Justice League of America #21 (August 1963)

Before the Crisis on Infinite Earths consolidated the original DC Multiverse into one single DC Universe in 1986, there used to be a regular tradition in the Justice League's book. That tradition? The yearly JLA/JSA team-up!

Yes, every year, fans were treated to adventures featuring members of Earth-One's Justice League of America and Earth-Two's Justice Society of America. As the years would go by, these adventures would grow to sometimes include superheroes of other Earths beyond One and Two, like Earth-S (the home of the Billy Batson Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family). I looked at one such story in the past, from 1980: Justice League of America #183 and #184 (October-November 1980).

But every tradition has a beginning. So, let's take a look at the very first JLA/JSA team-up: Justice League of America #21!

The cover is a Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson piece. It's really awesome. It depicts the Justice League performing a seance. From the mists of the crystal ball, rise the Justice Society of America. It's become a bit of an iconic cover, being homaged in other comics by other companies.

"Crisis on Earth-One!"
Writer: Gardner Fox
Penciler: Mike Sekowsky
Inker: Bernard Sachs
Colorist: Unknown
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino
Editor: Julius Schwartz

The story begins with the Justice League meeting at their Happy Harbor sanctuary.

"Okay, who is doing the minutes this week?"

Their meeting is about dealing with a new trio of supervillains...well, a new trio comprised of old villains. The Crime Champions (comprised of Felix Faust, Atom villain Chronos, and Flash villain Doctor Alchemy) have claimed that they will rob a bank, a sunken ship, and an armored car. Yup, rather basic crimes for supervillains. The League splits up into three teams:

- Atom, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter will take on Felix Faust
- Wonder Woman, Batman, and Green Lantern will take on Chronos.
- Superman, Green Arrow, and Flash will take on Doctor Alchemy.

...huh. You'd think they'd have Atom on the team that takes care of Chronos. After all, Chronos was one of his rogues. 

With the teams made, the League splits up like the Scooby-Doo gang tackling a mystery. Meanwhile, at the same time on Earth-Two, the Justice Society of America is having a meeting of its own.

"Okay, who is doing the minutes this week?"

Like the League, they've been challenged by a trio of their old enemies: The Fiddler, The Wizard, and the Icicle. The JSA are eager to go into battle with their old nemeses. After all, they haven't fought crime in costume for about a decade at that point, so they're eager to rid themselves of some villain-busting rust.

Back on Earth-One, Felix Faust is hard at work on the sunken ship robbery. 

"Diving gear is for weak muggles!"

He's spotted by Aquaman, who commands some whales to attack the evil sorcerer. Faust is able to handle that problem, no sweat. The Martian Manhunter takes a shot, but Faust casts a Fireball spell, easily dispatching the Martian (Fire to Martians is like Kryptonite to Superman). The Atom is also with them and tries to kick the fireballs away. I bet Ray Palmer's feet are hating him right now.

It seems to help, as the Manhunter uses his super-breath to send the shrinking scientist towards the sorcerer. But ol' Felix has a spell for him, too. He turns himself into mist, allowing the Atom to pass through him harmlessly. 

Having outsmarted the League, he vanishes with his ill-gotten gains. Crime Champions 1, Justice League 0. We then next go to Route 55, in...well, take your pick. The story doesn't say. Doctor Alchemy is waiting for an armored truck.

"About time! I've been waiting here for THREE HOURS!"

Alchemy easily stops the truck with his Philosopher's Stone and its ability to change one substance into another. He also uses the stone to convert the armored truck into a plane so he can fly the coop. Superman, Green Arrow, and Flash intercept him. Well, the Man of Steel and the Emerald Archer manage to. The Flash starts vibrating...and then vanishes. Alchemy manages to stop Superman by changing a nearby telephone pole and fire hydrant into Kryptonite. He also stops Green Arrow by trapping him in the road-turned glue river. As he takes off, Dr. Alchemy taunts that the Flash has been taken care of...in a special way.

Superman is weakening fast. Green Arrow saves him by firing an arrow filled with paint at the hydrant. The lead in the paint blocks the Kryptonite, allowing Superman to recover. Yeah, you can tell this is from the 1960s. Superman then grabs the archer, and takes to the air, freeing him from the glue. Despite their efforts, Dr. Alchemy gets away.

Crime Champions 2, Justice League 0. In a place called Powers City, Chronos is at work robbing a bank.

"Actually, I used acid, but I'm not telling the League that!"

