Part 48: Void Gauntlet

60 hours and we're at the end of the story. Let's see this sucker through.



Before we start...



Gateau is given something to make her Play Roughs hit just a little more often. Now she has only a 1% miss chance instead of a 10%.



The Void Gauntlet is aptly named. It's an extremely long section with no chance to heal or rest until you get to the end. Insurgence, I should add, is not a game that particularly likes you to have PP restoratives. Ethers are extremely rare. And this is just training for Victory Road, which is even worse.



At least there are some cool visuals in here.





The two halves don't come together quite right.



These guys are all called mysterious grunt. I probably won't be showing this battle pose again.



These guys also fuckin' love to use Destiny Bond. They like to spam it.



What are you talking about?



Thinking about it, there's nothing preventing you from walking back out of the Void Gauntlet to a pokecenter if you need it. Though it is a gigantic pain in the ass to get back here.



Pokemon Red/Blue - Pokemon Mansion

The gimmick of the Void Gauntlet is that it's a mashup of a bunch of important places from all over the pokemon games.





The encounter tables reflect what you could originally find there.



Though not all of it can be accessed.



people you've faced so far.







Gotta Heart Swap past the shutter.



Uh, sure.



The exit from each area is a bright pulsing thing of light.



Nagarex Forest is apparently from Zeta-Omicron.



Pokemon Red/Blue - Viridian Forest

There's no Nagarex Forest music on youtube that I can find with a cursory search. Most of the let's plays that come up when I search "Nagarex Forest music" are on episode 2 so I guess this was super early game.

Anyway, we're in the upper left.



Hidden berry in this tree.

because we have to.



You apper to be disintegrating anyway.



Jackpot! This is the only other Ancient Ball available before the postgame. So now if we find a legendary pokemon we can catch it marginally easier.



There's a bottom half of this route, but there's nothing down there that I could find except for a wild Pineco in the grass.



Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - Cave of Origin

This screen and the next one are both straight shots, so no map needed.

that hired him.

Yeah, I gathered.







There's a Meloetta tile puzzle, except it's blocked by Rock Climb. So guess what we get to come back and do.



Like I said, a straight shot.



Pokemon X/Y - Pokemon Village

Is it just me or does this sound like a town theme from one of the Paper Mario games?





Sleepy Snorlax.



I really wish the game gave you access to this earlier.

less of a threat!



How long has it been since we've seen a Zoroark trainer?





Random place for the fairy type plate, but sure.









Another straight shot. The Insurgence wiki says it's based on Gen 6's Unknown Dungeon but...

Pokemon Red/Blue - Cerulean Cave

The RBY theme is better.



Also the cave is like 20 feet long.



Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green - Pokemon Tower



No kindness here. What used to be a healing zone is just a floor tile.







I honestly can't remember anymore, is this the earliest we could have found this?







I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's where Marowak's ghost should be.



Citadark Isle Theme - Pokemon XD

Never played Pokemon XD. I tried to rent it from a local store once but the disc was scratched to hell. I'm pretty sure it was the last game I ever rented from a video store.



I don't actually know what those sliding doors are.



Moltres is behind this Relic Song Wall.



about.











Does what?







Pokemon Black/White - Giant Chasm

We're nearly done.



That's DNA Splicers in the middle of the pit.







These are always useful.



You know, the longer I go on in the game, the less I find myself needing dragon moves. Being neutral against most types is nice and all, but I also have Return if I want to do that.



Just a few more screens.





Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - Spear Pillar



Neat!









Mega Meganium gets Magic Bounce (Reflects status moves) as an ability. Both its defenses shoot up to 140 base, and its speed becomes 100 base. Not bad if you need a good wall and don't mind sacrificing your mega slot.



The Rock Climb wall in the back is where Dialga can be found after the Elite Four rematches.





The Hall of Legends is another location from Zeta/Omicron. Palkia can be found here after the Elite Four rematches.





That's the final portal ahead.



No map because it's a straight line.





This area is cool as all hell, though.



Mewtwonite X and Y are hidden on either side of the palace. I didn't pick them up.





