Episode 9: Snagem Shuttle Recovery

[Sunflora Azumarill]

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[------------------------------LOST DESERT----------------------------]
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When this mission starts, you will have been walking through a vast desert for three days. You’ll spot a pyramid in the far distance that you must reach. Getting there is no east task, as you have just reached the remains of a long-forgotten city slowly sinking into the wavy quicksand all around you. One step into the sand and you’ll end up as part of the desert ruins. The scenery here consists of long rock formations and more ruins far out in the distance, rippling from the scorching heat of the desert. Parts of the foreground out in the distance and the pyramid will also ripple from the heat. Anyway, you start on a long, ruined stone road in the sand, large, ruined, and crumbling pillars lining both sides near the road. Starting your hazards here are 3 Cacturne Sentries (1) to defeat. Do so and continue forward where the road slopes up along the rising sand. Here, make a left at a large stone brick wall far ahead of you and you’ll contend with 4 Corsola Cannons (2). Defeat them and further on, the stone road will end. Here, you’ll have to jump from crumbled pillar base to pillar base to make it to the other side of the sand. On the other side, you’ll reach another stone road where 3 Mecha Torkoals (2) intend to make tings even hotter for you than they already are! Defeat them and head forward, making a curvy right turn ahead. Here, the sand slopes down, making the road raised above it. You’ll see a few wooden crates with Miror B.’s face on them. Bash the ones to the left for a Potion and the ones to the right for an X Speed. At the end of the road, defeat 2 Manectric Chargers (2) and use the Jump Ramp at the edge to boost to a large obelisk fallen into the quicksand dune ahead. Here, defeat 3 Sunflora Sawblades (2) and head up the pillar using two Dash Panels and a spring at the top to bounce to another stone road.

On the road, keep heading forward until the road slopes down into more sand. You’ll have to do more pillar base jumping here, but will also contend with 2 Masquerain Drones (1) over the sand as well. Homing attack the right one to reach a higher crumbled pillar with a 1UP on it, then use the spring to bounce forward. When the stone road slopes back up above the sand, you’ll come to a checkpoint. Cross it and go down the road, which is lined with more tall pillars. At the end of the road, there’s 4 Crawdaunt Troopers (1) that you’ll need to defeat. After doing so, ruined platforms and pillars will rise out of the quicksand. Jump across the newly risen ruins and defeat a scanner-equipped Venomoth Drone (2) that will bring in several Gloom Mechs (Tier 2, use red Stun Spore) onto the ruins if you’re caught. At the end of the last panel, jump onto the top of a large, stone wall and head forward. Defeat 3 Snapsparkers (2) while crossing the thick wall and where the wall turns left, defeat 3 Lairon Rovers (1) and you’ll come to a set of springs. Use them to bounce to another stone road where you can see a large obelisk fallen to the left in the distance. Defeat 3 more Crawdaunt Troopers (2) and turn right where the obelisk sits. Here, the sand will slope up above the road, but even then will it consume you if you go into it. You’ll have to homing attack across 3 Masquerain Drones (2) to go over the quicksand hump and land back on the road. Here, there’s a line of Dash Panels to take you quickly across the road, which eventually curves right and takes you to a Jump Ramp that boosts you to a stone path over the sand.

Here, cross the checkpoint and suddenly, a sandstorm starts up. If you look ahead a bunch of stone roads form a maze of paths. However, Cloud tells you that you can’t just take any path here, as if you go too far in the wrong direction, you’ll get lost and end up back at the start of the maze, with 20 of your health gone! Also the sandstorm causes you to lose 10 health every 10 seconds, making this area treacherous. To make it through, Cloud tells you to go against the direction of the sands. In other words, take the right path as the wind is blowing to the left at the junction and jump over a gap to reach another path. Here, the sandstorm will blow to the right. Defeat 2 Corsola Cannons (2) on the path and at the junction near a group of ancient pillars, you can jump to a path going through the pillars for a 1UP, but go any further and you’ll go back to the maze’s start. Head back and take the left path and defeat a Sunflora Sawblade (2). Eventually, the sands will blow against your direction. Take the left path here and homing attack a Claydol Drone (1) to reach a crumbling pillar. Jump to the right onto a raised path and defeat two Mecha Torkoals (2). There’s also a Super Potion here. Collect it to restore your health and keep going. You’ll reach two springs, one in front of you and one to the left. If you take the left spring, you’ll wind up on a path with 2 Crawdaunt Troopers (2), but once you head down the path, you’ll go back to the maze’s start. Taking the front spring sends you to a stone platform in the sand where the storm will blow to the right. A string of pillar bases in front of you will allow you to go forward. Near the end of the pillars is a path going to the left. However, if you jump to the last pillar after that, you’ll go back to the maze’s start. On the correct path, you’ll notice a large arch you’ll pass under.

After the arch, the desert winds will blow to the left. Take the left path at the 4-way junction. The middle path has 2 Cacturne Sentries (2) and the right path has 3 Manectric Chargers (2), but both paths will take you back to the maze’s start. The left path has a single Mecha Torkoal (2) and is the way to go. As you cross the path, the winds will blow to the right. Use a spring to the right to bounce to another path, but go any further in that direction and it’s back to the maze’s start. Here, look back and you’ll have to jump across the tops of the pillars nearby to reach the next path. Avoid the 2 Venomoth Drones (2) as you do this. On the path the winds will keep blowing against you. Collect a Super Potion and then homing attack a string of 4 Masquerain Drones (2) to make it to a lower path that the sand eventually levels with. At this point, the sandstorm ends and so does the maze. There’s a large arch fallen over in the distance ahead. A Jump Ramp will bounce you to the arch. Head up it and destroy 3 Cacturne Sentires (2) and at the top jump to a raised stone road. Here, you’ll hear the sound of Miror B.’s theme, and there just happens to be an MP3 player playing it. Destroy it and head forward. The road will slope down right into a sand dune. There are more pillars sticking out of the sand that you’ll need to jump across. Dodge a Metang Carrier (1) in the middle, as its scanner will bring in several Snapsparker pairs (3) on the pillars. After the pillars, you’ll jump to another stone road going right. You can see pillars to the left of the road. Head down the road and defeat four Manectric Chargers (2) to move forward. At the end of the road is a checkpoint, a spring, and two rows of pillars to the left and right of an expanse of sand. Ricochet off the spring and a large group of ruins will rise out of the sand.

You’ll land right on the first platform. There are 3 Claydol Drones (2) here as well. Defeat one and jump to the left platform. To reach the next platform, you’ll have to homing attack the next Claydol Drone to make the cross over. For the next platform, homing attack the final Claydol Drone and make it on. Collect two X Attacks here and use the spring to bounce to the road and small obelisks that also rose from the quicksand. Cross the road and defeat 2 more Sunflora Sawblades (2). At the end of the road, use the spring to bounce to the left, where you’ll land on a massive obelisk that has fallen entirely right into the sand. On the obelisk are more wooden Miror B. crates and three Crawdaunt Troopers (1). Further down the pillar, the sand slopes up to the level of the obelisk. Keep crossing it and you’ll start to see a tornado of sand in the distance. At the end of the obelisk, a Jump Ramp will boost you into a spring on a pillar, which you bounce you to the left to another spring on a much smaller obelisk. This spring bounces you onto another stone wall. Cross the wall and destroy three more Corsola Cannons (2) where the wall makes a right turn. Here, defeat 2 Mecha Torkoals (1) and use the spring at the end to bounce to another stone road. Thos road ends up going straight for the sand tornado and is lined with fallen pillars on both sides. Defeat 3 Cacturne Sentries (2) as you head down the long road. Near the tornado, it’ll start throwing large stone pieces at you. Getting hit causes you to lose 50 of your health so be careful! Close to the sand twister, the path goes left and slopes upward. To the right is a large stone wall that makes a left turn. You can’t reach this. Keep dodging the ruins the tornado spews at you. The whole ordeal, you can hide behind stacks of unbreakable Miror B. crates, but the temple fragments will even knock those down. At the top of the stone road is a spring that will bounce you out of range of the tornado and land you on a large, stone platform in the quicksand.

