Here's the area descriptions for stages on Card 1 and their mission objectives (the Voice Notes are for the English-language version of the data and reference that language's Pokémon anime dub, Sonic-series games, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie dub, and other media where necessary; these may or may not apply to versions in other languages):
Episode 0 Stage:
Description: "Once a Team Rocket hideout in Johto, it now serves as the Pokémon Peace Squad training ground. The stage explains the basics."
Mahogany Base:
Objectives:
-Practice basic actions
-Practice intermediate actions
-Practice advanced actions
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime.
Background Music: The music that plays in this stage is a remix of the music heard on channel 20.5 in certain areas in Johto in Gold/Silver/Crystal while Team Rocket occupied their hideout in Mahogany Town.
Note: This stage can't be played in any mode outside the main campaign or the Quest Mode. This includes the Metal Sonic Race, Miror B. Groove, and Metal Miror Clash submodes. Additionally, no alternate background tracks can be unlocked for this stage.
This stage is the only stage in the game that ignores any Chaos Drives, Materia, Tanks, Intermediate Diamonds, and Advanced Pearls one would normally bring into the stage with them.
This is basically a training stage, similar to Sea Gate in Sonic Heroes, where you'll learn about the lowdown about the game's actions. The facility used for training is basically a 3D rendition of Team Rocket's Mahogany Town hideout from Gold/Silver/Crystal; you'll begin in the Pokémon trap hallway. You won't be able to perform certain actions until Prof. Oak asks you to do them for the first time. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage, and he'll be the one walking you through training, although he notes that there are plenty of actions offered by the game that are not covered by this tutorial. Training is taken on a step-by-step basis. The DS as controller setup has a special disc replace the crosshair normally on the right side of the bottom screen to denote neutral position for this stage; the disc is used to help assist getting used to the crosshair. Here's the step-by-step guide to many of the basic actions:
Movement: This covers the control action listed as "Move character forward and backward". The farther you tilt, the faster you go; forward movement is faster than backward movement. Prof. Oak will first ask you to try forward movement. Once you've done that, you'll then be asked to try backward movement.
Strafing: This covers the control action listed as "Strafe left and right". If not using the DS as Controller setup, check whether you're using Silverhead or Angel before trying this step. Prof. Oak will ask you to try the left strafe. Once you've done that, you'll be asked to try the right strafe.
Turning: This covers the control action listed as "Turn left and right". If not using the DS as Controller setup, check whether you're using Silverhead or Angel before trying this step. Two screens will brighten up. The one on the left displays a Central Division Champions 2007 banner for the Lake of Rage Thrash, the area's Shockball team; the one on the right displays a movie poster for a movie called "War of Pidgey XI: Tussle on Coronet". When Prof. Oak asks you to try turning, he'll ask you to first turn left. Once you've looked at the Shockball banner, he'll then ask you to turn right and look at the movie poster.
Looking: This covers the control action listed as "Look up and down". Two more screens will brighten up. The one on the ceiling will brighten up to a newspaper headline detailing the championship Shockball final between the Jubilife City Pokétches and the Central City/Star City Towers. The one on the floor will display a Wonder Tile from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. When Prof. Oak asks you to try looking, he'll ask you to first look up. Once you've looked at the newspaper headline, he'll then ask you to look down and look at the Wonder Tile. You'll move to the next step afterward.
Jumping: Now that you've learned the directional basics, it's time to learn other techniques. First off is the basic jumps, with basis on the action listed as "jump". Prof. Oak will then raise a platform and ask you to try it while standing in place to gain height to jump onto the platform. Once you're on the platform, Prof. Oak will also tell you that you can do a running jump to jump over small gaps. The maximum gap distance one can jump depends on a player's Speed and Jump stats, and Prof. Oak will raise a platform equal to the optimal jump distance for the character you're using. At this point, you'll have to do a running jump by combining the forward movement with the jump. If you touch the ground after leaving it initially, you'll have to repeat this entire step.
Punching: Another basic motion is melee combat in the form of a simple punch, with basis on the action listed as "punch". At this point, a training dummy will appear. The dummy will be dressed differently depending on character. If you're using Cissy, the dummy will be dressed like Danny; likewise, Danny gets a Cissy-dressed dummy. If you're using Brock, the dummy will be dressed like Erika; likewise, Erika gets a Brock-dressed dummy. If you're using Eusine, the dummy will be dressed like Luka; likewise, Luka gets a Eusine-dressed dummy. If you're using Misty, the dummy will be dressed like Bugsy; likewise, Bugsy gets a Misty-dressed dummy. If you're using Casey, the dummy will be dressed like Ritchie; likewise, Ritchie gets a Casey-dressed dummy. If you're using Trixie, the dummy will be dressed like Samantha; likewise, Samantha gets a Trixie-dressed dummy. If you're using Volkner, the dummy will be dressed like Electra; likewise, Electra gets a Volkner-dressed dummy. Anyone not mentioned here gets a dummy dressed like a Team Flora Grunt. (Any future mentions of dummies throughout this training stage uses the same clothing as the ones here.) For this step, all you have to do is to punch the dummy.
Spitting: A basic action new to this installment, the basis is on the action listed as "spit". In this action, you'll use the same training dummy from the previous step. Step a few steps back from the dummy, then press the spit button to hit the dummy from range. Prof. Oak will explain that, while the action does no damage, spitting at an enemy may disorient that foe for a very short time.
Obstacle Grabbing: This step teaches how to grab most obstacles, with basis on the action listed as "grabs most obstacles". You can use this to lift many objects as well. Since that action and the spit action share the same button, it's explained that the grab action takes precedence when near an object that can be grabbed with the button. Prof. Oak will tell you that not all objects can be interacted with in this way. Object lifting is first. Prof. Oak will then drop a Kiki's Bomb onto the field and asks you to grab it before it blows up. Once you've grabbed it, let it blow up. This will cost you some HP, but Prof. Oak says this is important for later. The next object Prof. Oak drops is a Teal Megaphone. Grab it like you did the Kiki's Bomb, then Prof. Oak will explain that you can also use the grab button to drop items as well, and asks you to drop the item you've got by pressing the button again. Once you've dropped the Teal Megaphone, Prof. Oak will then drop a Hindsight Scope on the field and will ask you to try to grab it with the grab button. You'll spit instead; scopes are one of the few objects you can't grab with the grab button. Leave the scope there for now, and Prof. Oak will then drop a ladder down one of the walls. Climbing is an action that utilizes the grab button; grab your obstacle, then use your normal forward and backward motions to climb. Once you've done some climbing, Prof. Oak also explains that you can use the jump to get some height before beginning a climb.
Special Actions: The action listed as "Action Button" is the focus of this next step. Prof. Oak explains that most item lifting can be done with either the grab button or the action button. Additionally, liftable objects not grabbable with the grab button can with the action button, and Prof. Oak then points you toward that Hindsight Scope. Prof. Oak will ask you to try grabbing it again, but this time with the action button instead of the grab. You'll lift the scope and equip it. Prof. Oak explains that you can keep one scope equipped at a time, and that a scope allows you to use certain attacks on foes that are normally immune to such strikes. In the Hindsight Scope's case, it allows Ghost-type moves to be used on Normal-type foes. All scopes are picked up only with the action button. Prof. Oak explains that the action button can be used for many different actions, and will set up for a few. First, he'll ask you to drop the Hindsight Scope using the same button you picked it up with. He'll then set up a low wall and a Spacerider (with its track) en route to the computer. To go under the low wall, run toward it and use the action button to somersault through it. Next, Prof. Oak explains about vehicles. The action button is used to enter a vehicle such as a Spacerider. The Spacerider can be controlled by pressing and holding a button, the jump button for forward and the punch button for backward. Upon boarding the Spacerider, Prof. Oak will explain that vehicles are done from the third-person perspective as opposed to foot sequences from the first-person. Ride the Spacerider to the computer (despite the fact that the terrain underneath is normally traversable). Finally, Prof. Oak explains that the action button is used to trigger switches, such as the one that controls the cameras in this place. The switch is on the computer; trigger the switch.
Items: (Note that this is the only step in the stage where you can actually fail the mission by reaching 0 HP.) Prof. Oak will now explain items. Items appear all over the place and can be used in different ways. Objects classed as such include potions, status healing items, stat boosting items, and scopes. (Upgrade items, not explained here, are also classed as such.) Prof. Oak will then drop a few items onto the field: a Potion, a Burn Heal, an X Speed, and the stage's lone Full Restore. First, Prof. Oak will ask you to grab the Potion. This will heal the damage from the earlier Kiki's Bomb. Next, Prof. Oak will launch an automated flame jet that slightly damages you and causes a burn. He'll ask you to grab the Burn Heal before it's too late. It's too late when your HP hits zero, which invokes a universal mission failure condition. Grab the Burn Heal, and Prof. Oak will then explain that some items boost your stats, such as the X Speed he dropped. Grab the X Speed. Finally, Prof. Oak will drop a Heavy Weight on you (half of total HP ignoring Defense; since you have no upgrades, the average Health stat causes a 50 HP drop, with the most damage that can be done is Chuck taking 70, and the least damage is Aeris-K taking only 30) and unleash another automated flame jet to burn you again, then talks about the Full Restore and how it restores all HP and removes all status conditions; he'll ask you to grab it before it's too late. You don't have as much time this time, but grab the Full Restore; this will restore all of your HP and remove your Burn.
The Switch: This step is only available with paired characters such as Tate & Liza; move on to the next one if using anyone else. Prof. Oak explains that you can switch which person you control directly. Initial control defaults to the first one listed (in the example, Tate), but you can switch between that character and the other (in the example, Liza) at anytime. All you need to do is to press the "Switch Partner" button.
Pokémon Actions: These steps that use the "Pokémon Attack" actions are custom-tailored to each individual character, so only universal information about these steps are explained here. All Pokémon are used in this step; those with special R/Z button actions will walk through each of their Pokémon using the L/C action before covering their special R/Z action. If characters have two Pokémon actions, the Pokémon go in this order: initial L, initial R, then the third Pokémon on R.
Vehicle Driving: Prof. Oak will explain the basics of wheel-class vehicle driving. A Hover Cart will drop into place. While Mahogany Hideout's corridors aren't as wide as those at Plasma Power Plant from the first game, they're wider than the corridors and aisles on Mad Train from that game, and there's turns here (unlike Mad Train). Anyway, Prof. Oak will tell you that, if you need to get into a vehicle while on foot, you'll do so with the action button. Once you're in the Hover Cart, you'll be coached through the driving mechanics (buttons vary by setup). First, acceleration. Once you've driven a certain distance, you'll be given the braking mechanics. Accelerate again, but this time hit the brakes quickly. Next, Prof. Oak wants to practice turning. This is done the same way as on foot. Get into acceleration, then drive your way through two left turns, then a right turn. When Prof. Oak comes in after making the right turn, he'll then explain about service stations. In this game, vehicles can run out of fuel, and you'll have to refuel them in order to keep going with that vehicle. However, you'll have to pay for the fuel yourself, and the charge will come out of your score. Prof. Oak will give you a coin that puts 5000 points on the board; these are the only 5000 points you'll get in this stage. Pull up to a gas pump that's appeared, then use the action button near the pump. At this point, you'll be in refueling mode, where you'll have to press and hold the jump button to pump in the gas. Upon either the tank reaching full or upon your score hitting zero, or by pressing the punch button at anytime during refueling, you can stop refueling, get back into the vehicle, and get on your way. Prof. Oak will tell you that many non-wheel-class vehicles (i.e. Jet-ski, Altaria orbiter) have some similar mechanics in common with their wheel-class counterparts, right down to having to refuel.
Other Actions: The last thing Prof. Oak talks about is how to use the map and the menu. The map displays a large overhead map of the surrounding area. Hints can be repeated with a special action. You can bring up the menu by using a button. Finally, you can switch between control setups with non-DS as Controller setups by using the menu and selecting the option that can change between setups.
After the lecture on other basic actions, an Intermediate Orb will drop down. Prof. Oak will ask you to grab it. Grabbing an Intermediate Orb enables the usage of intermediate actions for those not qualified to use them from the start of the stage. Here's the step-by-step guide to some of the intermediate actions:
Rail Grinding: Grinding is the first intermediate action Prof. Oak talks about. Certain stages have rails that allow for grinding, but in this game, trying to grind them on the basic level will almost mean certain death. By jumping on the rail, you can grind on the rail by using forward movement to gain momentum, the action button to accelerate, and the turn functions to balance. When you try the action, you'll grind all the way back to the start of the stage upon reaching the end of the rail.
Intermediate Combat: Next up comes some more advanced combat techniques not available in the basic level. To start out with, Prof. Oak drops a grate down with several small Spinarak dummies. For this combat technique, Prof. Oak wants you to get onto the grate, then use the punch on the dummies from the other side. Get onto the grate, either by simply grabbing or by jumping and then grabbing, then move to where one dummy lies and punch it. The next technique Prof. Oak describes involves smash throws. If you're holding an object and moving, you can throw the object using the same button it was picked up with and land damage with it. At this point, a deactivated Kiki's Bomb (it won't detonate), a Foresight Scope, and a target dummy will drop in. Grab whichever item you like, then start moving forward and throw the object at the dummy. Once the item connects, Prof. Oak will describe one more technique: the midair jump punch. A target dummy will enter the fray on the ceiling, and Prof. Oak wants you to punch it. Use the raised platforms, then leap toward the dummy with a jump, then connect with a punch. Note that using a ranged attack from the ground will cause you to fail the step and cause you to start over from the grate.
Combinations: At this point, Prof. Oak will reveal that the midair jump punch is just one of many combinations you can try with techniques. Combination techniques not covered in the basics and do not involve combining a jump or midair maneuver with an attack are available starting at the intermediate level. This step will have you trying two more combination techniques. The first is the turn flip. This complex combination will involve turning one horizontal direction, strafing the other, and jumping. Prof. Oak will give you a target dummy to try this combination on. Once you've completed a successful turn flip, the other combination Prof. Oak wants you to try is the shield-'n-punch. This technique allows you to attack while remaining in a defensive stance. Using the same target dummy, press and hold the action button to get into defensive stance, then press the punch button to attack. Once you've successfully done a shield-'n-punch, you've completed the step. Prof. Oak will then fill the area with water for the next step.
Swimming: The last intermediate technique covered here is swimming. Going into deep water on the basic level in this game is suicide, as your character can't swim until the intermediate level. Simply standing in deep water is part of this action, just move or strafe to swim in that direction. To dive underwater, press and hold the jump button. At this point, Prof. Oak tells you about the air meter and if it runs out, you fail the mission. You can replenish the air supply by surfacing, finding an air bubble, or performing a trade-secret trick with a commonplace group of items. Prof. Oak wants you to try that trick. Stay underwater and swim toward a Super Potion. Grab it and your air supply will replenish. At this point, Prof. Oak will explain that you can rise slowly by not holding anything, or you can rise quickly by holding the attack button. However, you can't actually fight underwater on the intermediate level. Once you've surfaced, Prof. Oak explains that all items that restore HP, not just the Super Potion, refill the air meter. (Yes, this means a Full Restore found underwater can restore air.) Prof. Oak will now drain the water.
After the lecture on swimming, an Advanced Orb will drop down. Prof. Oak will ask you to grab it. Grabbing an Advanced Orb enables the usage of advanced actions for those not qualified to use them from the start of the stage. Those that need an Intermediate Orb to enable intermediate actions must grab that orb first before an Advanced Orb can be grabbed. Here's the step-by-step guide to some of the advanced actions:
Homing Attack: Homing attacks are the first advanced action Prof. Oak will talk about. This technique is perhaps the most common advanced-level technique you'll utilize, but trying this on a lower level will probably put you six feet under ("six feet under" is a figure of speech that doesn't really convert well to metric). Several platforms will drop into place, but this time four flying enemies (all unarmed) will drop in. As before, use the platforms to get high enough, jump, and float toward the enemy. The jump button icon will change to read "attack". Hit it and you'll attack the enemy and bounce off it! Prof. Oak will drop a platform under you and explain that you can chain homing attacks to get over larger gaps, and will ask you to try chaining. Homing attack enemy number two, then use the momentum to perform additional homing attacks to hit the other two enemies. Once you've gotten past all of them, land on the ground and you complete this step.
Slide Techniques: Another advanced technique is the slide kick. Once advanced techniques are in play, the action button icon will read "slide" upon moving fast enough. (Note that some surfaces do not permit sliding.) First off, practice the simple slide. Get some forward momentum, wait for the icon to change, then hit the action button to go into a slide! Prof. Oak will then explain that slides can also be used for combination techniques. The next technique is the slide jump, where you press the jump button during a slide to make a farther jump than normal. A gap will drop out from the hallway. Run toward the gap, get into the slide, then jump when you reach the gap. You'll sail over the gap, the gap will fill back in, and Prof. Oak will begin to explain the slide kick. Slide kicks can be used to hit lines of foes, but the power decided upon them works differently from punches. The formula for a slide kick's damage is three-quarters Power plus one-quarter Speed. Some characters like Chuck (10+2x1.5 (18) Power, .5 Speed) should stick to regular punches most of the time (slide kick power is 13.625 as opposed to an 18 punch), while others like Aeris-K (.5-.25 (.25) Power, 11x1.5 (16.5) Speed) have more power in the slide kick (slide kick power is 4.3125 as opposed to a .25 punch). To perform a slide kick, get into a slide, watch for the attack button icon change from "punch" to "kick", and let 'er rip! Three Team Magma Grunts will drop in, and your goal is to hit all of them with one slide kick. If you can do that, you've completed the step. Prof. Oak will fill the stage with water at this point. This time, the stage is completely submerged.
Underwater Combat: Finally, Prof. Oak wants to teach you how to fight underwater, the last advanced action covered. To fight a foe underwater, get next to the enemy and use either the action button for a punch or a Pokémon action for a Pokémon attack. Two unarmed Sharpedo mechs will appear somewhere. Swim through the line of Potions to keep your health and air supply up until you reach the mechs. Fight the mechs like Prof. Oak described. Once both of them are history, swim over to next Potion, grab it, and Prof. Oak will drain the water. Note that, as was the case in the first game, certain attacks don't function the same underwater as they do on the surface (i.e. most Fire-type attacks don't work underwater), while others are enhanced underwater (i.e. most Water-type attacks gain extra power and/or range underwater).
After Prof. Oak drains the water, there's one more thing he wants to explain. A Goal Gate is raised. The Goal Gate is an object that originated in Pokémon Snap, and here, as was the case with four stages in the first game (Forest Highway, Route 99, GUN Highway, and Grand Metropolis), certain stages this time around use Goal Gates to denote the final goal. Such stages have their final goals at points where there would be no clear marked point that would be designated as the goal (and even then, not every stage that would be a good fit for a Goal Gate actually has one). Prof. Oak will then ask that you cross the gate. Do so and you clear the tutorial.
Prior to Episode 1:
Voice Notes for this cutscene: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime.
Cutscene: The game begins in outer space. We see seven objects, each with a different color and trail, cruise through space. The objects are in these colors; red, blue, green, light blue, yellow, white, and purple. We see the earth and each of the objects crash into it at various points. We cut to Earth and among the stuff we see in the cutscene, including but not limited to include Brazilians surrounding the green object, Eskimos surrounding the teal object, Arabs surrounding the clear object, and several Team Draco Grunts in spacesuits trying to cover up scrape marks created when one of the meteors scraped by their base. We then go to Prof. Oak's lab in Pallet Town. We see him already researching one of the objects that crashed to Earth and he discovers that it crashed somewhere in Hawaii. He calls up Gary and tells him about what just happened. Prof. Oak tells him that he is unable to get detailed information on the objects that have crashed. Gary responds by telling Prof. Oak that he'll head out to Hawaii and find out what the object is personally. If you're playing as a character other than Gary, then we see that character's initial cutscene in place of the conversation between Prof. Oak and Gary. Either way, we go to Prof. Oak's lab, with the chosen character's shoes missing. We see Prof. Oak come back with his or her shoes brining up that he has just installed Enhancement Chips in them. Prof. Oak explains that the Enhancement Chip allows the chosen character to perform a number of stunts and abilities they have never managed to do before. Examples include being able to run at very high speeds when needed, being able to make long jumps off of walls and objects much like there were numbered panels there, and several more functions. With these put in their shoes, the chosen character will be able to take on the bad guys easier.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 1:
*By normal means: Gary, Paul, Morrison, Drew, Harrison, and Zoey use the voices they used in the anime.
*By special means: Reggie and Melody use the voices they use in the anime.
Angel Island
Description: "A deserted island located at the edge of the Hawaiian archipelago sharing the same name as Knuckles's home. Team Magma has managed to set up operations here."
Objectives:
-Explore the Hawaiian landscape
-Defeat the Team Magma guards
-Survive Team Magma's helicopter attack
-Reach the waterfall
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses the voice he uses in the anime. The Team Magma guards use generic voices.
Background Music: The Super Smash Bros. Brawl remix of the Angel Island themes from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the Genesis plays throughout the stage.
#2 alternate track: A different remix of the Angel Island themes from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the Genesis. Each remix plays in the corresponding area of the stage (i.e. the Act 1 remix plays in the Act 1 half, the Act 2 remix plays in the Act 2 half).
#3 alternate track: The Blue Coast Zone themes from Sonic Rivals 2. The themes from Act 1 and Act 2 play back-to-back in the Act 1 half, the themes from Act 3 and VS. Boss play back-to-back in the Act 2 half.
#4 alternate track: The Resort Gorgeous theme from FireRed/LeafGreen plays throughout the stage.
"#2 alternate track", "#3 alternate track", and "#4 alternate track" refer to alternate background tracks for the main areas of stages. Note that only the main background music can be switched with an alternate; themes such as rivalry battles and boss fights never change their tunes. These are bought through the Story Mode shop and can be selected with the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 6:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Improper use of gasoline on protected land
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, or Bugsy/Misty.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character arrive on the shore of a deserted island located somewhere near the edge of Hawaii. Suddenly, Prof. Oak brings up readings on human presence on the island and discovers that Team Magma is on the island. With that in mind, the chosen character has to get the object before Team Magma does.
This stage is a 3D recreation of Angel Island from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the Genesis, much like Green Hill was in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Both acts are played back-to-back. With the power of the Wii, this stage has also been made to look very vibrant and foreground and background objects such as Hawaiian palm trees and flora give this stage a Hawaiian feel, indicating that it's Hawaii that you're in. There are also such things as old tiki idols, totems, and even huts, indicating that native Hawaiians must have settled here long ago. There is also another major difference as you go through here. The island doesn't catch on fire later on. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
As for strategy itself, if you haven't already obtained the Intermediate Diamond from later on in the game, you're going to have to start out on the high road. This is because the low road has water one must swim through. You can't swim on the basic level, and touching water is lethal if you either didn't bring the Intermediate Diamond into the stage with you or haven't yet grabbed an Intermediate Orb; the first Intermediate Orb doesn't come early enough to make the low road viable for beginners. In fact, it's usually not until the high road and low road remerge until one with only basic actions will find their first Intermediate Orb. (Note that this is not always the case; like with many powerups, Intermediate Orbs as well as Advanced Orbs aren't always in the same place each time, and may appear earlier or later than would be considered normal.) Both roads have Team Magma guards on patrol, and you'll have to defeat any you run across. Sometimes, a defeated guard will drop money or a powerup. You can also grab swinging vines by jumping, then grabbing onto them with the action button and keeping it held; release the action button to let go and use momentum to move through the air. There's also rotating vines that, when grabbed (again by holding the action button), rush you down a still vine, then rotate again at the end of the path (whether or not you're still on the vine); these are used primarily as transports.
Pokémon Dollar coins appear in place of the Rings that had appeared in the original (note that, while all Rings are removed, not all of them are replaced; this note applies to all stages taken from the Sonic franchise), and these can be used to boost your score; the higher the score at the end of the stage, the more points you'll bank for use in being able to buy secrets from the Story Mode shop. Coins are worth no less than 4 Johto Pokémon Dollars (the currency standard used by the squad), and every 1 Johto Pokémon Dollar is worth 10 points. Score can also be boosted by completing objectives and defeating enemies.
If you take the low road, there's a wall breakable with strong attacks right after the split. However, behind the breakable wall is a concrete barrier with a slide-kick target beneath it; you can't get through that obstacle unless you have access to advanced actions, which at this point means you have to bring the Advanced Pearl with you into the stage (the first Advanced Orb is too far into the stage in order to be able to backtrack all the way here). If you have the Advanced Pearl, there's a treasure trove of powerups and cash waiting for you. Several areas where giant rings had been in the original have had the giant rings replaced by similar treasure troves also guarded by advanced-action barriers. Do note that you can use the water on this low road as a defense mechanism against flame attacks; as was the case in the first game, fire can't be used underwater (and a few other attacks have different properties underwater as well).
Once the paths remerge, you'll soon find yourself having to run up the inside of a tree trunk. This is done in a screw-like fashion. Once you're up the tree, you'll dart past where the island caught fire in the original (it doesn't here). There's a split in the path between the Sonic/Tails path and the Knuckles path from the original; however, you can't get onto Knuckles's path without access to the advanced actions, meaning you have to bring the Advanced Pearl with you into the stage to access this path (Advanced Orbs don't start appearing in this stage until after it's too late to go onto Knuckles's path).
There's nothing much of interest on Knuckles's path aside from one of the Story Mode's 15 Wardrobe Cases. The recreation blocks the path to the end of the stage, meaning you'll have to backtrack to the path split (you'll need homing attacks, which you should have access to if you managed to get onto Knuckles's path to begin with).
Back on the main path, a skirmish against Team Magma guards will take place where the miniboss battle had been in the original. Once you're past this area, you'll be going into areas where you need intermediate actions to get past, as you're going to have to swim your way through some areas; if you're still able to access only basic actions at this point, you're going to have to hope you land in the giant ring chamber on the flip side of the tube (the treasure trove there is one of the few that don't require advanced actions to access) and hope you find an Intermediate Orb within the treasure trove! Those that already have an Intermediate Orb by this point have a chance to find their first Advanced Orb within the trove. (If you get very lucky, it's possible you could grab both Intermediate and Advanced Orbs in the trove.) From this point on, I shouldn't really have to describe the general layout of the rest of the stage; just make sure to grab an Advanced Orb sometime during your trek.