: Amy. I've been watching you. I apologize for making you trek here, but I felt it was appropriate to do our business here.



: My name is Nyx.

Suppressing the urge to make a Warframe joke.

: I'm not your enemy. We're both just in... unfortunate situations. Please, take a seat, make yourselves comfortable. I'm the leader of...



: I have no qualm with your people. Like I said, we're all bystanders. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. You've met with the... Timeless, I believe they call themselves, right? The group of trainers that guard the crystal from me? Warriors from spacetime who are bound by the orders of Arceus, or whatever silly speech they have?



: wasn't a way for us to get it directly. So, I helped Zenith create the Infernal Cult. It's not something I'm proud of, but you folk are really easy to manipulate.



Starting to really dislike smug Giratina-lady.

: Point is, we hoped that the mayhem caused would scare the Timeless into using the crystal. It worked even better than we expected. Dozens of cults sprang up, and they leased it to Adam, the First Augur.

hitch in my plans.

: He stole the crystal and stopped fighting the cults. His lust for power really hindered us- there was no way for us to get it back. I had to get more involved. I hired someone from your realm- some amateurish street magician. I told him to shine some lights, release some smoke, and fake a grandiose prophecy.

easily.

: ...and just like I predicted, Zenith got cocky. The psychological tricks we have don't really work on everyone- least of all someone who was strong enough to be chosen by Mew. But Zenith thought they did. And because of that, he lost.



Bullshit. She's just taking credit for Amy's actions post-facto.

: The pieces of the crystal slowly returned to me. And now... all the pieces are in this room. I'm monologuing. I apologize. But you deserve to know the entire truth. Nora, you seem like a smart young girl.



: Arceus made it, right? It was born from a golden egg? Then it made Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina to govern over time, space, and Dark Matter.
: Antimatter. Not Dark Matter. Those are two very different things.
: Right. Antimatter. Does... does it matter?
: Please, just continue.
: Giratina grew angry and tried to overthrow Arceus, so it was banished to the Distortion World forever.



: I would want the world to think Arceus revolted against me, and that I stopped it. Just like Jaern did. I'd want people to like me.
: Exactly. History is written by the winners. The truth is... the birth of the universe is far more complicated than we can imagine. Nobody knows how it happened, but I believe the crystal was involved somehow. But here's what I do know: Arceus wasn't in charge.



: Matter is made of very small subatomic particles. These particles- such as protons and electrons- can have a positive or negative charge. In antimatter, it's the opposite.

I know this is wrong, but I don't have enough knowledge of theoretical (or regular) physics to say why. My inclination is to say that the definition of antimatter is wrong because the ways in which it's the opposite isn't clearly defined. Is antimatter made of nothing but neutrons? Is what it's made of larger than a subatomic particle? Is this just bullshit JRPG pseudoscientific wankery?

(Yes to the last one.)

: That's it. One isn't inferior to the other. They're basically the same. The names are arbitrary. It's only what we call them that matters. The fact is, the matter that makes up the main universe? That was supposed to be called antimatter. The antimatter world is now known as the Distortion World... but it was originally the other way around.

Yeah I'ma need to see some evidence on that one. So far all this has done is push forward the Arceus is God and Giratina is the Devil fan theory, but inverted it.

: But Arceus didn't like being the bottom dog. Along with Dialga and Palkia, it stole my crystal and overthrew Giratina.





So after all of that stupid preamble, here's the whole reason for the game's plot happening. Here's ultimately the reason why Amy lost her memories and had her dad shoved in her dreams.

: We used to look like you! But being in the Distortion World... it's ruined us.



Nyx disrobes and shows off her true form. She's a white energy being... like a Novakid from Starbound.

: ...and when it comes down to it, nobody deserves to live in the Distortion World, whether that title goes to your world or mine. But this is the way it was meant to be. If it comes down to one or the other... then I will fight to save my people.



: Using the power of the crystal, I can reform the universe to the way it was always meant to be. I can return Giratina to its former power! My people will be happy again... and the earth you know would become the new Distortion World.

