Golden Forests, PMD-B

After a couple of days of goofing around as the gang have some fun with the local schools of mons, Xavier and Monty are led to the lorekeeping ground uphill. The two Pokémon enter the wooden cabin and notice some paintings with numbers ascribed, reading like "199x", "200x", etc…

Monty -points to one of the first pictures: <Hey, tell, Linoone, what is this thing?>

Linoone -walks in and looks at the picture: <Oh, it is a picture of the Bad Times.> -- shrugs -- <The myths say something about a big bug and a cat who tried to rule over the world…>

At that moment Xavier walks in, interested mostly because he's not hear anything about that.

Xavier: <A cat ruling the world, heh...> -- squints at the picture -- <Is this myth or something that really happened?>

Monty: <I dunno...>

The two Pokémon inspect the picture closely. It seems to be a collage of various events depicted against the background of the larger Johto region. The city of Goldenrod is seen being soared by large birds and dragons. who are chasing some Rattata and Hoothoot around Up north near the National Park, a Nidorino, an Espeon and an Umbreon are standing in a "you shall not pass" stance.

Xavier: <Oh it has to be definitively myth. Look at this thing.>

Xavier and Monty look to the lower part depicting the Ilex Forest and the town of Azalea. Rows of small mons can be seen running away from razed and burning settlements, forming a row as they enter what seems to be a [blue hole] being held in place by a Zoroark.

Monty: <Wha- hey, where are they going?> -- starts inspecting the picture, finally finding something -- <Hey, look, they're here!>

Xavier follows Monty's claw to the part of the picture near the Magnet Train. There, from a [orange hole], the row of mons are emerging and walking into the forest to sit around the figure of a Nidorina and a shiny Ampharos.

Xavier: <Perhaps it is a metaphor for mass teleportation? But I've never heard of anything like this happening…> -- shrugs.

Monty's eyes wander to the west in the lost sea, where he notices there is a land that looks much like Unova, up to what appears to be the Relic Castle.

Monty: <Oh the artist must have been on drugs... Xavier, look at this!>

Xavier floats to where Monty is looking at a depiction of Unova. What he sees is the Relic Castle being surrounded by columns of mon, all of them bowing to a Liepard and a Scolipede. Above the castle, what looks like a giant Hydreigon can be seen, firing flames at the fields around him where the corpses of various mons like Nidos and Aipoms lie.

Xavier -frowns: <This is wicked...>

After waking Teala up

Maekrite: <They kinda want us for something.> -- points to the Nidorino -- <Hopefully we can get some explanation of what's going on?>

At that moment Silentran♂ (and possibly Toothless / Cleo / Riana :3 ) wake up.

Somewhere near Shimmer Hill

A Starly♀ with a badge and a Staraptor♂ carrying a basket of [green apples] make a graceful glide towards a random well kept house. As the two birds make their landing Roc looks around, finding no indications that any other Pokémon have come to this area in a long long time. No blood either.

Those Gulpin are quite hungry, quite efficient, or both, Roc mutters to himself as Shahinne goes knock on the door.

Somewhere near Shimmer Hill

~ knock, knock ~

The door of the rock house opens, revealing a [Gulpin] wearing a cap. The Pokémon and Shahinne look at each other for a moment before the Gulpin even thinks to ask what is this about.

Gulpin: <Yes? What is this about? :3>

Shahinne: <Oh hai~ I'm Shahinne and we are here because you were [hungry]…>

The Gulpin blinks, looks around Shahinne distinguishing Roc and a basket, then turns back to Shahinne.

Gulpin: <Oh my, yes, come in, please, come in… :3> -- moves away.

Shahinne trills, calls Roc in. The larger bird picks the basket up and walks inside, not before giving some wary leers to the Gulpin and the two or three other Gulpin and Swalot at the table.  Roc takes some looks around, noticing that the house is quite tidy and there are only a few decorations. He also notices that there is no furniture nor any random object near any of the corners of the room.

The family man mon, a Swalot with a tie, moves from the table and goes greet Shahinne.

Main Swalot: <Welcome, it'll be a pleasure to have you as guests [on] our table... :3>

The little Gulpin closes the door behind Roc.

(After this post)

????!Sentret -to Riana: <Oh I'm just having fun~> -- leaps to Toothless's head and speaks to ear -- <if you want to wander around freely in these lands I have an offer you can not refuse~>

Linoone -looks up: <What are you doing there, kit?>

FakeIDs!Sentret: <Hugging the big dragon's neck! :3>

Meanwhile, Maekrite and Teala arrive to a section of the forest where they meet a couple of Xatu, some Teddiursa and Yanmega and, as the Nidorino expected, a cabal of Nidorina. One of the Yanmega steps (flies) forwards.