Near the end of the stage, the Enhancement Chips activate into Mach Speed Mode for the first time when Team Magma sends a helicopter onto the scene! This helicopter, which appears where the warship had appeared in the original, will be dropping bombs toward you! You'll have to take advantage of the Mach Speed Mode, in which you're constantly running forward and cannot stop, in order to keep ahead of the helicopter so its bombs can't hit you. Ultimately, the helicopter will flee the scene, and the Mach Speed Mode turns off once you arrive at a waterfall where Dr. Eggman was fought in the original. Once you reach the waterfall, all you need to do is use the homing attack on a few robots to reach the stage's exit, denoted here by a Goal Gate (this is the primary reason for grabbing an Advanced Orb in this stage; the rest of the stage requires no more than intermediate actions to complete); Knuckles's switch, which in the original appears on the platform with the stage exit, does not appear, since you're not headed toward the Hydrocity.
Cutscene: The first time you clear this stage in the Jenny Mode using Paul, a special cutscene plays where Paul finds his brother, Reggie, trying to catch a wild Surskit. After scanning the Surskit with his Pokédex, Paul deems the Surskit Reggie's trying to catch "a waste of your time". The Surskit gets scared and runs off. Reggie, angry that Paul scared off the Surskit, confronts Paul about how Paul messed up something he was trying to do. Paul expresses that it's no concern of his and that he has to get going, but Reggie asks Paul to stop and explain just what's so important (Paul replies, "You wouldn't understand!"). After Paul runs off, Reggie asks him to wait and starts chasing after him.
Volcano Valley
Description: "The crater of a large volcano in the center of a Hawaiian island. Team Magma's base is hidden beneath the magma of this place."
Objectives:
-Investigate volcano crater
-Defeat the Team Magma guards
-Stop or get past the artificial lava falls
-Find Team Magma's base
-Defeat Hank (if he appears)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. The Team Magma guards use generic voices. Knuckles uses his voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Hank uses an original casting for his voice.
Background Music: The Flame Hyenard stage theme from Mega Man X7 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Hank, boss music from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia plays.
#2 alternate track: The Volcano Valley Act 1 and 2 themes from Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast are played back-to-back.
#3 alternate track: The Stark Mountain theme from Diamond/Pearl.
#4 alternate track: A remix of the Poloy Forest theme from Tails Adventures.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 8:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Unauthorized activity in a national park
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, or Bugsy/Misty.
This is the crater of a large volcano in the center of the island. Everywhere you look it's a sea of lava with several large rock spires and formations sticking out of it. Team Magma's presence here is well indicated and they've given the stage a bit of a Hawaiian village motif on the solid areas of the stage. There are also tons of rail lines going over the lava in the stage that you must grind across as well. Note that, since grinding is an intermediate action, you'll need to bring an Intermediate Diamond with you to take the ones close to the beginning of the stage; odds are, however, you'll find an Intermediate Orb before the rails get plentiful. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
If you have access to intermediate actions from the get-go (i.e. you have the Intermediate Diamond with you), you can use rails to skip to about one-quarter of the way through the stage. If you start with only basic actions, however, your primary goal for the first quarter of the stage is to work your way through the long way around. Part of this task will involve driving a vehicle known as a Volcano Cruiser, a wheel-class vehicle developed by Team Magma primarily to drive through lava falls. Due to the effects of the lava falls, the vehicle's lava-drenched tire tracks will be visible for a short time after driving through a lava fall. About a quarter of the way through the stage, after you're forced back on foot due to a natural formation keeping you from driving the Volcano Cruiser further, is a series of rails that you must grind to make your way past them; if you came into the stage with only basic actions, you should have been able to nab an Intermediate Orb while in the vehicle. Each rail goes onto a different path, but all paths are packed with Team Magma guards that you must defeat. As you make your way through this section of the stage, you'll find out that most of the lava falls in the crater are artificially-created for defense purposes; the only natural lava falls in these parts are those early on in the stage.
About halfway through the stage, you'll run into Knuckles the Echidna, the first in a long line of what the game refers to as "assist characters". He's here because he senses something similar to the Chaos Emeralds on this island, and will ask if you want his help. If you decline his help, Knuckles will resume his search on his own and you'll continue through the stage alone. If you accept his help, he'll start following you through the stage, and even help to defeat any enemies you cross. Also, if you have a second compatible control setup, you can connect it and control Knuckles using that controller. His controls translate as follows:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Knuckles forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Knuckles, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Knuckles. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Pad: Spiral Upper
Y: Dig
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Knuckles forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Left Analog Stick: Spiral Upper
Y: Dig
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Knuckles forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Stick: Spiral Upper
Y: Dig
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Knuckles forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Stick: Spiral Upper
C: Dig
If you choose to use Knuckles and control him, you can even use him to reach places the chosen character can't normally reach. Just be careful as you control him, as he has 100 HP, and if he loses all health or falls into the lava below while under human control, then you fail the mission. If you're using Knuckles and he's still under CPU control, Knuckles dropping to 0 HP or falling off the stage is not detrimental to your mission, you'll just have to go on without him. These traits apply to all assist characters unless otherwise noted.
As you continue to make your way through the stage, you're going to have to deal with the artificial lava falls. Volcano Cruisers will appear at intervals that can get you past them easily, but there's just one snag with the vehicle: It's a one-seater, meaning you can't take Knuckles with you if you're using him. (Note that one-seater vehicles can accommodate paired characters such as Tate & Liza; the number of seats denotes the number of character slots, not the number of actual humans. You'll need a two-seater if you want to take an assist character in a vehicle, since the assist character counts as one unit.) If you don't have Knuckles with you, your best bet is to use the Volcano Cruiser to get past the lava falls. There's a service station about three-quarters of the way through the stage in case you want to refuel your Volcano Cruiser (there's enough fuel to make it past all of the lava falls, but barely with any fuel left at the end of the trek, meaning if you take some side actions, you'll probably need to refuel); if you use it, Prof. Oak will check the exchange rate between Johto Pokémon Dollars and the local currency and give you the approximate per-liter price of the fuel in the squad's standard currency. Multiply that value by 10 and you'll find just how many points you'll have to take out of your score to put one liter of gas into your tank. If you have Knuckles with you, instead of using the Volcano Cruisers, your best bet is to destroy the generators causing the lava falls. Implementing Knuckles is the best way to destroy them, but ranged Pokémon attacks are also effective. Also in intervals through the rest of the stage, after Advanced Orbs begin to appear, there are lava columns that will erupt and instantly cool to form fragile rock columns that you can jump across and homing attack to reach more solid ground.
Once you've gotten past all of the artificial lava falls, you'll have reached the center of the volcano. There, you'll find eight large spires forming a ring. There is a switch on top of each spire, and you'll have to activate each switch to make Team Magma's base rise up from the lava. Knuckles or a ranged Pokémon attack is your best bet; if you have neither, you'll have to put your spitting skill to good use. Once the base rises, if Knuckles is with you, he'll leave your side and take advantage of a secret entrance into the base that you can't reach.
Once the base rises up from the lava, simply enter the base through the main entrance to clear the mission. That sounds like an easy task, but there's a chance that it may be complicated by the entrance being guarded by Team Magma Admin Hank! If this admin exclusive to the Pokémon Adventures manga appears (he doesn't always appear), you're going to have to fight and defeat him to gain entrance to the base. Hank is tougher than the guards, but one who knows what they're doing can get past him easily.
Magma Reactor
Description: "Team Magma's base located within a Hawaiian island volcano. A number of fiery obstacles and guards await you in this complex."
Objectives:
-Explore the dangerous reactor
-Defeat the Team Magma Grunts
-Defeat Harland (optional)
-Defeat Courtney (optional)
-Shut down lava pumps
-Defeat Tabitha
-Defeat Maxie
-Recover the mysterious red object
-Escape from the reactor
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak, Harland, and Maxie uses their voices from the anime. The Team Magma Grunts use generic voices. Knuckles uses his voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Tabitha uses the voice that was (incorrectly?) given to Hun in the anime. Courtney uses an original casting for her voice.
Background Music: The Palace That Was Found, the theme for Evil Foundry from Sonic and the Secret Rings plays throughout the stage. When fighting Tabitha, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Maxie, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle. When escaping the reactor, the Inferno: Going Up theme from Mega Man X8 plays.
#2 alternate track: The Mt. Chimney theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
#3 alternate track: The Lava Shelter theme from Shadow the Hedgehog.
#4 alternate track: The theme played in certain areas of eastern Hoenn during Groudon's intense sunlight after being awakened in Ruby.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 10:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Trespassing
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a red uniform with a Team Magma mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, or Bugsy/Misty.
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! Team Magma's latest base is nothing to kid about as fire and lava dominates pretty much most of the stage. In addition to the usual Team Magma hazards, there are such obstacles as springy floors, fire coils, rising cylinders, and large pistons. Other dangerous places in the reactor include red-hot mazes where the temperature is so high, you'll take damage every second you're in there and there are also tunnels where magma surges through occasionally, aptly called lava tubes. Here, you need to get into a safe spot before the magma rushes through and fries you! Also as you go through the stage happen to be bombs floating in midair called Countdown Bombs. When stepped on, the timer on the sides will start up and when it hits zero, it will explode. They are used as stepping stones to cross various obstacles, including lava pools. Indigo ones simply explode, while red ones send out a large wave of fire upon detonation.
Exploration through the first half of the stage is mostly straightforward. All you have to make sure to do is survive the dangerous mechanisms and defeat the Team Magma Grunts you run into. Note that you'll have to take the long path at the start if you don't have the Advanced Pearl with you, as the shortcut requires homing attacks to reach. Volcano Cruisers will appear close to areas that have lava falls; there are two service stations for these vehicles in this stage, one in the first half, another in the second half. The service stations here give their prices in Hoenn Pokémon Dollars; if you use one of these stations, Prof. Oak will calculate the per-liter value in Johto Pokémon Dollars after comparing the exchange rate between the currencies of Hoenn and Johto. About three-eighths of the way through the stage (shortly after the long way and the advanced shortcut remerge), there's a room with a wheel with a locked door that you have to spin with the action button. There are 12 wedges on this wheel, each depicting the face of one of two Team Magma Grunts: 6 with Harland's face, 6 with Courtney's face. Whoever's face the wheel stops on drops into the room after the wheel stops. If you landed on Harland, you'll have to defeat him in order to open the door; Courtney is your opponent if you got her face instead. Once you defeat the Magma Admin that dropped in, the door will open and you can continue on through the stage.
Halfway through the stage, you'll find Knuckles once more, who is certain there's something unusual Maxie has. Just like back in Volcano Valley, you can choose to accept his help or decline. If you decline, Knuckles will leave to resume his search on his own. If you accept, you need to make sure Knuckles doesn't get defeated, and you can use him to take hidden passages and shortcuts. However, declining Knuckles's help will give you an easier time when dealing with lava falls--the Volcano Cruisers in this stage are also one-seaters. Along the way through the stage, you'll have to disable the lava pumps that bring lava into the reactor from the crater outside. About three-quarters of the way through the stage, past the last of the lava pumps, is where Tabitha, the last of the Team Magma Admins you'll face, waits in ambush. You'll have to defeat her in order to get past. Once you get close to the end of the stage, you'll run into Maxie, the head of Team Magma. Maxie is the toughest foe you've fought to this point. Once he's defeated, he'll chew you out before pressing a panic button. The panic button, as it turns out, sets off explosions that trigger the start of a volcanic eruption! At this point, a time limit of 4 minutes will begin. Once the time limit's started, you'll have to search where you fought Maxie for another switch; this switch, once pressed, will open the chamber in which the object you've been sent to recover lies. That object is also the object Knuckles has been sensing, and he'll make that fact known if he's still with you. Once you've grabbed the object, you'll have to make your way through the rest of the stage as the lava rises, until you reach a large jet pack. Activate the large jet pack and you'll be boosted out of the crater and out of range of the volcanic eruption, clearing your mission.
Between Episodes 1 and 2:
Voice Notes for these cutscenes: The tour guide, Farlie, Plasmae, Greevil, Gonzap, Gordor, Dralene, and Meta Leader use original castings for their voices. The passengers on the tour cruise liner use generic voices. Prof. Oak, Maxie, Archie, Giovanni, and Cyrus use their voices from the anime. Reno, Rude, and Elena use their voices from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (if one was available; those not available use original castings). Dr. Eggman uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog. The mysterious glasses-wearing figure does not speak in these cutscenes.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character fly out of the volcano just as it erupts. The chosen character manages to fly all the way to a tour cruise liner roughly 10 kilometers off the coast of the island. The tour guide (a female) there is explaining the island before the tourists bring up that it's erupting. He or she then manages to land on the ship, surprising the tour guide. He or she also happens to have the red object in tow. Later, we see the chosen character talking to Prof. Oak on a videophone from onboard the ship. He or she tells him that he or she managed to get the object and transfers it to Prof. Oak's lab. Prof. Oak brings up that it will take some time to figure out what the object is. The chosen character decides to stay on the cruise liner and enjoy the sights until then.
Cutscene: Some time later, the chosen character is talking to Prof. Oak via a videophone again. He brings up that the discoveries that he made while researching the red object are quite unusual. As it turns out, the object is entirely crystalline and happens to possess the same properties as the Chaos Emeralds! Prof. Oak has thus given the object a name, the Chaos Meteor. He then brings up that the other six objects must possess the same properties and that they must find them as quickly as possible. Prof. Oak will also bring up Knuckles, who after helping you take down Team Magma, has volunteered to come to the lab and look after the Chaos Meteor for you. The chosen character decides to leave the cruise the next day.
Cutscene: In an unknown location, Maxie appears with a large gathering of team leaders and a few other villains all gathered around a large, square table. All happen to be the leaders of all the other evil teams; Archie of Team Aqua, Farlie of Team Flora, Plasmae of Team Plasma, Giovanni of Team Rocket, Greevil of Team Cipher, Gonzap of Team Snagem, Gordor of the Go-Rock Squad, Cyrus of Team Galactic, and Dralene of Team Draco. Surprisingly, in addition to them, there is also the heads of the Turk organization, Reno, Rude, and Elena, as well as Dr. Eggman! Suddenly, a mysterious figure shrouded in shadows enters the room and sits down. He asks Maxie just why he has failed to bring the first Chaos Meteor back to them. Maxie explains that a certain someone managed to stop them and also why those objects are now being called the Chaos Meteors. The mysterious leader brings up a large hologram of Pallet Town on the table and zooms in on Prof. Oak's lab. From video screens making up sloped sides of the table as well as all of the surrounding walls composed of hundreds more screens, we see large images of Prof. Oak giving the first object a name, the Chaos Meteor. The mysterious figure reveals his name as Meta Leader, and that this collaboration of all the evil teams is known as the Meta Alliance. Meta Leader brings up that they need all seven Chaos Meteors in order for their master plan to take action. He also brings up that this time, the Pokémon Peace Squad will not be able to stop them. Anyway, the hologram changes to a map of the ocean while Meta Leader explains that the next Chaos Meteor crashed somewhere in the ocean, and that retrieving it falls within Team Aqua's jurisdiction. Archie explains to Meta Leader that his men will get right on it and then suddenly disappears. As it turns out, all the team leaders here are actually real-time holograms that are being transmitted from their current bases. As the leaders continue to talk, we cut to behind the shadows, where what appears to be a glasses-wearing female Team Draco Grunt analyzes the meeting with her laptop...
The background music that plays during this cutscene is a new mix of "We Will Be Heroes", the 11th English opening theme of the Pokémon anime. The music also plays in all other cutscenes taking place at this location except for the last such cutscene. "We Will Be Heroes" is, in large part, the Meta Alliance's anthem, a lot like how "Mezase Pokémon Master" (the 1st Japanese opening theme of the anime) is the Pokémon Peace Squad's anthem...
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 2:
*By normal means: Ritchie, Casey, Tyson-HL, Harley, Nando, and Kenny use their voices from the anime.
*By special means: Fergus and Lisa use the voices they use in the anime.
Wave Ocean
Description: "A seaside retreat along the Soleannan coast. Team Aqua's helicopter has been spotted in this area. Can you reach it?"
Objectives:
-Explore the Soleanna coast
-Defeat the Team Aqua guards
-Survive the killer whale chase
-Stop the killer whale from making off with one of the squad
-Reach Team Aqua's helicopter before it leaves the area
-Locate the entrance to Coral Tunnel (not if you're playing as Ritchie)
-Rendezvous with Casey at the looking point (only if you're playing as Ritchie)
-Duel Casey (only if you're playing as Ritchie)
-Escort Casey to the tunnel entrance (only if you're playing as Ritchie)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak, Ritchie, and Casey use the voices they used in the anime. The Team Aqua guards use generic voices.
Background Music: The first theme for Wave Ocean from Sonic the Hedgehog '06 (Xbox 360/PS3) plays throughout the first part of the stage. The second Wave Ocean theme from the same game plays throughout the second part of the stage. When fighting Casey, an instrumental of the Electabuzz fight song plays throughout the battle.
#2 alternate track: The first Metal Harbor theme from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle plays throughout the first part of the stage. The second Metal Harbor theme from the same game plays throughout the second part of the stage.
#3 alternate track: The Surf music from FireRed/LeafGreen plays throughout the first part of the stage. A remix of the Surf music from Gold/Silver/Crystal plays throughout the second part of the stage.
#4 alternate track: The Yoshi's Island theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl plays throughout the stage. (For the record, this is the track simply named "Yoshi's Island" used on the Brawl-introduced stage, NOT the "Yoshi's Island (Melee)" track used on the Melee-introduced stage.)
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 8:00 (9:00 if you're playing as Ritchie)
Jenny Mode Offense: Littering on a protected beach
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Samantha/Trixie.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character arrive on the coast of Soleanna on a speedboat he or she picked up from the cruise ship in Hawaii. As it turns out, Team Aqua has been spotted here to make sure that no one tries to follow them in pursuit on the blue Chaos Meteor. It turns out that the chosen character needs to find out just where their base is located and put a stop to them.
As you may have guessed, this stage is taken from Sonic the Hedgehog '06 (Xbox 360/PS3). As it turns out, the Enhancement Chips in your shoes allow for a little bit of skating along the surface of water when needed; this mode is called the Liquid Skate Mode. Also, various Water-type Pokémon (such as Wingull and Pelipper) have been added in the stage to make things more interesting; note that anyone from Sinooh outside Crasher Wake will have a special line the first time they see a Crawdaunt, either a live one on the beach or a Team Aqua mech, asking Prof. Oak the identity of that Pokémon, given they've never seen a Crawdaunt. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Getting to an area where one can locate Team Aqua's base is not easy. Team Aqua has sent plenty of guards to keep you busy. There is a shortcut one can take, but it requires bringing the Advanced Pearl into the stage with you in order to use homing attacks and slide kicks to make your way through, since Advanced Orbs don't appear until after the shortcut and main path remerge and it's too late to return to a split. The episode's Wardrobe Case can be found on this shortcut. Most of the stage is straightforward; you should be able to power up to intermediate actions and then advanced actions by doing nothing but follow the main path and bash enemies along the way.
At one point in the stage, a killer whale will start to chase your chosen character. If you manage to survive long enough, your character will end up on the back of the whale! At this point, you'll have to choose another character the same way you chose the first character. Note that you can't pick Danny if you're playing as Cissy or Floreia, and you can't pick Cissy or Floreia if you're playing as Danny; there are no other restrictions. Once you've chosen a second character, you'll have to take control of that character, find a switch on a spire, and trigger it to close the gate. Once the gate is closed, the whale will slam into the gate, your initial chosen character will disband from the whale, and proceed into the next part of the stage; if your initial chosen character is Ritchie and you sent Casey for the rescue, Casey will wonder what she was doing. However, this is provided the whale hasn't already crossed the gate area while the gate was still open; if the whale crosses the gate before you can close it, you fail the mission.
Once the drama with the whale has passed, you'll be back in control of your initial chosen character. Team Aqua's helicopter will arrive on the scene. Mach Speed Mode will activate. Here, you'll have to keep moving in order to reach the helicopter. There are some walls on the route; if you hit one, you'll not only lose some health but also some time, so you'll have to be careful. If Team Aqua's helicopter leaves the area before you reach it, you fail the mission. Upon reaching the helicopter, you'll watch as it flies off toward a series of coral islands. Once you've seen where the helicopter's headed, just make your way down the rest of the path (you're not in Mach Speed Mode for this stretch) to the stage's exit (a Goal Gate) to clear the mission.
However, if you're playing as Ritchie, you'll get a rude surprise once you've seen the helicopter flying toward the coral islands. It turns out Casey's right behind you! As is custom, the two will begin tossing insults at each other, Casey insulting the Starmies baseball team to Ritchie's face and rebuffing Ritchie's insults, Ritchie insulting the Electabuzz team to Casey's face (but doesn't rebuff Casey's insults, probably because it's not really known whether Ritchie's a Starmies fan or not). The insult barrage goes for four and a half rounds; once Ritchie claims the Electabuzz can't even lift a ball without a shot of steroids, Casey snaps and a duel begins where it appears that Ritchie has to defeat Casey. After a minute, however, Prof. Oak will report that an undercover agent has reported active bombs on the path to the tunnel! Prof. Oak will request that "both of you, get to safety now!" You'll have 90 seconds to reach the stage's exit. If time runs out, the bombs will explode, killing both Ritchie and Casey; you've failed the mission. If you manage to get both Ritchie and Casey to the stage's exit, you clear the mission.
Coral Tunnel
Description: "A series of small coral islands located out on the ocean. A series of flooded tunnels and caverns hide Team Aqua's submarine here."
Objectives:
-Navigate through coral tunnels
-Defeat the Team Aqua guards
-Learn to pilot a submarine
-Locate and infiltrate Team Aqua's giant submarine
-Defeat Sean (if he appears)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. The Team Aqua guards use generic voices. Sonic uses his voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Sean uses an original casting for his voice.
Background Music: A back-to-back mix of both the Act 1 & 2 themes for Coral Cave from Sonic Rush Adventure plays throughout the stage. When fighting Sean, boss music from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia plays.
#2 alternate track: The Pacifidlog Town theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
#3 alternate track: The Aquatic Ruin Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis).
#4 alternate track: A remix of Splash Woman's stage theme from Mega Man 9.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 10:30
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to damage the coral reefs
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Samantha/Trixie.
Having tracked down Team Aqua's helicopter, your chosen character has followed them to a series of coral islands far out on the ocean. Actually, these small islands are built upon schools of Corsola and have a network of caverns and tunnels that connect them from the inside. This is where the whole stage takes place; the inside of the islands. The scenery happens to be quite beautiful here and is similar to that of Coral Cave from Sonic Rush Adventure. Everywhere you look happens to be coral formations, pillars, waterfalls, and even what look like turquoise-colored crystals. Water floods the lower sections of the caverns, meaning you'll have to get wet and swim during some parts of the stage. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Of course, trying to swim right out of the gate is suicide if you don't bring an Intermediate Diamond with you into the stage. Even if you do have access to the intermediate actions from the get-go, you still won't be able to access all shortcuts, as you'll need advanced actions to launch attacks in order to trigger underwater switches and the like (the Advanced Pearl is required in these cases). And it's not all fun and games underwater--there are some areas of what appear to be some sort of green-colored barbed seaweed. This rare strain of seaweed carries properties of Tentacool acid in them, and touching any of this seaweed will damage you. Brighter variations have higher concentrations of acid and also have the potential to poison you! Underwater areas are not to be taken lightly here!
Anyway, you'll have to fight Team Aqua guards as you make your way through the stage. Try to be careful of the water early on if you come in with only basic actions, as falling into water fails the mission if you don't have access to intermediate actions. There is one area of the stage in which you're going to have to pilot a small submarine to get through the area. This submarine's model is the Sharpedo Sub. Once you're aboard the submarine, you can pilot it through a tunnel. It's in this tunnel you're first likely to find an Intermediate Orb if you don't already have access to intermediate actions. Once you have access to intermediate actions, you don't have to pilot any of the other small submarines you find except for one at the very end of the stage.
Once you've made it through the first submarine ride, you'll be close to halfway through the stage. Halfway through the stage, you'll run into Sonic, who has talked to Knuckles and will help you out with taking down Team Aqua. If you decline Sonic's help, Sonic will run off to try to infiltrate a large submarine alone. If you accept Sonic's help, as was the case with Knuckles, you also can control Sonic and use him to find hidden items and passages using his spin dash attack. Just be careful that Sonic can't swim. Here is how Sonic's controls translate:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Sonic forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Sonic, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Sonic. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-While in midair: Homing attack (advanced actions not required)
B: Somersault
-Hold: Charge
-Release (when held): Spindash
-In midair: Bounce
Y: (While holding B) Light Attack
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Sonic forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Homing attack (advanced actions not required)
B: Somersault
-Hold: Charge
-Release (when held): Spindash
-In midair: Bounce
Y: (While holding B) Light Attack
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Sonic forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Homing attack (advanced actions not required)
B: Somersault
-Hold: Charge
-Release (when held): Spindash
-In midair: Bounce
Y: (While holding B) Light Attack
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Sonic forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Homing attack (advanced actions not required)
B: Somersault
-Hold: Charge
-Release (when held): Spindash
-In midair: Bounce
C: (While holding B) Light Attack
After you've ran into Sonic, the dangers begin to increase underwater. A bright red version of the poisonous seaweed will begin to appear, and this variation of the seaweed contains a highly concentrated strain on Tentacruel poison. The poison is so potent that, if you touch this seaweed, it kills you instantly, resulting in mission failure. Try to avoid the water if you're taking Sonic with you. Further on into the stage (by which point you should be equipped with advanced actions), if you're taking the main water paths, is another long water channel, but this one has a hydrofoil you can drive. Hydrofoils control very differently from submarines, as hydrofoils run on the water's surface, whereas submarines run underwater. This hydrofoil (a type of watercraft) is called the Shellos Skimmer, and it's a one-seater, meaning you shouldn't take it if you've got Sonic with you. There are also two service stations right across from each other along the Shellos Skimmer's path (the prices listed are on a currency part of the "ring standard", hence a conversion rate of 100 Johto Pokémon Dollars, and thus 1000 points, to one unit of the local currency), meaning if you think you can't make it on fuel (you probably won't, but there's a chance you'll make it just slightly on just one tank), pull off to a side and fill 'er up. Note that the side with the cheaper gas is not consistent; for example, in one playthrough, it's the left side that's cheaper, while it's the right side that's cheaper the next time around. Once you reach the end of the stage, you'll spot Team Aqua's giant submarine, as well as a smaller submarine (the Sharpedo Sub variety with some slight modifications) you can jump into. Once you board, Sonic'll jump on top of it (if you didn't take him with you, he'll be waiting here), then keep on the surface until Sonic jumps onto the large submarine. Once Sonic's off the sub, descend and look for an underwater opening. Enter that opening and you've completed the mission.
