Avengers Forever #2 (January 1999)

It's that time again! It's time to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the midst of one of their most epic adventures! Last time, the longtime Avengers character Immortus tried to kill long-time Marvel superhero sidekick Rick Jones. Jones ended up using a mysterious power he hasn't accessed since the events of the Kree-Skrull War to summon seven Avengers to protect him from various points in time. So, who are these makeshift Avengers? What points in time are they from? And why are Immortus and Kang fighting? Let's find out in Avengers Forever #2!

The cover is a Carlos Pacheco piece. It's good, but a bit basic. It's just our little mismatched Avengers team, nothing special.

"Now is the Time For All Good Men..."
Writers: Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with the seven Avengers that appeared at the end of the last issue (Captain America, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Hawkeye, Giant-Man, Songbird, and the Genis-Vell Captain Marvel) being confused as to what is going on. Kang is basically like "Get your spandex-covered butts over here and give me a hand to save Rick Jones!"

The other six notice that Captain America seems very reluctant to lead them into battle. As such, Wasp takes command and they leap into action against Immortus's horde of soldiers from throughout history.

Page 4, Panel 3

Songbird realizes that this is it. This is the start of the Destiny War. Giant-Man is confused because Songbird is a Thunderbolt, and he doesn't recognize Genis. But that's tabled for now. Soldiers to fight, and all that. During the battle, another discovery is made.

Captain America has superhuman strength. Traditionally, Captain America wasn't the most physically powerful of superheroes. He's strong, but only at the level of an athlete or bodybuilder, not someone like the Hulk or Colossus in his metal mode. Immortus demands the Avengers surrender, but Kang's like "Screw you, old man! We are warriors! And warriors never surrender!" Rick Jones also helps out by stopping the time-bubble that everyone is in thanks to his growing mastery of the Destiny Force in him. It's here that Immortus decides to retreat. He was hoping to simply kill Rick before he became more aware of his power, but it's time for Plan B. 

With him and his army of the ages gone, the makeshift Avengers team are left confused by everything. Kang tells the Avengers to guard Rick with their lives and get him out of the timestream where Immortus can't touch him. And with that, he decides to take his leave as well. Giant-Man is wondering why Kang and Immortus are opposing each other. After all, Immortus is Kang's future self. Kang is going to become Immortus one day.

Hawkeye thinks that they're in the Kree galaxy with the Kree/Skrull War still going. Rick recognizes that Hawkeye is not wearing his current costume, and Wasp puts it together: These Avengers are all from different points in time.

So, when exactly are these Avengers from? Well, that revelation is held off by the presence of a new player.

It's an old enemy of the Avengers: Gustav Brandt, aka Libra. He was once a member of a criminal group called naturally, the Zodiac. Cap refuses. Iron Man had recently filled him in on Libra. From his perspective, he just learned that Libra may be the father of another Avenger called Mantis. You may know of Mantis from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The Kree Supreme Intelligence reminds the group that the time-bubble is fading, and when it does, it will lead to a lot of awkward questions.

The group head out to a strange place that only Libra can access. It's here we get a recap of who Libra is. As I mentioned earlier, he was once a member of a criminal group called the Zodiac. This incarnation of the Zodiac debuted in Avengers #72 (January 1970). In Avengers #120-122 (February-April 1974), Taurus of this Zodiac attempted to murder everyone born under the sign of Gemini as a sign of power. It would be in issue #122 that Libra revealed that he was the father of Mantis, a heroine who had been hanging out with the group at the time. Libra would willingly go to prison in Avengers #125 (July 1974), as he had been losing interest in crime and wanted to study "the balance", his true passion.

He did return to crime here and there over the years, but it was half-hearted. When the Zodiac Cartel got slaughtered in West Coast Avengers #26 (November 1987), he took the opportunity to fake his death. Wasp recalls that he had joined Force Works (remember them from my review of Force Works #1?) in Force Works #16 (August 1995), under the identity of Moonraker. In Force Works #19 (January 1996), Moonraker had claimed he was Libra in a new body. However, Libra claims that he was never involved with Force Works...and the only Moonraker he's familiar with is the 1955 Ian Fleming novel. He refuses to acknowledge the 1979 film.

I like the movie. It's got James Bond in space. That's awesome. In actuality, Libra's been wandering around, finding areas of imbalance in reality. This one threatens to be the most dangerous one of all...and Immortus is behind it. Immortus's reasons are unknown, but Kang's are not hard to figure out. You see, Kang is meant to become Immortus one day...and he doesn't want that to happen. 