He spots Green Lantern, Batman, and Wonder Woman heading towards him. The time-obsessed supervillain heads out on his sundial-themed craft. Yeah, say what you will about Silver Age villains, they understood the concept of theme and sticking to it. The three Leaguers try to capture him, but he has countermeasures for them. He uses a pair of watch hand darts to keep Wonder Woman from lassoing him. He uses a razor-sharp watch crystal to keep Batman from rappelling down to him. And he drives away Green Lantern with some yellow gas (At that time, Green Lantern Corps rings were useless against anything yellow). Can't say he wasn't prepared.

This forces the League members to save each other, allowing Chronos to get away by vanishing into the Mist. And with that, the JLA loses, three to big fat goose egg.  The three Leaguers wonder where he went off to. Luckily, the comic tells us readers.

"The rent here is ridiculously cheap! It's a steal, ha ha!"

Evidently the six villains have been in collusion. The Wizard recounts how he defeated the Alan Scott Green Lantern and Black Canary with his magical powers. The Fiddler was able to defeat Hawkman (Carter Hall), Flash (Jay Garrick), and Atom (Al Pratt) with the powerful decibels from his fiddle. And Icicle was able to take down Hourman (Rex Tyler) and Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) with his own ice powers. 

It's revealed here that the reason the Earth-One villains were able to evade capture was thanks to a special portable device provided by the Fiddler. The device allowed the three blackguards to alter their vibrational frequency so that they can fade away from Earth-One. The Fiddler came up with the device after accidentally playing a note on his fiddle that caused him and his two compatriots to end up on Earth-One.

In one of those bizarre coincidences that can only happen in a Silver Age comic, Dr. Alchemy, Felix Faust, and Chronos were planning to help themselves to the proceeds from that stage show. In an unusual act of kindness, the three Earth-One villains helped the Earth-Two villains out...after making off with the stage proceeds, of course.

The six discuss how on their Earths, any time that they commit a crime, the JLA or JSA always end up catching them. So, they have a solution to the problem: Switch Earths. You see, at this point, neither the JLA or JSA are truly aware of the other groups' rogues gallery. Faust, Alchemy and Chronos can spend their ill-gotten gains on Earth-Two without the JSA bothering them. The reverse will be true for Fiddler, Wizard, and Icicle on Earth-One. There's just one hiccup to the plan.

"Who would have thought bubblegum would have made an effective trap?"

Yes, the Flashes. You see, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick can use their superspeed to traverse between the two Earths, and they know of each other's Rogues. Evidently, the Flashes feel up to sharing that information with the rest of the JLA and JSA.

The villains proceed to hide out on their opposing Earths. On Earth-One, the Earth-Two villains are hiding out in a life of luxury. But they're growing bored. It can be implied here that being super-villains is a bit addicting for these three men. They love the rush of breaking the law and trying to get away with it. As such, they decide to challenge the Justice League and try to get rid of them at the same time. And if they succeed, they'd be doing their Earth-Two compatriots a favor, too. 

The three Earth-Two villains contact the Justice League using a crystal ball. They tell the League they robbed some casinos dry, and to come and get them. The League is all like, "Challenge Accepted", and head into action. The three blackguards prepare some traps, disguising themselves as the Earth-One villains.

"We're working with what we got here."

In the casino known as the Golden Egg (which has a spectacular buffet), Wonder Woman, Batman, and Green Lantern engage "Chronos". The disguised Icicle easily takes them to dreamland. However, the fight makes me scratch my head. Keep in mind, the Icicle is disguised as Chronos here. He uses Chronos's time-gimmick weaponry. Where did he get it? Also, Wonder Woman manages to catch him in her lasso, a lasso that (at this time) was able to make people obey the commands of the holder. Wonder Woman managed to lasso him and commands him to obey her. But he was able to defy her.

Icicle claimed that since Wonder Woman ordered Chronos to obey her, and he's not Chronos, it didn't work. I don't know, it sounds cheap to me. Anyway, the Wizard engages Superman in the guise of Dr. Alchemy. He somehow defeats the Man of Steel with hard rubber chips. Well, considering it's the Wizard, we can assume he magically gimmicked them. Superman is no more immune to magic than anyone else, after all.

He also somehow takes down Green Arrow with an enchanted roulette wheel. The Fiddler, in the guise of Felix Faust, manages to take down Aquaman, Atom, and Martian Manhunter. The JLA regroup and try to charge the three villains, but the Wizard transports them back to their headquarters, trapping them in it with a powerful magical barrier. Batman then has an idea.

He suggests that magic got them into this mess, magic can get them out. Since Zatanna isn't around yet, Batman picks up one of the League's souvenirs: A crystal ball, the same one the Earth-Two villains used to contact them. 

And then Batman dropped it.

This ball was given to the League by Merlin in Justice League of America #2. The League do a seance with the ball, and it starts emitting a mist. It allows them to contact Barry Allen, who tells them to summon the JSA, as they might not be bound by the magic trapping them in the sanctuary. The League do so...and the team-up formally begins.

