Chapter 8 - Those We Lose
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"I was going to let you guys find it on your own so you'd feel accomplished, or whatever... But now I'm gonna spoil it."  This page contains some pretty heavy spoilers for the game and might ruin the surprise for some things for you, so continue reading at your own risk! |
Chapter 8 - Those We Lose is the eighth chapter of Rejuvenation and the final chapter in the first act of the game. With Angie defeated and Kristiline Town saved, the Protagonist and their allies can finally take the fight to Team Xen and save Terajuma Island from the looming threat.
Chapter Summary
Tying Up Loose Ends
The chapter begins once again in the Team Xen HQ, where Geara and Zetta are finishing their preparations at Valor Mountain, while Neved explains that Madame X barely spared him after his recent failure.
Back in Kristiline, Kreiss decides to help the group stop Angie for good, and so Aelita, Adam and Braixen climb back up to the top of the Tower of Theolia to look for the missing Ocean Relic. In the room where they left Angie, the group finds that Cera and other servants are trying to free their master. Cera confesses that the Ocean Relic is stored in the cellar, but the key is in her possession, so she and the servants leave. Wondering where to go from there, the trio find out that Reina was actually hiding in the same room and overheard Cera mention that the key to freeing Angie, the Earth Heart, is located in a mountain in Floria Island, which Aelita recognizes can only be Carotos Mountain in her hometown of Sheridan Village. Everyone then returns to Kristiline Town.
At the end of the day, the rescued Tapu Lele is seen healing the Protagonist from their injuries.
Hunt for The Earth Heart
The Protagonist reveal themselves to their friends, who are surprised to see them up so easily, and Kreiss rewards the Protagonist with a Gym Badge. After talking to Aelita they decide that the team that investigates Carotos Mountain while consist of the two of them and a third companion, which the player can choose between Adam and Braixen, or Reina. Regardless of their decision, the group makes its way to Sheridan Village.
Immediately after arriving, the group is blasted by loud music, which seems to be coming from the Sensei's house. Up there, they encounter Amanda, who explains that, because Keta has been missing for weeks, the League has replaced him with a new Fighting-Type Gym Leader. Once inside, Cera and the servants are also present, while we meet the new Gym Leader, Texen who instantly argues with Aelita over his role in the village, ending up with Texen challenging the Protagonist and Aelita. When Texen is defeated, however, a sudden earthquake causes lava from the volcano to rise up and fill the arena, which was built inside the volcano itself. Blasting through a wall, Aelita enters the volcano, followed by the rest of her friends. They discover that the inside of the mountain is filled with debris and toxins from the Team Xen base that previously operated there, but also discover some notes that seem to imply someone is stuck in the mountain with them.
At a bridge leading to some Garufan ruins, the group finally catches up with Cera and the servants, who challenge them to find their way inside through a magically sealed door. After being joined by the Eldest, everyone makes their way through a door on the side and into what seems to be an arena, where the Protagonist has to defeat a guard. Winning unlocks the path forward into a second arena, where the guard actually copies Adam's team. After it's also defeated, the gang proceeds and finds the creator of the notes they found prior - a Team Xen grunt called Tommen who fell down when the Xen lab was destroyed and has been living in the ruins for a couple weeks. After being defeated, he explains that he spent time reading the ancient books and found out how to open the sealed door: two people need to stand on two tiles in different rooms at the same time, to which Aelita volunteers, despite the Eldest's warnings. With Tommen in the other tile being guarded by Adam and Braixen, the Protagonist and the Eldest make their way through the door. After solving some puzzles, we arrive at the deepest room in the ruins, finding the two servants that accompanied Cera dead. Further ahead, Cera brags that she finally managed to capture the guardian of the mountain, the Legendary Groudon. The Protagonist manages to overpower it, but Cera secures the Earth Heart and prepares to leave, before the Eldest grabs on and manages to steal it. Defeated, Cera teleports away, but not without a fragment of the Earth Heart that she hopes is enough to bring Angie back. Where she was, we find she dropped what appears to be the cellar key we needed.
Making their way back, the Protagonist and the Eldest find Tommen, who used a now active teleporter. Everyone goes to meet Aelita, who they find collapsed on the floor and barely breathing. Blaming Tommen for trying to trick them, everyone turns to him for an explanation, but the grunt flees in panic. Adam and the Protagonist give chase until they find him outside of the ruins, but, before he can explain anything, the Team Xen device, now unaffected by the ruin's magic, eliminates Tommen. Without answers, but at least in the possession of the Earth Heart, the group makes it back to Kristiline Town with the now cursed Aelita.