However, if you hear the words "I don't think so!" shouted in an unfamiliar voice upon approaching the final submarine, that means you've triggered the small chance that the submarine may be guarded by Team Aqua Admin Sean! If this admin exclusive to the Pokémon Adventures manga appears (he doesn't always appear), you're going to have to fight and defeat him to gain control of the small submarine. Sean is tougher than the guards, but one who knows what they're doing can get past him easily.
Aqua Submarine
Description: "Team Aqua's giant submarine base. Inside of it happens to be a large chemical plant filled with unusual liquids."
Objectives:
-Pilot your submarine into main area of submarine (only if you start with only basic actions)
-Swim your way into main area of submarine (only if you start with intermediate and/or advanced actions already available)
-Defeat the Team Aqua Grunts
-Defeat Matt (optional)
-Defeat Isabel (optional)
-Obtain a breathing apparatus
-Navigate tricky jet-ski puzzle course
-Defeat Shelly
-Defeat Archie
-Recover the blue Chaos Meteor
-Escape the jaws of an ancient Mantine
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. The Team Aqua Grunts use generic voices. Sonic uses his voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Matt uses the voice that was incorrectly given to Tabitha in the anime. Shelly, Isabel, and Archie use the voices they used in the anime.
Background Music: The Aquatic Base: Level 1 theme from Sonic the Hedgehog '06 (Xbox 360/PS3) plays throughout the first half of the stage. The Aquatic Base: Level 2 theme from the same game plays throughout the second half of the stage. When fighting Shelly, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Archie, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle.
#2 alternate track: A remix of the main Tidal Plant theme from Sonic Triple Trouble plays throughout the first half of the stage. A classical remix of the music played in Tidal Plant from Sonic Triple Trouble while Tails rides the Sea Tail plays throughout the second half of the stage.
#3 alternate track: A rock remix of the Underwater theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the first half of the stage. A jazz remix of the Underwater theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the second half of the stage.
#4 alternate track: The theme played in certain areas of eastern Hoenn during Kyogre's intense rain after being awakened in Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 14:15
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to hijack Team Aqua watercraft
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a dark blue uniform with a Team Aqua mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Samantha/Trixie.
Well, you've finally made it into Team Aqua's base. As it turns out, this place happens to be a giant chemical plant in the form of a submarine and that its official name is the Team Aqua Mobile Chemical Plant. We've got no time to waste, as the submarine has already taken off to find the next Chaos Meteor somewhere out in the ocean. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
If you happen to possess the Intermediate Diamond and/or Advanced Pearl at the start of the stage, a sneak missile attack will go straight at the submarine you piloted out of the last stage! The game will eject your character from the submarine, so you'll have to swim through the first few corridors until you reach dry land. Those who start with only basic actions, and thus can't swim, do not have a missile aimed at them, they can continue to pilot the submarine through the first few corridors of the stage. In addition to typical water in this stage, you'll also have to make your way through a teal green-colored chemical that is so dense, you lose your ability to swim when in it. Instead, you'll fall down to the bottom and will have to make your way through it as if you were on dry land. However, you can jump higher when in this chemical, but you also still have an air meter. Later on in the stage happens to be an indigo blue-colored chemical that is the exact opposite of the green chemical from earlier. This chemical is totally weightless and you'll float up to the surface when in it. You'll only be able to swim along the surface on it since it's too light to swim downward. Other obstacles that are found in this stage happen to be glass spikes with chemicals flowing through them, tubes that spray either a harmful red chemical or a paralyzing yellow chemical, a metallic version of both forms of the seaweed found back in Coral Tunnel (called "cyber seaweed"), and more Countdown Bombs, including blue colored ones that discharge a blinding mist upon detonation.
As one might expect, Team Aqua Grunts are everywhere, and you'll have to defeat those you come across. Keep an eye out for areas that look that they could hide something; one very well-hidden nook early on in the stage contains an item called an Arena Pass. This is the first of only seven stages that have an Arena Pass in it. If you have an Arena Pass in your inventory when you clear the mission, you'll get the chance to fight an additional battle after the stage is done. Note that an additional arena battle is only accessible by completing the stage in which you find that battle's matching Arena Pass; these fights can't be selected from stage select.
At one point in the stage is an area that appears to branch off into two paths, but doors block off both paths. Another of those wheels like the one that decided an opponent in Magma Reactor is also present; this time, the wedges on the wheel depict either a Sharpedo Sub or a Shellos Skimmer, whose images are also engraved on the doors. Spin the wheel. Whichever vehicle you land on will have its corresponding door open; the path behind each door leads onto a long stretch of water and gives you the matching vehicle to traverse it. Regardless of which path you've been given, odds are those with only basic actions get their first crack at finding an Intermediate Orb on these paths. Each path also has two service stations along the way; you're going to have to fill 'er up at one point along the way, since you will run out of gas and not make it to the other side of the path if you don't refuel. These service stations give their prices in Hoenn Pokémon Dollars; the exchange rate to Johto Pokémon Dollars, and to the game's points from there, is the same as it was in Magma Reactor.
If you spun the Sharpedo Sub, you'll run into Matt somewhere in the middle of the submarine's path. If you spun the Shellos Skimmer, you'll run into Isabel somewhere in the middle of the hydrofoil's path. Whichever Team Aqua Admin you face, you're going to have to defeat them in order to get past. In addition, once the Admin is defeated, they'll drop a special device: a breathing apparatus. This apparatus will also allow you to give your Pokémon air if they need it. Once you've grabbed and equipped this device, breathing underwater isn't going to be much of a problem for the rest of this stage.
By the time the two split paths remerge, you're halfway through the stage. There, you'll find Sonic again, and will once again help you out if you choose to accept his help, allowing you to find hidden paths in the stage. The same rules as before apply and while he sinks in both regular water and green chemicals, he'll float to the surface in blue chemicals. Note that Sonic does not have access to your breathing apparatus, hence you're going to want to stay out of the water as much as possible if you choose to take Sonic along with you. If you decline his offer of assistance, Sonic will continue to search the submarine on his own for what he's looking for.
Not long after meeting up with Sonic, you'll find another watercraft vehicle, a jet-ski like the one from Metal Rapids in the first game. Luckily for you, this time around, this is a two-seat vehicle, hence you can give Sonic a lift if you want to. Giving Sonic a lift isn't exactly necessary, however; the jet-ski is being ridden on blue chemical, so Sonic could tag along easy anyway, even if you decided to swim for it instead of taking the jet-ski. If you choose to swim for it instead of taking the jet-ski, however, your first priority should be searching for an Advanced Orb (if you don't already have access to advanced actions), as you'll need advanced actions to trigger the switches while floating in the blue chemical. This area of the stage is a large puzzle, in which you'll have to activate eight switches to open a large door. These switches are activated easily by pulling up right next to a switch and using the action button. There are also several service stations in place along the maze, using the same price standards the ones earlier on used; if you choose to take the jet-ski, you'll need to fill up multiple times, since the jet-ski's fuel tank is very small. Once you've triggered all eight switches, make your way to the door and through. On the flip side of the door lies Team Aqua Admin Shelly, and you'll have to beat her in order to keep on going.
Once Shelly's defeated, not only will another door open, but so will an Aqua Cage containing a wheel-class vehicle called the Aqua Cruiser. This one's a one-seater, so Sonic's going to have to rough it outside if he's with you. And I do mean rough it, since, if you choose to drive the Aqua Cruiser, you're going to have to drive it right through green chemical! The Aqua Cruiser was built for driving on the bottom of places such as lakes and oceans, hence the green chemical should prove no problem. Once you've reached a dead end, get out of the vehicle and find a quick way back to the surface. One more big stretch of the stage is left before you'll run into Archie, the head of Team Aqua. Archie is the toughest foe you've fought to this point. Once he's defeated, he'll chew you out before the large submarine's computerized voice will come on indicating that the plant has ended up in the jaws of a COLOSSAL ancient Mantine. At this point, a time limit of 4 minutes will begin. Once the time limit's started, you'll have to search where you fought Archie for another switch; this switch, once pressed, will open the chamber in which the blue Chaos Meteor lies. If Sonic is still with you, he'll make a remark about the object. Once you've grabbed the meteor, you'll have to make your way through the rest of the stage, in pursuit of a vehicle called a Wailmer Sub. The Wailmer Sub works a lot like the Sharpedo Sub, except this one's a two-seater to use if you brought Sonic with you. Once you've gotten aboard the sub, take off and through the opening to clear the mission.
Once you exit the Aqua Submarine, you'll see the Mantine break through the base, causing it to explode, damaging the Mantine in the process.
If you didn't bring an Arena Pass with you, the next storyline cutscenes will begin right away. Otherwise, it's time to take on...
Aqua Arena:
Setting: An underwater ruin
Access with the Arena Pass from Aqua Submarine
Boss: Ancient Mantine
Music: The theme from the S.S. Libra from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
#2 alternate track: The Egg Hawk theme from Sonic Heroes.
#3 alternate track: The theme from Sonic Heroes that plays in the second boss battle.
#4 alternate track: The "The Great Sea" track from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Cutscene: As the ancient Mantine swims onto the scene, you'll remark that it "finally decided to show up". The ancient Mantine will roar loudly and start swimming away.
The Aqua Arena battle pits players against the ancient Mantine terrorizing the main stage. Players still have the breathing apparatus from the main stage in this battle, meaning you don't have to worry about running out of air for a long time. You'll spend time both chasing the ancient Mantine as well as fighting it while it's still (think of the battle as an underwater variation of the Egg Hawk battle from Sonic Heroes). The ancient Mantine is a tough boss, but it should go down after enough of a fight. It's best this battle wait until one has obtained stat upgrades.
Between Episodes 2 and 3:
Voice Notes for these cutscenes: Prof. Oak and Archie use the voices they used in the anime. The ancient Mantine, Meta Leader, Farlie, Brad, and the Portuguese villagers use original castings for their voices (the Portuguese villagers tend to interject Portuguese into their remarks regardless of language settings). The Team Flora guards and Grunts use generic voices.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character escape the Aqua Submarine and make it far away from it before the gigantic Mantine finally crunches through it, causing the base to explode. The explosion damages the Mantine some bit in the process, preventing it from following the chosen character. Upon reaching the surface, the chosen character decides to contact Prof. Oak, telling him that the blue Chaos Meteor has been retrieved. After transferring it to him, Prof. Oak brings up about the location of the next Chaos Meteor.
Cutscene: Back in the Meta Alliance meeting room, Archie materializes to tell Meta Leader the bad news. However, Meta Leader somehow already knows that Archie has failed. He also brings up that the third Chaos Meteor crashed somewhere in South America and that Team Flora is already there searching for it, most likely because they've set up a little operation there some time ago. He brings up the hologram map, which depicts the whole South American continent and points to a spot in the Amazon jungle, somewhere in Brazil. Meta Leader says that that if they move too slow, the Pokémon Peace Squad will be able to get every single Chaos Meteor, so the whole Meta Alliance will now try to seek out every remaining one. Meta Leader tells Farlie to head to South America and make sure his team has secured the next Chaos Meteor for them, Farlie's hologram dematerializing.
Cutscene: Somewhere in the jungles of South America, we see a small village in a large clearing. Suddenly, a bunch of green-colored vehicles come driving towards the village. We see the Team Flora mark on one of them and can see Team Flora Grunts within the vehicles. Once the vehicles reach the village, the one leading the group of Grunts, Brad, comes out of the vehicles and several villagers come towards him. The ones in front happen to be a beautiful young mother and her child. Brad tells the villagers why they haven't got any supplies ready to give to Team Flora. The woman says that the village is almost out of food and medicine and that some of the people are sick, so they can't give any more to "Senhor Farlie" ("senhor" is Portuguese for "mister"). Brad says that he doesn't care and that they've also come for more workers to help find a green crystal object hidden somewhere in the jungle. With that, Brad pushes the woman down to the ground and he and the other Grunts head into the village, various Grass Pokémon under the employ of Team Flora keeping the villagers at bay. Suddenly, a voice tells Farlie to call off his men. A person in a large poncho and sombrero can be seen (one of the villagers utters a phrase in Portuguese asking if the mysterious figure is "from one of the neighboring countries", in reference to Spanish-speaking countries making up many of Brazil's borders; however, while the poncho would seem in place due to its Peruvian origins, the sombrero doesn't due to its Mexican origins), and after saying that unless they want trouble, to do what he or she says. Brad asks the person just what he or she will do about it, and the person reveals him or herself to be the chosen character! Brad gives the command for the Grunts and Pokémon to attack, and the chosen character leaps into action with all of his or her Pokémon. A bit of a neat battle ensues between the chosen character and the Team Flora Grunts. In the end, the chosen character defeats the whole lot of them and they flee, saying that he or she can't stop all of them.
Cutscene: Having repelled Team Flora, the woman gets back up and she, her child, and the rest of the village congratulate the chosen character for standing up to Team Flora. The woman asks him or her his or her name, which the character answers. The woman now explains if the chosen character knows of "Senhor Farlie". The chosen character says yes and then asks the woman what Team Flora is doing here. A male villager comes up and explains that "Senhor Farlie" and his men came to the jungle a few months ago and started oppressing the villagers, forcing them to give them their food, medicine, and other supplies. Eventually, Team Flora ran the entire village and even abducted workers on occasion to work at their base and recently to go look for some sort of object. The chosen character can already tell that Team Flora is after the next Chaos Meteor. The woman, the male villager, and a few others decide to point out the path to Team Flora's base in hopes that he or she can put a stop to whatever they are doing.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 3:
*By normal means: Erika, Brock, Koga, and Robert use the voices they used in the anime. The G/S/C Rival and "Dust" use original castings for their voices.
*By special means: Butler uses his voice from the anime.
Leaf Storm
Description: "A thick brush of leaves and vines located in the Amazon. Team Flora transports captured villagers through this path."
Objectives:
-Defeat the Team Flora guards
-Reach the path to Team Flora's base before entrance is destroyed
-Outrace the Pathcrusher (not if you're playing as Erika)
-Rendezvous with Brock at the start of the path to Team Flora's base (only if you're playing as Erika)
-Duel Brock (only if you're playing as Erika)
-Escort Brock past the Pathcrusher's path (only if you're playing as Erika)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. The Portuguese villagers use original castings for their voices (they also tend to interject Portuguese into their remarks regardless of language settings). The Team Flora guards use generic voices.
Background Music: "Right There, Ride On", the theme for Leaf Storm from Sonic Rush, plays throughout the stage. Fight for My Own Way, the theme for event battles in Sonic Adventure DX plays when fighting Brock.
#2 alternate track: The Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 theme from Sonic & Knuckles.
#3 alternate track: A remix of the Ilex Forest theme from Gold/Silver/Crystal.
#4 alternate track: The Agate Village theme from Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 6:45 (7:45 if you're playing as Erika)
Jenny Mode Offense: Unauthorized development of the rainforest
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Ritchie/Casey.
Cutscene: We see the villagers leading the chosen character to a large area of leaves, vines, and forest. They bring up that this is far as they can go and that it's up to the chosen character to keep going on his or her own. He or she promises that for the village, he or she will bring Team Flora down once more.
This stage is taken from Sonic Rush and recreated in 3D, much like Green Hill was in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Both acts, including the boss area, are played back-to-back, and this happens to be quite a fast stage. A few things have been added in the scenery to make it look a little more like the Amazon jungle. The additions include an obstacle called a Flora Wheel in a few areas, which can run you over; you fail the mission if it does. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Most of the stage is straightforward. Keep going forward and defeat Team Flora guards on the way. Keep track of which actions you can and can't use at the moment, since you obviously won't be able to make it on paths that require grinding if you have only basic actions, nor will you be able to take the path that has the episode's Wardrobe Case on it if you don't bring an Advanced Pearl into the stage with you (you'll need slide kicks to get onto the side path where the Wardrobe Case is at). Make sure you do it quickly--Prof. Oak has detected a bomb in the stage and that, if you don't get past the area with the bomb within 10 minutes, you won't be able to make it out of the area and you'll fail the mission.
Eventually, you'll reach where Sonic and Blaze fought the boss in the original and from there, will be able to look for the next path leading to Team Flora's base. You're past the bomb once you're in the boss area; the clock will stop at this point as Prof. Oak detonates the bomb by remote; he claims that he did that to try to fool whomever planted the bomb. Once you're past the boss area, Prof. Oak will alert you that there's a monster vehicle following you! Mach Speed Mode will activate. This monster vehicle is called a Pathcrusher, a vehicle similar to a Flora Wheel except for the fact that it can also damage the environment and that it actively chases you! (Flora Wheels run on a set path.) If you get caught up in the Pathcrusher's sharp blades, that's it, you're history, you fail the mission. Only by outrunning the Pathcrusher and reaching the stage's exit (a Goal Gate; you'll pass through it in Mach Speed Mode) can you clear the mission.
However, if you're playing as Erika, you'll get a rude surprise once you reach the boss area. Brock's standing in it! A harsh scene follows, and a duel begins where it appears that Erika has to defeat Brock. After a minute, however, Prof. Oak will report that there's a monster vehicle coming and that, if you don't get out of there quickly, that vehicle will kill both Erika and Brock! Prof. Oak will request that "both of you, get out of there now!" At this point, you're going to have to outrun the Pathcrusher, making sure Brock doesn't get caught up in it. If either Erika or Brock get caught up in the Pathcrusher's blades; you've failed the mission. If you manage to get both Erika and Brock to the stage's exit, you clear the mission.
Tropical Trees
Description: "High treetops located in the jungles of Brazil. Team Flora has set up operations here, as well as a number of traps for intruders."
Objectives:
-Navigate the top of the jungle
-Defeat the Team Flora guards
-Lower the secondary bridges into place
-Raise the main bridge from its place
-Rescue "Dust" (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Locate and approach Team Flora's base
-Defeat Peg (if she appears)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses her voice from the anime. The Team Flora guards use generic voices. Tails uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog. "Dust" and Peg use original castings for their voices.
Background Music: The Bramble Blast remix from Super Smash Bros. Brawl plays throughout the stage. When fighting Peg, boss music from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia plays.
#2 alternate track: The Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 theme from Sonic & Knuckles.
#3 alternate track: The Viridian Forest theme from FireRed/LeafGreen.
#4 alternate track: The theme played at the Relic Stone in Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 9:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Unauthorized use of tree-climbing gear
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Ritchie/Casey.
Next up in your quest to once again take down Team Flora, you'll be heading up into the high treetops of the jungle! This stage is situated high above the forest floor, where you'll be able to see the entire jungle from all distances, as well as the lower canopy far below the stage. This place happens to be a treetop village of sorts set up by Team Flora, and there are walkways, platforms, and huts of all kinds here. It's not as easy as it looks, though, as the village has been rigged with all sorts of traps, mainly in the form of parts of the path. There happen to be a number of trigger switches throughout the stage that activate these traps that are used by Team Flora guards, as well as ones that you can use yourself. These switches do a number of things, like flip up parts of walkways in order to fling you right off them, turn paths to the side, flip parts of paths, and you'll also find switches on platforms that when pressed, flip the path in one direction, sending you flying to another platform. You'll also need to utilize vines to swing your way through the stage, make your way up through the interiors of trees, and watch out for traps such as spiked logs and trap doors as you walk along the walkways. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Again, most of your main concern in this stage is defeating any Team Flora guard you come across. In some places, you'll need to find a switch in order to lower a bridge in order to cross. There are also places where you'll be able to drive a wheel-class vehicle known as the Treetop Pickup, which is a pickup truck designed by Team Flora for driving through this kind of terrain. The cockpit is a one-seater; however, up to three others can ride in the hauler behind the cockpit. One of the areas where you can drive a Treetop Pickup includes a service station along the path; if you choose to use it, Prof. Oak will check the exchange rate between Johto Pokémon Dollars and the local currency; once you get the exchange rate, you'll know how many points you'll be out upon refueling.
Halfway through the stage, you'll run into Tails, who along with Sonic and Knuckles had decided to help take down Team Flora for you. If you decline Tails's help, Tails will fly off to try to take on a small group of Team Flora alone. If you accept Tails's help, as was the case with Knuckles and Sonic, you also can control Tails and use him to find hidden items and passages using his flying abilities. Here is how Tails's controls translate:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Tails forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the dummy ring snipe
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Tails, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Tails. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Start flight
-Hold in flight: Rise
-Let go in flight: Lower (also automatically triggers after a certain amount of time in flight)
B: Tail Swat
-Hold: Continuous attack
Y: Dummy ring bomb
-Hold: Enter first-person aiming mode
-Release (after holding): Dummy ring snipe
-In midair: Dummy ring blitz
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Tails forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the dummy ring snipe
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Start flight
-Hold in flight: Rise
-Let go in flight: Lower (also automatically triggers after a certain amount of time in flight)
B: Tail Swat
-Hold: Continuous attack
Y: Dummy ring bomb
-Hold: Enter first-person aiming mode
-Release (after holding): Dummy ring snipe
-In midair: Dummy ring blitz
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Tails forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the dummy ring snipe
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Start flight
-Hold in flight: Rise
-Let go in flight: Lower (also automatically triggers after a certain amount of time in flight)
B: Tail Swat
-Hold: Continuous attack
Y: Dummy ring bomb
-Hold: Enter first-person aiming mode
-Release (after holding): Dummy ring snipe
-In midair: Dummy ring blitz
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Tails forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding C: Aim the dummy ring snipe
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Start flight
-Hold in flight: Rise
-Let go in flight: Lower (also automatically triggers after a certain amount of time in flight)
B: Tail Swat
-Hold: Continuous attack
C: Dummy ring bomb
-Hold: Enter first-person aiming mode
-Release (after holding): Dummy ring snipe
-In midair: Dummy ring blitz
Unlike in other assist character situations, unless you're playing four-player co-op, there isn't a real advantage to refusing Tails's help aside from the universal one in which you fail the mission if he drops to 0 HP while under human control. Tails can ride in the hauler of a Treetop Pickup; however, this can get tricky in a four-player co-op game when you'll probably need one of the standard characters in the cockpit and the three others in the hauler.
The first time you're playing this stage, as long as you haven't completed the mission for the first time, you'll find a load of Team Flora foes surrounding a cage near the stage's main bridge. Defeating all of these foes will open the cage, but the contents of this cage are quite a bit unorthodox: a girl known as "Dust Showoff" (name listing is in quotes, very few within the squad knows if that's her real name or not, and those that do ain't telling) is inside! (Her #1 outfit's setup is similar to that of the female playable character of FireRed/LeafGreen; this, however, is not the lone basis for the character. Her #3 outfit is based on a prototype female player character for the first generation of Pokémon games.) As it turned out, "Dust" had went to Sinooh in hopes of catching up with, of all people, Ash Ketchum. (Ironically, this is the first time in any Pokémon Peace Squad storyline that Ash is directly mentioned by name in dialogue as opposed to song lyrics.) Knowing Ash and his, according to "Dust", "perverted" Pikachu were in Sinooh, "Dust"'s primary goal was to try to find an answer to just how a video sequence involving Pikachu running under her skirt all those years ago could have been created, especially since they hadn't seen each other since before their journeys began on that fateful day Ash slept in. (There's a sequence in the first anime opening on either side of the Pacific in which Pikachu runs underneath a girl's skirt. This line of dialogue implies that "Dust" is indeed that girl. The outfit worn during that sequence is Dust's #2 outfit.) Anyway, "Dust" was traveling around the area of Floaroma City with a companion, with the intention of crossing paths with Ash and Dawn (whom the companion wanted to meet up with) as they went from Hearthome to Canalave, when Team Flora attacked the area. "Dust" tried to fight back, but Team Flora subdued her, and next thing she knew, she was here. Playing as Gary or Brock upon this rescue will give a character-specific cutscene instead of the standard scene. A slightly-tweaked version of the cutscene comes up if you're playing as Erika or Koga. Once the cutscene ends, you'll have to escort "Dust" through the rest of the stage; if her HP drops to 0, you fail the mission and have to play through it again for another rescue opportunity.
Anyway, once you've reached the main bridge, cross it first, then find a switch that will raise it from its position. This is in an attempt to strand the Team Flora forces on the other side there. Once you've crossed the main bridge, you'll finally be able to see Team Flora's biospherical base. Once you get close to it and pass a Goal Gate on the path, you'll complete the mission.
However, if you hear the words "Stop right there!" shouted in an unfamiliar voice upon approaching the biospherical base, that means you've triggered the small chance that the base may be guarded by Team Flora Admin Peg! If this admin who somewhat resembles Hermione from the later Harry Potter books appears (she doesn't always appear), you're going to have to fight and defeat her to reach the biospherical base. Peg is tougher than the guards, but one who knows what they're doing can get past her easily.
Once you've successfully completed this mission for the first time, starting the next stage will play a special one-time-only cutscene, before even the character selection, where "Dust" basically talks to a camera. She remarks that, since Team Flora's interference caused her to miss a chance to catch up with Ash, odds are her next best shot at meeting up with Ash is going with the squad. The concluding line is, "Who knows? Maybe I'll also once again meet up with my companion who was with me when Team Flora attacked?"
Flora Biome
Description: "A sealed biosphere built by Team Flora. Each of the five domes holds a different kind of plant life, some which may astound you."
Objectives:
-Navigate Team Flora's base
-Defeat the Team Rocket Grunts
-Defeat Seth (optional)
-Defeat Xenia (optional)
-Navigate maze-like storage area
-Defeat Brad
-Defeat Farlie
-Recover the green Chaos Meteor
-Reach a Team Flora helicopter secured by the villagers
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses her voice from the anime. The Team Flora guards use generic voices. Tails uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog. Brad, Xenia, Farlie, and the Portuguese villagers use original castings for their voices (the Portuguese villagers tend to interject Portuguese into their remarks regardless of language settings). Seth uses the voice incorrectly given to Tate in the anime.
Background Music: The Commander Yammark stage theme from Mega Man X6 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Brad, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Farlie, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle.
#2 alternate track: A light-metal remix of the Hill Top Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis).
#3 alternate track: The Mystic Ruins theme from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.
