Part 47: Crystal Cave (return)

Hello everyone and welcome back. With the 8th badge in hand, the story's finale is just around the corner. So let's not waste any time.





Like I said last time, we can't teach anyone on the team Nasty Plot. It's legit a shame because it's such a handy move.



Like Adam said, there's a cave hidden behind the gym.



The only thing inside is this familiar purple design we've seen a few times already.





Let's get the hell outta here. So long stink town!



I said before that we can't return to the Dream Realm until the postgame... this is why. Let's see just where we emerged.



Route 5, apparently. Though a part of it we've never seen before.



So let me clarify... we can't return to the Dream Realm until we're deep in the postgame because of this waterfall.





: Are you there? I was on my way to Gaea Town, like we talked about... I ran into something. The Augur's here in Amphitrite City. And he's battling what looks like a... Giratina cultist? There aren't any cults for Giratina, as far as I know.



That's... really not good. Jaern has the last crystal piece, and Adam just got done telling us that they can only be taken if you've been beaten in battle.



We need to hurry!





Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.



: You can't defeat Rayquaza! Not with just an ordinary pokemon!

I'm pretty sure Garchomp could do a pretty fuckin' good job smacking around Rayquaza.

: Finish it, Garchomp.





: Garchomp is fantastic.
: How is... how is this...
: You're a fool if you thought you were any more of a hindrance ot us, Jaern. We've been planning this since the dawn of time. Your acquirement of the crystal the Augur used was unexpected, certainly. It made things a bit more complicated- especially when it was shattered.



The guy with the camera is definitely recording, and probably live broadcasting this.

: But it hasn't changed anything. Amy has two of the pieces, and you have the last...





: For a defender of the region, you sure are a poor trainer.
: ... ... ...
: The crystal is nearly reunited once more. Soon... so soon.



: I can feel the power emanating from the shards you hold. The crystal- and by extent, the shards- can only pass from one being to another if it is earned.



: Oh, and... you might want to go fast.









: Oh, uh... um...



: I... I couldn't...

into deleting it.

: But... you can't...



: ...fine. That's fine. You'll see. You need me. The First Augur is gone, but the bad guys aren't! You need an Augur! You need a protector!



: ... ... ...heh. Fine. When you come to me begging for help, don't be surprised if I turn away.





here?



Text colors seem to change completely at random here. Half the time that Cue Ball on the right has had the red text girl characters usually do, and now the lady on the left has male blue.



Welp, looks like Jaern's little empire of evil is coming crumbling down around him. The real villains have made their power grab. They took Nora to ensure we came to them, so they can beat us on their terms. The fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.

We Need a Hero





Skipping through the cave liberally.



We're just retracing our steps to where we met with Vesryn.



By the way you should probably save here. Trust me.





Those are four beautiful words when strung together like that.

: It was perfect. I had an entire region to myself, and a legendary pokemon. I could have been the hero. I could have used the crystal to stop Her. We didn't need to have this problem. But you... you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? And now...





: You ruined me. You're not getting out of here, Amy. I went easy on you... but now I have nothing left to lose. I am going to tear you to pieces! Bring it on!



The final battle against Jaern. Despite it not having been a thing for the past 26 updates, the game will finally decide we've toppled the Sky Cult after this.





I wasn't entirely truthful the first time we beat Jaern. I had forgotten about this battle, to be honest. There's no points for guessing what his Mega is on this team.



So let's get started.







Aegislash doesn't even get a chance to act before it's Earthquaked into submission.



And Jaern is done playing around as well. This time I don't have Boppo to save my ass.









For fuck's sake. Naturally I forget that Mold Breaker only affects ability-based immunities, not type-based ones.



Mega Ray's item locks it into V-Create for better or worse.



For worse, it appears.



I try smashing Mega Ray with Stone Fist and it barely tickles it. In return...



Surprisingly, Centaurion doesn't get one shot.



Centaurion heals up with Drain Punch while Mega Ray regrets locking itself into V-Create.



Centaurion goes down, but at great cost to Mega Ray. Even if Jaern heals it up, the damage to its stats has already been done.





Told you.





Starting to really hate Play Rough's accuracy. I should probably give Gateau a Scope Wide Lens to offset it.



V-Create hurts, but thankfully I didn't Shell Smash, so Gateau was able to take a hit from it.



In return, she one shots Mega Ray with Play Rough.



Our cake gal is quite the tank.





Ouch.



That's low enough that Jaern will probably use his second Full Restore.



At least you can predict how enemy trainers will react.



Giving Beeisel Scald was a pretty good call.





I'm not sure what Jaern was thinking here, because Arcanine was faster than Beeisel and could one shot her with Close Combat.



Instead Jaern had the bright idea to spam dragon moves at my Engine Bee.



Dragon moves that don't even connect.







Shifting into second is as far as I need to take her.



Dastardly.



But two can play at this game.





Jaern is not very good at this. Thunder may be neutral damage, but Beeisel has such high defenses that she'll just shrug it off.



Not bad for a neutral hit.



The Second Augur continues trying to overload the engine with voltage instead of doing something smart.





And now Beeisel is faster than the fire tiger-dog.



One Scald takes it out.





Even if Lucario one shots Beeisel, its health is so low that it'll go down next turn regardless.





30% burn chance!







Regardless of what the Lucario does, it's going down this turn.



5/6 down.



Oh no whatever shall I do.



It's not weak to Electric, but it also no longer resists it.



My steel types are really coming through here.



Salamence goes down on the next turn.



Cry me a river.



: I hope you're proud of yourself.

I kinda am, yeah.

: I could have stopped Her, you know. But you ruined that. You forced my hand, and I got exposed.

You lost to one of Her underlings. What in the blue hell makes you think you could last against the big boss?

: So now it's on you. I guess some advice wouldn't go amiss... I learned about what was really going on behind the scenes while researching the First Augur's crystal. It seems to be a power source older than time itself.

unlimited.

: With it, an entire universe could be created. I don't remember much about Her... I don't know why. It's like there's a block in my memory. But She's stronger than you can imagine. You can't let Her get it.



: Good luck. I'm outta here. I'm going to enjoy my last few minutes on this planet before you ruin it.



So we just kicked Jaern's ass so hard that he's gone from the story. For good.



I'm feeling pretty good about the way things are going! Even without any ice moves, we did great.





: Thank you for coming. We've talked before. I was the one in Narra Town. Our leader wants to speak with you directly. She says she could come meet you, but it would be much easier if you could meet her halfway.



: You went to the Dream Realm recently, so I suppose you should have a basic understanding of worlds, no?



For the sake of conversation, yes.

: Oh, wonderful. That saves me some time. Right now, our leader is in the Distortion Realm. She's trying to meet you halfway- that's where your friend is right now. I've taken the liberty of setting up a pathway there for you. If you take Hoopa's ring at the north end of the cave, you can make your way between worlds.





That's enough of that for now.

NEXT TIME: ???