Much to the JSA's delight, the JLA's HQ has an open bar.

It's kind of funny that Earth-2 seemingly did not have a Green Arrow or an Aquaman here, as they are Golden Age characters, too. But then again, their Golden Age counterparts weren't JSA members, so...there you go. Dr. Fate uses his magic to send the JLA to Earth-Two. As Barry had hoped, the magic barrier can't hold the JSA, so they're able to just breeze on out of the Secret Sanctuary. And as for the Alan Scott and Hal Jordan Green Lanterns head out to rescue the Flashes.

This was indeed a significant issue when it comes to DC history. However, I do think it's a bit of a flawed story. Well, from a modern perspective. From a modern perspective, it does feel much like a first draft. The villains' plan is actually a very interesting one, though. I like the villains hiding out on opposing Earths. It would have actually worked...if they didn't get bored. That's actually kind of hilarious. It is a classic story, and I think it should be read for historical purposes. However, there would be better inter-Earth crossovers in the future. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2002 trade paperback Crisis on Multiple Earths 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, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Eternals #5 (February 1986)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals as they engage in their greatest battle against the Deviants! Last time, the Eternals fought a fleet of Deviant ships, only to end up seemingly betrayed by their ruler Thena due to her feelings for Warlord Kro. So, what will be the fallout of this? Let's find out in Eternals #5!

The cover is a Keith Pollard piece. It's really good. It depicts Thena trying to burn Ikaris to the shock of Makkari and Margo Damien. Thena's pose really helps sell the idea that she's become some divine ruler who is making someone feel her cosmic fury. It fits, considering the Eternals can be described as "space gods". 

"The Secret Name of Pain"
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterers: Jack Morelli, Rick Parker
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a Deviant woman named Yrdisis. 

"I call it 'Cosmic Vomit'."

As you can see, Yrdisis is an artist. She was commissioned by Ghaur to make a painting for him. In his own way, Ghaur compliments it, saying that it reminds him of the rage that all Deviants feel for their position compared to the humans and the Eternals. Satisfied with the painting, and sensing it has left her fatigued, Ghaur grants her leave. The woman heads back to her studio, her fists clenched, and her jade-colored face flushed with anger. It appears even her artwork, as beautiful as it is, can provide no respite from the Deviants' position in the cosmos. She arrives at her studio, where she meets a friend.

"Before you ask, all I got was that Ghaur is obsessed with trinkets."

The redhead is Ahalau. She previously made a cameo appearance in issue #2, as one of the Deviants revealed to be working with Kro. Yrdisis reports that she didn't glean much out of Ghaur, but she did notice that he seemed to be preoccupied with a crystal key. Ahalau assures that Yrdisis is valuable to them, and she will be needed to help Kro stop Ghaur. Yrdisis feels all she has is her rage.

We next shift scenes to Olympia and focus on this Eternal and his love of the lute.

"🎵 And I was singing, 'Bye bye, miss American Pie'... 🎵"

Meet Khoryphos. A musician and composer, he's playing a nice little tune that he's been working on since the days of Tiberius's reign over Rome. He gets a call from Thena. She's been accused of treason by Ikaris. He finds this odd, so he goes to check it out. With his arrival, a quorum is called. Ikaris recounts the battle against the Deviant fleet in the last issue. He notes that an Alpha Ship prevented the Eternals from finishing off the fleet. Only one Eternal can launch such a ship: the current ruler. And since Thena sits on the throne...it's a pretty open and shut case here. She betrayed the Eternals. 

Ikaris calls for Karkas's testimony. The big red Deviant points out that Thena trusts him and treats him with kindness. He will not abuse that. Besides, his testimony would be considered inadmissible due to his being a Deviant, anyway.

Ikaris lets it go. After all, he has another theory. He believes that Thena committed her treasonous act for one reason: love. Love for Warlord Kro. However, Ikaris cannot provide any concrete evidence of this. 

Thena is infuriated by Ikaris's accusations (although it can be interpreted that Ikaris also struck a nerve), and angrily scatters the group with a blast of light. Phastos notes that his holographic projection has been screwed up, which means that blast was powerful enough to move Olympia itself.

She uses her cosmic powers to try and burn Ikaris. Margo Damien trying to help him manages to calm the blonde queen down. She announces that tomorrow, she will hear reasoned arguments for her trial. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Deviant fleet make their way to the North Pole. And they're not looking for Santa Claus.

"It's only a mountain." "Shhh!"