Here happens to be the second MP3 player you need to destroy. Once you have done so, head forward onto another stone road and cross another checkpoint. More pillars line the left side of the path. Defeat four Cacturne Sentries (2) and after them, pillars will line the right side of the path. After the pillars, the path makes a 45-degree left turn. On this part, you’ll have to defeat 6 Lairon Rovers (1) and after them, the path makes another 45-degree left turn. Here, simply use the Dash Panels to pass by the wooden stacks of Miror B. crates and pillars until you reach a sand dune that the path goes right into. Here, bounce off a spring and onto another stone road to the right of the dune. Head forward down the road, defeating three more Sunflora Sawblades (2) and you’ll come to a large whirlpool of quicksand. There are stone ruins slowly spiraling down the whirlpool that you’ll need to jump across to reach the other side. The sand vortex moves counterclockwise, so simply take a platform nearest to the whirlpool’s edge and ride it to the stone road to the right of the whirlpool. In the whirlpool are a few rare items you can pick up if you’re an expert, including a Hyper Potion, a group of three X Speeds, and a 1UP near the whirlpool’s center. On the stone path, defeat 3 more Crawdaunt Troopers (2) and where the path ends, a spring will bounce you to a large obelisk still standing in the quicksand sea. There’s a narrow path spiraling up the obelisk as well. Head up it, watching out for or defeating 5 Venomoth Drones (1) along the way, and as you reach the top, boost off the Dash Panel on the sloping side of the pillar’s top to dash to a spring that will bounce you far forward to another stone road and checkpoint.

After the checkpoint, you can see another sand tornado beyond a massive rock wall in the distance. Down the path, after defeating a group of 2 Snapsparker pairs (2), a sand dune will slope up over the path. To your right happen to be fallen down pillars you’ll need to use to make your way across the side of the dune. Watch out for 3 Masquerain Drones (2) here as well and once you reach the other side of the dune, jump back onto the stone road and keep moving forward. You’ll see large, ancient statues of various humanshape Pokémon on both sides of the path as you defeat 6 more Cacturne Sentries (1). The statues to the left are Cacturne, Magmar, Alakazam, Slowking, and Ampharos. The statues to the right are Electabuzz, Machamp, Breloom, Jynx, and the last statue’s top has been broken off. All we can see is a pair of parted legs and a rounded torso. Among the fallen pieces near the statue include small arms attached to large blades and what looks like a Mohawk. If you can guess what Pokémon this statue was, tell me. At the large rock wall, you’ll pass through a hole in the wall and end up in the area of the tornado. Here, you’ll have to dodge more incoming stones as you jump from platform to platform to the right. There are also about five Claydol Drones (1) here, and an impact from a thrown ruin will destroy them instantly. After the larger platforms comes a group of pillars that seems like a dead end, but wait for some ancient debris to be thrown into them, and the pillars will collapse, making small shard platforms you can use to cross the sand. However, once you land on such a platform, it’ll sink into the sand, so be quick or else! At the end, there is a thin stone wall to the right that a temple piece will be thrown into, destroying the wall. Use a spring on a pillar base here to bounce over the wall remains and onto another stone road.

To your right here, you can see a large rock mound. Head down the path, defeating another group of 6 Cacturne Sentries (1) along the way. Where the quicksand slopes down and the road is more of a bridge, the road makes a left turn where it shortly ends. With the pyramid further in sight, use the string of five Venomtoh Drones (1) to cross the large sand expanse and reach another enormous obelisk, one that is fallen in the sand halfway. Run up the huge pillar, defeating 4 more Crawdaunt Troopers (2), and collect a Super Potion halfway up. At the top, grab onto a pulley and you will be lowered down to a sand whirlpool that moves clockwise this time. When a ruin comes towards you, drop down to it and use it to move to the other side of the vortex where the path continues. However, a thin stone wall lies on the left side of the whirlpool. The ruins will slide under the wall, but you’ll need to jump down towards the whirlpool’s center to make your way by it, then jump back up to the whirlpool’s edge and land on the stone road that rises out of the whirlpool. You’ll see a large circular structure in the distance. Head down the pillar and obelisk lined path and destroy a total of three Sunflora Sawblades (2), three Mecha Torkoals (2), three Manectric Chargers (2), and three Corsola Cannons (2). When you reach the end of the road, a Jump Ramp will boost you over the circular wall and into the center of the structure, which looks like to have once been a colosseum of sorts, but has almost entirely sunk into the desert of quicksand without end. On a large pillar lined octagonal platform in the middle is a checkpoint and the third and last MP3 player.

Destroy it and suddenly, a swarm of Miror B.’s generic peons will engage you Burly Brawl style. There are a total of 40 peons (5 FAC, 5 HG, 5 M16, 5 HM, 5 LG, 5 PLR, 5 HW, 5 PL) to defeat, so this is no easy task. Use attacks of all sorts to bring every last one of them down and use two Super Potions on the sidelines if necessary. Once you have defeated all 40 of them, two of Miror B.’s upper tier peons, Reath and Ferma will arrive on the scene. They will complain how you destroyed all the MP3 players and will tell you that you won’t survive the desert any longer. Time for a midboss.

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//Reath and Ferma//
Health: 240 <120 each>
Attack 1: Boomerang – Reath throws a massive boomerang your way (think about as big as that of Kikyo’s from Inuasyha). After attempting to cut you, it’ll come back towards Reath for another attempt.
Attack 2: Electric Net – Ferma gets out a net launcher and fires an electrical net towards. If you caught in it, you’ll lose health per second and be unable to move. Use L & R toggle to break free.
Attack 3: Miror Combo Alpha – Ferma jumps onto Reath’s shoulders, then flips towards you. Ferma comes in with a slide attack at the same time and both regroup to do the combo again if they please.
Strategy: Reath and Ferma may be tough, but if you remember this technique from Episode 5, this should be an easy task. When Reath gets ready to throw her huge boomerang at you, run around the arena to avoid the toss and don’t forget to jump when it comes back. It’s best to avoid the electric net altogether. When half of their total health is gone, get ready, as they’ll use their combo attack to deal major damage to you. If any of the Super Potions in the arena are still around, you can use them to refill your health during this fight. Eventually, Reath and Ferma will throw in the towel and concede defeat.
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[Sunflora Azumarill]

Once Reath and Ferma have been defeated, they’ll leave of a jet glider and a string of stone platforms leading out of the colosseum will rise out of the sand ahead. Jump up the platforms to reach the top of the colosseum. Here, 3 Crawdaunt Troopers (2) lie in wait. Defeat them and use the spring set at the edge to bounce to a stone road raised above the quicksand. Head down the path, defeating or avoiding seven Cacturne Sentries (2) and passing by countless ruined pillars on both sides of the road. At the end of the road is a large obelisk that has fallen right onto the edge of the road. Use springs to the right and left to bounce up onto the obelisk, then head down it, watching out for three Venomoth Drones (2) on the way. Where the sand overlaps the obelisk, use a spring to bounce to a lower stone road near the sand. You should see a large group of pillars in the distance. On this road, there are more massive statues worn away by the desert heat and wind. The statues here depict Sunflora, Raichu, Scizor, Togetic, and Xatu on the left and Azumarill, Ninetales, Rhydon, Flygon, and Salamence on the right. After these ten statues happen to be two more, once on each side, knocked over and broken. Parts from both of these statutes tend to include Sunflora-like petals, Azumarill-like ears, a ball-like tail sticking out of the sand to the left, and what looks like a leaf sticking out of the sand to the right. Along the path are 7 Mecha Torkoals (1). Once you reach the end of the road, a spring will bounce you to a stone platform high above the sand near the pillar group. The pillars are arranged in a circle and in the middle of the circle happens to be a large, square, brick lined opening in the quicksand. In the far distance is another sand tornado. There is a spring at the end of the platform that will bounce you forward straight into the hole.

You’ll fall down the deep hole, with an opportunity to collect two X Speeds on the way down. You’ll emerge in a massive chamber deep beneath the desert sands. There happens to be sand falls flowing from all walls of the temple and large pillars leading up from the ground to the temple ceiling. You’ll continue to fall here, with a chance to pass through a Potion on the way down. You’ll eventually land on a stone path that’s over more quicksand, which makes up the entire floor of the chamber. If you take a close look at the walls of the place, they are covered in hieroglyphics. So are the pillars. Anyway, back to business. You’ve landed on a checkpoint. Go across the stone path and 2 Cacturne Sentries (2) drop down. Defeat them to open the Snagem Cage containing a spring and bounce to a higher stone platform. From there, jump to another platform to your left. After defeating a Sunflora Sawblade (3), there’s another platform to jump to on your right, but be careful as periodically, a column of sand falls downward. If you jump into the sand or it falls on top of you, you’ll be pushed all the way into the sand at the bottom and be sucked in! After reaching the next platform, defeat 3 Corsola Cannons (3) to make another string of platforms rise from the quicksand. Jump onto the added-on ruins, where three Mecha Torkoals (2) will land on the first long platform. After defeating them, go to the end of the platform and jump to the next one to your right. Here, there’s an ancient grate lifted in the air on smaller stone posts. The grate here is simple; just jump on and shimmy forward. However, more sand falls occur here, and will drop you off the grate if you touch them. Keep going until you reach the next platform. Drop off and homing attack off a Claydol Drone (2) to reach a high one to the left. From here, jump to another to your right and cross another set of grates. More sand falls here, so be careful. After reaching the next platform, defeat 2 more Sunflora Sawblades (2) and use a spring to your left to bounce downward to a large doorway hole in the wall between two of the pillars.

