Before's Random Petsite Blog

Doe - corrupted

After embracing the Merged, Doe may end up finding herself. . . transformed. (Additions: Piercing Eyes [Orange] decor, Goat Sucker Body Spikes decor, Goat Sucker Eyes, Merged Ornate Waves Marking)

Ermo - corrupted

Ermo is another wolf of the same Party as Doe, and her choice of mate. He would do anything to help her campaign, including offering himself up as a vessel for greater power. (additions: Sunset Rimlight (in storage), Annwn Base (in storage), Albedo Eyes (in storage), Merged Veneer Marking)

Story beats that have actually happened:

Doe gathers the other young Challenging North Party wolves and tries to strongarm them into pledging their allegiance to her.

This goes awkwardly as fellow Challenging North Party Olalekan is also one of the current candidates for the election. He says that they can work together for sure, but he's not giving up his candidacy.

Aino of the Easy North Party also crashes the event. He's another candidate, and a Fae-wolf. Anyone to try to take down Damion, who is a very clear frontrunner, is okay in his book.

Doe grumbles that she wishes she had Fae powers to force them to bow to her.

Aino and Lilibet, both Fae-wolves, object. The current thought about Fae powers is that they aren't for use on wolves. Just like having teeth doesn't mean you should bite each other's throats.

The conversation heats up until Doe ragebaits Aino into hypnotizing her. The others aren't going to tell because she totally had it coming.

When Aino releases her, she's very weird about it. That it wasn't so bad, and in fact pleasant. Aino insists that if he meant her real harm she wouldn't think that way.

Well, she doesn't want someone else in charge of her life, anyway. She wants powers of her own.

Meeting adjourned, she meets back up with the mysterious being in the woods. It scolds her for her lack of tact - it'll be hard to get votes if her fellow wolves don't like her.

The mysterious being says that the cataclysms will come again, and soon. Doe argues that the cataclysms just ended not too long ago. He says that they will begin again.

Once they do, Doe is to help the Merged. They are the faction that has supernatural powers, after all. If she helps them enough, she will be rewarded.

Relevant Characters

Doe

Nathanael's granddaughter and the representative of the Challenging North party. Don't let her pretty and naturey appearance fool you - she is cunning, ruthless, and wants to be in charge of her own destiny.

The best way to do that is becoming Leader.

Her opinion on the Fae wolves is that she feels a bit threatened by them. She wants that sort of supernatural power, but knows that becoming a Changeling would mean losing her own will. If there's another way to gain that sort of influence, she will do it.

Damion

Nathanael's son and the representative of the Easy South Party. He was blessed by the Kinfolk during the last Cataclysm surge with some interesting markings, though he has no powers himself. Quite the opposite of Doe, he is laid-back and wants everyone to be able to chase their own dreams, but also wouldn't put himself or the pack in harm's way just to help another.

His opinion on the Fae wolves is that his mate is one. Unlike with Nathanael's original intentions with Sonja (before she accidentally took his soul), it's not a political move. He does actually love Marely, and he doesn't care about the political implications given that a lot of the pack is still wary of them especially given the Fae attack that had just happened.

---

There are a couple of other candidates, but these two are the most important at the moment.

Events

Norayr ran a poll amongst the pack of, if the election was today, which of the candidates would win. Damion was the frontrunner.

Doe feels threatened by this, as his rule would be the opposite of hers in every way.

Doe meets a mysterious stranger in the woods as she's thinking aloud about her options. The mysterious stranger wants to help coach her.

Entrance

No portal archway to greet us. We're on the outskirts here. And a couple of creatures are here to greet is. They look awfully excited - maybe they just heard about A Realm Beyond.

The one wearing armor must be charged and the other one must be flamed, even though they're around the same size.

When I read Beowulf for school, I imagined Grendel and Grendel's Mother to look like these guys.

Defeat them, flame the fool, and use the platform to ascend.

Branching Path

Both ways have fools and enemies. Let's go left, first.

