International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day!

This is a day to celebrate women's fight for equality and liberation. This day's roots can be traced back to February 28, 1909. This was the day of a "Woman's Day", which was organized by the Socialist Party of America under the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel. On March 1911, the first International Women's Day was marked in certain countries in Europe (Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Switzerland) by over a million people. Initially, this day had no set date, generally celebrated in late February or early March. It would spread over the world since then, with Russia starting to celebrate this day in 1913, and Germany following in 1914, Australia in 1928. 

International Women's Day was mainly associated with socialist and communist movements in those early years. In the USA of the 1960s, the day would also be embraced by the second wave of the feminist movement. At that point, it had become an obscure holiday, until the activist Laura X organized an International Women's Day march in 1969. She also called for an entire month to celebrate women. 

The United Nations started celebrating this day in 1975, proclaiming it the International Women's Year. And since then, this day has seen many protests and marches in favor of women's rights. After all, we still got a ways to go. If you want to learn more about this day, you can do so here and here. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Marvel: The Lost Generation #10 (May 2000)

It's that time again! It's time to look back into the past of the Marvel Universe and its lost generation of superheroes: The First Line! Last time, we saw the Line engage in what was their seemingly last battle against the vampiric Nocturne, and a seemingly ordinary man made a shocking discovery...with a twist. So, where do things go from here? We're going backwards from the death to the birth of the Line, so what key moment in their history do we see here? Let's find out in Marvel: The Lost Generation #11!

The cover is a John Byrne and Al Milgrom piece. It certainly is an attention-grabber, I'll grant it that. It centers around what looks like some kind of mutated fetus, with members of the First Line in bubbles, showing it's suspended in some liquid. You get the impression the Line has no idea who this guy even is.

"Secrets: Great and Small"
Writers: Roger Stern and John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Al Milgrom
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Matt Hicks
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins in Maine, at the Carmody Institute. Well, the Institute in the process of being built. Yes, we are going backwards. Remember, this miniseries is going backwards from the fall of the First Line to the origins of the team. 

Anyway, there has been a lot of tight security around the complex. But no security is perfect. There's always a hole, and one man is taking advantage of this fact to slip into the complex. However, he manages to get caught by what looks like an incomplete version of the Walkabout robot.

"My God! David Hasselhoff!"

Yes, it's a pre-SHIELD Nick Fury Senior. In case you're wondering why he's not wearing an eyepatch, it's because he has a bionic eye. Effigy greets him. This place is meant to be a new headquarters for the Line, which is now more of a loose alliance of heroes than a formal team. The shapeshifting Skrull reveals that he is also Undersecretary Jake Scott. And Fury is, well...furious.

Fury mentions a scheme concocted by Scott that led to a lot of good men dying. Scott mentions that it was an unfortunate necessity, as there was more to an 'Operation: Clean Sweep' than meets the eye. My guess is that's something that will be discussed in future issues. The discussion is tabled by a call from a William Carmody, the owner of the Institute. Unknown to the Line and Fury, another unwanted guest is making their way in.

"Man, I cannot wait to shoe the First Line my stylin' new shades!"

It's Warlord Kro and the Deviants! You may know them from my reviews of the 1985 Eternals miniseries. This was long before that little event. He's learned that one of the Eternals (Pixie) is encouraging the humans to engage in superheroics, and he is intent on...discouraging that. And they're going to use a device called the Gouger in order to do it. They use the device to blow a hole in the headquarters. 

And with that, it's the First Line vs. the Deviants!

It's during the fight that Cassandra Locke appears, journeying backwards in time. She sees the Yeti run by, seeking Deviant blood. She notes that this confirms a legend about the line, that the Yeti was a member of the Line before something called "The Rapunzel Tragedy". She watches the Line battle the Deviants.

One of the Deviants under Kro's command suggests they retreat, but Kro refuses. He's faced superhumans before. This is a reference to . We then go back some hours earlier to Chicago. There, a teenaged girl named Truth MacRae (although she prefers to go by Ruth) is heading home from school. She finds her parents Fred and Autumn MacRae, aka the retired heroes Cap'n Hip and Sunshine, in her room.

"Honey, you have some weird magazines!" 

They've found her collection of photos of the Black Fox. Hip ain't too fond of the Fox, as he thinks he's a fascist. I think the idea is that Hip is well, an old hippie who thinks the Fox represents "The Man". Fred, you may need to examine that weed you've been using. 

Truth argues with her parents about keeping secrets. After all, they preach being open with others, yet they've kept quiet about being superheroes in the past. She leaps out the window, only to be okay.

Evidently she's inherited some kind of superpower from her parents. Fred tries to pursue her, but she manages to escape him. In an alley, Ruth's body is erupting in pain, while she laments that her parents now know she has powers like them. She feels numb as her skin turns a pale purplish white. Ladies, gentlemen, whatever you choose to identify as...you just witnessed the birth of Gadfly from issue #12. 

