Team Snagem HQ (Mt. Silver)

[Atlantis_Darts]

"Now, as far as we know... knew," Blue corrects himself, continuing on. "Ein was somewhere in Orre biding his time while he waited for something to come to fruition. Now that we know what that something was, clearly things didn't go the way he planned. That region is still firmly under his control, so scouring it for him with an enormous army wasn't going to work. Luckily for us, or rather, for you, the Alliance navy picked up an interesting broadcast by someone working on a rather unusual frequency. Someone you know."

The screen cuts to static, before a pair of figures flicker into view, mostly shrouded in darkness, though whether that was by design or just from very poor recording quality remained to be seen. One looked... vaguely Ho-Oh-like.  

[Cecile Silverstone]

Ulla followed Keiko as she listened in onto the call. When they finally made it to the main lobby where everyone was, Ulla saw a picture of Ein pop up on the screen. A shiver went down her spine as she can still remember clearly what happened to her parents. She looked around to find her brother as all he could do was stare at the picture in disgust. The little girl noticed he had a very angry face as he was twirling around his black kunai. From the very beginning, Ein has been on his hit list.

Soon enough, the image faded to show a figure that looked like a Ho-Oh. "Sol?"  

[DignityPower]

Veronica had taken a short nap before rushing off to her training. Some time in the middle of it, she noticed her SNAG ringing. It took her a while to get back. She was slightly confused about the stuff that was going on with their team business since she had been out of it for so long. When she arrived, she started to look around for someone to help her catch up, still sweaty and worn out from her own business.

Ah... Veronica noticed Blue calling in. The last three words he used rung a bell in her mind, world war? She sighed, unbelieving she missed all the fun. Then, out of nowhere, Cosmo popped out. "Oh, hey." She greeted. He sniffed Veronica, making a disgusted face. "I know, I know, I should shower --- and it's not That Bad, you just got a good nose."
He snickered, "All right, what's that thingy?" he asked about Blue's image.
"I dunno... stuff, missions." Veronica shrugged. They watched together. The thing went into static.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Shhh!" She hissed at him.

Then... he appeared. Of course Veronica remembered. There's no way she'd ever forget Sol. "Huh... This looks serious." Veronica pondered. She started stepping away and tossed the SNAG to Cosmo, "Keep an eye on it, I'm gonna take a quick shower."
"Huh?" Cosmo glanced everywhere, confused as to how to use the tech.  

[Darksol88]

Atlantis_Darts

"Now, as far as we know... knew," Blue corrects himself, continuing on. "Ein was somewhere in Orre biding his time while he waited for something to come to fruition. Now that we know what that something was, clearly things didn't go the way he planned. That region is still firmly under his control, so scouring it for him with an enormous army wasn't going to work. Luckily for us, or rather, for you, the Alliance navy picked up an interesting broadcast by someone working on a rather unusual frequency. Someone you know."

The screen cuts to static, before a pair of figures flicker into view, mostly shrouded in darkness, though whether that was by design or just from very poor recording quality remained to be seen. One looked... vaguely Ho-Oh-like.

"...i...th...st... is this coming through?"

If anyone bet on "low quality," they'd be right. One would notice another figure coming into view next to the first, though. Sol's voice would be recognizable through the static, too.

"No matter, we'll have to hope it does. Listen, we've got some news. Wes, you want to start?"

"Hey, good job on not dying," Wes' voice would speak up, knowing whatever transmission they managed couldn't be held for long. "And on taking care of that science experiment gone wrong. We've finally got a lead on Ein. Inbetween fights, we were able to get the Kids' Grid to maintain an underground channel within the region. This is the first we've tried to use it to communicate from this kind of distance... if we keep it up for too long, it might be found despite our efforts."

"Yes, whatever was done with XD002, it hasn't been terrorizing the region and world as we know it for some time. We're thankful for that, but it hasn't come without a price," Sol chimed in. "With those events, Ein's... seemingly become desperate. Our efforts have certainly become easier, but harder in other ways. The Relic Forest, for example..." A hard sigh could be heard; something obviously didn't set well with the Ho-ho hybrid. "We were hoping we'd have things in a better situation after so long, but time waits for no one. We can't wait any longer, we need you all here now. This may be the only time you'll all have a chance to even get into the region."

"What he said. We're not sending this transmission lightly. Find a way ov...ow..." Unfortunately, the transmission became too staticy, soon cutting off with an error on everyone's SNAGs saying the connection was lost.  

[Reno Vantas]

Leslie would stare at her SNAG for a moment after the transmission cut out, letting everything she had just been told settle out in her mind. And once it did, she slowly began to stretch out and let her joints loosen up, the sound of metal creaking a bit as she extended her arms to full extension. "Alright. Time to get things started." Looking across the room, Leslie would nod towards Aria and the pair got up to make for the door. It was time to get things done and by golly they were going to be the ones to do it.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"It looks like we're going to Orre..." Odd announced.

"Should you be going?" Lykas asked. "You know how poorly you handle the heat in that region."

"I know... I'll probably end up slowing the team down if I go... Except I have Dissonance again, now. I can have him carry me if I need to." Odd replied with a smll grin.


