Let's Play Pokemon Violet, Part 21: Area Zero: The Depths

So last we left off, we are descending into the deeper parts of Area Zero, after unlocking three of the four electronic keys needed to unlock the main lab. Professor Turo has a time machine connected to the future, which is where 'monstrosities' like Iron Treads and Iron Bundle come from, and that there are two Miraidon brought into the present time by Turo and they might be family. Except that our own Miraidon's scared shitless of Area Zero, so I don't really think that it's particularly likely.

As we enter the underground cavern, Arven and Penny wax lyrical about how beautiful the location is. Penny notes how one unfortunate slip and you can kiss your lives goodbye, while Arven compares it into already dying and going somewhere. The crystalline caves are pretty, though, I have to say. Between this area and the Terastralizing animations, they did put a lot of effort into making crystal animations look pretty as all hell. (Speaking of which, my buddies also put two and two together and realize that Area Zero is where the Terastralization phenomenon comes from). 

The underground cave network has a bunch of fancy Pokemon. Garganacl roam the location, but also subterranean Pokemon like Dugtrio, Dunsparce and Glimmora. Considering how rare particularly Glimmora is in the rest of Paldea, it is pretty interesting to see so many of them down here. With how weird Glimmora and Glimmet are, it is pretty neat to see them in their natural habitat. Particluarly Glimmora, whose biology makes a bit more sense now that we see it ramming itself face-first into the side of the cave walls with the rest of its body opening up like some rock flower. 

Also, the Iron Bundles are just... wandering around the 'normal' Pokemon, and are capturable! I catch one of my own, and the dex entry seems to just highlight what a weirdo this creature is, not telling me anything about its biology or behaviour. "It resembles a mysterious object mentioned in an old book. There are only two reported sightings of this Pokemon." Bullshit, because as I venture deeper and deeper into Area Zero, there definitely are much more than two of them, so these aren't quite the 'kinda-sorta legendary in that they exist in limited numbers in the game' like the Ultra Beasts. Also, despite being a robot bird, Iron Bundle is Ice/Water!

As I continue down the Area Zero, there are a bit more discussion about Miraidon's behaviour, and it is interesting that this ends up tying back into the 'bullying' aspect of the Team Star/Penny backstory. Arven speculates more in the behaviour of animals in general like it wanting food and whatnot, though he recognizes that our Miraidon's not acting normally. Nemona is a bit too carefree, but Penny recognizes that 'something bad' might have happened to our Miraidon in Area Zero, comparing it to her own bad experiences as a victim of bullying. 

And then I meet my third future Paradox Pokemon, the Iron Jugulis! Jugulis from 'jugular', I assume. It's a Hydreigon! Which I genuinely thought was a regular Hydreigon when I first ran onto it, but this is unexpectedly cool. Now I did wish that they changed a bit more from how regular Hydreigon looks, but... I really like how this thing looks. Hydreigon already is one of the coolest design to come out of Pokemon from a sheer 'badass' factor alone. Making it a robot, with joints and whatnot? Admittedly that seems to be what they did -- take the regular Hydreigon design, and add some robo joints and some meshwork effect on the central head, and make some of the pink lines into Tron-style lines. It's neat, though. 

And just like Paradox Delibird, Iron Jugulis isn't Steel-type, despite being a robot! It's Dark/Flying. Again, the Pokedex doesn't really give much of an explanation, just comparing Iron Jugulis to a Pokemon mentioned in a book. 

I decide to give my own Garganacl a break, and bring Jugulis with me in my party. It's got an ability called 'Quark Drive', something shared by Iron Treads and Bundle, where it boosts the Pokemon's most proficient stat if Electric Terrain is active and they're holding something called a Booster Energy. 

We enter the fourth lab, and it's a mess. Penny identifies that something probably went berserk there, and it's probably Miraidon. Turo contacts us, and he... short-circuits? He goes "hello, children. I'm sorry. Hello, children." before fritzing in and out and glitching and going "s-s-s-s-s-s-sorry, ssssssorrrrr-rrrrrry-eeeee" like a broken computer, before being confused about how to pronounce the word. "childrenen, childnen, childeren"... yeah, unless Mr. Fantastic over here experienced a stroke, he's definitely a robot of some sort. Then he goes "initiating restart", which kind of confirms it.  Which, again, makes me wonder how this scene would play out with Professor Sada and her more past-leaning vibes?

Nemona gets confused, trying to handwave it as connection problems, while Penny grumbles that if it was a joke, then it's not funny. But Arven seems to have figured something out -- though he's doubting himself out of denial. Turo eventually contacts us again, claiming that there was some signal interference, which Arven immediately calls him out on. But Turo is in full exposition mode, and just directs us to go to the deepest part. 