After a short tunnel, you’ll emerge in a smaller sand-filled chamber. As soon as you go onto the stone path in the chamber, the sand will start to rise. You must now quickly make your way up the chamber before the quicksand overtakes you! Defeat a Cacturne Sentry (2) at the end of the path and jump to the stone platform ahead. From there, jump to another platform ahead, and then another to the left, and then another to that platform’s right. Here, defeat two Sunflora Sawblades (2) to open a Snagem Cage containing a spring that will bounce you to a stone bridge on the other side of the chamber. On this bridge, watch out for 4 Manectric Chargers (2) that drop down and continue forward until you get to another platform to your right. Jump to the platform ahead of it and defeat another Cacturne Sentry (3). There’s a horizontal grate held up above the platform you can grab onto. Quickly shimmy across it, which will go forward, right, left, slope up, far right, slope up, go left, slope down, go right, and lead to a vertical grate with a flappable gate to flip through. Along the way you must watch out for two sand falls. After the gate, climb up the grate as it goes left, far up, right (a bar lining the top prevents upward climbing here), flip to another side, then go right, up, right down, and right again until you reach another horizontal grate you can climb onto. Along the way are two more sand falls. From here, go forward, left, slope far up (avoid a sand fall), go left, slope down, and go right where you’ll reach another vertical grate. From here, go right, down, right, diagonally up-right, and curve to the right. Here, a sand fall occurs. Wait for it to stop flowing, then quickly head up the grate and flip through another gate before the sand fall comes back and pushes you right off the fence! After flipping to the other side, land on a horizontal grate below you and head forward, defeating 3 Cacturne Sentries (2) and a Masquerain Drone (3) with a holo-scanner (which will send in several Corsola Cannons (3) if it catches you) and after the grate turns left is a sand fall going over a gate. The sand pushes the gate around and will cause you to fall to a sandy death (BTW, the sand’s still rising, so it may not be that far down), so head across when you got the chance and go up the sloping section of the grate. After the sloping section, the grate path levels and ends with a grate going down to a 1UP. If the rising quicksand hasn’t reached it yet, you can climb down and snag the 1UP, then climb back up. Anyway, homing attack three Claydol Drones (1) to reach a stone bridge coming from the wall. From here, go left where a string of three sliding hieroglyphic platforms come out of the wall. Quickly jump across them and use the spring on the solid platform ahead to bounce to a stone doorway at the top of the chamber.

After exiting the chamber, a large stone door will close behind you. You have just entered another tunnel. In front of you are a checkpoint and a sand fall. Head through the fall and you’ll go down a steep sand slide with 2 Potions to collect and at the end of the ride will be boosted out into a large, bottomless cavern with stone octagonal-shaped hieroglyphic plates carved into the walls around you. You’ll land on a stone bridge with 2 Crawdaunt Troopers (3) to defeat. Defeat them and jump to a stone bridge that’s hanging by large chains over the expanse. Here, 2 Cacturne Sentries (2) land on the end of the suspended bridge and you must defeat them to open a Snagem Cage containing a spring to bounce to a chain-hung platform to your left. Here, your weight and the weight of enemies cause the platform to lean and wobble, and if the chains are destroyed (which they can), you’ll fall into the bottomless chasm below and lose a life. Carefully jump from the first platform to another where a Sunflora Sawblade (3) will land on the edge of the platform. Take it out with ranged attacks if you can because engaging it in melee combat will further risk you falling off the platform. Jump from there to another platform to your right where 2 Corsola Cannons (2) stand on corners of the platform. After that platform is another to jump to, and here 3 Mecha Torkoals (2) land on 3 sides of the platform. After this platform happens to be a solid bridge you can safely land on. Two Manectric Chargers are on this bridge as well as an X Defense. To the right of the end of the bridge happens to be a bridge version of the “weight” platforms. Here, 3 Snapsparker pairs (2) land on edges of the bridge and move around, causing this bridge to be easy to fall off of. At the end of the bridge is a Claydol Drone (2) you’ll have to homing attack off of to reach another solid bridge that goes to the right. Defeat 3 Masquerain Drones (2) (the second is equipped with a scanner that will bring in several Crawdaunt Troopers (3) onto the bridge if you get caught) and head to the bridge’s end. At the end of the bridge, you’ll have to homing attack across 2 more Claydol Drones (1) to reach another “weight” platform where a Manectric Charger (3) waits in the middle. Defeat it and jump to another platform to the right. Here, 2 Mecha Torkoals (2) land on the right and forward edges of the platform. Jump to another platform ahead where 3 Cacturne Sentries (3) drop down on all sides but the one you land on. Defeat them and jump left onto a hanging “non-weight” bridge where 4 Corsola Cannons (3) will open fire on you. At the end of the bridge is a Jump Ramp that will boost you through a stone doorway and into a short tunnel. Another stone door will open at the end, leading you back into the main part of the temple.

Here, make a left on the stone bridge you come onto and defeat three Snapsparkers (2). If you are to ever fall back down onto the lower sets of platforms in here, you won’t be able to retrace your steps because the doorway leading into the rising quicksand room has shut, and you’ll have to jump into the sand and lose a life. Anyway, the bridge then turns to the right where 2 Venomoth Drones (3) lie in wait. Defeat them and at the end of the bridge, jump to a stone platform, and then jump to another to the left, but watch out for the sand fall here. On the next platform, defeat 3 Snapsparkers (3) to shut down the laser fence blocking access to the next platform. Jump to it and then jump to a bridge to its left. Here, there are two more laser grids blocking the way. In front of the first field, a squad of 3 Manectric Chargers (2) will teleport down. Defeat them to drop the lasers and head down the bridge where 3 Cacturne Sentries (2) drop down. Defeat them to drop the second laser fence and head down the bridge where 3 Mecha Torkoals (2) lie in wait. Defeat them and where the bridge ends, use a spring to the right to bounce to another stone platform where 3 Gloom Mechs (Tier 2, use blue Sleep Powder) sit. Defeat them and jump to another platform and then jump to another platform ahead of that one. Here, jump, to a bridge ahead of the platform and you’ll have to contend with three more laser fences. In front of the first are 3 Crawdaunt Troopers (2). Defeat them to drop the first lasers and 3 Gloom Mechs (Tier 3, use red Stun Spore) to drop the second laser set. The third laser field is right where the bridge turns right. Here, defeat three Hover Houndooms (2) to drop these lasers and after the right turn happens to be three Manectric Chargers (2). Defeat them to drop these lasers and reach the end of the bridge. Here, watch out for another sand fall and jump to a large platform with a rocket pad in the center. A rocket will rise out of the pad and you can use it to go blasting right up the long shaft leading out of the deep temple and back to above the desert sands where you’ll parachute onto a stone road ahead. If you look back, you’ll notice you’re now on the other side of the sand tornado, so taking the underpass passage guided you away from that desert threat.