Back to the Carmody Institute in Maine. Cassandra Locke is there, and she witnesses the robotic Walkabout pick up something and integrate it into its body.

"Finally, I can go out to get pizza again!"

She realizes that it's William Carmody, who was one of the great scientific minds of the late 20th century. He was supposedly fatally shot, but it turns out reports of his death was greatly exaggerated. Carmody lives, but he is now a sort of fetal-looking clone. As she watches the Line fight the Deviant invaders, she notes that the belt keeps taking her back to moments of conflict: the final battle of the First Line in issue #12 for example. It leads her to wonder if there's something else at work here...

Effigy notices that the Deviants seem to be after Pixie specifically. He wonders why that is. She claims to have never seen them before, and Oxbow angrily shoves the Skrull agent-turned-superhero away. Cassandra reveals herself to them, telling them she's from the future. Pixie compares her to Kang the Conqueror, hinting the Line faced him at some point. I'd love to read that story. Of course, the group has another problem. The Yeti has gone...a bit bananas. A bit out of control. A bit around the bend. A bit insane.

Right, right, sorry. The reason why they're concerned is because the Line wants to question the Deviants. And they can't do that if the Yeti tears them into little pieces. Thankfully, the trichokinetic power of the Line's resident soul sister Rapunzel are able to calm the savage beast that is the Yeti.

"Yeti...must...know...shampoo brand..."

Trichokinesis is basically the power to control hair. Arguably, the most famous owner of a superpower like this is Medusa from the Inhumans.

The battle forces the Deviants to flee.

However, Oxbow manages to seal the Deviants' exit with a special arrow. Seeing these troopers as failures, Kro evidently remotely triggers hidden explosives on them, blowing them up.

Pixie investigates the hole and discovers a tunnel, joking that Effigy has wanted to add a submarine pen to the place, and now they can use this for it. Hey, look on the bright side of life, that's what I always say.

Oxbow suggests that she tell the others the truth about the Eternals and the Deviants. He's kept it mum for a long time himself. Pixie is reluctant to say anything as she fears how the rest of the Line will react. To be fair to them, I can imagine at this point, the Line has seen a lot of crazy stuff. I think this revelation would rank rather low on the weird scale for them. 

The Line then interrogate Cassandra. She tells them that she's here to warn them about the Skrulls. This sets Effigy off (remember he's a Skrull himself). Cassie realizes that none of the Line are aware that he's a Skrull himself. Yes, one that has become loyal to Earth, but a Skrull none the less. She wonders what Effigy is up to, and decides to travel further back and find out. Nick Fury has also vanished in the fracas. 

The story ends in Langley, Virginia. Fury is reporting about the battle to his own superiors. He recommends that the Line be allowed to do their thing for now, as they seem to be genuine. The superiors all consider a more important assignment for Colonel Fury...

"I'm just grateful that we overrode Johnson's suggestion..."

Yes, we're also witnessing the birth of SHIELD...

I did find this issue rather enjoyable. It was neat seeing Ruth become Gadfly (it's pretty clear by issue #12 that she figured out how to control her appearance despite her short life), as well as the union of Professor Carmody and Walkabout. I also liked that we got to see some of the dynamics of the First Line at this point, with Effigy being the leader with his secrets to keep, and I also liked Rapunzel. 

Cassandra brings up the "Rapunzel Tragedy" in this issue, and it's a pretty intriguing mystery. Not much is revealed here about it, and since Rapunzel is not seen in the previous two issues, it can be presumed that something bad happened to her. Not necessarily a fatal thing. After all, Rapunzel could have been just comatose or unable to help fight for whatever reason. The Marvel Appendix's entry on Rapunzel theorizes that she was attacked by the Yeti thanks to Korya manipulating him. Would make sense considering their appearances together in #11 and #12. That same entry also stated that Roger Stern himself declined to give any further details, wanting to leave it to future writers to expand on. Sadly, due to the obscurity of this maxiseries, that may never happen. 

As I have said before, this maxiseries has never been collected as a stand-alone trade. It was included in a 2018 Omnibus: The Marvel Universe by John Byrne Vol. 2. However, if don't want that Omnibus, you'll have to look in the back issue section of your local comic shop or find it online. I found all twelve issues on eBay for 50 dollars myself.

National Cereal Day

 Happy National Cereal Day, everyone!

Holi

Happy Holi, everyone!

Holi is known as the Festival of Colors. It's a celebration of the love of the deities Radha and Krishna. It also celebrates the oncoming of spring, the triumph of good over evil, and the victory of the god Vishnu over the king Hiranyakashipu. It's known by many names throughout the Indian subcontinent and celebrated in various forms by the many peoples there.