#4 alternate track: The theme that played outside Kaminko's house in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 15:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Trespassing
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a green uniform with a Team Flora mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Ritchie/Casey.
We've managed to make it to Team Flora's biosphere, and we can finally help liberate the village from Team Flora once and for all! Upon entering the base, it's confirmed that they've already retrieved the green Chaos Meteor, meaning we've got to get it from them. Team Flora's complex is not easy to navigate, as there's five different sections to the place. The central section is based off of a jungle, with many large trees you'll make your way around and through. The water here is green and too thick to swim through, making it a little like quicksand, so don't fall in. The first section of the biodome is a poison swamp, which includes large plants as well as a pool of poison water that kills you instantly if you fall in (unless you're packing the Immunity ability). Another section of the base is a gigantic flower garden with flowers of all kinds growing here. In this area, there is a large area of brush below the stage with a large array of solar panels. When the panels light up, bathing the area in bright sunlight, several platforms will appear, making this area much like Cosmic Flower was. In addition to the platforms, you'll also make your way through the flowers, which are so big, it's like they're trees, and you'll even head through the stems of some of them! Another part of the stage is an area modeled exactly after the motif of Palmtree Panic's Good Future (from Sonic CD). This area is quite an open area and the blue water at the bottom is swimmable, but since the paths are high above the water, falling into it means you'll have to repeat parts of the stage. The final part of the stage is a biotechnology lab, where Team Flora continues their "meta and orga" research, which is combining robotics with plant-life. In addition to all the other obstacles found in this stage, there's also more Countdown Bombs, including green-colored ones that discharge a splash of acidic chemicals upon detonation, and the splash leaves a damaging puddle behind. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
As you make your way through the stage, you'll have to take down the Team Flora Grunts you come across. Vehicles appear in a few areas of the stage; in most cases, there are two to choose from, the Treetop Pickups that were available in the last stage, or a Jungle Jeep. The Jungle Jeep is a one-seater wheel-class vehicle, and unlike the Treetop Pickup, there is no way to put anyone else aboard. At one point in the stage, you'll come across a fork in the road with a toll gate with a Team Flora guard that isn't on your "defeat" list. You must bring a vehicle with you to cross a side of the gate. Regardless of which path you get directed down, you'll have to pay a toll of 1000 Hoenn Pokémon Dollars to go through the gate. The character is left for themselves to figure the exchange rate between the currencies of Johto and Hoenn, as Prof. Oak doesn't want to give himself away to the tollbooth operator. Once the character figures out the toll in Johto Pokémon Dollars, the equivalent in points will be deducted from your count. If, for some odd reason, you don't have enough points to pay the toll, you'll be forced to turn back and get some more money (i.e. points). If you're driving a Jungle Jeep, you'll be directed down the left path. If you're driving a Treetop Pickup, you'll be directed down the right path.
Both of these split paths have two service stations along them, with prices in Hoenn Pokémon Dollars; use the same exchange rate as you did for the tollbooth. It's also along these paths one is likely to find an Intermediate Orb if one starts with only basic actions. The Jungle Jeep path will terminate shortly before a chamber where you'll have to fight Team Flora Admin Seth; likewise, the Treetop Pickup path will terminate shortly before a chamber where you'll have to fight Team Flora Admin Xenia. Whichever Team Flora Admin you face, you're going to have to defeat them in order to get past.
By the time the two split paths remerge, you're almost halfway through the stage. Right at the last turn before halfway, you're given a chance to activate a new Enhancement Chip power, the Upsidaisium Mode. Unlike other Enhancement Chip powers, Upsidaisium Mode must be activated by a powerup, of which such powerup only appears in three stages in the game, appears twice in only one of them (and it's not this stage), and never appears more than twice in a stage. If you're familiar with the concept of upsidaisium from the classic Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, you'll know how this mode works: You'll start to fall up. Using this power will allow you to reach a treasure trove of goodies; if you're very lucky, you might even find an Advanced Orb among the stash!
Halfway through the stage, Tails will appear again, and, if you accept his help, you can use his flying abilities to find items and paths you could never get to otherwise. Note that the treasure trove accessible through the upsidaisium is a place Tails can't reach. If you decline his offer of assistance, Tails will try to find some stragglers and take them down on his own. If you're playing a four-player co-op game, vehicle strategy is a little easier when bringing Tails along; one player can take a Jungle Jeep in an area, while the other three human players can take the Treetop Pickup and even take Tails along.
At one point, you'll have to navigate a storage area. This storage area is basically a maze and is not a friendly sight: most of the crates stored here contain stuff such as marijuana, heroin, and tobacco. A lot of the tobacco crates are marked as being ready to ship to Cuba. Once you get past the maze of drug crates, you'll be in a room where you'll have to fight Team Flora Admin Brad. Once you get past him, a door will open, as will a Flora Cage containing a Flora Chopper, which is a wheel-class vehicle despite what some might think upon hearing the name. (The Flora Chopper is a motorcycle, in case you're looking to know.) If you're playing a co-op game, there will be one Flora Chopper for each player; however, Flora Choppers are one-seaters, meaning you can't put Tails on one. An easy motorcycle path leads to the last stretch of the stage with Grunts on it; beyond them lies Farlie, the head of Team Flora. (You'll get special cutscenes if you're playing as "Dust".) Farlie is the toughest foe you've fought to this point. Once he's defeated, he'll chew you out before running away from the area. Once Farlie's gone, you'll have to search where you fought Farlie for a switch; this switch, once pressed, will open the chamber in which the green Chaos Meteor lies. If Tails is still with you, he'll make a remark about the object. Once you've grabbed the meteor, you'll have to make your way through the rest of the stage. At the helipad at the end of the stage, you'll find some of the villagers near a Team Flora helicopter, one big enough to seat everyone. Once you've gotten aboard the helicopter, it'll take off and you'll clear the mission.
Between Episodes 3 and 4:
Voice Notes for these cutscenes: The Portuguese villagers, Meta Leader, and Farlie use original castings for their voices (the Portuguese villagers tend to interject Portuguese into their remarks regardless of language settings). Prof. Oak and Giovanni use the voices they used in the anime. Knuckles uses his voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Dr. Eggman uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character fly away from the Flora Biome in the helicopter from the end of the episode, the local villagers waving bye to him or her. At this point, Prof. Oak comes in on the helicopter's radio, along with his face appearing on the central video screen on the helicopter's control panel. The first thing that the chosen character asks is just how did Prof. Oak know he or she was in the helicopter in the first place. That question, however, goes unanswered, and Prof. Oak now asks if the chosen character has retrieved the green Chaos Meteor. He or she shows him the meteor and then transfers it to Prof. Oak for safekeeping. We see Knuckles as well, and he says that there should only be four more to find. However, Prof. Oak brings up that they haven't found the location of another yet.
Cutscene: Back in the Meta Alliance meeting area, Meta Leader is sore at Farlie for failing to keep the chosen character from taking the green Chaos Meteor. Meta Leader brings up that almost half of all the Chaos Meteors have been obtained by the Pokémon Peace Squad, and that they need to act fast in order to retrieve the other four. At this point, Giovanni speaks up and tells everyone at the table that two of his agents have managed to locate the fourth Chaos Meteor somewhere in the far north. With this in mind, Meta Leader brings up the hologram map once more and it depicts an icy region far north. It's brought up that the area is surrounded by large ice packs on all sides, making it nearly impossible to reach. At this point, Dr. Eggman decides to speak up, explaining that he's built a brand new ship called the Egg Hovercraft, which will be able to cruise over the ice floes preventing access to where the fourth Chaos Meteor is. Meta Leader tells Eggman to get his ship prepared to go and get the Chaos Meteor, but in the process, also set up a diversion to keep the Pokémon Peace Squad busy. Eggman's hologram disappears.
Cutscene: We go to high above Station Square at nighttime, where the chosen character is in the helicopter from before. Suddenly, a large missile with Eggman's logo on it comes cruising towards the helicopter. Suddenly, Eggman comes in on the video screen for the helicopter, and explains that you're going to have a blast soon before breaking out in a laugh. With that in mind, the chosen character has no choice but to bail. He or she does so just before the missile hits the helicopter and manages to escape the huge explosion afterward. Since the chosen character didn't have time to grab a parachute, it looks as though this could be the end. However, just before the chosen character hits the top of the tallest building in Station Square, some sort of light blue-green glow envelops him or her, and his or her falling comes to a stop. The chosen character is lowered onto the top of the building and is able to make out a faint silhouette on another building that quickly flees the scene. At this point, it looks as though the chosen character should get back down to the ground.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 4:
*By normal means: Blaine, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Solidad use the voices they used in the anime. Janine and Wally use original castings for their voices.
*By special means: Corey uses the voice he used in the anime.
Speed Highway
Description: "A highway shooting through Station Square. Unfortunately, a certain doctor's robots are out looking for you here."
Objectives:
-Traverse hectic highway
-Destroy Dr. Eggman's billboards
-Run down the side of a building
-Traverse dawn traffic
-Retrieve three keys for hover transport
-Find and activate the hover transport
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. Dr. Eggman's robots use generic voices, if any voices at all.
Background Music: Speed Highway, the theme for the first part of Speed Highway plays throughout the first part of the stage. Goin' Down, the theme for the second part of Speed Highway plays throughout the second part of the stage. At Dawn, the theme for the third part of Speed Highway plays throughout the third part of the stage. All three themes are from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.
#2 alternate track: The City Escape and Metal Harbor themes from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle play in the first two parts of the stage respectively. The Grand Metropolis theme from Sonic Heroes plays in the third part of the stage.
#3 alternate track: Three different themes from Radical Train from Sonic the Hedgehog '06 play in each of the stage's three areas.
#4 alternate track: The Eggmanland night stage theme from Sonic Unleashed plays during the first part of the stage; the day stage theme from the same area from the same game plays during the third part of the stage. The day boss theme from the same game plays in the second part of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 3:30
Jenny Mode Offense: Outrunning speeding vehicles
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Ritchie/Casey, Samantha/Trixie, or Electra/Volkner.
Cutscene: We see the chosen character looking down towards the city. At this point, Prof. Oak comes in on the hand radio and explains that something's happening at a chemical plant somewhere near the edge of the city. The chosen character replies that he or she was almost blown to pieces by Eggman! Prof. Oak replies that perhaps Eggman is the one behind what's going on.
This stage is taken from Sonic Adventure DX and consists of high-speed running along roadways throughout the skyline of the city. As you'll quickly notice, Eggman's robots are out in force and out to get you. In addition to the kinds already there, you'll also find such robots as Egg Pawns, Flappers, Camerons (turtles), and Falcos (birds) in this stage. None of these enemies have to be defeated, but you can get some useful points from them; in addition, one who brings an Advanced Pearl into the stage with them can use homing attacks on these enemies to reach a side path that has the episode's Wardrobe Case. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Once you've reached the end of the first part of the stage, you'll step onto a glass floor…then go falling down the side of the building! You'll quickly make your way onto the side of the building and will proceed to run down it (using what's later explained as an Enhancement Chip power called Wall Run Mode), having to dodge barriers, helicopters, and rafter beams along the way. Once you reach the bottom, head out into the last section of the stage and you'll notice it's now dawn. Be careful of more of Eggman's robots as you head towards where the goal was in the original. You'll find a hovercraft much like the one Eggman used in Sonic the Hedgehog '06 there with a floating TV stating "To Chemical Plant", but you need three keys to activate it. Once you get into the hovercraft with the necessary keys, you've cleared the mission.
As for what you really need to do in this stage, Dr. Eggman has placed billboards in his likeness throughout all but the second part of the stage. You'll need to destroy all of them as you go through the stage. In the third part of the stage, some of the billboards can be in hard to find areas, so Prof. Oak will tell you how many you need to destroy. Also in the third part of the stage are three keys to a transport vehicle. You're going to have to search for them. Thankfully, in the third part of the stage, you have the aid of a radar system similar to Knuckles's radar, referred by Prof. Oak as the Aura Radar, which you can use to find not just the keys, but billboards as well; all but two characters have radar rankings between 2 and 4, where the higher the ranking, the better the character's Aura Radar is, and the further out one can detect a key. There are five colors that detect range; from furthest to nearest: blue, green, yellow, light red, deep red. A ranking of 4 is comparable to the range of Knuckles's radar. Unlike base stats, there is no point-5 stat in Aura Radar, only whole numbers. The two exceptions to the 2-4 range are Cheryl, whose radar ranking is 1 (meaning she only detects in deep-red range), and Ash, whose radar ranking is 5 (he's the only one who can detect in blue range). (For the record, 2 can detect in light-red range and further in; 3 can detect from the yellow range closer; and 4 can detect anything from green inward.) Once all three transport keys are found, you'll be able to operate the hovercraft at the end of the stage.
Chemical Plant
Description: "A chemical plant with a bit of nostalgic feel to it. Eggman has flooded the factory with a purple liquid called Mega Mack."
Objectives:
-Explore chemical plant
-Collect 40 Chaos Drives (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Rescue 40 Pokémon (only if all Chaos Drives have been collected in a prior mission clear)
-Survive the Mega Mack
-Rescue Wally (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Find the hover transport
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. Dr. Eggman's "consumer-model" robots use generic voices, if any voices at all. E-123 Omega uses his voice from Sonic Heroes. Wally uses an original casting for his voice.
Background Music: A remix of the Chemical Plant theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis plays throughout the stage.
#2 alternate track: A remix of the Scrap Brain Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis).
#3 alternate track: The Reactive Factory theme from Sonic R.
#4 alternate track: A remix of the Secret Plant theme from Sonic Pocket Adventure.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 5:45
Jenny Mode Offense: Illegal use of purple liquids
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Ritchie/Casey, Samantha/Trixie, or Electra/Volkner.
The hovercraft you got into at the end of the previous stage will drop you off at the start of this stage. Once the hovercraft lands, you'll take the three keys and pocket them. This stage is taken from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and recreated in 3D, much like Green Hill was in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Both acts are played back-to-back. This stage has been given a bit of a 3D makeover to make it look more radiant. Anyway, you'll need to be careful here since Eggman's robots are out to get you once again. In addition to the ones from before, you'll now have to watch out for Kalgens (jellyfish-like), and two new robots, one vaguely resembling something like a turtle or crab called a Chemitank, and one looking a little like a larger, more armed Egg Pawn called an Egg Elite. Chemitanks can poison, so there happen to be several Antidotes as you go through this stage that you can use to heal yourself. Later on in the stage, you'll run into the Mega Mack liquid that made the second act hard. Mega Mack happens to act like the green chemical from the Aqua Submarine, meaning you'll sink instead of swim while you're in it, so get to the surface quickly, especially when it rises. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage.
Your primary task in this stage, at least prior to clearing it for the first time, is to search for Chaos Drives. As it turns out, the Egg Elites are carrying Chaos Drives that you need to collect, so you'll need to destroy them and collect their Chaos Drives. They come in five colors; red, purple, green, yellow, and a new color, blue. There are 40 Chaos Drives, eight of each color, that you need to collect, and each Egg Elite drops two of them upon being destroyed. Unlike in the first game (where upgrade items only applied in the stages where they were obtained and afterward), the Chaos Drives are only collectable prior to a successful completion of the mission they're found in. This is actually a good thing--you can now take the Chaos Drives to stages prior to this one and bring the effects of their boosts to stages such as Angel Island or Aqua Submarine. This also means that you can bring upgrades higher than the Chaos Drives back to stages such as this one as well. If you've already collected all of the stage's Chaos Drives, your new goal will be to rescue 40 Pokémon trapped in the Egg Elites.
Halfway through the stage, you'll find E-123 Omega, who has followed Eggman all the way here and hopes to stop him. If you decline Omega's help, Omega will leave the scene in an attempt to stop Dr. Eggman's robots alone. If you accept Omega's help, as was the case with earlier assist characters, you also can control Omega using a second controller, and his firepower could prove useful against Eggman's forces, plus destroy obstacles that could prevent you from taking hidden paths. Here is how Omega's controls translate:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Omega forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the Lock-On Shot
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Omega, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Omega. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Hover
B: Omega Shot
-In midair: Omega Launcher
Y: Hold to lock-on; release to fire Lock-On Shot
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Omega forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the Lock-On Shot
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Hover
B: Omega Shot
-In midair: Omega Launcher
Y: Hold to lock-on; release to fire Lock-On Shot
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Omega forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding Y: Aim the Lock-On Shot
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Hover
B: Omega Shot
-In midair: Omega Launcher
Y: Hold to lock-on; release to fire Lock-On Shot
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Omega forward and backward, turn left and right
-While holding C: Aim the Lock-On Shot
A: Jump
-Press in midair: Hover
B: Omega Shot
-In midair: Omega Launcher
C: Hold to lock-on; release to fire Lock-On Shot
Omega doesn't really do all that well in the Mega Mack, but other than that, there's not much of a reason to decline Omega's help since there are no vehicles, one-seaters or otherwise, you can take control of here.
The first time you're playing this stage, as long as you haven't completed the mission for the first time, you'll find a load of Dr. Eggman's robots surrounding a cage placed where Dr. Eggman was fought in the original. Defeating all of these foes will open the cage, but the contents of this cage are quite a bit unorthodox: a boy named Wally is inside! As it turned out, Wally was vacationing in Hearthome City sometime after "a kid with a Pikachu who uses Volt Tackle" left for Canalave City after earning Fantina's badge. The vacation was a gift from his cousin, Roger, to whom he's related by marriage (by virtue of being his cousin Wanda's husband). The day Wally was to leave to return to Hoenn, however, Dr. Eggman and his robots attacked Hearthome City! Wally tried to fight back, but Dr. Eggman subdued him, and next thing he knew, he was here. There is only the standard version of this cutscene (anyone who would invoke a character-specific cutscene is not yet unlocked at this point in the game). Once the cutscene ends, you'll have to escort Wally through the rest of the stage; if his HP drops to 0, you fail the mission and have to play through it again for another rescue opportunity.
Once you reach where you found the Prison Egg in the original, you'll see the Egg Hovercraft sitting in a Mega Mack pool. Once you go to the end of the path, you've cleared the mission; the keys from the hovercraft you brought here also open a doorway into the hovercraft.
Once you've successfully completed this mission for the first time, starting the next stage will play a special one-time-only cutscene, before even the character selection, where Wally basically talks to a camera. He remarks that he won't let his asthma get the better of him; he's brought his inhaler and plenty of medicine to last quite awhile, and he's ready to go with the squad. The concluding line is, "Dr. Eggman messed with the wrong person when he messed with me, he's going to pay for this!"
Egg Hovercraft
Description: "A massive hovercraft built by Eggman for the purpose of heading to the North Pole. The inside happens to be quite complicated."
Objectives:
-Navigate the security network
-Destroy the Egg Tank
-Collect 40 Chaos Drives (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Rescue 40 Pokémon (only if all Chaos Drives have been collected in a prior mission clear)
-Defeat Dr. Eggman
-Find a means of escape before the Egg Hovercraft crashes
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak uses his voice from the anime. Dr. Eggman's "consumer-model" robots use generic voices, if any voices at all. E-123 Omega uses his voice from Sonic Heroes. Dr. Eggman uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog.
Background Music: Jeh Jeh Rocket, the theme for Huge Crisis from Sonic Rush plays throughout the stage. When fighting the Egg Tank, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Dr. Eggman, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle.
#2 alternate track: A remix of the Sky Base theme from Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear).
#3 alternate track: A remix of the Silver Castle theme from Sonic Blast.
#4 alternate track: The True Area 53 theme from Sonic Advance 2.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 8:15
Jenny Mode Offense: Not wearing Egg Sneakers on the premises
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a black uniform with an Eggman mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Ritchie/Casey, Samantha/Trixie, or Electra/Volkner.
We've finally made into Eggman's ship, the Egg Hovercraft, but it suddenly starts up and takes off across the ocean! This stage happens to be nothing short of Eggman's standards, complete with a myriad of obstacles to watch out for. One of this stage's main gimmicks are high-speed railcars that cruise above the tracks they travel on. Along the way are dividing paths where you'll have to make a quick decision of the way you want to take as well as laser barriers and enemies you'll need to jump over on move to the side of. You'll also have to make your way up and down unusual-looking escalators, move over and under quickly moving blocks, navigate hover spike filled airshafts, push floating cart-like platforms and use them to move over gaps, and spin large metallic spheres over gaps and through laser grids and gates. There is also a large assortment of Eggman's robots from both of the previous stages of this episode, including gold-colored Kalgens, more Chemitanks (Antidotes appear in this stage just in case of poison), armored Egg Pawns and Flappers that only strong attacks or Explosion can destroy, as well as the super-strong Egg Hammers. There also happen to be more Egg Elites that you'll have to watch out for as well. Prof. Oak is on the hand radio for this stage. Note that, if you stand in place for awhile, the character may utter phrases; in this stage, one of those phrases is "Where's that <D4> fourth Meteor?".
The first objective is to get past the hovercraft's security network. This area has a lot of laser cameras, infrared scanners, force field gates, paralyzing searchlights, and holes that suddenly materialize under your feet. Somewhere in this area is where you'll meet up with Omega again. Before you can even choose whether or not to accept or decline his help, he'll reveal that he'll let you in on a little secret if you choose to accept his help and let him accompany you through at least the rest of the network. If you still choose to decline, Omega will mess with some of the machinery, disabling some of the network's qualities, before leaving the scene. If you choose to accept, you'll be able to once again control him using a second controller.
If you happen to fall through a security hole, or get caught by a gold Kalgen's force field, you'll end up in the Egg Hovercraft's prison network. If you accepted Omega's help, you won't be able to break through the thick laser grid bars of the network. If this happens, player 1's control will switch to Omega and break your character out of the prison network manually. Note that the thick laser grid bars are a part of the network Omega messed with if you chose to decline his help; in this case, the bars are much thinner and you should be able to easily break your way through with a damaging ranged attack. If you don't have a damaging ranged attack, you're going to have to figure out the secret Omega talked about on your own if you want to have any hope of escape. There is one plus to having to go through this ordeal, whether or not you accept Omega's help: There's an Arena Pass somewhere in the prison network.
At the core of the security network happens to be a large defense robot known as the Egg Tank, which you'll have to destroy if you want to get out on the security network. Once the Egg Tank is destroyed, if Omega is still with you, he'll reveal the secret: You can change your mind about the accept/decline status of an assist character at any time there's one available; this applies to most assist characters in most stages (we have not run into any exceptions as of yet). Simply go to the menu and select the name of the assist character (their name will appear below your character's). Once you've done that, press A to toggle the status. If you choose to switch a declined character to "accept", that character will rejoin you after a brief moment after returning to gameplay. If you choose to switch an accepted character to "decline", that character will leave the scene once you return to gameplay.
Later on in the stage, you'll run into more Egg Elites, and will have to destroy them to obtain their Chaos Drives, which there are 40 more of, 2 from each Elite. If you've already cleared the mission at least once, in which you've already taken care of the Chaos Drives, you'll once again have to rescue Pokémon instead.
Eventually, you'll head out onto the front deck of the ship, where Dr. Eggman is waiting for you. (You'll get special cutscenes if you're playing as Wally.) Realizing that you survived the explosion, he'll ask you to give him the three Chaos Meteors that you've obtained. The chosen character will tell him that he or she doesn't have them, but not reveal that Prof. Oak and Knuckles are looking after them. With that in mind, Eggman tells you that he helped you out once before, but that you're now in his way, thus a battle will now commence. Dr. Eggman's the toughest foe you've faced, so get ready for a fight. Once he's been defeated, Eggman will get a message from the hovercraft's computer that it's about to crash into a large ice cliff. Eggman then decides to make a getaway in his usual hovercraft and have you go down with the ship. You'll have one minute to go to the end of the arena, where a hovercraft like the one that took you to the Chemical Plant sits. A floating TV stating "Escape Pod" floats within the space of the hovercraft. Once you get into the hovercraft (you still have the three keys from before, which starts the Escape Pod), you'll fly away from the Egg Hovercraft before it crashes into the cliff and explodes. After the Egg Hovercraft is history, you've cleared the stage.
If you didn't bring an Arena Pass with you, the next storyline cutscenes will begin right away. Otherwise, it's time to take on...
Egg Arena:
Setting: High atop a tower in the Egg Capital, overlooking that city
Access with the Arena Pass from Egg Hovercraft
Boss: Rival(s)
Music: The theme when fighting Pearl in Diamond/Pearl
#2 alternate track: The theme when fighting the primary rival in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
#3 alternate track: A remix of the theme when fighting the G/S/C Rival in Gold/Silver/Crystal.
#4 alternate track: A metal remix of the champion battle theme from FireRed/LeafGreen.
The Egg Arena battle pits players against a pre-set rival. The rival settings are done by pair, meaning that, for example, it's always Gary against Paul regardless of whether Gary or Paul is playable. In single-player games, each matchup has a cutscene that goes to it, and the cutscenes vary in tone between pairs (some of the pairs are meeting for the first time, others hate the fact that they've ran into each other, and so on and so forth; the "Dust"/Ash and Jessie & James/Pichu Brothers cutscenes should prove very interesting). Note that, in co-operative games, there are multiple opponents corresponding to each of the playable characters. If one of these pairs is paired up together (i.e. 2P Drake-OI and 4P Lance), the higher-numbered player in the pair (in this case, 4P Lance) is replaced by another randomly-selected playable character. The rival(s) use basic tactics in this fight. Once all opponents are defeated, you win. Here's the list of the pre-set pairs (*--denotes a pairing that has different cutscenes prior to both characters being fully unlocked and after both characters are fully unlocked):
Gary/Paul
Morrison/Palmer
Drew/Zoey
Harrison/Tyson-HL
Ritchie/Casey
Harley/Kenny
Nando/Eugene
Erika/Brock
Koga/Bruno
G/S/C Rival/Jackson*
"Dust"/Ash*
Robert/Solidad
Janine/Duplica
Blaine/Flannery
Sabrina/Tate & Liza
Lt. Surge/Wattson
Wally/Pearl*
Samantha/Trixie
Aeris-K/Whitney
Jason/Milane
Sonrisa/Gardenia
Bugsy/Misty
Morty/Fantina
Jasmine/Byron
Jimmy/Marina
Liza/Marley
Falkner/Winona
Roxanne/Roark
Pryce/Candice
Danny/Cissy
Luana/Giovanni
Rudy/Sakura
Lucas/Dawn*
Chuck/Maylene
Floreia/Wallace
Clair/Drake-HE4
Norman/Cheryl
Luka/Eusine
Brawly/Shingo
Rebecca/Reggie
Lunick/Jackie
Solana/Noland
Brendan/May*
Sid/Kidd
Electra/Volkner
Rafe/Lisa
Karen/Sidney
Crasher Wake/Juan
Tracey/Holly*
Note that it is possible to unlock Holly before Tracey. You have to be playing as Holly without unlocking Tracey to get the special cutscene; this is a reverse of all of the others denoted with an asterisk, where the right-side character is most definitely unlocked after the left-side one.