Immortus has been screwing up the timestream, causing the imbalance Libra has discovered. And one of those imbalances is the potential death of Rick Jones. To help prevent that, Libra guided Rick to summon seven Avengers from different points in time. The former criminal has no idea why these seven were chosen. Yellowjacket tries to threaten the former Zodiac member, but Wasp breaks it up. It's here we learn exactly from what points in time these Avengers are from:

• Yellowjacket comes from the events of Avengers #60 (January 1969), about to marry the Wasp.
• Wasp and Giant-Man come from the then-present day
• Songbird comes from the near-future, where she's become an Avenger. She just returned from a battle against Oort the Living Comet and his Solar Squadron.
• Hawkeye comes from the events of Avengers #99 (May 1972), when he returned to Earth after the events of the Kree-Skrull War and joined up with a traveling carnival where he met Hercules.
• Captain Marvel comes from another possible future. He was towing the corpse of the cosmic entity Eon out of the Solar System after Ego the Living Planet had reanimated it and tried to use it to ravage Earth.
• Captain America comes from the events of Captain America #175 (July 1974), just after discovering that the head of the original Secret Empire was a highly-placed government official (the comic itself implies it was President Nixon).

Quite a misfit team of Avengers, huh? Two versions of Hank Pym, a bitter Captain Marvel, a villainess-turned-heroine, a Hawkeye without his trick arrows or size-changing powers, the Wasp, and a demoralized Sentinel of Liberty. But despite that, they're still Avengers. Against Libra's advice, the Avengers are not going to stand by and let Kang and Immortus fight it out. Immortus tried to get one of their own killed (Rick is an honorary Avenger), and they want answers.

A reluctant Libra leads the Avengers to Chronopolis. Chronopolis is Kang's stronghold, a giant city that touches every point in time.

And it's clearly seen better days. Much better days. The Avengers make their way to the central citadel of Chronopolis, when they find it under attack. Immortus taunts our makeshift Avengers, saying they're too late to back Kang up. Rick Jones is left facepalming and feeling like an idiot. 

This comic was rather fun to read. What I liked was the mix of personalities we got from this makeshift Avengers team, and how past stories were used to help establish them. Captain America's feeling at his lowest point, Yellowjacket's cockiness, the modern Wasp's knack for leadership, Songbird's being the "new girl", Hawkeye's "shoot-from-the-hip" attitude, modern Hank Pym's ill-at-ease-ness with his past self (Which is understandable. Hank was Yellowjacket during his lowest point in the early 80s), and Captain Marvel's supposed bitterness (although I think not much was done with that in the issue). 

I have heard people argue that continuity should not be treated like it's truly important, that it can prevent authors from writing great stories. But the thing is, you couldn't create a story like this without using past continuity. It's why I love this story so much. It gives the feeling these characters have history, that these past stories mattered and had a point. Not to mention this comic does give you any backstory you need to know.

I have to admit, I am a bit more mixed about Carlos Pacheco's art. This is more of a personal taste thing for me. I don't dislike his art on this. I do think it does look a bit too 'cartoony' for this, but that's something that never really bothered me. I would have loved to have seen George Perez or Phil Jiminez draw this. A story like this would have been a great fit for their styles. 

If you want to rad this for yourself, I suggest tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Avengers Forever. 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, and wear a mask! Join me next time when, in honor of Black History Month, we look at the debut of one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest superstars...

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Hello, everyone!

I hope your Valentine's Day is a good one. For me, Valentine's Day is a day to think about and spend time with those you love. 

Falcon and the Winter Soldier Full Trailer, My Thoughts

 Back in December of last year, I gave my thoughts on the first look at the upcoming Disney+ series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the series, set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes embark on an epic globetrotting adventure as they battle a group known as the Flag-Smashers. Meanwhile, the United States government has plans to introduce their own Captain America in the wake of Steve Rogers's...retirement. Yup, our two heroes have a lot on their hands to deal with. Let's look at the trailer!

Ooh, I think that psychiatrist is going to be hitting the bottle after the session with these two.

But in all seriousness, I wonder if this is how the series will actually go down, Bucky and Sam talking to the psychiatrist about how everything went down.

Falcon: "Plan? I'm the Falcon! I don't do plans!" 

I've heard that this city might be Madripoor.

It makes sense that Baron Zemo would be the villain here. If he learned that the Avengers had managed to reunite to stop Thanos, I can imagine he would...not take it well.

Yeah, kinda like that, only a LOT more shaking. I can imagine that Zemo's rage about this has twisted him quite a bit and made him into more of a straight-up monster.

You know, that young lady there has been given a bit of focus in these trailers, and I have heard a theory that she may be the MCU's version of Synthia Schmidt. But in actuality, she is playing Karli Morgenthau. In the comics, the original Flag-Smasher was a Swiss man named Karl Morgenthau. Nice little nod there. Also, she's the same actress who played Enfyn Nest in Solo. Yeah, Erin Kellyman. I enjoyed Solo.