The holiday generally falls on March, but it can fall in late February. That because the date depends on when the full moon is seen in the sky in the month of Phalguna on the Hindu calendar.

An ancient tradition, the most famous part of the celebration is people throwing colored powders called gulal in the air. I think this is meant to celebrate the colors of spring returning after the drab gray winters. Holi is also a time for fresh starts, freeing oneself of the emotional baggage of the past. Holi rituals also include gathering around bonfires to sing and dance, the bonfires representing the warming of spring and good defeating evil. Friends and family gather together during the day and chat while enjoying delicacies like gujiya, malpuas, and mathris.

Yes, Holi is essentially the celebration of a new year in India, a time to end conflicts and start fresh. Hope you learned something neat here. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Deathlok #2 (August 1991)

Back in October of last year, I took a look at the first issue of the Michael Collins Deathlok's ongoing series. And since February is Black History Month, not to mention that I love lesser-known characters, I thought it would be an opportunity to give Mr. Collins a bit more spotlight. 

For those who are not familiar, allow me to give a primer. Michael Collins was the third Deathlok, and the second to hail from the mainstream Marvel Universe. Yes, the first one, Luther Manning, was from an alternate post-apocalyptic universe. The second Deathlok was John Kelly. First appearing in Marvel Comics Presents #62 (September 1990), and created by Dwayne McDuffie, Gregory Wright, and Jackson Guice, he was made into the second Deathlok thanks to the body of the original being reverse engineered by scientists at Cybertek Systems, a subsidiary of the Roxxon Corporation. He would cross paths with the Michael Collins in the future and eventually become known as Siege. But those are stories for another day.

Michael Collins was once an ordinary man, a scientist working for Cybertek Systems. He discovered the company's work on the Deathlok program, and he was turned into one as an attempt to silence him. However, as it goes in these stories, Collins was able to reassert himself and take control of his new cyborg body. He even managed to force his internal computers to put in a "no-killing" parameter in line with his pacifism. It has led him on a quest to find his human body and hopefully become normal again.

So, where do we go from here? What new adventure did this new Deathlok stumble into? Let's find out in Deathlok #2!

The cover is a Denys Cowan piece.

The story begins not with our man Mikey, but with a rather interesting pairing of characters: NYPD cop-turned cyborg Misty Knight, and the X-Men's resident gadgeteer genius Forge. They're fighting a robot. Of course, being one of the X-Men, fighting robots is nothing new to Forge.

The robot manages to capture Forge (must have a bit of Sentinel tech in it). Misty is able to get a shot in that blows the robot up, but results in the two getting knocked out.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Isn't this Deathlok's book? Where is he right now?" Well, don't you worry, he's just surfing the 'Net. He's looking for any clues to the location of his human body. So far, no luck. It's during his search that he hears a call from Misty asking for help. The two agree to meet up. Mike brought his roommate Jesus, but she's not willing to discuss anything in front of him. That's because unlike them, Jesus is not a cyborg.

"I've been planning to get the Swiss Army upgrade."

She's looking for him because someone has been capturing cyborgs (or "cybernets" as Misty calls them). Mike doesn't see the issue, but Misty points out that if she could find him, so could whoever is doing the capturing. And her point is proven when another capturebot shows up and wrecks her car.

"Target's vehicle destroyed. Name of major Polish city obtained."

She ain't getting that rental deposit back. I'm not making a joke; she actually said the car was a rental. Deathlok fights the capturebot and manages to destroy it. The two head back to Knightwing Restorations to rest and recuperate. The two discuss being cyborgs but also being Black cyborgs. Before he was turned into Deathlok, Michael's best friend in college was a white guy. They were close, but there were places their friendship could not go. Presumably thanks to the sliding timescale in that case. Misty said she's been accused to of being more comfortable around mutants and cyborgs than her own people. Deathlok uses a quote to sum it up.

It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness...two souls, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

It's from W.E.B. Du Bois's essay collection The Souls of Black Folk. Michael's father made him read it quite a bit as a boy. Misty assures Deathlok that one this is all over, she'll help him find his body. The two find the remains of the capturebot. They have to repair and reactivate it to learn more about it. They do so, and round two has begun!

It's a rough fight, but they're able to triumph thanks to Deathlok taking control of the robot's systems. They ride the robot to its home base.

Whoever designed this taxi needs a boot to the brain.

The two sneak around and find that the mind behind the capturebots not only have gotten Forge, but also Bushwhacker, Ruby Thursday, Ultron, Machine Man, and Jocasta. 

Huh. The latter three are not cyborgs. They're actual robots. They have no organic parts. Why are they here?

Misty is understandably panicked. As we've seen in the Avengers' stories, Ultron is one of the most dangerous villains in the MU. If this mastermind could catch him, the two are in way over their heads. They're going to need heavy-duty help. Deathlok is like, who could do this?! The answer reveals themselves. 