Will/Lucian
Glacia/Lorelei
Agatha/Phoebe
Drake-OI/Lance
Steven/Cynthia
Aaron/Spenser
Bertha/Lucy
Flint/Tucker
Lizabeth/Fergus
Max/Conway
Corey/Melody
Neesha/Butler
Jessie & James/Pichu Brothers
Kellyn/Kate
Ryan/Darach & Caitlin
Lilly/Thorton
Mira/Brandon
Riley/Greta
Buck/Anabel
Argenta/Dahlia
Between Episodes 4 and 5:
Voice Notes for these cutscenes: Prof. Oak, Giovanni, and Jigglypuff use the voices they use in the anime. Meta Leader uses an original casting for his voice. Dr. Eggman uses his voice from Sonic-series games starting with Shadow the Hedgehog.
Cutscene: Upon finally reaching the region that the Egg Hovercraft was heading for, a blizzard has already started up and is clouding the chosen character's vision. Prof. Oak comes in on the hand radio to tell the chosen character that you're headed straight for the location of the teal-colored Chaos Meteor. However, right as Prof. Oak finishes, a Jigglypuff drops right onto the hovercraft's windshield and, to the shock of the chosen character, takes out a microphone marker! (This proves that this is the Jigglypuff first seen around Neon Town.) As the chosen character yells "Jigglypuff?!", Jigglypuff begins to sing, and the chosen character quickly falls asleep. With the pilot asleep at the controls, the hovercraft begins to move erratically and, next thing we see once Jigglypuff's drawn all over the character's face, the chosen character goes crashing down to the ground, snow quickly overcoming him or her. A heavy blizzard wind blows Jigglypuff off of the hovercraft shortly afterward.
Cutscene: Back at the Meta Alliance's headquarters, the base's computer comes in with a message from Eggman stating that he failed to prevent the chosen character from reaching the location of the next Chaos Meteor. Meta Leader yells in disgust over Eggman's failure and says he should get back to "playing" with his "robot toys". Meta Leader brings up the main hologram once more, which depicts the Arctic region that the chosen character is in, now trekking on foot. Upon seeing this image, Meta Leader decides that the extreme cold should kill the chosen character before he or she reaches the next Chaos Meteor. He then orders Giovanni to go and ensure the retrieval of that meteor as soon as possible. Giovanni's hologram then vanishes, and once he's gone, Meta Leader has the hologram close in on the chosen character and watches as he or she collapses and is quickly covered in snow. Meta Leader says that perhaps the plan is turning in his favor and laughs.
Cutscene: We fade into what looks a little bit of an unusual scene. This scene varies from character to character and usually involves something that pleases the character. An example is if you're playing as Brock, you'll see a tropical beach with several pretty girls in bikinis giggling and flirting with Brock, and some of which are dressed in hula skirts and putting flower leis on Brock and hoisting him onto a surfboard/throne and all such girls worshipping him. Another example is Dawn, who is doing extremely good in the Grand Festival and walloping two powerful foes, a Milotic and a Gardevoir with her Blissey (obviously evolved from the Happiny on her team) and Empoleon, then winning the coveted Ribbon Cup. However, no matter how this scene plays out, it turns out it's nothing more than a hallucination as a result of passing out from the blizzard. Shivering and freezing, it looks like the end for the chosen character, but he or she has the strength to get up and keep moving forward. The chosen character manages to keep trudging through the slowly rising snow, using willpower to keep on going. Eventually, he or she spots what looks like a dome in the distance and that there's a city contained in it. The chosen character starts to head towards the city with all of his or her might. Eventually, the chosen character makes it and sees that the massive dome is made of never-melting ice. An access code is needed to get into the dome. Putting in sequence after sequence, he or she eventually gets one that causes the large door to slide upward, allowing access into the dome, where jets of mist envelop him or her. The cutscene ends here.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 5:
*By normal means: Samantha, Trixie, Jimmy, and Sonrisa use the voices they used in the anime. Aeris-K and Jason use original castings for their voices.
*By special means: Kidd uses her voice from the anime.
Ice Metropolis
Description: "A high-tech city located at the North Pole. Conditions here happen to be quite snowy and frigid, so pack a snowboard."
Objectives:
-Snowboard deep into downtown
-Defeat the Team Rocket guards
-Traverse downtown
-Snowboard to the outskirts of downtown
-Defeat Annie and Oakley
-Snowboard into the outskirts
-Infiltrate the ice factory
-Defeat Domino
-Navigate through the ice factory
-Defeat Jessie and James's mech in form Adam
-Retrieve the elevator key
-Take the elevator to the lake (not if you're playing as Samantha)
-Rendezvous with Trixie at the top of the ice factory (only if you're playing as Samantha)
-Duel Trixie (only if you're playing as Samantha)
-Escort Trixie to the lake (only if you're playing as Samantha)
Voice Notes: Prof. Oak, DJ Mary, Annie, Oakley, Domino, Jessie, James, Team Rocket's Meowth, and Samantha use the voices they used in the anime. The Team Rocket guards use generic voices.
Background Music: The Saturn version of Frost Man's stage from Mega Man 8 plays throughout the first part of the stage. Cold Man's stage theme from Mega Man & Bass plays in the second part of the stage. When fighting Annie & Oakley and Domino, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Jessie and James's mech in form Adam, a "Team Rocket" instrumental remix of Mezase Pokémon Master (the first Japanese opening theme of the Pokémon anime) plays. When fighting Trixie, Fight for My Own Way, the theme for event battles in Sonic Adventure DX plays.
#2 alternate track: The Ice Paradise Act 1 theme from Sonic Advance 2 plays in the first half of the stage. The Ice Paradise Act 2 theme from the same game plays in the second half of the stage.
#3 alternate track: The Ice Cap Zone Act 1 theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 plays in the first half of the stage. The Ice Cap Zone Act 2 theme from the same game plays in the second half of the stage.
#4 alternate track: The Snowpoint City theme from Pokémon Diamond/Pearl plays in the first part of the stage. The Snowpoint Temple theme from the same game plays in the second part of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 9:00 (10:00 if you're playing as Samantha)
Jenny Mode Offense: Not wearing authorized polar expedition attire (foot), Use of non-regulation sports gear (snowboard)
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Samantha/Trixie.
Cutscene: We see the city that the chosen character has made it to, and while being encased within a massive dome, it's snowing within the city, which is covered in ice. We go to the chosen character, who is now thawed out and standing on a building holding his or her snowboard. He or she makes a reference of the dome's entrance having a defrosting station that saved him or her and then looks out into the city, which has digital Team Rocket symbols at various points throughout the city, meaning it's a Team Rocket city. At this point, the chosen character jumps onto his or her snowboard and starts going down the building, promptly starting this stage and its mission.
Once again, you better get used to cities, because we're going to be seeing them for four more episodes! This stage happens to be a bit unique, being a city stage while at the same time an ice stage, and it shares similarities with Frost Man's stage from Mega Man 8 and Ice Paradise from Sonic Advance 2. Prof. Oak comes in on the hand radio at the start of the stage, but he tells you that he's currently preoccupied with research on the Chaos Meteors; he's handing the hand radio operations to his radio co-host, DJ Mary, for this stage.
Anyway, you'll start the stage off by snowboarding, which works the same way you used streetboards and Extreme Gear in the first Pokémon Peace Squad installments. You'll have to be extra careful as this stage has its basics with Speed Highway, consisting of roads high above the ground, and thus at times you'll have to be careful not to go boarding off the pathway and to your demise! You'll have to jump, grind iced rails (note that you still need an Intermediate Orb if you start with only basic actions; this is, thankfully, one of the only stages where one's easy to find early on), dodge enemies, robotic snowballs, snowflake-like mines, snowbanks, board across half-pipes, shoot across flipping platforms, cruise through snow tunnels, and race through buildings. There are also ramps placed throughout this section that you can jump off of to perform tricks and gain extra points. If you hit a snowbank, you'll lose speed and jump lower and when it comes to snow tunnels, you'll be able to move up and down as you surge through the snow. After a short time, you'll disembark your snowboard and start your trek on foot, where you'll have to be careful of the slippery conditions of the roads. Here, it'll be much like Radical Highway, consisting of high-speed running sections and Dash Panels; one area of this part of the stage requires bringing an Advanced Pearl into the stage, this area has the episode's Wardrobe Case.
Along the way, you'll have to defeat Team Rocket guards that now appear throughout the stage. Fortunately, you won't have to worry about them while on any snowboarding sections. You'll also have to be careful of pods that look similar to fire-shooting ones found in Collision Chaos in Sonic CD, but discharge ice bursts that freeze you. If you jump onto one of these pods, you can use it as a spring when it shoots upward to reach higher areas. Tunnels going through buildings are just as icy and you'll take a large elevator platform up to where you'll have to get onto another snowboard, this time hazards consisting of ice pods and ice tunnels, in which you'll have to press the action button to perform a forward spinning attack that will allow you to burst through the ice, albeit not as easily as snow. If you hit the ice, you'll take damage and will have to use the spinning attack to break through. You'll make your way through another foot section along a large bridge like the one seen in Mission Street, with ice machines that shoot out large ice blocks that can push you off the path.
At the end of the bridge, you'll run into Annie & Oakley, who have decided that you won't go any further and will battle you. Once they're finished, they'll tell you that you won't get the Chaos Meteor and leave. You'll take another elevator ride to a THIRD snowboard section, this one even tougher than the last and utilizing ice machines as well. One more foot section and elevator ride will send you to the second part of the stage. This section is much shorter and the nighttime sky above the city darkens the scenery and a beautiful aurora can be seen high in the sky above the stage. Anyway, this section consists of a large ice sheet maze high above the ground. The ice is slippery and consists of slopes. You can't make your way up slopes, but you can slide down them. You'll have to be careful of large holes in the ice that you can slide through. The Team Rocket guards are placed on a specific route through the maze, so follow them to the end, which sits in front of another building.
Upon entering the building, you'll enter what looks like a small ice factory, where you'll run into Domino, who tells you that since Giovanni is back in command of Team Rocket, this won't be like it was back in Grand Metropolis all that time ago, and will challenge you. Be careful of the ice blocks that fall here. Once she's defeated, Domino will tell you that the only way to where Giovanni is under the ice before leaving. However, the floor is solid, and the nearest elevator shaft's doors are broken. It looks as if you're going to have to go up in order to go down. Make your way upstairs through more tricky mazes. Along the way, you'll run into Jessie and James, who are currently doing a field test of their newest mech. You'll get interesting dialogue if you're playing as Paul, Drew, Zoey, Tyson-HL, Harley, Nando, Kenny, Brock, Robert, Solidad, Misty, Dawn, May, Gardenia, Tracey, Ash, Max, Conway, Holly, or the Pichu Brothers. Several variations of special cutscenes exist; for example, Tyson-HL's variant is primarily Tyson's Meowth and Team Rocket's Meowth in a heated conversation where it appears Team Rocket's Meowth is giving responses to Tyson's Meowth's insults (the boiling point is reached when Team Rocket's Meowth responds to one of Tyson's Meowth's "comments" with "'Dat's it! My motha' was 'da greatest Meowth I eva' knew, and nobody calls 'er a P-woid and gets away with it!"); whereas Drew, Zoey, Harley, and Nando's variant involves Jessie launching numerous rude insults and the character replies that "it's an attitude like that that's going to leave you ribbonless for life!"; Kenny's variant is a lot like his fellow coordinators, but Jessie's insulting involves the humiliation she took at the hands of Kenny at the Solaceon City contest, and even holds up a pair of ribbons as a reminder of that shame, before Kenny replies with the same ribbonless-for-life line; and finally, Brock, Misty, Dawn, May, Ash, and Max's variant involves various usages of the word "twerp" strewn throughout Team Rocket's dialogue (these characters are typically referred to with those usages throughout the game). ("Dust", Wally, Lucas, Pearl, and Brendan are also referred to with various usages of "twerp" throughout the game) Anyway, once Meowth (or James, in some cutscene variations) yells "Enough talk! Initiate form Adam!", followed by Jessie claiming that she'll make it so that you're bleeding as red as her hair, you'll have to fight Jessie and James. Once they're defeated, unless you're playing as Samantha, a key will fall from the left arm of form Adam before Jessie and James leave the scene. Pick up this key, then locate the nearby elevator door that allows you to use this key. Head through the doors to find an elevator platform that will take you downward, thus clearing the mission.
However, if you're playing as Samantha, form Adam won't drop a key. Instead, you're going to have to take a note of where the elevator door is and continue your ascent. (You can continue going up with any other character, but there's nothing much of interest if you're playing as anyone other than Samantha.) Once you've reached the top floor of the factory, you'll run into Trixie, who is angry about a certain fight they never got to settle three months earlier. Samantha will tell Trixie that now isn't the time to fight. Trixie brings up that since she managed to defeat Samantha in the Wallace Cup (which we never saw), she has enough time to put Samantha in her place (Trixie even goes as far as to show that she's holding the elevator key, which she swiped from the form Adam without Jessie and James looking), thus a battle will begin. After a minute of fighting, an alarm will sound warning of the testing of a "Subzero Bomb", which instantly freezes everything within the blast radius (which is a very wide area, the test is being conducted about 1000 meters from the entrance to the ice factory), and that everyone is required to take shelter underground. You have one minute to escort Trixie to the elevator platform and clear the stage or else the explosion will freeze both you and Trixie permanently, thus failing the mission.
Antarctic Lake
Description: "A freezing lake located in a frozen cavern under Ice Metropolis. Be careful not to catch hypothermia here."
Objectives:
-Explore the freezing lakeside
-Defeat the Team Rocket guards
-Defeat Jessie and James's mech in form Addie
-Learn the mystery of Red Ice and Blue Fire
-Navigate several tricky puzzles
-Defeat Butch and Cassidy
-Defeat Prof. Nanba
-Rescue Jimmy (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Escape into Team Rocket's subzero base
Voice Notes: DJ Mary, Jessie, James, Team Rocket's Meowth, use the voices they used in the anime. The Team Rocket guards use generic voices. red face paint uses her voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes.
Background Music: The Saturn version of the second theme for Frost Walrus's stage from Mega Man X4 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Jessie and James's mech in form Addie, a "Team Rocket" instrumental remix of Pokémon Theme (the first English opening theme of the Pokémon anime) plays. When fighting Butch & Cassidy and Prof. Nanba, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays.
#2 alternate track: A "Twinkle Snow" remix of the Shoal Cave theme from Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
#3 alternate track: The four Twinkle Snow themes from Sonic Advance 3 played back-to-back. The themes are played in this order: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, VS. Boss.
#4 alternate track: A "Twinkle Snow" remix of the Ice Path theme from Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 8:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Carrying unauthorized substance in glass containers
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Samantha/Trixie.
The elevator platform from the previous stage sends you down to Antarctic Lake, which is a frigid lake in an icy cavern located beneath Ice Metropolis. Right as your character arrives at this place, your character is questioning just why this place is called Antarctic Lake if it's situated around the North Pole--your character thinks the name Antarctic Lake would fit better somewhere near the South Pole. DJ Mary, who's on the hand radio for this stage, is just as clueless as you are about what you're talking about. As you might expect, you're going to have to get wet here, but as it turns out, the water here is so freezing, you can only remain underwater for half as long as usual before drowning (unless you're packing the Thick Fat ability), so air bubbles and surfacing is much more crucial than in previous stages with water. You'll also have to make your way along ice packs floating in the water as well as go through frozen tunnels, skate across frozen water surfaces, and navigate up icy waterfalls. When it comes to the hazards you're going to face, in addition to Team Rocket robots as you'd expect (this time around, Team Rocket has sent out their 13th robot division, as the Team Rocket robots from the first game were from the 12th robot division), you'll also contend with Team Aqua robots due to all the water. The ice machines from the previous stage can also be seen throughout the stage, but the stage's main attraction happens to be Red Ice, which is ice that possesses unusual properties, in which heat cannot melt it. Red Ice can be spotted throughout the stage, encasing powerups, blocking paths, and so on. The only way to melt Red Ice is by using Blue Fire, an unusual cold flame that is found at various points of the stage. There are several machines called Blue Fire Stations in the stage with a large flame of Blue Fire emitting from the center. There are small octagonal glass capsules that can be collected from each corner of the station that fill up with Blue Fire, allowing you to utilize it. You can have up to six Blue Fire capsules at a time, and they're held using the X button. Use the X button to throw a capsule and you'll produce the next one you have in your hand. Blue Fire will instantly melt any Red Ice it comes in contact with and can also be used as a weapon against enemies, but will have absolutely no effect on anything composed of ice other than Red Ice. Stock up on Blue Fire at each station you come across so that when you need to get past Red Ice, you'll be ready.
Once again, you'll have to take out any Team Rocket guards you come across as you make your way through the stage, so it's best to conserve Blue Fire for when you find some Red Ice. About one-third through the stage, you'll run into Jessie, James, and Meowth, who (unless you're playing four-player co-op) take the time to say their motto before telling you that in addition to your Pokémon, that they'll also capture you to give to the boss, since he's interested in defeating the Pokémon Peace Squad. Special cutscenes take place if you're playing as Tyson-HL, Brock, Misty, Dawn, May, Ash, or Max; of particular interest is Ash's variant, where Team Rocket will be pleased that "the twerp" has personally come to hand over Pikachu to them, which of course is met with Ash's disgust and then the battle. However, if you're playing four-player co-op, the scene will show the four player characters recite their own rendition of the Battle Frontier variation of the motto; the lines are not character-specific, hence anyone can say any of the lines. Special character-triggered cutscenes don't begin until after the motto ripoff, unless using certain combinations of characters. The combinations that trigger special motto scenes are: Ash/Brock/Misty/Duplica in any order, Ash/Brock/Misty/Duplica in exact order (i.e. Ash is 1P, Brock is 2P, Misty is 3P, Duplica is 4P), Ash/Brock/Dawn/Duplica in any order, "Dust"/Lucas/Jasmine/Duplica in any order (nevermind the fact that, as far as we know, neither "Dust" nor Lucas have run into Jessie and James unless either were being used when form Adam was fought). Once the cutscenes wrap up, the battle starts; this time, their mech is in form Addie. Form Addie is, surprisingly, easier to defeat than form Adam. Either way, after you send them blasting off again, you'll run into red face paint the Bat, who tells you that the President has sent her on a mission to find out what Team Rocket's currently up to, and mentions a possible super weapon they've built. As with other assist characters with previous episodes, if you choose to accept red face paint's help, red face paint will follow you around, and you can control her using a second controller, since her gliding and climbing skills are useful in reaching high-up areas. Also, she can throw bombs and plant them on ice walls to blow them up. Assist characters from here on out assume you know Omega's secret technique. Here's how red face paint's controls stack up:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move red face paint forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control red face paint, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on red face paint. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
R: Take out bomb
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Pad: Spiral Upper
-With bomb in hand: Throw bomb
Y: Dig
-With bomb in hand: Set bomb
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move red face paint forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
Right Z: Take out bomb
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Left Analog Stick: Spiral Upper
-With bomb in hand: Throw bomb
Y: Dig
-With bomb in hand: Set bomb
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move red face paint forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
Z: Take out bomb
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Stick: Spiral Upper
-With bomb in hand: Throw bomb
Y: Dig
-With bomb in hand: Set bomb
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move red face paint forward and backward, turn left and right
-While clinging to wall: Climb (hit wall while gliding to cling to wall)
Z: Take out bomb
A: Jump
-While in midair: Glide
B: Punch
-While in midair: Drill Claw
-+ Rotate Control Stick: Spiral Upper
-With bomb in hand: Throw bomb
Y: Dig
-With bomb in hand: Set bomb
This time around, her assistance appears to be necessary instead of optional, since some ice walls block your progress, so red face paint reveals another secret about assist characters: the Select button can be used to switch to controlling an assist character as well (if playing as a two-character pair, such as Tate & Liza, the cycle goes first character (Tate in this example), second character (Liza in this example), the assist character (red face paint in this example), and back to the first character). Note that, if you're using a DS as Controller setup and there's a Guitar Grip in the GBA slot, you'll have to use the buttons on the Guitar Grip to manage characters instead of the Select button (the Select button still switches between characters in a pair if playing as someone such as Tate & Liza). If you choose to decline red face paint's help, many of the ice walls have been rigged with her bombs, they just need an attack (preferably ranged, but these bombs are not strong enough to be instant-kill to those who use a melee attack) to be set off. red face paint can also equip herself with Blue Fire capsules, so you can now arm yourself with double the Blue Fire. This is also crucial because some higher-up enemies at this point of the stage have attacks that freeze you in Red Ice, which L & R toggling cannot get you out of. If this happens, you'll switch to red face paint and have to use Blue Fire to thaw out the chosen character. If red face paint's status is on "decline" and your character gets frozen in Red Ice, the game will automatically switch red face paint to "accept" and switch control. The reverse is also true, as if red face paint is frozen in Red Ice, you'll need to use Blue Fire to free her (you won't be able to switch red face paint to "decline" if either your character or red face paint is frozen in Red Ice). If both of you end up frozen in Red Ice, you'll automatically fail the mission, so thaw out the other as quickly as possible.
The second half of the stage happens to have several puzzles that you'll need to solve, which involve pushing large ice blocks across icy floors. One such puzzle is done underwater; make sure you've grabbed an Advanced Orb by this point in order to be able to trigger the actions necessary. You'll also have to use Snowball Turrets (a large snowball robot) to weigh switches down to open doors. In most cases, if you destroy too many Snowball Turrets, large cannons will fire more of them into the room so that the puzzle can be solved. The one where the Snowball Turrets are not regenerated leads to several powerups, including the stage's Full Restore. About two-thirds through the stage, you'll run into Butch and Cassidy, who Cassidy says Prof. Mambo has asked to stop any intruders in the frigid caverns. She'll then get a call from Nanba telling her the name's Nanba. As you might expect, the chosen character will get Butch's name wrong, and red face paint, if she's with you, will pronounce Butch's name as "Boutché". After Butch's rant, another battle will begin, but this time, red face paint will assist you by using bombs. After Butch & Cassidy are finished, they'll tell you that Rambo will deal with you, which results in another call from Nanba telling them to get his name right. Finally, at the end of the stage, you'll run into Nanba himself, who tells you that their secret weapon will make them the greatest power in the world as well as give the Meta Alliance a huge advantage. Upon hearing this, red face paint speaks up about Team Rocket having a secret weapon to be true, but Nanba decides that he's told too much and to get rid of both of you. You'll notice a Blue Fire Station in the center on the arena; the reason for this is because one of Nanba's attacks involves blasting you with Red Ice, and if you or red face paint gets frozen by it, you'll need to use Blue Fire to thaw him or her out. After Nanba's been defeated, he'll tell you that he worked directly on the secret weapon and that you won't be able to stop it. Once he's gone, you'll be able to head through the doors on the other side to enter an elevator area that will take you upward, finally clearing the stage.
The first time you're playing this stage, as long as you haven't completed the mission for the first time, there's an additional cage in the arena where you face Dr. Nanba. Defeating Dr. Nanba will open the cage, but the contents of this cage are quite a bit unorthodox: a boy named Jimmy is inside! As it turned out, Jimmy was in Slateport City, deciding where to go next after having changed into his new outfit (the HeartGold/SoulSilver-based getup). When he hears that "a kid with a Pikachu who uses Volt Tackle" has recently embarked on a long foot trek to Sinooh's west coast after obtaining Fantina's badge, Jimmy chose to go to Sinooh. However, the "ferry to Sinooh" wasn't actually a ferry at all--it was a Team Rocket trap that Jimmy had fallen into! Jimmy tried to escape, but Dr. Nanba, the captain of that vessel, subdued him, and next thing he knew, he was here. Playing as Casey or the G/S/C Rival upon this rescue will give a character-specific cutscene instead of the standard scene; the latter special scene involves comparisons between the characters' new outfits. Once the cutscene ends, you'll have to escort Jimmy through the rest of the stage; if his HP drops to 0, you fail the mission and have to play through it again for another rescue opportunity.
Once you've successfully completed this mission for the first time, starting the next stage will play a special one-time-only cutscene, before even the character selection, where Jimmy basically talks to a camera. He remarks that he now no longer wants to go to Sinooh, not as long as Team Rocket's still around. He wants Team Rocket to pay dearly for what they did, and would go with the squad to pay them back personally. The concluding line is, "Watch out, Team Rocket! You stink, you drool!"
Freeze Plant
Description: "A subzero power plant that serves as Team Rocket's base. The 40-below environment is perfect for hiding their greatest creation."
Objectives:
-Navigate the frozen factory
-Research Team Rocket's secret weapon
-Defeat the Team Rocket Grunts
-Clear the first boss house
--Attila and Hun (all modes)
--Jessie and James in form Maddie (all modes)
--Wendy (Jenny/Expert only)
--Mondo (Jenny/Expert only)
--Jagura (Expert only)
-Clear the second boss house
--Ken/Al/Harry (Expert only)
--Jessie and James in form Madeline (all modes)
--Rocket Scout (Jenny/Expert only)
--I.M.M (Jenny/Expert only)
--Storc (Expert only)
--Carl and Sham (Jenny/Expert only; only if a timer runs out prior to defeating prior foe)
--Tyson-TR (all modes)
-Recover the teal Chaos Meteor
-Fight the secret weapon
-Escape the secret weapon's launch bay
Note that the wording of "the secret weapon" changes to "Regicolossus" on the fly once its name is discovered.
Voice Notes: red face paint uses her voice from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes. DJ Mary, Attila, Jessie, James, Team Rocket's Meowth, Wendy, the Rocket scout, the I.M.M., Tyson-TR, and Prof. Sebastian use the voices they used in the anime. Hun uses an original casting voice closer to the character's original Japanese voice; Mondo, Jagura, Ken, Al, Harry, Storc, Carl, and Sham also use original castings for their voices.
