Pokemon from all across Valkaria (and some from beyond it) arrive to the thirtieth anniversary celebrating the end of the Silver War. Many Pokemon, especially some Gold Tribe and Seekers, are skeptical about the party, which was organized by General Grett. The grandiose design and festival which the ceremony has become, was thought by many to be unnecessary, too festive and less honoring, and just downright pointless. Though many respect the sacrifices of the Silver War, there are also some believe that Darkrai never actually appeared in the closing stages of the war, and that the war was conducted by former members of the Gold Tribe in the form of the Silver Tribe. This group, or movement, is called the Valkarian Exposure and is led by a former Commander Hypno known as Thomas Blake.
The party progressed on, with many old acquaintances meeting back up and some new ones meeting for the first time. Notable dignitaries included the Thieves with their King Snype, the Seekers and their leader Penance, SEC employees and their founder Hanso, the Gold Tribe and their leader Guardia, as well as many more surprising and some new faces. As the ceremony for the fallen was conducted, however, Thomas Blake got into an argument with another General, Riken, about the nature of the Silver War's end. Soon after, Grett revealed a surprising bit of information, his involvement with Darkrai, which promptly led to his appearance along the outskirts of Gold City soon after, along with an army. Grett was soon dispatched, and everyone got to work. The defense of Gold City had begun, with the Gold Tribe and other defenders clamoring over to the wall of the city, while others heading to the SEC Network points (there being three) to try and evacuate all the non-combating citizens to other cities.
Unknown to the defenders originally, a Greninja believed to be working, perhaps voluntarily, with Darkrai, has begun destroying the Network points. He has successfully destroyed Network point two with a Hyper Beam Cannon, and proceeded to Network point three. A fire had mysteriously begun around Network point three. The Greninja was discovered by Snype, Paradox (Penance), and other defenders of the Alpha Alliance. The Hyper Beam Cannon was fired, but the network point was thankfully not destroyed, and in the process of being moved (as it is somewhat portable by SEC employees). Though in apparent captivity, the Darkrai agent known as Gabriel, or Gabe, hinted at possible other infiltrators into the city. At the same time at Network point one, an Ursaring revealed himself and began causing mayhem around there as well, apparently with the goal to destroy the Network point there.
Meanwhile at the wall, the defense of the city began. Darkrai's army was vast and wide, but with the Gold Tribe, the Alpha Alliance, Hyper Beam Cannons and a small, evil Ralts, the walls were being held off. Stampedes and other Pokemon charged for the gates, but were held off. An enormous Wailord began to be carried by the Pokemon of Darkrai. It seemed to support a lot of weight on it, despite the Wailord's notoriety for being quite light. Even with some armor plating around it, it didn't appear to make much sense yet. However, with a bit of a psychic disturbance from Razathiel, the Wailord was initially tipped over and caused destructive damage to the armies of Darkrai. The Pokemon of Darkrai quickly recovered the Wailord, put psychic barriers around to prevent additional mishaps, and proceeded again forward to the wall. The Gold Tribe and General Warren headed over the gate to take on a few enemies close range, and the defense of Gold City continued.
At the wall, the giant Wailord that was being carried by the Darkrai forces was actually filled with Electrode. The 'mon at the wall managed to damage and partially destroy the wailord before it reached the wall, but it still ended up unleashing most of them closeby the wall and blowing up half of the main gate and taking down a good portion of the mon there. General Riken found Guardia there among the survivors and basically relayed the plan to her to do that mission she was planning tomorrow (check OOC) now instead, so she basically asked her to gather everyone she wanted to bring and take them to Network Point 3. They're all heading there now. At Network Point One, there were a group of Pokemon who were trying to destroy the Network there, an Ursaring, Machamp, and Ariados. They were tough opponents, particularly the Ursaring, but all were eventually taken out. Alex and Obsidian took out the Machamp with a sleeping dart, while Charlie took out the Ariados. A joint effort by Scar, Gaia (Naku NPC), Desmond (Naku NPC) and Atrox was used to take out the Ursaring. Gabriel arrived there too, and ended up destroying Network Point one in a concealed explosion at the same time as the explosion on the wall. So only Network Point 3 is left. In the end, Scar stayed behind to fight off Gabriel, while the rest continued on to Network Point 3.
From there, Riken and Guardia explained to the gathered about their mission, and of how they had to leave Gold City now to accomplish it. Fighting off the armies would only prolong the inevitable. The only way to win was to do what was originally intended: Find Cresselia. Along with that, they would get any help they could from the other countries in terms of fighting Darkrai's armies.