...it does make sense Doctor Doom would be the mastermind. I mean, Doom and Ultron have crossed paths before, in Daredevil #275 (December 1989). Either way, Misty and Mike are in really big trouble.

I enjoyed this comic. My favorite scene in this comic is the conversation between Misty and Michael over their experiences being cyborgs. McDuffie uses Misty and Mike to make a very fascinating connection between their being cyborgs to being Black in the United States. The two feel trapped between multiple worlds, not just for their skin, but also their being part-robotic. It's also different for them in other ways. Misty can seem just like a normal person at first glance because she only has a cybernetic arm. The rest of her is all human (in the biological sense). Michael is not. His brain is in a body that's not his own. Also, Misty's comfort with passing as a regular human contrasting to Michael's vow to never be comfortable in his Deathlok body is also a good way to show individuals will also have their own ideas about these things.

I admit, I got a good chuckle out of Michael telling Misty that he can only eat what the comic implies to be Ensure. Poor poor Mike. 

Denys Cowan's art brings a nice bit of grit to the table. His rendition of Deathlok is especially nice. He does a great job making the cyborg look rather inhuman. 

I think I have said this before, but I think this series is rather underrated. Yeah, when people think of 1990s Marvel, they think of the X-Books, and bad stuff like The Crossing, but there were still hidden gems in that decade, especially in the early part of it. This was one of them. If you want to read this for yourself, i recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Deathlok: The Souls of Cyber-Folk. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Text Play: Pokémon Insurgence (Detergent Mod) #2

Hello, and welcome back to the Torren Region! This is entry #2 in my Text Play of Pokémon Insurgence!

Last time, we escaped from the Darkrai Cult after their latest attempt to summon the Pokémon they're named in honor of ended in yet another failure. Well, semi-failure. Darkrai showed up but decided it was already bored with the Cult and left. Our escape led us to Telnor Town, where we made a new friend named Damian. We agreed to escort him in his quest to get a rare item as a gift for the visiting Augur in the Shade Forest. We also got our Starter Pokémon and PokéDex. So, let's continue on with our journey, shall we? First, I want to warn you that I will be spoiling this game.

As such, I highly recommend you play the game yourself before you read these Text Plays. You can do so here. And with that out of the way, on with the show!

So, we have to go through the Shade Forest to help Damian get his gift for the Augur.

As you can see from the map here, this forest is pretty big. The entrance to the cave is up at the very top. And on the right is Telnor Cave, where we escaped from the Darkrai Cult in the last entry. You remember that? Sure you do!

The forest has a lot of wild Pokémon in it, but it also has plenty of items and Trainers to battle. As is tradition. This is a good place to begin collecting Pokémon and grinding up your first team. Not to mention there's plenty of items lying around. Like this one.

You can never have too many Potions, ha ha! I think this means I have collected eight Potions now. We can also fight that Trainer in the screenshot there. He loves Bug-types, apparently.

(Bug Catcher) Mason
1st Pokémon: Kakuna (Lv. 8) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Bulbasaur with Confusion.

After we beat him, he remarks that you have to learn about the different types to win. If we go upwards from here, we can go to the left or to the right. If we go to the right, we end up in this clearing here. 

And we can battle the Trainer in the screenshot. He warns us the forest is not safe for kids. Dude, you're in a Pokémon game! Kids are the ones who end up saving the world here! Is he not aware of this?!

Anyway, let's fight him.

(Juggler) Sam
1st Pokémon: Aipom (Lv. 7) - Defeated by Krystal
2nd Pokémon: Starly (Lv. 8) - Defeated by Pikachu

He laments he lost to a kid. A kid! Well Sammy-Boy, that's to be expected in Pokémon games. From this clearing, we can go to the left, the right, upwards. If we go to the right, we end up here.

It may be a dead end, but there is something there: a Poke Ball. So, that's something. Since we're here, I thought I'd talk a little bit about one of the big features of this modded game: the Debug Mode. It's with this that we can pretty much break the game if we so wanted. You can make adjustments to certain factors, give yourself any Pokémon at any level, any item you want, heal your Pokemon anywhere, change out your team, you are now essentially a god.

Sorry to disappoint you all, but I chose to go a bit calmer. I gave myself some extra Pokémon, some Master Balls to make catching Pokémon easier, an EXP Share to cut down on the grinding, and a couple Gold Nuggets for quick cash. Again, I wanted to do a standard-style playthrough here. I just gave myself a bit of aid. Anyway, if we go to the left, we end up in this loop-like area.

Hey, there's another PokéBall there! My guess is that trainers that go through here accidentally drop them and forget about them. And speaking of dropped items, we go upwards and to the right, and we find...

A Super Potion! When a Potion is just not potent enough. Nearby is another Trainer, a blue-haired Beauty. She promises no mercy on us. 

