And it's so much fun to discover Pokemon I didn't expect to find. There is a small field filled with Mime Jr's and Mr. Mimes creating forcefields in the Fieldlands. Going to the small little inland in the Coastlands on the north-west side of the map (Sendoff Spring is where Giratina used to hang out, right?) there's a pretty cool beachside filled with Toxicroaks, Walreins and a mighty Alpha Empoleon. I'm not using any of them in this playthrough, but this means that I've encountered alpha versions of all three Sinnoh starters. I enjoy the idea that these starters are native to Hisui/Sinnoh, just... very rare.
There's also an empty cave cut into the side of one of the sea cliffs called Seaside Hollow, which years of playing Pokemon have taught me that this is going to probably contain a legendary Pokemon in the future. I really can't think of any Pokemon I associate immediately with a seaside cave, though, other than Regice in Ruby/Sapphire?
I find Wanda in one of the islands in the Coastlands by accident after she somehow ran onto the island after being chased by a Pokemon? Okay. Also, a neat little detail I observed is that while most of my (non-water-dwelling) party has these little rafts when fighting in the ocean, Decidueye just flies above the water surface. It's not Flying-type, not really, but it's still a goddamn owl, and it can fly!
Anyway, returning back to Jubilife City, Kamado talks a bit about how finding out more about the space-time rift would clear any 'doubts' about my origins, as if I haven't been single-handedly doing all the work for Team Galaxy. In a neat little showcase of how the community has been growing to accept Pokemon, though, Beni the mochi guy notes that he has been using a fire Pokemon to help cook his mochi.
But Kamado and Adaman bring me up to the office, and they tell me to quell Electrode, the Lord of the Hollow, who's shooting electrical blasts everywhere. But then the warden of Electrode, Melli, shows up. He pushes his way all the way into Kamado's office, and Kamado kind of gets pissed off that his guards are so weak and will 'teach them a lesson'. Melli (he's a guy!) is straight-up abrasive. I mean, we've gotten Calaba who's unhelpful and Lian who's more ignorant, but Melli is straight-up abrasive. He straight-up gets in Adaman's face, asking if he's trying to humiliate the entire Diamond Clan by asking Team Galaxy's help, and then insults me by calling me a little noodle.
It's kind of refreshing, actually, since all the other wardens have mostly been on the nicer end of the spectrum. Melli doesn't actually go full Starscream with it and like use this to try and usurp the Diamond Clan leadership or anything (though that'd be interesting) and he ultimately folds when Adaman tells him where to shove it, but it's neat to have someone a bit more antagonistic.
Far more interesting, though, is Ingo! Ingo and Irida are hanging out in front of the battle arena in Jubilife, and Irida tells me that Ingo is the warden assigned to Sneasler. Ingo will guide me to the domain, and... and he's just straight-up the same guy from Generation V, complete with wacky robotic poses, train-conductor phrases sprinkled into his dialogue, and his creepy eyes. The only real difference is that he's got a funky goatee and his clothes are tattered. Irida straight-up tells me that Ingo is also someone isekai'd into Hisui, appearing out of nowhere with amnesia.
...so is this actually connected to the 'Fallers' storyline from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon? That game had an Anabel that showed up from another timeline, and I think Looker also got teleported somewhere in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire? Unlike alternate-universe Anabel and Looker's whole mess of a timeline, though, I genuinely have a feeling that they're actually doing something concrete to Ingo in making him a character in this game. It does kind of help that Ingo is actually a somewhat bland character in his base game... bland other than his visual design and antics, that is.
Doing this whole batch of main story quests ended up giving me a whole ton of sidequests, some of which I can immediately complete. Some dude called Ward wants to see a Gastly's pokedex, so that he won't get afraid in front of his son. He bonds with Gastly after finding out Gastly also like to eat mushroom. Anthea, the clothier, wants to see both forms of Shellos, and then a Wormadam. Just a single Wormadam, not all three forms, which is a bit surprising. There's another Tao Hua quest, and another photograph quest, and I think that's a Turtwig in that photograph? I'm a huge Pokemon geek, but identifying a Pokemon just from their leaf is a bit beyond me.
