Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #12

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is entry #12 in my Text Play of Pokemon Xenoverse! And this is the final Text Play entry of 2022!

As usual, I wish to warn you that this game will be spoiled here.

As such, I recommend you download the game and play it yourself before you read this entry. You can do so right here. Don't worry, the game is playable in English. I wouldn't be playing this game if it wasn't, ha ha. My Italian is...yeah. Anyway, let's get going!

Last time, we were making our way through the Gravity Tunnel. Last time, we decided to take the route that would send us to Fortbelt City. However, we found our path blocked by a bunch of..."old friends", aka the Daft Punk wannabes that we first encountered occupying Newtron City in entry #3. This likely means that A & B are not too far behind. I wonder why they're here.

I do remember being told that the Gravity Tunnel had lots of fossils. I haven't really seen any here myself, though. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong area? I mean, the fossils could be in the area that the Daft Punk wannabes are blocking off. Maybe they're hoping to find another Terrestrial Plate. They were after that one in Newtron City...

You know, considering that reviving ancient extinct Pokémon from fossils has been a thing since Red and Blue, I always thought it would be cool to have an area in a Pokémon game that was straight out of Jurassic Park, where people could see these reborn ancient critters in special habitats. Heck, that could make for a great subplot for a villainous team. Steal the ancient Pokémon to sell.

Since the way we went is completely blocked, let's go back to the ladder and head downwards. 

Since we did so, we find yet another one of these Daft Punk wannabes (seriously, who are these guys?!), and a box next to him.

The cyborg...person...alien whatever, is moving around, unlike the ones blocking the way, so he might be one we can battle. At least, I thought so.

Yeah, you don't battle him. He doesn't even talk to you. Jerk. I also think there's no way to access the box behind him. Why put that there?! 

We continue on until we reach another crossroads. We can go upwards or downwards here. Going downwards results in a dead end.

Blast it. I did find a ladder nearby. 

I do admit, I was a bit puzzled by this ladder. I thought to myself "This ladder looks familiar. Didn't I go down this ladder, before?" ...yeah, I can certainly see now why we were warned it was possible to get lost here.

I went up the ladder and found myself at a crossroads. 

Now, I could have sworn that we've been here before. I mean, there's an open box right there. And there's the way upwards was blocked by the big rock and the lump of cheese-lookin' rock. So, the only way is downwards.

It ended up being a good choice, as I ended up meeting this here Trainer. He's a proud Pokéboarder, and he likes the Gravity Tunnel because there's no speed limits!

It's fightin' time!

1st Pokémon: Riolu (Lv. 24) - Defeated by Phantump.
2nd Pokémon: Onix (Lv. 27) - Defeated by Phantump.

I continued to the right, and...yup. Those feelings of deja vu were valid.

...I JUST WENT IN A COMPLETE FREAKIN' CIRCLE!

Sigh...well, considering the way to Fortbelt City is a big fat dead end that makes us travel in a GIANT FREAKIN' CIRCLE, let's try going to the right and try to get to Ishtar City. On the way, we meet this Misty-looking trainer named Georgina.

Battle time!

1st Pokemon: Murkrow (Lv. 24) - Defeated by Shawkbird.
2nd Pokemon: Granbull (Lv. 25) - Defeated by Trishout.

After the battle, she remarks that she needs a Pokemon Center. Hey, there is a Porygon Center right nearby. Yeah, you have to pay to use it, but it's almost as good.

Maybe she doesn't have a lot of money at the moment. I mean, if that's the case, I don't blame her. Porygon Centers cost money to use, after all. We keep going to the right, and we meet a Pokémon.

Who's that Pokémon? It's a Hippopotas! You can talk to it, but you can't battle it. It's not that unusual seeing Pokémon wander around the overworld in this game, but I don't remember seeing any doing so here in the Tunnel beforehand. Also, what is a Hippopotas doing here? According to Bulbapedia, Hippopotas like hot, arid places like deserts. Why is it here? Is the Gravity Tunnel a hot, arid place?