If no mercy is what she wants, then no mercy she gets. Never say I am not willing to give a lady waht she wants. 😈 Let's do this.

(Beauty) Jane
1st Pokemon: Roselia (Lv. 9) - Defeated by Charmander

When you beat her, she begs for mercy, which is hilarious. Her Rosalia is no joke, though. Make sure you grind in the forest before you face her. Right near her is the way to Telnor Cave. Just go in and go upwards and to the right. And there's the entrance.

As you can see, spending some time walking with your Pokémon has lots of benefits. Telnor Cave is a rather standard cave. One Pokémon I was surprised to find here was Cubchoo. Yeah, an Ice-type. Does it get very cold in this cave? I can imagine that'd be the reason they live there. Anyway, near the entrance is a PokéBall.

Yeah, just a PokéBall. So if you needed one, there it is. I noticed there were little lakes in this cave, and it got me wondering if there were Pokémon that could be caught in them. I looked up the cave's entry in the Insurgence Wiki (yes, this game does have a wiki), and it turns out that yeah, there are! Depending on the rod you sue. Old Rod will get you Magikarp or Qwilfish, a Good Rod could also net you a Tympole, and a Super Rod will allow you to net a Qwilfish, Gyarados, or a Seismitoad. I don't have a fishing rod yet, so I used Debug Mode to get these Pokémon. I didn't want to backtrack, and another perk? I can get those Pokémon at level 1. By raising them up, I can make them stronger than their wild counterparts.

Also, it allowed me to have a couple WAter-types, which I really could use. Anyway, if we head upwards and to the left, we find this guy.

You'll have to battle this leprechaun-looking dude to go forward. He thinks he'll have an easy time against us. Oh, that poor dumb dope...

(Ruin Maniac) Garen
1st Pokemon: Machop (Lv. 8) - Defeated by Krystal (Got up to Level 10, baby! Woooooo!)
2nd Pokemon: Geodude (Lv. 9) - Defeated by Krystal.

After we win, he notes that he was the one who got humiliated. Pride goes before the fall and all that. Talk to him again, and he screams that our mother would be ashamed of that terrible battle. Yeah, whatever helps you feel better about yourself, pal.

We keep going, and we end up here.

Yeah, just slide down the...incline? Whatever it is, don't worry, you can go back upwards. If we go down, we'll find a ladder nearby. Go down it. We'll end up here.

Second floor! Men's clothes, school supplies, and suitcases! From here, we go upwards, to the right, and down. Once we do that, we encounter this Hiker.

Looks like we got another battle here. Let's do this. He asks us if we're a little young to be traveling with a Pokemon. This dude is clearly new to Pokemon games. Here, kids save the world. 

(Hiker) Kinman
- 1st Pokemon: Tyrogue (Lv. 9) - Defeated by Krystal.
- 2nd Pokemon: Roggenrola (Lv. 9) - Defeated by Krystal

After beating Kinman, we can move on. At this point, I used Debug Mode to get into my PC and switch out Beedrill for Tympole. As I said before, I need a Water-type on my team. We head right, upwards, and then to the left. Finally, we go downwards. And we end up here. 

There's also a nearby Item. To get it, just go upwards, to the left, and downwards. It's another PokéBall. Once we got that done, we can go up the ladder, where Damian is waiting for us.

Hey, give us a break! We had to fight some Trainers, and this cave is huge, man! Damian believes he has found the Rare Stone he's looking for, way over the far right of the cave. We should be able to grab it and get out of here...

Of course it can't be that easy. It can never be that easy.

I doubt it's Persephone. I can imagine she's still stewing over her epic fail in the last entry. 

Yup, it's another new player. That does make sense. We know that there's more than one cult running around Torren. Maybe these guys are the "Perfection" cult that are the reason we have this Delta Bulbasaur. Evidently they're plotting to take out the new Augur. They got agents in place, and they're packing some strong Pokemon. One (presumably the one in blue) remarks they're not a fan of Jaern. Don't blame them. That guy gives me bad vibes, too.

Blue Person remarks that they could at least respect Jaern's predecessor as Augur, even though they were enemies. I imagine the last one was that much of a nice guy. Damian decides we should do the smart thing and go tell people in Telnor. And so, we do.

When we return, Damian's father tells us we're late, as the Augur has already arrived. He's been here for the last five minutes, and he's waiting to meet us at the Town Hall. Those cultists' agents may be here! Once we get inside the town Hall, we can talk to some of the people inside. One thing we learn is that Jaern has a Salamence. Good to know.

We talk to Jaern, and he's laying on the nice guy act. Damian warns him that there may be cultist agents hiding among the Telnor residents. Damian's old man thinks he's making it up, but the jerkoff twins in the corner prove him right. 

