Chapter 5 - Imprisoned
Chapter 5 - Imprisoned is the fifth chapter of Rejuvenation. It begins after defeating Narcissa in a Gym Battle and leaving Goldenleaf Town in the journey to Akuwa Town. After traversing Route 4, the Protagonist and Aelita find themselves in a deserted Akuwa Town. However, Team Xen is not yet finished with the pair, and swiftly they will find out what happened with all the missing residents.
Chapter Summary
A New Route
The Chapter begins with a small scene where Madelis expresses her joy over Geara's failure and capture after their numerous discussions. Nastasia and Neved sigh in resignation, but their peace is interrupted when Nastasia receives word that the Blacksteeple Island plan is to begin shortly. Meanwhile, the Protagonist and Aelita make their way through Wispy Chasm and finally arrive in Route 4, where they soon meet Nim, who agrees to join the pair. As Aelita moves ahead, the protagonist and Nim discover that a landslide has blocked the path ahead and are advised to find the person who acts as the Route's Caretaker. In a different part of the Route, the pair finds a mysterious formation, but their investigation is halted by a man who descends from the cliff side. The stranger introduces himself as Cairo and explains that the formation is called a Rift Den, a remnant of Team Xen's experiment with Shadow Pokémon and where Pokémon can turn into Shadow Pokémon after falling in one such rift. Cairo also confirms he acts as a caretaker of the Route, and helps move the landslide, freeing the path forward and inviting the group to his house further ahead, where he sells numerous valuable items.
After a scene where the trio camps outside, Ren is shown mulling over his decision to stay behind to try and find himself and curses his weakness when is visited by Crescent, who seems to empathize with his situation and offers to talk with him.
After arriving at the gates of Akuwa Town, Nim suddenly begs her friends to not go any further, and explains that, while she was there, Team Xen conducted a massive raid in the town and kidnapped everyone, and therefore the person they're looking for is not there. However, this only makes Aelita more eager to go in and try to help, to which Nim proposes a battle with the player to at least test if they're strong enough. After her defeat, Nim concedes and runs away, wishing the pair luck.
The Empty Town
Inside the town, the Protagonist and Aelita confirm that the town is mostly empty, with the exception of an old man laying knocked out in the street. While looking inside the Pokémon Center for a way to help, the protagonist finds what appears to be a distress signal sent out earlier. Once the man is up, he seems quite unbothered by his situation, and seems to vaguely remember people going into the Akuwa Drill Center, which the pair quickly finds out is not true. While investigating the Akuwa Aquarium, which is also completely empty, they stumble upon a ringing phone, and, while trying to explain their situation to the police, they get ambushed by a pair of Deathwings from Team Xen who easily defeat them. Aelita recommends they run, but soon they find themselves cornered by a massive group of Deathwings and get brought to Blacksteeple Island.
A Week in Captivity
On the island the Protagonist and Aelita get introduced to Neved, the warden of the island and Team Xen Executive, who sends the Protagonist to his cell and takes Aelita to a different place. In the island, the Protagonist meets a new group: Saki, Valarie and Adam, who introduce them to the facilities and explain how they are forced to work the quarry or the gardens in order to earn their food, unless one of them wins the tournament, in which case they get to spend a night in the Prestige Room. After an accident with one of the sygils that keep the Pokémon under control, the Protagonist is sent to see the Warden, who tells them that all of those people are being kept there because of the Protagonist's action.
Night 1 - The Hooded Girl
An unknown girl drifts into the island at night on top of a Wailmer, and is brought to Neved. The girl introduces herself as Emma and, before Neved can condemn her to the same situation as everyone else, she proposes a deal: to report on what is happening in the island in exchange for protection, to which Neved agrees with the condition that she win the next day's tournament.
Day 2 - Blacksteep Batallion
The group introduces the protagonist to Emma, who acts quite mysterious and leaves quickly. After a day where Adam teaches the protagonist how to use the Mining Kit, they catch Valarie being defeated by Emma, who gains access to the Prestige Room for the night.
Night 2 - Prestigious Secret
Now in the Prestige Room, Emma reveals that she is actually infiltrating the island with the goal of rescuing everyone, and starts investigating the bookcase that she suspected contained a secret. Soon enough, she finds a secret door and, leaving her Zoroark to take her spot, goes inside. What she finds is another Team Xen facility, with Madelis and Nastasia leading the Protagonist's mother in. After solving some puzzles to open a railway door, Emma finds Nancy and the Team Xen Executives again, this time talking about a computer in the room. After they leave, Emma discovers the computer manages the island's sygils, but it seems the system has been tampered with and, assuming that the woman is not working with Team Xen, Emma follows her to discuss a plan.