Background Music: The Telos soundtrack version of the Energy Facility stage from Mega Man Zero 3 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Attila & Hun, Jessie and James's mech in form Maddie, Wendy, Mondo, Jagura, Ken/Al/Harry, the Rocket Scout, the I.M.M., Storc, and Carl and Sham, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Jessie and James's mech in form Madeline, a sped-up instrumental of the TV mix of "We Will Be Heroes" (the 11th English opening theme of the anime) plays. When fighting Tyson (TR), the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle. When fighting Regicolossus, the Boss Battle 1 theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl plays.
#2 alternate track: The Holoska night stage theme from Sonic Unleashed.
#3 alternate track: "Double Trouble (Team Rocket), from the 2.B.A. Master album.
#4 alternate track: The theme from the second area of Ice Cap from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 12:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to sabotage Team Rocket's grand project
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a white uniform with a Team Rocket mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Bugsy/Misty, or Samantha/Trixie.
We've made into Team Rocket's base, which happens to be a superconductive power plant that powers all of Ice Metropolis. Anyway, Antarctic Lake is nothing compared to what this below zero stage has to offer. It happens to be a little similar to the Ice Factory from Sonic Riders, but is much more of a unique stage. Unlike other assist characters, which bolted ahead of you in between stages, red face paint the Bat is still with you and is determined to find out what Team Rocket is up to with their so-called secret weapon. Here, you have to choose to accept or decline red face paint's help right off the bat (remember, you can always change your mind later); red face paint will run on ahead if you choose "decline". This stage has several iced-over tunnels where you'll have to jump over, slide under, and swerve past laser grids, conveyor belts that can change speed and direction at random, and may also send large ice blocks, some of them spiked, towards you, high-powered ice jets that can freeze you, frigid mist that causes you to move slower and jump lower, enemies that burst out of ice formations and also use pieces of ice to attack you, ice compactors that can instantly cut up a frozen character into ice cubes, square rooms entirely composed of ice blocks, some of which combine to form hovering turrets that fire ice lasers at you, and the stage's main attraction, Liquid Ice, a substance at absolute zero that flows throughout the plant that happens to be its main energy source, and freezes you instantly if you so much as touch it. There are also more of those ice machines, some which fire ice blocks that can push you into liquid ice, but also some of which you'll need to get onto the ice blocks to get across frozen spikes and liquid ice. Also, Red Ice happens to be just as abundant in this stage as it was in Antarctic Lake, which means you'll also find Blue Fire Stations as well. There are also Countdown Bombs to be found in this stage; teal-colored ones that discharge ice explosions that freeze anything they touch, including water. When it comes to water, there are shallow pools (still deep enough for you to go under, in which you can only stay under for half as long if you're not packing Thick Fat), which have Countdown Bombs over or in them. If you set one off, it'll freeze the water entirely, allowing you to traverse it. Just don't be in the water when the bomb goes off, or you'll end up frozen as well and fail the mission. There are also some more, tougher Snowball Turret puzzles to solve. DJ Mary is on the hand radio for this stage.
The first objective here is to dispatch all the Team Rocket Grunts throughout the base. In addition, red face paint wants to find out all she can about the "secret weapon" Team Rocket is storing here. There are several data rooms in the plant that you and red face paint will need to use to download information on what Team Rocket is up to. Later on, some of the data terminals are covered in Red Ice, meaning you'll have to use Blue Fire to thaw them out and use them. Just remember not to destroy a terminal that you need to use, otherwise you'll fail the mission. The third room's terminals will bring up that the weapon is codenamed Operation Regicolossus, and depicts a MASSIVE robot resembling Regigigas. red face paint will comment that she's never seen a robot that big before, not even from someone such as Eggman. About a third through the stage, you'll run into the first of the stage's "boss houses", areas where you fight bosses one after another. The first fight here Attila and Hun, who are the third toughest foes so far (only Nanba, followed by Eggman were tougher). One of things that makes this fight tough is one of the duo's tactics is to flood the room with liquid ice, which will kill you instantly if you touch it (red face paint is able to quickly jump and glide to higher ground), so when they insert pipes into the ground, get onto one of the higher platforms. Right afterwards, Jessie, James, and Meowth show up once again! They'll swear that they're not through with you. Those who got special cutscenes against the mech's form Adam get special cutscenes again here. As Jessie, James, and Meowth debate on whether to activate form Maddie or not, knowing that activating form Maddie will cause the mech to be unable to go back to form Adam or form Addie, your character's wondering just how Team Rocket could have come back like this! Ultimately, the Team Rocket trio decides to activate form Maddie, which (unknown to anyone at the time) is the toughest form of this mech. Defeating the mech is the end of the "boss house" in normal gameplay; however, if you're playing the Jenny Mode or Expert Mode, once you've gotten the mech down to its final hit, Wendy shows up at the scene unannounced and wrecks the mech! After a brief quabble between Jessie and Wendy, a fog will cover the scene. Once the fog lifts, everyone else is gone and two gates have opened. These two gates, however, blocked entrance to two restroom doors! If you're playing as a male character, you'll have to enter the blue door, which leads into a men's restroom. Here, you'll find Mondo, someone deemed so low-risk that the squad didn't even think he'd be here, and you'll have to beat him. Those playing as female characters will instead have to enter the pink door, which leads into a women's restroom. It's here Wendy has taken refuge, and you'll have to beat her. Once you've beaten whomever's in the restroom, leave the restroom and you'll find the one who was in the other restroom waiting for you (Wendy if you fought Mondo before, Mondo if you fought Wendy before), and another fight will begin. This fight's tougher, and you're going to have to jump into a special vehicle called an Attack Vehicle for this fight. The Attack Vehicle, as was the case in the first game, is a helicopter, and as such, is considered aircraft-type when it comes to controls. Different designs of the Attack Vehicle have different stat setups and depict different Pokémon as follows: Steelix, Skarmory, Muk. All Attack Vehicles are one-seaters. There are four service stations available in the arena; the prices charged here are in Kanto Pokémon Dollars. DJ Mary will reveal that it's very easy to get the exchange rate here--the Johto Pokémon Dollar converts 1-to-1 with the Kanto Pokémon Dollar, hence it's listed price times ten for points per liter of gas. In the event you're playing as Darach & Caitlin, the restroom sequence is skipped over (as was the case with Tate & Liza in the first game, you can't separate paired characters), and as such, Wendy and Mondo are fought as a tag team, and combat takes place in an Attack Vehicle. Once you've gotten past both Wendy and Mondo (regardless of order and circumstances), you've finished the "boss house" in the Jenny Mode; however, if you're playing the Expert Mode, the last boss in this "boss house", Jagura, will arrive on the scene. As order in the Team Rocket timeline has been restored, Jagura appears alone (Storc appears later, Oca can finally rest in peace). Keep in your Attack Vehicle, you'll need it against Jagura. Once Jagura's defeated, you can finally leave this area and continue on with the stage.
Once the first "boss house" is cleared, you'll be able to continue on with the stage, which only gets harder from here on in. You'll encounter ice doors that form from cold mist right before your eyes and only open if you defeat all enemies or press a corresponding switch. Also, if you have red face paint on "accept", you'll need to switch to red face paint in order to blow up ice walls that block your progress. Some of this stage must be traversed by flying an Attack Vehicle over dangerous areas. You'll only really need a service station if you're using the Muk model, but there's two service stations along the path in case you need them. Two-thirds through the stage, you'll run into the second "boss house", which on Expert Mode doesn't begin easy: it's three foes at once to start out with! Yep, you're fighting the trio of Ken, Al, and Harry here! They'll recite their motto--an acronym of "Rocket" from the manga--but after they're done, they're wondering just who exactly wrote the nonsense they just recited; Al believes they're stuck with this nonsense because people such as Jessie and James as well as Butch and Cassidy took all the cool mottoes. Once Ken, Al, and Harry go down, Jessie and James show up one more time! Jessie and James are the first foes of the "boss house" in normal gameplay and in the Jenny Mode. This time, they've activated what they think is the mech's ultimate form, form Madeline. However, once you've inflicted just one hit, the mech's systems start to go haywire, then blows up on Jessie, James, and Meowth! Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again! Once Jessie, James, and Meowth have finally fled the area, you'll fight Tyson-TR next in normal gameplay; in Jenny Mode and Expert Mode, the Team Rocket scout with the Delibird appears instead, having witnessed form Madeline blow up on its creators. You'll have to fight the scout, and you'll need to jump into an Attack Vehicle to do so. Once you've taken down the scout, she'll press the "last resort" button and warns that, if you don't meet up with a certain adversary before the "last resort" arrives, you'll have to get past another fight! A timer counting down four minutes will begin as the Iron Masked Marauder, or I.M.M. for short, drops into the fray. You'll have to fight him aboard your Attack Vehicle as well; only after defeating I.M.M. can you disembark. After the I.M.M. in the Expert Mode is Storc (the timer factor is next up in Jenny Mode); once she's defeated, the timer that the Rocket scout started comes into factor. If the timer ran out (obviously only in the Jenny and Expert Modes; the timer never even started in normal gameplay), you'll have to fight and defeat two unfamiliar adversaries, a man named Carl and a woman named Sham. It's these two that were called in through the "last resort" button. Regardless of whether you had to fight Carl and Sham, the last foe of this "boss house" is Tyson (once again, the Team Rocket one, not the Hoenn one), who is onto what you're doing here. If the Rocket scout's timer did not run out, Prof. Sebastian will come in on Tyson's hand radio and reveal that he's cancelled the "last resort" alert. The fight against Tyson happens to be the toughest battle so far, even tougher than Eggman. If you have red face paint on "accept", you'll have to switch to her at certain points in order to reach a certain height and do damage with her bombs; having her on "decline" at any time during the fight means you'll have to grab bombs, jump onto higher ledges, and throw the bombs. To make things worse, Tyson fires surges of Red Ice, meaning you'll have to utilize a Blue Fire Station in the center of the room to thaw any frozen character out as well as any Red Ice created by the surge that blocks your progress (odds are you'll have red face paint on "accept" at some point during the fight). Once Tyson's out of the picture, he'll tell you that you're too late, and that Regicolossus will soon be unleashed. With that, the alarms will go off and the entire stage will be bathed in ruby-red light, which can make Red Ice difficult to see. Also, this greatly increases the enemy output from here on in, including enemies that fire Red Ice at you. Once you've downloaded information from the sixth and final terminal, you'll know all there is to know about Regicolossus. Eventually, you'll make it to the end of the stage, where you'll enter a massive chamber, where you'll see Regicolossus, encased within an enormous glacier, as well as Giovanni and Prof. Sebastian waiting for you. (You'll get special cutscenes if you're playing as Jimmy.) The entire room is filled with frozen water, which is so cold, falling in will freeze you instantly (unless you're packing Thick Fat) and thus fail the mission. Anyway, Regicolossus is by far the toughest foe you've faced so far. After you defeat it, however, you'll find out that this was only the beginning of your battles with the city-sized robot as Giovanni decides that maybe Regicolossus should use its advanced A.I. to seek out and the rest of the Pokémon Peace Squad. Prof. Sebastian gives the command for Regicolossus to prepare to launch out of its containment building and that the intense exhaust from the launch will vaporize you and red face paint. You have one minute to get the door leading back out to open up or the exhaust surge will fry both of you and failing the mission. Switch to red face paint and use her bombs to cause the door to open (you can also use Explosion or, if red face paint is on "decline", a bomb just lying around) and get back into the plant. Once the doors shut again, you'll watch a cutscene of the top of the containment building opening up and Regicolossus flying out of there, the exhaust from its back rocket causing an unusual reaction with the frozen water, turning it to solid ice. You'll watch as Regicolossus heads up towards the top of the dome encasing the city and shatters it, the outside blizzard entering the city. High above the city is a large Mantine-shaped airship belonging to Team Rocket, which locks Regicolossus in place underneath it and then flies off with the mammoth robot in tow. At this point, the stage is finally over.
Between Episodes 5 and 6:
Voice Notes for these cutscenes: red face paint and Knuckles uses their voices from Sonic-series games prior to and including Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. Prof. Oak, Giovanni, and DJ Mary use the voices they use in the anime. Meta Leader, Plasmae, Nancy, and Jack use original castings for their voices. The regular citizens of Stardust City and the Team Plasma Grunts use generic voices.
Cutscene: We go to high up in the blizzard, where the chosen character and red face paint are flying away in a Team Rocket helicopter. Now having found out just what Team Rocket has created and that it could mean the world is in danger, he or she decides to contact Prof. Oak to tell him about Regicolossus when he or she realizes that he or she forgot the teal Chaos Meteor. However, red face paint brings up that she broke into the base's central safe and grabbed the meteor, believing it to be a giant jewel, and shows it to the chosen character. The chosen character contacts Prof. Oak using the helicopter's video radio to tell him that he or she has the next meteor and decides to send it to him. At this point, Knuckles comes up and he and red face paint exchange a few harsh words. After red face paint sends the Chaos Meteor to Prof. Oak, the chosen character finally starts talking to him about Regicolossus. Oak is shocked to discover that Giovanni has turned on the Squad to lead Team Rocket once more, but it just as shocked to discover what he has created. Prof. Oak then tells the chosen character that the rest of the Squad will try to find where Regicolossus is and that the next Chaos Meteor, a yellow one, has crashed in Stardust City in Johto. red face paint brings up that she has business of her own to handle and that she'll drop the chosen character in Stardust City before heading on her way. After red face paint has left, a strange glow will appear on the videophone screen; once the glow's faded, Knuckles reveals that the Chaos Meteors had a strange reaction with a faded Intermediate Orb he brought back to the lab (Intermediate Orbs and Advanced Orbs fade and lose their power if they're taken out of the stage they're picked up in). The reaction involved first the orb starting to glow again, then suddenly transforming into a diamond-like composition! Prof. Oak believes that this diamond-like object might be an advanced form of the Intermediate Orb, and will send it to you to check it out. As it turns out, the diamond-like object is none other than the Intermediate Diamond! With this in your possession, you'll be able to use intermediate actions from the get-go of any stage you go to, even as far back as Angel Island.
Cutscene: Meanwhile, back in the Meta Alliance command center, Meta Leader brings up that the fourth Chaos Meteor has been taken by the chosen character. While he's angry about this, Giovanni's hologram reappears and tells him that not all is lost, as they have just released Regicolossus onto the world and in time, the Pokémon Peace Squad will fall. Meta Leader brings up the central hologram, which depicts all of Johto and points to a city somewhere in the country, Stardust City. The hologram zooms in on Stardust City while he explains that the next Chaos Meteor is located somewhere in the city. Plasmae of Team Plasma steps up and decides that she'll personally lead the search for the meteor. After this has been said, Meta Leader suggests persuading the people of Stardust City to help look for it and adds on "if you know what I mean" to the end of that statement. Plasmae's hologram disappears and Meta Leader brings up that perhaps they can find the location of all the retrieved Chaos Meteors as well as the rest of the ones they need to find, finishing off that their master plan will soon come to fruition. He ends that by breaking out in an evil laugh.
Cutscene: We go to Stardust City, a city famous for its nighttime activity, wealthy people district, and expansive park. It's already night, so the city is pretty active. We go to an area close to a well-populated commercial zone filled with restaurants, arcades, shops, and any type of stores, where the chosen character drops down from above, waving bye to red face paint back in the helicopter as she flies off. From the hand radio, Prof. Oak tells the chosen character that the Chaos Meteor is located several dozen blocks from where he or she landed and that no casualties or major property damage was the result of the crash. With the knowledge of such a long trek being brought up, the chosen character shows a little disgust but knows that he or she needs to go retrieve it as soon as possible. We then see the chosen character head off through the district.
Cutscene: Meanwhile, from a large, high-tech tower somewhere in the city. We see Plasmae looking out into the city from the large dome on top of the tower. She then gives the command to activate the electric wall. At this point, a large cylindrical object rises from the center of the dome, the fires a large, wide blue energy beam out towards the city. The beam goes through the dome and shoots through the night-lit skyline, catching the attention of many of the city residents as the beam sends a bluish glow as it travels. One such person is a nicely dressed girl, about nineteen, with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, holding a Vulpix in her arms, more on her later. The energy beam goes to the very edge of the city and upon reaching there, starts to turn in a clockwise fashion, creating a colossal electric wall behind it. We see more Stardust City residents watch as the electric wall starts to surround Stardust City. Eventually, we see the electric wall reach where it started, and as it completely closes the city off from the rest of the world, we then zoom out to see all of Stardust City, now encased within the electric wall.
Stardust City, the location of Episode 6, as well as the character Nancy is from a fanfic created by an author called McWizardX. All credits for these properties belong to McWizardX. Note that the city, the character, and one certain weapon are the only McWizardX creations used; no events in that fanfic are referenced in the game.
Cutscene: Back in Stardust City, the entire city is shocked to see a giant electric wall, taller than the city's tallest buildings, completely surround the city. Cars just about to exit the city are repelled by the wall, which is composed of solid electricity, meaning they can't get out. At this point, anything electronic goes on the fritz and suddenly, on every TV, phone, radio, computer, Pokétch, any anything electronic in the city, we see Plasmae, shrouded by glowing electric shadows, address everyone in Stardust City. Many people have their eyes fixed on the large TV in Tribune Square and Plasmae brings up that Team Plasma now has control of Stardust City and that their electric wall prevents anyone from getting in, and anyone from getting out, that nothing can penetrate it. She also tells everyone that the wall gives Team Plasma "electrical control" over the city, meaning that anything and everything electronic in the city is now under her control, and that the wall jams all forms of communication, meaning they can't call for help, not that anyone can do anything about the electric wall. Anyway, Plasmae gets down to business, telling everyone to seek out a yellow crystal meteor in the city and bring it to Team Plasma agents. If the city fails to comply with Plasmae's demands, she'll then have the wall close in on Stardust City, crushing everything in the process. Everyone starts to panic upon hearing this.
Cutscene: Meanwhile, in the Johto Radio Tower, DJ Mary is trying to contact your character, but nothing but static is being returned. Picking up a phone and getting Prof. Oak on the line, DJ Mary tells Prof. Oak this: "I've lost the squad." Prof. Oak replies, "So have I, Mary. So have I."
Cutscene: We finally go back to the chosen character, who immediately discovers that Team Plasma's electric wall has disabled any outside contact from the hand radio, meaning he or she is in on their own. The chosen character makes his or her way to the park, where we see the blonde girl from earlier, whose name is revealed to be Nancy, having found the meteor. While both her and her Vulpix are amazed by the crystal meteor, they are met by Jack, an admin of Team Plasma, along with his Luxray and two Grunts, one male, the other female. After a bit of a scene involving the chosen character arriving to try and stop Team Plasma, Jack declares enough nonsense and grabs Nancy along with her Vulpix. Jack now decides that maybe the chosen character will be a little more cooperative if they take a hostage. At this point, a Team Plasma helicopter comes down and grabs the meteor using a crane, and Jack and the Grunts, hostages with them, go towards the helicopter. Just before the helicopter takes off, Jack fires a laser shot at the chosen character, who dodges it, but the helicopter leaves for Team Plasma's base. The chosen character decides to pursue the helicopter, hoping that it'll lead him or her to Team Plasma's hideout.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 6:
*By normal means: Bugsy, Misty, Morty, Jasmine, Marina, and both Lizas use the voices they used in the anime. Tate uses the same voice her sister does.
*By special means: Neesha uses the voice she uses in the anime. Kellyn uses an original casting for his voice.
Night Siege
Description: "A path leading through Stardust City. With Team Plasma's forces stationed throughout the area, watch your step."
Objectives:
-Survive the streets of Stardust City
-Defeat the Team Plasma guards
-Destroy all of the golden yellow robots
-Chase Team Plasma's helicopter
-Handle Team Plasma's defense checkpoints
-Find way into Electric Park (not if you're playing as Bugsy)
-Rendezvous with Misty at the last defense checkpoint (only if you're playing as Bugsy)
-Duel Misty (only if you're playing as Bugsy)
-Escort Misty to Electric Park (only if you're playing as Bugsy)
Voice Notes: The mysterious voice was used in Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. The Team Plasma guards use generic voices.
Background Music: The theme for Mission Street plays throughout the first part of the stage. The theme for Radical Highway plays throughout the second part of the stage. Both themes are from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. When fighting Misty, Fight for My Own Way, the theme for event battles in Sonic Adventure DX plays.
#2 alternate track: The Grand Metropolis theme from Sonic Heroes plays throughout the first part of the stage. The Power Plant theme from Sonic Heroes plays throughout the second part of the stage.
#3 alternate track: A Sonic Unleashed "night" remix of the Celadon City theme from FireRed/LeafGreen plays throughout the first half of the stage. A Sonic Unleashed "night" remix of the Goldenrod City theme from Gold/Silver/Crystal plays throughout the second half of the stage.
#4 alternate track: A "Stardust City" remix of the Gigapolis Zone theme from Sonic Chaos plays throughout the first part of the stage. A "Stardust City" remix of the Sunset Park theme from Sonic Triple Trouble plays throughout the second part of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 8:00 (9:00 if you're playing as Bugsy)
Jenny Mode Offense: Vandalizing the highway (Mission Street half), Grinding in unauthorized areas (Radical Highway half)
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Electra/Volkner.
After a long ordeal of cutscenes, you'll begin this stage from the get-go. This stage is taken from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, but to indicate that it's a different city you're in, the stage has been given a "cosmetic change", in which some of the colors in the stage and scenery may be changed and any stores are labeled differently and display different things. Also, the posters are different, advertising such things as "Type: Wild" shoes, "Stardust Contest: Be There", "Pika Pizza", and also "Battle Frontier: Now Open In Sinooh". One giant billboard also advertises the Sonic X anime series, listing an airtime of 7:00 PM each Friday on the TV Johto network; this billboard is the only reference to the Sonic X anime in the entire Story Mode (Sonic X is not one of the 128 anime/manga franchises that contribute #4 outfits in Wardrobe Cases). You'll also pass through Tribune Square (a parody of Times Square) as you make your way through the stage, and a far-out backdrop displays a large statue in the likeness of a Gallade holding a torch known as the Statue of Gallade (an obvious parody of the Statue of Liberty). The city also packs a few other parodies of elements found in New York City. Anyway, the city is under siege by Team Plasma's forces, and they happen to be the foes you're up against. The stage has been retooled slightly due to the lack of a Cyclone mech, much less hovering; some of the farther leaps will require the activation of an Enhancement Chip power called Long Jump Mode, while other areas will have added grinding rails. Shortly after you begin the stage, you'll get a voice from the hand radio, someone that sounds like a female, who'll tell you that she'll help you through this stage.
As you may expect, you'll have to dispatch any Team Plasma guards you come across. In addition to that, the voice will also tell you that you need to destroy specific Team Plasma robots along the way. These robots are indicated by their golden yellow colors, which are different from any of those of normal ones, plus the fact that their bodies give off a shining glow at regular intervals. There are three of these of each kind of robot found in this stage, which comes to a total of eighteen special robots to destroy. Fortunately, none of them are off the path or in hard to reach places. In one area of the stage, you'll be able to make use of a special Enhancement Chip power available to only those who have access to advanced actions; this power is called the Chip Warp Mode, and is only triggered in certain areas by pressing the action button (in this case, Chip Warp Mode can be activated where the Mystic Melody shrine was in the original). You'll need this Enhancement Chip power (as well as the Advanced Pearl; Advanced Orbs don't appear early enough to allow access without the Advanced Pearl) to reach this episode's Wardrobe Case. There are also some places where you'll find a familiar wheel-class vehicle from the first game, the Hover Cart. Like it was in the first game, the Hover Cart is the first wheel-class hover vehicle you can take control over, and it still controls as clunky as ever; thankfully, this stage has wide driving area and actual turns (quite unlike Mad Train in the first game, where the corridors were only centimeters wider than the Hover Cart itself and not a turn to be found). There are also a few service stations in this stage; since you're in Johto, obviously this service station's prices are in the squad's currency standard (Johto Pokémon Dollars), so simply multiply by 10 for points-per-liter price. When you reach where the Goal Ring was, you'll find an unusual-yellow colored road with light surging along lines of it going upward. Head up this road to clear this part of the stage.
You'll come to the end of the road as it leads you to the top of a bridge higher up in the city. You'll notice the helicopter that Nancy was taken in heading off before grinding down one of the bridge's cables. You're now in the Radical Highway section of the stage, but the same rules involving colors and advertisements from the Mission Street part of the stage still apply. Your next mission is to follow the helicopter, but it's actually impossible to fail since there's no time limit or anything and you just have to reach the end of the stage to clear the objective. There are more Team Plasma guards to defeat, but they're few and far between here. There's also some more places where you can use vehicles, and this time there are also some Hovercars, another familiar wheel-class hover vehicle, in addition to Hover Carts. However, Team Plasma has set up small checkpoints to block you. You also have to destroy six more golden yellow robots along the way, one of each kind of robot seen in the stage. Once you reach where the Goal Ring was (a location marked by a Goal Gate), the mission is cleared.
However, if you're playing as Bugsy, you'll get a rude surprise once you reach the last defense checkpoint. To Bugsy's surprise, nobody seems to be manning it. "Easiest defense checkpoint I ever cross--", says Bugsy. However, he doesn't get to finish (for the record, only the "-ed" suffix was left before Bugsy would have finished), since Misty will emerge from behind the barrier! A harsh scene follows, and a duel begins where it appears that Bugsy has to defeat Misty. After a minute, however, the mysterious voice will report that there's a bomb at the entrance to Electric Park that'll render access in or out impossible, and you both need to be inside the park before the bomb goes off! The bomb goes off in just one minute! The mysterious voice will request that "both of you, get into the park now!" At this point, you have one minute to escort Misty into Electric Park and clear the stage or else the explosion will seal you both outside the park, failing the mission.
Electric Park
Description: "An amusement park built by Team Plasma. Admission is free…you just have to survive the park's attractions."
Objectives:
-Survive the fun and games
-Defeat the Team Plasma guards
-Rescue Marina (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
-Board the monorail train
-Defeat Fargus (if he appears)
-Stop the monorail train at the entrance of a tower
Voice Notes: Blaze uses her voice from Sonic-series games. The Team Plasma guards use generic voices. Marina uses her voice from the anime. Fargus uses an original casting for his voice.
Background Music: The theme for Bingo Highway from Sonic Heroes plays throughout the first part of the stage. The Sky Park Zone – Vs. Metal theme from Sonic Rivals plays throughout the second part of the stage. When fighting Fargus, boss music from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia plays.