The deepest part is this fancy-ass giant structure partially consumed by crystals, with a hexagon-shaped doorway. This is the Zero Lab, and Turo congratulates us for making it all the way down there. Turo explains that the crystals of Area Zero can alter the functions of living things, and optimize the performance of machinery... the same energy that allows Pokemon to Terastralize. Penny also figures out -- which the books in the research labs also note -- that the Tera Orbs are created from crystals mined from this location. I wonder what this means? Do all trainers that use Terastralization actually channeling the strange, otherworldly energy of the [CENSORED] hexagon Pokemon from the Violet Book? 

Turo tells us that there are dangerous Pokemon that will make a break for freedom in the Zero Lab, but we still have to open the doorway regardless. My friends start discussing about using Miraidon in battle -- with Penny noting how reluctant Miraidon is, while Nemona just really really REALLY wants to see Miraidon go back to its lightning neon-encrusted lightning mode. Arven, however, just wants to do some forced therapy, and forces Miraidon out of his ball, figuring that Miraidon might be able to find its 'family'. 

Miraidon, for his credit, just sticks around with us while we open the gate... while a second Miraidon (heretofore referred to as #02) in its full transformed battle mode watches from a nearby cliff. #02 approaches our Miraidon, who cowers in fear and scuttles behind, and they do a pretty great job at communicating the dog/cat-esque body language of a submissive animal. #02 roars at our Miraidon, the big bully, before hovering off into the Zero Lab. 

Nemona, the obtuse fool, is kinda bummed that the heartwarming reunion got cut off so quickly, while Penny is terrified and realizes what's going on -- that there was nothing heartwarming about the reunion, and that the other Miraidon is some bad business. Even Arven has figured this out, though he resolves to try and restore Miraidon back to his battle-ready form to fight that jerk #02. 

 

My friends started discussing whether Miraidon is one of the 'dangerous Pokemon' that Professor Turo warned us about, but Turo said that the Pokemon would come from inside the Zero Lab. Which, of course, as if they've been lying in wait waiting for us, a bunch of Paradox Pokemon show up. There's an Iron Treads, an Iron Jugulis and... a half-dozen Futuristic Paradox Hariyama, the Iron Hands! These look... uh... okay, I guess a bunch of magnetic-connected floating arms is kind of different? Hariyama definitely wouldn't be my first pick for a 'future'-centric Pokemon variant, but okay. 

The Paradox Pokemon surround my group, and... I don't know why my buddies are so afraid, these guys are kinda pushovers. We take turns doing 2-v-1 battles against the Future Pokemon. Nemona and I team up against the Iron Treads, before Penny and I team up against an Iron Hands. Penny and Nemona then run off to battle a bunch of the other Future Pokemon, while Arven teams up with me to fight off the Iron Jugulis. There's a bunch of talk about them (well, mostly Arven) holding off the future Pokemon, but tells me to bring Miraidon into the Zero Lab and take care of business. 

There's a great little moment where Arven confronts Miraidon, too. Arven tells Miraidon that he basically ruined Arven's whole childhood, but Arven isn't so petty of a man to feel any sort of pleasure from seeing Miraidon cowering in fear. He tells Miraidon how he's got friends, and how he shouldn't lose to the other Miraidon. 

And with the secondary characters brushed aside, I enter the Zero Lab, where it's... not really a corridor, but like a huge pipe with an exploded side that leads into the laboratory itself? ANd in the lab is... not the other Miraidon, but Professor Turo, slumped over in a chair!

So yeah. I do think that the story is quickly coming to its conclusion, and I have got to say that I've definitely been enjoying all of it! 

Random Notes:

• Little bit of disclaimer -- I played through most of the Area Zero stuff in December, just didn't have a chance to edit these posts because I decided to spend New Year's with family and friends instead of writing.
• In the fourth lab, there is a record saying that 'that woman walked out not long after the boy was born'. So Sada abandoned her baby. Presumably, in Scarlet, Turo was the jackass parent that abandoned the baby. 
  
• The research stations all have teleporters that allow me to go to other research stations, but with this being the main story and all, I really don't have much interest in going back and forth to the outside world.
• Near the fourth research lab is a metal plaque with the symbols from the Violet Group, presumably left there by the first explorers that dug that deep. 
• Considering the amount of work I had to put in to get it in Pokemon White, it's still baffling that wild Volcarona just casually fly alongside Venomoths. 
• Man, Mabosstiff has a huge fanged maw, doesn't he? What a good boy. 
• Thinking about it while typing up this blog post, it does kinda make sense for Nemona, whose sign of affection is BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE, doesn't realize how terrified Miraidon is. She also thought that me fighting the Team Star Grunts that harassed Nemona forever ago as me just playing around, right?