The game tries its damnedest to paint Nyx as a sympathetic villain. However at the end of the day, she's just another cultist with dreams of world domination. Except instead of ruling over a region of the world, she wants to doom an entire dimension for no particularly good reason.

: Giratina will rule once more and Arceus, the revolter... the insurgent, will be cast aside forever.



: I can't take them from you by force, so I think you know where this is headed. I'm sorry, Amy. I wish it didn't have to be this way. But it's too late now to stop. And if it comes down to me or you... I will fight for my people.



: You've earned the right to a fair chance. Oh and there's one more thing. When we battle, we're battling by my rules.



Nora will heal us.



: I can't imagine how much pressure you're under. But... if there was anyone in the universe I'd pick to save us, it would be you. Let me heal your pokemon. Good luck. I believe in you.

Before we repeatedly lose to Nyx continue, let's take a look at the team that will save the world.





NATHAN is both extremely fast and extremely powerful. The Scope Lens will help him crit more often, hopefully letting him sweep.





Aragog is a worthy successor to Fancy. I have yet to see Poison Touch actually take effect, but not very many things in the endgame will poison you either. Otherwise, he's an absolute beast.





Gateau has come a long way since we first got her. I never would have thought she'd be one of the pokemon I took to save the world, but here we are.





Dracolich is still just as strong as ever, but his effectiveness has started to taper now that we're saving mega evolution for Aragog.





What's not to love about Centaurion? He doesn't have an item because he doesn't need one.





Good old Beeisel. Though like Dracolich, I fear her effectiveness has started to taper as well. Aragog has higher physical defense with an attack stat to match. Though it is pretty hard to beat resisting 10 different types of damage!



This is about to suck...

: Are you ready, Amy? I feel like I should say, once more... this isn't personal. I just want what's best for my people.



: What I meant by "we're battling by my rules"... In the Distortion World, typings work... a little differently. So we're going to play by the typings I know, not yours.



Hint HINT H I N T HINT

: Let's begin, Amy! The fates of the worlds rest with us!



The mismatched sides still bother me.





Nyx mentioned it lowkey and then came right out and said it. This is an Inverse Battle. Typings work opposite here, and her team is diverse enough that they can hit pretty much every new weakness my team has.

Let's just skip past the failures because this is one of the hardest fights in the game, and this update is already long enough as it is.



Crest sauropod vs cake hermit crab.



Ouch. A normal hit shaved off just shy of half of Gateau's HP.



She buffs herself up in the hope she's now faster.



She is, and Return one shots the Aurorus.



Return is a pretty good thing to have in an Inverse Battle. I'm pretty sure nothing resists it.



Two down!



Here's where the problems start.



This is a Mega Kangaskhan too.



Power-up Punch doesn't KO Gateau, but it does leave her hurting.



She can't take another hit like that. Mega Kangaskhan is even stronger than before, and a boosted Return didn't even take off half its health.



I slam a Full Restore into her, but...



Yeah. Gateau is screwed in short order.



Power-up Punch leaves her barely hanging on.



And her own Return didn't do the necessary damage. I could use another Full Restore, but it would be a losing game.



I should have used Shell Smash to power her up even more. Instead...



I wasn't thinking straight because this was my third attempt at the fight. I was frustrated and angry and ready for this bullshit to be over.





So instead I delayed the inevitable and let the Kangaskhan power up even more.



And because it's faster than Gateau, it got to use Power-up Punch twice in a row.





I keep healing her, but it's just a stalling game with no ticking damage in place.



The Kangaskhan also finally got powerful enough to one shot Gateau, from full health, with Return.



So let's play The Asshole Card.



Aragog is now weak to Fighting.



Earthquake did barely any damage.





More holding patterns. Also Mega Kangaskhan is in full restore range for the AI, so Nyx heals it back to full, completely undoing all that hard work.



So with Nyx presumably out of healing items, let's play a stalling game.



Or not. Return one shots Aragog from full health.



NATHAN comes out to try and salvage this.



He's the first thing we have faster than Mega Kangaskhan.



Get fucked.



Normal is apparently now super effective against Steel. Sure, whatever.