#2 alternate track: The theme for Casino Park from Sonic Heroes plays throughout the first part of the stage. The Sky Chase minigame theme from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut plays throughout the second part of the stage.
#3 alternate track: A Sonic Unleashed "night" remix of the Veilstone Game Corner theme from Diamond/Pearl plays throughout the first part of the stage. A Sonic Unleashed "night" remix of the S.S. Aqua's theme from Gold/Silver/Crystal plays throughout the second part of the stage.
#4 alternate track: A "Stardust City" remix of the Casino Night Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) plays throughout the first part of the stage. A "Stardust City" remix of the Sky High Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear) plays throughout the second part of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 7:15
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to rig gambling mechanisms (within the park), Attempting to hijack the train (aboard the train)
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Electra/Volkner.
Cutscene: The chosen character has followed the helicopter carrying Nancy to a large, magnificent, high-tech casino-themed amusement park built and run by Team Plasma. As far as the eye can see in all directions are towering casino buildings, some of which resemble and act like giant slot machines, rides resembling various casino games, gigantic pinball tables, a giant roulette-like ferris wheel in the center of the city, and out in the distance, the same tower from which the electric wall-creating beam was fired from. Seeing the helicopter heading out towards the tower, the chosen character decides to follow it, but it stopped by a burst of flame. The source of the flame is Blaze the Cat, who approaches the chosen character. As it turns out, Blaze was the voice on the radio in the previous stage (and will take that role once again if you ever set her to "decline" during this stage). If the chosen character was playable in the first Pokémon Peace Squad installments, he or she will ask just what Blaze is doing outside of her home dimension once again. Blaze responds that's not important right now, but what is important is getting into the tower, which Blaze has already tried to do, but a force field covers the entire tower, preventing her from getting in. She brings up the flashing robots that the chosen character destroyed in the previous stage and that those are the energy sources to the barrier. As it turns out, the rest of those robots need to be destroyed in order to get into the tower. With that in mind, Blaze will help you personally here, and if you choose to accept her help, the need for the hand radio right now is eliminated. (Even here, you can not only decline Blaze's help, but also change your mind about Blaze's status at anytime.) Here is how Blaze's controls stack up:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Blaze forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Blaze, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Blaze. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-While in midair: Midair Spin
B: Fire Claw
Y: Spinning Claw
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Blaze forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Midair Spin
B: Fire Claw
Y: Spinning Claw
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Blaze forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Midair Spin
B: Fire Claw
Y: Spinning Claw
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Blaze forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-While in midair: Midair Spin
B: Fire Claw
C: Spinning Claw
Get ready for quite a stage, as Electric Park has tons of rides and attractions for you to experience! This stage has similarities to Casino Park from Sonic Heroes and Circus Park from Shadow the Hedgehog, but has a large share of original sights and looks to be a bit like Las Vegas, albeit with everything bearing things like the Team Plasma mark and the name "TEAM PLASMA" flashing on some of the buildings. You'll begin the stage grinding down a trio of monorail rails down to a flashy wide path high above the ground. One of the major gimmicks in this stage are tubes that put you into large transparent yellow Poké Ball-like pinballs (the view is switched to third-person in these sequences; view returns to first-person once you're back on foot) and shoot you into the stage's pinball tables, bingo chutes, as well as chutes lined with flippers and bumpers (L (C on Wii-mote/Nunchuck) flips left flippers, R (Z on Wii-mote/Nunchuck) flips right flippers, and A flips both flippers). It's much harder to move on your own when in a pinball due to its inertia, so be careful not to fall to your death. In the pinball tables, you can use slot machines near the top to gain such things as points and powerups, but be careful as you can also get results that cause damage, reduce your stats, or even cut away at your score (this is one of only two stages in which you can not only drop down into negative scoring (zero points is the minimum on all other stages), but even finish with a score under zero if you're unlucky enough; banking a negative score at the end of the stage will take points away from your banked points). When on foot, you'll at some points have to grind along monorail rails, but be careful of monorail trains that travel along the rails that can ram you into oblivion.
Once again, get ready to defeat any Team Plasma guard that comes your way. Don't worry about any in the pinball courses or along the rails, though. You'll also have to destroy more of those special robots in this stage. While there's only two of each type of robot found in this stage, the total still adds up to eighteen. If you've set Blaze to "accept", you also have to make sure Blaze doesn't get defeated, even though she's good at defending herself as well. Once again, you can use a second controller and use her to find hidden items and passages. In fact, you'll need to switch Blaze to "accept" and use the select button at times to switch to her and use her to break through some obstacles you won't be able to get through yourself unless you bring an Advanced Pearl with you into the stage. Other such obstacles and stage environment here include tubes like those from Carnival Night Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, large dice blocks that serve as floating platforms, and pods similar to those back in Ice Metropolis, but fire lasers in all directions. When it comes to Bingo, it works like it did back in Sonic Heroes, with you matching up numbers in order to gain points and powerups. Some pinball chutes set you onto large roulette wheels that can send you down any other chute. Also, you'll reach what look like giant craps tables and large dice with clear digital windows with numbers in them will drop onto them. You'll have to roll them onto square-shaped switches, but you can only roll them a certain number of times, which is indicated on the windows. All dice on the table share the same number, so rolling one die reduces the number on all of them. If the number reaches zero, all dice explode and new ones will fall onto the field, restarting the puzzle. There is also something a bit unique later on, doors that require fraction amounts to be added in to open them. There are eight fraction bar panels in front of each door, and consist of halves, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, eights, and ninths. There is a fraction amount displayed above each door, and you must step on three panels to match up to the total and open the door.
The first time you're playing this stage, as long as you haven't completed the mission for the first time, you'll find a load of Team Plasma foes surrounding a cage near the final exploding dice puzzle. Defeating all of these foes and clearing the dice puzzle will open the cage, but the contents of this cage are quite a bit unorthodox: a girl named Marina is inside! As it turned out, Marina had recently arrived in Sinooh in hopes of meeting the Wallace Cup's most recent winner in person; she'd heard that the winner was on a long foot trek between Hearthome and Canalave, which began after a companion had won Fantina's badge. Marina had set up in Oreburgh City, even acquiring a new outfit in the process (the HeartGold/SoulSilver getup), hoping the Wallace Cup winner would go through Oreburgh City en route to Jubilife City and not Eterna City. One day, while Marina was taking a tourist trek through Oreburgh City, Team Plasma forces appeared! Marina tried to fight back, but Team Plasma subdued her and captured her. After a few weeks, Marina managed to escape; however, some time after the Johto Festival where she actually met Dawn, and after some travelling with their group, a little bit after Marina and her at-the-time companion Khoury separated from the group, Team Plasma attacked again! Again, Marina tried to fight back, but Team Plasma again subdued her and next thing she knew, she was here. Playing as the G/S/C Rival or Jimmy upon this rescue will give a character-specific cutscene instead of the standard scene; both scenes involve comparisons of their new outfits, and Jimmy's scene throws around Khoury's name more than the others. Once the cutscene ends, you'll have to escort Marina through the rest of the stage; if her HP drops to 0, you fail the mission and have to play through it again for another rescue opportunity.
You'll eventually reach a docked monorail train, which you must board. Once you do so, it'll start up, and you'll head out onto the park's roller coaster monorail lines going to the main tower. Here, you'll need to make your way across the monorail trains as they go up and down the tracks as you defeat a few more Team Plasma guards and six more of those special robots. Once you reach the front of the last train, you'll have to press the switch and stop the train. Once you do, the mission is clear.
However, if you hear the words "They stopped a train once, I won't let that happen again!" shouted in an unfamiliar voice upon reaching the head car of the monorail train, that means you've triggered the small chance that the front car may be guarded by Team Plasma Admin Fargus! If this admin who somewhat resembles Ron from the later Harry Potter books appears (he doesn't always appear), you're going to have to fight and defeat him in order to stop the monorail train. Fargus is tougher than the guards, but one who knows what they're doing can get past him easily.
Once you've successfully completed this mission for the first time, starting the next stage will play a special one-time-only cutscene, before even the character selection, where Marina basically talks to a camera. She remarks that Team Plasma plays dirty when it comes to tourism, and that she vows that her moves will be the moves that ends them. Even if she has to go with the squad to show them. The concluding line is, "Now appearing on stage, the one, the only, Marina! The bane of Team Plasma!"
Plasma Tower
Description: "Team Plasma's electrical tower. This fortress doesn't just hold Team Plasma Grunts and energy gimmicks, but also a pretty girl to rescue."
Objectives:
-Navigate through tricky tower
-Defeat the Team Plasma Grunts
-Defeat David (optional)
-Defeat Rhonda (optional)
-Navigate tricky upsidaisium maze
-Meet "Mr. Big"
-Defeat Jack
-Defeat Plasmae
-Recover the yellow Chaos Meteor
-Rescue and protect Nancy
-Destroy the mechanism controlling the laser wall
-Beam yourself into cyberspace before tower self-destructs
Voice Notes: Blaze uses her voice from Sonic-series games. The Sinooh Now crew use their voices from the anime. The Team Plasma guards use generic voices. David, the Team Plasma Rhonda, "Mr. Big", the Team Plasma Jack, Plasmae, and Nancy use original castings for their voices.
Background Music: The Physis soundtrack version of the Living City stage from Mega Man Zero 4 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Jack, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Plasmae, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle.
#2 alternate track: Back-to-back "Stardust City" remixes of the Flying Battery Zone themes from Sonic & Knuckles.
#3 alternate track: A Sonic Unleashed "day" remix of the New Mauville theme from Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
#4 alternate track: Various themes played in Joyous Tower from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 35:45
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to disable the energy wall surrounding Stardust
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a yellow uniform with a Team Plasma mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, Ritchie/Casey, or Electra/Volkner.
Now that the barrier protecting the tower has dissipated, we can finally enter it. As it turns out, Team Plasma's tower is nothing short of hard, utilizing energy applications like those in the Power Plant stage in Sonic Heroes, meaning you'll have to cross energy pathways, make raised platforms rise up, and also something more unique, you'll find inactive platforms on the ground over energy links, but once they're filled with energy, they'll float up and start moving, some of which start moving when you jump onto them. There are pools of concentrated energy to watch out for as you make your ascent up the tower. You'll also find Countdown Bombs in this stage, but they're yellow-colored and discharge a huge array of lasers upon detonating, so find shelter quick after setting one off. Finally, some of the floor tiles and detachable platforms are made of upsidaisium, the wondrous anti-gravity metal whose properties allow it to literally fall up (this is one of many references to Rocky and Bullwinkle that can be found in this stage; while all third-of-an-episode stages have some pop-culture references, Plasma Tower is where those references are most prevalent). There are some places where you'll have to take advantage of this property. Blaze is still available for usage as an assist character; setting her to "decline", which is recommended for most of the stage, allows her to come in on your hand radio. Also, a note on how maps work in this stage: There are no scrolling maps. Instead, Up and Down trigger the ability to change the floor viewed in the map. Up increments floors, Down decrements them. When viewing the map, the first map viewed is that of the current floor. You begin on 1F; the highest point of the stage is on 119F.
First and foremost, however, you'll need to defeat all Team Plasma Grunts in this stage. Some floors of the tower, 3F being the first, will allow you to ride Hover Carts through the area; some of these floors, but not all of them, have service stations you can use. Hover Carts are two-seaters. Due to this being Team Plasma's base, Team Plasma has set the gas prices in Hoenn Pokémon Dollars, so you'll have to contact Blaze to get the exchange rate to find out just how much you'll be out for each liter of gas. Once you reach a certain room on 8F, you're going to have to play a little game wagering just which way a tile will fall once it's let loose. You can choose between up or down; remember, tiles that fall up are made of upsidaisium, while ones that fall down are made of normal materials. Regardless of the result of your choice, you'll have to fight a Team Plasma Admin once the tile's fallen. Choose right and you'll be facing David. Choose wrong and you'll be facing Rhonda (that is, the Team Plasma one, not the Sinooh Now one). Once you've defeated the admin, a door will open allowing access to the staircase leading to 9F.
Somewhere on 15F puts you into a room where you have to defeat all enemies to open the door. Once the door opens, you'll get jumped by the Sinooh Now crew before you can go through! Those familiar with the first game may breathe a sigh of relief knowing they're actually in the known Pokémon world this time, but those who have no experience with the first game might just wonder why they're in Johto. Anyway, an interview will be held--and yes, there's the obligatory boom mic-on-Rhonda (that is, the Sinooh Now one, not the Team Plasma one) action present as well. Those who got special cutscenes in the first game get special cutscenes here as well; in addition, you'll get a special cutscene instead of the normal one if you play as Nando, "Dust", Lucas, Pearl, Dawn, Rebecca, Ash, Reggie, Conway, Jessie & James, Holly, Kellyn, or Kate. As was the case in the first game, each character's special cutscene is different from even someone else's special cutscene, let alone the normal cutscene. The next floor, 16F, begins a very tricky nine-floor maze where you'll have to dodge falling tiles (regardless of whether they fall up or down) and take advantage of some collapsing platforms made of upsidaisium; remember, these platforms will collapse upward.
For the record, the list of special Sinooh Now cutscenes from the first game is as follows: Brock, Roark, Maylene, Gardenia, Crasher Wake, Paul, Volkner, Fantina, Byron, Candice, Palmer, Aaron, Flint, Bertha, Lucian, Cynthia, Zoey, Kenny, Cheryl, Mira, Riley, Marley, Buck.
There's an area somewhere on 26F that appears to be a dead-end with the first of this stage's two gray Sneaker Powers (the one that activates Upsidaisium Mode, the only Enhancement Chip power that requires a powerup to activate). (This is the only stage in the game with more than one gray Sneaker Power available.) This is the only place in the game where use of a Sneaker Power powerup is mandatory to clear the stage; you'll need to grab it to fall up through a chute to reach 50F (yes, you can fall up fast enough to reach 50F during the length of the powerup provided you do not jump). Once you're on solid footing on 50F, a cutscene will trigger.
Cutscene: As your character looks around the area, a imposing figure will appear as a shadow on the wall. After you ask just who the person is, the figure will reply, "Just call me Mr. Big" (this is another reference to Rocky and Bullwinkle lore). "Mr. Big" is actually Meta Leader himself, but most characters haven't even heard of him at this point in the game. (In an attempt to keep some mystery shrouded, Meta Leader and "Mr. Big" have different entries in the in-game database, as well as their own cards in the card system.) Most characters will reply to "Mr. Big"'s initial remark with some sort of Sex and the City reference (referencing a Mr. Big in that show). If you're playing as Jimmy, his response is "I'm sorry, but the Carrie I know isn't the Carrie you know. For starters, the Carrie I know is a guy." If you're playing as Samantha, her response is "I'm sorry, but your interest isn't anywhere near here. I don't know where Charlotte and Miranda are, either.". Ironically, these quotes also references a Carrie and a Samantha on Sex and the City. When "Mr. Big" starts to talk again, he'll say that you probably wouldn't survive a very huge onslaught of enemies, but dares you to try. As "Mr. Big"'s shadow leaves the scene, complete with evil laugh, an Arena Pass drops into the area right in front of you.
Of course, you don't have to grab the Arena Pass; grab it if you think you can prove "Mr. Big" wrong. As you continue to make your way through the stage, there happen to be different-looking doors that lead into insulated mazes. The first of these appear around 64F. As it turns out, Team Plasma has managed to create localized sunspot activity in these mazes, and every ten seconds, a sunspot will flare up and surge throughout the maze. If you're caught in it, you'll lose MAJOR health during the five seconds the sunspot surge occurs (as will Blaze if she's on "accept" and in the area, albeit to a lesser degree due to her fire abilities). You'll notice half-melted steel boxes in these mazes as well, and only Explosion can normally destroy them, but after a sunspot surge occurs, these boxes will have melted completely, sometimes revealing powerups. However, while the intense heat and energy of these surges instantly vaporizes any other robots, Team Plasma's robots are completely immune to these surges and will continue to function during them. In fact, a few kinds of them will actually regain health and if destroyed, will be revived by the sunspot surges (these start to appear around 72F). In order to survive these surges yourself, you'll need to find box-like safe spots, which are open when it's all clear, but close when a sunspot surge occurs. You can pick these safe spots up and carry them throughout the mazes, but you can't take them out of the mazes.
When you reach 90F, you'll run into Jack (that is, the Team Plasma one, not the stubborn boom-mic operator for Sinooh Now), who you'll ask about where Nancy is being kept. If you're playing a two-player co-op game, he'll work "stupid moose and squirrel" (yet another Rocky and Bullwinkle reference) into his dialogue, pointing to 1P as he says moose and 2P as he says squirrel (even if a character would fit better as the other animal). Anyway, Jack is as tough as Nanba was back in Episode 5. Once he's been defeated, he'll tell you that Plasmae herself has Nancy and if you don't get to the top of the tower in time, Nancy will die. Anyway, once you reach the top floor of the tower, 119F, you'll enter the dome from which the energy beam that created the electric wall surrounding Stardust City was fired. This can be done quickly with the second of the stage's two gray Sneaker Powers, found upon reaching 106F, but this is trickier since ceiling-walking is required and there's no guarantee you'll get up 13 floors after crossing the room; this method is optional anyway since you're able to traverse the staircases between the two floors, unlike the ones between floors 26F and 50F. Anyway, once you're on 119F, you'll find Nancy and her Vulpix in the center of the room tied to a post by electric wires. Plasmae will appear and tell you that if you value Nancy's life, you'll surrender. (You'll get special cutscenes if you're playing as Marina.) However, you'll respond that you won't do so. Regardless, Plasmae will say that the electric wall is still up and that she can have it destroy the city at any time. With all that done, it's time to fight Plasmae, who just so happens to be the toughest for you've faced so far, and you need to protect Nancy as well or else you'll fail the mission. Once Plasmae's been defeated, she'll curse you out (during which time Blaze flees the scene; you can't use her as an assist character for the rest of the stage) before dropping the yellow Chaos Meteor. Next up, go to Nancy and use an attack to free her. Plasmae will bring up that she's not finished yet and then presses a remote control switch. A computerized voice will come on saying the electric wall contraction has begun and all of Stardust City will be crushed by the wall. Plasmae will then leave, leaving you and Nancy to figure out how to stop the electric wall. Four switches will rise up in the corners of the dome and all must be stepped on at the same time. Go to one of the switches and Nancy will go to the other, having her Vulpix go to another one of the switches. Use your L or R button action to let out one of your Pokémon and it'll go to the last switch. Once all four are pressed, the device that fired the electric wall beam will rise out of the center of the floor. Once that's done, you and Nancy must use your Pokémon to destroy it. It takes several blows, but once it's destroyed, you'll get a short cutscene of Stardust City that shows the electric wall dissipating and a split-second blackout indicating that the Team Plasma's "electrical control" over the city is gone. However, the computerized voice tells that the tower's self-destruct sequence has been activated and that you only have one minute to evacuate. However, since you're so high up, there's no way for you and Nancy to escape in time even if you were to jump off the tower. A hidden elevator will appear that will take you down to a hidden corridor (located on floor 112F, according to the map) that leads to a room housing to a device referred to as a cyber transporter, which can bring computer programs into the real world as well as send anyone into cyberspace. (It looks like the device Shadow used to enter cyberspace in Shadow the Hedgehog.) You and Nancy need to enter the transporter and go into cyberspace before the tower explodes, resulting in a mission failure. During the time of the countdown, Blaze comes in on the hand radio and explains that she fled the scene because the Chaos Meteor might have had a negative reaction with her Sol Emeralds and didn't want to find out if it did. She also explains that, once she gets back to her own dimension, she should get to looking to see if Sol Meteors have impacted her homeworld and, if so, just how many Eggman-Nega (at least the one in Blaze's dimension) has gotten his hands on. Anyway, once you and Nancy have been transported, the stage is finally clear.
If you chose to refuse "Mr. Big"'s dare (that is, if you didn't bring an Arena Pass with you), the next storyline cutscenes will begin right away. Otherwise, it's time to take on "Mr. Big"'s dare, hence it's time to take on...
Plasma Arena:
Setting: High atop Plasma Tower, overlooking Stardust City
Access with the Arena Pass from Plasma Tower
Boss: Plasma Carnival
Music: The Robot Carnival/Robot Storm theme from Sonic Heroes
#2 alternate track: The monster house music from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
#3 alternate track: The standard night battle music from Sonic Unleashed
#4 alternate track: An instrumental of "Stand Up!", the 12th English opening theme of the Pokémon anime
Cutscene: As the self-destruct sequence pauses, a cyber transporter deposits you onto an open-air arena at the top of the dome of Plasma Tower (this transporter'll be used again to resume the main story once the arena challenge is over); this is depicted as floor 120F. A large screen will rise, and "Mr. Big"'s shadow will fall onto it. "So, you decided to show up after all, did you?" Your character says their line as "Mr. Big"'s shadow falls away and the screen lowers. The action will resume when "Mr. Big" says, "Get <him/her/them>!", where <him/her/them> depends on character and circumstances; the circumstances are triggered with solo males, solo females, and paired characters if you're playing with one player; the "them" circumstance is the only one that triggers in a co-op game.
The Plasma Arena battle pits players against 12 waves of standard enemies found throughout the game up to that point. Human and robotic foes alike from the stages of the first six episodes can appear, and multiple organizations can appear together. Waves increase in size as the battle goes on, and tougher enemies tend to appear in later waves. If players can beat back every single enemy thrown at them, you win.
Between Episodes 6 and 7:
Voice Notes for this cutscene: Meta Leader, Plasmae, and Greevil use original castings for their voices.
Cutscene: We go back to the Meta Alliance command center once again, where Meta Leader is watching the explosion of the Plasma Tower from the central hologram. The hologram changes to Plasmae, who brings up the bad news about what has just happened and that she lost the yellow Chaos Meteor. Meta Leader once more brings up his disgust in what's been happening so far. Plasmae, however, brings up that the chosen character went down with the tower and that at least it's a start. However, Meta Leader says that there's no reading on the chosen character or the Chaos Meteor he or she had. Greevil speaks up with the news that the violet Chaos Meteor has been acquired by Team Cipher and that they're transporting it to their base as they speak. With that in mind, Meta Leader tells Greevil to head to his base to make sure no one else tries to get the violet Chaos Meteor. With that said, Meta Leader orders a full search for the chosen character, explaining that perhaps he or she had made a miraculous escape through some means and that he or she won't escape him before breaking out in an evil laugh once more.
General Voice Notes for Characters Debuting in Episode 7:
*By normal means: Falkner, Roxanne, Whitney, Wattson, Jackson, and Pryce use the voices they used in the anime. Milane uses an original casting for her voice.
*By special means: Kate uses an original casting for her voice.
Digital Matrix
Description: "Team Plasma's cyber database. An intricate network of digital paths leading into a major computer hub that not only holds dangerous defense programs, but also a cyber criminal."
Objectives:
-Traverse the digital paths
-Protect Nancy
-Destroy the datacore (optional, available only if "Recover the data discs" hasn't already been completed at least once)
-Teleport further into the network
-Traverse the fragmented network
-Recover the data discs (optional, available only if objective hasn't already been completed at least once)
-Find a transporter in the red terminal tower
-Defeat Enrizo Thievarius
-Take Pulseman's way out of the network
Voice Notes: Nancy, Pulseman, and Enrizo Thievarius use original castings for their voices. DJ Mary uses her voice from the anime.
Background Music: The remix version of Digital Circuit from Shadow the Hedgehog plays throughout the first half of the stage. The Mad Matrix theme from Shadow the Hedgehog plays throughout the second half of the stage. When fighting Enrizo Thevarius, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays.
#2 alternate track: The Cyber Track Act 1 theme from Sonic Advance 3 plays throughout the first half of the stage. The Cyber Track Act 2 theme from the same game plays throughout the second half of the stage.
#3 alternate track: A ".hack" remix of the G/S/C Rival's overworld theme from Gold/Silver/Crystal plays throughout the first half of the stage. A "Matrix" remix of the same song plays throughout the second half of the stage.
#4 alternate track: The standard battle music from Mega Man Battle Network 6 plays throughout the first half of the stage. The standard battle music from Mega Man Star Force 2 plays throughout the second half of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 12:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Attempting to hack into United Federation networks (Digital Circuit half), Attempting to destroy United Federation networks (Mad Matrix half/Enrizo boss arena)
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, or Electra/Volkner.
Cutscene: We go into cyberspace as the chosen character and Nancy in "ball form" are cruising along a "data line". Once the ride is over, we get a short cutscene of the chosen character and Nancy looking at the area they're in, Nancy saying that she's never been inside a computer before. Anyway, as it turns out, the hand radio filters out any information coming from cyberspace and establishes communication from DJ Mary (who's on the hand radio for this stage), who immediately brings up that the chosen character and Nancy are within Team Plasma's computer mainframe network, which happens to be intact after Plasma Tower's destruction. She plans on trying to find a way out of the digital space for the two to take. With that in mind, the chosen character then tells Nancy to stay around him or her at all times.
This stage is taken from Shadow the Hedgehog and involves you making your way through cyberspace. While there are no human enemies to be found here, you'll quickly find out that the network's defenses are still active, which consist of Team Plasma's usual robots. In addition to them, hazards such as lasers, digital tiles, moving blocks, and defense programs that split into multiple copies don't make this stage any easier. You'll also have to travel along more data lines, but this time, watch out for firewalls that spring up as well. You'll also have to travel along special searchlights and head up beam poles to progress through the stage. Also keep an eye out for American-style speed limit signs placed in certain areas; these have a "Wireless" plate attached to the top of the pole, and the sign below it reads "Speed Limit 3G".
Your main goal is to reach the teleporter that will take you deeper into the computer network. You'll also have to protect Nancy as she isn't much of a battler. If she gets defeated at any time during the stage, then you fail the mission. If needed, you can pick up any Potions and use them to heal any damage done to Nancy. Once you reach the transporter, which sits where the Goal Ring was in the original, you've cleared this part of the stage. While you can simply take the transporter out of here as soon as you find it, you can take the extra effort and go deeper into the stage to find Team Plasma's datacore, which is located where it was in the original. Once you reach it, you'll need to destroy it. Even with Nancy and her helping you out with it, it'll take several attacks before it falls. Once the datacore is destroyed, a computerized voice brings up about data discs having been released from the database.