Their destination is a place called the Pyramid of the Winds. The makers of this place did plan Pyramids of the Waters, Fires, and Earths, but they couldn't get the funding. There is an object located in these mountains that Kro is after. He learned of it thanks to Deviant spies raiding the lab they encountered Phastos in issue #3. The green hooded figure gives Kro his battle armor. It's here that Kro reveals that thanks to his allies in Lemuria, Kro knows his retainer Lugnar is a spy for Ghaur...and that Lugnar's mission is to keep Kro in the dark about the mission. The green-hooded figure points out he could also be a spy for Ghaur as well. Kro does not believe that. The being does have secrets, but being one of Ghaur's spies is not one of them. So, he'll let the figure be secretive. For now.

Back on Olympia, we look in on Ikaris and Margo Damien. Margo thinks that his accusations of treason are about more than how that battle with the Deviant fleet went. There's something more going on with the powerhouse. Khoryphos pops in, pointing out that he's been a mutual friend of Thena and Ikaris for millennia. Which makes you wonder where he was during the events of Jack Kirby's  Khoryphos points out that Thena is still dealing with the death of her father Zuras in Iron Man Annual #6. Ikaris should have a bit of sympathy for Thena, considering his own losses in the past. Ikaris points out that he did lose his own father Virako thanks to the Eternal-Deviant war, which was shown in Thor Annual #6. It's why he's so angry at Thena about her actions. 

Khoryphos plays a tune for Ikaris. The tune brings the powerhouse to tears. Khoryphos explains that this tune was a eulogy...for the first Ikaris. Khoryphos encourages Ikaris to tell Margo about it. And he does.

Once upon a time, in Crete, Ikaris had a wife and a son. He was happy. He also had a mission there: to deal with some Deviants in tunnels they had dug underneath the Aegean Sea.

Yup, nothing bad is going to happen here...

This implies the legend of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth was basically inspired by the Deviants. Despite his mission, Ikaris was a dedicated family man, spending time with them whenever he could. He loved flying with his son. Phastos and Makkari helped him fashion a pair of wings so Ikaris's son could fly with him. One day, Ikaris had a mission, and he promised that he'd teach his son how to use the wings when he got back. After all, he would only be gone a short time, right?

Ikaris was away for longer than expected. The boy grew impatient. He wanted to fly. So, he took the wings, and took off after Ikaris. However, the boy did not know how to properly control the device. He also loved to fly, so he flew. Higher and higher...until the air grew thin, causing the boy to faint, and the rays of the sun damaged the wings' controls. He would fall like a stone, and crash into the sea. When Ikaris returned, he found his son's body and buried it. In honor of his son, he took the boy's name as his own: Ikaris. So, was Ikaris's original name something like "Dadaelis"? 

Khoryphos asks Ikaris to remember his own grief, and that he should be more empathetic towards Thena, as her father Zuras's death is still rather fresh. This seems to have an effect on the powerhouse, and he agrees to do so. 

Meanwhile, at the Pyramid of the Winds, Lugnar leads Kro to a chamber. One of the doors has a symbol on it.

"...is this one of those unisex bathrooms?"

Does this symbol look familiar to you? It should, because that emblem appears on Ikaris's costume. The Deviants bring up the machine they used on Ikaris back in issue #1. Back in Olympia, Thena and Ikaris talk some things out. Thena believes the Deviants have to have a purpose on Earth. Ikaris points out the Celestials themselves warred with them, leading to the destruction of Old Lemuria. Thena points out that the Celestials could have easily exterminated all of the Deviants, yet they chose not to. She won't act until the Deviants actually threaten the world, but Ikaris fears they already are. 

Back to the Pyramid! Kro's men use the device. You see, the symbol on the wall is not just there to look pretty, it's a lock. It's a lock that needs a special key to open, in particular the emblems on Ikaris's costume. The emblems have a unique molecular structure, which the machine duplicated, and uses to not only open the door, but blow the sucker open!

In Olympia, the chest symbols on Ikaris's chest start glowing. 

"Aww, that's just my pager shirt."

It's an alert!

Ikaris tells Thena about the fight he had with the Deviants in issue #1, and now he knows why. As we saw, they wanted what's in the Pyramid of the Winds. Thena doesn't believe it.

She forbids Ikaris to go after the Deviants, or he'll be labeled an outlaw. But Ikaris doesn't care. The Deviants can't get what is in the Pyramid. Back at the Pyramid, Lugnar pleads with Kro to let him in first, to make sure it's safe. Kro reveals he's aware Lugnar is one of the Priesthood's spies. 

He orders his men to detain Lugnar. Kro then goes in and looks over the treasure in the room. 

"Wait, I went through all this just for a bottle of LIQUOR?!"

Ah yes, the Ancient Alcohol of Andelusia! Time to get drunk and party like it's 1899!

I liked this comic, and I do feel there was plenty to praise. Like the scenes with Yrdisis, for example. It helps show that the Deviants aren't quite all warmongering monsters. I think it would be funny if she ended up becoming a famous artist in the human world somehow. I can see her showing off her works in a gallery in New York City. 