There’s only one problem; you’ve exited the temple vault in the middle of another sandstorm! While you had to go against the desert winds the first time, here, the winds blow in a circle and cannot guide you through the desert. Instead, head forward down the path after landing on the checkpoint and a pair of large pillars will rise out of the sand to the left and right of the road. There are arrows pointing to the right on both pillars. Go in the direction they’re pointing in and jump to a pillar base in the sand (if you continue forward down the road, you’ll end up back at the checkpoint). From there, homing attack a Masquerain Drone (3) to reach another pillar base. After jumping to one more pillar base, another pair of pillars will rise out of the sand, this time pointing left. There’s a stone path going forward and another going to the right, but go down either and it’s back to the checkpoint for you. Continue jumping pillars to the left and dodging a Masquerain Drone (3) and you’ll come to an obelisk fallen halfway forward into the quicksand. Jump onto it and head up. Another pair of pillars should rise up pointing right again. There’s a Hyper Potion near the point of the obelisk, but if you go any further than the Potion, you’ll end up back at the start of the sand maze. Where the pillars rise up, jump to the right and homing attack a Claydol Drone (3) to land on top of an arch rising out of the sand. Head down the arch and at the end of it, homing attack another Claydol Drone (3) and then another after that and two more pillars pointing to the left will rise up. There are Claydol Drones (2) leading to raised paths in all three directions, but land on any path other than the left one will send you back to the start. Anyway, head down the left path and defeat 3 Snapsparkers (3) and another set of pillars pointing forward will rise. However, there’s no path going forward, but one going left and one going right. Head left and right where a Venomoth Drone (3) appears to your right, jump to it (going any further left than the Venomoth Drone sends you back to the start), then jump to another that appears forward-right and one more that appears forward-right. You’ll land on a large pillar top and a string of 4 Masquerain Drones (1) will appear going to the left. Homing attack them and at the second Drone, another pair of pillars pointing right will rise up. If you homing attack the rest of the Drones and land on another pillar top, you’ll go back to the checkpoint. Instead, at the second Drone, jump right and a stone arch will rise out of the sand for you to land on. Head down the arch where another pillar pair pointing left will rise out of the quicksand.

Here, jump to the left to land on a stone path near the sand. There’s also one to the right, but go down it and you’ll go back to the start. Head down the left path and defeat 4 Crawdaunt Troopers (2) and another set of pillars pointing forward will rise. At the edge of the path, jump to the left and homing attack a Venomoth Drone (2) in front of a pillar top, but land on the pillar top and you know where you’ll end up. Instead, homing attack the next one near the pillar to land on a raised path going right. Defeat 2 Cacturne Sentries (3) here and where the path turns left, follow it and you’ll come back to the stone road. Here, a pair of pillars point left. Head left down the road and defeat 3 Mecha Torkoals (3). After them, another pillar pair comes up and points right. Jump to a pillar top to the right and from there onto a raised path. There’s a Super Potion here, so collect it and the path will go to the right a little, then left. At the end of the path, another set of pillars rises up and points right. If you jump to another path forward and proceed to jump the pillars beyond it, you’ll come back to the checkpoint upon reaching the second pillar. Instead, jump to a pillar to the right and keep jumping the pillars strewn along that direction, avoiding a Metang Carrier (3) in the middle (who brings in several Manectric Chargers (2) on the pillars if it catches you) and more pillars pointing right will rise up. Jump the pillars as you go to the right back to the stone road, but don’t land on the road because then you’ll have to go either left or right and restart back from the checkpoint. Instead, keep jumping the pillars as another set of arrow pillars rises up and points forward. Homing attack a Claydol Drone (3) on the other side above the road to reach another and do the same, then land on another pillar. Jump to the next pillar here and more arrow pillars pointing left will rise up. Forget going forward on the pillars here because if you do, you’ll go back to the start of the sand maze. Instead, jump to the raises path to the left and head down it. Defeat 2 Sunflora Sawblades (2) here and where another set of pillars rises up and points to the left, jump to the left because going too far down the path sends you back to the maze’s start. After jumping to the left, jump more pillars and dodge the scanner of another Metang Carrier (2) (brings in Snapsparkers (2) on the pillars) until you come back to the road. Here, one last pair of arrow pillars points to the right. You can continue across the pillars for a 1UP on the second to last one, but jump to the last pillar and you go back to the start. Where the arrow pillars rise, land back on the road, head right, and the sandstorm will recede, allowing you to finally exit this maze.

Here, the pyramid is in more view. Head down the long road, defeating 7 Manectric Chargers (2) that teleport down along the way, but watch out for the large pillars that fall onto the road from both sides. Getting hit by one will cost you 50 of your health! At the end of the road, you’ll come to another sand whirlpool. Here, the ruins spiraling down the sand vortex move counterclockwise and another stone road is found to the right at the whirlpool’s edge. However, a thin stone wall extending all the way to the whirlpool’s center blocks the way to the road, which means you’ll have to move against the flushing sand and go the other way. There are 5 Masquerain Drones (2) moving above the sand whirlpool. The center one is equipped with a massive scanner that will bring in Corsola Cannons (2) onto the platforms if it catches you. You can collect two Potions, an X Speed, and an X Attack in the whirlpool and a Gravity Scope near the center. Eventually, you will have made it to the next path and can continue forward. There’s a checkpoint shortly down the road and 4 Cacturne Sentries (2) to defeat. At the end of the road, an enormous obelisk has fallen over in the sand, but is inclined a little upward where the quicksand rises up. Head up the obelisk, which has several stacks of wooden Miror B. crates on it and also three Crawdaunt Troopers (3). One you reach the apex of the obelisk, use a set of springs there to boost to a large, flat, rock formation. Here, there are a few desert bushes and about 6 Exeggutor Totems (2) and three Potions. You can either defeat or collect them for points and health or head down the left on the rock to the edge, where massive pillars overlook the desert sands. Use a set of Jump Ramps here to boost between the pillars and then onto an area of raised stone paths, pillars, arches, and other ruins.

[Sunflora Azumarill]

Here, you’ll hear a rumbling sound as Cloud tells you these ruins are sinking into the quicksand! You now have to hurry across the paths in this area before they plunge beneath the sands and take you with them! The area here is a maze of paths and pillars, so it may be a little difficult. Head forward down the path and defeat a Sunflora Sawblade (3) and you’ll reach a crossroad where the paths go left, right, and forward. Head left to reach a break in the path where you must homing attack a Masquerain Drone (3) to reach a pillar and from there, jump to another pillar to the left, then jump to another path. Here, The path goes to the right and slopes down to where a Cacturne Sentry (3) drops down. Defeat it and head down the path and use a spring at the end to bounce to a stone arch. Here, you can jump to a short raised path for a Super Potion, but you need to jump to the right onto a pillar, then to a lower path where 2 Crawdaunt Troopers (2) await you. Defeat them and where the path forks left and right, head right and homing attack 2 Claydol Drones (2) to reach another path to the left. Head down the path and defeat 2 Mecha Torkoals (3) and you’ll come to a point where the path goes forward, left, and right. The forward path eventually turns right, but leads to a dead end with an X Attack, the left path leads to a dead end with an X Defense, and the right path makes a right turn, followed by a right turn, but dead ends with an X Speed. It looks like you’re stuck, but there’s a Masquerain Drone (2) hovering over the crossroads. Homing attack it to reach a pillar to the left and then jump pillars going to the left here. One you reach a raised path, head down it and defeat a Hover Houndoom (3). You’ll then reach a circular platform with pillars and small stone walls bordering the edge. Here, a laser fence blocks your way to getting out of these sinking ruins. You’ll have to defeat a number of enemies to drop the lasers. First, 4 Corsola Cannons (2) will teleport in. Defeat them, then 4 Exeggutor Totems (2) will do the same. After defeating them, 4 Mecha Torkoals (2) will need to be defeated. After the, you’ll have to defeat 4 Manectric Chargers (2) to drop the laser gate and head down the next path. At the end, bounce off a spring to reach a higher path. There’s another path above you to your left. At the end of the path you’re currently on, defeat 2 Snapsparkers (3) to open a Snagem Cage containing a spring to bounce up to the next path. Here, head back down this path to the end, defeating 2 Hover Houmdooms (2) amidst several steel Miror B. crates. If possible, you can use Explosion of the second set of crates to uncover the stage’s Full Restore. At the end of the path, it makes a right turn where you’ll have to homing attack a Metang Carrier (3) (which brings in Manectric Chargers (3) on the next part if it catches you) to reach a downward sloping path. At the end of the path is another string of pillars heading to the right. Jump across them, avoiding two Venomoth Drones (3), until you reach one more stone path going left. On this one, defeat 3 more Sunflora Sawblades (2) to drop another laser fence and use a Jump Ramp at the end to boost off these ruins before the sands consume them.

You’ll go between several sets of ruins and obelisks until you land on a checkpoint on an octagonal stone platform near the quicksand’s edge and surrounded by an octagonal circle of arches. Here, Miror B.’s next two upper ranks, Folly and Trudly will come towards you and tell you you won’t continue your trek through the desert. At this point, another midboss battle begins.