Cutscene: After entering the transporter, the chosen character and Nancy take another data line ride into a deeper part of the mainframe. Upon entering a blue area, programs resembling giant Porygon2 appear and attack the chosen character and Nancy. However, before either of them can come to harm, what looks like an electrical ball cruises into the area and through the programs, destroying them. Upon the ball landing on the ground, it materializes into someone. The chosen character recognizes the person as Pulseman. Nancy, not too keen on the internet, asks just who Pulseman is. Pulseman, who speaks this time around (and not only in Japanese either--if your player character was playable in the first game and the voice language option is set to anything other than Japanese, Pulseman reveals that he's spent time recently learning your language, and that he can now overcome almost any language barrier thrown at him), brings up who he is and what he's accomplished. As it turns out, it's been years since Doc Waruyama's defeat and Pulseman's been spending his time stamping out other dangerous cyber criminals. More specifically, Pulseman is tracking down the infamous cyber-terrorist, Enrizo Thevarius, who escaped from GCP prison several months ago and has discovered that Enrizo is assisting a group called the Meta Alliance in searching for unusual-looking meteors, looking for any information on them on the net. After the chosen character shows him the yellow Chaos Meteor he or she still has, and is amazed that such things exist, Pulseman decides that he's going to follow you and Nancy in hopes of finding Enrizo Thevarius.
This part of the stage is also taken from Shadow the Hedgehog, and if you went and destroyed the datacore, has a share of optional objectives that you may take part in completing; there's also an area that requires bringing the Advanced Pearl to reach (Advanced Orbs don't appear until it's too late to backtrack), and it's in this area where the episode's Wardrobe Case is stashed. Starting here, you can control Pulseman using a second controller and use his Volteccer technique to get to hard-to-reach places as well as defeat enemies. In fact, you'll need to switch to him using the Select button since some paths can only be traversed by him. Additionally, under normal conditions, Pulseman is the one and only assist character you cannot refuse under any circumstances--simply put, his status is automatically set to "accept" and cannot be changed to "decline". Here is how Pulseman's controls stack up:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Pulseman forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Pulseman, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Pulseman. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
B: Attack
Y: Volteccer
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Pulseman forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Attack
Y: Volteccer
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Pulseman forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Attack
Y: Volteccer
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Pulseman forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Attack
C: Volteccer
Anyway, there are four towers; blue, yellow, green, and red, and the way to the end of the stage is to reach the red terminal tower. This time, the enemy robots found within the stage are dependent on the area of platform. If you're in the blue tower area, you'll contend with Team Aqua robots, Team Plasma ones if yellow, Team Flora ones if green, and Team Magma ones if red. You'll also have to solve several color panel puzzles here as well. Since you start in the blue tower, you will need to make your way through it to reach the central hub, which consists of a large maze of data lines. While traveling along the lines, you'll have to watch out for bombs placed along the lines by Team Plasma. Once you reach the red tower, you'll have to make your way through it until you enter a large expanded area. There's another transporter here where the Goal Ring was in the original. Head into it to head to the end of the stage.
While you really only need to go to the red tower to clear the stage, if you destroyed Team Plasma's datacore from earlier, then you'll be able to collect four data discs extracted from terminals at the heart of each tower (they're obtained the same way Shadow obtained data in the original). The blue terminal gives you the Indigo Disc, which as Nancy puts it "contains data on some sort of rental factory in Sinooh". The yellow terminal gives you the Topaz Disc, which from what we can read "contains data on some sort of arcade in Sinooh". The green terminal gives you the Emerald Disc, which "contains data on a castle located someplace in Sinooh". Finally, the red terminal gives you the Rose Disc, which from what Pulseman can decipher "contains data on an unusual hall found in Sinooh". These discs only need to be collected once (provided you grab all four in one go; you'll lose the discs at the end of the stage if you don't grab them all), and will be used later on.
Upon taking the second transport, you, Nancy, and Pulseman will appear in the area in which the Egg Breaker was fought in the original. At this point, a laugh will echo throughout the area, and a huge screen will materialize high up. On the screen happens to be Enrizo Thevarius, who will say he's pleased that he's found the yellow Chaos Meteor and that he'll help himself to it. After a bit of a speech he gives about the Internet and its power, you'll have to now fight him. Enrizo happens to be as tough as the first battle with Regicolossus back in Episode 5. He can also alter the gravity in the arena, forcing you to fight on the blocks high above the arena. You can also switch to Pulseman during this fight, and will sometimes have to, to hit Enrizo when he's too high up. Once Enrizo's been finished, Pulseman'll input some data and create a digital portal to allow you to exit cyberspace, but brings up that he set coordinates for some people you should go see. Step into the portal to clear the stage.
Night Chase
Description: "A path through the city leading to a hotel run by Team Cipher. You'll traverse pathways, drive across streets, and even hitch a ride on the backs of trucks along the way."
Objectives:
-Grab a car from the parking lot before the trucks leave the area
-Keep the first line of trucks in your line of sight while driving
-Defeat the Team Cipher guards
-Take out the truck drivers in the first wave
-Wreck Lovrina's vehicle
-Reach the second line of trucks before they leave the area
-Take out the truck drivers in the second wave
-Defeat Snattle
-Grab another car to pursue third line of trucks
-Keep the third line of trucks in your line of sight while driving
-Defeat Gorigan
-Reach the Hotel Shadiyaé
-Rescue Jackson (if mission hasn't already been cleared at least once)
Voice Notes: Vector, Charmy, and Espio use their voices from Sonic Heroes. Nancy, Pulseman, Lovrina, Snattle, and Gorigan use original castings for their voices. DJ Mary and Jackson use their voices from the anime. The Team Cipher guards use generic voices.
Background Music: The Saturn version of Slash Beast's stage theme from Mega Man X4 plays throughout the stage. When fighting Lovrina, Snattle, or Gorigan, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays.
#2 alternate track: The music that plays in the semifinals of a Colosseum match in Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
#3 alternate track: A remix of the Quake Cave theme from Sonic Drift 2.
#4 alternate track: An old-school rap remix of the Cycling Road theme from Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 7:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Being a pedestrian on vehicle-only streets (on foot), Speeding (aboard vehicle)
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, or Electra/Volkner.
Cutscene: We go to inside of a detective agency, apparently one that belongs to Team Chaotix. Vector is complaining about how they haven't had any business in a long while and Charmy is on the computer searching for viable clients. Espio is nowhere to be seen, but Vector says that Espio should be back from his training soon. Suddenly, Charmy notices the computer's screen light up brightly and then a sudden beam shoots out of the computer, knocking Charmy through a loop. When the beam clears, we see the chosen character, Nancy, and Pulseman appear where the beam hit. If the character you're playing as was in the first Pokémon Peace Squad installments, Charmy will recognize him or her. Anyway, Vector will ask the chosen character just where they came from. The chosen character simply puts that he or she was surfing the net and that Nancy and Pulseman tagged along with him or her. Nancy, having never seen the Chaotix before introduces herself to them and then finally thanks the chosen character for rescuing her. The chosen character will go to the computer and contact Prof. Oak, letting him know that he or she still has the yellow Chaos Meteor before finally sending it to him. Unless you're playing as a specific male character, Nancy brings up that she's engaged to someone and that her fiancé must be looking for her, bringing up that he's part of the group you're a part of. If you're playing as that character, instead, he'll tell Nancy that she should get back to Stardust City while he figures out where he needs to go next. Either way, Pulseman brings up that he'll get Nancy back to Stardust City by means of Volteccer and that Nancy should hang on. After building up an electrical charge, Nancy grabs a hold on Pulseman (not getting shocked FTW) and he goes into Volteccer form and shoots out into the city skyline, Nancy going with him. After both of them are gone, the hand radio comes on and from there, it's brought up that large shipments of Pokémon are being driven through the city, and more importantly, the violet Chaos Meteor. As it turns out, Team Cipher has established a base somewhere in the city, but that DJ Mary (who's on the hand radio for this stage) has no idea of where the base is and to follow the trucks carrying the Pokémon. Vector speaks up and tells you that he'll assist you in going after the trucks, hoping that perhaps DJ Mary can pay him after they're done. He then tells Charmy to go find Espio so that he can assist as well. With all that said and done, the chosen character heads out.
This stage has a series of time limits that you'll need to follow as you go through the stage. First, you got 2 minutes to find a car you can use to follow the trucks before they pass this part of the city. You'll start things off by mainly grinding along rails for stairways and walking paths much like in City Escape in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. While you can also go on foot, keep to the rails to make sure you make it to the car in time. However, robots under contract to Team Cipher make things more difficult for you. Upon reaching the end of the walkway, you'll reach a parking lot with a few Pursuit Cars that you can use. Pursuit Cars are two-seat vehicles that are basically a palette swap of the first game's Pursuit Vehicle with tweaked stats and Toyota Yaris branding (the first game's Pursuit Vehicle wasn't branded with an automaker or a model), although the car's branding is that of a Toyota Belta in Japanese and Asian versions; the Pursuit Cars here even use the same kind of tires and leave the same skid marks. If you fail to make it the parking lot in time, the trucks will pass by this point and you'll fail the mission. When you finally reach a car, Vector will catch up with you, telling you to slow down, and then get in the car with you (you can't choose "accept" or "decline" just yet). Next up, you'll see four trucks drive by and start following them in pursuit along the roads. If the trucks leave your sight, then you fail the mission. The two-way traffic and crossroads doesn't make this part any easier, nor does the fact that there aren't any service stations in the stage. However, there is a way to refuel in this stage--an item called a Fuel Canister can be grabbed to put up to 5 liters of fuel into the Pursuit Car's tank. Eventually, the trucks will stop upon reaching a stoplight, from where you can use R to disband the car and head into the first of the trucks.
After the trucks start up again, you'll have to defeat the Cipher guards within each of the trucks, including knocking out the drivers of each truck. When you do that, you'll have to quickly jump to the next truck since the one you're on starts to slow down. When you stop the last truck, Vector will come by in the car and you'll jump back in. At this point, Lovrina will come up in a pink-and-blue themed semi and you'll have to battle her while going down the road. Once she's through, you'll come to a dead-end, where you'll have to disband your car and you now have 2 minutes to reach the next line of trucks before they pass a certain point. At this point, you can finally choose to accept or decline Vector's help. If you accept, Vector will follow you, but now is not the time to be controlling him with a second controller (which you can). Just for the record, these are Vector's controls:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Vector forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Vector, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Vector. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
B: Bite
-Hold while gripped, + Control Pad: Shake enemy/obstacle
Y: Bubblegum Blast
-In midair: Bubblegum Parachute
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Vector forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Bite
-Hold while gripped, + Left Analog Stick: Shake enemy/obstacle
Y: Bubblegum Blast
-In midair: Bubblegum Parachute
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Vector forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Bite
-Hold while gripped, + Control Stick: Shake enemy/obstacle
Y: Bubblegum Blast
-In midair: Bubblegum Parachute
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Vector forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
B: Bite
-Hold while gripped, + Control Stick: Shake enemy/obstacle
C: Bubblegum Blast
-In midair: Bubblegum Parachute
You'll go on foot and this time, down the roads, where you'll have to be weary of cars. Once you reach a certain overpass in time, you'll jump off the side as the next line of trucks pass under and land on the first one. Here, you'll have to defeat more Cipher guards and stop each of the four trucks. After stopping the fourth truck, you'll end up within a closed area of the road, and Snattle will appear to challenge you. While he's a little tougher than Lovrina, once he's done, you'll find another car and will now have to reach a third line of trucks further down the road. Vector will automatically jump into this car regardless if he's on "accept" or "decline".
You have 2 minutes to reach the trucks before they get away and you fail the mission. This time, robots under contract to Team Cipher make things harder for you. Once you catch up with the trucks Vector will tell you to disband the car and get into the first of these trucks. Once again, defeat all Cipher guards along the way as well as stop each of the trucks. After taking down the last truck, Vector will come by in the car again and tell you that there's one last truck. Once you head out onto the road and reach the truck, you'll find out that it's the one that's carrying the next Chaos Meteor and that Gorigan is driving. After getting onto the truck, you'll have to fight Gorigan, who is the second-toughest for you've faced so far (only outdone by Plasmae). Once he's defeated, Vector will tell you that he's contacted Espio and Charmy and that they'll meet you at Team Cipher's base. At this point, get into the truck and since it's on autopilot, it'll lead you straight to the base. Unless this is the first time you've reached the base, the mission is cleared upon reaching the base, which happens to look like a fancy hotel.
The first time you're playing this stage, once the truck reaches the hotel, you'll disembark and face a bunch of robots under contract to Team Cipher, and a cage to open. Defeating the robots will open the cage, but the contents of this cage are quite a bit unorthodox: a boy named Jackson is inside! As it turned out, Jackson had decided to train in Sinooh, and had recently challenged Roark shortly after "someone with a Volt Tackle-using Pikachu" (Jackson didn't know that Ash was in Sinooh as well, although he does mention Ash at some point during the scene) passed on through headed toward Jubilife City en route to the Canalave Gym. However, when Jackson walked out of the Oreburgh Gym with badge in hand, he ended up walking into a cage Team Cipher had planted! Jackson tried to break his way out, but one of the peons sprayed a gas at him, and next thing he knew, he was here. Playing as Jimmy or Marina upon this rescue will give a character-specific cutscene instead of the standard scene. Unlike past rescue scenes, however, a successful rescue ends the mission.
Once you've successfully completed this mission for the first time, starting the next stage will play a special one-time-only cutscene, before even the character selection, where Jackson basically talks to a camera. He remarks that Team Cipher plays dirty, and that they'll stop at nothing to get rid of any obstacles that could impede their progress. He wants to get revenge on Team Cipher for what they did to him. The concluding line is, "I've been standing on the sidelines long enough! Watch out, Team Cipher, you're going down!"
Cipher Hotel
Description: "The Hotel Shadiyaé, a bit of a magnificent place to visit. However, it actually serves as a front for Team Cipher's latest Shadow Pokémon factory, and the hotel staff won't take kindly to intruders."
Objectives:
-Sneak into the hotel
-Defeat the Cipher Peons inside the hotel
-Bank 40,000 Orre Pokémon Dollars into the hotel vault
-Defeat Ardos
-Traverse the shopping arcade
-Journey through the swimming pools
-(Optional) Recover the Card Lottery machine (only if the Story Mode's Card Lottery isn't already unlocked)
-Infiltrate the secret factory
-Defeat Eldes
-Defeat Greevil
-Secure transportation out of the area
Voice Notes: DJ Mary uses her voice from the anime. The Team Cipher Peons use generic voices. Espio and Charmy use their voices from Sonic Heroes. Ardos, Eldes, and Greevil use original castings for their voices. Cid uses his voice from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (if one was available; if not available, an original casting is used instead).
Background Music: The Dreamy Stage, the main theme of Casinopolis plays throughout the hotel part of the stage. The theme for the Blue Star table from Casinopolis plays throughout both pinball tables. Dilapidated Way, the theme for the garbage area of Casinopolis plays throughout the garbage area of the stage. All three themes are from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. The GUN Fortress theme from Shadow the Hedgehog plays throughout the factory part of the stage. When fighting Ardos or Eldes, the Physis soundtrack version of the midboss battle theme from Mega Man Zero 4 plays. When fighting Greevil, the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays. The second variation of the boss theme from Mega Man X8 plays during the second half of the battle.
#2 alternate track: A remix of the Lucky Channel theme from Gold/Silver/Crystal plays throughout the hotel part of the stage. A remix of the Red Table theme from Pokémon Pinball plays on the Dialga pinball table. A remix of the Blue Table theme from Pokémon Pinball plays on the Palkia pinball table. The Abandoned Ship theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the garbage area of the stage. An adult-alternative remix of the evil team base theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the factory part of the stage.
#3 alternate track: The Mauville Game Corner theme from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald plays throughout the hotel part of the stage. A remix of the Ruby Table theme from Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire plays on the Dialga pinball table. A remix of the Sapphire Table theme from Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire plays on the Palkia pinball table. The Mt. Ember theme from FireRed/LeafGreen plays throughout the garbage area of the stage. A hybrid jazz/metal remix of the Galactic Veilstone Building theme from Diamond/Pearl upon being able to explore the whole facility plays throughout the factory part of the stage.
#4 alternate track: The Realgam Tower theme from Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness plays throughout the hotel part of the stage. The theme that played on the Nights pinball table in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut plays throughout both pinball tables. The theme from The Under from Pokémon Colosseum plays throughout the garbage area of the stage. The theme played inside Dr. Kaminko's house in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness plays throughout the factory area of the stage.
Jenny Mode Time Limit: 20:00
Jenny Mode Offense: Not following the hotel's code of conduct
Jenny Mode Attire: The Officer Jenny in this stage wears a purple uniform with a Team Cipher mark.
Co-Operative Pairing Restrictions: You can't pair Danny/Cissy, Danny/Floreia, Erika/Brock, Luka/Eusine, Bugsy/Misty, or Electra/Volkner.
Cutscene: We watch the truck head through the lavish gates surrounding the hotel, where it comes to a stop in a parking lot. Upon getting out of the truck, the chosen character gets a call from DJ Mary (who's on the hand radio for this stage) about this place. As it turns out, we're at the Hotel Shadiyaé, a beautiful hotel that just sprung up some time ago. However, pretty much no one, no matter how rich or poor, has been allowed inside the gates of the hotel. The truth is that Team Cipher built this hotel, which is actually a front for their new Shadow Pokémon factory. The chosen character realizes that he or she will be infiltrating the hotel in order to stop Team Cipher. At this point, a couple Cipher Peons, lead by a high-ranking one, come to the truck and grab the violet Chaos Meteor from inside. The chosen character immediately takes cover and the Peons leave. At this point, we see Espio and Charmy come over the gate, Charmy going right into the chosen character, knocking him or her down. Espio explains that they got the word from Vector and have decided to help you out. Espio decides to turn invisible and go ahead, asking Charmy to stay with the chosen character after he leaves. At this point, the chosen character heads out.
This stage is a bit unorthodox, due to the fact that it consists of several different areas. It may also remind you of the Ocean Liner back in the first Pokémon Peace Squad, except that we're in enemy territory. The first objective is to sneak past the Cipher Peons on the outside and get into the hotel. The reason is because all Peons here carry flashlight-like devices called Glare Guns, which instantly paralyze anyone that's caught within their sights. Actually, you have to be caught within the sight of the Glare Gun in order to get caught by a Peon, so quick reflexes can allow you to take out a Peon before he or she gets a chance to paralyze you. If you do get caught by a Peon, you'll end up within a prison pen somewhere on the premises and will have to climb your way out. Note that, if you set Charmy to "accept" when prompted to accept or decline (or change Charmy's status to "accept" while still in this portion of the stage), Charmy can get caught, too, and if he does, you'll have to go and rescue him. Duplica's disguise tactic can help out somewhat, but Charmy is still susceptible to capture (it's recommended that, if you plan to take on Charmy's help, that you not set him to "accept" until there's no Glare Gun danger). Also, you can control Charmy using a second controller and look for hidden paths and items. After you and Charmy make your way through the maze that is the parking lot, you'll be able to enter the hotel. Here's how Charmy's controls stack up:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Charmy forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Charmy, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Charmy. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-Hold: Hover
-Rapidly press: Fly
B: Sting
Y: Sniff
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Charmy forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-Hold: Hover
-Rapidly press: Fly
B: Sting
Y: Sniff
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Charmy forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-Hold: Hover
-Rapidly press: Fly
B: Sting
Y: Sniff
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Charmy forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-Hold: Hover
-Rapidly press: Fly
B: Sting
C: Sniff
Once you're inside the hotel itself, it's no longer about stealth as the Cipher Peons on the inside don't carry Glare Guns, so you'll now have to defeat them, starting with the lobby. After the lobby, you'll enter the casino area, which is more like Casinopolis in Sonic Adventure DX instead of the skyline park that was Electric Park. Here, you'll need to bank 40,000 Orre Pokémon Dollars (gathered in increments of 100) in order to progress, which can be done through 2 pinball tables in the area, a Diamond Table (you can tell because of its Dialga-themed motif), and a Pearl Table (not surprisingly, its motif is Palkia-themed). These work like the pinball tables back in Casinopolis, and if you fall out the table with less than 10,000 Orre Pokémon Dollars, then you end up in the garbage area, where you'll have to make your way back to the casino's restroom area. Additionally, this is one of only two stages in which you can not only drop down into negative scoring (zero points is the minimum on all other stages), but even finish with a score under zero if you're unlucky enough; banking a negative score at the end of the stage will take points away from your banked points. Unlike with Johto Pokémon Dollars, which form the basis of the game's point system (10 points per currency unit), points cannot be substituted for Orre Pokémon Dollars (although you do get some points for earning them) when it comes to banking the latter. Don't forget about the Cipher Peons in the casino (they're hard to miss) and once you got 40,000 Orre Pokémon Dollars, go to the vault and dump your expenses to head into the next area, an arcade game room. You'll notice two familiar game machines here; Mario and Wario, and Pulseman. Other machines depicted include Donkey Kong, Gradius, Street Fighter II, Virtua Fighter, and even Pokémon Battrio, among others (all arcade machines depicted here are of franchises that have seen North American release; note that it's the franchise, not the arcade game itself, that must see North American release to meet this requirement, meaning a Japan-only arcade game can be depicted as long as the franchise it's part of has seen a North American release in some form); however, if you're playing as Trixie or Samantha, that character'll wonder why there aren't any music-oriented and/or rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution in this place; on the flip side, any character whose listed age is in their 30s are wondering why this arcade doesn't have any dot-munchers or drillers (non-direct references to Pac-Man and Dig Dug). You'll also see a unique machine here that is a Pokémon Pog Game machine, but sadly, you won't be able to play any games here. After the game room is a dining room followed by a ballroom. At the end of the ballroom is Ardos, who happens to be as tough as Enrizo Thevarius was back in Digital Matrix. After Ardos has been defeated, you'll make your way into a shopping mall. Here, there are vending machines like the ones that were back on the Ocean Liner as well as a Limonada Shake stand. You can get stuff from any of them to heal yourself or up your stats (except the one displaying Goldenrod Beer; like the captain of the Ocean Liner in the first game, DJ Mary won't let you use a machine displaying that product due to squad policy disallowing consumption of alcohol while on duty, in addition to the fact that a good variety of the playable characters are minors; for all of the machines and the shake stand, you're given a certain leeway on freebies, but you'll need to use points to buy items once your freebies are used up, and your point standing must be positive in order to buy stuff with points), but you'll also find Espio here, who tells you that more Cipher Peons are hiding within the stands and behind counters, so to watch out. Espio also reveals another secret about the assist character mechanic: You can take up to three assist characters at once. In the event you have two or three with you, you can cycle through the characters using the Select button. As with Charmy, you'll be able to control Espio with a second controller, but you can even use a third controller to control Charmy as well. The Select function here will go chosen character (if playing as paired characters, such as Tate & Liza, the order starts with the first listed and then the second listed), Espio, Charmy. Charmy and Espio's "accept" and "decline" status can be set independently of each other (i.e. you can decline Charmy but accept Espio). From here on in, you can utilize all three (or four) characters to progress through the stage, using Espio's stealth to get past sensory devices and Charmy's flying abilities to reach high-up parts. Here's how Espio's controls stack up:
DS as Controller:
Control Pad: Move Espio forward and backward, turn left and right
Top Screen: If you use this control scheme to control Espio, a version of the stage that takes a huge graphical hit (due to the stage's graphics designed with the Wii's technical power in mind) will appear, displaying from a third-person view and focusing on Espio. The DS as Controller scheme is the most recommended when using an assist character.
A: Jump
-In midair, + Control Pad toward wall: Triangle Jump
B: Throw throwing star
Y: Cloak
X: Same as B
Wii Classic Controller Controls:
Left Analog Stick: Move Espio forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-In midair, + Left Analog Stick toward wall: Triangle Jump
B: Throw throwing star
Y: Cloak
X: Same as B
Gamecube Controller Controls:
Control Stick: Move Espio forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-In midair, + Control Stick toward wall: Triangle Jump
B: Throw throwing star
Y: Cloak
X: Same as B
Wii-mote/Nunchuck Controls (All setups):
Control Stick: Move Espio forward and backward, turn left and right
A: Jump
-In midair, + Control Stick toward wall: Triangle Jump
B: Throw throwing star
C: Cloak
Next up is the hotel's expansive swimming pool area, where palm trees have been set up, Cipher Peons hiding in them. Walls have been set up so that you'll have to dive into the pools and swim through hidden passages. If you go out of your way, a side path will allow you to recover a machine that, if in your possession at the end of the stage, will unlock the Card Lottery for use in the Story Mode's shop. A different out-of-the-way sight can be found by going toward the shower stalls; one of them has some non-realistic blood spatters (and the splatters are not in a high concentration) near it, and characters who go by this shower stall respond to the sight with "What, did some psycho kill someone in that shower?" or some other variation of that line. Once you reach the last pool, you'll need to open a hidden passage at the bottom of the pool that will allow you to head into the hotel's factory. You'll enter the first section of the Shadow Pokémon factory, which consists of traps and security measures, some of which are similar to those in GUN Fortress from Shadow the Hedgehog, as well as Countdown Bombs at some points. At the end of this section is Eldes, who happens to be as tough as Gorigan was. After Eldes has been defeated, you'll be able to head into the main part of the factory, which is a bit like the Cipher Key Lair was back in the first Pokémon Peace Squad. This place is very expansive and is in essence a giant maze with several puzzles to solve. After you've made your way through this part of the factory, you'll enter the loading dock area, where using the abilities of Espio and Charmy (if either are available) are really tested. Eventually, you'll find a hidden elevator will take you up to a hidden heliport on the very top of the hotel, where Greevil is waiting for you. (You'll get special cutscenes if you're playing as Jackson.) A helicopter takes off here, and Greevil tells you that they've made off with the violet Chaos Meteor. At this point, you'll have to fight Greevil, who just so happens to be the toughest foe in the game thus far. Once you've defeated him, Greevil will escape in a helicopter of his own. While the chosen character decides to go after him, we see what looks like an airship coming down; the Highwind. Cid tells the chosen character to get his or her [OOPS!] into the ship and he needs his or her help. Espio and Charmy decide to stay behind, saying they'll take care of things from here. After boarding the Highwind, the ship takes off and the stage is finally clear.
Once the Highwind takes off, you've completed Card 1 in the Story Mode. Episode 8 is the first episode of Card 2; if the game detects that episode already available, you'll be prompted to either eject Card 1 and insert Card 2, or go back to the main menu.