The group were teleported by the Network to Fort Ferrol, which was a relatively small outpost just north of Valkaria in an area known as the Valkaria Protectorate. It wasn't a country per say, as within it was only a collection of a few separate villages. Ferrol was half abandoned when they got there, including most of the Gold Tribe which was stationed there because they went off to help Gold City. However, there remained a couple of Gold Tribe members: 'Wraith' the Dusknoir, 'Whirlwind' the Fearow, and 'Reign' the Seaking. Along with them, there was a Seeker and SEC base, as well as a few dozen villagers who still occupied the village/fort.
The group spent the rest of the day resting, eating, and getting to know each other. Snype and Kaveri went on their second date, the first being in Gold City just before the attack. Guardia discovered Charlie, a traitor of the Gold Tribe and current member of the thieves, and confronted him. The brothers Joshua and Charlie met up, with the conversation going quite sour. Thomas, Sylvio, Cal, Raz, and Anna all met up and talked within the inn in town. The following day, the group gathered together to decide where they would begin their journey. After some debate, they ultimately decided on beginning in Tollen. From there, the group dispersed once more, everyone doing their own thing. At this point, Guardia once more confronted Charlie, with the two butting heads, but didn't resort to fighting. Guardia also spoke to Snype, frustrated that he had been hiding so much information from her about the extent of his organization. A similar conversation took place with Penance. Joshua and Cal also shared their reservations about trusting some of the non-Gold Tribe members of the group. The following day, they met again to discuss how they would get into Tollen, and what they would be doing once they got there.
They agreed to split up into three separate teams and proceed into Tollen that way. The thief team as it has been called, decided to go in through the last Network Point in Tollen. They snuck their way in with some help from SEC devices. The Diplomatic team tried the same way, but through the legal channels of the nobility in Tollen. The third team, the forest team, would head by way of the furthest Network Point in Beatruce and enter Tollen through the forest.
Thieves: Two thieves, Charlie and Obsidian, decided to gather some information by infiltrating the palace of the Queen. Along the way, they heard something about a 'mon named Popous, who it was later found out didn't make it into the Royal Knights despite many thinking he should have because he was very skilled. Obsidian and Charlie also ran into a Herdier who was of nobility, whose House had the insignia of an Emerald Dragalge. The Herdier sniffed around when Obsidian and Charlie were close, but didn't comment on the thieves presence if he knew they were there. Charlie and Obsidian discovered a book, which detailed the line of succession of the General of the Standing Army. Apparently, the General has recently been replaced in the last year, from General Isabella to General Marcus Tyren.
Other thieves have been hearing continuous things about someone or something known as the Savior. From what they could gather, something has happened here in the last year which caused a lot of devastation of some sort, and many mon allude that the savior was the one to stop it, or save them from it. It is claimed that the mon was born in the Oddish Trail, a relatively poor and small part of the slums of Tollen. Other claims made him out to be from other parts of Tollen. The savior was clearly a prominent figure of some sort, having stopped the devastation known only as the Reckoning.
The thieves also planned a heist with a group they got in contact with after Snype saved a slum mon from a Royal Guard. The group mentioned something about another group known as the Brotherhood, but not much is known about it at present. On the day of the heist, Snype spoke with a citizen in Tollen named Popous, who somewhat upset about not getting into the Royal Knights, and thus was honorably discharged from the standing army. He passed on a bit of information that the Savior was a Greninja. The heist came, with the thief team meeting up with Roran (the initial 'mon who brought them the heist), as well as Joseph, Stretch, and a Bisharp named Creed. The group agreed to hit the shipping caravan as it traveled within the city, as it was found out that the most skilled Royal Knights guarded the entrances and exit to the city, where the supplies were bound. Jeice, another member of the heist, informed the group that there would be two standing army soldiers, and two royal knights guarding the caravan. The shipping job went off without much of a hitch. Except at the end of it, instead of leaving the knocked out royal knights, Creed suddenly killed the two Royal Knights.
The thief team took offense, but it was soon discovered that he was with the Brotherhood, and the shipping job was an initiation of sort to get the group to meet with them. He also mentioned that killing them would derail suspicion of another group with the Diplomatic team inside the capital. It was also found out that the Brotherhood stopped a Royal Knight from passing information on to the higher ups in the palace about them having SEC supplies, and therefore could be foreigners here. The Brotherhood asked to meet with the thief team that night.