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//Folly and Trudly//
Health: 240 <120 each>
Attack 1: Bola Balls – Folly will get out and spin a group of bolas above his head. He’ll then throw them towards you. If hit, the bolas will also spin around you can you’ll fall to the ground immobilized. You’ll need to toggle L & R to break free.
Attack 2: Bag Bomb – Trudly throws a large bag over you (like the one they kept Rui in). The bag closes shut on you and will detonate after 5 seconds, freeing you, but causing you major damage.
Attack 3: Miror Combo Beta – Folly will pick up Trudly and spin him around while moving around the arena. Not only are the kicks Folly sends out here damaging, but after several seconds, Trudly will flip forward and throw Folly in your direction.
Strategy: Like Reath and Ferma, Folly and Trudly use teamwork to try and take you down. However, their attacks are a little trickier to dodge. There is a way to hinder them, though. When Folly is about to throw bolas at you, attack him and he’ll drop them, having the bolas spin around him instead. With him immobilized, you can score a few cheap hits. When half of their total health is gone, they’ll start using a combo attack similar to Reath and Ferma. Keep your distance when they spin and when Trudly throws Folly your way, dodge, then hit Folly when he lands for more damage. Once you’ve dealt enough damage to both of them, they will stop fighting and you will have won.
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Once you have defeated Folly and Trudly, they will leave and you can continue on. Here, a stone road rises out of the sand to the left. Head down it as pillars along both sides also rise from the sand. Defeat 5 Sunflora Sawblades (2) along the road until you come to the end. Here, use a set of springs on the end to bounce to the right and onto another stone road. There is a large rock formation to your left, a fallen arch to your right, and a sand tornado in the distance. Down the path, defeat 6 Cacturne Sentries (1) and you’ll eventually come to where the sand tornado is. Use a Jump Ramp here to boost to a circular structure sloping down inward, with pillars lining the outer edge, and a large break in the right side. The sand tornado is in the middle of the structure. Here, you’ll have to make your way around the sand tornado while watching out for ruins being swept around it. If a stone hits you, there’s a Super Potion halfway down the structure. Once you reach the other end, use a set of springs there to bounce to the left onto a raised stone road with a checkpoint.

Head down the road while avoiding more falling pillars from both sides and defeat 5 Mecha Torkoals (2). At the end of the road, another Jump Ramp will boost you forward where a platform surrounded by pillars will rise out of the quicksand. There are springs on all ends of the platform. This happens to be another maze. There are arrows on all the pillars here. The each point in a direction, but none point in a certain direction. The case here is that none point left. You need to bounce off the spring that way to an area where another platform and pillar set rises. Here, none of the pillars point forward. That means to bounce off the spring forward and you’ll go to another platform and pillar set rising out of the sand. On this one, there’s a Sunflora Sawblade (3) you need to defeat to open up Snagem Cages containing all the springs. Here, none of the pillars point right, so bounce right to where yet another set of ruins rise out of the quicksand. Here, you need to defeat 2 Crawdaunt Troopers (2) to open the Snagem Cages containing these springs. None of the pillars point left, so bounce off the left one to reach the next ruins. Here, there are three Hover Houndooms (2), but none need to be defeated. None of the pillars point right, so head right and bounce to the next platform where four Manectric Chargers crowd the platform. None of the pillars are pointing right, so bounce to the right and on these ruins, defeat three Claydol Drones (2) to unlock Snagem Cages containing the next springs. None of the pillars are pointing forward, so bounce forward to the next ruins. Here, dodge an Exeggutor Totem (3) and since none of the pillars point left, bounce off the left spring to reach the next platform. Here, defeat 5 Corsola Cannons (2) to drop the Snagem Cages containing the springs and bounce off the right spring since no pillars point in that direction. On the next ruins, dodge two Snapsparker pairs (2) and bounce left since no pillars point left. On the last set of ruins to rise out of the sand, defeat 4 Crawdaunt Troopers (2) and since no pillars point forward, bounce forward to land on another stone road and be done with the rising ruin maze.

At this point, you’re really nearing the pyramid now. The stone road here curves to the right after 4 Manectric Chargers (2) and on the next stretch of road, defeat 3 Sunflora Sawblades (2) and you’ll come to an obelisk fallen all the way in the sand. Cross it, but watch out for a mess of 6 Masquerain Drones (1) and at the end of the obelisk is one last sand whirlpool. Here, the platforms move clockwise and another stone road is to your left. However, a thin stone wall blocks the way to the path and there’s also another on the other side of the path. Jump across the spiraling ruins towards the center of the whirlpool, dodging 5 Claydol Drones (2) and collecting a Super Potion, them jump left where the walls start and jump on the platforms as they go in between the walls to reach the stone road bordered by more falling pillars. Head down the long road, watching out for the pillars and defeating five Crawdaunt Troopers (2). Eventually, sand flows over the road, so jump to a pillar base to the left and then jump to another to its right and jump the pillar bases that go over the sand. You’ll reach the next part of the road on the other side of the quicksand dune. Continue down the road, defeating 7 Cacturne Sentries (1) along the way and you come to the road’s end where the sand slopes down under it. Use a set of springs here to bounce to a massive arch going to the left. On this arch, defeat 3 Sunflora Sawblades (2) and check behind a stack of steel Miror B. crates for another Super Potion. At the end of the arch is another spring that will bounce you onto the top of a large pillar. Here, homing attack a Claydol Drone (3) to reach another large pillar top. On this one, defeat a Sunflora Sawblade (3) and homing attack a Venomoth Drone (3) to reach yet another pillar. On this pillar is a spring that will bounce you to another stone road heading right. Here, the pyramid almost takes up the entire screen in the background and obelisks line the road ahead. Head down the road and defeat 6 Mecha Torkoals (1) along the way. You’ll eventually come to a checkpoint and a Jump Ramp to use.

After crossing the checkpoint, boost off the ramp and you’ll land on a large platform being raised by large pillars over the wavy sand. On the platform are smaller pillars and small stone walls surrounding the edge of the platform. Here, Miror B. himself will drop down and tell you how you threw off his groove be destroying all his MP3 players. He’ll also bring up he’s stronger than when you last faced him in Mystic Cave. At this point, he’ll take off his kiddie gloves and another midboss battle with Miror B. will commence.

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//Wanderer Miror B.//
Health: 280
Attack 1: Hydro Blast – Each of Miror B.’s Ludicolo will move to the edge of the platform, then fire large water streams your way one at a time. This attack is harder to dodge than last time.
Attack 2: Ice Target – Four of Miror B.’s Ludicolo will jump onto the pillars at the edge of the platform and fire Ice Beams at you. Used in conjunction with Hydro Spiral.
Attack 3: Hydro Spiral – Four or Miror B.’s Ludicolo will spin around the platform, generating a large wall of rushing water, which moves in and out. Used in conjunction with Ice Target.
Attack 4: Ice Shield – Each of Miror B.s Ludicolo will surround their Trainer and generate a large, wrapping ice barrier. This ice shield blocks all attacks, including fire attacks and explosion, and freezes you if you as so much touch it.
Strategy: Miror B. once again relies on his Ludicolo to do his dirty work in this battle. However, this time, they’re onto protecting their master and will jump forward and create a barrier of ice if you get too close to him. All of their attacks are hard to dodge, since they will more their Hydro Blasts around as they fire them, and their Ice Target and Hydro Spiral combo is absolutely no picnic either. However when they’re doing any other attack, you can quickly get close to Miror B. and damage him. When half of his health is gone, Miror B.’s Ludicolo will become more tactical and will use their attacks in a variety of formations, including a couple surrounding Miror B., a couple on the pillars, and the rest moving across the ground. At this point, you won’t be able to entirely predict his next attack or attacks and your window or opportunity for hitting him closes quicker. If things get too hairy, two Super Potions on the edges of the platform can help you out. Miror B.s Ludicolo cannon be defeated, only stunned. Once you’ve done enough damage to Miror B., you will have defeated this entire makeshift team of thieves!
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Once Miror B. has been defeated, he’ll faint from the desert heat, then get up, telling you that one day, he’ll own all the Pokémon in the world. He and his eight Ludicolo will then escape and you can continue to the pyramid. Take the Jump Ramp at the edge of the platform to boost to the last stretch of the stage. Here, you’ll boost along Dash Panels on a long stone road as you dodge 5 Cacturne Sentries (2). At the end of the road, a set of springs will bounce you to a raised path to the left, but the path and others like it ahead will start to sink into the quicksand. Dash across these paths using the Dash Panels and springs, dodging a total of eight Masquerain Drones (1) along the way. At the end of the sinking paths, you’ll be sprung to a flat rock formation where two Exeggutor Totems (3) and three Sunflora Sawblades (2) will try to attack you. At the end of the rocks is another set of springs that will bounce you to a large, thick wall to the left. Run along the wall, dodging, three Mecha Torkoals (3) and at the end of the wall is a Jump Ramp that will boost you to an obelisk to the left with a spring on the top. That spring will bounce you to another spring on the side of another wall, and that one will bounce you across springs on the sides of pillars rising out of the sand. Eventually, you’ll come to one last stone road bordered by pillars and large statues raises above the sand. At this point, the pyramid is very near. The statues you pass by resemble Golduck, Heracross, Kangaskhan, and three Persian to the left, while the right ones resemble Bellossom, Skarmory, Hitmontop, and three more Persian. Where the pillars and statues end, just keep pressing forward and eventually, you’ll reach the Goal Gate in front of the entrance to the pyramid. Head through to finally complete this long and grueling stage!