The Left Route

Left route leads to a dead end. A tall fool platform without a fool nearby, some shielded enemies, and some gems. You can see other platforms in the distance, but they're too far to glide to.

The Right Route

After a couple fools and enemies on the right route, you come across a locked treasure chest, and an archway that leads to a dragon. The archway leads to the end, so I'm not going there yet.

While archways tend to be near the start of the level, I doubt this was ever intended to be the beginning, unless this was the first boss designed and they decided to make them actual full levels afterwards.

But maybe in-universe this is where dragons tend to land, when it's not covered in whatever those things are.

The Key

Continuing past the archway, there's a lower platform with two fools on it. Flame them both and the platform in the middle makes a wedding cake shape, allowing you to access the cave and the key.

You'll also need the platform in wedding cake shape to get off this island. Either back to the locked chest or gliding over to the left path from earlier.

Secret Area

There is one fool hanging out by himself near the path split. He's the one you need to flame to lower the tall platform on the left path. Flame him and quickly make your way to the platform and you see a dragon!

Unika

Unika thanks us for releasing him. No praise for our ingenuity or anything. TBH he's probably only here to provide a checkpoint.

Secret Area Left

Again we have a split path. Taking the left side, there's a bunch of flameable creatures on top of platforms and a whirlwind to glide to them. Today was actually the first time I successfully got them all in one glide on the PS1 version!

Secret Area Right

The right side is pretty straightforward - flame a fool, glide across, and do another tricky glide to get all the gems.

Back to the main level and through the archway!

Revilo

Revilo tells us to "aim high in life, but watch out for flying boxes." We should definitely be on the lookout for those.

Jacques

The ultimate fool and Jack-in-the-box himself. Like most bosses in this game, he's kind of a pushover. You just chase him and flame him when he's on top of the boxes. He throws boxes at you, but in the original game at least, it's infrequently enough that if you rush him he has no chance.

If you're slow, though, then yes you do have to watch out for the flying boxes.

After defeating him, the last few gems are on the exit level platform and the level is complete! We have reached the 90% milestone, which is 3% more than last time.

Lore Talk

I actually doubt Gnasty's army directly has much to do with this level. Yes, he froze the dragons, and his spell turns gems into warriors for his cause, but the creatures here look barely anything like the Gnorcs outside.

That isn't to say this level is unaffected by Gnasty's attack. I think the twisted creatures here are nightmarish representations of Gnorcs, half-remembered, twisted and exaggerated by the nightmare. Maybe Revilo and Unika were working on it because of the rumors of Gnasty's foray into magic. Like I said in the Dark Passage post, some Dream Weavers dragons specialize in nightmares.

Gnasty's real army probably took one look at this place and chickened out.

Next Stop

The dragon realms have been cleared of Gnorc activity. It's time to head to Gnasty's own territory in Gnasty's World Home. (And yes, that will be it's own post/month. The other homeworlds were.)

Concurrent Spyro News

On June 7, 2026, Spyro: A Realm Beyond was announced, and I am beyond excited, as you may imagine. It is currently slated to arrive Spring 2027, so almost a year from now.

So far we've only had the initial trailer with 7 seconds of flying gameplay, which appears to be heavily based on Speedways, but with some sort of momentum mechanics.

We also know that the villain is "a new evil" as stated in the trailer, that the bad guys are called "Scavs," and Sparx's absence from the trailer is not a technical error as when asked about it, the developers said that they aren't getting into the story yet.

I don't know how closely I'll follow news from this point on, though, since I like to go into new games knowing as little as possible after I'm sold on it. And I am sold on this.

Area 1: Lighthouses and Chests

This level is very compact. Ahead of you as you enter is a bunch of lighthouses to light, as well as a bunch of chests to flame along the bottom. There isn't a clear efficient path through these obstacles and I always need to turn around at least once, retreading ground to get them all.

Train Tracks

At the start and end of the first area, there's train tracks the lead through a tunnel. This leads to the other major areas.

Trains and Helicopters

Following the train tracks will lead to two smaller areas filled with helicopter Gnorcs. Get the trains and the Gnorcs and the level is complete!