The thieves returned to their hideout in a spa, where they met with a Seeker, who was one of the standing army soldiers posted with the caravan. There, he gave a good painting of the full story. A plague began in the capital, which killed the King and caused a lot of devastation. The borders were closed and all foreigners were dispelled to try and contain this Reckoning. It also seemed that a portion of the citizens, mostly nobility and those around the palace, seemed immune to the plague, which greatly angered the suffering poor and middle class. Finally, a Royal Knight came forward by the name of Gabriel and began to cure this plague. He became extremely popular among the people of Tollen, and so the Queen gave him a position of influence. The nobility were more hesitant to accept him given his roots, but agreed because they knew the people would protest if they did.
Following the meeting with the Seeker, the thieves met up with the Brotherhood in the same evening, where it was discovered that their leader was actually Isabella, the former General of the Standing Army. Isabella had begun to suspect Gabriel and his plans and for that, she believed Gabriel set her up in an assassination attempt against the Queen, and also an execution. Isabella escaped, and began working in the shadows to bring down the Gabriel. The two sides relayed further information about the situation outside, and Isabella relayed everything going on within the country, including her ties to Lord Arron of House Durania. They agreed on a loose partnership to bring down Gabriel by uncovering the past.
The first place they agreed to look, as suggested by Sylvio, was the events surrounding the Dark Tournament which took place over a century earlier. It was a similar incident that occurred during the Silver War, and was proof of Darkrai's involvement. Furthermore, Knights of Tollen as well as Gold Tribe fought together during this incident. Although it was initially covered up because of panic, there may have been some record left behind. The thieves sought to find this record, which Sylvio suspected was in the Raegal Center. The Raegal Center was constructed many years ago, and despite never being renovated, was allowed to stand from orders of the King directly without any explanation.
The thief group made their way inside the Raegal Center the following day and began to look for the records. They managed to discover it below the old library, but someone else seemed to track them as well. An Abomasnow formerly employed by Lord Arron, but who was recently 'outbid' into another 'mon's service, attacked the group and killed Creed. They met up with the brotherhood again later that day, where they discussed the event, as well as began tracking down further leads to bring down Gabriel.
The Diplomatic Team: The Diplomatic team has made contact with Lord Marrow of House Ellia. He was fairly hostile to the group mostly because of their ties to the Gold Tribe, but also because of the fact that they were foreigners. Marrow alluded to the fact that all foreigners were generally forbidden inside Tollen, and there could be consequences for bringing them in. The Diplomatic team also discovered other names, including Lord Arron of House Durania, who was briefly mentioned. The diplo team convinced Marrow to give the guys a chance to explain themselves, and so Marrow went over to appeal to the other nobility to grant an audience before all of the dignitaries and nobility of Tollen, where they might be able to present their case for aid.
Also, the diplo team discovered that a portion of the network psychics have been taken hostage somewhere. Maybe something the thieves could investigate sometime. Lord Marrow returned around the same time that the two thieves were partially discovered in the palace. He was angry about the situation, asking if they had anything to do with it. The Diplomatic team assured them that they didn't, and Marrow informed them that the audience was set up.
The following day, the Diplomatic Team was presented to the audience, where the nobles of Argime gathered. Among the seated once who presided over the others were Lord Marrow, Lord Arron of House Durania, Lord Caellen of House Jenoscent, who was the son of the true head of the House (who was away because he was apparently ill), Deputy Commander Elewyn of the Royal Knights, and General Marcus Tyren of the Standing Army. Later, the savior everyone was referring to, and the Royal Commander of the Knights entered, who turned out to be the same Greninja Gabriel from Valkaria. In a slight state of worry, Thomas urged the diplomatic team not to mention Cresselia, so they approached the meeting from a call to aid for troops approach. The meeting surprisingly divided the nobles and military officials, with Lord Marrow and General Tyren supporting to toss them out, and Elewyn, Caellen, Arron and surprisingly Gabriel voting to hear them out more individually.
The diplomats met with various dignitaries following the meeting. They first met with Lord Arron of House Durania, who explained that he was informed somewhat of Gabriel, at least on the part of him being a nuisance to many nobles of Tollen, and also supported him being removed from power. Lord Arron explained his ties to the Brotherhood of Shadows, a group bent on getting rid of Gabriel, and of various other secret networks. He explained that if they were to help him get rid of Gabriel, he would provide them troops for their fight in Gold City, as well as any information they seek. He also asked as a condition for this that the diplomats ask the Queen to allow Arron to sit on the Throne of Rectitude, which is a position reserved for the most trustworthy of Tollen. The position involves that should no heir be named to the current ruler, that 'mon which current sits on the throne will take over as the ruler of Tollen. Currently, Gabriel is allowed to sit on the Throne.
