We're back from our travels and travails, chasing waterfalls and mostly finding big, bad battles at the top of all of them. Don Joey's knights-errant couldn't resist the call to put down the Kitakami Ogre Clan, seek the riches of the Glitterati, and the glory of the Academy Ace Tournament. Meanwhile, Esteban Humano and his totally human friends spent the time learning how to scuba dive? But it turns out they have a ferry service or something to the Blueberry Academy, so six months' training was pointless. Once there, we meet our new Clavell, Nemona, Carmine, and Kiki—well those last two are there, and the latter has NOT taken our break-up well.

Arven, aka Billy from Stranger Things, assembles a team of people just crazy enough to venture down into the Great Crater of Paldea and see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Naturally, Don Joey & Esteban Humano fall into that category. Together, they venture into Arven's heart of darkness, where the whole episode becomes learning that a guy we harangued as being a pure and simple nepo baby actually finds out his parents are dead, and then they are recreated in AI, which also want him dead. Sad! (And that's mostly not a comment on the freaky new Paradox Pokémon we meet.)

So it's come to this: the conclusions (perhaps?) of all three Paldean paths. And boy, do Don Joey's knights finally get the glorious battles they were thirsting for—along with a hefty side dish of lengthy cutscenes. We take on Arven/Arwen/Billy, undoubtedly not helping with his daddy issues; finally find out who Cassiopeia is (the one character NOT played by Clavell); and go toe-to-toe with La Roux, Baby Poppy, King Larry, a weeping German, and La Primera in the Pokémon League. Plus, Nemona simply won't stop battling us. Doesn't she have student council things to do? Seems like the academy is pretty loose with its rules-enforcement.