Finishing this level gives us 10K treasure total if done now, and leaves us at 87% - only 1% more than last time.

Lore Talk

This Flight stands out in how disorganized it is. Particularly how busy and weird the lighthouses and the chests are in the beginning, versus the strangely clear sections where the Gnorcs are flying.

There's even a bunch of buildings in one of the Gnorc sections, but it looks very dragon-made, so I don't think this is necessarily a Gnorc outpost like Wild Flight. Gnorcs are definitely here with their trains and helicopters, but they didn't shape this place other than maybe cutting through the mountains.

I think this Flight wasn't ready yet. The dragons put in a bunch of obstacles, but hadn't gotten around to arranging them before Gnasty froze them. I've said before that the Flight world was probably a dragon world that got flooded so everyone left and it got repurposed, and I think the building area is the village equivalent for this world.

Next Stop

It'll be time for the boss of Dream Weavers: Jacques.

Victory Road stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 46, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46 NPCs: 12 with 45 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 40, High of 48, Median of 42 Low Health Heals: 5 Team Levels at end of route: 48, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 54, 54, 54, 52, 54, 52 NPCs: 11 with 28 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 46, High of 48, Median of 47 Low health heals: 7 Team Levels at end of route: 56, 56, 55, 54, 55, 54

LGP also had two Coach trainers in Victory Road, so it doesn't have fewer trainers. Still, despite the opposing trainers sometimes being higher than me in FR when that's not the case in LGP, I had to heal more in LGP.

Lorelei stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48 Opponent Levels: 52, 51, 52, 54, 54 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 56, 56, 55, 54, 55, 54 Opponent Levels: 51, 51, 51, 51, 52 Healing items used: 1

Was under the levels in FR, over them in LGP, same amount of heals.

We don't talk about Bruno stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 47, 47, 47, 49, 48 Opponent Levels: 51, 54, 53, 53, 56 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 55, 55 Opponent Levels: 52, 53, 52, 52, 52 Healing items used: 2

Bruno was a complete pushover in FR. Not so much in LGP. You know, I think the fact that you have to have Surf and thus a Water-type really skews the perception of Blaine and Bruno in the older games.

Agatha stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 48 Opponent Levels: 54, 54, 56, 58, 53 Healing items used: 3

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 56, 55 Opponent Levels: 53, 53, 53, 53, 54 Healing items used: 3

Despite the level difference, I had the same amount of trouble with Agatha between the two games. I also didn't count Pokeflute uses in FR - not sure whether that was the case in LGP (or if she even got anything to sleep in that game).

Lance stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 49 Opponent Levels: 56, 54, 58, 54, 60 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 56, 55 Opponent Levels: 54, 54, 54, 54, 55 Healing items used: 0

I was pretty prepared for Lance, not that he didn't take out a lot of my team. The healing item count does not always tell a good story.

Champion stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 49 Opponent Levels: 59, 59, 60, 68, 57, 59 Healing items used: 2

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 57, 56, 56, 56, 56 Opponent Levels: 56, 56, 56, 56, 57, 56 Healing items used: 0

The champion fight was tough enough that even though I loosened up my Switch rules, I still needed more healing items than in LGP where I was playing on Set. (Normally I can only Switch to the front of the party; here I switched to type advantage because I was not sure I could do it with taking an extra hit)

Entrance

We're dropped down in front of a building with a closed wooden door. A suit of armor is nearby, that can neither be flamed nor charged. The door can be broken down by either, though, so in we go. Just a wellness check, you see.

Yeah, right inside we have a Gnorc that throws grenades, a small wizard, and the wizard reanimates the suit of armor sitting inside. While the Gnorc and wizard can be taken out fairly easily, the suit of armor still can't be defeated.

What's more, to either side there's other animated suits of armor blocking our way, and a metal door as well. We can only go forwards.

Fairy 1

At the end there's another door, where a fairy is being harassed by a Gnorc. Defeat the Gnorc and the fairy will reward us with a kiss.