I also liked the scene where we learned a bit about Ikaris's past. It helps humanize him a bit and show there's more to the powerhouse than just being a fighter. It also helps show why he's more gung-ho about fighting the Deviants than Thena is. It can be implied that he's fighting harder because he doesn't want the Deviants to cause any more tragedies like he suffered. I also liked that it's being shown that Thena's rule is being affected by her mental state. It's clear that her grief over Zuras's death and her feelings for Kro are causing problems for the Eternals. 

I do wish we got to learn a bit more about Kharyphos himself, though. He doesn't really do much here, just is an excuse for Ikaris to open up to his past about Margo. 

If you want to read this blog for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2020 trade paperback The Eternals: The Dreaming Celestial Saga. 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!

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! 

You're probably asking yourself, what is Cinco de Mayo? Well, it's a holiday celebrated in both the United States and in Mexico on May 5, Cinco de Mayo literally meaning "May 5th" in Spanish.

Both countries celebrate the holiday rather differently. In the US, the day is seen as a celebration of Mexican-American culture. In fact, it's often mistakenly seen as the Mexican Independence Day, but that's not accurate. The actual Mexican Independence Day is September 16th, which celebrates the Cry of Dolores, the event that triggered Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.

The American version of Cinco de Mayo is believed to have started in 1863, among Mexican miners in California. They were overjoyed that their home nation was standing up to the French Empire, so overjoyed that they broke into spontaneous celebration. The American Cinco de Mayo would mainly be celebrated in California up into the 1940s, when the rising Chicano Movement would help spread it to the rest of the United States. In the 1980s, many marketing firms, especially beer companies, sensed the celebratory nature of the holiday and used it to promote various products. This would help make the holiday much more popular in the US, and further evolve it into the modern celebration of Mexican-American culture it is.

In Mexico, it's a minor holiday. There, it's the day where the Mexican Army, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated the French Army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In 1860, the Mexican Civil War, aka the Reform War, had ended. The war had wrecked Mexico economically. As a result, then-President Benito Juarez had been forced to suspend payments of interest on foreign debts for a couple of years, which angered Spain, Great Britain, and France. The three countries formed the Tripartite Alliance, the goal to basically invade Mexico and force them to make the payments.

The three nations would invade in 1861, occupying the port city of Veracruz, and marching to the city of Orizaba. Mexico was able to negotiate with Britain and Spain, and the two countries withdrew from Mexico. But France, under Napoleon III at the time, wanted a war. France wanted to rule Mexico. France wanted to make Mexico part of its empire.

At the Battle of Puebla, 4,000 Mexican Army soldiers stood up against 6,500 Frenchmen. The Mexicans managed to defeat the French at this battle, despite the French being better-equipped. 87 Mexicans died in the battle, 131 got wounded, and 12 went missing. They managed to capture 35 Frenchmen, wound 304, and kill 476. The Battle of Puebla was not just a big political victory for Mexico, it also provided a major morale boost for the people and defenders of Mexico.

In 1862, Juarez had declared May 5th a national holiday in Mexico, where it's called "Battle of Puebla Day" or "The Battle of Cinco de Mayo". It's mainly celebrated in Puebla City, where the battle occurred, with limited celebrations throughout the rest of Mexico.

And that is Cinco de Mayo. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Star Wars Day

Today is Star Wars Day! Yayyyy!

On Star Wars Day, fans celebrate the long-running Star Wars franchise! I celebrated it today by watching some Bad Batch before I went to work. I like that show. Hope you had a good day today!

Wild Koala Day!

Today is International Wild Koala Day!

This day is to celebrate one of Australia's most iconic animals, the little gray marsupial known as the Koala! 

May Day

Happy May Day, everyone!

What is May Day, you ask? Well, the first day of May is celebrated in two ways. In Europe, May Day is celebrated on May 1st because it's considered the start of summer over there. The other is a day to celebrate workers, as May 1st is International Workers' Day. Many countries celebrate this day as their Labor Day (I live in the United States, and our Labor Day is on the first Monday in September). 

Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #16

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is the sixteenth entry in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse!

Now, as is tradition, I will warn you that I will be spoiling this game. 

I strongly recommend that you play this game for yourself before reading these Text Plays. You can download the game here. Now then, let's go!

Last time, we made our way through Mt. Starburst, and we eventually found Abraham, the grandfather of Queen Nuphar. From him, we learned of the origins of Team Dimension and its connections to Versil and Astra. We left off with him leaving and asking us to follow, only to end up having no idea where he went.

So, now we've got to find him. What a pain. We head back to the crossroad area we were in before we made our way to the lava pool Abraham was meditating at.