[Sunflora Azumarill]

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[-----------------------------PYRAMID CAVE----------------------------]
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Start things off in this stage by running down the long and winding tunnel. Don’t worry about the sand falls all around you. Unlike in the Lost Desert, you can pass through these without much hindrance. There are also a few large rings you can jump through to get some extra technique points, but they can be hard to reach sometimes. Anyway, at the end of the tunnel, you’ll end up in a massive chamber with quicksand flowing far below you and sand columns everywhere you look. Here, you’ll go across a few Dash Panels to the first checkpoint. However, two Cacturne Sentries (2) drop down here as well. Defeat them and then jump onto the large hourglass behind them and a stone door will open until all the sand drains out of the hourglass. Head through the door, then bounce on the spring to the pulley above it.

Jump off and watch out for four Corsola Cannons (3) that drop down around the large torch and head to the right. You’ll run into your first Team Snagem guards along this path, five of them to be exact. These ones are packing jet rifles, so take them down quickly. After the guards, you’ll reach a red bar so bright that it looks like a laser. Swing on this and another like it after it through some sand falls to reach the other side of the gap. If you fall here, you’ll have to defeat six Sunflora Sawblades (3) to open a Snagem Cage holding a spring to get back up. Either way, you’ll reach another hourglass on the other side. Jump on it and dodge five Mechcargoes (2) along the path to reach the door in time. Continue forward for a loop and a Jump Ramp that will send you through a wide sand fall and you’ll land right next to three more Snagem guards (MG). Defeat them and head forward to reach an E-1000. However, it won’t attack you for some reason.

Go forward from here and use the three Masquerain Drones (2) to make your way up the walls and take care of three more Snagem guards packing plastic launchers along the way. You’ll then come to another hourglass, but it’s locked away in a Snagem Cage and three Manectric Chargers (3) guard it. Take out all three, flip the hourglass, then use a Masquerain Drone (3) to reach the door above. On the other side is a fenced area and large sand falls can be seen coming out of the walls on the other side. There’s a pedestal in the middle of the path and a stone near the end of it. Place the stone on the glowing altar and the door ahead opens. However, so do three Electrode Bombs (2), so wait for them to blow themselves up and then head through. On the other side of the door, you’ll see the next checkpoint, so cross it and then start making your way through the tunnel.

Coming out a serpent statue’s mouth is a rail. Grind across it and over the gap to bypass a few obstacles and reach another tunnel. If you do end up going down here, there happens to be quicksand that will claim you if you touch it. You’ll need to cross platforms in the sand while dodging 3 Metang Carriers (2), all of which send in several Manectric Chargers (3) if they catch you with their scanners. Use the springs at the end to get back up to the tunnel. Either way, in the next tunnel, watch out for three Crawdaunt Troopers (3) that drop into the room and defeat 3 more Snagem guards (SD) as you reach another altar. This time, you’ll have to retrieve the stone for this one. Grind on another rail past four Venomoth Drones (3) and then run up a sloping path to where a stone sits among two E-1000’s and three Snagem guards (RL). Defeat them and take the stone and head back the other way. There’s quicksand here, too, so cross the platforms in it while dodging 3 Claydol Drones (3) near them. On a strip on solid land, hit the hourglass and run through the door. On the other side, jump across more platforms in quicksand and avoid a group of three Masquerain Drones (2) until you reach some blocks. Jump up the blocks here and defeat three more Snagem guards (GL) before moving on. From there, get a running start up the slope and then put the stone on the altar to open the door.

On the other side of the door, there is a sand fall, and behind it is an hourglass. Hit it and start zooming through the tunnel, dodging a total of three Sunflora Sawblades (2), three Mechcargoes (3), three Sealeo Mechs (2), three Electrode Bombs (3), and defeating four Snagem guards (TS) along the way to barely make it to the door and slide through. If you fail to make it, there is another sand column here and sand swirling down into the ground. Head into in to end back up at the hourglass and try again. Beyond the door, hit another hourglass after taking out two more Snagem guards (JR) and speed through another door. Two more doors reside behind this one, and there are two Snagem guards (2 PL and 2 RL) in front of each of them. If you can’t make it though the doors, use rails on both ends to grind by the doorways. After the doors, take out three Mecha Torkoals (3) and slide under a low ledge to be sprung through a loop series. At the end of the run, you’ll reach another E-1000. Get by it and then take out three Manectric Chargers (2) beyond it.

By taking out the Chargers, a Snagem Cage behind them containing a spring will open up. Use it to reach the next tier or homing attack across a Claydol Drone (3) to reach the next tier. From there, homing attack another Claydol Drone (3) and home attack a 1UP. After the prize, run forward to a rail and grind across to another hourglass. If you fall here, you’ll have to dodge several spiked balls and defeat six Mecha Torkoals (2) to open a Snagem Cage containing a spring to get back up. Hit it and use the Dash Panels to get to the door in time. From there, follow the path through some loops that will eventually take you into a large sand fall before landing you in front of the doors to the launch bay, passing through a checkpoint upon landing. However, as soon as you land, Wakin, Gonzap’s most trusted peon, will drop down and tell you that this is the end of the line for you. He’ll then press a button on a remote he has and a large trap door below you will open up and you’ll fall through a shaft going far beneath the surrounding quicksand. You’ll fall down into a massive chamber that has large sand columns everywhere you look and several large stone pillars making up a circle around an octagonal stone platform sitting in a massive sand pool. Suddenly, the platform sinks beneath the quicksand as it rises and suddenly, a massive, scorpion-like robot with a little resemblance to a fourth generation Pokémon will drop down into the sand. Wakin’s at the controls of the robot and he tells you you’re not exiting this pyramid. With that threat, another boss battle begins.

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BOSS: TEAM SNAGEM WAKIN
Health: 320
Attack 1: Claw Grab – Grabs you with one of the mech’s claws and drags you into the quicksand, then throwing you back out.
Attack 2: Sand Twister – Creates a large tornado of sand that engulfs the mech. Pulls you towards it, sucks you up, then spits you out.
Attack 3: Tail Laser – Fires a wide laser beam from the tip of the tail that follows you around for 15 seconds.
Strategy: Looks like this seemingly simple stage ends with quite a difficult boss battle. Unlike the rest of the quicksand seen in Lost Desert and this stage, you’ll slowly sink while in this quicksand instead of instantly being lost to it. However, the rate you sink in this sand is only about five seconds before you sink too low, so you’ll have to jump to keep above the raging sands. Now onto the main attraction, the Snagem Scorpion. Only the thingypit is vulnerable, so if you have ranged attacks, they will be quite an asset in this fight. First off, during the battle, the Snagem Scorpion will deploy endless amounts of smaller scorpion robots (these have some resemblance to another fourth generation Pokémon) to make things even harder for you. Second, you’ll have to watch the sand whirlpool moving about the arena. Eventually, Wakin will stick the Scorpion’s claws out. Stay away from them, as he’ll grab you with them and pull you under. When the head comes out, immediately attack it (characters with melee attacks will have a more difficult time with this boss), but be careful of the whirlpool, as that sucks you in towards the robot. You must also be careful of the sand tornadoes made by the Scorpion as well. For health items, the smaller scorpion robots upon being defeated may drop a Potion you can pick up, but get it quick before it sinks beneath the quicksand. When half of the boss’s health is gone, Wakin gets even more serious, and increases the amount of scorpion robots that he sends out your way. Also, he’ll start flying through the air on rockets while firing wide lasers from the mech’s tail. You must also avoid where the Scorpion dives back into the sand, as the suction can pull you in with it. The laser will also be used when the robot dives under the sand by means of the tail sticking out of the sand and firing the laser that way. If you remember all these things, Wakin will eventually give in to your methods and concede defeat.
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Once Wakin has been defeated, he’ll eject from the Snagem Scorpion by means of an escape capsule. At this point, the sand recedes to show the platform again, which now has a rocket on it. Use it to rocket back up to above the pyramid’s sands where Wakin will run into the launch bay doors that have opened up. There’s nothing else for you to do, so head through the Goal Gate beyond the doors to finish the stage.