Not surprising those two turned out to be bad guys, really. They shed their disguises...

...revealing they're those two we saw in the cave. We ended up ruining their trap.

The two rant about how we'll pay for foiling them. Hey, you two boneheads decided to reveal yourselves in a Town Hall with a bunch of people in it! Damian jumps in front of the Augur, saying that this is his change to prove himself. But the two cultists aren't intimidated. As far as they're concerned, the power of the Abyssal Cult will win the day. They worship Kyogre...as the silhouette of that Pokemon appears when you battle them. 

(Abyssal Cultist) 
1st Pokemon: Skrelp (Lv. 12) - Defeated by Krystal
2nd Pokemon: Horsea (Lv. 13) - Defeated by Pikachu

The two Cultists are shocked they fell to us, but decide to make a tactical retreat.

Jaern vows to catch them and bring them to justice. Sure you will, buddy.

He is very impressed with us. He tells us to come see him if we ever go to Helios City. Anyway, it's time for him to go. He has...business to attend to. He compliments the town, and leaves. Yeah, you go off and do your evil thing, pal. Damian's dad is also impressed. Karen can't really force Damian to stay now. After all, he was invited to meet the Augur. He's excited for this as all his friends are already at the Trainer School in Midna Town. Damian challenges us to a race to the Town. It's just on the other side of Telnor Cave. Well, might as well get going. 

On our way back to Telnor Cave, we encountered this Trainer that we missed in Shade Forest.

He's going to be a breeze.  We've done some grinding up in Telnor Cave, after all. 

(Youngster) Nate
1st Pokemon: Patrat (Lv. 9) - Defeated by Krystal
2nd Pokemon: Pidove (Lv. 11) - Defeated by Pikachu

Nate's Pokémon were higher leveled than I thought. Huh. He believes that we cheated. Nope, just good old-fashioned grinding. No PokeSteroids here. Our Pokémon earned their strength the proper and correct way. 👍 If we head upwards from Nate, we find another item.

It's another PokéBall. Also, there was another thing we missed in the Shade Forest. If we head to the entrance to the area that led to Telnor Cave, we find this item here. 

It's an egg. Just a strange egg. I wonder why this egg was left here? It's not even the kind of egg you can use to make a delicious breakfast with. Mmmm...fried egg...

But seriously, did a Pokémon abandon it? I hope that we don't get an angry mother after us. Anyway, we make our way back to Telnor Cave and through it until we can get to the area we encountered those Cultists. From the ladder, we go pretty much straight upwards until we get to the exit. Continue going upwards, and we'll end up here.

Welcome to Route 1! Presumably this road will take us to Midna Town. We can battle the Trainer in the screenshot. He reminds us of the Trainer School there.

(Youngster) Taylor
1st Pokémon: Murkrow (Lv. 10) - Defeated Krystal with Pursuit. Defeated by Pikachu. 

Yeah, that's the first time Krystal has been defeated since I got her. It was bound to happen sometime, no big deal. No lucky streak lasts forever. She still got a great record in battles, I am still proud of her. It's hard to see in the screenshot, but you see those big trees? Behind them is an item: an antidote. Never 2know when you'll need one of those. If we go upwards, we'll end up going under a bridge. This bridge leads to the Dark Cave. Don't worry about that right now. Thing is, I don't know why, but that just looks so cool to see in a video game, especially in a fan game. I want to know how they programmed that.

Anyway, we continue heading upwards until we get here.

We'll have to go to the left, battling this guy along the way. He tells us there are lots of caves and places to explore here. I mean, he's not wrong about the caves. We've been through two already. He hopes to go through all of them. I wish him luck on that. I'm not being sarcastic, I do mean that.

(Ruin Maniac) Maro
1st Pokémon: Machop (Lv. 12) - Defeated by Krystal with Confusion.
2nd Pokémon: Jigglypuff (Lv. 11) - Defeated by Shiro the Charmander. Managed to inflict Burn status on Jigglypuff with Ember.

After defeating Maro, we head to the left and downwards.

We can battle the trainer at the bottom of the screenshot. She's a bit lost, and she's hoping a good battle will help her find her way.

I think a map would be more helpful to you right now, lady.

(Lady) Lana
1st Pokémon: Exeggcute (Lv. 13) - Defeated by Shiro the Charmander.
2nd Pokémon: Krabby (Lv. 11) - Defeated by Pikachu.

After we beat her, she remarks that battles always help her find her way. Maybe they help spark her mind? I have no idea. We cross the bridge in the screenshot, and it takes us here.

That is the entrance to yet another cave. There is also a Great Ball nearby, so I'd grab that.

This cave is called the Dark Cave. I do wonder why it's called this. I doubt there's anything special about this cave that would warrant that name...