I can't even pretend to remember what the fuck the new weaknesses and resistances are anymore. At this point I'm throwing warm bodies into the fray to try and do something against this demon.



Centaurion goes down in one shot from Earthquake.



We're being swept.



Dracolich walks out and Kangaskhan finally goes down to a poison tick.



We're so behind the ball that I'm willing to sacrifice Dracolich to get someone else up.





Fire Blast misses.





May as well do some damage before Dracolich goes down.



Some.





Feels good to be able to shock a Ground type.



Hey kids guess what time it is! That's right it's time for yet a-fucking-nother Protean Greninja.





As before, may as well do a little damage while we can.



And in the next turn, NATHAN gets fully healed.





Then it uses Ice Beam and takes NATHAN out.



Fuck me.



Time to play Revive Tag.



Beeisel gets one shot by Ice Beam due to 4x weakness.



Aragog comes out and I revive Centaurion. I'm officially in "need warm bodies" mode again. I have more than enough revives, and the Greninja is slowly whittling itself down with its Life Orb.



Being Bug/Ground actually saved Aragog here.



The follow-up Dark Pulse takes him out, but leaves it in critical health.





Centaurion is gonna go down, but the Greninja will too.









Gonna hope that Beeisel is tanky enough to let me get ahead of the revives.



Bullet Seed KOs NATHAN.



If need be, I can just outlast this asshole too.



I'd say I'm not proud of doing it, but I hope this is also adequately communicating how completely horseshit this fight is.



It turns out Beeisel is not tanky enough to take an inverted Bullet Seed.



I'm taking a huge gamble here. If Breloom one shots Aragog, then I lose.



The damage has been done. It's got Toxic and a Life Orb slowly whittling it down now.



Centaurion gets back up.



Mach Punch takes out Aragog.



Revive Tag is a fucking boring way to play, and I'm sure read, but it is effective.



Centaurion, amazingly, isn't one shot by Bullet Seed.





And FINALLY I win through sheer attrition.





Go fuck yourself, Nyx.



: How...? You're just... Just some antimatter human... You can't defeat me! That's... that's...



Nyx keeps shouting IMPOSSIBLE at the heavens while she slowly fades out of existence. Good fucking riddance.



: I've never seen battling like that before, ever.

Given the way we just won, it's hard to not read that as dumbfounded shock that we just threw like 30 revives at the problem until we won.

: Even recordings of trainers like Steven and Red don't compare to what I saw.



Earthquake!

: I forgot... Giratina is coming...



: Amy. Nyx said she was going to use the crystal to bring Giratina back to its true power. The crystal's in there somewhere. Do you think... do you think it's possible to take it down? If anyone could do it, it's you, Amy.



Amy. Amy! Please don't strip down to your undies for the cutscene. That's weird.









: But you just took down someone from another universe! If anyone can do it, you can. Let me heal your pokemon.



'sup?







Thaaat's 10 pounds of nope in a 5 pound bag.



This is as good a reason to use this as any other!





...hahahaha. That's the best bit of unintentional comedy in this entire LP. PokeSatan gets stored in the box with FireWooper and Ghost Monkey.



: It's over.

Yeah, kinda anticlimactic if you ask me.
'
Giratina.

: I think it might finally be time to admit you're better than me. There's still loads for us to do though. I'm sure there's a lot of cult members who don't know their leaders have been defeated.



: Take a break. You deserve it. Go battle the Elite Four! I mean, at this point, you're already a Pokemon Master, but it'd be nice to make it official, you know? I'd be surprised if there was anything you couldn't do.











: I'm at a loss for words. You actually did it. The big threat that's been terrorizing our reality since the beginning of time. You actually did it. Well, I gotta say, Amy...



: I'll take those crystals off your hands for now. I'll return them to their rightful place... but honestly, I don't think they'll be there for long. Now that Nyx was defeated... well, the extradimensional threat is gone, and you'd probably be the best person to guard against human ones.

find us.



After 47 updates, we've finally finished the Pokemon Insurgence main story. All that's left is the championship.



NEXT TIME: Victory Road, here we come!