation, it sounded rather ominous.

Green was gonna be my second choice. Completely agree with green, he’d pull off green. Maybe Tristan will miraculously return somehow, and we get an alternate green or dark blue attire for him… a girl can dream. Omg that’s perfect. The Jinx Guild members are writing thesis-level posts trying to find anyone who can help with the Grid problem. Normal Jarred is going around posting daily vlogs about the chill pokémon near his home and DIY Dreamscape Designs. And Booker is, like, one of the only ones going around throwing the most passive-aggressive shade at the twins he can muster while everyone else is posting those memes and coping with their existential crises. Totally would be willing to help renovate! (Yeah, chances are the player won’t be directly aiding the renovations. They do mention something about when so maybe we’ll come back after the renovations are done and gain their aid for something in the future.) If I remember correctly, during the confrontation Kuiki begs Shiv not to send him back “there”. I presume Shiv shoved Kuiki into the Grid again and the grave was him being dramatic. Albeit that’s what seems to be implied, for all we know Keegan could have been tossed into the Dreamscape too. Either works since it doesn’t seem like Keegan has any way to return from either on his own. Although if it is the Grid then that means there is the possibility he ended up in an area where time is accelerated so hopefully, he isn’t a pile of bone and dust by the time we see him again. I’m sure they have a few choice words for him. Even if he doesn’t end up returning, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have some quips about their previous “leader”. It really does. House plants, Pangoros, boxes… Being a protagonist sure is tough sometimes. I need to see that. That sounds so adorable. Regardless of what happens, I do hope to see Cellia North finished and looking all spiffy. Also hoping for Cellia South to get some care too. They deserve it considering how much effort Garret’s been putting into driving back the Foxes and this whole Darkrai crisis. Watch, for having such a grand title he’s gonna have a typical name. But yeah, I’d love a name-drop for him. (Speaking of which, I cannot wait for the name reveal for the entity. Referring to them by name will be so much easier.) Right? Desolation’s cast already does well bouncing off each other. Adding in some sitcom moments with the Ranger missions would be great. I think Ryder could potentially capitalize on some sitcom moments too, especially if Cedric continues to pop up in our Lilith investigations. Gonna admit that had me in stitches . Sure must be the strangest job those workers have taken. Of course, you deserve it. And no worries, take your time. Can’t rush perfection and all that! Most important thing is to have fun with it and put out something ya can be proud of regardless of how long it takes . Isn’t it? Lugia is already cool on its own… but a Perfection version? Certainly has my imagination running wild. Haha yeah, I’d throw my hat into the ring but I’m not too adept at digital art myself. Most I could bring to the table now is a smudge and some blotches of color faintly resembling Lugia lol. Maybe one day but that day isn’t today. Maybe someone with artistic talent will feel inspired to tackle some speculative fan art at some point. If anyone does, I’ll be rooting for ya! Who knows, we could see a few pieces after another Perfection pokémon is added to the game. Guess time will tell. You’re totally right. It’d be quite a fun way to bring a bit of levity to our fellow antagonists. The petulant jabs would be amusing and a neat way to offer a peak into their views of what happened centuries ago. Snarky Darkrai just sounds too good to pass up. Especially if we end up contrasting their views and petulant jabs with the traces of history left behind. Dunno if Darkrai and the entity will become more sympathetic villains as time goes on but if that’s the course they end up sailing having that bit of levity could help achieve that. Now that you mention it, we do need more Aurora and Shiv sibling moments lol. (If it’s for a pokémon who has achieved Perfection I’m nominating the term Perfected. It’s short, sweet, and to the point.) Ooh yeah, I could see that working. If Darkrai has a link that would explain all that if the fragments do end up having design traits similar to it. Maybe those (potential) special properties of Perfection like the only known Perfection pokémon are Dark types or the odd similarities that the Darkness field shares with the process of Perfection, all stem from the fragment having this link to Darkrai? I would assume it might be an instance of being a part of Darkrai but isn’t anymore since it did eventually lose its Perfected status at some point. Or at least the link is temporarily cut due to circumstances we aren’t totally aware of yet. Here I thought a human/Deoxys mutation was creepy enough. So, this is how Insurgence 2 begins huh? A team