Following the meeting with Lord Arron, the diplomats met with Lord Caellen, son of the leader of House Jenoscent. He was much more shy than his father, as he claimed, and clearly didn't have the knack to rule. However, he did say that his father was not sick, but rather that he was out of the city in secret, as he did not trust was Gabriel said, and he wanted to see the condition of Tollen for himself. Lord Caellen promised what support he could if the diplomats helped return his father to him.
Their next meeting was with the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, Elewyn. Elewyn seemed sincere in her support of the situation in Valkaria, offered support in troops without any favors or requests in return. It seemed that there were still quite a few Royal Knights who were brought up viewing the Gold Tribe in a relatively favorable light.
The meeting after Elewyn was with Gabriel himself. The meeting was an odd affair with many fronts and double meanings behind it. However, when he did begin to explain himself, Gabriel seemed intent on keeping his motivations somewhat secretly while still implying a few things, including that the presence of the diplomats in Tollen did benefit him as well as them. It seemed like it was all a game to him, with Gabriel even betting the diplomats that they couldn't bring him down within two nights from their meeting, where they were to attend a banquet of sorts, in which the Queen of Tollen would also be present.
The Forest Team: The Forest Team left before the other groups, on the evening prior. They transported to Beatruce, where they were directed onto the backs of water Pokemon, and traveled across the river into Tollen. Upon reaching the shores the following morning, they found the outpost there largely abandoned. They did see tracks going in multiple directions, and when the 'mon tried to sense out the place to see where the most activity was coming from, they found out that going north had a lot of death. The group therefore proceeded north, where they walked through the jungle for hours. They noticed the area was quite foggy, but discovered this was a combination of smoke and mist. They reached a body, one of the hellguards of Tollen, and then came upon a group of Hellguards, the last of a scouting team of over 80, now just half a dozen. The scouting team, led by Lieutenant Trace, was returning back to Fort Trantrea to reconnect with the remaining forces in the area. They talked about how they were attacked from all sides in the jungles, from three different forces no less. The Morrians, a group of wild tribe-like 'mon with painted faces, were the biggest trouble in the Northern area. They also said if they wanted more information, they should speak to Commander Darrell in Fort Trantrea.
A few hours later, they arrived at the fort. When the forest team arrived with the hellguards at Fort Trantrea, they found it under attack by a Morrian scouting party. With the help of the forest team, they managed to push back the Morrians, and the forest group met with the Commander. There, he relayed what he knew. He explained that he has not received any skilled Hellguard reinforcements from the capital in months, and recently, he hasn't even had any of the bad kind. There was no news from the capital. From a few Seekers Penance found, it was also discovered that any remaining Seekers in the country were drafted into the Hellguards from the standing army and sent to the warzone.
After some time, the place received a message from a nearby village, which said that there was a Tollenian noble from Argime there. However, at the same time, Fort Trantrea began to be under attack. The forest group was left to decide whether to pursue the noble or help the troops in Trantrea, and they decided to remain and fight. The battle lasted the entire night and into the morning, with the Morrians not retreating until the last 'mon standing. However, the Hellguards won with the forest team's help. As they rest and recover now, they decide on what to do next.
The forest team met up with a Seeker from Valkaria, Alexis, who was strangely transported here by a Network Machine. The reason for his transportation was a mystery then, but it usually doesn't malfunction on this level unless some sort of strong psychic energy was the cause behind it, likely from another Network Machine. With another Seeker and psychic present, Penance/Brynn decided to try and contact Argime through a long, psychic chain of connections. Even though it was far away, they decided to try. They connected with every Psychic they had in the area, and tried to extend themselves across the forest. Their signal was picked up, however not by Argime. Instead, they were surprised to learn that there was a second Network Point established on the outside of Argime in secret. According to a quick message, it was placed there for the Pentosarrs and Morrians to go and use to get a quick path into Argime straight into the city. The forest group is somewhat skeptical, believing that the message could be a trap, so they send a scouting team there first. Following this, they call for the army to arrive in the location, which is by a town called Brookerridge, to finally put the pieces of the plan into place.