...oh. Yeah. That explains it perfectly. Yup. Well, hopefully, we won't have to worry about traveling through here for a while. At least until we can get something that would allow us to see what's ahead of us. I did manage to catch a Poochyena here. So, that's nice. Remember that Hiker near the cave's entrance? On the outside of the cave, not inside. Well, he's not another obstacle we have to battle. Instead, he has an offer for us.

He's looking for a Totodile. Thing is, he can't find one anywhere. Maybe because they're not native to Torren? Maybe that's why he can't find one. He has a rare Pokémon he is willing to trade for it. Alright. Thanks to the Debug Mode, I was able to get myself one to trade. When we trade the Totodile, he gives us...a Dwebble.

I know what you're thinking. A Dwebble?! Dwebbles aren't rare! But this one is.

Yes, it's a Delta Dwebble. You see, unlike normal Dwebbles (which are Bug/Rock), this Dwebble is Fairy/Normal in typing. Well now that was taken care of, let's keep moving.

Going upwards, not too far away from the Hiker we got the Delta Dwebble from, we can encounter this trainer.

He can buy strong Pokémon, but I doubt he can train them well. Let's humble this guy.

(Rich Boy) Noxx
1st Pokémon: Porygon (Lv. 14) - Defeated by Krystal.
2nd Pokémon: Buizel (Lv. 13) - Defeated by Pikachu.

He wonders how much money we spent to get our Pokémon. None. Just catching and Debug Mode. No money spent, but his Pokémon were no joke. They may have been expensive, but that did not mean he was an incompetent trainer. Never underestimate your opponents, kids.

After beating Noxx (that's a name), we head further upwards and then to the left...after we get past this trainer here.

He claims he's trained for days, and his Pokémon are unbeatable as a result. The idea that he seemingly caught and raised his Pokémon already makes me respect him more than Noxx.

(Bug Catcher) Darren
1st Pokémon: Paras (Lv. 15) - Defeated by Shiro the Charmander.
2nd Pokémon: Spinarak (Lv. 14) - Defeated by Shiro. Spinarak was surprisingly tougher than Paras.

Darren laments his loss. Hey, his Spinarak put up a decent fight. He should be proud of that. Keep up the training, Darren. You're going to be a powerhouse.

Once we pass him, we go further to the left and upwards. Congratulations, we just went through Route 1. Welcome to Midna Town. 

I doubt this town was named after the Queen of the Twilight Realm. I have been trying to figure out what theme Torren's town names fit. For example, in Red and Blue, Kanto's towns and cities are all named after colors (Goldenrod, Cerulean, Lavender, etc). I mean, I looked up Telnor, and all I got was a Mexican telecommunications company. Maybe there isn't meant to be a theme to the town names. I don't know. That's not important. There's a person hanging around nearby, and they have something important to tell us.

Maybe we can get another Delta Pokémon out of this. We'll have to keep an eye out for her. When we go further into the town, there's a person who will give us some information about the town's location.

I'm guessing Suntouched City is where the game's first Gym is. We can easily get there by heading west. Makes sense. Suntouched and its gym leader have been mentioned before. However, if we want to go to Narra Town, we have to do a bit of rock climbing. My guess is we're not supposed to able to go there quite yet. You see that house in the screenshot? On the other side of it is this Ryu-looking dude.

Pokémon Races, huh? Sounds like it could be a fun minigame. If we ever get to Sonata City, we'll have to see if we can participate sometime. 

Inside the house, we find someone who wants to trade.

I doubt this was the person that wanted to trade away a rare Pokémon mentioned by the guy near the town's entrance. After all, they said the trader was a girl. Based on this sprite, this person is not. This person wants a Durant or a Heatmor in exchange. I used Debug Mode to give myself a Durant for trading. We do the trade, and the Juggler (Wolf is his name) gave me a Gastly. A regular Gastly. Not even a Delta Gastly.

To be fair, Wolf did say that he was trading a Gastly. That's on me. If we go upstairs, we learn this house has another resident, and there's also a Great Ball lying on the ground.

I'm surprised the person here didn't object to us just up and taking the ball. I mean, was it not theirs in the first place? Item placements in Pokemon games can be hilarious. Anyway, once we leave the house, we head further left, and it leads up to some more houses.

Man, they put up a statue of Jaern quick, don't they? Anyway, inside the house behind the blue cap-wearing kid in the screenshot, there is a maid that tells us something interesting: the First Augur, Jaern's predecessor, was also a gym leader. Yeah, he had a Gym. She doesn't reveal where it was, but it did get me thinking. Did Jaern inherit it, or more likely take it over? Yeah, I don't believe the First Augur retired. I still think Jaern took him out. The resident up the stairs also warns that unlike Gyms in other regions, Torren Gym Leaders don't specialize in a particular Type of Pokémon. This makes them more difficult to beat. Good to know.