of six Malamar and Lilith’s Umbreon… It’s time for Team Cthulhu to shine! An unstoppable army right there. I can see it being more of a buff for other Perfection mons considering the already strict requirements to reach Perfection in the first place. If Perfection does end up boosting other pokémon that means possible encounters with antagonists with Perfection boosting other pokémon. A double battle against Perfection Darkrai and Aurora’s team or something where Darkrai is bolstering her team. Oh yeah, that adorable joke ending! I believe that was Rejuvenation. We already got a nice debug joke ending from Jarred, we need more like it. Okay though…they should at least be free refills for those cocktails. The protagonist did save a whole village while having to be paired with Connor the entire time lol. At the end of that, everyone’s trying to figure out where the protagonist went. A fair question now that I think about it. I’m guessing Scarlett is going to play a big part but as she said he isn’t really. She won’t be the only factor here. I’m gonna take a stab and say the power of friendship with the MC or something (depending on the amount of relationship points you accrued with Connor over the course of the game). Maybe even some words from his sister will help? Either way, I don’t think Scarlett alone will be enough to help de-douche Connor. (Though I’m secretly hoping we get a cute scene where Connor is about to do something dumb and Scarlett steps in to help. It’ll be a great display of how much she’s grown, in no small part to Connor and this adventure through Ayrith with her friends. He realizes this, softens up, and accepts the help from her and the others. Or something of the sort.) I can see it going either way as well. In the timeline, she isn’t around he mentions how he brushes everyone away instead of admitting his weaknesses in the tournament before you fight Rosetta so he is on that road to self-growth. On the other hand, in both timelines, I believe he ends up in the same position at the end. (So, I suppose it’s technically a generous interpretation to say he’s learned from his mistakes depending on how you wanna view the situation…running headfirst into a group of Foxes at Fairbale isn’t exactly the smartest idea lol.) I’m certainly curious to see how this plays out. These are some random thoughts, so I’ll tack this onto the end here. Could the lake guardians have something to do with the Grid? The background of the mural in the Waterscape is purple and glittery/spacey and feels very reminiscent of the void (for lack of a better term) of the Grid. In the end, it could just be a stylized mural of the three. But there is also the fact that there is some sort of energy radiating from the lakes that the lake guardians may be drawn to. And the first time we find those wells of energy that allow for teleportation is in the Waterscape. However, I don’t know if the energy wells are the same energy as what’s being emitted from the lakes. Probably some realllllly loose connections there but thought it was interesting, nonetheless. Also was it ever touched upon what “promise” Tristan needed to fulfill before he took off to the Waterscape?

Haha no worries at all, it happens to me sometimes as well Omg yes! As much as Tristan is rocking those shades of brown it’d be a treat to see him in other colors. Maybe some dark blue or something. With Darkrai and Reeve working together anything is possible. Eventually, they end up with their own reality show as well, all about makeovers and design tips. Totally plausible at this point in time. Not a bad trade all things considered…although we’re robbed of memes made by Shiv and biting rebuttal videos from Aurora. That’s a true loss right there (it’d be quite amusing to see though). You’re not wrong... destiny has chosen him to fade away into obscurity. He won’t be missed. Setting that aside I will say I am a tad curious to see if he will ever appear again or if everyone will forget about him. The most tragic of tragedies. Just goes to show nature is a force to be reckoned with. It’s definitely a possibility. A neat one at that. Plus, she was in charge of the Dreamscape manor’s construction (if you can call it construction in a dream lol). She could have a knack for that. That's gonna be my headcanon unless stated otherwise. That would be an amazing premise! Especially after the intense interactions with Elliot and Jarred. A humorous sitcom quest with those two bickering about trivial past incidents (Also who doesn’t apologize after drinking someone else’s coffee… that’s utter blasphemy ). It’ll be even better if it wraps up with a mutual understanding between the Grand Rogue and the Rangers. And a dramatic name reveal for the Rouge himself lol. Haha right? What a conversation that would be, particularly when those baffled construction workers lay eyes on the Donphan Pit xD. Least it makes for a grand tale to tell the grandchildren. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of brainstorming and many rewritten lines there… not the easiest scenes to write that’s for sure. At least the fun bit about awkward conversations is the fact that they are awkward by nature. Playing into that can sometimes benefit the scene as a whole. Especially if neither participant wants to broach the subject. Whatever way you decide to write it I’m sure the final result will be great . Yeahhhh, it’s definitely a good thing they didn’t. The poké-world might be in a smidgen of danger if Perfection Groudon and Kyogre were used to wreak havoc. But man, the end times sure would be something, can you imagine how cool they’d look? Perfection Arceus sounds like it would have some potential as well. Aside from Cresselia and all that I’m kinda curious about Perfection Lugia since it does seem like the orbs and relic lead to Lugia in the end. Yep yep, working off that assumption we have bits and pieces of their story but we dunno how exactly they parted ways, let alone ended up in such positions. They both have ambitions and who knows if those ambitions will clash at some point. Given all that, it seems like it could go either way. Another possibility is that they may end up working together only for mutual benefit, although neither may be pleased about the team-up. Maybe one of them will betray the other. I know I’m definitely itching to see how those two will interact with one another. Omg I kinda forgot about that! It does look like a one-to-one design of Darkrai’s crest (no idea what that part of Darkrai’s anatomy is called so I’m just gonna call it a crest). It even has the two bottom protrusions on the front and four smaller spikes in between the larger central spikes, just like Darkrai. Definite Darkrai connection I’d say. Andddd I agree, it does look like a crown of sorts. Which is quite interesting since the entity does mention a crown of red to Waldenhall, yeah? Maybe that whole crown thing may have not been entirely metaphorical. Maybe the Fragment does look like a crown. Maybe even that crown. Of course, it could all be a massive coincidence but the what-ifs are more fun to ponder. If the fragment looks like this crown in particular, then that brings about some questions. Why do the fragments of Perfection take on attributes that Darkrai has? Perfection seems to be native to Ayrith and our pal Darkrai certainly didn’t originate from Ayrith so it must have existed in Ayrith way before Darkrai came to the region. Why does this crown, this Fragment of Perfection, look like Darkrai’s crest? Does this mean there’s an inherent link between Perfection and Darkrai? That would be really neat if Umbreon does. Umbreon is radiating Perfection energy, enough to be pinged on Reeve’s Perfection tracker. Maybe that could power up nearby pokémon. If so, I can see some potential there for a double battle with Lilith in the future where Umbreon buffs our pokémon. With all that has happened to the MC thus far, good for them. They deserve to nope out of that whole mess XD. Then we achieve our true peace. Fin. If Fern can de-douche himself, I believe there’s some glimmer of hope for Connor too. Scarlett will, no doubt, help him through that process. Question is whether or not he’s gonna cause any problems before then. Or how he’s gonna de-douche himself without Scarlett around if that's the route the MC chose xD.

Omg there’s no way you’d go to Hell for that gem of a thought, that’s gold right there… I can absolutely imagine that as Darkrai’s jingle for its design work xD. Absolutely. So many options, not enough answers yet. Maybe those possibilities will be narrowed down next episode. They doooooo have that black/red/white color scheme going on that could totally work with Darkrai’s dream children angle… The manor question can go two ways. Either that random empty manor belongs to them/their family, or it is a random house in the middle of a snowy forest that they eventually found. (On a side note, those plants blocking the way in the manor are now the bane of my existence. I really wanna poke around on the second floor…foiled by potted plants of all things >.>) Why the house is there could be any reason. No one on Silver Rise, Route 3, or even in Addenfall mentions the house so it’s anyone’s guess. What if there was a Tristan-esque situation; whoever lived there wanted to be away from others but couldn’t handle the sheer cold and isolation and abandoned the house. There is material of some sort in an underground section near the manor, perhaps some construction material? Maybe there were plans to build a town in Silver Forest and the manor was the first thing that was built. But the project was eventually scrapped, and no one has inhabited the place since. Or the manor could have belonged to a ranger or someone who frequented the mountain but doesn’t anymore. Heck, maybe the owner of the manor ended up lost in the mountains, perished, and was reborn as the Froslass in Silver Forest. What a team that’d be. The Grand Rouge, Jarred, and the protagonist, off to find the Lightening Orb. That will be a memorable