Let's try the upward path. Might as well. 

I wanted to try the downward path, but the Turtonator won't let you cross it.

So, yeah. No choice to go upwards. The upward path leads to a cave entrance. We go through it and end up in a pathway that has stairways on it. We go up them and to the left. The path ends with a surprise.

Looks like we picked the right path after all. Hooray!

Abraham tells me that we're heading to the Zenith Cave. It's the location of a Xeno Gate, one of four in the entire region. The Xeno Gates don't just let anyone walk through willy-nilly. If you want to go through one of these gates, you have to get a blessing from someone...or something called Luxflon. But that's not the issue right now. Team Dimension is threatening to endanger the entire world. Abraham then proceeds to tell us a tale. An epic tale of the birth of the universe. 

Billions of years ago, the universe was ruled by a Pokémon called Vakuum. And his reign sucked.

Yeah, that was a bad joke. My apologies. Anyway, Vakuum was a big as a planet, and its body burned as hot as a star. The Pokémon, like many beings, struggled with "diametrically opposed intentions." Basically, it struggled with its better and darker natures. These natures were the Light (symbolizing peace/evolution) and Darkness (symbolizing terror/annihilation). The creature was powerful, but even it was not immune to the ravages of time. 

As Vakuum aged, its inner darkness became its own separate creature, not willing to die with Vakuum. This darkness managed to free itself from Vakuum, killing the Pokémon in the process. I imagine it was quite painful.

This caused a massive deflagration. This explosion unleashed life throughout the universe. Galaxies formed. Stars ignited. planets were born. Yeah, it can be implied that this event was this universe's version of the Big Bang. Now I know what you're thinking. "What about Vakuum's light side?" Well, like the darker side, the Light side of Vakuum also became its own being: Luxflon. The dark side became a being called Dragalisk. Further remnants of Vakuum became three Elemental Guardians that were incarnated into the form of three Pokémon: Trishout, Shyleon, and Shulong. The three starter Pokémon of this game. I'm assuming that means in this universe, the starters were the first Pokémon species on Earth. 

When the Earth was formed, half of it was ruled by Luxflon, and the other by Dragalisk. Trishout, Shyleon, and Shulong helped keep Luxflon and Dragalisk in balance. After all, one cannot have Darkness without Light, and vice versa.

Dragalisk banished all life from its realm, seeing it as unnecessary. Refuge was found for it in Luxflon's domain. Luxflon's domain grew prosperous, while Dragalisk's became stagnant and rotten. Dragalisk envied the beauty and prosperousness of his counterpart's realm and decided to do something about that. Dragalisk moved to steal the energy Luxflon used to make Earth so flush with life. Luxflon, aided by the three starter Pokemon, defeated Dragalisk. Despite the defeat, Dragalisk was able to make off with a small amount of that life energy.

Using this energy, Dragalisk was able to create its own life: the X Pokémon. Using these X Pokémon as an army, Dragalisk tried to attack the Earth again. That attack also failed. Dragalisk was 0 for 2, which I'm sure it took well.

Luxflon was so horrified by its counterpart's greed and power lust, it tapped into its own energy reserves to take down Dragalisk once and for all. This caused Dragalisk to end up trapped in another dimension: The Xenoverse. So, basically, the X Pokémon are not native to the Xenoverse. They were exiled there with their creator.

The Earth continued to flourish and develop without Dragalisk around. Over the millenia, the undeterred Dragalisk would continue to try and attack Earth. It did it by tearing the equivalent of fault lines in the space-time continuum. This is why we've been seeing X Pokémon around the game world. They came here thanks to those tears Dragalisk has been opening up. 

Team Dimension wants to break into the Xenoverse. If they succeed, Dragalisk will be released, and the dark Pokémon will take its vengeance on the Earth, possibly even taking it over.

Don't worry, there is hope. As established earlier, the starter Pokémon helps maintain the balance of this realm, and we happen to have one of them. 

This does raise some questions, mainly regarding the starter Pokémon. This story seems to imply that they are more in the vein of Legendaries than the vast majority of the Pokémon we encounter in these games. I think I understand what the story is going for here, trying to explain why there's only one of each of the starter Pokémon. It's something I never really felt needed explanation, though. 

We have to prevent Team Dimension from brining Dragalisk into the world. We're going to need a little extra something to accomplish this. Abraham brings us to another chamber.

Here, we can obtain a power beyond what we have now. That power? Xenoversal Evolution. With this, we can allow our Pokémon to unleash their full potential. The pool behind him is Terrestrial Energy, the energy that Luxflon is using to try and patch up the rifts between our world and the Xenoverse. Only those who have the Earth Core can pass through the Xeno Gate behind it. We also have to have a certain amount of "grudge", whatever that means. This means that Abraham can't come with us. Why can't it be that he just doesn't have the Earth Core, and he wasn't chosen? He says after this, we'll be able to harness Blue Energy! 