A kiss that enhances our flame breath into Superflame! It's time to take out some haunted armor and get some treasure!

The Main Island

Once we defeat the two suits of armor and collect all that there is on this small island, we can take a whirlwind over to the bigger island. It has more suits of armor, and even a strong chest, but our Superflame quickly runs out. We can only head past them, taking out wizards and Gnorcs as we see them.

Kosoko

Our first dragon of the level, Kosoko, is along the way. He gives us a hint that magical fairy kisses might do something to our power of flame. I really don't think we could have gotten here without figuring this out.

Fairy 2

Finally, across a bridge there's another fairy, cornered, being harassed by a Gnorc. Rescue her to regain Superflame.

Into the Tower

Past a wall we need to Superflame, there's that annoying wizard that animated everything and then a whirlwind that takes us up to an entrance to the tower. Inside is a Supercharge ramp!

The Grand Hall

Past a wall we need to Supercharge, there's an entire room of doors. Going from left to right:

The first wooden door leads to a fairy being harassed by a Gnorc. Defeat it and we can get Superflame again. But wait, what's the point of the Supercharge, then?

The second wooden door leads to a treasure room guarded by a suit of armor. We can get Superflame and it's very satisfying to destroy the metal chests with fire alone.

The wooden door at the end of the hall has a dragon!

Lutalo

Lutalo tells us what we want to hear: we'll soon be able to face Gnasty Gnorc. After two and almost a half years, he's so close!

The final two doors that need to be Superflamed or Supercharged lead outside - one to a little ramp with a strong chest and the other to a staircase.

If you're as smart as the developers give you credit for, you'll figure out that the Supercharge is there for a reason and you'll run around out the flat entrance to find that reason. The little circular ramp is a red herring - you can Superflame that chest no problem.

No, what you have to realize is that 1) you can jump down to the earlier area where you took the whirlwind up to the Supercharge ramp in the first place and 2) the fact that it's a ramp, not a staircase, to the whirlwind is important because you have to USE it like a ramp while Supercharging. Jump and glide around and you'll find a secret area!

Or you can use a guide. I certainly did the first time I played.

Secret Area

This secret area is a platform, with some fodder, and a whirlwind that leads to a strong chest. And a dragon!

Copano

Copano congratulates us on becoming a master of the Supercharge. Spyro's not even sassy to him this time.

The Haunted Staircase

Past him, there's a room with a ton of armor pieces on a long staircase. Quickly, a wizard starts enchanting them, and if you're not fast enough, you'll be blocked and have to leave and try again. (Luckily not the whole level iirc)

If you are fast enough, you can platform your way past them in time, take out the wizard, and meet a very special fairy.

Infinite Superflame

Be kissed by this fairy, and we get infinite Superflame for the duration of our stay in the level. Now we can take out the remaining suits of armor at our leisure.

Hop down this hole in the floor and we're back in the grand hall. Time to take the final staircase.

The Final Stronghold

All that's left in the level is a small little square with the final wizard, a final fairy for if you don't find the secret with a Gnorc harassing her, and some last treasure.

After the last treasure is collected, the level is 100% complete. Our new game total is 86% - 4% more than last time.

Lore Talk

Those suits of armor aren't actually haunted - they're enchanted. Where's the haunted portion? Where's the ghosts?

Well, I think the answer lies in the fact that this place is clearly occupied by Gnasty's army. The Gnorcs have discovered/invented grenades. They did not find them in Dream Weavers. They are invading, trying to capture the fairies as we've seen in Lofty Castle. They're working with the wizards from Magic Crafters as well, using the wizard powers to turn the normally-haunted armor against the dragons.

By the placements of the dragons and the fairies, we have a land that both Dream Weaver dragons and fairies live. Each have their own types of houses, with the smaller enclosed ones belonging to the fairies and bigger connected ones belonging to the dragons. It's weirdly-shaped because it's Dream Weavers.

Spyro is getting here to an occupation in progress, and he's just in time to stop it. The ghosts have already fled, but he manages to rescue the fairies and of course the dragons.

Next Stop: