- So we had a job to do, and made our way upward to Route 22, and this time, Terrakion was there! Colress asked me if I plan to confront Team Plasma, and I was, which didn't seem to concern him, as he gave me the Colress Machine.
- Going from there to Route 21, beating some easy enough Swimmers and a Black Belt along the way doing so, then we had the Seaside Cave. Most of the trainers were simple enough, though there was a Heracross that made it interesting against Jupiter. Other than that, there wasn't too much of note. We dealt with the Crustle at the opposite side and were met outside with Hugh and Marlon, as we were soon able to make our way in.
- Inside the Plasma Frigate, after we puked off the grunts at the entrance, we dealt with two more in a double battle, who were simple enough. Then we made our way down to the hatch and met with…an ex-Team Plasma grunt disguised as a spy on Rood's order? Fascinating. Anyway, there wasn't much in the way of grunts that caused a lot of damage, but one had a Golbat that unfortunately came out while Mambo was amidst Petal Dance. Eventually I got the Plasma Card and took things from there once I had the password.
- Free to progress, I did just that, where Zinzolin showed us the legendary Pokemon Kyurem, trapped inside! Hugh showed up and we entered battle. I'm not going to talk about that, because it was literally just Heatwaver and Hugh's Serperior in it. They were down to their last ones after two turns. Heatwaver grew to Level 51 after the battle was over. And it OHKO'd the Weavile with Superpower even after it had used it before. But then Hugh talked about his Purrloin, but Zinzolin wasn't having it and kicked us off the boat.
- But we knew that our next objective was the Giant Chasm. After a bit of preparation, we made our way there, and Hugh was ready to send Team Plasma running off again. We were soon in the Crater Forest, but they weren't having Rood's words! We had to take them ourselves, then. After doing so, the backup had arrived… What backup. That being said, the two grunts in a double battle dealt some damage with their Scrafty, and Mambo being locked into Petal Dance against a Poison-type didn't help.
- Then we had the lower part of the Plasma Frigate. This place has some extremely epic music very reminiscent of Pokemon Ranger. But anyway, there wasn't too much from the grunts that put up a lot of damage, though it was fun going through and deactivating the barriers. As for Zinzolin, he went down 1-2-3 with Scalfi's Revenge. The first Cryogonal used a weak Ice Beam, the second used Light Screen, and Weavile knocked me from 5/6 to half with Night Slash.
- Stepping aside, I was free to meet once again with Colress, who was ready to bring out his desire at any cost. Well, I was ready to show him what that was!
As he began with Magneton, I started with Mambo. He used Flash Cannon for narrowly under 2/3 as I used Cotton Spore to half his Speed. Petal Dance dealt a decent hit, a little over 1/3, before another Flash Cannon finished me. I brought in Heatwaver, who used Dig and KO'd it thanks to the Expert Belt.
Magnezone was next, and I switched in Ceramic to absorb the Thunder Wave, and Rock Tomb barely scratched it but lowered his Speed, as his Flash Cannon did under half. I had Leftovers, and Earth Power slammed it. Heatwaver grew to Level 52.
Beheeyem was next, and I brought in Heatwaver as he used Calm Mind. Bite handily did over half as he used… Calm Mind again. Bite finished it.
Then he had Metang, which I switched in Ceramic for again. After an Agility that doubled his Speed and some Leftovers, Meteor Mash…scored a critical hit and got the KO. LAME! I brought in Scalfi, and as his Zen Headbutt did over 1/4, Scald did slightly under half. He used Zen Headbutt again and got me a tad below half, as Scald got a min/max damage thing for the KO.
And lastly was Klinklang, who had the Air Balloon to avoid a Ground-type attack. I switched Jupiter into a Thunderbolt, which missed thanks to the Lax Incense. But it was then that I realized I dropped Thunder Wave for Bulldoze… Darn it! Nevertheless, as he used Shift Gear, I went for Discharge, which did over 1/3 and got the paralysis. I used it again and got him into the red as he used Shift Gear again… But then I remembered that he had his Full Restore, which he used. Discharge did under half and didn't get the paralysis this time, and Giga Impact got the OHKO. I brought in Heatwaver, who used Superpower for the win. And Scalfi grew to Level 53.
So he learned that I do want to reach greater heights by recognizing a bond as Pokemon and trainer, and suggested me go to the opposite side of the teleporter to his helm. The grunt ahead admitted that he doesn't have any Pokemon, and fled like a coward. Before going onward, I decided to teach Drain Punch to Mambo, because I had the shards and felt that'd be a decent choice to handle Steel-types. In Ghetsis' quarters he was there, and admitted this was all about him. The Shadow Triad appeared, and so did Hugh… Who got his long-awaited Pokemon back… A Liepard?! He was in disarray, leaving me to face the Shadow Triad. The only one that caused serious damage was the one with the Absol, who at +2 did make it scary but Scalfi saved the day once again with a survival in the red.
Once they were done, Hugh begged me to not let Team Plasma do as they please. I continued through the Giant Chasm, where Ghetsis was waiting, and ready to battle… Or summon Kyurem! And have it use Glaciate on me - wait, WHAT?! As I was facing the final seconds of my existence… "Reshiram! Fusion Flare!" That was none other than N with Reshiram! You know, I've talked about this before, but this is my favorite plot point in ANY main series Pokemon game, and the reason for that is because of how Ghetsis PREDICTED N to swoop in and do exactly what he did so he can use Kyurem's Absofusion. With that, I had to face White Kyurem myself, on behalf of N and all of Unova. Here we go!
As I entered battle with White Kyurem, I led off with Mizuno, and tried to use Mirror Coat, but that failed as it readied Ice Burn. It hit for over half, and Mirror Coat got it into the red. Fusion Flare finished her. I brought in Jupiter and took a DragonBreath for a little under half, while Discharge got it to 1 HP and paralyzed it, allowing another to finish it. Then they seperated, and Ghetsis was angry and wasn't having it with me, so he challenged me to battle!
As he began with Cofagrigus, I had Mizuno still in front. Ice Beam hit hard, dishing out over half his health, as he used Toxic. He had Leftovers, too, as I took Toxic damage. He used Protect to block another Ice Beam, and he gained while I was drained. He used Shadow Ball, which did over 1/3 my remaining health, and I used Mirror Coat, which reflected the attack to finish him. Toxic damage had me just below 1/3, though.
Eelektross came after. Unsure of what to settle with, I decided to just stay in and use Ice Beam, which did over half… And froze it solid! It didn't thaw out, and I lived the poison damage with 9 HP, allowing me to deal the finisher (and taunting me with the unneeded critical hit) before Mizuno fainted.
With a hunch that Seismitoad was next, I brought in Mambo… And I was right! Seismitoad was up, and used Sludge Wave, which left me at 1/4, but Giga Drain easily OHKO'd it and healed Mambo to 5/6.
Drapion was next, and I stayed in hoping to get off a Cotton Spore… But X-Scissor hit and scored a critical hit on the first hit, finishing Mambo. He did take some Rocky Helmet damage, but this left me in a difficult spot. I decided to bring in Jupiter, who took an Earthquake for 2/3 before I used Thunder Wave to paralyze him. Discharge did over half before Night Slash finished me. Ceramic finished him with Earth Power.
Then he used Toxicroak, and my only thought was "why?". Knowing that Hydreigon was coming up, I decided to set up a Cosmic Power in the hopes of trying to hold that off a little and sap some with his Life Orb. His Shadow Ball did okay, slightly over 1/4, and I had Leftovers. I used another Cosmic Power, as he used a Poison Jab for 1/10. I then demolished him with Psychic and Leftovers had me at 5/6.
Last was, of course, Hydreigon. Crunch got me into the red, but I underestimated how much it'd do as I used Cosmic Power. He did take Life Orb damage, though, and Dragon Rush (okay?) finished me but had him out 20%. I brought in Heatwaver, hoping his attack would miss… Nope. Rock Slide hit for the OHKO and left him at 70% and me with just Scalfi. Dragon Rush hit for over half and Life Orb got him to 60%, and no flinch, and Revenge…got the KO for the win!
So with that, N tried to get through to Ghetsis, to no avail, as the Shadow Triad took him off. N thanked me and suggested me go to the Pokemon League. Hugh showed up a little too late and asked if it was over, but I answered No to his question. Yep, I gotta be the one who decides when it's over. After a bit of talk from him, I found the items in the remains of the Crater Forest and planned for my next destination: the Pokemon League.