He makes a prayer, and a path opens up. We automatically walk over the puddle of Terrestrial Energy to the cascade. Energy courses through it, and we get sucked into the Xeno Gate.

Welcome to the Xenoverse.

Yeah, this is...quite a place. It's definitely barren. There's an eerie vibe to the place. The glitching trees are a nice touch. Showing the two dimensions do not get along very well. Taking a step forward causes someone to start laughing. Another step forward and a shadowy figure walks towards us. The figure claims they don't need to introduce themselves to us. After all...

...they are us. This is our Alter, born and raised here in the Xenoverse. Basically, Alter is our counterpart here in this dimension. This does lead me to wonder. If we have a counterpart here, does everyone else we've met here have one, too? Our parents, Taraxo, Aster, Queen Nuphar? Are there versions of them here as well? Would make sense.

Anyway, the Alter claims that he has no family or friends. This doesn't really disprove my theory as our parents' counterparts may have been lost when Alter was younger. The Alter claims to have watched us every day of our lives, and saw that we got to have family and friends. The Alter wanted them, and it grew to hate us. Dude, it's not our fault you don't have family or friends! 

He wants to take our place in our world, and he's going to beat our Pokémon to do so. Okay. He claims that he's grown stronger and stronger thanks to our "grudge". Wait, our anger? Is that what he means? Our anger about what?

He says he'll be the one to save the world from Team Dimension and find Versil, and he'll finally get to have some glory. He summons his own Trishout, and the battle is on.

Alter Battle!
1st Pokemon: Trishout (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Harrowk and Pelipper.

The Alter is shocked by this defeat. He wonders how he was so easily able to get stomped by us. Why he has nothing and we have everything. The Alter says we should be scared of him. After all, he's our dark side. He notes that we haven't finished him off. That we're still here with him after this. This makes him feel a bit...happy. He vows to follow us, and when our hatred overcomes us, he'll take everything from us.

And with that, he vanishes. The world starts to shake, and Abraham calls us back. We find that the Alter became the Xenoverse Core. it's the essence of the Xenoverse. And its Trishout became the Xenoverse Ring. We got what we need, so let's get out of here! 

Abraham suggests that we try out the Core now. See what it can do. Surely nothing bad could happen from it.

To activate the new power, we have to give the Xenoversal Ring to Trishout and put it in the starting position in our party. When I removed the Terrestrial Ring from Trishout, it reverted to its "pre-evolved" form.

I wonder if that's a result of the starters being remnants of Vakuum. Did Trishout need this ring to evolve into another stage? I do wish I just left the ring off after it first reached its Terrestrial Form back in entry #3.

Well, after looking up Trishout's entry in the game's wiki (Yes, it has a wiki, and it is in English), I learned it doesn't have any natural evolutions. So, yeah. Wouldn't have mattered. Anyway, I gave Trishout the Xenoversal ring, and natually, it changed form again.

What's interesting is that Trishout's Xenoversal form looks more, well...monstrous for lack of a better term. Which actually does make sense. The Xenoverse is a world of rot and decay after all. Abraham describes this version of Trishout as more "savage". Great. I think I created a monster.

Trishout then seems to go nuts, evidently the Blue Energy of the Xenoverse is having a bad effect on the Pokémon's mind. Abraham tells us to get the Xenoversal ring off Trishout. But the Pokémon is not happy with that idea and decides to vanish.

Abraham heads to the top of the volcano. Looks like we've got to go follow him.

We head back to the crossroads with all those Turtonators. The one in front of the downwards path still won't let us go down it. Aw, well. Yeah, I have no idea where Abraham went. But as long as we're here, might as well use the Porygon Center. Thankfully, the cave entrance next to the Porygon Center is the right way to go, as if we follow the path from it, Abraham calls out to us.

Abraham's Scaleon helped track it down, but we have to calm its rage. We try to, but thankfully, someone comes to help us out. 

...Aw, great! The X Gengar is back! I figured we'd encounter him again after the events of entry # , but I didn't think it'd be this soon! And naturally, he has a bone to pick with us. After all, we did free Ishtar City from him. And he wants to use Trishout to get his revenge! We have to battle it!

Trishout (Xenoversal Form) (Lv. 34) - Defeated Phantump. Defeated Harrowk. Defeated Sandygast. Defeated by Scaleon. 

This was a surprisingly tough battle. The Blue Energy really amped it up. Harrowk's Spark did plenty of damage to it. Same with Sandygast's Bulldoze. And Scaleon's Dragon Claw.