Could Rhodey be among those men in uniform there? I mean, he did fight alongside Bucky and Sam in that big final battle in Endgame as well as in the Battle of Wakanda during Infinity War. We also know he's getting a Disney+ miniseries in the future, so maybe it will spin-off from here? 

I like that shot of Sam with the big poster of Captain America. Gives the idea that he's still looming over the MCU. Also, on his left. Ha.

"We're fightin' in the club, and we don't know why!" 

Fly, Falcon! Fly to freedom!

Hey, Sharon Carter! I always thought it was a bit of a shame that she never really got to shine much in the Captain America movies. That's what I love about these Disney+ miniseries. They give the lesser-known characters in the MCU a chance to shine like Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis in WandaVision. I ma kind of hoping they bring back Justin Hammer in Ironheart and/or Armor Wars. 

Sharon Carter layin' a smackdown! ...she should pick up that baton. You never know if you need it again.

Gotta give John Walker credit. Man can make an entrance.

Falcon forming his wings into a bulletproof shield is pretty cool.

You can see a bit of buddy comedy influence in Sam and Bucky's interactions here. I like it.

You know that song keeps asking us if we're ready. Yes. We're ready!

I bet that poor psychiatrist was thinking "How did Rogers put up with you two idiots?"

I liked this trailer! I didn't reveal a whole lot, but that's okay. It teased us perfectly. And the music got me hyped. I want to see this! I can't wait for it to finally arrive! I do hope they release the six episodes like they have been doing for WandaVision, once per week. It would allow the show to stick in people's heads for a long time. The song in the trailer has asked me if I'm ready. Well, I am ready. I am so ready for this show!

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, and wear a mask! See you next time! 

Raya and the Last Dragon Trailer, My Thoughts

 Back in November of last year, I gave my thoughts on the teaser for Disney's upcoming film Raya and the Last Dragon. The 59th film in the long-running Disney Animated Canon, it tells the tale of Raya, a young warrior princess from the land of Kumandra. 500 years earlier, monsters known as the Druun attacked this land, and Kumandra's dragons seemingly all died out stopping them. However, there's actually one dragon left. With the Druun returning, Raya must go on a quest to find this last remaining dragon to save Kumandra.

Raya and the Last Dragon is the first film in the Disney Animated Canon to feature a primarily Asian-American voice cast, with Kelly Marie Tran voicing the titular character. Let's take a look at the trailer!

Awwww, look at the little baby. I mean, if you can't trust a baby, who can you trust?

...you can't even trust a baby around here?! Come on, man!

Never thought I'd say this, but that baby needs a whuppin'. Maybe it's a toyol.

Well, based on that scene, it's pretty clear that their problem is they can't agree on what color clothing to wear.

Okay, we got our party together, let's go questing!

What're the odds that the dragon was just hiding in the attic back home the whole time?

He's right, you're all screwed. 

Raya got that sword from the Soul Calibur forge.

Montage of action shots.

Well, this movie looks like it'll be a ton of fun to watch. I have to admit, it's really cool seeing a Disney movie that looks like it'll have lots of martial-arts action. The cast looks great, too! I can't wait for this film! 

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, and wear a mask! See you next time!

D.P. 7 #1 (November 1986)

Once upon a time, there was an Earth. This Earth was just like ours. There were no superhuman beings, cosmic beings, super-science, alien lifeforms (that was known), magic, anything you'd see in your typical superhero universe. But on July 22, 1986, at 4:22 a.m. Eastern Standard Time...that world would change forever. 

It would be known as the White Event. For a few brief moments, this Earth would be bathed in bright white light. But the effects would be massive. People started exhibiting superhuman abilities, like those of the superheroes in comic books. It was the birth...of the New Universe.

In 1986, Marvel was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the modern Marvel Universe (The Fantastic Four debuted in 1961). As part of that celebration, then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter launched this little imprint, separate from the mainstream Marvel Universe. This "New Universe" was intended to be much more realistic than the mainline Marvel Universe. There would be none of the fantastic elements that the Marvel Universe had. There would be no hidden races, super-futuristic tech, gods, magic or the like.

However, the line suffered problems from the start. Budget cuts preventing hiring of top creators, delays, and even the comics' failure to keep to the "rules" of the New Universe (Justice was especially notorious for this) led to the line being cancelled in 1989. The remaining titles of the line did actually sell well, but Marvel felt that the line was not profitable enough to keep it going. The New Universe's final story was the four-issue miniseries The War in 1989.