Anyway, in the house to the left in the screenshot, the residents also give us more information. One of the residents of that house is a researcher. He points out that Delta Pokémon can appear in nature, although they more often are the creation of scientists. My guess is those wild Deltas escaped from labs.

The other resident pokes fun at some of the entries of the PokeDex. Having read some of them, yeah. I can see why they'd be found a bit on the silly side...also some can be pretty frightening. I mean, Palossand's for Arceus's sake...

If we go to the left, we go past another house. Now, these houses do have Pokémon in them alongside their presumed owners/Trainers. But this house is special.

Yeah, an Unown. In particular, the "M" kind. For those not in the know (heh heh), Unowns can have 26 different forms, each corresponding to a letter of the Latin/Roman script.

The bald man laments that people are frightened of him because of his looks, even though he's not mean. He says you shouldn't judge people by their looks. I mean...he's not wrong. The other guy grumbles about his weird cousin stealing ketchup and drawing in his room. Okay, I get not sharing the ketchup, but drawing in their room? That doesn't seem like a bad thing. If anything, it seems like the third person is staying out of trouble WHOA!

Guy wants to summon Game Freak to get them to buff a Pokémon. Whichever. Yeah, I think we'd better leave.

We flee the house. Thankfully, that room has a way outside.

Let's never go in there again, shall we? Further from that haunt, we encounter this kid. 

Nara, huh? He asks if we can help her find this 'Nora' girl for a tournament. Sure, why not? Helping people is a good thing. Good for the karma, and all that. We'll have to keep an eye out. If we head upwards to the left, we'll find the entrance to the Trainer School. And right next to it is the entrance to a cave. Yet another cave. 

Let's give this Trainer School a looksee, shall we? Once we go inside, we see that the teacher is not in the best of moods.

I wonder if the "girl" mentioned here is the mysterious Nora?

Anyway, she's needed to start something. Yeah, that must be the "tournament" that kid mentioned earlier. Talking to the other kids doesn't really help reveal any new information about 'Nora' or what this tournament is, although considering this world, it's likely a Pokémon battle tournament.

I mean, what else would it be? We do reunite with an old friend here.

I hope Damian is doing well here, passing his classes, making friends and the like. Yeah, it's a school dedicated to training Pokémon, but it makes sense to me that they would also cover the standard academic courses. You have to have brains to handle Pokémon.

Also, you see that white ball in the screenshot? It's a Premier Ball. It's a special ball that was made for an unknown commemoration. Damian also suggests we participate in the tournament. 

Anyway, if we talk to the teacher, we get the impression she genuinely enjoys her job. Yeah, unlike the real world, teachers in this game are likely actually paid well and respected. She's happy to teach us anything we need to know if we attend one of her classes. We agree to sign up. Maybe we can participate in the tournament if we do. But we'll still have to find Nora first. You know, there was a cave entrance right next to the school. Maybe Nora ended up in there? Only one way to find out! Welcome to the Midna Mine!

This...was not what I expected for a mine. Where are the mine carts? The wooden supports? The glittering gemstones? The miners in their hard hats and faces covered in soot with their blackened lungs? I'm just saying, if this place is supposed to be a mine, make it look like one. Anyway, as is traditional in places like this, there's an Item lying on the ground.

It's an Escape Rope. You'll never know when you'll need one of these babies. Also, remember that person with the umbrella in the screenshot. 

If we go upwards, we encounter a nice Hiker.

And yes, you'll have to battle him. He informs us that Rock Smash can be used to, well...smash some rocks. Yeah. However, in Torren, it's a little different. Almost any Fighting-type move can work. 

(Hiker) Samson
1st Pokémon: Solrock (Lv. 13) - Defeated by Tympole
2nd Pokémon: Lunatone (Lv. 14) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Bulbasaur

After he loses, he tells us that smashed rocks can have items in them too. And that's where we're going to have to stop for the month. Join me next time when we make our way through the Midna Mine! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Pokémon Obtained:
Shade Forest:
- Kakuna (evolved from Weedle)
- Metapod (evolved from Caterpie)
- Poliwag
- Remoraid
- Mantyke
Telnor Cave:
- Cubchoo
- Geodude
- Baltoy
- Cubone
- Diglett
- Nosepass
- Swinub
- Magikarp (obtained by Debug Mode)
- Qwilfish (obtained by Debug Mode)
- Tympole (obtained by Debug Mode)
- Turtwig (obtained by Debug Mode)
- Beedrill (evolved from Kakuna)
- Butterfree (evolved from Metapod)
- Onix
Route 1:
- Blitzle
- Ponyta
- Bunnelby
- Meowth
Dark Cave:
- Poochyena
Midna Town
- Durant (obtained by Debug Mode)
- Gastly (obtained by trade)
Midna Mine
- Zubat
- Charmeleon (evolved from Charmander)