[Sunflora Azumarill]

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Finally, we’ve reached where they’re keeping the shuttle. However, we still have a little left to go. This stage’s isn’t very large, but we still have some enemies to get out of the way beforehand. The stage begins inside a large, pretty high-tech looking, triangle-shaped corridor where both walls are completely lined with all sorts of large video screens depicting the pyramid interior (including places like Egg Quarters, Death Chamber, the King Boom Boo area, and the Egg Golem area), the pyramid exterior (depicting places like the pyramid top, and areas of Hidden Base), a few parts of the end of the Lost Desert stage, and also several parts of the Launch Bay itself, including several videos of the shuttle. The floor of the tunnel consists of glass panels with metal borders and electric circuits can be seen under the glass. Along the floor near the walls are large computer stations with some computer screens and clear chairs attached to them and large computer mainframes. There also happens to be a floating TV right when you walk in that says “SURVEILLANCE ROOM”. This place also has its hazards in the form of a multitude of about ten Magneton Shields (2) that must be defeated to open up a large glass wall near the end of the corridor. While taking down the enemies, you can also collect an X Attack, an X Defense, an X Speed, and a Max Potion. Once the glass doors are opened, you’ll see a set of three doors, one in front of you and two on the side. Here, a Cacturne Sentry (3) appears to the left, a Hover Houndoom (3) appears is the middle, and a Crawdaunt Trooper (3) appears to the right. Defeat one of them to open the door they’re next to and head through a short series of corridors and rooms each leading to the main launch bay. Whichever one you choose is up to you.

If you take the left path, the area has some green tint to it. You’ll enter a tunnel with a sloping wall to the left with sectioned off areas to the left holding more computers and mainframes, each one separated by glass walls. In this corridor, there are six Sunflora Sawblades (3) that you’ll need to take out to open the door at the end to the right. Once they’re down, head through the door to enter a large storage room with stacks of crates all around with several large trucks with hover wheels sticking out of the sides. There’s some computer screens on the walls and a crane setup on the high ceiling, including large crane lines, crane claws, and also small station rooms that move along the ceiling. Also in this room are a total of eight Exeggutor Totems (2) and six Gloom Mechs (3) that walk all around the warehouse. You can also find items that include two Super Potions, two X Speeds, and a Gravity Scope. You’ll need to find the switch to open the next door through this path. Once you do, head through the door on the other end to reach a shaft going down. Head down the shaft while avoiding several orange lasers moving along the walls and dodging four Venomoth Drones (3) and reach a checkpoint on the bottom. When you reach another set of doors, head through to enter a hall with large TV screens making up the walls, with a large square of them to the left showing a news program (Channel 5 News) depicting something that’s happening in Celadon City.

The square of screens depicting the news story (one large viewing that uses all those screens) move along with you in this hall and the screens to the right do the same thing and depict the same story. There happens to also be a floating TV in the middle of the hall that states what this room is, which it reads “TELEVISION ROOM. SIMPLY CALL OUT THE CHANNEL YOU WANT TO GO TO IT. TO RECORD A PROGRAM, SAY “RECORD PROGRAM” TO START RECORDING. TO STOP RECORDING, SAY “STOP RECORDING”. YOU CAN ALSO SET A RECORING START TIME AND A RECORDING STOP TIME BY CALLING OUT BOTH TIMES.” Since this is once again useless information, just head out of this room, but not before collecting two X Speeds found here as well, then head to the door on the other end. In the next room, it’s time to take on a few more robots. This hall goes to the right and is filled with as many as six Tropius Tanks (2). Take care of all of them and head through another door to reach another shaft. Here, there is a single Venomoth Drone guarding a Snagem Cage with a spring inside. The Drone has a scanner, and getting caught brings in several Sunflora Sawblades (3) and Exeggutor Totems (3). All enemies in the room must be defeated to unlock the cage and use the spring and bounce up the shaft to another door. On the other side of the door, you’ll notice that there are three more doors here as well, one to the left, one to the right, and one on the other end.

Now for the middle path. This one has a red tint and starts with a tunnel going forward. There are computers and mainframes here as well, also separated by glass walls. In this corridor, there are four Hover Houndooms (3) you’ll need to take care of. Once all six are defeated, the door on the other end will open up and you’ll reach a shaft. Drop down it while avoiding several moving orange lasers and two Claydol Drones (3). Upon landing, you’ll see a door on the back end, and you can head through it to reach another hall. Upon entering this hall, the camera will shirt to that of a security camera’s point of view. It may be a little difficult to control your character at first here because of this, but this is also something seen in the GUN Fortress in Shadow the Hedgehog. Basically, keep the holographic target off you so that you don’t get hit by a laser beam and weave by eight Mecha Torkoals (2) also in the hall. You can also use wooden and steel Snagem crates in here to take cover from the lasers. There are also a multitude of items in here, including six X Attacks and two Super Potions (half of these items is locked in a crate). You’ll pass through 8 segments of this hall, which goes left, right, forward, left, forward, right, left, and finally forward (these directions are from the perspective of the cameras in each segment). At the end of the hall, drop down a short shaft and land on a checkpoint.

Head through another set of doors behind where you land to enter yet another hall. While devoid of enemies, this hall is also happens to be dangerous because of the glowing tiles making up the floor. Most of the tiles are electrified, and touching one takes away 30 of your health! Use attacks on the tiles to check which ones are safe so that you can make a path through the tiles to the other side. Upon reaching the next set of doors, you’ll enter what looks like a long, wide, and empty hall, but suddenly, metallic posts will rise out of the ground and form a laser wall maze. The lasers change position every 30 seconds, making this a tricky maze, but this is also something you saw in back in the Magma Lab, so you can navigate this a little easier. While dodging four Mechcargoes (2) and collecting items such as a Hyper Potion, an X Attack, three S Attacks and two Burn Heals. On the other side of the room is another door to head through. On the other side, head through the doors to enter a shaft where a lone Claydol Drone (3) hovers over a Snagem Cage containing a spring. It’s equipped with a scanner, and it’ll bring in some Mechcargoes (3) and Lairon Rovers (3) if it catches you. All enemies here must be defeated in order to open the cage. From there, use the spring to bounce up the shaft and reach a door behind you at the top. Head through to emerge in the same area as the end of the green path. Basically, the path you chose this time around had less enemies, but more hazards and items.

Next up, the right path. This section has some blue tint to it and stars with a tunnel to the right. There is a sloping wall to the right with sectioned off areas to the right that hold more computers and mainframes, separated by glass walls. Here, you’ll need to take down five Sealeo Mechs (3) to open a set of doors to the left and progress further down the path. You’ll enter a large room with large steel containers with glass windows where what look like large data circuitry panels, which are lighted up in blue colors and the circuitry can be seen flowing all over them. There is a floating TV upon entering here, which reads “DATABASE SOTRAGE”. There are four square switches on the ground here in the colors of red, yellow, green, and blue. Also found in the room are four large metallic computer boxes of the same colors. In order to open the door on the other end, you’ll need to push the boxes onto the correct switches, but that’s easier said than done, since the boxes are as wide as the paths between the containers. Also, there are as many as four Crawdaunt Troopers (3) and six Corsola Cannons (3) about the room as well. Once all the switches have been activated, you can head through the door on the other side, where a 1UP resides in a shaft going down. Head down the shaft while avoiding 3 Masquerain Drones and more moving orange lasers. At the bottom, cross the checkpoint and then head through the doors ahead to enter a large room that divided up into small corridors by glass walls.