Despite this, the New Universe would continue to be referenced in Marvel books. Mark Gruenwald revisited it in the Quasar series, and Peter David had Justice appear as the "Net Prophet" in Spider-Man 2099. The multiverse-hopping team the Exiles visited the NU in 2005. In 2006, as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the NU, Marvel released a mini-series called Tales of the New Universe, a mini-series that told new tales in the NU set before the NU event known as "The Pitt". And in 2007, Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca released Newuniversal, a miniseries that reimagined the NU. And more recently, in 2013, Jonathan Hickman used elements of the NU in his Avengers run, like the Star-Brand, Nightmask, and showing the MU having its own version of the White Event.

D.P. 7 (meaning "Displaced Paranormals 7") was one of the eight titles that launched with the NU. It was one of the longest-lasting NU titles, going 32 issues and one Annual. It was also the only NU title to keep a stable creative team, with Mark Gruenwald writing and Paul Ryan on art throughout the entire run. Gruenwald had come up with the basic concept while working on Squadron Supreme, and was able to recruit Ryan because of Ryan's own interest in the NU concept and his have no work lined up after he finished Squadron Supreme. The two had been fond of their time on the title. In fact, they discussed revisiting the title at some point in the future, but tragically, Mark Gruenwald's death in 1996 prevented that from happening.

So, how did these seven displaced paranormals end up on the run? Let's find out in D.P. 7 #1!

The cover is a Paul Ryan piece, and it's pretty neat. Certainly one of the more unique covers I've seen on this blog. It basically depicts the members of D.P. 7 standing in the style of a police line-up. In the case of some of the members, we see some of their powers in action, like Scuzz (the scowling guy in the front). 

"The Clinic"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Paul Ryan
Inker: Romeo Tanghal
Colorist: Paul Becton
Letterer: Phil Felix
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a large hairy man being wheeled into a hospital in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. 

The man was found on the floor of his trailer, overdosed on pain pills. His life signs are unstable, but the doctors manage to get them under control. One of the doctors, a Randy O'Brien, notes that this man has odd metabolism. They learn the man's name is David Landers. Landers then wakes up and goes on a rampage, showing that with his size comes incredible strength. O'Brien tries to calm him down, but Landers is too busy rampaging to hear him. Then something else strange happens.

"Oh God, what was in that weed I smoked last night?"

The arms help stop Landers, allowing O'Brien to give Landers a nice shot of Valium. Amazingly, only he sees the strange arms. Later, O'Brien comes to visit Landers, where we learn a bit more about our mysterious Mastodon of a man. Landers was once an ordinary man, a worker at the Waupaca Cheese company. Last week, Landers supposedly fell ill with the flu. He had a friend bring him lots of groceries every night.

The previous Friday, he went out drinking with his friends. The next morning, he felt the worst hangover ever, and he was starving. He noticed his hands were hairier, and then he started growing muscles. It was very painful. And it only got worse. He overdosed on painkillers in an attempt at suicide.

I used to be a normal guy--now I'm a freak!

Landers begs O'Brien to end his misery, but O'Brien tells him he can't. He's a doctor. His job is to save lives, not end them. He will do his best to help our mammoth of a man. The next day, Randy is talking to a Dr. Eastman, his boss. Eastman believes medical history is being made here, and he doesn't want another facility to treat Landers. O'Brien fears this hospital doesn't have the resources to help the Mastodon, but Eastman thinks O'Brien is playing maverick. Eastman storms out, leaving a fuming O'Brien. The doctor wishes that he could strangle Eastman, and this happens.

"Why you little-!"

O'Brien realizes that the strange "anti-body" is about to strangle his boss, and screams for it to stop. Eastman doesn't see the anti-body, and as a result, practically fires O'Brien. The "anti-body" returns to O'Brien, and he discovers that he's able to see things from the shadow's perspective. That night, O'Brien is in his home, the TV talking about the White Event. He wishes he had someone to talk to about the shadowy being he's manifesting as he's reading a newspaper. He's reading the Plot Convenience Times, and true to it's name, it has an ad that promises exactly that.

Plot Convenience Times: News You Need, When You Need It.

He calls the number, and decides to check out this clinic. He falls asleep thinking about the clinic and his new "anti-body". As he sleeps, the shadow being emerges from his body. The being visits Landers in the hospital, who is feeling down about himself. The "anti-body" visits Landers and telepathically makes him aware of the clinic Randy read about. He then breaks out of the hospital and pays Randy a visit.

It was here that Dave Landers realized he had no future in Strip-O-Gramming.

The next day, the two visit the clinic, and it seems on the up-and-up. A Dr. Semple shows the two superhumans around the place, and they decide "this place seems nice, let's stay a while". And that afternoon, they're in a support group for other paranormals.