quest xD. If we don’t get a Grand Rogue team-up, then a Jarred team-up seems quite likely. He’s gonna be keeping tabs on the protagonist since the spicy chicken showdown so he’s gonna appear eventually. This time I will be prepared for Jarred’s inevitable backstab/surprise arrival! True. It would be super cool to go back to the Caves at some point and see a thriving cavern town, complete with lights, cozy little houses/huts, and a town hall not meant for gladiatorial combat against a Donphan. With the Resort and the Cavern maybe that portion of Amaria will gain more popularity over time. Haha I should be thanking you for a great read I hope you have fun crafting your next chapter! I know I will certainly be anticipating its release. Quite a bit of emphasis on should. There’s still time for things to descend into a chaotic mess for everyone! Doubly so if we do end up down the Inception route xD. Yep yep. Umbreon is tough, tough enough to keep anyone from targeting Lilith and it. Although it probably pales in comparison to a Perfection Legendary. What we know Perfection Darkrai is capable of boils down to it constructing a dream world and given its current objective, merging dream and reality. That alone is pretty daunting. Outside of that we dunno what other tricks it may have up its sleeve. With it being a pokémon related to nightmares it definitely seems that way. Definitely an apt way of putting it. Slowly but surely the spaces will be filled, and the picture will be revealed… even if there are some pieces that need to be shuffled around just a smidgen . I’d surmise the entity was either talking about humanity or those unworthy (which is probably a good chunk of people either way). The entity was aware of the protagonist’s presence in the ruins so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they knew Garret was there as well. Valid target acquired. Ya know, the ending scene showed Darkrai seemingly waiting for the entity. Obviously, we have no way of knowing if they will be buddy-buddy as of yet, but it’d certainly be on the interesting side if the entity also views Darkrai as unworthy or a threat of some kind. All things considered, staying hidden seems like a pretty sensible plan in the long run. Huh, now that you mention it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for them to lose their Perfection since it did happen to Darkrai, whether it was by a strange accident or whatnot. The priest idea is quite interesting. Having the first Settlers be proponents of Perfection in a spiritual sense and set up Kanzen Temple would be pretty neat. Ooh, maybe the writer merged with the Fragment due to their experiments or a screwup or something. I suppose experiments or catastrophic failure could also result in the fragment coming to life. If either of those ideas comes to fruition I wish Waldenhall good luck getting that Fragment. He’s gonna need it. Another idea is that the entity was housed in the Fragment and was eventually released. The Fragment situation is definitely an odd one to dissect. We know that Umbreon ascended without the usage of the Perfection Fragment, and Umbreon ascended naturally. Being immaterial seems to be an intrinsic state of Perfection. Though, according to those journals the Fragment may be a gem or fragment of something. Something tangible. Given this, it seems possible that being an intangible force it isn’t the only state it can exist in. It’s unknown if this Fragment is an exception to what we know, or if it’s just a rare occurrence that we just haven’t heard of until now. It’s possible that the fragment could be a vessel that harbors or traps large quantities of Perfection, or it could be the source of Perfection (or a part of it anyway) that emanates the Perfection energy throughout the region. It could also be that the Perfection energy underwent a process that crystallized it into the form of a gem. Or the fragment could be a conduit for channeling or collecting Perfection energy. It’d be really cool if it was part of a Perfection pokémon preserved. Especially in a stone/gem, akin to amber fossilization. If it’s a gem or stone or some such I’m wondering if it looks like the game’s icon. It’s gem-like and looks similar to the designs on the text box when the entity speaks. Given the close connection they have with Perfection it seems like a possibility to me. I’ve also been tossing around the idea of the Onyx Stone being the Perfection Fragment. Dunno how viable that is but it’s a mysterious stone with some powerful aura radiating from it. That’s a pretty fair assessment I’d say. If it does come down to a duel of illusions let’s just hope Darkrai hasn’t succeeded at powering up at that point! So many Foxes…probably the largest skulk I’ve seen yet xD. Ayrith, the region of Foxes. Ah, quite true. It has all the trappings for a gym leader. Once the threats to Ayrith are settled it seems like a good opening for him. At that point, he’d come full circle with the addition of personal growth making for a satisfying conclusion.