There is also a box nearby, which can't be reached at this point as it's inaccessible thanks to that big block of cheese-looking rock in front of it. What is that rock, anyway? We head further to the right and...we're out!

That's right! We're out! We're free!

Welcome to Route 7! We continue on our way, and we meet this backpacking Trainer named Serena that we have to battle to continue forwards. She does ask us if we smell sulfur. Does that mean there's a volcano nearby? There is no way around her, we must battle her. At least, not yet.

Pepequeno (Lv. 26) - Defeated by Shawkbird.
Whimsicottt (Lv. 27) - Defeated by Trishout.

Her dialogue seems to hint there is, as if we talk to her after our victory, she says the volcano must be near. After we hand Serena's Pokémon their beating, we find a couple more people.

The blue-haired kid there next to the bundle of wood asks if we've seen his...Hippopotas...yeah, that must've been the Hippopotas that we saw in the Gravity Tunnel. Looks like it wandered off at best or was neglected at worst. The ninja-looking guy is blocking the path upwards, saying he's got to bring food to his master. Weird.

A little further to the right, we can go right or down. Going down reveals a dead end with a box.

The box contains Soft Sand. When you go further to the right, you fight a baseball player named Sawyer.

Let's do this.

Sneasel (Lv. 26) - Defeated by Trishout
Glaceon (Lv. 26) - Defeated by Trishout

Looks like the Baseball Ace...just struck out.

However, it's here that things get...weird. The "Baseball Ace" morphs into...this.

Yeah. Did I stumble into some kind of Naruto-style ninja village? The sign nearby points out that keeping your Starter Pokemon in a team allows you to unlock certain areas. What kind of areas? And why was I not told this back in entry #1?! 

Anyway, let's go through the tunnel and enter Ishtar City.

Ishtar City is an oasis town. The city's got a stereotypical desert theme going on, including an Ancient Egyptian-style pyramid located near the entrance. I do get the desert theme. After all, Ishtar was a Mesopotamian/Sumerian deity, and Mesopotamia was located in areas that comprise modern Iraq and Syria. However, shouldn't there be ziggurats here instead of pyramids? I mean, ziggurats were a thing in Mesopotamia, and they could be considered a forerunner of Ancient Egypt's famous pyramids. 

Anyway, things here are a bit...weird. There are piles of food everywhere. Every house's door is blocked by a ninja-looking person. And even weirder? The townsfolk all have blank white eyes, and they all say the same thing.

Just like that ninja dude in Route 7. It's creepy.

...I think we stumbled onto something big here. Exploring around the city, I found this guy trying to get people out of their trances.

Yeah, these people are clearly in some sort of weird trance. Joel the Ninja Knight here is seemingly the only one somehow free from the trance. Joel decides to get some help...which he finds in the form of... well, me. 

Am I the only one who finds it funny that this guy wearing this ninja knight armor is named "Joel"? I mean, it's not a name you would expect someone wearing that armor to have. Well, I admit, I do feel bad for the guy, so sure? Why not? Joel explains that he left the city to take care of some business and when he came back, he found the entire town under a trance. He believes a Pokémon is responsible for it. The gym leader here is trapped in her own gym and can't help out. We follow him and find this.

That's a lot of food.

I am not eating that. The perpetrator is sitting on top of the big ziggurat.

Yup, that's obviously an X Pokémon. It's a greedy gluttonous little critter, using its psychic powers to make the townsfolk hand over all their food. Huh. I would have expected an X Snorlax to do something like this. But then again, considering how X Pokémon work, I could imagine an X Snorlax being a Pokémon that's into fad diets.

And...it talks.

I think this is the first X Pokemon we've encountered that can talk. Maybe because of it likely being a Psychic-type? And also, dude! There are, like, several large piles of berries here! How many could you possibly eat?!

Evidently, when he came here, he was very hungry, presumably from using a lot of power to get here. He kept to the shadows at first, using his psychic powers to learn about the people here. He orders the guards to battle us. Double Battle time!