Anyway, off to the Coronet Highlands! There's a big fuck-off space-time rift in the sky and I really do love how it's animated like cracked glass. Laventon tells me about the magnetism emitted by the rift, and the nearby ruins have some Probopass statues. They worship Probopass here, I suppose.
The Pokemon here just seem to be slightly more advanced versions of the ones in the Fieldlands, like Luxray and Parasect, but I'm only able to access a small portion of the entire mountain. I remember enough of the Generation IV games to know that Mt. Coronet is one hell of a massive dungeon.
On my way to Wayward Cave (that's the Gible cave in the Sinnoh games!) Melli confronts me again, calling me a Galaxy grunt and straight-up challenging me to a battle. The game does not allow me to beat his ass. I am disappointed!
Melli does give a pretty interesting worldview. We've heard some characters like Palina, Lian and some NPC's wonder if they're doing the right thing in Almighty Sinnoh's eyes or if what they're doing is blasphemy, but Melli straight-up is going on full fundamentalist. He sees all the Pokemon going berserk is a proof of Almighty Sinnoh's power and blessing, and that it's a way for Electrode to assert his strength as a noble Pokemon. It's a mark of favour and protection and whatnot. Ah, religious blindness!
Ingo mumbles about how he used to have a partner that wielded flames (he had a Chandelure in one of his B/W teams. I associate him more with Klinklang and Eelektross, but that's because I only ever played the single-player Subway) and remembered a man that looked like him, including Emmet's catchphrase. He also mentions about how the Electrode in Hisui is a bit different from the Electrode he remembers (you're telling me!) and notes how he has an affinity in training Pokemon. Considering he's one of the best trainers in modern day Unova, he definitely is!
After avoiding an Alpha Crobat, Ingo leads me out of the Wayward Cave, and onwards to the Coronet Highlands. Ultimately after some more discussion about Ingo's arrival in Hisui, Melli challenges me to an actual fight with a Skuntank, who I smack down easily with my big-ass Ursaluna. I love when Pokemon actually remembers how satisfying it is to beat up smug jackasses. So many of the side characters nowadays are so likable. Melli refuses to admit defeat and buggers off.
Ingo leads me to a pretty cool 'Ancient Quarry', created by a civilization even more ancient than before, and it's all cube-shaped. Very cool and eerie, actually, and I do like how we're not sure if Pokemon helped to cut out the giant stones. I guess that Probopass-worshipping culture are the precursors to the Diamond and Pearl Clans?
Volo also shows up and starts questioning me about what I saw 'beyond the rift', and... hmm. He theorizes that whatever is 'beyond the rift' is the source of the frenzied Pokemon, and... it is Arceus, and we really don't know much about what Arceus wants to do. I feign ignorance, because Volo feels kind of off in this conversation, and that's something considering I'm comparing him to the amnesiac, robotic Ingo and the douchebag supreme Melli. Volo talks about how what lays beyond the rift is Almighty Sinnoh's realm, and notes how weird it is that the space-time rifts have appeared in the past, and closed for some reason. Curiouser and curiouser.
The distance between where I am and the first camp is actually pretty far and dicking around trying to catch a Heracross and a Bronzong ended up depleting around half of my team. It's actually refreshingly fun that for once I actually have to keep a lookout for healing items to make sure I don't white out! Eventually I find the Gingko Guild NPC that gives me the quest to set up a camp, and it involves following a Bronzor's gaze to help his buddy. Good job, Bronzor!
Anyway, I'll explore the rest of the Coronet Highlands soon!
Current Party: Hootle (Hisuian Decidueye), Qwilmonger (Overqwil), Bartholomew (Alpha Ursaluna), Cremation (Shiny Rapidash), Manterror (Kleavor), Uzumaki (Hisuian Sliggoo)
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