"I can't say I'm very familiar with everyone involved here..." Wren muttered to himself. "But this is coming to an end." He told himself.

Kaya grunted softly at the thought of Ein rearing his head again but otherwise said little else for the time being. He'd have words for that monster when he saw him.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

"Now obviously," Blue continues. "We can't give you backup yet, but from what we've seen you don't exactly need it right now. What you do need is a way to safely get into the country without flying into the teeth of the beast. You need a base of operations to spearhead this rescue mission and retrieve your friends."

Another voice cuts through the call, gruff but friendly. "What you need my friends, is someone with the financial means to provide you the acquisition of a rather large transport vehicle capable of crossing the deadly whirlpools surrounding isolated Orre." The screens split in two, as a older white and grey haired gentleman in a suit and tie joins the voice conference.

"Joseph," Blue says, petulantly. "You never even gave me the chance to build up to introducing you."

"Well," Joseph Stone says serenely, smiling out at the Snagems. "I rather think that this particular group of individuals has waited long enough. Despite the Civil War still in full force throughout Hoenn, I would much rather we have the chance to determine our own destiny instead of being swallowed by the Shadow Virus. The few things I could give you when we spoke last, after you took down Ein's rocket four years ago: immunity, a base of operations in Hoenn, a month of rent... I told you these things were not enough to repay you. And they were not. But now I get to settle our debt once and for all." Each SNAG screen flickers to display a QR code built in the shape of the Team Snagem logo. "These are passes for the SS Anne II. A ship I commissioned using my spare funds."

"The Anne II?" Blue says, incredulously. Clearly he had not known about this little naming choice ahead of time. "I was on the original Anne before it..."

"Disappeared without a trace. Yes, I am aware. I thought it were only fitting that I make this one of a kind luxury stealth liner to be just that. Invisible to radar, invisible to sonar. The kind of ship no one finds." Joseph gazes out at all of the Snagems, his kindly gaze still hard and piercing like two flecks of flint embedded in his face. "The ship is docked in Vermilion City in Kanto. The populous there remember the name of the first ship, and are wondering to what reason we could have constructed a second under a 'cursed' name."

"Pretty good food the first time though, and its captain was a Cut above the rest..." Blue could be heard remarking.

"And the reason for that is simple - there are no such thing as curses. No such thing as a 'sure thing' or a 'safe voyage' - all of you embody these ideals. The things you have fought for up to this point prove that even the greatest mastermind can't plan for everything, least of all the strength of the human condition in the face of danger. I want you to take this boat with this name and use it as a dagger to plunge it into the heart of evil itself and forge a new destiny for the good of the world!" Joseph's face, momentarily transfigured by his outburst, settles back into its kindly normality as he mops his head with a pocket kerchief. "Stop Ein from recommitting these atrocities. Save your friends, and put an end to this once and for all."

"The QR code will let you gain access to the boat." Blue says, "Once on board, my recommendation is to land at Gateon Port. From what info we have it's on the outskirts of where Ein's influence is the weakest. Once you're in Orre and have some kind of beachhead established, find Wes and find Sol wherever they are. Stir up the population. Let them know that you have arrived to help them take back their country. We will be in contact with the S.S. Anne II via our navy so we will alert you if anything changes on our end. I know you aren't a bunch of dweebs, so I don't have to say this, but be careful. We don't know fully how the region has changed under Ein's control. And as always... smell ya later." The communication cuts out, the screen going black as the transmission ends.  

[Darksol88]

"Anne II? Guess it makes sense... some say it hit something and sank during one voyage, though most of the passengers were able to be rescued. Might be our best chance, though. We'll head there right away," Cera remarked in response.

"Oh, that reminds me, um. Here," Amaranth spoke up, quickly handing the other SNAG over. "There were some talks after everything in the Fairy Realm, and it was decided to give you this. I was supposed to give it to you sooner, but I kept forgetting. And that Lapras you brought back didn't seem too keen on me either..."

A quick inspection would show her that the SNAG was registered in her name. Even if she wasn't likely to use it for its common purpose, the symbolism behind it wasn't lost on her. "Guess I'll be thanking him for two things, then. Right, let's go."

Knowing they couldn't waste any time faffing around, the two of them would head out of the HQ without another thought. They'd both take off as soon as Amaranth let out her Pidgeot, figuring it to be the fastest way outside of any sort of teleportation.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

As each Snagem received the code to board the newly constructed ship that would be their Longinus, piercing through the side of the unholy martyr Ein was certain to make himself out to be, Wren remembered something important. While everyone else was preparing to head out, he headed to Sub's office. If they all made it back from this safely, the paperwork he'd promised Sub regarding backing Snag-a-Bite would be on his desk. He also laid out a small container holding a few PlusPower pills. It wasn't much but it should be enough to get some research done for now.

After that, he left HQ with all of his Pokemon prepped and ready. Lykas, Odd and Kaya were ready to go as well. Lykas stood in the main room with Mykel on standby until everyone was gathered and had the Gardveoir Teleport all of them to Vermillion City.