"My name is Dave, and I'm an alcoholic."
"Wrong group, Dave."
"D'oh!"

Meet the Paranormals in the support group! Charly Beck, college student who can alter the effects of friction. Jeff Walters, Burger King manager-turned speedster. His powers have left his body constantly shaking. Dennis "Scuzz" Cuzinski, teenage dropout whose skin constantly secrets a substance that can disintegrate things. Lenore Fenzl, elderly retired Latin teacher who's skin emits a tranquilizing effect. Stephanie Harrington, housewife who can charge things up with a touch. Her charging touch can also relieve pain, which Dave Landers appreciates. 

O'Brien and Landers decide to stay at the clinic. Over the next few weeks, bonding with their fellow support group members. Landers finds himself growing closer to Harrington, even though she is already married (Her husband dumped her there because he saw her as a freak). 

One day, O'Brien and Landers hit the gym, and they talk a bit. Landers notes that he's feeling a bit bothered by the tight security of this place, and that this particular group is kept apart from the other groups. Lenore Fenzl is able to add on to this, having been there the longest. She notes that she never had to worry about paying for this place's services, and when she asked about funding, she got evasive answers.

That night, O'Brien is unable to sleep. So, he summons his "anti-body". The shadowy form flies off. Randy and Dave may be more right than they think about this place.

"Hackbarth, are we the baddies?"
"Naw."

Too good to be true, indeed. Three of the attendants are trying to manipulate the minds of O'Brien and Landers's group while they sleep. And those attendants are themselves paranormals. One suggests that O'Brien be put into intensive care and sedated heavily so he can be conditioned constantly. The "anti-body" returns to O'Brien and reports telepathically to him what it saw. He gets dressed and tells it to summon the others...as one of the attendants, a man named Hackbarth comes to his room. 

The "anti-body" alerts the other members of the group, and they fight their way to O'Brien, who is being tied down by Hackbarth. Hackbarth reveals that his paranormal ability is the power to control the bodily processes of people, which he demonstrates on our heroes.

"I also have the power to make you all hear nothing but drunken boy bands!"
"NOOOOOOOO! YOU ARE A MONSTER!"

The "anti-body" distracts Hackbarth, allowing Landers to fight off his pain and KO the superhuman orderly.

The story ends with our septet of displaced paranormals escaping the clinic, taking their chances out in the wild world of the New Universe. And thus began the saga of D.P. 7.

I kind of enjoyed this comic. It's clear that Landers and O'Brien are the main characters here. If you remember my looks at the Squadron Supreme miniseries that Gruenwald had written earlier, then you can see that same theme of subtle deconstruction shown here. The best examples of that here are Landers,  The team is itself also rather unique in the factor of the characters' ages. In most superteams, characters tend to be of similar ages, like teenagers (Teen Titans, Young Avengers), middle-aged (JLA, Avengers), or even elders (JSA). But here, this group is comprised of teenagers (Cuzinski), College-age young adults (Beck), middle-aged people (Harrington, O'Brien, Walters, Landers), and even an elderly person (Fenzl). I also like that these aren't people that necessarily want to be superheroes. They just want normal lives, and they're only in the mess they're in because they discovered that the clinic wants to exploit them. 

I do wish the team was a bit more diverse, but this is not surprising for the 80s. In my experience with much of the media of the era, their idea of diversity was "stick a woman and a black person in it, there. Diversity!"

I'm a fan of Paul Ryan as an artist, but I do have one issue with his art here. It's with his rendition of Scuzz. The character is supposed to be in his early teens, but I get the impression that he's much older, closer to Beck in age. I'm not sure if that's intentional. But then again, it is possible for people to look younger or older than they actually are. 

D.P.7 is a bit of a hidden gem, in my opinion. If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2007 trade paperback D.P.7 Classic Vol. 1. 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, and wear a mask! See you next time, when we continue the epic battle between the Avengers and Immortus...

Narita Boy Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

Don't you just hate it when you get sucked into a computer and end up having to wield a technologically advanced sword the world contained within? Well, that's what happens to the titular protagonist of the upcoming game Narita Boy. Actually, I think that might be awesome. Let's look at the trailer!

So what is this, like The Wizard or something?

80s style title IN YOUR FACE!

(ooh, faced)

Oh, it's like Tron!

Kevin Flynn and the kids from the various Digimon series would laugh at that statement.

Ride that robot horse with the computer monitor head, Narita Boy! RIDE IT TO FREEDOM!

Hey, we got a lightsaber! 

Gotta pay our respects to the computer gods.

Hee hee, light sails. This is definitely homaging Tron.