1sr Pokemon: Croconaw (Lv. 27) and Mareanie (Lv. 27). Croconaw defeated by Phantump.
2nd Pokemon: Birigiri (Lv. 28). Birigiri defeated by Phantump. Mareanie defeated by Phantump.

Double battles in this game are...weird. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't control which Pokémon I choose to attack. Is that a glitch or something?

The X Gengar is not happy about me beating his guards. So, he decides to step in and take care of this himself.

The X Gengar is no joke as a Pokémon. It can WRECK your team. I should know. It utterly destroyed my team easily. I think I'm going to have to do some grinding. 

And that's where I think we'll stop for this month. Join me next time when I hopefully get a rematch against the X Gengar and hopefully hand it its rear end. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time! 

Pokemon obtained:
(Route 7)
- Harrowk - Evolved from Shawkbird
- Hippopotas

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I hope you have had a wonderful day. And to anyone who reads this, you are not alone out there in this world. You do matter. And I hope you have a wonderful day, too.

Uncanny X-Men #241 (February 1989)

The Christmas season may be here, and with it comes chills. I'm talking about cold weather, snow, ice, and winds that make it feel even colder than it actually is.

In 1989, the heroes of the Marvel Universe, mainly the X-Men and their related teams, didn't have to worry about the cold. Instead, they had to beat the heat. A heat unlike one they've never undergone before. I'm talking the heat...of the Inferno. 

Inferno was a crossover that encompassed many of the company's superhero titles at the time. The main story was of an invasion of New York City by demons, which many superheroes had to deal with. We've seen Spider-Man and his supporting cast deal with the Inferno before. One of the events of the story was X-Men ally's Madelyne Pryor being corrupted into the Goblin Queen, which we're going to look at some of here. This is Uncanny X-Men #241!

The cover is a Marc Silvestri and Dan Green piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts the Goblin Queen front and center holding out her arms and cape with a pair of demons flanking her. In front is her cohort N'astirh holding her son Christopher. This cover really shows that this is going to be the Goblin Queen's coming out party. 

"Inferno, Part the Second: Fan the Flames!"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Bob Harras, Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Madelyne Pryor confronting a certain superpowered genetics-obsessed mad scientist under an orphanage in Nebraska.

"Where's my money, Sinister?!"

Sinister claims that he was the man who gave the redheaded firebrand life. Maddy thinks that's garbage, as she knows he's the man who sent the Marauders to kill her. She sends her demon guard dogs to tear Sinister a new one...quite literally.

However, Sinister easily bats them away, and locks Maddie in some chains.

"It's a Claremont comic, so I figured I'd be in chains at some point..."

Maddy calls for her demonic companion N'astirh to help her, but he's decided to make like King Arthur facing the Rabbit of Caerbannog.

So, yeah. The Goblin Queen is seemingly screwed. Wait, this book is called "The Uncanny X-Men", right? I mean, it's not called "The Wacky Misadventures of the Goblyn Queen". Although that would make a hilarious mini-series. So, what're the titular Merry Mutants up to? Well, brawling with the Marauders in the streets of New York City. 

This all started with an argument over which pinball table was better.

At the same time, thanks to a demonic invasion of the city, it's becoming more twisted and monsterous, with objects coming to life and attacking people. 

"Man, the Postal Service has really gotten hardcore."

The battle is interrupted by some cops. who've taken on a new look.

"Call us pigs again! We dare ya!"

A Malice-possessed Polaris destroys their demon cars and rains shrapnel down on the X-Men. Vertigo adds to the assault with her powers. However, a lucky throw from X-Men member Longshot is able to take down Vertigo. Rogue takes down Scalphunter with a car. Psylocke tries to use her psychic powers to take down the rest of the Marauders, but her powers are overwhelmed by the panicked thoughts of NYC's citizenry. The fight continues on.