The battle manages to calm Trishout down and make it remember us. Yay! The X Gengar is furious at this. He then retreats, saying that his "Lord" (presumably Dragalisk) will take care of this. And he says he'll be back for revenge.

With this issue resolved, we can go back to Ishtar City and face Nuphar. Abraham gives me a little gift: Ikarium H. Ikarium H is this game's version of the old Fly HM. We can use this to instantly go back to cities we have visited earlier. 

We have to leave the volcano to actually use the Ikarium H. And since Nuphar was the reason why we went on this weird misadventure, we fly back to Ishtar City. The holographic Scaleon takes us right back to the Pokemon Center. That's nice of it.

After getting my Pokémon healed up, I decided to take a closer look at Trishout's Xenoversal form.

Yeah, Trishout's Xenoversal form does look monstrous. It's a nice contrast to his Terrestrial form. Whereas his Terrestrial Form looks like a natural evolution of Trishout, the Xenoversal form is more like a savage devolution. It makes sense considering the Xenoverse is supposedly a dimension of rot and decay. Now that we managed to get that whole craziness out of the way, we can go face Queen Nuphar at her pyramid.

Nuphar is happy to see us back and amazed about the Xenoverse power we got at the volcano. She believes that we've achieved our full potential as a trainer. She thinks we're going to have no problem dealing with the canyon issue after getting it. I do appreciate the vote of confidence. She wants to see us use this power, and as such, she invites us to battle her at her gym. She's not going to make it easy for us. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The entryway to the gym is at the top of the pyramid. 

See that guy in there? Talk to him. We've seen him before. He said that he's rooting for us.

He wants to test us out on something: What type of Pokemon does Queen Nuphar specialize in? He gives us four choices: Fire, Water, Ground, Ghost. You may think Ground-type, right? After all, Ishtar City is a desert. 

Nope! Nuphar is a Water-type specialist. It's not hard to notice if you look at her. She wears a blue dress, and her crown is meant to look like a trident. Our mysterious fanboy suggests we use Electric or Sound-type Pokemon against her. I suppose we could use Grass-types as well. Water is also weak against Grass.

He wanted to test our observational skills. We're going to need them here in this Gym. By the way, you see the jar in the screenshot? It contains a Hyper Potion. Grab it. We go down the stairs and we end up in this room.

The man in the funny outfit here is named Abbas. You see, this Gym's challenge is based on the games the Ancient Ishtarians played. The first challenge is called "The Game of Farfetch'd." It works like this: The floor will be dotted with platforms. These platforms will bear effigies of various Pokemon. By reading and decrypting the clues on some pillars, will we find the proper path. One of these pillars is right next to the entrance. It has some glowing writing on it.

Hey, that's Unown writing. It's not hard to translate, as Unown tend to form letters and words in English. The Unown are telling us to "walk on the grass". Which likely means, "walk on the platforms with Grass-type Pokémon on them". I came to realization here.: I'm getting ahead of myself. We're going to need to prepare a team to face Nuphar. She's a Water-type specialist, so I'm going to need a team to counter that. Water is vulnerable to Grass, Electric, and Sound. As such, I'm going to have to build a team to take advantage of that.

Heading back to the Pokémon Center, I decided to look over my options. Naturally, I want to keep my Phantump (Grass/Ghost) and Harrowk (Electric/Flying) on board. they'll be a big help to me in battling Nuphar. Trishout is a Sound-type, but it's also a Fire-type, so...yeah. Sorry, buddy. Same with my Sandygast. It knows Giga Drain (a Grass-type move), but it's partially Ground, which is weak against Water. It does have the Ability called Water Compaction. When it's hit by a Water-type attack, its Defense stat goes up sharply.

 But it won't do a darn bit of good if it's hit by a Water-type attack powerful enough to knock it out with one blow. I also am going to put away my Pelipper and my Masgot. In their case, it's because I want to make space, and I don't want to take any chances. I have Harrowk and Phantump, but I want to have some more Grass and Electric-type Pokémon backing them up. 

I decided to add Hystearic (Grass/Sound), Sewaddle (Bug/Grass), Mareep (Electric), and Bremand (Electric/Sound). And now comes the hard part: Grinding.

It's not so bad. Because of this game's leveling system, grinding is a bit easier. All your Pokémon gain some experience when you battle (as long as you don't faint), so it does make things a little easier. 

And I think that's where we're going to stop this month. I'm going to work on grinding up my new team. Next time, we'll hopefully get to face off against Nuphar herself for our fourth badge! 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, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Pokemon Obtained:
(Route )
- Flaaffy (evolved from Mareep)
(Route 12)
- Shuckle
(Route 7)
- Trapinch
- Swadloon (evolved from Sewaddle)