"I have achieved oneness with the motherboard!"

(My god, it's full of stars)

That temple's door is Clappon-powered. Clap open, clap closed!

A...pregnant robot. Ah, we stumbled on the frickin' weird part of the Internet.

(Huh)

Techno Sword is an awesome name for a weapon. The only way it can be better is if it also can become a gun.

Well, this game sounds like a fun little hack-and-slash. I think I'll give it a try! 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 hoe, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Text Play: Pokémon Zeta #17

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn Region! Welcome to the seventeenth entry in my Text Play of Pokemon Zeta!

It's my first Text Play of 2021! It may be a new year, but the tradition remains. As usual, I want to warn you all that I will be spoiling this game. 

If you wish to play the game for yourself, then you can download it at the game's wiki here. And with all that out of the way, let's go! 

And in this entry, we will finally take on Avery and his little army of Bug Pokemon. 

I have to admit, I don't think I've never been this nervous before facing a gym leader. I think it's mainly because I don't think I ever had such a tough time preparing for one before. I have theorized in the past that based on the location and wild Pokémon in the area that Avery was originally intended to be a Rock/Ground-type specialist early on in the game's development but that got changed. Yeah, read the last entry to hear more of my rants about that.

I did get a good chuckle from one of the trainers at the gym when they did a bit of what TV Tropes called "Lampshade Hanging".

When you do think about it, the guy does have a bit of a point. In the real world, having Gyms that specialize in a particular type would seemingly make little sense. After all, for example, if someone specializes in Fire-type Pokémon, they'd be easy to beat. Just bring in a bunch of Water, Rock, or Ground-type ones. Well, in game, I think it does. It forces you to try and adapt your teams to face new challenges, and it teaches you about the various types of Pokémon out there. 

Also, keep in mind this. Since the release of Sword and Shield, there are now about species of Pokémon. There are many dual-type Pokémon out there, so defeating Gym leaders likely isn't as easy as you think. I can also imagine that realistically, Gym leaders are well aware of their types' weaknesses and keep it in mind.  

Anyway, I made my way through the Gym, and I fought a trainer named Pmok.

His name is Pmok, and he's a stallion evidently, ha ha. I wonder, though. Is Pmok an actual name? I'm thinking it was a typo, as I didn't find anything on it. Before you reach Avery, there are two puzzles in front of him.

These puzzles both form the same picture: Mew. Yeah, it's an odd choice for a Bug-themed gym. I suggest the one on the right. Unlike the previous puzzles in the Gym, the two puzzles here don't work by placing tiles on the board. The one on the left rotates the piece you choose and the neighboring pieces, while the right puzzles slides the pieces on the board. You only need to solve one to get to him, anyway. The one on the right is easier.

Before you face Avery, make sure you have plenty of potions and healing items like Antidotes. Trust me, you're better off having them and not needing them than needing them and not having them. Bug-types tend to learn moves that can cause status changes like Sleep, Poison, and Paralysis. And with that, the fight was on.

 1st Pokemon: Parasect (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Murkrow. Avery used a Full Restore.
2nd Pokemon: Escavalier (Lv. 39) - Defeated by Charizard. Escavalier used a Life Orb, which took the last of its HP, causing fainting after it took a Fire Blast.
3rd Pokemon: Scizor (Lv. 41) - Mega Evolved with Scizorite. Defeated by Charizard with one blast of Flame Burst.
4th Pokemon: Shedinja (Lv. 39) - Avery switched this Pokemon out after taking a blast of Flame Burst for Volcarona. Defeated by Charizard.
5th Pokemon: Volcarona (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Charizard.
6th Pokemon: Ninjask (Lv. 39) - Defeated by Charizard.

And with that, the Swarm Badge is mine. It lets me use the HM Waterfall outside of battle. Alongside that came TM81 (X-Scissor). Avery then warns me that the next two Gym leaders will test my bonds with my Pokémon and my skills in thinking fast. But then again, this is the same guy who said that he was having a "great battle" when he was down to his last Pokemon: Ninjask. So, take that for what you will. 

I am so glad that this was over. Six badges down, two to go. 

I have to give a special shout-out to Charizard. Charizard was the surprise MVP of this team. It basically wrecked most of Avery's team on its own. I do feel bad for my Crustle and Pidgeot, though. I put all that work and time into training them to face Avery, and they ended up not being used. It's kind of sad. But I am still glad I did. If things had gone differently, then they would have been handy backup. 

With Avery beaten, we can finally go into Mt. Press.

Well, not quite. You see, Team Olympus is hanging around the entrance.