Back in Nebraska, A shackled Maddy insists that she is a regular person, but Sinister tells her she has no past, because she never existed before. Maddy tells him about when she witnessed the death of her friend Annie Richardson after being hit by a car. Her powers manifested, allowing her to hear her friend's final thoughts. Sinister points out that that memory is not hers, but one of Jean Grey's memories. It as how Jean's powers manifested, not Maddy's. Sinister finds it fascinating how she was able to inherit that. N'astirh watches this, thinking that the time is right at last to make his own move. He just needs to do one thing...

Back in NYC, Wolverine tries to rescue a man from being eaten by a living mailbox, but the man now has a new job as a postage stamp.

"Man, that song was not meant to be literal!"

Havok angrily blasts the mailbox, which makes some nearby people cheer.

Colossus notes that it's like madness has reigned, with the returned Marauders, and all this demonic stuff. Storm just simply tells him that this is life in New York City. Heh.

Back to Nebraska! Sinister reveals the actual origin of miss Madelyne Pryor. She's basically a clone of Jean Grey, created by Sinister himself so he could have a "Jean Grey" of his own. She never manifested any powers of her own, until one day...

Yeah, the dialogue implies that her powers manifested when the Phoenix first showed up. Back to NYC! The X-Men and Marauders get attacked by what look like armored men in jetpacks. The X-Men captures one and Colossus interrogates him. The Russian powerhouse recognized those men. They're actually demons from Limbo...that his little sister Illyana rules. The demon tells him that she's not the boss anymore. Another demon named S'ym rules Limbo now, with the help of N'astirh. Their big plan is to make a spell that will turn Earth into a second Limbo. Think like Walt Disney World to Disneyland. Only the magic isn't meant to be happy.

They plan to deploy the spell at the Empire State Building. Colossus destroys the demon, which gets him cheered by Storm. Colossus notes the X-Men are seemingly getting more bloodthirsty, presumably due to the effects of the Inferno. He decides to head out alone to help his sister. 

In Sinister's lab, he reveals why he created Madelyne. Basically, he created her for one specific purpose: to be a broodmare. He theorized their child would help create the ultimate mutant. After all, he believed if Jean could resonate with the Phoenix Force, so could Maddy, being her "twin" and all. But then Jean ended up coming back, and that threatened to throw a heck of a monkey wrench in Sinister's plans. That's why he sent the Marauders to take her out. She taunts him that his Marauders obviously botched the job. Whoops. 

In NYC, Longshot is attacked by demons. Back on the ground, the X-Men cheer the death of the Marauders.

"Man, this is more fun than that cocaine bender we went on!"

Sinister is hoping to take Madelyne apart to see how she's changed. After all, since she was created, she's had some adventures with the X-Men, seemingly "died", and is now consorting with demons. Madelyne frees herself as she has her demons ambush Sinister. N'astirh gives Maddie her little son Christopher. The story ends with her vowing to make the world into ashes in an Inferno that will consume everyone...

I personally enjoyed this comic. I do feel that the X-Men did fall to the corruption a bit quickly, though. However, there was a nice balance of exposition and action. I did like that Claremont managed to fit some moments of dark humor with the man and the mailbox. And there was also a fire hydrant beating up a dog. The 80s were a time when the X-Men's mythos were beginning to get more convoluted, and Inferno was definitely one of the signs of it, with the revelation of Maddy Pryor's origins. And it would only get more crazy over the years.

Marc Silvestri's art in this comic is interesting to look at. It's very...angular, with lots of sharp lines and few curves. But in a way, I think it fits the story. We're seeing a city that his literally looking more hellish, and his art shows that. One detail I liked that as the X-Men grew more bloodthirsty and corrupted by the demonic influence in the city, their costumes changed. Psylocke's face was more shadowed, the hair of Rogue and Storm grew wilder and the costumes looked more frayed. Wolverine's fangs became more prominent. Not to mention he draws a great evil smile on Maddie.

If you want to read this for yourself, I do recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback X-Men: Inferno Vol. 2. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time and have a very Happy Holidays!