Day 3 - A New Friend
The day begins with Saki telling the Protagonist to check out a purple book in the library, but, on the way there, Emma manages to taunt Valarie into registering the Protagonist to fight her. After she is defeated, she quietly lets the Protagonist know to check under the candelabra in the Prestige Room, as she left something there that could be of interest. After the battles, the Protagonist finds out the gang's secret: in a house at the back of the garden a Braixen is in hiding, being able to communicate with humans due to a device that Saki created. The group then discusses ways to escape the island.
Night 3 - Bittersweet Reunion
After the Protagonist gets access to the Prestige Room, they follow Emma's tip and discover the secret door in the bookcase. At the same time, Emma is snooping around at night trying to find the key to the Team Xen Battleship, the only way to bring the captives to safety. On the search for the key, Emma investigates Neved's room, but gets distracted by some noise coming from the adjacent room, where she unexpectedly finds the warden torturing Aelita with electricity, apparently as revenge for something her father did prior. After bringing the girl to her cell and reassuring her she has a plan, Emma curses not having found the key and decides to instead investigate the library for any useful secret. She ends up finding exactly that: an old blueprint of the library room that shows there is a secret door behind the central bookcase.
Day 4 - Union
Waking up to Saki asking the player to meet them at the secret house, the Protagonist finds that the gang and Emma are all there, with Emma finally confessing to everyone that she was only working with Neved in order to get more freedom and information, with her real goal being rescuing everyone. She then explains her plan: part of the group while enter the secret tunnel leading to the computer that controls the sygils, while the rest will be in position to start a riot, while Emma gets the key to the ship. However, after the plan is put in motion, unfortunate news that the Team Xen Leader is arriving that very day puts the plan in jeopardy, and Emma suggests the Protagonist use the tunnels and check on their friends. While exploring, the player finds the Piano Lady, who tells them they can continue going to find their friends. In the computer room, they find the gang knocked out and, as Madelis and Nastasia reveal themselves to finish the job, Nancy comes out of hiding and helps turn the battle, after which the Xen Executives leave, waiting for their boss to finish the job.
Now outside and with the sygils down, a riot against the guards is in full swing, but there is one final problem: the key Emma had acquired was for the wrong ship, so they must confront Neved before they can leave. After climbing the castle and confronting Neved's reasons, the player and Aelita defeat him in a battle and get the key they need, but not before Madame X arrives and reveals that Emma was actually Melia in disguise, after which she battles the Protagonist and tosses the three off the building. Being saved by Nim's psychic powers, the gang runs to the harbor, where everyone else already is waiting, with Madame X giving chase. Nancy had already planned to stay behind and buy time if needed, and after doing so, gets killed in the last second before she can make it to safety with everyone else, leaving the Protagonist devastated.
From an Island to Another
After some days at sea and a friendly battle with Melia, something unexpected happens that teleports the ship right into the coast of Terajuma Island, tossing Saki overboard in the meantime. After landing, the group is interrupted by a pair of Rangers that assume they are with Team Xen, and only believe them when their leader, Crawli, hears Melia over the radio, after which they are invited into Kakori Village. With Nim still seemingly feeling under the weather, the gang meets at the house they've been allowed to use and, after randomly finding Saki at dinner, go to sleep. In the meantime, it is shown that Ren is applying to join Team Xen, after telling Madame X that the Protagonist and their friends betrayed him.
The next day, after a conversation with Nim, Valarie approaches the Protagonist and challenges them to an official Gym Battle. After winning and receiving the Dewdrop Badge, the gang makes it back to the coast in high spirits, where they meet with Adam who tells them that Nim has actually been missing for several hours, ending the chapter.
Locations of Interest
Trivia
- The 13.5 update severely reworked many parts of this chapter, in order to streamline the playing experience.
- Before the update, certain Pokémon could only be caught in Blacksteeple Island, like Cramorant.
- With the update, the progress in Terajuma Island has been reworked substantially. Previously, the Rangers had teleport pads that let them instantly arrive at the Ranger's HQ from the beach. However, seeing as they inexplicably broke down, the gang had to make their way on foot through Terajuma Jungle into Kakori Village, dealing with vines blocking the way and, since the player could not yet use Surf, Valarie offered to battle them so they would have the requirements needed. Rift Carnivine also played a much different role in the story.
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