I swear, these guys are like freakin' cockroaches. They're gathered around the entrance to Mt. Press, most likely up to no good as usual. Anyway, I would not talk to the commander until you are ready. You see, once you talk to them, you trigger an event in which you're taken to their base. You can't leave until you complete the events in the base. So go to the Mart and make sure you get lots of supplies. There is a place to heal your Pokémon at the base, but it would not hurt to be safe. 

I hit the Pokémon Mart and got some extra potions and Revives. Better to have them and not end up needing them than to need them and end up not having them. Once that was done, I entered the group of Team Olympus goons to trigger the cutscene. 

So, why are these guys at Mt. Press? Well, it's believed that the legendary Pokémon Victini is there, and Zeus has gone there to find and capture it. They want to use Victini and this new Pokemon called Divaevus (This Pokemon had been first mentioned in entry #6) to, you guess it, take over the world. 

The grunts there are feeling some pressure due to yours truly constantly handing them their behinds. He's also mad at Apollo and Artemis. 

The grunts are rather nervous about how powerful Zeus will get if he succeeds in catching Victini. They have understandable reasons to be worried. He's already managed to capture Shaymin (In entry #3), he likely has a guaranteed way of getting Divaevus (which is likely the unique legendary of this game). If he gets Victini, he'll likely be a darn near unstoppable Trainer.

As such, the grunts are doing a little plotting. They want an invincible Pokémon. One that can kick any Pokémon's butt. One that'll protect them from Zeus. It's an interesting idea, the grunts questioning things and worrying that things are getting out of control. It's part of the fun of fangames. They can play with tropes of the Pokémon series.

The leader warns them that this kind of talk is dangerous. It won't be far until they start talking about overthrowing Zeus. And that's not what she'll tolerate. Zeus is still the leader. She does agree that Zeus needs a check on his potential power, though. And with that, the meeting is over. The leader spots us, and gives us a dose of chloroform. Off to their secret base!

Mama always said there'd be days like this. Well, this is how the journey ends. Trapped inside a Team Olympus base. It was nice going on this journey with all of you...wait a second...

Huh. One of the Gym leaders has come to the rescue. Graham is here to get us out of here. Remember Graham? He was the Gym Leader of Kivu Town. Won the Necro Badge from him in entry #10. He informs us that Athena (we encountered her in entry #3) is working on some bizarre fusion experiment. She has to be stopped, and as is tradition in Pokémon games, we gotta go hand her another butt-whipping. He'll meet us there. Evidently, he's very confident in our ability to get us through this base. So, we might as well. 

Traveling through the base, you find the usual stuff: Grunts to fight, and items to collect, like right here.

It's a Max Ether. Get it. It can be handy. I also found another handy item.

This is TM75 (Swords Dance). If you want to teach a Pokemon that move, I suggest picking it up. The Base is basically a gigantic maze. I'm not a fan of mazes in video games (Bad experience playing Star Trek: The Next Generation as a kid on my Sega Genesis). There's plenty of Team Olympus grunts to fight if you want to train your Pokémon up some more. I recommend doing so. Getting your Pokémon more experience is never a bad thing.

Traveling through the base, I found this Grunt drinking his problems away.

I tell him things will be fine. Besides, if he's formerly of Team Olympus, he can turn in state's evidence against them. Get put in Witness Protection, that kind of thing. He starts talking about his life story. He was once just a normal kid from Vesryn...until he met Professor Oak. Okay, he was a trainer once. Likely started out on his journey, had some adventures, that kind of thing. But then, things take a turn for the strange.

His first Pokémon was an Electric-type that was a bit wild, but they eventually bonded. They had many adventures together. The Grunt even met a pretty girl. She was fond of Water-types. He mentions one of them was a Starmie. Wait a minute... They eventually got married and started a family. But then they fell on hard times, split up. He joined Team Olympus to make ends meet. He then invites us to guess the letters of his name. Wait, kid who met Professor Oak...had adventures with an Electric-type Pokemon...met a girl who was a Water-type specialist, including a Starmie...Yeah, it's Ash Ketchum.

I can't help but wonder if this is an attempt to deconstruct Ash Ketchum a bit, if not the Pokémon anime. I mean, the anime does tend to portray him as not very bright at times. Also, the show did seem to indicate that he didn't have any skills other than Pokémon training. Also, he never seemed to win any tournament...well, any one that was actually based on a canon region... So maybe, the game is showing that in real life, Ash's life would not go so well. Or maybe it's just doing a twist on anime characters appearing in fangames. 