Leader Yanmega: <We have gotten word of a Druddigon and a Nidorino, yes, and here you are...>

Cabal Nidorina: <We would like to ask some questions. It has been quite some time we see a fellow Guarder here… say, dragon,> -- turns to Teala -- <Where do you come from?>

(After this post)

Maekrite turns to Teala, eyes wide open.

Maekrite: <Teala you did what? O_O>

The Nidorinas look a bit perplexed and walk in closer to the group, some of them keeping their eyes on Maekrite. One of them walks up to Teala.

Leader Nidorina: <Silly you can not have seen Inka... This was long long ago.>

Leader Yanmega: <More or less by the time of the Treason and the Banishment…>

Leader Nidorina: <It's all told in the story of this forest.>

Random Teddiursa -walks up to the Nidorina: <B-but my mom says in the Sacred Forest there are stories of mons who come from another times!>

The Nidorina and Yanmega start looking at each other worried then at Teala and at Maekrite again. There is some minor chitchat that is quelled when one of the Nidorina breaks from the group and walks to Teala and Maekrite.

Leader Nidorina -to Teala and Maekrite: <…Do you have any way to prove what you say?>

Teala suggests she and Maekrite should spend the night together (yeah, make of that what you will o3o). Maekrite raises a paw and concurs with Teala's motion however this prompts the other Nidorina to be more aggressive and try to get in his line of sight for an Attract, or even flat out try and rub against him. However with a very loud thump and some growls and laser leers, the leader Nidorina puts them in order.

Leader Nidorina: <Very well then, you two can rest in the cave quarters...> -- raises an eyebrow as Maekrite rushes to hide behind Teala.

Maekrite: <Completely OK by me...>

A couple of seconds later the Yanmega leads Teala and Maekrite in a longer but offscreened and timeskipped path to...

The Cave Quarters

Before Teala and Maekrite lies the opening of a cave. the rocks and trees nearby show various scratches, slashes and other wounds from mons that are definitively taller than the average Nidorino/a.

Yanmega -to Teala, flying in circles: <Surely you'll enjoying some interns. Actually, not all of them are interns… some of them are,> -- gives a deeper look at Teala -- <from families born and raised here.>

From deep inside the cave, growls and snores that are definitively Druddigon-like can be heard faintly.

Near Shimmer Hill

Yesterday, Roc and Shahinne were invited in by a family of hungry and cute Gulpin :3. The quite varied meal of fruit, rock and meat has gone without many eventualities and as it nears its end the Gulpin young can be seen enjoying the aftertaste of their noms while their parents hold some conversation.

Gulpin Child #1: <Mom, can you pass the salt? :3>

Madam Swalot: <Hang on, dear~ :3> -- finishes a potato -- <These have been very weird days, haven't them, honey?>

Gulpin Child #1: <Mom... :3> -- pounds on his chair.

The female Swalot leers at her child then passes the salt (somehow!). The child has to fight with one of his siblings for the salt but in the end takes it, produces a [fried bird wing] and after salting it a lot, noms it whole in a more or less unceremonious manner. After that another of the siblings salts his potato and noms it whole. The other siblings nom some [green apples]. Whole, of course. :3.

Madam Swalot -frowns: <Manners, dears~ :3>

Mister Swalot -reads the newspaper: <My, yes, it is unfortunate that this strange situation is happening again.> -- starts turning the pages -- <And it seems nomon talks about it.  :3>

The kids are mostly finished with their meal and they grow impatient. After one of them asks if they can go play now the mother, exasperated, explains that the three of them need to keep a balanced diet and thus nomon will leave the table until they are done noming their green apples since they're already done with the [meat]. One of the Gulpin pounds on the chair, prompting a sound sigh from their father - this scares him straight enough that he noms his apple with some water. Whole, of course. :3

The Swalot female turns to the other side of the table.

Madam Swalot -sweatdrops: <Excuse my children's manners, they get very impatient at this time of the night... :3>

Roc waves his crest and mutters something about not having to make much deal out of it. He waves a wing and turns to Shahinne, whom, during the course of the dinner, he has had to keep distracted from the fact that the Gulpin are noming bird with some juggling games and feather preening. The blissfully unaware Starly♀ trills a happy note as she notices the three Gulpin children noming their [apples].

Roc: <So, mister... can you explain to me in more detail how did this happen?>

Mister Swalot: <Oh dear... I wish I could tell exactly, but as I mentioned before, we don't know why this is happening... :3>

The female Swalot drinks some grape juice and points to one of the windows near the corner of the house.

