“And so we’ve come, to the end of [Victory] Road.” –Boyz II Men.

A jam-packed leg and a jam-packed episode this week and we see ourselves to the exit of the game via an absolutely wild number of unstoppable water routes, a totally useless town on Corsola stilts, and an equally useless city outside of Victory Road. Wattson needed a little help with a power surge under his luxury condo in Mauville Hills, Sidney needed help figuring out how to sit in his chair, and May needed some help building a usable Pokémon team for once in her life. We were less accommodating of that last one. Oh, and we finally took on Bug Catcher Jonny of Anime Territory fame! Go check out his show but also join /r/bugcatchers for a chance to go head-to-head with us at the end of next season.

Hot on the heels of Team Magma/Aqua, the time has come for Hoenn's endless ocean-faring leg, folks. Even in 3D with the addition of scuba divers and overworld Pokémon sprites, it's still no picnic—well, except for Admiral Squirt, whose (mostly) Water team has made it an unstoppable force on the high seas. Meanwhile, Papa Cultura is still working on finding some more A-listers for his celebrity team. They get the job done thanks for Team Magma/Aqua's evil admins having a change of heart and realizing they've gone too far with the whole unleashing primal energies upon the Pokéarth and turning the whole thing into one continent or one ocean... who would have thought. After, our heroes finally gain entrance to Wallace's gym and leave him sleeping with the fishes. And then, in their own battle, one trainer's entire team joins him down there.

We didn’t have to look very hard to find Team Aqua/Magma’s secret headquarters outside of Lilycove City and we didn’t have to work very hard to unravel their entire criminal syndicate, but it wasn’t all a walk in the Safari Zone this week. Papa Cultura had to say a tearful arrivederci to a beloved friend, Admiral Squirt really took to Hoenn’s controversial “stand your ground” laws, and Kid Nation was disappointedly under-recognized as a brilliant and subversive piece of art cinema and I can’t believe it only got 13 episodes before it was canceled. Real swing and miss canceling that one, Moonves.

With Surf and their HM Friends in tow, Papa Cultura & Admiral Squirt head over into eastern Hoenn and begin to settle into what could be their endgame teams... if no-one dies, that is. (Spoiler alert: someone does.) They head into the jungles of Route 119 and get inspired by its triumphant score and a variety of totally bangin' trainers, which the Team Aqua/Magma stooges at the Weather Institute certainly are not. Finally, blocked from accessing Winona's gym in Fortree, they are treated to a delightful little hike and a gift of a Devon Scope from the charming Steven Stone. Visors on, they send Winona's flock to the great birdcage in the sky and then battle each other.

Although it's a short leg this week as we cruise down Mt. Chimney en route to Petalburg Gym to take on Daddy, we first make a quick detour through the desert wasteland of Route 111. Unfortunately, things go south after that, so if you haven’t listened yet, prepare yourself both emotionally and sexually for not once, but TWO stirring eulogies this week. Eventually, we do take on Daddy and his suite of Slakoth evolutions, who are such a joke that we tack on a little extra to our journey. We join Steven Stone on a ride to Southern Island in what can only be described as “Atreyu screaming and fist-pumping on the back of Falcor”-like. We had to take our fun where we could find it on this leg. Oh, and we finally get to the bottom of where Tanner's Gulpin came from. You won't be surprised.

The extreme imbalance between the gyms continues this week, with Josh & Tanner bringing a chaotic, nearly defeated energy. The road from Mauville City to the very top of Mt. Chimney tested the limits of their podcast and partners’ unions, with the restraints of the Wedlocke preventing them from building viable teams and unable to catch Pokémon throughout most of this very, very long leg. In the end, can they take the Heat Badge, and who will prevail when Admiral Squirt and Papa Cultura battle?

Papa Cultura & Admiral Squirt traverse the ocean to arrive in Slateport City, and the rest of their journey is a bloodbath. They beat up a bunch of beachgoers, get beat up by grunts in the Oceanic Museum, make their big debuts on the contest circuit, and manage to escape the Trick House—but not without sacrifice. And Gym Leader Wattson up in Mauville isn't finished with them yet. Papa Cultura is only at the start of his adventure through Hoenn, but he's beginning to long for his old Mediterranean lifestyle already. And Admiral Squirt? The loving embrace of Mrs. Squirt might be the only way to cure what ails him.

A little jaunt this week as we make our way down to Dewford Town to take on Brawly, by way of a madcap side quest to take down some Team Bad Guy grunts. But it’s not all fun and games, because Josh’s Italian “accent” persists this week, unfortunately. We’ve drunk the Devon Corp. Kool-Aid, so when Steven’s sugar daddy Mr. Stone sends us on a couple of real fetch quests, we give it 110%, but unfortunately for Tanner, 110% is more than, well, a plurality of teammates can handle this week. Admiral Squirt’s menagerie continues to swell regardless, as does Papa Culture’s autograph book, as we carefully wind our way across Hoenn once again.

The boys are back in Hoenn, and this time they're playing it not just in 3D—but under the rules of their brand-new, improved, and reclaimed "Wedlocke." Josh's husband Bobby and Tanner's wife Jaime have gone through the Hoenn Pokédex and selected the Pokémon their significant others, your beloved podcast hosts, are bound to use. Till death do they part. And maybe one of those hosts already did have to part with one of those Pokémon, and had to sing a haunting song about it in memoriam. Find out which tune, as well as who we're playing as, in these underappreciated remakes. It's season 6B... 6C... or something, baby!