Here there are turnstiles with lighted arrows on the bottom of them that are either red or blue. Upon heading through a turnstile, it will turn left or right, then configure itself to the other direction once you’ve disbanded it. (In case you didn’t know, this puzzle, including the turnstiles, are similar to those found in Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.) As you make your way through the maze, you’ll quickly realize that you can’t reach the end on the turnstiles alone. You’ll find red and blue lighted switches that change the direction of the turnstiles and will allow you to reach the end. Along the way, there are four Sealeo Mechs (2) and four Crawdaunt Troopers (3) and you can pick up two X Defenses, two Super Potions, and a Miracle Eye Scope. Once you reach the door, head through to find another 1UP and a hall that goes to the left, but it devious of any enemies. Here, the hall is divided up into blue panels with a few metallic pillars with long computer screens on them breaking them up. This is another puzzle borrowed from Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Here, you’ll have to step on every panel consecutively, which turn red, without jumping in order to open the doors to the left. If you mess up, the panels will all turn blue and you’ll have to start over. You can snag the stage’s Full Restore here as well, but may have to start over if you do. Upon solving the puzzle, the doors will open and you can collect another 1UP upon entering another shaft. Here, a lone Masquerain Drone (3) hovers over a Snagem Cage containing a spring. It’s equipped with a scanner, and it’ll bring in several Crawdaunt Troopers (3) and Corsola Cannons (3) if it catches you. All enemies here must be defeated in order to open the cage. From there, use the spring to bounce up the shaft and reach a door at the top. Head through to emerge in end room. This way turns out consisted of puzzles, but netted you 1UP’s.

Regardless of which path you took here, there’s a fourth set of doors opposite the door from the middle path. Head through to enter a hall with a checkpoint and a group of eight Snapsparkers (2). Two of them are Tier 3’s, and by defeating those two, you’ll destroy the whole lot of them. After them, there is a hall that leads into a large room with a table with computer screens and keyboards fixed to it and sticking out of the table. There are also chairs lined up with the computers and several mainframes and systems lining the walls. There is a floating TV in here as well that reads “MEETING ROOM AND EXHAUST BAY”. Upon finding out this place is also the shuttle’s exhaust bay, the bay’s OS system will come on and tell you this: “ATTENTION! SHUTTLE TO TEST FIRE IN ONE MINUTE! I REPEAT! SHUTTLE TO TEST FIRE IN ONE MINUTE! PLEASE CLEAR THE EXHAUST BAY!” At this point, the room becomes bathed in red light and the computers and chairs start to lower and fold into the table, which sinks into the ground. The mainframes and systems also slide and fold into the walls and the doors end up closing. You’ll also notice a small opening on the other side that also seals up and suddenly, four Manectric Chargers (3) and four Electrode Bombs (3) enter the room as the exhaust bay doors open above you. As it turns out, you have only one minute to get out of the exhaust bay before the shuttle’s engines turn on, roasting you alive and instantly killing you! To do that, you’ll have to defeat all eight enemies in the room. Once you have done so, the opening will open back up and you’ll be able to head into it.

Once you get into the opening, you’re still not out of the clear. You now have to make your way through a vent maze that is secured by four automated laser guns. You’ll see this maze from a third-person overhead view in order to make it through quickly, because after the shuttle test fires, the exhaust flames will surge through the vents. Quickly slide through the maze and reach the other end. Upon doing so, you’ll enter an area with two sloping sections going to the left and right. Take either one up, as both contain a Super Potion, an X Attack (right path) and an X Defense (left path). Upon reaching the top, you’ll see the main part of the launch bay, which resembles that from the cutscene after the Egg Golem battle in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, but looking more advanced and consisting of things such as large computer screens on all the walls and several control stations built into the walls. In the center of the bay is the shuttle, and you need to board it similar to how Sonic boarded the missile in Metal Harbor in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, except without a time limit on the way. Along the way up, you’ll fight ten Team Snagem members (2 JR, 2 GL, 2 PL, 2 RL, 2 SV), and four of them with shields and jump into the thingypit at the top. Once you’ve secured the shuttle, however, alarms will ring and the launch bay becomes bathed in red light with the OS system coming on again with this message: “WARNING! WARNING! SHUTTLE BEING HIJACKED! PLEASE PROCEED TO SHUTTLE AND APPREHEND INTRUDER! I REPEAT! SHUTTLE BEING HIJACKED! PLEASE PROCEED TO SHUTTLE AND APPREHEND INTRUDER! TEN MINUTES TO LAUNCH!”

At this point, a large onslaught of 20 Snagem guards (3 TS, 3 JR, 2 MG, 2 GL, 2 PL, 2 RL, 2 SD, 4 SV), eight of them with shields, will come at the shuttle and you must take them all down. Once you’ve done so, head back into the shuttle to find Gonzap waiting for you. He’ll tell you that you’re not making off with his shuttle. At this point, he’ll push you out of the shuttle and the walkway will rise up to what looks like a large arena suspended above the shuttle by large magnetic wires connected to the walls of the launch bay. At this point, the OS system comes on once more saying this: “ATTENTION! ATTENTION! PLEASE CLEAR LAUNCH BAY! EXHAUST BAY DOORS OPENING! I REPEAT! PLEASE CLEAR LAUNCH BAY! EXHAUST BAY DOORS OPENING! At this point, the walkways will sink down into the rising exhaust steam that you’ll now see below you. Gonzap will continue to chew you out for making it all the way here, as he suddenly comes flying upward from the other side of the arena in what looks like a large robotic Skarmory; the Skarmory Electromagnet Jet. We got ourselves another boss battle.

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BOSS: SNAGEM HEAD GONZAP
Health: 360
Attack 1: Electromagnetic Peck – Charges up electromagnetic energy, then slams the beak down towards you.
Attack 2: Electromagnetic Peck mk2 – Same as above, but stronger and sends out an electromagnetic wave that spreads outward.
Attack 3: Electromagnetic Bomb – Sends out bombs that home in on you. Creates small electromagnetic explosions upon impact.
Attack 4: Electromagnetic Twister – slams wings together to create a twister of electromagnetic energy that moves forward. Pulls you towards it when it passes nearby.
Strategy: Get ready for a fight! Gonzap’s the hardest boss up to this point, and this is made harder due to the fact you’re still on the 10-minute time limit before the shuttle launches! He’ll start by flying out away from the arena while keeping a bead on you. One thing you got to remember that if you touch any part of the Electromagnet Jet other than the thingypit, you’ll take damage due to the electromagnetic energy you can see surging through it. When Gonzap comes flying towards the arena, wait for him to start the swoop, then get out of the way, otherwise, you’ll get slammed by the mech. When Gonzap stops after reaching where you were, he’ll slam the Jet’s beak down towards you, so wait until the charge is complete, then move out of the way. At this point, let him have it with whatever you got since he’ll be stuck there for a few seconds! After taking on an amount of damage, Gonzap will sometimes fire a large flurry of electromagnetic bombs your way. These bombs come at you fast and can’t be avoided since they home in on you. The only thing you can do is attack them (best with ranged attacks) to destroy them before the hit you or hide behind stacks of steel boxes on each corner of the arena. When half of the Skarmory Electromagnet Jet’s health is gone, Gonzap will resort to more tricky tactics. This time, the Electromagnetic Peck attack is stronger and will send out waves you’ll have to jump to avoid. Also, the most dangerous attack he’ll use at this point of the fight is creating twisters of electromagnetic energy while flying around the room. These cyclones not only damage you while they sweep the arena, but they pull you in at a strong rate and can even pull you off the arena and to your death in the exhaust surge below! He’ll also send out more homing bombs at a time during the second half of the battle. It’s best to keep to the middle of the arena during the electromagnetic tornadoes and to the corners during the bombs. Whenever you get the chance to attack Gonzap, do so and this battle will be over before you know it!
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After the battle, two of the walkways will rise up on each end of the arena, you going to the left one and Gonzap ejecting himself from the Skarmory Electromagnet Jet and landing on the right one as the Jet falls into the exhaust flood and explodes. The walkways will then lower to the shuttle and both of you will go back in. Gonzap will tell you that you’re not getting away that easy, but before he can attack, he cringes from injuries sustained from the battle and using that opportunity, you’ll push him out of the shuttle. As Gonzap’s walkway rises back up and he escapes on another one, you’ll situate yourself into the shuttle, the countdown approaches completion and the OS voice comes on again: “SHUTTLE LAUNCHING IN 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! SHUTTLE LAUNCHED!” While this is happening the top of the pyramid will open up and the arena will split into four parts and be pulled towards the wall. Once the countdown reaches zero, the shuttle will take off, the exhaust rising even higher. You’ll see the outside of the pyramid as the shuttle flies out of it and goes high into the sky. As the shuttle rises, you'll look out of the thingypit and see Ho-oh, pointing up into space, knowing that it's pointing the way to where Rayquaza's being held. Once the shuttle gains enough altitude, you’ll have finally cleared this stage once and for all! If possible, you’ll now be able to move onto the next (and final) episode!