Madam Swalot: <It has been two weeks already ever since that [Rescue Team] expelled those bandits and outlaws from our gardens. They all left in that direction. :3>

Mister Swalot: <We had been hostages for days, without food or water. We complied with the terms of the contract and gave that team our money and our thanks. :3>

Madam Swlaot: <Oh dear, we truly thought this matter was resolved... :3>

Roc: <But then… the other teams who came…>

Madam Swalot: <Well, we had some visitors afterwards…> -- points to the kitchen -- <Since they all came around with food and talking about the money, we thought they were passerbies grateful four our donation. We invited them to our table, just like we invited you, and then they departed their own way~ :3>

Mister Swalot: <But you are saying now… none of those kind mons have returned… oh dear... :3>

Roc -nods: <This is definitively strange. You never saw them again, right?>

The two Swalot shake their heads, looking a bit sad. Roc thought for a moment about what was going on. Obviously all initial perceptions about the mission went wrong. But how could many rescue teams disappear without trace after leaving this place? He was sure from the tone of voice of the Swalot and their lack of defensive signs in their body language that they didn't know a thing about the matter.

Roc preened Shahinne as the Starly nommed an apple. He could not allow the same thing that happened to them to happen to her. It was time to find out what was going on.

Treasure Town

Finding herself with not much to do since Helios has decided to go check Marowak's Dojo, Algira is spending some time hovering around town. She has caught notice of Chansey's daycare tent and hit by a sort of longing feeling decides to go take a look.

This takes her in the conveniently opposite direction from where Sol is also wandering around town, noming some herbs while listening to the various mons in town talk about stuff. She wonders how she will get the required money to get Ichtacya off the hospital. It'd be easier if she could find Silent, who most likely holds the item bag, but so far in the last three days no luck.

Sol: <Hmmm... perhaps I need to use more trickery?> -- looks around -- <I wonder if by following some of the mons around I can notice when they say something [important]. That would be of some use...>

Decides to try by following a random Ninjask and Purugly who are talking about cave dungeons. Those are places where one can go and find [items] buried on the ground and stuck on the walls, Sol realizes.

(After this post)

Maekrite: <H-hang on Silent I'm almost there!...> -- shakes suddenly and wakes up, notices the other Druddigon -- <Oh… w-wait...>

Local!Druddigon♀ -sheepishly: <O-oh, a tower Druddigon? A-are you a new instructor?>

Teala can notice that there are still a couple of small Druddigon lying around, half-asleep; if there were others they are already gone.

Meanwhile, outside…

FakeIDs!Sentret -walks around behind the group: <Awww… but my work is so awesome!> -- sads -- <I'll need to expand my business~>

Guide!Donphan -to Toothless: <Er, not that I'd be promoting illegal activities… but such IDs can be pretty useful. I hear there is a [kingdom] to the west where if you are not an ancient Pokémon or otherwise important enough, you're stuck as a slave!> -- walks proudly -- <Of course in the lands of Lady Ho-Oh we allow no such things.>

(After this post)

Golden Forests, Caves

At Teala's comments a couple of young Druddigon chime in into the conversation; Maekrite, being the smaller in all the group, falls more or less hidden between two random dragons and Teala.

Local Druddigon♀ -blinks: <O-oh? You don't teach Sucker Punch? How come so? Our families have known that move for like four generations!>

Druddigon Trainee #1 -practising some slashes: <That's got to be an error or something. My dad taught me.>

Druddigon Trainee #2: <My parents tried to teach me too...> -- looks a bit confused -- <From what they said we've been using that move ever since one of our ancestors was visited by a Nidorino in the Dragonspiral Tower...>

Maekrite pays paticular attention to the last part.

Golden Forests, Playing Grounds

The Donphan chuckles then reveals he is carrying an ID. Not a fake one, of course (as far as he can tell, tee hee).

Guide Donphan: <Pretty much everymon carries ID cards these days. It's as useful as a Scarf but easier to keep and more functional. You can not just steal a mon's scarf and wander around.>

Sketchy Sentret: <With mons that move around and migrate so frequently in the area, the Nidos keep tight control of these forests. Technically the owners of this forest are Lady Ho-Oh and the Snubbull and Hoothoot living around here...>

Guide Donphan: <Well, it is tru, but ever since the old times the Nidos work as the police here.> -- snorts -- <Makes everything run smooth!>

The Donphan group with Toothless, Riana, Silentran♂ and Cleo finally arrive to a playground that functions as study of lore. As they start sitting around, the group listen to a Linoone mother narrating a story about the Mareep flocks to the east who put a valiant effort to protect the routes during the war and then how, when they were on the verge of losing, the "furry turbo wolf dragon bird thing" from the heavens came to the forest to expel the invaders from Unova.