Last Stand at Valor Mountain
Back in Kristiline Town, using the key Cera dropped, the group finally recovers the third missing Relic. Going back to present them to Crawli, they're met by a now healed Melia and Venam, right on time to meet the Head Ranger at Jynnobi Pass. When the Protagonist makes their way there, they must defeat Crawli one final time to prove they have what it takes. Once defeated, he opens the way to Valor Mountain. Making their way through the Team Xen ship blockade, the Protagonist arrives at the base of the mountain, and where Venam and Melia make their way. Inside, the Protagonist finds a mysterious person who explains that to progress, they'll need to to alter the mountain's elements with some crystals, and that their friend Amber is being kept at the lower level, requiring the mountain to be "calmed" to reach her.
Regardless if Amber and/or Reina (who's being kept in a Team Xen building) are saved, eventually the Protagonist navigates through the mountain and makes their way to the top, where Venam catches up to them, with Melia still nowhere to be found. The two keep going and find Eli and Sharon, who seem to have become friends. Revealing that Melia defeated them some time ago, and knowing they will probably be terminated if they fail again, the pair engages the Protagonist and Venam, but are expectedly defeated. Tired of what her life has become, Sharon ponders jumping off the side of the mountain. While Eli and Venam try to convince her not to, Crescent shows up again and pushes her off. However, the girl is saved by Saki, Valarie and Adam, who show up riding Saki's new invention, but Crescent teleports herself and the three newcomers away so she can deal with them. With no more obstacles left, Venam and the Protagonist make their way all the way to the summit.
Right before climbing the final steps, the two finally find Melia and, after a little pep talk, the three make their way to the summit. There, Zetta is waiting for them, who leaves some grunts to waste Venam and Melia's time, while Geara's Giratina faces the Protagonist. After it's defeated, a scene shows the various regions of Terajuma Island, with the Rangers and the rest of our allies being helped by the now freed Island Guardians, facing off against Team Xen.
Moving to the back of the crater, past a petrified Nim dangling over the lava, it is finally time to face Zetta and Geara. However, Jenner shows up to help, knocking out Zetta and every backup grunt around. In the meantime, the three friends try to pull Nim out of the pit. Geara], however, manages to dodge the attacks and, teleporting behind him with Giratina, lands a fatal blow, killing Jenner and letting him fall with the lava. The device that was holding Nim also gives in, letting the girl fall in the lava as well. An enraged Melia then engages the two Executives along with the Protagonist for one final time, but, even after barely defeating them, they're not out of tricks: Giratina pushes the Protagonist into the pit, who holds on to the wall. Melia tries to save them, but Geara and Zetta restrain her, knocking Venam down as well. Eventually, the Protagonist loses strength and falls into the lava as well, apparently killing them.
Death is Not the End
However, instead of actually dying, the Protagonist is transported to a strange world, seeing visions of the people they've lost. At the end of the path, Crescent is waiting for the player, explaining that the Protagonist actually died because of how reckless and weak they are, warning them that she might not be able to save them from everything. Crescent and her Gothitelle send the Protagonist back to the summit, to find what she called their "fragments". Once the Protagonist is made whole again, they wake up Venam and confront the two leaving Executives, who are in disbelief and attempt to fight back, but their weakened Pokémon are swiftly defeated.
Before Giratina can act again, though, Crescent shows up and uses her powers to revert Zetta to his original form, a Solosis, explaining that he was created by Team Xen from the same origin as Melia (making them siblings in a way), in order to replace her, and was eventually allowed to join as a member. Crescent summons the Mewtwo that Madelis had experimented on, now freed, who convinces the Giratina to abandon its master, before sending Geara back to their HQ and breaking the teleporters. With the Team Xen finally stopped, all of Terajuma Island rejoices.
Bouncing Back from the Losses
On September 25th, everyone is present at Kakori Village to honor Jenner and Nim. Amber informs everyone that she is throwing a party and convinces Melia to attend, telling the Protagonist that she usually battles at the end of it for the chance to win a badge. At the party, the player must rise hype in order to finally challenge Amber and, after defeating her, the player obtains the Lyric Badge.
There is one final scene with Crescent in Terajuma Jungle, revealing that she did save Nim, removing her petrification. However, Crescent cuts Nim's hair and blames her for being useless, giving her a new mission and a new name: Lorna. The chapter then ends.
Locations of Interest
- Corrupted Cave
- Cubi Excellus
- Route 6
- Valor Mountain
Trivia
- The Magma Drift TM, necessary to climb Valor Mountain, used to be acquired in Kristiline Town, after defeating Angie and freeing the owners of a TM Shop. With update 13.5, however, this was changed to just being given to the player.
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