One thing is for sure, though. This does firmly establish these games are not part of the main Pokémon canon, wither games or anime. Anyway, he gives you TM68 (Giga Impact) if you hear his story and guess his name. All he wants to do his drink himself to oblivion in peace. In the room he's at, there's some Leftovers hidden in a plate of food. Next to that plate is a blue cup. Interact with that to get a Soda Pop. In a nearby room, there's a TM44 (Rest) hidden on one of the clipobards. In addition to the usual items you can find in places like this, there's a special surprise here. This is the point in the game that you can get a Master Ball.

Yup, the ultimate "Easily-Catches-Any-Pokémon" containment device. You only get one, so use it wisely. So, how do we get said Master Ball? Well, first of all, remember that nurse that was nearby where we first appeared in the base? Well we have to go back to her. If you like collecting TMs, there's a grunt to the right of her. Near the grunt is a clipboard. The clipboard has TM08 (Bulk Up). Keep going this way, and you'll find two grunts and a Max Ether.

To get the Ball, we have to go southwards from the nurse. Follow the path until you get to the room that has the staircase to the second floor. In this room, there's a computer in the top left corner. Interact with it, and this will happen.

Answer "yes" when it asks to activate the program. Next, we take the staircase to the second floor. Just keep going along the path (fighting the grunts along the way). Eventually, you will reach a fork that leads to three stairways. The leftmost fork will take you to a staircase that leads to another room with a grunt in it. Keep going up until you reach another staircase. Go down...

...and there's your Master Ball. Use. It. Wisely. You only get one. Now I bet you may be asking, how do we get out of here? Well, we go back to the fork. Take the right staircase and follow the path to another staircase. Go up it, and you'll trigger a cutscene.

Zeus managed to make his way to Mt. Press, and he's playing the waiting game. Once Victini and Divaevus is under Olympus's control, their master plan can begin. What is the master plan? Well, that's not important. ...they don't have one, don't they?

This is basically a repeat of the convo before we ended up here in the first place, Athena wanting a Pokemon to check Zeus's power. We do get something more here, though. It turns out that Zeus is not a bad boss to the group. Well, not as bad as say, Giovanni or any of the canon team bosses. He still wants to take over the world, so we can't exactly say he's 100% a nice guy.

Athena is concerned because well...Team Olympus had gotten their butts handed to them a few times. They're worried that it may not have had the best effect on him mentally, and when you have Legendary Pokémon at your command, it's best to be mentally sound. But they do have two Pokémon that could help stop him if necessary: Sableye and Shedinja. 

Why these two? Well, Sableye supposedly has no weaknesses, being a Dark/Ghost-type...yeah, that was before Generation VI came along. Hello, Fairy-type... As for Shedinja, it has the ability Wonder Guard. Wonder Guard is an ability the Shedinja is famous for. A Pokémon that has this ability is immune to any attacks that are not super-effective against it. For example, the Electric-type Pikachu with this ability can't be harmed by a Water-type attack...but it's no protection against a Ground-type attack.

Wonder Guard does have another weakness. It's no good against any attack that is meant to affect a Pokémon's status, like Sleep Powder. Again, using the Pikachu as demonstration, it can be poisoned with Poison Powder, despite Wonder Guard. If it's confused, it can still damage itself. Wonder Guard is not as OP as Athena thinks.

 Anyway, Athena believes that if they can somehow combine the two Pokémon, they they'd truly have something that they can use to check Zeus. Or something straight from the Jeff Goldblum version of The Fly.

They have a machine to make this possible, but Corlett of the Elite Four is like "not so fast!" And he thinks I'm his partner here. Athena is a bit sore about me beating her in Onega Town, so she makes a wager. I win, she stops the experiment. I lose, I join as a grunt. I want to get out of here, so fine.

(Vs. Athena)

1st Pokemon: Noctowl (Lv. 46) - Defeated by Luxray.
2nd Pokemon: Mienshao (Lv. 47) - Athena used two Full Restores. Defeated by Butterfree.
3rd Pokemon: Medicham (Lv. 47) - Defeated by Butterfree.
4th Pokemon: Lucario (Lv. 46) - Defeated by Garchomp.

Looks like I'm not joining Team Olympus after all.

Athena decides "Screw this, I'm fusing anyway!" Not surprising since she is a villain. Corlett uses Ampharos to shut the whole thing down. Athena loses it, but Graham shows up and gets us out of there with Shadow Sneak. I did like having him show up here. It's like the game is giving us a nice tease who we're going to face in the future.

And with that, I think I will stop here. Next time, we'll hit Mt. Press! I'm a little nervous, to be honest. It's supposed to be a long trip, and I'm a bit nervous. God, I hate Mt. Snarlet...

Hopefully it will not be so bad. Wish me luck! 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, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Pokemon Obtained
(Route 314)
- Charizard (evolved from Charmeleon)
- Pidgeot (evolved from Pidgeotto)